The 100 best new dishes and drinks in NYC 2017

Chef Ry Stephen is in a New York state of mind. The master behind San Francisco’s daring Mr. Holmes Bakehouse goes local with this morning mash-up of a bagel and a croissant, encrusting a flaky, buttery pastry with everything-bagel seasoning and stuffing it with chunks of smoked salmon and thick cream cheese. The heavy flavors—smoky fish, cooling cream, sharp seasoning—have breathing room inside the light pastry. This bright reinvention tastes like a wake-up call. $7

Stuffed with chunks of bacon, cream cheese and hard-boiled egg, this BECC boasts a barely there tang of ketchup. $4.75

The creamy porridge tastes like Christmas in a bowl, thanks to orange zest, warming spices and four thin slices of roasted pear laid diagonally across the top. $12

This morning treat smacks of natural fruit sweetness and malt from the Golden Grahams crumb topping. $3.50

This organic brew is both good, with notes of cherry, graham and toffee, and good for the world, with beans from a Guatemalan cooperative of the indigenous Tz’utujil. $3

Chef Enrique Olvera (of Mexico City’s globally renowned Pujol) reinvents the classic lox bagel with a bold twist from his home. A crisp blue-corn tortilla becomes a gallery space for a Serra sculpture of raw char laid atop a pillow of creamy farmer’s cheese and kissed with capers, cilantro and serrano peppers. The playful combination does exactly what a small plate should: signals adventure ahead. $16

This is one of those cookie dough ice cream combinations you can’t believe hasn’t always existed. It’s a deft finger-food balancing act between stoner grub and high-brow whimsy. Next-generation, next-level, next on your plate. Six wings $11, a dozen $20.

The secret to the corn not overwhelming this soup is that its partnered with yellow split peas. The coconut, as well, is in chunks but also dissipates flavor throughout with coconut milk. By that point, the carrots, cilantro, garlic, parsley and thyme are just along for the wild ride. $6

Ridiculously tender slices of charred-edged cuttlefish are an achievement. Bathe them in a creamy froth of dashi, smoked butter, and crème fraiche, and they become an addiction. $13

This is a best-of-both-worlds bonus: the foie gras is seared, giving it a crisp caramelized flavor, but is also rolled to allow the richer, denser, lingering flavor from cold foie dishes. The accompanying garnishes match that dualism: the soft spongy brioche cake paired with crispy crumbled toast and the tart cranberries covered in white chocolate shavings have an internal contrast as well as with the foie itself. $34

Greek yogurt is a nice creamy detour from the classic marshmallow pairing, while the oats, flax and pumpkin seeds keep it earthy and neutralizing to the point of calming. Brunch $9, lunch $10.

Hand-pulled mozzarella is paired lightly and smartly with mixed vegetables, all coaxed by extra virgin olive oil and packed on a local semolina roll. $13

Picture a pool filled with cheese. This Georgian dish is about as close as you’re going to get. A buttery think crust contains a pond of gooey, oozing, stringy feta and mozzarella that you’ll want to wade in for days. $18

Chef Navjot Arora’s take on a classic Indian household dish is made with spinach, broccoli rabe and mustard greens, all seasoned with green chilies, garlic, ginger — the recipe calls for “1 knob” — and maize flour, which give the greens a distinct creaminess while staying dairy-free. $18

The return of Union Square Café yielded many familiar pleasures: The quirky art, the warm woods and, most importantly, the cooking of chef Carmen Quagliata. His ricotta gnocchi, in particular, is just as cloud-light as you remember—a pillow of ricotta and mascarpone that sighs at the mention of a fork prong, sauced with a bold, bright tomato-basil passatina to cut through the cheese. $23

Sandy Nuñez, Suffolk Arms’ brunch captain (yes, that’s his actual title), has been known to eat two of these abuela-level plates in a single shift, describing the piquant, poignant Latin take on a casserole as “a tower of delights.” He isn’t wrong. The deceptively deep layers of crispy tortillas, salty black beans, spicy chipotle chicken and gooey cheese—topped with eggs (go for poached) and doused in salsa verde and salsa roja—create a fully loaded breakfast lasagna. $10

