Latest news with #NikitaRichardson
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Reporter's Methodical Quest to Find New York's Best Croissants
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. I have been a restaurant critic and food writer for more than a decade, and began my career as an inspector for the Michelin Guides in North America. While training for that job, I learned about the importance of relativity, which is the idea that critiquing a meal in isolation is an incomplete analysis. The better critique comes from comparisons, whenever they are possible. It's a lesson that I use often in my work and one that was especially helpful in reporting a recent article for The New York Times on the best croissants in New York City. This spring, Nikita Richardson, an editor for the Food section, emailed me, asking if I'd like to write the article. Thanks to my work on Sweet City, a newsletter I recently started that covers bakeries, restaurant desserts and pastry trends in New York City, I had a robust knowledge of baked goods across the city. Still, considering New York's surplus of French bakeries and the croissant craze sweeping the city, my work was cut out for me. After narrowing down a potential list of places to scout, I settled on 114 bakeries and restaurants, and subsequently hit the road. There were different approaches I could take, but I chose to break my list up by neighborhood. In a sprawling city like New York, it was the most time-efficient way to go about the task. I'm not a native New Yorker — I was born in Pakistan and grew up in Hong Kong — but I have made this city my home, hopefully for life. Walking through various neighborhoods reminded me of the dynamism that draws people from all over the world to this city. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Where Have All the Dollar Eats Gone?
Hi everyone, it's the new kid. Starting this week, I'll be taking over for Nikita Richardson as one of the writers on this newsletter. How'd I land the best job in the world? A little over a year ago, I left my job at Eater New York, where I covered restaurants from a super-local, nerd's-eye view for five years. I started freelance reporting for The Times, and quickly found a niche writing about 20-year-old Taco Bell menu items and 13-year-old drink critics. Then I aged several years this spring by eating more than 200 slices of pizza to update our best pizza list. As I stood in line for Neapolitan pies and road tripped through Staten Island, I was also searching for a dollar slice. I know, I know, not exactly the height of culinary prowess. But this is New York — and more-than-decent, affordable pizza is one of our most famous food. It comes as no surprise that most of them have vanished; after all, New York City restaurants can't necessarily abide by the stalwart economics of Arizona Iced Tea or the Costco hot dog. They're up against credit card fees, punishing rents and other factors that have all but wiped out dollar food. And it's not just slices. Still, I had a hunch that at least some $1 deals have endured. If you consult Google Maps, the 99-cent pizzeria appears to still be going strong, with search results scattered across the city. But when I'd show up I almost always found that the menus had been taped over with new prices. As it turns out, $1.50 Pizza is the new 99¢ Pizza. One of the few holdouts is the East Village location of 99¢ Pizza, just down the block from Joe's Pizza, where, by the way, a plain slice costs $4. Every time I've visited 99¢, no matter the hour, there are college students and helmeted delivery workers hanging around the entrance, happily refueling with buffalo chicken and pepperoni pizza. Obviously, the best part is that the puffy cheese slices still cost a buck. Though they're really more of a vessel, put on this earth to be showered in garlic powder, dried oregano and red flakes. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
