28 (food) reasons to love Manhattan

Trip dates: 9/15 – 10/13/12

Pushkin Brasserie (near Museum of Modern Art),

Add to Pushkin Brasserie ambiance this and a spiked cappuccino and you’ll recover from exhausting museum going:

Share these from Crumbs Bake Shop:

(upper west side, 97th/Columbus.)

“Wine-dark in a shallow lemon sea, pelted with capers, the curl of octopus ($16) looked messy and primeval, as if just plucked from the deep. It is the dish that a Greek restaurant lives or dies by, simple yet exacting. Tenderness should be victory enough. But the octopus at Boukiés had gone a step beyond, the flesh undoing itself, achieving a texture, at its core, close to nectar.” Ligaya Mishan, New York Times 9/21/12

Looked scary, tasted heavenly:

For less money and a different though not lesser pleasure, a hot pretzel in Central Park:   

Do you love cheese? There’s a name for that.

A choice of Schmears (upper west side, Broadway):

Oyster bar in Grand Central Station:

Spinach and kasha knishes from Yonah Shimmel’s Knishery on East Houston Street (lower east side):

Pastrami and corned beef sandwiches at Katz’s Deli (near Yonah’s, lower east side):

Tiny cupcake:

Cappuccino in Tribeca:

Comfort food at The Eatery after a show (The Phantom of the Opera).

Elevation of a bagel:

Peruvian cuisine on the upper west side at Flor De Mayo (Broadway around 98th):

Simple repast at The Boathouse (Central Park):