The food in New York City is amazing. That much is obvious. Saying we ate well in NYC in 2015 is just like saying we also looked at some tall buildings.
You know what we mean, right? The food here is so good that when TripAdvisor ranked the 10 best restaurants in the United States for 2015, numbers one, three, and nine on the list were all located right here in NYC.
With amazing food comes amazing food innovations, and there were a ton of them in 2015.
There was the ChickenShack. UberEATS started delivering delicacies from big-name restaurants in ten minutes or fewer. We ate rainbow bagels and we ate pizza topped with pizza.
In case you're wondering what the craziest, most wild NYC food innovations in NYC in 2015 were, we've compiled them for your reading pleasure. This list will make you hungry, so we really hope you're reading it on a full stomach.
1. Sushi burrito
We all love burritos, and we all love sushi, so we were absolutely exhilarated when we learned of Uma Temakeria's plans to smash them together into one nearly perfect delicacy: the sushi burrito.
The sushi burrito combines the convenience and immediacy of eating a burrito with the deliciousness, freshness, and healthiness of sushi.
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Plus, it also removes all that anxiety about how many rolls to order, how many rolls to eat, and how many rolls are too many. You know, sometimes eating sushi can be stressful.
Eating the sushi burrito is definitely not stressful. It's definitely delicious, and was definitely one of the hottest culinary innovations in NYC in 2015.
2. Dominique Ansel's Cinnamon Spun Roll
It's pretty standard in NYC culture to obsess over all treats created by Dominique Ansel. We've definitely gone insane over a cookie shot or a Cronut in our own time. Luckily for us, both the cookie shot and the Cronut's glory will stretch into 2016.
The Cinnamon Spun Roll? Not so much.
If you didn't try the Cinnamon Spun Roll, we'll let Ansel himself explain it to you.
"Each one is a long strip of dough rolled together like a spool of yarn, twice baked (once after soaking in a spiced custard) and topped with #AppleJack #frosting," Ansel wrote on his Instagram.
They're only available at the Dominique Ansel Kitchen in the West Village through December 31st which renders them a completely 2015 treat. Make sure you get out and get one while you can.
3. Cheeseception
iam_themayor #Cheeseception @trichome_kev have you seen pizza topped with mini slices of pizza ?!? š¤š„
The pizza craze in this city is real. More than real; it's an all encompassing obsession.
So it stands to reason that the top pizza topping of 2015 would be... wait for it... more pizza. That's right. The first, large piece of pizza is topped with little tiny pieces of pizza.
You'd think it'd qualify as a pizza overload, but we're not sure that concept exists in NYC, the pizza capital of the solar system.
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In fact, we think the idea is brilliant.
Vinnie's, a Brooklyn pizzeria, is the one who came up with the deliciously existential concept in June. It's called Cheeseception, and it sold more than 1,000 slices in its first week.
The Cheeseception frenzy grew so large, in fact, that Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Sean Berthiaume, the co-owner of Vinnie's on The Jimmy Kimmel Show in June. One of NYC's top foods of the year? We certainly think so.
4. Rainbow bagels
fire_fist_shaw It's almost midnight, I'm hungry and the first thing that comes to mind is the rainbow bagel with confetti cream cheese...Now all I need is someone to go with someday to get it smh š¤ššØ #rainbowbagels #foodporn #onthetodolist #goodeats #midnightcravings SB: It's too late to be eating, but it's never too late for wishful thinking š
If NYC is obsessed with pizza, we don't even know what word we'd use to describe our relationship with bagels. Absorbed? Besotted?
Either way, all the best breakfasts in this city are centered around the toasted, doughy goodness we're known for making so well.
That said, there was one bagel shop in this city who took our bagel passion to new heights in 2015. The shop in question is The Bagel Store, and they're located on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.
We caught ourselves running there, or daydreaming about running there, many times in the last year. All because we wanted to acquire The Bagel Store's rainbow bagel and shove it in our faces.
The rainbow bagel isn't just pretty. It's also delicious. It's topped with a fun-fetti cream cheese, lined with rainbow sprinkles, sweeter than any bagel in memory.
Does the rainbow bagel transcend the limits of the bagel genre and cross into donut territory? Well, why don't you get down to The Bagel Store and decide for yourself?
,5. The Pope Pizza
gabiporter I am not generally known for restraint, so when I shot this picture of a portrait of Pope Francis done with pizza toppings on a pizza on Monday, I've never had a more difficult time not Instagramming anything ever. Go pick up the @nypost today if you want the full story. #popepizza
You remember the Pope's visit, don't you?
Well, if you don't, the Pope came to NYC in September, and he told Father Hernan Peredes that he "wished" to have a slice of pizza while in NYC.
Since no one in NYC does anything halfway, of course Bleecker Street Pizza in Greenwich Village took the Pope's words to heart.
You know what they did, don't you?
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Yeah, the designed a pizza with the Pope's face. It was made of mozzarella and tomato, and the Pope's robe was made from ricotta cheese.
His cross was made from anchovies, his hat was made from pineapple, and he red and green parts of his garments were made from red peppers and cucumbers.
Bleecker Street Pizza's manager Tony Salihaj said the Pope's skin tone was the hardest part to get right, but that it was eventually made from a mixture of ricotta cheese and raspberries.
The pizza took Salihaj and his time five hours to make, so Salihaj said they didn't have time to make any more. Not even after he was offered $1,000 for a pie.
6. The ChickenShack
Was the ChickenShack NYC's most stellar innovation of 2015?
We're not going to answer that question. We'll leave it up to you. We will say that we've loved Shake Shack with gusto ever since it started as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park to support the Madison Square Park Conservancy's first art installation in 2004.
Obviously the cart was a success, and fans lined up dutifully for three summers until it the cart finally evolved into the burger joint we're so wild about.
However, never until the startling developments of last summer could we eat a fried chicken sandwich at the burger joint.
Were we excited when the ChickenShake came to Shake Shack's three Brooklyn locations on July 7th? That's an understatement. Were we devastated, when, on July 9th they announced the ChickenShack was gone? We certainly were.
Then, on July 16th, we were more than stoked when the ChickenShack came back, so stoked in fact, we've been eating them for lunch every day since. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but we definitely eat them for lunch whenever we're in Brooklyn.
7. UberEATS
We've loved Uber for bringing us around town for years. This year, it happened. Uber's excellence reached new heights, and in 2015, they started delivering food.
It happened in April. Uber launched UberEATS which was built right into the Uber app.
UberEAT's dishes, delivered between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., range from $9 to $13 in price. They promise delivery in 10 minutes flat, and offer a rotating daily menu.
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This year, they served dishes from big-time establishments like Katz's Deli, Pies 'n' Things, and Red Hook Lobster Pound.
They also did some pretty great things this past summer. For instance, on National Banana Lovers Day, they delivered banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery for free to the first 300 customers that ordered it.
No, UberEATS will never replace Seamless. It's nice, though, because you don't have to stress about what to order. It also comes much faster than Seamless.
In terms of food happenings for 2015, we'll definitely chalk UberEATS up to a win.
Check out 9 NYC People, Places, and Things We Were Heartbroken to Lose in 2015.
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]