Five Years of the Second Avenue Subway
A Gen Z friend and I shared an Uber a few months ago, and she asked me what New York was like 10 years ago. (“You should have seen it in the ’80s,” our snowy driver intervened.)
I hear eyeballs rolling over every municipality, some international borders and even time and space. But I’m bringing it up now because, well, I moved to New York exactly 10 years ago this week.
Although my institutional memory is little more than a speck in the long history of this city, it is mine and it is real. I remember crawling down during Hurricane Sandy. I remember Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd in the Canyon of Heroes, “A Subtlely, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby” by Kara Walker, Eric Garner. I remember Milk Bar and Shake Shack were still local spots. When the subway arrival times were between the MTA and God.
And I especially remember the excitement surrounding the opening of the Second Avenue subway line, a pivotal moment for Upper East Side restaurants. Here are some new or notable eateries near the three still shiny stations.
72nd street
A handful of cuisines have completely changed my idea of what food can be, and Thai is one of them. There are so many great options in town but if you are near 72nd Street try the three year old up Thai on Second Avenue. The extensive menu features the classics—pad see ew, pad Thai, crab fried rice—but the specials are the draw: hot spiced panang curry with tender short ribs and sweet potatoes, mango salad under small, deep-fried soft-shell crabs, Brussels sprouts and pork belly in soy garlic sauce. And if you drink alcohol, try one of the inventive cocktails, especially the Seedless Sophie, with a watermelon spear pointed up at the low ceiling.
86th street
For dishes that are more likely to be found along the Mediterranean – more specifically those from Morocco, Israel and Lebanon – there is Lashevet on First Avenue. This small restaurant has only been open a few months and the service is as warm as the fresh pita. Go for the baba ghanouj with lush chunks of charred aubergine, and the cumin spiced lamb meatballs in cherry tomato sauce. Get the lamb, chicken, and falafel kebabs over rice, with a just-spicy-enough jalapeño dipping sauce, and the heaping bowl of chickpea-topped “jewel” rice studded with cranberries, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds. (Bring a friend.) Leave a single grain of rice and you’ll get a sweet, but hearty, conversation from one of the owners.
96th street
Then there is Kaia Wine Bar. It’s not new, it’s not on or east of Second Avenue, and there are plenty of wine bars in this city. But I hadn’t tried South African food until recently, and I bet I’m not the only one. Last year, New Yorker columnist David Kortava wrote that it was the only restaurant of its kind in the city, an incredibly rare accolade. Start with the viskoekie viskoek slider. Order the elk carpaccio and have your table companion order the Gatsby sandwich, filled with garam masala pulled chicken, pickles and chips. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the extensive South African wine list, the servers are happy to point you in the right direction.
And maybe in 10 years I’ll be writing about dining along the Brooklyn-Queens Connector or the new Metro-North stations in the Bronx. But again, that’s between the MTA and God.
In other news…
Openings: The space that used to house Otto has been restored to its Art Deco glory and will be completed on August 9. One fifth, an Italian restaurant with “a long list of amaros”; two Momofuku Ko alums are open Claude on East 10th Street; and Daniel Boulud’s next project will be Jōjia sushi restaurant next to Grand Central Terminal.
Elyse Inamine investigated how American chefs who are adopted from South Korea have learned to connect with Korean food while overcoming the pressure of “not being Korean enough to make this,” as one chef described it.
For a taste of coastal life, follow this guide to make your way through Mystic and other cities in southeastern Connecticut.
This is how famous sushi chef Nozomu Abe of Sushi Nozu fame spends its Sundays.
Victoria Petersen reported on the struggles of restaurants in the Pacific Northwest while heat waves are hitting a region where air conditioning is not the norm.
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