Morgan Carter

The best way to enjoy a sacred day off work is to take advantage of all the best Labor Day specials New York has to offer. It might be one of those hazy-origin holidays associated with backyard barbecues and clothing sales, but it’s also one of your last chances to hit up a rooftop brunch NYC-style, scope out some of the best new restaurants in NYC, or just mosey over Monday-funday drinks at the coolest Lower East Side bars. Then again, you could just lounge in pajamas all day, but then you’d be missing out on all these crazy-good Labor Day specials. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Labor Day NYC

Choosing a favorite restaurant in New York City is a joyful task with myriad possibilities depending on the occasion, mood and even the time of year. Your favorite dive, fine dining destination and neighborhood favorite might all occupy top spots on your personal best list in spite of their disparate qualities.  Our list of NYC’s 45 best restaurants is the same, spanning each of those categories and more to comprise a catalog of all the places we wish we were at right now. They don’t have to be the newest or the most recently reviewed, just places that we’ve been to and want to return to again and again, and that we think that you will, too.  Best NYC restaurants at a glance: For an excellent slice: L'Industrie - The New York slice shop that made us fall in love with Burrata slices, now has a new locale in Little Italy (Little Italy, West Village and Williamsburg) For a spin on a classic diner: Thai Diner – Even six years later, crowds line up for Thai tea babka, French toast, and disco fries from this Thai diner. (NoMad) For killer tacos: Carnitas Ramirez – The taqueria is home to nose-to-tail pork cookery, just in taco form, and it all goes down in a laid-back setting (Lower East Side) For a classic steak: The Dynamo Room - The throwback steakhouse offers prime cuts of steaks and classic cocktails right off of Madison Square Garden (Penn Station) Updated September 2026: There is a certain chill in the air already, isn't there? Now that we've officially flipped our c

Every drink seems ideal when you're at the perfect bar. Your dive’s beer is frosty, rooftops send you soaring toward the clouds and cocktail destinations shake and stir myriad ingredients into ideally calibrated glassware—leaps above what you try to craft at home. The options are unending, the ice is nicer and you aren’t just drinking, you’re at the spot.  Whether you're dabbling in low-ABV libations, making your way through dedicated martini menus or collecting passwords for pseudo speakeasies, there is an ideal location for every taste, tolerance and occasion. Find them among the best bars in NYC right now. Best NYC bars at a glance: For a taste of old New York - The Dead Rabbit - One of New York's best cocktail bars continues to serve up the smoothest pours of Guinness and one of the best Irish Coffees, period. (Financial District) For a boozin' and a bite: Bar Snack - Excellently fun cocktails with snacks like pickled, dusted cheese curds and spice bags (Chelsea) For a late-night croon and swoon: Saint Tuesday - A well-hidden bar found several flights underneath the Walker Hotel Tribeca (Tribeca) For Korean snacks, sips n' such: Sunn's – Sunny Lee's banchan-based bar is a welcome find in Chinatown for natty wines and close quarters. (Chinatown) For tiki anytime of year: Sunken Harbor Club - The speakeasy above Gage & Tollner didn't stay secret for long. And how could it? Their range of tiki cocktails makes for some seriously boozy nights. (Downtown Brooklyn) Updated

Whether you’re a seasoned New Yorker or visiting the city for the first time, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about NYC’s best brunches and rooftop bars. It’s no surprise then that when these two famed Gotham favorites join forces, a delightful and delicious experience is guaranteed. From hotel terraces to beer-bar decks, these are the sky-high settings New York City brunch dreams are made of. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best brunch in NYC Updated September 2026: Rooftop season is still a go. We toured some of the best (all-weather) rooftops in NYC and gave this list a refresh. We added Red Hook's Alma, Electric Lemon in Hudson Yards and two rooftops from Williamsburg: elNico and Laser Wolf. We removed 230 Fifth, Catch NYC, Glass Ceiling and Hotel Chantelle. We also removed Sunday in Brooklyn, as their rooftop is now only open for private events. 

Every year, we create a definitive ranking of the world’s greatest cities for eating and drinking. The aim is to celebrate the chefs, kitchens and street food stalls that feed the city, bringing locals and visitors together to savour life’s one greatest pleasure: an excellent meal. So, how is the list decided? This year, Time Out’s Best Cities for Food with Intrepid Travel was created on the back of a survey of more than 24,000 locals, based all around the world. We asked them to rate the overall quality of the food scene where they live, how affordable it is to eat out and the food spots they believe their city does best.  We then paired their thousands of responses with the insight of Time Out’s expert food panel – editors and food critics from across Time Out’s network – who voted for the cities they think are the most exciting dining destinations on the planet right now. Only the highest-scoring city in each country made the final 20, ensuring our list reflects culinary capitals globally.  As our list demonstrates, it’s a very fun time to be eating out in the city right now. Restaurants from Lisbon to Lima are serving up some of the most striking, daring and downright delicious plates of food you can find. On the menu? Satsuma creamsicles in New York, fish bone noodles in Copenhagen and fancy phở in Ho Chi Minh. There’s fine-dining in Melbourne and ‘fun dining’ in Cape Town, food trends from sandwich crazes to elevated tacos, and coffee and cocktail scenes well worth trav

