My 4 go-to Spots on the Upper East Side

Having lived on the Upper East Side for five years, I tried a lot of different neighborhood spots. It’s easy to find great fast-casual healthy restaurants, old-school Italian joints, ice cream parlors, and gourmet supermarkets with prepared foods. Here are four spots I found myself repeatedly going back to.

Hutch and Waldo is a tiny Australian cafe serving delicious coffees and breakfast items. I have probably had their Avocado Smash on 30+ occasions. It is reliably good. It has a thick-cut slice of bread (not toasted) topped with a generous amount of smashed avocado with tomatoes, feta cheese, microgreens, and a drizzle of olive oil. They also offer delivery, and it travels well!

Emmy Squared Pizza: Upper East Side - New York, New York UES location is just as good as their downtown location. I often picked up pizza to-go from here, with the MVP and Vodka pies being my favorite flavors. They are detroit-style pizzas, meaning they’re on the thicker side with a cheesy, crispy crust. They also have a great shaved brussels sprout salad here, and a great burger on a pretzel roll.

NR is a hip, dimly lit ramen shop with delicious craft cocktails. It feels like a spot that should be in Soho or on the Lower East Side. It’s a great date night spot, but definitely make a reservation ahead of time, because they get busy. I recommend the Sapporo Ramen. It has a buttery broth with chewy ramen noodles, and a soft slice of chicken breast.

Tal Bagels is my favorite bagel shop in NYC. The bagels are light, generously rolled/coated in their seasoning, and toast well. My favorite combination to get here is a Whole Wheat Everything Bagel (it barely even tastes whole wheat) toasted with scallion cream cheese and lox. The lox here is expensive, but the quality is notably better than most of its competitors.

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