The Absolute Best Things to Eat in NYC This March

Also known as the “Brunch Is Crunch,” this massive breakfast sandwich served at brunch is filled with fresh mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, smoky bacon, scrambled eggs, black pepper and salt (with guac on the side). The bread is made with BIGA, a blend of Type 1 and Type 0 flours, which means it’s super light and crunchy.

3 Clinton Street; biganyc.com

Maman and Chobani join forces this spring in a delicious collab highlighting Chobani’s new oat drink. Grab an Orange Chamomile Oat Loaf, Double Chocolate Cookie with Oat Ganache (Maman’s decadent double chocolate cookie with Chobani Oat ganache filling), Chamomile Oat Tea Latte or Blueberry Oat Crumble Latte, all made in-house at Maman and sold in their bakery.

Various locations; mamannyc.com

Celebrate Purim this year with festive and savory Pizza and Purple Haze Hamentaschen from Breads Bakery. The Pizza Hamentaschen is for the kid in everyone. It’s covered in cornmeal to resemble pizza dough and is filled with a tomato base, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic and basil pesto. The Purple Haze dough is mixed with nigella and sesame seeds, and stuffed with brined purple cabbage and mustard seeds, which is then mixed with crumbled feta. The sauerkraut and mustard flavor is reminiscent of a hotdog. 

18 E. 16th St.; breadsbakery.com

On March 2, Chefs Club New York will welcome back Israeli chefs Loren Abramovitch and Daniel Soskolne. The duo will re-create their in-demand pop-up Lev (“heart” in Hebrew), which sold out during last year’s Chefs Club residency. The two chefs will continue their exploration of Levantine cuisine, flavors native to the geographic area that includes Israel, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan and Palestine. Think musaka (eggplant, potatoes, spinach and feta), Jerusalem burekas, lamb dumplings on sheep’s yogurt and more. Reservations are available on Resy.

275 Mulberry St.; chefsclub.com

This is a meal inspired by the comfort of an Irish mother’s cooking…but in New York City’s East Village. The Irish Bacon Toast is made with Irish bacon, Kerrygold butter and Dubliner cheddar cheese on white toast served with a bag of Tayto Crisps.

213 Second Ave.; jackdawnyc.com

Come for the ham-covered chips, stay for everything else. The Basque-inspired Ernesto’s is now open with chef Ryan Bartlow (Akelarre, Alinea, etc.) at the helm. And if you’ve missed these sensational chips on Instagram, here they are again. The Paleta Ibérico con Chips is a mountain of house-made chips, draped in slices of jamón ibérico. The team hand-slices 80 pounds of potatoes a day. They are then soaked in ice water and brined overnight. In the a.m., they are fried and layered between slices of paleta ibérica.

259 E. Broadway; ernestosnyc.com

You won’t find any cacio e pepe on the menu at Barano. But you will find this gorgeously reddish-pink hued pasta unlike any other. “I wanted to take something that was a classic and make it ours,” says chef Al Di Meglio. The saffron gigli was born from the idea of Roman cacio e pepe and a Sardinian pasta with saffron called malloreddus.

The saffron gigli at Barano uses 20 to 24 grams of saffron per three-kilo recipe (read: a lot of saffron). Honey is added (an ode to Di Meglio’s grandmother), as well as some Calabrian chili paste for some heat to balance the sweetness. The sauce is made with Parmesan stock (made from the rinds of the cheese), Calabrian honey, a touch of butter, freshly cracked pepper and a good amount of Pecorino Romano. The end result is *chef’s kiss.*

26 Broadway, Brooklyn; baranobk.com

Have you seen Academy Award winner Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite? If you haven’t yet, watch it, and then head to Korean steakhouse Cote to try their version of the noodle dish, which was directly inspired by the film. It’s available on the restaurant’s late-night menu Thursdays through Saturdays (11 p.m. until late) and pays homage to the rom-don noodles that the characters eat just before chaos ensues, with meaty chunks of American Wagyu Cote steak and a hybrid of Neoguri (classic ramen known for its thick, udon-like noodles) and Jjapageti (basically, an Instant Ramen version of a Korean-Chinese noodle dish).

16 W. 22nd St.; cotenyc.com

It’s the first new cookie item on the beloved bakery’s menu in 25 years: Introducing the Two Chip at Levain Bakery’s newest Noho location. By popular request, the Two Chip cookie is a six-ounce, ooey-gooey Levain cookie sans walnuts with not one but two types of chocolate studded throughout it. The cookie is exclusive to the 340 Lafayette location (but rumor has it the treat will roll out to the rest of Levain’s stores in the future).

