NYC Restaurants: Put The Latest News About Dining Out On Your Plate

NEW YORK CITY — Get ready to chow down on another weekly helping of New York City food news.

Gnoshers this past week saw the New York Times rank the city's 100 best restaurants in a list that skewed heavily toward Manhattan, a healthy dollop of gelato chops open, Mayor Eric Adams declare he "hearts" a boozy laundromat and more.

Patch, as always, gorged on as much one tiny local newsroom could fit in one week from the city's restaurant scene.

Even with more left on the plate, here's the latest. Check back next week for seconds.

The venerable New York Times named "The 100 Best Restaurants In New York City 2023" this week.

Restaurant critic Pete Wells wrote the list is a "composite portrait of the city," which could well double as an apology to New Yorkers who might be miffed their favorite eateries aren't on the list.

The Gray Lady's list skews heavily toward Manhattan, with 65 restaurants from the borough taking up spots on the list. Of those, a sizable helping came from Midtown.

Brooklyn had just 19 spots on the list, as did Queens — an arguable surprise given that borough's wide-ranging and diverse offerings.

The Bronx had only four restaurants, while poor Staten Island lived up to its "Forgotten Borough" nickname with two.

• Midtown Absolutely Dominates NYT Best 100 Restaurant List
• 1 Bed Stuy Restaurant Lands On NYT's 100 Best Ranking

Another ranking by Eater picked out the city's 15 "hottest" new restaurants for this month. One such eatery was Balkan StrEAT, which also garnered praise from the New Yorker.

• West Village Balkan Eatery Named 'Hot': Ranking

Gelato had a cool moment.

At least two new gelato shops opened recently.

Venchi set up a location along Lexington Avenue near East 78th Street on the Upper East Side.

The Northern Italian maker has been around since 1878, churning out all-natural, palm-oil free chocolate treats, hot chocolate and iconic chocolates like chocoviar, truffles, gianduiotti, cremini, pistachio and hazelnut. The brand has 90 signature gelato flavors and 350 chocolate recipes.

Across the river in Queens, Figo Il Gelato Italiano opened a spot in Astoria. The restaurant's second location opened April 15 and locals already appear sweet on it.

"We didn’t imagine how many people would come to visit us," the eatery said in a Facebook post. "From the bottom of our hearts, grazie mille and we look forward to serving you for many years to come!"

• Italian Chocolatier And Gelato Shop Open Sweet New UES Spot
• Astoria Welcomes Italian Gelato Spot On 23rd Avenue

In non-gelato news, a Mediterranean cocktail bar opened in Hell's Kitchen.

Gilda is the latest from local restaurateurs John Dempsey and Maren Powell. It boasts a Mediterranean menu inspired by Israeli skewer restaurants, with black garlic and molasses hummus, labneh marinated chicken shawarma, lamb Shashlik with pomegranate amba and more.

But maybe burritos are more your feed speed this week.

Ursula opened a new Bed-Stuy location to complement its beloved Crown Heights eatery.

Also in Brooklyn, the breakfast joint Egg decamped from Williamsburg to open a new spot in Bed-Stuy.

And for those with a sweet tooth, Leidylicious Cake Shop is set to open in Forest Hills as soon as May 1.

• New Mediterranean Cocktail Bar Opens In Hell's Kitchen
• Brooklyn Burrito Spot Ursula Opens New Bed Stuy Location
• Beloved Breakfast Restaurant Returns To Brooklyn After COVID Closure
• Forest Hills To Welcome New Pastry Shop On Queens Boulevard In May

A boozy laundromat in Crown Heights has Mayor Eric Adams' "heart."

The mayor helped celebrate the grand opening of Pearl Lee's Washtub — a combined bar and laundromat — this past week.

"I love seeing the new ways our small business owners are innovating in New York City," Adams said in a tweet. "Pearl Lee's Washtub in Crown Heights is a great example, allowing people to do their laundry and have a drink."

Adams can be seen in the tweet holding a sign emblazoned with the new, much-derided "We (Heart) NYC logo.

• Mayor Hearts Boozy Laundromat In Crown Heights

As with every week, not everything went well in New York City’s dining scene.

City health inspectors ordered several Brooklyn and Queens restaurants closed because of roaches, rats and other unsavory issues.

• NYC Restaurants Ordered Closed April 14-21