Why should you stay in The Loop? Well, the list of reasons is long, but to start with, because it’s close to nearly every CTA “L” line, the best museums in the city and the Willis Tower, and the river provides easy access to great boat tours, and gorgeous inner-city green spaces like Millennium Park and Grant Park. Oh, and the neighborhood is completely packed with brilliant hotels, promising everything from rooftop, Olympic-sized swimming pools to world-famous brownies. Scroll on for our handpicked selection of the very best places to stay in downtown Chicago.  The Loop’s best hotels at a glance: 🌳 Best for park views: Chicago Athletic Association 🌆 Best for iconic skyline views: LondonHouse Chicago 💎 Best for show-stopping luxury: JW Marriott 👛 Best for a central budget option: Staypineapple Chicago ➡️ Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in Chicago How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many of the hotels featured below, but we may not have stayed at every single one. Any we haven’t stayed in have been selected by experts based on their amenities, features, pricing and more. By the way, this article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 🛏 Check out the best Airbnbs in Chi

News of club closures and sober youngsters might have you thinking that nightlife is dead. We’re here to tell you – with proof! – that you couldn’t be further from the truth.  The way we go out might be different, but people are by no means staying in. Cities are adapting to our changing nightlife habits: as summers get hotter, street parties and rooftop raves are bigger than ever. Rather than heading to one or two big-name venues, locals are flocking to new nightlife districts for an evening of bar-hopping and curbside drinking. And, trust us, the nightclub isn’t going anywhere – in fact, communities and local governments have successfully rallied to save historic nightlife venues (in Berlin’s case, they’ve even managed to grant techno UNESCO-listed status). So, we’re here to celebrate going out in the city. From Bangkok to Berlin, Medellin to Mexico City, Time Out’s Best Cities for Nightlife with Intrepid Travel is the ultimate guide to today’s after-hours capitals. To curate the ranking, we went straight to the people who know their city best – the locals – and asked them to tell us all about the nightlife scene in their hometown right now. We asked them about everything from clubbing to cocktail bars, how affordable it is to go out at night, the overall quality of nightlife in their city, how easy it is to find community, and how safe, exciting, welcoming and diverse their city is. After crunching all that data, a panel of nightlife experts – Time Out’s city editors, cult

It doesn’t get more heavenly than Hawaii, but if you’re planning a vacation to these dreamy Pacific islands, then finding the right place to stay is all the more important—we can’t have your time in paradise go to waste, after all. So, whether you’re after an off-grid grotto to immerse yourself in nature or are craving a restorative break at a gleaming beachfront property, our freshly-curated list of the best hotels in Hawaii, which includes brand new reviews of Kona Village and Ko’a Kea Resort, has you covered.  Which area is best to stay in Hawaii? If you’re visiting Hawaii for the first time, we’d recommend staying in Waikiki or Oahu to have as many activities as possible on your doorstep. The Kohala Coast is a little more luxe, and Kauai is primed for those leaning more towards adventure than relaxation.  Hawaii’s best hotels at a glance: 💎Most luxurious: Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort 👛Best budget: Hotel Moloka’i 🏊‍♀️Best swimming pool: Wailea Beach Resort 🧖🏽‍♀️Best spa: Ko’a Kea Resort on Po’ipu Beach 🤩Most iconic: The Ritz-Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best things to do in Hawaii How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many of the hotels featured below, but we may not have stayed at every single one. Any we haven’t stayed in have been sel

Growing up, a shelf-stable sandwich was a constant cast member in my brown bag lunch, from the reliable turkey with a squirt of mustard to the simple yet satisfying peanut butter and jelly variety, all of which was prepared by my loving mother. But as I've grown, so has my imagination as to what I can slide between two halves of bread.  The mighty sandwich is really a vehicle for all. Carnivorous appetites call for hunks of brisket and barbecue to pastrami-stacked creations. Yet sandwiches sprouting with veggies and vegetarian-forward ingredients can be just as satisfying, if not more. And no matter what, a sandwich beats a sad desk salad, any day. When the hankering calls for a carb-laden lunch (or breakfast or dinner, we don't care), thumb through this list and discover your new favorite sub. August 2026: Post a sandwich-filled July, carb loading ain't got nothing on me. I spent a good part of the past month with a sandwich in hand (or really both, there are some big ones out there), plied with curls of cured meats and cheeses to saucy pulled pork creations. As a result, we added a slew of sandwiches, including an incredibly excellent bánh mì from Bánh Anh Em, the Philly cheesesteak from Danny & Coop's, and Thai Diner's fun spin on the former, Filipino flavors on bread at Sanwits, a Cantonese-duck-filled bun from The Sandwich Board, a solid muffaletta from Strange Delight and a mortadella mountain at Anthony's Paninoteca. We removed Chela & Garnacha as they closed after 1

The only places that offer even better views than New York City’s best waterfront restaurants are our water-top restaurants: yes, we're talking about those scenic boat bars and floating eateries that give off that breezy yachting lifestyle—but without the high price and pesky barnacles that stow away on an actual watercraft. Mostly only open seasonally, they’re peak spring and summer destinations with the warm-weather menus to match, all with a side of real-deal seafaring. So ahoy! New York's best boat bars will rise the tide for all your going-out plans this season.  RECOMMENDED: The 15 best outdoor bars in NYC Updated July 2026: So far, we've had a good spell on the water this summer, slurping up oysters and cheering on sailing races in the Hudson. And we've done it without spending our entire salary. This season we set sail for the Honorable William Wall and Grand Banks, and updated our entries for both. We also added a new vessel to our fleet of best boat bars, the newly docked ship in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Fireboat. 