340 Lafayette St.; levainbakery.com

A play on the Baked Alaska, the Baked Hawaii from the Michelin-recognized modern Hawaiian restaurant Noreetuh in the East Village is a tropical homage to the classic version, but with a brown butter cake and a core of passionfruit ice cream, which is then covered in sweet and luscious meringue, lightly torched for a nutty flavor. Executive chef Chung Chow (Per Se and Lincoln) pairs this exotic sweet with Clos Uroulat Jurançon 2016, a dessert wine from the Jurançon region in southwest France.

128 First Ave.; noreetuh.com

Celebrated East Village wine bar Ruffian took over the kitchen at fellow neighbor Black Emperor to serve classic dive bar food with a Southeast Asian influence. Executive chef Josh Ochoa and chef de cuisine Jordan Ngyuen (Ippudo) are offering a range of dishes, from smashed double cheeseburgers and wings to hu jiao bing (Taiwanese pork pepper buns) and Thai curry tater tots with massaman gravy. The menu also features lentil wings, umami croquettes and a spicy papaya salad.

197 Second Ave.; ruffiannyc.com

Mimi Cheng goes bicoastal this March with a dumpling collab with a pair of Los Angeles’s most beloved chefs and restaurateurs, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Jon & Vinny’s. Don’t miss the duo’s chicken parm dumpling, made with gooey provolone cheese, fresh chopped basil and grated Parmesan.

Various locations; mimichengs.com

On Saturday, March 28, the International Culinary Center’s annual Pastryland Bake Sale is bringing together more than 20 local pastry chefs to create never-before-tasted desserts, and all proceeds will benefit Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national nonprofit committed to supporting research that develops new, improved and less-toxic treatments for pediatric cancer. 

Bite into exclusive treats from Per Se, Union Square Café, Win Son Bakery, Loring Place and more. Pastryland guests will also have the chance to experience free chef demonstrations (Milk Bar, Ron Ben-Israel Cakes) and take pictures in front of an eight-foot piped icing wall created by ICC’s Professional Pastry Arts students.

28 Crosby St; internationalculinarycenter.com

The much-praised seasonal kaiseki menu (a traditional, multi-course Japanese dinner) at Shuko is getting a tad more affordable (hooray!). Chefs Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau have recently added a special shared menu, available only in the restaurant’s intimate six-to-eight-person private dining room (PDR). While the regular kaiseki menu costs $225 per person, the PDR menu is $150 per person and includes a 28-ounce Wagyu steak with market vegetables, fried rice with duck confit, egg, chili and herbs; and assorted sushi, sashimi and sotomaki, as well as Shuko’s famed apple pie à la mode.

47 E. 12th St.; shukonyc.com

Returning for its fourth year, the NYC Cheese and Wine Week (March 18 to 28) brings a unique collection of ripened cheeses from Europe to New York from cheese partners like Savencia Fromage, Emmi Cheese, Germain Fromagerie and Henri Hutin. Cheese lovers can participate in demos, tastings and pairings, and explore special dishes offered at restaurants throughout Manhattan. In addition to ticketed classes at Taste Wine Company, the DeGustibus Cooking School and the French Institute Alliance Française, restaurant participants include Murray’s Cheese, Zabar’s, Cocotte, Troquet, Félix, Bar Tabac, OCabanon, Jules Bistro, Tocqueville and Le Singe Vert. Reservations and tickets are available through the individual stores.

Various locations; instagram.com/nyccheeseandwineweek

The epic Whole Mixed Grill presentation from East Village Middle Eastern restaurant Balade comprises beef kafta, lamb kebab, chicken tawook and chargrilled vegetables, wrapped in house-made pita dough, baked in the oven and carved tableside. Taking presentation to the next level, the restaurant also serves makanek, spiced beef sausages flambéed with fresh lemon juice to add a bit of smokiness to the dish. But that’s not the only source of entertainment: You can also enjoy your meal with a show as part of the restaurant’s new dinner theater experience featuring a fire-breathing belly dancer on Thursdays.

208 First Ave.; baladerestaurants.com

This East Village bakeshop is creating an edible nostalgic escape from the bustle of NYC life via the Vegan Vacation. This new tropical vegan loaf slice is inspired by dreams of a warmer time: It’s studded with bits of pineapple, lime zest and luscious coconut.

68 E. First St.; redgatebakery.com

In collaboration with two Michelin-starred sushi legend Eiji Ichimura of Uchu, tea destination Kettl in Brooklyn is offering a weekend ochazuke tasting. Ichimura designed a curated set featuring his famous aged hon maguro tuna served as sashimi atop a bowl of rice. Yame tea is brewed and poured over the fish and rice to create a decadent dish. (A serving of gyokuro is also paired with the fish, BTW.) Included in the set is a dessert course featuring homemade tea pudding and a pinnacle tea flight.

150 Ainslie St., 2nd Fl., Brooklyn; kettl.co