The miso-soaked tofu labneh at the heart of this Japanese take on a Moroccan staple is just the start of its smart appropriation. Ginger and Japanese curry powder combine with cumin, harissa, and garlic for umami that will have anyone saying shukran. $14

Fried corn tortillas and ground beef are kissed with chipotle peppers and sauteed onions before the crispiest, gooeyest fried eggs you’ve ever had join in on the fun. $15

This dish dominates with its elegantly simple one-bowl meal, based on a ginger-infused chicken stock that’s cooked overnight. Dump in those side sprouts, a lime squeeze and a healthy squirt of sriracha—those are doctor’s orders. $15

The “savory” here is not kidding around: oxtail, for starters, is plied sharp chopped pickles, gooey cheese sauce, and a poached farm egg. What seemingly starts out as a hangover cure accidentally cures mediocrity as well. $16

The Japanese-Peruvian restaurant offers a best-of-both-worlds blend of greasy Latin goodness and zesty Asian flavor. The apex of that form is a happy pile of juice-swelled mini Kurobuta sausages and creamy baby potatoes slicked with aji amarillo butter that dares you not to lick your fingers after. At your disposal are two tiny squeeze bottles of bright salsa verde and punchy miso mustard. It’s playful get-in-my-belly grub that you won’t mind getting all over yourself. $14

When Agern flooded, its steaks in storage got aged for 180 days instead of the usual 90. The special steaks sold out quickly upon the restaurant’s return and, not wanting any of it to go to waste, head pastry chef Isabel Zamora rendered the fat, flavored it with smoky Icelandic Arctic thyme, and added sugar (subbing the fat for traditional butter or cream) to create the caramels, which are part of a larger dessert plate. Silver linings are one thing, but these treats are a golden stroke of genius. $12

Handwrapped in housemade dough, these bean paste dumplings are pan seared with a splash of Shaoxing (Chinese wine), then steamed and dressed in a tangy puree of ginger and scallion with crunchy sesame seeds. It began as a special and then locked into the menu, for obvious reasons. $7

So they don’t taste any healthier, and you’re not really sure where the quinoa actually is, but the Southern snack is still dang good drunk munchin’, especially once dunked in the charred jalapeno-cheese sauce. $6

Denisse Lina Chavez is famed in New York taco circles for the blue-corn tortillas she used to whip up at El Atoradero bodega in the Bronx. Nowadays, you can find those fresh-made wrap-ups—warm, nutty and nixtamalized in house daily—at this mescal bar, where Chavez stuffs them with cheese and traditional fillings like black beans, crispy chicharrón and loroco blooms. $3

This is the taste of pure, sweet hustle: Tim Washington, an IT guy at a major bank, bakes these cakes in The Bronx, a block from Yankee Stadium, using ingredients so exact that they’re cut on an electronic scale in the manner of drugs. Then he sells them from only a ninth-floor office in FiDi and a fifth-floor office on East 34th St. They sell out every batch. The crunch of the Butterfinger crumble in the velvety embrace of his cream cheese frosting would be a treat in itself, let alone the flawless — F-L-A-W-L-E-S-S — cake. $6.50/slice, $55/cake

It’s a Vietnamese classic that looks like a tall glass of Jupiter. Dark purples (black sesame gelato) and bright oranges (jackfruit chunks) swirl together in cream (condensed milk and coconut milk). Plumb its depths for surprise lychee, and let its crushed peanuts pepper it like earthy pixie dust. Every bite is an act of discovery. When the eatery opened, it made only 12 a day—until a woman ate three in one sitting and the owners realized its popularity. Now the kitchen makes 18 a day. $9

It’s like a canelé crossed with a Cronut. The hand-piped doughnut from pastry chef Daniel Alvarez, available sugared or glazed, is a pâte à choux rendered erotic, with a velvety, near-custard center enrobed in sugar-spackled crispiness. Glossy and glistening, its decadent combination of tongue-coating sweetness and deep-fryer fat will leave you lightheaded in the best possible way. $3.50

