Curiosity in Action - An EXPLO Blog

Manhattan Food Tour

Traveling down Central Park West, we come to our first stop, Balkanika, a Balkan marketplace in Hell’s Kitchen. Below the market’s small sign, we find Linda, our tour guide, and Robin, our host from Beyond Times Square, holding a platter of filo pies —some stuffed with spinach, others with ricotta. After taking one bite, one sophomore turns to everyone else and says, “I don’t like spinach. Like, I really don’t like it. But this — this is amazing.”

We’re on a culinary journey through Manhattan, here to experience the classic dishes and flavors this city was founded on. And we’re just getting warmed up. 

With Linda and Robin at the helm, we make our way to Russ & Daughters, a Lower East Side institution. En route, while Linda discusses the history of New York, pointing out significant buildings, little architectural quirks, and modern highlights, Robin tells us the philosophy behind our Manhattan food tour.

Beyond Times Square builds its tours on a sort of local knowledge that extends well past the typical sights of the New York tourist experience. In fact, the food we’ll eat on this tour reflects distinct periods in New York’s history. So we skip the flashy and grand eateries and source out the local gems instead, starting with a classic Eastern European and Jewish dish — the bagel — at Russ & Daughters. (And in proper New York fashion, it comes layered with cream cheese and lox).

Momentarily sated, Linda and Robin guide us through the Flatiron District and Little Italy to Wagner Park, located on the tip of Manhattan, to relax and enjoy the view of the Statue of Liberty. The view, of course, is coupled with more food, this time mozzarella and prosciutto sandwiches from Little Italy’s oldest cheese market, Alleva Dairy.

The sandwiches were delicious, but Linda, it seems, is saving the best for last. She brings us to Veniero’s — reputed for serving some of New York’s finest pastries for over 100 years — to taste its cannolis. As Linda describes the process of mixing sugar and vanilla into ricotta, and then piping the filling into deep-fried rolled pastry shells, everyone’s eyes immediately light up. And from the first bite, it’s easy to understand why Veniero’s pastries have been called the best in New York.  

When we know we can’t eat another bite, we bid our guides farewell, talking about everything we’ve eaten and experienced right up until the bus pulls up to Yale’s Phelps Gate. Stepping off the bus, what’s on the menu for dinner at Commons is the last thing on anyone’s mind.

Story & Photo by Gabe Schuster