Burrata overload, tipping controversy, and Dwight Garner’s Grub Street Diet…
To cover restaurants and food is to watch fleeting trends zip past while long-understood truisms remain. The year 2023 offered both: As with every other aspect of our lives, social media fully took hold of this city’s dining rooms and stores, turning corner shops into Instagram galleries and dinner into a live theater tailor-made for TikTok. Is this what we want from our real-world experiences? Maybe, although when YouTube pizza reviews made the jump to an IRL festival, the results were… underwhelming. Meanwhile, a burger stand can still draw the city’s longest lines, the food world continues to be populated (unfortunately) with bad actors, and everyone still seems to hate the idea of tipping. Plus ça change …
Try as we might, it’s impossible to summarize an entire year of eating into a single, cohesive narrative, and the 20 stories below — our most-read of the year — certainly do not. Instead, they speak to the ever-varied interests of you, our audience. What does 2024 have in store? Whatever it is, we’re looking forward to documenting the best, worst, and weirdest stories we encounter. If you have not already, be sure to subscribe to follow it all.
20. Delia Cai Makes the Most of a Breakup Brunch
“I’m sad, but at least I’m full.” Read the story …
19. It’s the Most Hyped Burger in Years — But Is It Any Good?
Hamburger America is here. Read the story …
18. Greenpoint Versus Greenpoint
Can a neighborhood learn to coexist with itself? Read the story …
17. A Tacombi on Every Corner
Can Danny Meyer’s millions make the chain bigger than Shake Shack? Read the story …
16. I Manage a Restaurant. Tips Have Never Been More Volatile.
When undertipping becomes confrontational. Read the story …
15. New York Restaurants Go Full Camp
Is anyone even supposed to like Bad Roman? Read the story …
13. A Big Fat Blob of Boring
Can we cool it with all the burrata balls? Read the story …
12. 33 Eating Adventures
A Turkish feast among jet-skiers in Sheepshead Bay, dosas worth a drive to Jersey, and carnitas in someone’s Woodside backyard. Read the story …
11. The Blood Feud Brewing Inside Nom Wah Tea Parlor
A family fight threatens the iconic Doyers Street restaurant. Read the story …
10. The Kids’ Menus of the Ruling Class
What would Shiv Roy think of the Polo Bar? Read the story …
9. Manhattan’s Super-Jail Is Already Swallowing Chinatown
“We were open less than a year.” Read the story …
7. Cheesier, Saucier, and Drowning in Caviar
How TikTok took over the menu. Read the story …
6. Dwight Garner Always Has a Muffuletta in the Freezer
“I’ve loved nearly every muffuletta I’ve ever had, but these are special.” Read the story …
5. Dave Portnoy’s Sausage Fest
A rain-soaked afternoon eating pizza with the Stoolies. Read the story …
4. The Spanker of Shelter Island
Many saw Marie Eiffel berate her bakery employees. But they were surprised when she was sued for human trafficking. Read the story …
3. Welcome to the Shoppy Shop
Why does every store suddenly look the same? Read the story …
2. The Cat Who Could Kill Horses
Chef Liz Johnson accused her husband Will Aghajanian of killing their cat. That’s just one part of the story. Read the story …
1. The New Rules of Tipping
Fifteen to 20 percent doesn’t cut it anymore. Read the story …
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