We love ice cream in any form—and every season. Though we’ll happily partake in a sweet cone even in the glacial New York winter, ice cream—like music festivals, park-set picnics and outdoor dining—is a joyful, delicious harbinger of warmer weather. Just try to be grumpy with a great big ice cream cone on a sunny day—it's physically impossible. New York City has an abundance of options for when you can’t catch the Mister Softee truck, from old-school scoops to newfangled soft serve. These are our favorite ice cream shops in NYC—including the classic, offbeat, unique and traditional frozen offerings this season. Updated July 2026: This summer, we added Albero Dei Gelati and L’Industrie, both serving up some of the city’s best gelato, the nostalgic newcomer Julia Jean’s and The Screen Door, whose “flurry sundaes” with a base of blended soft serve, marshmallow fluff and mix-ins put it over the top.  How we curate and review at Time Out.

Trends come and go, whether they illustrate a seemingly organic zeitgeist like 2022's influx of speakeasy-style bars, or they’re the product of a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign like the Aperol spritz blitz of 2018. Summer is particularly conducive to the form: A season that somehow feels more ephemeral than the others, making abstract promises of love and holidays, all hazy with the patina of heat.  But while some food-and-drink fads have exited as swiftly as they arrived, the frozen cocktail remains an enduring favorite. It's the ideal icy canvas to spin anything into, with unending possibilities limited only by the imagination. Deliciously, new frozens have joined our old favorites all over town. And, while the occasional zag to something shiny and new can be cute, frozens are the drink of forever summer in NYC—and here are our favorites. RECOMMENDED: The best bars in NYC right now Updated July 2026: We've certainly had a stretch of heatwaves across NYC as of late (coupled with a tornado warning, because why not). However, we've found the best way to combat that bead of sweat running down your back is with a good ol' fashioned frozen drink. New to the list are actual newcomers themselves, as Williamsburg's Kinda Nice and Dumbo's Titán have been added. We also added Brooklyn Crab's rotating frozen, the Tabasco-tinged drink at Bar Snack and the boozy milkshake at Frita Batido. And we couldn't forget the viral soft-serve margarita, only served at Colima Taqueria. W

Nialls Fallon, Nick Perkins, and Leah Campbell have a knack for scouting some of New York's tiniest spaces and doing the absolute most with it. At about 30 seats, Hart's is a place with, well, heart, as the tiny 30-seat restaurant in Bed-Stuy claimed the title of one of the best new spots by Bon Appétit, particularly for its clam toast with pancetta that's to die for. Cervo's is bigger, yet quarters still feel just as tight, but you'll notice that less once you start tearing through platters of prawns and crispy shrimp heads. But the team's latest actually has more space to play than the former two, with 50 seats inside that sprawl to 90 with breezy street seating. However, there's one huge trade-off: the downstairs kitchen has no gas and no hood. But this turned out to be just right, as the trio was looking to place their oyster bar idea all along. And as of late July, the Crown Heights neighborhood has welcomed Zig Zag Oyster Bar. Well-placed mirrors make the Zig Zag Oyster Bar look even roomier, while geometric marbled floors only confirm that the 80s back. The brushed steel horseshoe bar from the former schmoody cocktail bar, Bar Meridian, remains, now glowing a lovely sunset yellow by dusk. Rounded tables fan out around the bar, providing more room for the centerpiece found at many tables: a seafood tower piled with oysters of the moment, mussels slick in salsa verde, and peppery, pickled little neck clams, with the addition of lobster salad and snow crab if you decide t

Long Island City's Summer Beer, Wine and Spirits Fest is back, this time taking over Culture Lab LIC. The spirited event on September 19 will feature over 100 beers, wines and spirits, including samples from local makers such as Atheras Spirits and Fort Hamilton Distillery alongside nationwide favorites, including Cigar City Brewing and Oskar Blues. Guests can sample a range of beverages throughout the evening while enjoying live entertainment, interactive games, and delicious food from on-site vendors. You also have the opportunity to chat with brewery representatives, sommeliers and master distillers to learn more about your favorite drinks and the craft of making them.  Long Island City's Summer Beer Wine and Spirits Fest goes from 6:30 to 9pm. Early bird general admission tickets start at $69 and include drink samples and a souvenir glass. If you're the designated driver, you can get a ticket for $18. Use the code TIMEOUT for 40-percent off tickets. Learn more here. 

