Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jun 21

NYT Critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan Share 100-Restaurant Year in Dining Highlights

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jun 21

NYT Critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan Share 100-Restaurant Year in Dining Highlights

Q: What is the 'New Yorkiness' that gets a tiny, scrappy eatery onto the city's most prestigious restaurant list?

“New Yorkiness,” as Ligaya Mishan describes it, is the scrappy determination to make something exceptional under difficult city conditions. It is the quality of restaurateurs “eking out miracles” from tiny, awkward, under-equipped spaces and still producing food and an experience that feel singularly New York. In practice, that means a restaurant does not need luxury, polish or high prices to make The New York Times’s top list. Mishan has said she looks for imagination, ambience, service, technique, passion, commitment, deliciousness and singularity. What elevates a small eatery is how those qualities come together in a way that reflects the city’s character: resourceful, diverse, intense and unapologetically itself. That often shows up in places that are no-frills but deeply distinctive, rooted in immigrant communities or neighborhood life, and run with unusual conviction. The food may be highly specialized, the room cramped, the service brisk, and the setting modest, but the restaurant tells a larger story about New York and the people who sustain it. Mishan’s broader point is that prestige in New York dining is not reserved for expensive tasting menus. A tiny storefront, basement cafeteria or food truck can rank alongside elite restaurants if it captures the city’s mix of hustle, cultural breadth, personality and excellence against the odds. That, in her view, is the “New Yorkiness” that earns a place on the list.

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 21

The New York Times published combined interview excerpts from chief restaurant critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan, revisiting what they ate in the year since taking the roles.
Rao highlighted Barbs B Q in Lockhart, meals at Diane’s in Minneapolis and Emeril’s tasting menu in New Orleans, saying the latter restored her faith that tasting menus can be fun.
Mishan said she had just finished a top 100 restaurants in New York City list, comparing the assignment to a marathon after days of eating at as many as five restaurants across the city.
The interviews also turned practical: Rao said diners seeking hard-to-book tables should try very early or very late seatings, and take a chance on walk-ins if they can wait.

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The New York Times4h ago

The Times Interviews Chief Restaurant Critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan on Dining Highlights

What is the 'New Yorkiness' that gets a tiny, scrappy eatery onto the city's most prestigious restaurant list?

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The New York Times4h ago

The Times Interviews Chief Restaurant Critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan on Dining Highlights

NYT Critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan Share 100-Restaurant Year in Dining Highlights

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