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Time Business News
25-06-2025
- General
- Time Business News
A Taste of the Big Apple: Exploring New York's Most Famous Foods
New York Famous Food City thrives as a cultural mosaic, and its rich culinary landscape is one of the most vivid reflections of that diversity. From the bustling streets of Manhattan to the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, every corner of the city offers a culinary experience rooted in tradition, innovation, and global flavors. In this article, we explore the most iconic foods that define New York, drawing millions of food lovers from around the world. Any conversation about New York's famous food cuisine would be incomplete without highlighting its iconic pizza. Characterized by a thin, foldable crust with a crispy edge, New York famous foods-style pizza is typically sold by the slice and served with a simple topping of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Pizzerias like Joe's Pizza, Di Fara Pizza, and Lucali have become landmarks in their own right, attracting lines of eager locals and tourists alike. The charm of New York famous foods pizza is rooted in its straightforward, no-frills perfection. Some say it's the city's tap water—rich in minerals—that gives the dough its signature texture. Whether grabbed for a quick lunch or devoured during a late-night craving, a slice of New York famous foods pizza perfectly captures the spirit of the city. Introduced to New York by Eastern European Jewish immigrants, the bagel has become a beloved morning classic. Its signature dense, chewy bite and shiny crust come from being boiled before it's baked. When topped with cream cheese ('schmear') and thinly sliced lox (cured salmon), it transforms into a luxurious morning ritual. You'll find some of the best bagels at institutions like Russ & Daughters, Ess-a-Bagel, and Absolute Bagels. Add a slice of tomato, red onion, and capers, and you have a classic New York famous foods breakfast that's as delicious as it is historic. Rich, dense, and creamy—New York-style cheesecake is indulgence in its finest form. Unlike its lighter European counterparts, this version uses extra cream cheese and eggs to produce a firm, smooth texture. Often served plain or with a strawberry topping, it's a favorite dessert across the city. Junior's Cheesecake, originally from Brooklyn, is perhaps the most famous purveyor. Their traditional recipe has been drawing dessert lovers since 1950. Whether after dinner or as a midday treat, New York cheesecake remains a decadent symbol of the city's culinary pride. Street carts are a vital part of New York's food culture. Among their most popular offerings are soft pretzels and hot dogs, two quintessential New York snacks. Soft pretzels, often oversized and salted, are perfect for on-the-go munching. Hot dogs, meanwhile, are famously served at vendors like Gray's Papaya, Nathan's Famous, and various Halal carts throughout the city. With mustard, sauerkraut, or onions in tomato sauce, a New York hot dog is a fast, flavorful bite of Americana. Another gift from the city's Jewish culinary heritage, pastrami on rye is a deli sandwich packed with thick slices of peppered pastrami, tangy mustard, and sometimes Swiss cheese. Served on fresh rye bread, it's hearty, flavorful, and satisfying. For a truly authentic taste, visit Katz's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side—a legendary establishment serving New Yorkers since 1888. This sandwich goes beyond satisfying hunger—it's a flavorful slice of New York's rich heritage. Home to one of the nation's oldest and liveliest Chinatowns, New York famous food in nyc boasts a rich selection of flavorful Chinese-American dishes. Dishes like General Tso's chicken, dumplings, and lo mein have been reimagined for American palates while still honoring their roots. Places like Joe's Shanghai, known for its soup dumplings, and Wo Hop, a late-night favorite, showcase the city's enduring love affair with Chinese cuisine. Whether sitting down for a meal or picking up something on the go, Chinatown offers a rich tapestry of bold and authentic flavors. Halal carts have emerged as an iconic element of New York's bustling street food culture. These vendors serve flavorful platters of chicken or lamb over rice, often accompanied by salad, pita bread, and signature white and hot sauces. The Halal Guys, which started as a modest cart in Midtown, have grown into a global brand thanks to their wildly popular dishes. Affordable, filling, and packed with flavor, halal food embodies the city's diversity and entrepreneurial spirit. New York is not just about tradition—it's also a birthplace of innovation. Consider the cronut—a unique croissant-donut fusion invented by pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Since its debut in 2013, it has inspired copycats worldwide and drawn lines around the block at the original SoHo bakery. Modern food trends