Winter can be pretty brutal in NYC and the one true way to get through it all is with food. Delicious, carby, soul-warming food. And some foods, although you can get them all year round, just seem to taste substantially better in the winter.
Pizza
Any pizza you get in NYC will hit the spot, but if you’re looking to truly indulge we recommend the square grandma pizza from Fiore’s in NoHo. A slice of spicy pepperoni from Prince Street Pizza will also do the trick; or if you’re really trying to keep it simple, Joe’s. Either way, a hot slice of pizza is the best when you’ve been walking in the freezing cold. Warm cheese will warm your heart! (…too cheesy?)
Soup
Hale & Hearty is a staple of New York City, and a hot bowl of soup is a staple for winter. However, our current favorite happens to be the soup from Le Botaniste at 833 Lexington Avenue. When work is leaving you dead inside, revive it with some soup.
Ramen
Ramen. Where do we begin with our fond love of ramen spots around the city? Nothing feels better than the warm broth of ramen and harty taste of noodles on a frigid day. Whether you’re exploring something new at the Ramen Lab, or want a table for one at Ichiran, any spot on our ramen map will hit the spot.
Fondue
Fondue is one of those foods that seems to only come into style during the winter, but that’s ok. Plenty of restaurant and bars in the city offer it year-round, but even more add it to the menu during the winter. Whether it’s cheese or chocolate, grab a date and make it happen at a restaurants like Murray’s Cheese Bar or Max Brenner.
Hot Chocolate
You can grab a hot chocolate from so many places in the city that we even made a list of some of our favorites (with a map to their locations included). Hot chocolate is so necessary to New Yorkers getting through winter that one rooftop even created a cup of this chocolately treat that’s 20-pounds…and spiked.
Hot Pastrami Sandwich
A New York classic, but it’s even better during the winter. When you’re craving a good sandwich that will keep the cold out, a hot pastrami on rye (with a little mustard) from Katz’s Deli is perfect. But honestly, their corned beef sandwich measures up pretty highly as well.
Hot Apple Cider
A classic drink from autumn through winter, a great cup of hot apple cider can be found at the Union Square Greenmarket along with a variety of restaurants (and bars) in the city. Grab one while you’re picking up your local produce or head over to a bar like Sweet Afton in Astoria for a hot mulled cider with a little extra kick.
Mac and Cheese
As we’ve already covered above, cheese in all forms just seem to be better in the winter so naturally mac and cheese would be no different. The cheesy noodle dish is so popular that restaurants dedicated to it continue to pop up around the city; think S’Mac, then Macbar, and now even Murray’s Cheese is getting into the game with their very own Murray’s Mac & Cheese restaurant! If you’re having trouble figuring out where to go, here’s a list of the top 19 mac and cheese spots in NYC (soon to be 20).
Featured image source: Katz’s Deli / Yelp / Theresa G.