In 1979, the Hyatt brand dipped its toes into the world of luxury hotels by unveiling Park Hyatt. Its first-ever property? The Park Hyatt Chicago, which opened on North Michigan Avenue in 1980. Now, as the hotel inches closer to its 50th year in existence, it looks strikingly well for its age, due to a massive $60 million facelift that spanned 2020 to 2022, touching the spa, restaurant and every one of its 182 rooms and suites, floor by floor. But as is the case with the best cosmetic work out there, the spruced-up Park Hyatt Chicago continues to be a refined retreat in the Magnificent Mile that is, dare we say, downright luxurious.  What are the rooms like at Park Hyatt Chicago? The gallery-like lobby and cordial doorman make for a pleasing check-in experience to the Park Hyatt Chicago, but it’s the rooms where this hotel really shines.  As soon as I opened the door, the room opened up with it: soft lights slowly rose to greet me, and curtains automatically peeled back to reveal a stellar view. Near the window is where I found myself during most of my stay, working from the cushioned nook that had electronic plugs built right in, and taking breaks to gaze upon the gothic Chicago Water Tower and the glittering Lake Michigan just beyond. There’s also the option of drinking in the views while in the bathroom, but I was a little too modest to leave the sliding door open during a dip in the tub. Wooden panels that divided the two rooms made for a clever use of storage, with the

Ah, to be young in your twenties. But to be older in your thirties makes you realize just how far away that era actually is. The Glass Ceiling Rooftop certainly caters to a younger man's game, or excuse us, women's game. More than just describing the glass-encased lounge, the name of the midtown roof alludes to the breaking the metaphorical glass ceiling, as the rooftop's arrival in 2021 was meant to "support emerging businesses as a launching pad for collaboration and networking." But besides a few events hosted by Luminary (who owns the place and exists a floor below) with shout-outs to women-owned brands on the menu, the rooftop's day to day is more about vibes than anything else with platters and drinks that veer Instagrammable. The 5th-floor glass-encased rooftop could've easily been a club if it wanted to be, and it still kind of reads like one with emerald couches that hug the corners, music that will make your head bob no matter the time of day and drinks served out of literal glass slippers. Dining here leans into the "girl dinner" trend, hard, coupled with cutesy-named dishes such as ooo-la-la omelette and burrata babe. But that's not to say that's an entirely bad thing, as I wouldn't mind replicating the mortadella-ella-ella (under the, ahem, chipceuterie section) to some degree, as full folds of mortadella are laid across housemade ruffle chips with curls of Parm, chili flakes and tart gherkins. The cookie butter me up waffle, on the other hand, could've been a su

Since 2018, the Creole Food Festival has showcased the culinary prowess of Black and brown chefs from across the diaspora—including cuisines found across Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, South America and the South. The festival plans to do it all again for its eighth year, bringing the vibes back to Brooklyn.   This year's Creole Food Festival is going down right under the Brooklyn Bridge at Emily Warren Roebling Plaza on October 3 and 4. The weekend-long festival will include a Creole brunch, live music and the pièce de résistance: the grand tasting. Held on Saturday, October 3, the grand tasting will feature cuisines from across the diaspora, with chefs hailing from Barbados, Haiti and Venezuela. Showcasing their culture through food, 11 chefs will be in attendance, including three-time winner of Food Network's Chopped, chef Adriana Urbina; Forbes' "30 Under 30" and winner of Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay, chef Osei “Picky” Blackett of Everything Oxtail and another Chopped champion, chef Airis Johnson.  Pre-sale tickets start at $44.52, and last-call tickets are $108. Group tickets can also be purchased. Tickets for the Creole brunch have not yet been released. Reserve your tickets here. 

elNico Rooftop might be one of the more understated rooftops in Williamsburg. It sort of hides in plain sight inside The Penny Hotel Williamsburg, which perhaps makes sense, since graduate students at Bard College also call his hybrid hotel home. It sits 11 stories up, its interior looking a little like a gallery loft where your eccentric friend just moved in, as marble pillars and white floors stand in the background of velvet green couches, colorful rugs and a sculpture that looks like a cloud of colorful confetti thrown above the bar in glee. But the roof is where you'll find most of the clientele, whether it's at the open-air lounge in the summer or the all-season covered terrace, nicknamed the greenhouse, both touting amazing shots of Brooklyn and the skyline in the distance. It makes a great landing spot for visitors and locals who remember it exists, whether you climb up for a daytime brunch of birria benedicts and chilaquiles or wind down with plates of tacos and chicken mole by dusk. But coming here for a drink and a chill by the DJ stand is just as good, particularly if that tipple is the excellent tomatillo Gibson. 

Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar have built quite the empire in NYC, starting with suadero and longaniza tacos at Taqueria Ramirez, all things pork at Carnitas Ramirez, and a fútbol-focused cantina (that opened right at the edge of the World Cup), Socceria. The two teased one more by summer's end, El Camarón Peludo, a seafood and wine bar in the West Village. The two are hosting a sneak preview, and you are invited.   On Sunday, August 30, El Camarón Peludo will be popping up at Bar Susanne, a newly minted raw bar in Williamsburg from Jackie Carnesi. A preview of the menu entails michelada oysters, aguachile negro, and pescadilla (a shrimp quesadilla, perhaps?). All happening on the outdoor terrace, guests can indulge in oyster shucking and cocktail specials while taking a bite of what's to come.  Reserve your tickets on OpenTable here. 