like rainbow bagels, matcha desserts, and gourmet food trucks continue to thrive in the city, proving that New York's food scene is always evolving—just like the city itself. International Cuisine at Every Turn One of New York's greatest culinary assets is its access to global flavors. From Ethiopian injera in Harlem to Korean barbecue in Flushing, you can take a gastronomic tour of the world without ever leaving the five boroughs. Whether it's Italian cannoli in Little Italy, Mexican tacos in the Bronx, or Indian dosas in Jackson Heights, New York is a celebration of cultures through food. New York City's food is more than sustenance—it's a narrative of immigration, creativity, and identity. Every bite tells a story, whether it's of an old-world recipe passed down through generations or a brand-new trend born in a small kitchen. For both residents and tourists, discovering New York's diverse food scene is a flavorful journey through its history and modern culture. And with each delicious dish, it's easy to understand why New York is considered one of the greatest food cities in the world. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Chicago Tribune
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘Music is not a recipe': Violinist Itzhak Perlman talks about putting his life into an autobiographical show
For once, Itzhak Perlman was in the audience, not onstage. Years ago, the violinist, conductor and pedagogue attended Billy Crystal's autobiographical one-man show, '700 Sundays.' He left inspired. 'I thought that it might be fun to do this with my life and music,' Perlman says. That seed sprouted into 'An Evening with Itzhak Perlman,' an autobiographical recital coming to the Chicago Theatre April 21. Technically, it's not a one-man show — Perlman will be joined by pianist Rohan de Silva, a longtime collaborator — but it's every bit as intimate, interspersing musical selections with personal anecdotes, photos, and clips from the 2017 documentary 'Itzhak.' If anything, the challenge will be confining Perlman's story to a single evening. A polio survivor, he was born in 1945 to Eastern European Jewish immigrants in Tel Aviv. Israel is now a major player in the world of classical music, churning out many a high-flying musician, but in Perlman's day, that wasn't so. That, atop Perlman's disability — he uses crutches and a motorized scooter — made him, in the eyes of many, an underdog. 'The Ed Sullivan Show' changed his life overnight. Appearing on the show for the first time in 1958, as a preteen, Perlman was brought to the attention of the faculty at Juilliard in New York, where he himself now teaches. His career since has more than proved his naysayers wrong, building a résumé and name recognition rivaled by few others in classical music and beyond. At nearly 80, Perlman still giddily transcends genre, whether playing klezmer, duetting with jazz pianist Oscar Peterson or appearing onstage with Billy Joel. Perlman connected with the Tribune from his home in New York to talk about his upcoming show at the Chicago Theatre. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: So much of your career is about interpreting the works of other artists — in your case, composers. For this show, in a way, your life is the artwork you're interpreting. How did you decide what you wanted to include, as opposed to what you wanted to keep private? A: That's a good question. All I know is that I know what I don't want to do and I know what I do want to do. When you think about it, there's so much stuff about anybody that you can read online. There's very little privacy. What this show does is give my personal point of view as to what was happening in my life. Q: It seems challenging to pick just a few pieces for this program. How did you begin to curate this show? A: Well, I don't want to tell you everything … but we tried to make the music fit the story. There were some stories from when I was developing as an artist, so of course I had to play those pieces: pieces I played for a contest, pieces I studied when I was 6 or 7 years old, pieces my teacher (the legendary Dorothy DeLay, who taught Perlman at Juilliard) gave me when she first met me, and so on and so forth. Q: You used the word 'development.' One of the things I admire about you is that you've continued to develop musically during your whole career, sometimes very publicly. For example, the documentary 'In the Fiddler's House' captured your experience learning klezmer for the first time, at a point when your classical career was already well established. How did you go about letting people into this intimate experience of learning an art form for the first time, with cameras rolling? A: When I was approached by PBS to host a show about klezmer, I had absolutely no experience playing it. But to be the host of a show sounded very, very good. There were three or four klezmer groups participating in the show. I met with them, and they asked, 'Would you