It’s just about possible to find near anything in Manhattan. For entertainment, it’s the greatest city in the world, with the best theatre, live music, dance, and just about anything one could imagine. It does indeed live up to its reputation, and the daring tourists are often surprised, and even delighted, to discover what’s considered experimental these days. For real experiments, though, it’s a challenge to try to find a food that a hundred locals don’t have an opinion about.

It’s all here, in the place where all cultures converge, and for a true gourmet, it’s a paradise. If one happens to prefer to get their food fried and on the cheap, it’s also a pretty glorious place, too. These days, two of the foods that the locals and the visitors are all raving about are, once again, probably unexpected for all the salivating they seem to muster. But one visit to each of these places, and it will be clear what the fuss is all about.

Close enough to NYU to walk (but everything is close enough to walk to, if one has the time), is Pommes Frites . Customers can eat these Belgian French Fries in the place, if there’s any room, or sneak away to the luxury NY hotel and indulge in private. This is the real thing, too, the way they do it up in German-speaking countries, where the potatoes are fried twice to give them the extra crisp, and ketchup is available, but mayo and curry or other sauces are recommended for a dizzying experience.

It didn’t take Sex & the City to put Magnolia Bakery on the map, but it probably didn’t hurt much. The secret golden offering here is the cupcake. It’s not the ordinary grocery store kind, although no one would expect that of New York. This is a blast of flavor and rich goodness, the kind that reminds people of childhood. These places are worth trying when visiting the city, though not necessarily on the same day. It’s good to stretch these guilty pleasures out, so that the memory can sink in.

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