We know, we know—September is juuust around the corner, and with it, the coming of fall. Lucky for us, it always feels a little like summertime at Brooklyn Crab. The three-story seafood shack on stilts has plenty to bring the vibe up: arcade games and free putt-putt on the ground floor, steampots and eat-n-peel shrimp, and an Aperol spritz that’s as big as your head (seriously, it is a behemoth). And the folks behind the kitschy seafood shack are throwing an end-of-season party with all the crab you can handle.  Brooklyn Crab is hosting its 2026 Crab Boil on August 30. Closing out the summer season in the best way, the two-and-a-half-hour all-you-can-eat feast starts with unlimited seafood—we are talking snow, Dungeness, and blue crabs, as well as shrimp, crawfish, and mussels. Unlimited drinks are also included, such as beer and margaritas.  Tickets range from $169 per person. This event sells out every year, so reserve your tickets here.

When it comes to helping the community, Natasha Pickowicz contributes in the best way she knows how: by hosting a bake sale. Since 2016, the four-time James Beard Award finalist and cookbook author has been throwing community-minded bake sales, raising over $200,000 for local nonprofits and organizations. This Labor Day weekend, Pickowicz and friends are back with another bake sale that powers the people through pastries.  On September 6, Our Little Bake Sale is coming to Little Island. Over 20 different bakeries, restaurants and standalone bakers will come together to sell one-of-a-kind pastries for a good cause. This year's lineup includes goodies from Bar Susanne, Dean's, Ho Foods and Sofreh. Proceeds from the bake sale will benefit Make the Road New York, a Queens-based non-profit that provides legal, education and health services to immigrant and working-class communities across NYC. Admission to the bake sale is free, but vouchers for treats are $10. Pre-sale tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 26. Keep an eye on Pickowicz's Instagram when they drop. 

Baseball, beach and brunch? Bring it on!  On select Sunday games, the Brooklyn Cyclones host a boozy brunch that's guaranteed to be a home run. The rooftop offers prime views of the game below, plus all the fanfare of the amusement park and the beaches of Coney Island. Come early for the first pickings of rotating brunch bites, including sausage and eggs, muffins and bagels, and, naturally, hot dogs. The bar doles out unlimited boozin' too, with mimosas, bellinis (with the option to add a drunken peach slice), beers and canned cocktails. With a mix of stadium seats, couches and even an indoor suite, there are plenty of ways to watch on the roof. Brunch service starts at 1:30pm, with a game starting at 2pm. Unlimited food and drinks cease at 3:30pm. Tickets for April, May and September games are $65; $55 for designated drivers or those who are under 21. Tickets for June, July, August and premium dates are $79; $72 for designated drivers or those under 21. Learn more here. 

Chef Nino Chiokadze's culinary mission is simple: Georgianize the neighborhood. And she has done exactly that at Chama Mama, stamping stretched dough in a specially built toné oven and sharing the cuisine's richness through fresh vegetables and kebabs, paired with plenty of Georgian wine. The restaurant's latest locale in Bushwick explores the cuisine even further, with more focus on its excellent bread.   More bread, you say? The front room off Harrison Place is Let's Chama, a 14-seat bakery that balances old-world charm with something new. Here, pomegranate, cardamom, and molasses weave into laminated buns, fresh raspberry tarts are flecked with sumac, and khachapuri gets miniaturized into a morning cheese bite. Coffee is also infused with a little Georgia, too—think fig-vanilla and cinnamon-walnut lattes (we recommend pairing the latter with the cigarette cookie for even more nutty notes). Later in the day, transition to the spacious main dining room for a brunch that should start with the tour of minced veggie spreads known as pkhali, jammy eggs cooked over a tomato-heavy, spiced ajapsandali stew and beef and pork kebabs wrapped warmly in lavash. Come back for dinner and put the roaring oven to use with an order of the classic khachapuri paired with a glass of one of its many Georgian wines.

Summer isn’t over until we say it is. Founded by Natasha “Tosh NYC” Nuñez and Rich Godd, the Industry Mixer NYC follows the mantra: Where Energy Meets Opportunity. The creative meet-up is inviting entrepreneurs, DJs and tastemakers for one final summer bash. Held on Time Out Market's fifth-floor rooftop in Brooklyn, the rooftop party will be soundtracked by some amazing DJs, with an all star lineup including Super Star Boogie, DJ Trey Nice, Andres Nikolas and DJ LP. Local artist UnCutArt will also present Protect Yo(Art): The Infamous Love Wall, inviting attendees to become a part of the live, interactive experience. VIP bottle packages are available with cocktails and drinks from D’USSÉ and Patrón. The rooftop party will be held on Friday, September 4 from 7pm to 1am. The event is free to attend, with tables and bottle service starting at $107. RSVP here. 

