Erik Hodgetts

Trying some Portuguese cheese from the formidable largest location of Seabra Foods on Ferry Street in Newark's #Ironbound neighborhood in NJ. Queijo Bica is a slightly tangy cow-sheep-goat blend that pairs well with smoky, porky Chouriço Caseiro from local producer Corte's.

Among the 2026 art arrivals along the #HighLine is Katherine Bernhardt's 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, prominently displayed on the ‘billboard’ above the new public plaza at 18th St. and showing a jumble of household products in her bright, expressive outlined flat color style.

@robertsietsema @JoeDiStefano I remember back when they were basically just a small grocery with tables. First place I ever had nopales!

In my latest review, I declare Tulcingo Del Valle the best all-round Mexican restaurant in town. And now that Cinco de Mayo is over, you can actually visit it and try this octopus aguachile. robertsietsema.substack.com/p/tulcingo-del…

Visiting Paterson's Little Lima neighborhood in NJ wrapped up on a high note in the form of donut-like #picarones at Los Inmortales, crisp outside & unctuously soft within with notes of earthy sweet potato & squash, drizzled with sauce made from boiled-down chancaca raw sugar.

Back at old-shool French bistro L'Express on Park Ave South, exploring some classic appetizers. House-made country #terrine was a stand-out, packed with flavorful pork, duck & pistachio, perfectly accompanied by coarsely-ground mustard, cornichons & slices of rustic sourdough.

Enjoying some #ocopa at Somos Tu Peru in Paterson, NJ. The complex, flavorful green sauce on these tender potatoes blends a range of ingredients including aji amarillo peppers & huacatay black mint. Fresh, bright purple corn drink chicha morada was the perfect accompaniment.

Walking through #HeraldSquare subway station, most passers-by don't realize this wall of gold bricks is an art piece by Michele Oka Doner. 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘦 consists of over 11,000 hand-glazed tiles in varied finishes, bringing a shimmer of light to this underground space.

NoLiTa's #UpsidePizza is a reliable food tour standby, always on point. Sadly, raised crust square pie from their NoMad location was disappointing. Maybe having it delivered didn’t do the texture any favors, but the pepperoni alone was salty enough to throw the whole thing off.

Tokuyamatcha & Onigirazu Bar serves extra-large rice ball sandwiches, like this one with 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢-𝘢𝘨𝘦 fried chicken, mayo & lettuce. 𝘖𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘪 rice balls & sushi are molded in the hand but these big versions aren't compressed & known as 𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘶 “not molded.”

A perfect cinnamon cruller donut dusted with crunchy sugar from Danny Meyer's original #DailyProvisions location by Union Square Cafe. If memory serves, they started out calling these “churro donuts” but must have reverted to the more conventional nomenclature at some point.

Absolutely transcendent wiener schnitzel at Kurt Gutenbrunner's venerable #WestVillage Austrian spot Wallsé. A tour de force from the toothsome, tender cutlet to the light, slightly crisp coating, and accompanied by highly refined versions of classic potato salad and cucumbers.

New at the #HighLine mural wall at 22nd St., Derek Fordjour's art celebrates African-American culture - 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 shows college marching band drum majors in the challenging feat of making a backbend so deep their tall shako hats almost touch the ground.

One of the tasty versions of 𝘮𝘢’𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘭 from #Hallab, who have been making these traditional filled cookies in Lebanon for nearly 150 years. This one was packed with the mild, earthy sweetness of finely-ground dates, others with walnut or pistachio. hallab.com.lb

𝘐𝘬𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢-𝘢𝘨𝘦 - squid tentacles battered & deep-fried, and a variety of #yakitori skewers including chicken thigh with leek, pork belly, bay scallops, beef skirt steak, and zucchini. Among the varied offerings at Tenjou on 23rd St, just west of Madison Sq. Park.

The lahmajun at homey little Lebanese spot Bread Thyme in West Roxbury, MA tops their fresh-made man'ouche flatbread with seasoned ground beef, tomato, pomegranate molasses and a hint of cayenne pepper. An interesting change from other versions with lamb. bread-thyme.square.site

@EIT I feel you, I have a real weakness for anything streusel-ish myself!

Digging down inside this apple crumb cake, from New York Bakery Cafe in Astoria, Queens, I found that it offered much more apple than crumb. (I finished it, to be very sure.) I do like apple, but for this particular type of cake, I really love crumb — the more, the better.

Zooming in on some offerings at Dawn's Til Dusk in Brooklyn's DUMBO nabe I've mentioned before - their excellent little tea cookies. Among the stand-outs, at left the Lena is a sophisticated lemon shortbread with #rosemary, and at right the Penelope features apricot and almonds.

One of the pleasures of the #NewYorker mag 100th anniv. was original cover art at @lallianceny, like Edward Sorel's epic 1995 vision of NYC as Breughel's Tower of Babel. Sharp eyes will find Japonica & Heidelberg restaurants plus Yonah Schimmel's & the Alliance Francaise itself!

An ephemeral view of a vacant lot somewhere in the vicinity of Chelsea, Manhattan. These temporary openings in the urban fabric quickly become thickly populated with #graffiti of the moment, until one day they just disappear under new construction.

Detail from Ming Fay's fabulous and extensive mosaic installation 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 in the Delancey-Essex subway station on the Lower East Side. mingfay.com/delancey