Monika Klinar: Diversity of tastes

Hi! As promised in my last post, this one is going to be about pursuing another passion of mine here in NYC: eating and tasting the food of the world. First, you need a bit of background, so you'll understand why this place is so exciting in terms of the food it offers. I am quite certain that you could divide people in those who don't care what they will have for breakfast, lunch or dinner, as long as they are not hungry anymore, and those who look forward to their eating time, as one of the best parts of their day (ok, I'm exaggerating a bit). Well, I am in the latter group. There are of course more enthusiastic food lovers than me (just to mention my closest friends), but still eating and tasting is two of my favorite things to do. The second important info is a lack of possibilities to eat "minority food" in Slovenia. For example, at home we have one single Japanese restaurant (nothing special, just very expensive), no more than ten Indian restaurants, two or three Spanish and Thai, a few more Mexican restaurants and quite many Chinese ones.

So it's pretty easy to imagine that NYC's offer of diverse food can make you feel like being again a child in a store, when mum allows you to choose any kind of sweet treat you want. Here exciting food (and very good one) is available in every corner — sometimes it's a bit of a decision to try or not to, but you are almost always awarded with tastes that you haven't experienced before (for example, West Indian food can be sweet). Very exciting are food trucks, which are getting more and more gourmet. They serve high-end fare such as grass-fed beef hamburgers, escargot and crème brûlée. You can daily follow them on Twitter and Facebook. The success of the food trucks in the last two years has been very much also a consequence of the downturn, as people are spending less on lunches and dinners (I've read that even some chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants are migrating in this food sector).

So after a bit more than a month of being here, I would recommend: Vietnamese (great noodles at Republic, Union Square West), Japanese (Nobu Next Door, Tribeca or interesting Ramen soups at Ippudo NY, East Village), Mexican (to feel like being in a 80's movie go to Tortilla Flats, West Village), Spanish (Alex Ureña's tapas are splendid at Pamplona, Midtown), Korean (Do Hwa, Greenwich Village), Brazilian (Café Colonial, Nolita), Austrian (Schnitzel & Things food truck, won 2009 Rookie of the Year Vendy award) to name a few. Oh, and not to forget dinners with the best burgers you've ever tried (The Empire Dinner, Chelsea) and the must four staples of NY eats:

1. Hot Dogs with chili, sauerkraut, spicy brown mustard, relish, onions, cheese, ketchup and other delights. One of the most delicious ones I had on the Coney Island from the Nathan's, where they have each year since 1916 on the 4th of July the Hot Dog eating contest (this year the winner ate 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes)

2. Cheesecake, cheesecake and again cheesecake (Eileen's Special Cheese Cake, Soho is the one to try)

3. NY style pizza — thin crust, with thin layer of sauce. Ok, you will say "I can eat pizza on every corner at home", but I tell you it's worth trying out (John's Pizzeria of Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village)

4. Bagels — ring of plain-yeast dough, boiled and baked then topped with various toppings, such as chocolate, sesame, cream cheese,... (H&H Bagels, Upper West Side)

Well, now we better go eat something.