Close to two years ago, Mexico City’s first Michelin-starred taqueria, El Califa de León, traveled to New York, bringing its famed bisteca and ganoera tacos to the city. But it seems the visit was more about getting a feel for the market than just a one-off, as the almost 70-year-old taqueria expanded for the first time, landing Flatiron on August 24. Unlike the 100-square-foot, standing taqueria in CDMX, the El Califa de León of New York is made to stay, as the location has 60 seats. Yet the inside still evokes the feeling of the taqueria back home with terracotta floors, brick-red tiles that color-match the original and accordion doors to give the same indoor-outdoor experience. The seats at the counter look on into the kitchen as three grills center the whole operation. The plastic plates have been swapped with the real thing, too, this time emblazoned with their claim to fame that reads, “Mexico’s Highest-Awarded Tacos.” Photography courtesy of Christian Rodriguez| El Califa de León And so what about these tacos? You’ll find the same menu as you would in CDMX, but with albeit, New York prices, as the most expensive goes to the costilla or beef rib at $19. The taqueria is also selling the pork chop known as chuleta for $7 and New York strip steak aka the bistec for $9. Naturally, their most iconic cut that the taqueria helped to popularize, the ganoera (prime tenderloin), came along as well, priced at $11. Sourcing from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, the meat here is seaso

Fernando Vaz has lived many lives, many of them in different countries. A man of the world, he’s traveled across Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia on a budget of just $10 a day and hitchhiked all the way from Los Angeles to Alaska. But even after visiting more than 100 countries, when it comes to his favorite, he can’t help but be biased. For Vaz, his home country, Portugal, still ranks No. 1. After an aviation career was put on hold due to the pandemic, Vaz decided to share his love of his country as a tuk-tuk tour guide in Lisbon in 2022. Over the years, Vaz noted an influx of American clientele from all around, including New York, Chicago, Minnesota, and Alabama, eager to learn more about the country. It was a stark difference for Vaz, whose home country was once seemingly unknown. “When I started traveling 10 years ago, and I would tell [Americans] I'm from Portugal, most of them would ask me, 'Is that in Spain? Is that in South America?' Not only Americans; people generally around the world. Portugal was an unknown destination. The only reason for people to know of Portugal is because of Cristiano Ronaldo.” And when it came to Portuguese food, the learning gap was even wider.  “Portuguese traditional cuisine is severely underrepresented worldwide, so you don't find it anywhere outside of Portugal or outside of Portuguese communities,” he says, citing a few Portuguese enclaves in Newark and in Mineola, Long Island.  So Vaz had the idea of bringing one of Portuga

Last year Pervaiz Shallwani was at the James Beard Awards chatting away about something he knows quite intimately: hot dogs. Not too surprising, given that Shallwani pioneered chutney-laced Desi dogs with his NYC-based pop-up Chaat Dog. At the time, he just happened to be conversing with Tristen Epps, the winner of Top Chef season 22. The two found kinship in their shared love of the humble hot dog, so much so that Epps and Shallwani hosted a hot dog pop-up at Time Out Market, doling out a dual menu featuring chaat dogs and hot dogs layered with kifto chili and cracklin’ injera. The experience was twofold for Shallwani: the pop-up led to a permanent residence, with Chaat Dog landing in the Brooklyn market this past June. It also sparked a follow-up pop-up series, which Shallwani brought with him in the move. All summer long, Shallwani has hosted Hot Dogs with Friends at Chaat Dog. The ongoing video and food series tapped a lineup of culinary talent, including Food Network host Monti Carlo, Ham El-Waylly of Strange Delight and Jae Jung of KJUN. The resulting friendships and franks have led to Japanese and Peruvian dogs with pickled cucumbers and rocoto purée from Papa San’s Erik Ramirez, and a New York City-Caribbean dog with tamarind barbecue sauce and habanero chow chow courtesy of Lana Lagomarsini, a Top Chef alum and chef behind the upcoming Creola. There’s even been a creation that swapped the dog for fish, herring to be exact, with a little bit of chaat, thanks to a tea

To say Kwame Onwuachi is busy is an understatement. The James Beard Award-winning chef and TV personality has been crisscrossing the country as of late, opening concepts in Las Vegas (Maroon by Kwame Onwuachi) and Washington D.C. (Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi), while continuing to run New York’s hottest table, Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi. Where he found the time to write another cookbook in the middle of it all, we don’t know. But he did, and his latest, “ALL HOURS: Crazy Good Food for Whatever, Whenever” is coming out on September 22. To mark his second cookbook, Onwuachi is making a show of launch day, quite literally under the stage lights at Lincoln Center  On September 22, Onwuachi is hosting All Hours with Kwame & Friends at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, presented by Resy. For one night only, the top toque will host his own late-night talk show for an evening of conversations and storytelling with a lineup of very special guests. Naturally, food will be a part of it, too, as Onwuachi will be cooking live and walking the studio audience through recipes from his upcoming book. Sure to engage the crowd further, guests can expect pours of Tanteo Tequila and will leave with a co-branded ALL HOURS x FreshDirect gift bag, filled with goodies curated by Onwuachi himself, his new cookbook included. Following the show, Onwuachi will be hosting a very special after-party just a few steps away at Tatiana with bites and beverages inspired by the book.   And this is just part of the tour.