The savory-sweet, peanut-butter-flavored dough mixes with your childhood guilty pleasures of Reese’s Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups so sweetly, that after a few bites you'll be in a state of nutty nirvana. $4-$9

It may look like a mere halved avocado but through silicone-mold wizardry, Alex Stupak—the former wd~50 pastry wunderkind turned New York taco titan—has constructed the ubiquitous green fruit out of creamy frozen avo parfait. A drizzle of fruity olive oil, a smear of eucalyptus yogurt and a tart lime granita cuts through the fatty sweetness and elevates this avocado from Instagram bait to dessert greatness. $16

This legit albeit unorthodox shrimp po’ boy deploys onion jam as a sweet complement to BBQ smoke. The Granddaddy’s sharp pickled cabbage acts as a foil to the char-kissed shrimp within—and the sandwich illustrates just how far the spot, which used to solely sell sweet beignets, has blossomed. The whole thing is a heaping, bursting grenade of goodness. You don’t just devour it; you survive it. $14

Come hungry: This seven-ounce Pat LaFrieda brisket blend gives in to an orgy of whiskey-soaked onion tendrils writhing under a blanket of Comté. $27

Duck-fat–crisped Oaxacan goat meat—served in heirloom corn tortillas—is steamed with avocado leaves, allowing the juices to morph into a consommé for this monster, which up to four people can share. $42

The white pie is dense enough to stand up to the mess of gochujang-zapped chicken and blue cheese atop it. $22

Chef Nick Anderer tricks out a light, crackly crust with delicate squash blossoms, and the zucchini sweetness offsets the salty tang of anchovies. $12

Chilean chef Victoria Blamey created a why-didn’t-we-think-of-that meat lover’s pairing when she topped two four-ounce patties with a heaping pile of fatty bone marrow. The savory compatibility resonates on an almost genetic level. On top of that intelligent design, Blamey included a hint of some fun, too: the simple pleasure of American cheese, the crisp whimsy of shallots, the come-hither curls of fried onions and a barbecue sauce with coffee, jalapeño and mango. The resulting melange of salty, tangy, spicy, savory sharpness leaves no taste bud untouched. $28

The slabs of meat in the basement drying room of this Korean barbecue joint are aged for up to six months and well worth the wait. Though the rib eye is only a few bites, it’s part of an ingenious prix-fixe beef sampler. $44

It comes as no surprise that the team behind the Commodore and its mouthwatering fried chicken pulled off yet another poultry feat: sliced strips of tender, smoked meat smothered in tangy Alabama-style white BBQ sauce and coin-size pickles. $11

Pink, achingly juicy and double-rubbed for a heady crust, the hulking slab is a reverential piece of bygone Americana, trotted out by table captains in Tom Ford tuxedos via a $10,000 silver trolley and carved tableside. Extra? Sure. Essential? Absolutely. $62

The genius surf-and-turf riff here builds flavor by adding caper-garlic-mustard aioli. The creamy sauce counters the salty sting of the broad white anchovies and is then brought to heel nicely with a kick from celery-fennel slaw. $18

In a year that saw a renaissance in high-end cocktail presentation—see the Instagrammable glassware at the Aviary NYC and ROKC—it’s refreshing to see this monument to simplicity. With pellet ice piled into a rocks glass, the drink has a dried-orange garnish that hides a spicy, soothing cauldron of ingredients in plain sight: reposado tequila, lime, lemon, Campari, grapefruit syrup, agave syrup and two types of mescal. Cuban-born bartender Alcibeidis Gonzalez’s drink is currently the best-selling new cocktail on the menu—and we ain’t complaining. $16

Beverage director Micah Melton pays homage to New York with this coffee-infused rye cocktail served in a gauchely branded plastic bag filled with the vapor of an everything bagel. $24

This balanced imperial RIPA—that’s rye IPA—has West Coast hops and spice galore yet still manages a bright finish. $7

Beyond a dirty martini—or even a filthy one—is this raucous obscenity with a whopping three brines (cornichon, olive and onion). $12

Choose the smoke (hickory, applewood, mesquite or cherrywood) that a bartender releases under a wooden plank tableside for this fun twist on the rugged favorite. $20