New York City is bountiful in the cultures that can be found within the melting pot. Once a month, we’ll include a series called Tour of the World through Food to introduce you to international cuisines. We’ll have a list of NYC restaurants that represent one region or country of at least five different continents from around the world. While your pocket may not be in the best condition to fly the around the world, there’s nothing stopping you from experiencing worldly flavors with just a train stop away.
Asia: The Philippines through Jeepney
Filipino cuisine makes ample use of pork and beef, often with tantalizing flavors that incorporate coconut, vinegar and garlic. If you happen to be along the 7 line, you can also step off at the 69th St stop. This location is known as Little Manila, where you can eat at some of the best Filipino restaurants NYC offers. However, Jeepney is a New York restaurant right in Manhattan where you also experience some of the best authentic Filipino flavors. Their sister restaurant, Maharlika, is renowned as the first restaurant under founder Nicole Ponseca and Executive Chef Miguel Trinidad.
What stands out at Jeepney is their authentic kamayan dining experience. Kayaman is a traditional approach to eating food with your hands, which has been long practiced method of eating in their country. What happens at Jeepney is that they prepare a long spread of varied delicious food items atop banana leaves. The spread includes a plethora of lumpia (the traditional Filipino egg roll), sausages, pork, prawns, vegetables and more. This dining experience is the best way to immerse yourself into all the flavors that the cuisine has to offer. However, if you don’t feel ready to dig in with your bare hands, fear not! They do serve their menu of many other delicious dishes, such as the Dampa Fry below. This dish is ready to dig in with a fork, spoon and knife!
Full of flavor is the only Filipino form of food!
Photo Credit: Jeepney
South America: Venezuela through Caracas Arepa Bar
One of the traditional staples of Venezuelan cuisine is the arepa. Arepas are a corn flour bread that has been a part of their cuisine going as far back as the diets of the indigenous Indian tribes. The gluten-free bread is served very much like a sandwich. What makes Caracas Arepa Bar so popular is that they stay true to the flavors of Venezuela. While their restaurants typically fill up fast during peak hours and weekends, it is very much worth the wait. One of their most popular arepa choices is De Pabellon. This arepa consists of pulled beef with black beans, cheese and fried plantains. If you want these flavors in a different arrangement, you can order the Pabellon Criollo. This dish makes the De Pabellon into a platter that will satisfy every lingering bit of hunger in you.
Their ambiance also reflects the culture just the same. Their tables reflect vibrant pops of color native to their country and religious motifs and figures along their wall that are frequently found in traditional Catholic homes in Venezuela.
Fully satisfying tender bits of meat in their tasty De Pabellon arepa.
Photo Credit: Caracas Arepa Bar
Africa: Senegal through Ponty Bistro
Chef Cisse of Ponty Bistro is here to share with you the burst of flavors that Senegal has to offer, which includes French influences. The menu includes street foods found in Senegal, such as a fried empanada of fish or beef called a fataya, and nem, which lends influences from Vietnam to create the Senegalese version of the spring roll. The menu also extends to traditional meals found prevalent throughout Senegal, such as the poulet yassa. This dish is marinated for many hours and incorporates healthy portions of onions, garlic and lemon. These blend of flavors give a rich and heavenly experience for your palate. Senegal is also a coastal country, where the capital Dakar is located right beside the Atlantic Ocean. For this reason, you will also see many seafood dishes that are prepared and served with as much love as their other dishes.
Transport yourself to Senegal with a bite of their tender poulet yassa.
Photo Credit: Ponty Bistro
Europe: Germany through Zum Schneider
Slap on your lederhosen and get your stein ready for some hearty German eating! You can experience traditional Bavarian culture and fare in one of the most well-known German restaurants NYC has. This cheery and beer-y East Village restaurant is called Zum Schneider. Bavarians truly enjoy their pork in the motherland, which you can enjoy too with their succulent pork tenderloin (wiener schnitzel) and pork belly (wammerl). Another complement to such a generously sized meal is their impressive German beer selection. The ambiance also will not disappoint. The staff is dressed in dirndl and lederhosen, the exposed brick walls are adorned with rose garlands and the ceilings are draped with the blue and white colors of the Bavarian flag.
Proud owner of Zum Schneider, Sylvester Schneider, donning the traditional Bavarian lederhosen.
Photo Credit: Jonathan McPhail Photography
North America: Hawaii, USA through Chikarashi
Move over sushi, because there’s a fresh take on fish in town: introducing the poké bowl. Poké is prevalent throughout the mainlands of Hawaii, which refers to raw fish that has been cubed and seasoned with various ingredients such as ginger, onion and wasabi. The most frequently served variation of poké is seasoned with shoyu (a thicker Japanese soy sauce) and sesame oil. A poké bowl serves the raw fish and vegetables or avocado atop rice for a refreshing, healthy and fulfilling meal. Chikarashi opened up in 2016 and has become one of the prime locations for a tasty poké bowl. Their menu items include traditional poké bowl items, as well as bowls that dare to bring infusions from Japanese chirashi, and Chinese and Korean flavors.
Executive Chef Michael Jong Lim brings his years behind the kitchen of Michelin-star restaurants to bring you the best of the poké bowl to NYC.
Photo Credit: @chikarashinyc