Even though it's over 100 years old, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is still a relevant tune, sung in stadiums during the seventh inning of baseball games across the country. But we think the third line, “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks,” is in need of an update.  Nowadays, sports stadiums have gone gourmet, feeding hungry fans with local favorites that go beyond just nachos and a hot dog (though we would never turn down either). Yelp recently analyzed hundreds of game day havens across the country—MLB, NFL, WNBA and NBA included—all in the search of the Hall of Famer when it comes to food. And New York? We came out at number one.  Queens' own Citi Field took the number one spot on Yelp’s Top 50 Stadiums for Game-Day Eats. With 27 vendors within the world-class stadium, callouts went to The Queensboro’s Kimchi Reuben with “house-cured corned beef, kimchi fennel, and Russian dressing stacked on toasted rye” and Willets Point Brewery’s 9-9-9 Challenge, where adventurous eaters have to eat nine mini Nathan’s hot dogs and nine four-ounce beers across nine innings of the game. Adding to the list of things to try, we have to give a shout to fried chicken and kimchi-laden slice at Napoli’s Pizza Co. and brisket mac and cheese at Pig Beach BBQ. Giving you good reason to climb up to the top-level, the Coca-Cola Corner's current food truck vendor is run by the Taqueria Ramirez team, where you can find suadero and pastor tacos in all their roasted, fatty and greasy glory. RECOMM

For Matt Greene, Greg Preston, and Brandon Siu, it all starts in the group chat. You see, the trio are behind Rusty Supper Club, a laid-back, dinner party-like pop-up that’s been cooking in the city since 2022. Their active thread often circles back to food, perhaps to the dismay of their respective partners who also reside in the same chat, whether it's a taco stand that sparked inspiration or one-word exclamations such as “CORN." But the trio makes good on actually getting the idea out of the chat, as the resulting corn-themed dinner led to golden-fried cannolis piped with esquites, and cinnamon fritters with scoops of basil-corn ice cream. From backyard barbecues to dinners partnered up with Airbnb, we caught up with the trusty three to speak about the start of the supper club, the very active group chat and the camaraderie that naturally blossoms.  What got each of you into the restaurant industry? Matt Greene: I grew up in London and worked on a kosher food truck at Wimbledon at 17, which was…something. I then spent summers working for this gourmet burger truck; burgers are my first love.  Greg Preston: We all grew up around the service industry; working as bartenders—even bouncers in bars—servers and [on the] lines at various restaurants, food trucks and restaurant groups after college. We all work 9-5s, but we missed the liveliness and culture of the restaurant scene.  Brandon Siu: I grew up in Hong Kong surrounded by a very lively food scene. I started working in res

Brooklyn Kura holds the title as one of the first sake breweries in New York. Acting as a sort of quiet reprieve to the literal maze that is Industry City, the taproom respects the traditions of Japan, reflective in its zen-like hall and approach to brewing, while producing sake that is all American. To mark the upcoming World Sake Day, naturally, the brewery is celebrating in style.  On October 2, Brooklyn Kura is hosting its third annual Sake Day Brooklyn. Over 50 breweries, leading importers and producers, will be in attendance, many of which will be making the journey from Japan. “Ten years ago, to taste this variety of sake, you would have had to fly to Japan,” said Timothy Sullivan, director of education at the Sake Studies Center, in a press release. “On October 2nd, it’s all in one taproom in Sunset Park—the classics from Japan next to sake brewed right here in New York. That’s exactly what Sake Day [Brooklyn] is for.” RECOMMENDED: The best cocktail bars in NYC, where craft, care and consistency rise above the noise The line-up includes selections from Hakkaisan and HEAVENSAKE, plus pours from importers such as Komé Collective and Sake Suki. New York-based sake breweries will have representation, too, as Brooklyn Kura will be sampling alongside Bushwick’s Kato Sake Works and Hyde Park's Dassai Blue. During the fest, the brewery will be home to a DJ and raffles with sake classes at the Sake Studies Center and Brooklyn Kura as prizes. Instead of journeying back through

For most of his career, chef Regi Mathew has championed the foods of his homeland of Kerala, India. At Kappa Chakka Kandhari in Chennai and Bengaluru, chef Mathew works to preserve the area’s diverse food traditions, using recipes gleaned from mothers and home cooks across the region. It's this commitment that earned the chef a designation as one of India’s top chefs in 2024. The following year, the chef decided to share his story to a larger audience, making his stateside debut with Chatti by Regi Mathew. A culmination of his three-year journey cooking across the southern state, the midtown restaurant serves as an homage to Kerala's iconic toddy shops with grilled lamb chops to clay pot fish curries. Now the chef is going a step further, bringing one of the region’s largest festivals to NYC. From August 24th to August 27th, Chatti is throwing an extravagant feast in celebration of the state’s most recognized holiday, Onam. So what is Onam? Generally falling between August and October, Onam is a ten-day festival that marks the Malayalam New Year and celebrates the harvest season in Kerala. On the final day, known as Thiruvonam, the festival culminates with a grand vegetarian feast known as Onasadhya. In Chatti’s case, the restaurant will be marking the holiday with a feast of its own, cooking up a whopping 27 dishes, all vegetarian with a few dishes that are completely vegan. All served on a banana leaf, Chatti’s multi-course feast starts with thick cuts of raw banana, fri

