The One Thing Every Tourist in New York City Should Eat

An example of an amazing breakfast (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal New)

I'm a native New Yorker. I've lived in the city for my whole life and even went to university upstate. On a trip to the Baltics in 2017 a girl in the hostel I was staying at in Latvia asked me, a real New Yorker, what she should do on an upcoming trip to the city that never sleeps. Since then I've started thinking about the things that make a trip to New York unique compared to every other city in the States.

There are probably thousands of different kinds of cuisine in NYC but if you ask anyone who grew up here or has lived here for any amount of time there is one thing that New York has that can't really be found anywhere else - a bacon egg and cheese.

I'm serious. I've had amazing breakfasts all over the world but there is nothing that compares to a bacon egg and cheese sandwich. There are tons of modifications that can be made of course - egg whites, all sorts of combinations of meats, cheeses, condiments - but one thing is for certain, there is no where in the world that has an egg sandwich half as good as even the most mediocre one in NYC.

What makes it so good? It's hard to say. Some people will say it's the kaiser roll, soft and chewy but then again some people get it on a bagel too. Some say it's the fried egg and melty cheese. For other's it's the crisp salty bacon, salami, ham. But the reality is that this combination makes the perfect storm of flavor and deliciousness.

Where to get one is another highly contentious debate. New Yorkers are always seeking the perfect egg sandwich and everyone has their own holy grail of egg sandwich shops. For me the besis Lakeville Deli just down the block from the old offices of my first job out of college. A hungry man, which is 3 eggs a ton of bacon and cheese on a hero, from there is a rare treat for me these days but everytime I am home I make sure to try my best to get one.

The key is to find a bodega, a small deli slash mini supermarket that usually looks a little worn out and may or may not have a cat hanging out in the window, with a guy behind the counter churning out more sandwiches then you can count. There's usually a pile of mostly cooked bacon sitting above the grill and a squeeze bottle of oil next to the large spatula. There should be the clang of metal slapping on metal as your sandwich is being made, the crinkle of aluminum foil, and the salty umami scent of your sandwich wafting through the bag as you walk out the door. That's how you know you've probably got a winner.

Now take your sandwich to your favorite spot to relax and watch people, unwrap the foil, and thank me in the comments.