NEW YORK, NY
CHINATOWN ICE CREAM FACTORY
A small ice cream shop located in the Chinatown area of New York. Don't judge the look of the shop for the taste. The shop does not look like much but on the weekend the line is out of the door. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory will have your simple and typical flavors but they will also have the flavors that you will not find anywhere else. Some of my favorite flavors from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory are the durian, black sesame and Vietnamese iced coffee.
Xi'an Famous Foods
90% of my trips to New York will have Xi'an in it. Xi'an's noodles has the perfect bounce, the perfect spice/seasoning and the perfect tender meat. There is not one friend that I have taken to Xi'an that comes out saying that they did not love the food. Xi'an's food is high spice and cumin, so make sure you like that flavor profile before visiting. They have a less spicy version but I don't find it to be as good.
Xi'an has many different locations, however, I'm not sure if all location has a dine-in section or not.
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao has one of the best xiao long bao (soup dumplings), and Shanghai siu mai. I haven't been here in quite sometime but when I went, as they open their door at 9AM the place was packed. But I believe that the place still holds up to their as it seems that they moved their original location to a new spot to expand as well as open a 2nd location and in the process of opening their third location in Cherry Hill, NJ (I can't wait!!).