The U.S. Open has landed in New York, with official matches kicking off this past Monday. There are plenty of reasons to attend the Grand Slam tournament this year, from watching the finest in tennis duke it out to the sheer fact it's all going down only a train ride away from the city. Another reason? Getting a taste of the Honey Deuce. RECOMMENDED: The U.S. Open in New York 2024 guide Introduced in 2006, the Grey Goose-forward sipper is crafted with lemonade and a splash of raspberry liqueur for a darling pink hue. The spherical honeydew garnish is modeled after tennis balls, making it a fun way to trick yourself into eating the fruit. Plus, the cup itself is a keeper—literally. Etched with all the U.S. Open men’s and women’s champions since 1968, the cup is keepsake with people from far and wide just to take one home. And once you purchase a cocktail, the glass is yours to keep. Last year alone, the tournament’s famed cocktail brought in almost $10 million dollars, which is not surprising, seeing as how the cocktail came in at a whopping $22 last year, which has now been hiked up to $23.  But if making it to Queens just isn’t in the cards this year but you still want to sip something refreshing, Grey Goose has created a tracker to find the nearest honey deuce near you. All you have to do is head to the website and type in your zip code and voilá—all the Honey Deuce’s you can handle will be revealed. So go forth, wear your favorite “Challengers”-inspired fit and sip to your

Jase Franklyn has always been known as the grill guy of the group. Coming from a barbecue family, Franklyn learned the ins and outs of the trade from his mother, who would grill up pork, chicken and fish during the holidays at home in Tobago. When Franklyn moved to the States to pursue a degree in computer science, the love for grilling didn’t leave him, and he became the de facto BBQ guy for parties and birthdays. He gained a following among friends who encouraged him to start a business.  So in 2017, Franklyn officially founded Jase's BBQ, first selling barbecue out of his backyard in Brooklyn, and then from the Rockaways when he moved in 2019. His starting menu leaned into Caribbean classics: rice and peas, jerk and barbecue chicken and pig tails, served grilled and caramelized in BBQ sauce. But brisket? That wasn’t in the cards, citing that the dish was “so American.” However, when the pandemic hit, he decided it was high time to experiment, taking him on a year-long journey. “Brisket…it could be simple, but it could be technical. If you don't know anything, it's going to be technical,” says Franklyn of the dish.  During his year-long R&D, Franklyn experimented with cooking techniques, from slow cooking it in the oven to using a charcoal/wood smoker. He soon began asking his friends for tips, including a certain master of the brisket game: Ruben Santana of Bark Barbecue. Much like Santana infuses his barbecue with Dominican flavors, Franklyn did the same, mixing in a hush

Last night marked the 20th year of the celebrated Annual Spirited Awards hosted at the Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. As a way to wrap up the weeklong conference and festivities, the awards honor bar and hospitality professionals, organizations and establishments across the globe who are actively shaping the community. Bartenders, hospitality professionals and bars from all around the world were honored in the global ceremony.  New York took home three awards last night. The U.S. Bartender of the Year went to the ever-accomplished Takuma Watanabe, founder of Martiny’s (a bar that won the Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar designation in 2023), L’Americana and Midnight Blue. One of the largest awards of the night, the title of Best U.S. Cocktail Bar went to the East Village’s Bar Snack. We certainly understand the designation as the bar currently sits as our number one bar in New York, praised for its “rousing round of cocktails” with “riffs on whiskey sours with raspberry and smooth heads of Guinness, tiny tini's (cutely named, Snaquiri) and a particular frozen we'd dain to drink any time of the year.” Following in the footsteps of last year's winners, Sip & Guzzle, schmuck. carried the torch forward, winning the title of Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar. Coming in one Time Out's best bars in New York City, we are a fan of the gussied-up lounge for its highballs that “burst with tomato sweetness…and peanutty tipples that hum with a chili-oil spiked heat.”  Photograph: Rey LopezServ

The Lineup is all about showing off what the next generation of talent is capable of. Their annual pop-up dinners spotlight chefs who cook on the line at some of New York’s best restaurants, à la Lilia, Gage & Tollner and Shukette, giving them a chance to run their own kitchen for the night. So it makes sense that for their yearly pizza bash, they’d bring a similar caliber of talent to the party.   RECOMMENDED: The 20 best pizza places in NYC for simple slices and elaborate whole pies That’s right, The Lineup is bringing back The Lineup Slice Shop, presented by Resy, on August 8. Held at Williamsburg’s The Test Brewery, the party will be inviting a lineup of unexpected pizzaolos to the table, including the likes of chef McKayla Shaughnessy of Dean’s, chef Michael Patlazhan of Blue Hill at Stone Barns and chef David Ni of Cote. So what kind of pizzas can you sink your teeth into? Teasers of the menu include The Benjamin slice from chef Benjamin Gorman of Tatiana, a chili-mango paneer pie with masala-kiwi, blueberry chutney, pickled chili and onion. Meanwhile, The Stefan from chef Stefan Marr of Eyval features sprinkles of Bulgarian feta, smoked eggplant, mint oil and cured egg yolk. All are welcome to nosh, given that there will be a selection of vegetarian-friendly slices. Tickets to the party are $41 and include unlimited pizza from noon to 6pm. There will be beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages for purchase. Check out the lineup of talent below:   Participating chefs: Mi