like to jam with us?' I said, 'Gee, I don't know; I've never done it before.' But I'd heard that kind of sound growing up; it was not foreign to me at all. One thing led to another, and we started to play. (Eventually) they said, 'Why don't we do some (live) shows, and instead of being the host, you could be part of the show!' That's how it started to develop, and now it's been almost 30 years. We did a couple of concerts just two days ago, in Cleveland and near Washington. We're still having a fantastic time. There is a kind of improvisation involved in klezmer, (whereas) in classical music, there is very little improvisation. Instead, the improvisation is very subtle — it's musical improvisation, not so much a note improvisation. So, for me, this is something that I always look forward to. Q: Are there ways in which that freedom has inspired or changed your classical playing? A: I always say to my students, you don't play something now the same way you did yesterday. If you repeat the same piece over and over again, that's when the improvisation (becomes) so important: you still keep the interest of the piece in your head. To play a recital for the first time is good, but to play it for the second or third time? That's when it becomes a little bit of a challenge. … How do we play the Beethoven C minor Sonata or Kreutzer Sonata today, as opposed to five years ago? I always say that it's not like baking a cake, where you have that much flour, that much sugar. Music is not a recipe. It's maybe like an eating contest! It becomes spontaneous. Q: You mentioned your students. In fact, a former student of yours I'm excited about, Randall Goosby, is playing in Chicago soon. Being so attuned to the younger generation of violinists coming up, I'm curious if there's anything you've noticed about them that differs, maybe, from the students you taught when you first began teaching decades ago. A: I don't know if there is anything absolutely different today than before. All I can tell you is that the level of playing today is absolutely incredible. I've been lucky to teach extremely good musicians at the Juilliard School and Perlman Music Program, (which) my wife and I started 30 years ago. We always listen to the audition tapes, and they're mind-boggling. But that special 'thing' is just as rare as it used to be — this thing that makes you cry. Every now and then, you get that. Q: You're turning 80 this year. Why did you feel this stage of your career was the right time for an autobiographical show? A: Well, I've been doing this show for a while — like, two, three years. It's so I can give people a choice of what I can do. I can do a straight recital, or I can do something like this, (because) I love to talk to the audience. When I first started talking to the audience, there was a concert where I just felt like I wanted to play, and I didn't say anything. Then, I got a letter: 'I heard you play, and you didn't say anything.' People got so used to to me talking! So, this is just another experience of mine. So far, the audience has liked it. Well, either that, or they pretended that they liked it. (Laughs) Hannah Edgar is a freelance critic.
Telegraph
05-03-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Tzimmes (Ashkenazi carrot, beef and prune stew)
A classic of Eastern European Jewish cuisine, this dish is a bit of a culinary shapeshifter. I have decided to opt for the simplest yet most delicious version – a meat stew with carrots and prunes. This is definitely a Sunday-lunch type of dish, as the overall cooking and preparation time comes to three hours. But the joy of tucking into the rich, sweet, smoky stew is worth all the effort. For a vegetarian version, omit the beef and swap the beef stock for vegetable; add two extra carrots and two extra potatoes to make up the volume. Ingredients Vegetable oil, for frying 500g stewing beef, cut into chunks 2 onions, cut into chunks 8 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 6 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 4 bay leaves 100g pitted prunes, roughly chopped 700ml beef stock 1 tbsp honey 2 tsp garlic powder 1 small bunch of parsley, chopped Method Step Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3. Step Heat a little oil in a casserole or ovenproof, lidded pan and fry 500g stewing beef (cut into chunks) with a pinch of salt and pepper over a medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside. Step Throw in 2 onions (cut into chunks) and 8 carrots (peeled and cut into chunks) and coat them in the oil. Season, and fry for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, letting them brown in places. Step Take off the heat. Return the beef to the casserole and mix well with the vegetables. Add 6 potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks), 4 bay leaves and 100g pitted prunes (roughly chopped). Try to scatter them equally around the casserole. Kapusta, by Alissa Timoshkina (Quadrille, £28), is out now
