Is This The Best Food In New York City?

Well, that was the decision passed down by a food review site recently…so where did I dine and what are these dishes shown above?

Time to head to Lincoln Center on New York’s Upper West Side to find out!

Summer Time Fun In The Big Apple!

Lincoln Center is home to ballet, opera, jazz – and free outdoor concerts all summer long!

Here’s an idea of what greets you outside at Lincoln Center – all summer and always free!

Just steps away from the dance floor is this sign:

Time To Dine At Tatiana!

Chef Kwame Onwuachi is one of the most acclaimed Chefs working today: he infuses his menu with tastes that celebrate his Bronx upbringing, as well as his Nigerian and Creole roots.  And while it’s one of the most difficult reservations to get, my wife Alex and I got one, so it was time to dine!

Inside, Tatiana is a large, airy space that is expansive while feeling intimate for you and your friends…

Time to peruse the menu – split into “small shares” and “large shares”…there were four of us this night, which allowed us to sample more of the menu…let’s get started here:

Take a moment to look at the 8 small plates on offer, especially the array of unique ingredients in each dish: there were old favorites with offbeat touches, beginning with the Egusi Dumplings:

These tender dumplings are stuffed with Nigerian Egusi – and if you don’t know what “Egusi” is – here’s the explanation:

“Egusi (Yoruba) (also known as agusi, egwusi, ohue, Ikpan, Ikon, agushi or mbíka) is the name for the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants (squash, melon, gourd), which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine.”

It’s a rich mouthfeel helped by also being stuffed and Jonah Crab, and served on a spoonful of red stew. Here is how Eater New York described the dish:

“Egusi dumplings ($21 for three) deploy a flocculent Nigerian sauce made with crushed melon seeds — in this case, laced with crab — as a filling for three Chinese dumplings. These occupy a narrow bowl in a thick and spicy tomato sauce laced with palm oil, another Nigerian element. Gee the dumplings were good.”

Yes they were!

Curried Goat Patties

You can see the chutney and aioli in the small dishes, and these were like crispy empanadas – filled with curried goat with an explosion of flavor!

Black Bean Hummus With Spiced Lamb

Normally I’m not drawn to hummus…it’s fine but not something I order much…but this came with a unique and delicious side dish: spiced lamb!

As you can see, the lamb was served like a rug, and you dipped bread into both for a terrific combo!

Crispy Okra

Along with the lemon wedge to squeeze over these fried Okra, there were three sauces to dip into as well, giving you three different tastes.

Now, time for the larger dishes:

Tonight there were seven dishes on the menu: we were able to try five of them!

Curried King Crab

As a big lover alf all things crab, this delicious king crab meat had a bit of curry sauce along with fresh herbs and lime…giving the crab a distinctively different flavor but not overpowering the crab at all.

Fried Branzino

I love fried fish, and this Branzino was coated with a breading that had some very unique spices, along with a bit of brown sauce that was also uniquely spiced..of course, I decided to use my hands:

This was served with a large side dish of rice and peas, packed with flavors I had never tasted before.

What makes this restaurant different is the type of seasoning used on the dishes – lots of things I was unfamiliar with, and they weren’t hot, just powerful in their flavors, like this next dish:

Braised Oxtail

These braised Xxtails take days to prepare, partly because they include a collagen-rich broth of boiled-down chicken feet!

Here it is being delivered to the table:

One short rib each was all it took: they are intensely flavored – delicious and moist, and you could literally cut it with a fork!

Now, one of Chef’s family recipes, thanks to Mom:

Mom Duke’s Shrimp

Here is how Chef Kwame describes the dish in his cookbook:

“This is an homage to my own Mom Duke’s, Jewel Robinson, and her supercharged version of the peel-and-eat shrimp I grew up with. I was inspired by that dish’s addictive flavor and silky texture as well as New Orleans’s famous barbecue shrimp. The Worcester-shire sauce, beer, white wine, and butter—so. much. butter.—yield a highly aromatic glistening sauce, hovering right on the sea side of a traditional barbecue. I like to serve it with rice and torn French bread, though anything that sops up all that good sauce works.”

The toasted bread was indeed dredged through the sauce…incredibly delicious.

I love the way they were served as well…you didn’t eat the head, but head on shrimp speak to the freshness of the dish.

And then, the most acclaimed dish on the menu!

Short Rib Pastrami Suya!

This dish is mind-blowing – the short rib pastrami suya—brined in Jewish deli spices before marinating in Nigerian ones, then braised for hours

Here is how Eater NY described it:

“I went for the dish with the biggest wow factor — the short rib pastrami suya ($70), both Nigerian and Jewish at the same time. It consisted of a monster wagyu beef rib cured like pastrami and snowed with the powdered spices of suya, the northern Nigerian preparation style. This platter was an entire meal, with sweet pickled purple cabbage that might have been sent over from a German restaurant, a mustard sauce, and a small skillet of four rolls described on the menu as coco bread that was utterly delicious.”

This is what my wife posted on Instagram immediately after eating the dish! An incredibly creative high note to end of the meal!

My review: Tatiana is a love letter to food – inspired by a childhood in the Bronx, as evidenced by the many nods to the city – but also a love of culture and family, as the unique spices, flavors and preparations spoke to his respect for his family and their culture.

“The Infatuation” food site – terrific by the way – rated it New York’s best restaurant, and why that can always be argued, you can never argue how good this place is!

So there you have it: a fairly deep dive into the menu at Tatiana, one of the best restaurants in America!

Our goal is to get back in and try everything else – when I do you will be the first to know!

Alex and I have been on a food journey through New York: some of the classic restaurants as well as new places with some very unique dishes like this:

Yes, that is a “Cacio e Pepe Ravioli-Topped Filetto!”

Click here for details and more wild food!

I’ve shared some really unique dining experiences from New York, like a Sunday brunch with a gospel choir! Take a listen!

See more of the “Sing Harlem” choir and get an unclose look at our food by clicking on my story here:

Speaking of iconic New York restaurants, I have eaten a few times at one that was memorialized forever in a movie:

Katz’s Deli was the location for the hilarious scene from “When Harry Met Sally” – and they filmed it there – and it’s also home to one of the world’s greatest pastrami sandwiches:

You can see myt meal there, along with a celebration of all things pastrami by clicking on my story here:

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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Pictures, Food Travel, Restaurants, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food

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