As we all know, NYC has a wide range of cuisines to suit every taste bud and budget! Here is a short list of some of the newest editions to this foodie playground.
CONTENTO – EAST HARLEM
Contento’s ethos and tagline is “accessible for all.” Owner and renowned figure in the New York wine world, Yannick Benjamin, was in a car accident in 2003 leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Since then Benjamin has co-founded Wine on Wheels, a nonprofit raising money to empower people with disabilities and his newly opened, fully accessible restaurant. At Contento’s you’ll find table tops that are higher than the standard to accomodate for wheelchairs and aisles between tables are wide, and guests can easily roll up to a low, wheelchair-accessible bar. Also accessible are the mouthwatering Peruvian dishes like mahi mahi ceviche with a leche de tigre.
DAME – WEST VILLAGE
Originally opened as a pop-up, the classic (but with a twst) Fish and Chips is here to stay! Now settling down permanently in the West Village, Dame has been praised as “the best I’ve ever had” by The New Yorker. The “twist” is all in the batter, the technique itself is something of a scientific method and the outcome is genius! Owner and mad hatter Ed Szymanski explains he cuts the beer in his batter with vodka, which has a lower evaporating point, “so when the batter hits the frying oil, it forms a crust much quicker, which stops the fish itself from frying.” Yum and yes please!
CROWN SHY – FiDi
Located on the ground floor of Art Deco masterpiece 70 Pine Street, Crown Shy is a dining experience you’ll be talking about for years to come. Inspired by their childhoods, Chef James Kent and Restaurateur Jeff Katz has opened their doors to share their “bright new ideas as described by The New York Times. With an extremely versatile menu with dishes like perfectly-creamy hummus mixed with spicy ’nduja, and served with an inflated ball of paper-thin fried bread and a beautiful setting, this is one show stopping, dining experience you’ll be bragging about to friends.