Food is fun with family (especially when consumed with your cool New York-y sons). No matter how ya dice the 2026 pizza pie, there’s no denying the past month has been bleak with winter weather among many other things. To remedy this hellscape, Deb did what Deb does best. She fled to her favorite city for a weekend of Anderson and Andy (Cooper and Cohen, respectively), Gibson and Tucker (Johns), and dozens of reservations (literally). Join us for some mouthwatering and mind numbing food pics and dashes of whimsy. Thank G it’s February.
We’ll start with the diners as that’s how one begins any successful day in the city. Diners are sacred to every city with their long menus, cozy booths, and sentimental bric a brac on the walls and shelves.
We adore the serene angel figurine watching over the bar at ABC Kitchen. Now, ABC isn’t really considered a “diner,” per se, but we’d like to rank it among the diners, since you could really sit and enjoy lunch here for several hours (key diner criteria). AND, there’s a cardamom dutch baby pancake with Hudson Valley maple syrup on the menu. ABC has the perfect lunch, particularly during NYC restaurant week.
The wax cakes on display at Fishs Eddy trigger the childhood desire to sink your fangs into inanimate objects that look like what we like to call “cartoon food.” With iconic restaurant china and tchotchkes, Fishs Eddy is where you go to furnish your home with diner classics when you can’t traipse about the Big Apple eating pastrami on rye.
So, S&P is the most iconic lunch counter luncheonette deli of all diners. The beverage menu alone will have you ordering gallons of grenadine and a crate of Dr. Brown’s sodas. When a place has “TUNA” in its phone number, you know their tuna melt or tuna salad sandwich is going to be absolutely nails (complimentary).
Now, for the perfect pre or post show meal, which is critical, head to Old John’s Diner parked down the street from Lincoln Center. There’s nothing like a screening of The Secret Agent or Stories and Songs of Music and Health followed by sweet potato fries and matzoh ball soup. These morning, noon, and night diner staples are fueling patrons of the arts!
Now for a “Mr. Pink” interlude… Thank goodness for these giant pink men who tower over the Flatiron district providing a welcome pop of color, whimsy, and distraction from feeling full and freezing amidst the gray winter backdrop.
It wouldn’t be a trip to the northeast without Italian cuisine. Italian food must be consumed within the Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey radius at least once a day or an angel loses its wings. For the sauciest Italian, march yourself to Borgo (think micro meringues, fava bean puree, and roast potatoes) or Bad Roman (pepperoni cups).
Finally, you need a coffee and a pastry at some point. Rose Bakery inside Dover Street Market will caffeinate and inspire you with some fashion meets yum. And, most importantly to conclude, we must shout out our SCOUT Spring accessories snuggled up in the bed at The Ace hotel…Who doesn’t love this?!
