This year seems so a good year for a great trip. At the Times food desk, where I am an editor and also a writer a weekly newsletter As for dining in New York City, we’re already searching for the best restaurants of the year, and I suspect many of you are also planning trips with food in mind.
Try to figure out which reservations you need and which ones worth a line can be overwhelming but don’t fret. I asked two of my colleagues, Priya Krishna and Brett Anderson, and we have tips for choosing a restaurant when you’re on the go — or even in your own backyard.
Ask the locals
Traveling to a new place can be nerve-wracking, but don’t be afraid to ask the barista at that coffee shop near your hotel or your tour guide for recommendations. Often times, instead of sending locals to the restaurants that make everyone’s best list, they send them to their favorite haunts.
“My first step is to search my contacts for local people who are asking me for advice or contacts who can introduce me to local people,” Brett said. Both he and Priya check local newspapers and websites, although finding lively coverage of the local food scene can be increasingly difficult. “Local news is much more helpful in larger cities,” Brett added.
Use map features
In October I went to Paris and felt like I was drowning in elections. Thank goodness for Instagram’s Saved Places feature. Use it to save restaurants you want to visit. Just click on the address in a restaurant’s Instagram bio, and that should take you to a page with its location, starred posts, and other items, including a little bookmark. Click on this bookmark to add it to your saved places.
To find this list, open Instagram’s sandwich bar (in the top-right corner of your profile page) and click the bookmark icon next to “Saved.” A similar feature is available on Google Maps.
You can also use Instagram to see which restaurants are commonly tagged in a city. That might mean they’re trendy, but I find that a medium number of tags (about 1,000 or so) usually indicates local worship.
Priya uses Instagram in a slightly different way when scouting. “I like checking out the Instagram pages of chefs in the area that I respect,” she told me. Then she looks at who they follow or where they eat out regularly. For example, it was through the Instagram of Donald Hawkthe chef at Valentine in Phoenix for finding Kabob Grill N’ Go, one of her favorite restaurants of 2022.
When do you book reservations?
If you simply have to go to a popular restaurant, remember to start looking for a table about a month in advance. Here in New York City, for example, many so-called hot restaurants take reservations no more than three weeks in advance.
New reservations usually go online around 10am on platforms like Resy. And if you forget to make a reservation – Hey, it’s happening! — Cancellations are usually made about 24 hours before the scheduled meal time. (One chef told me last year that about 25 percent of reservations at his popular restaurant were canceled on the day of.) And don’t be afraid to walk down a popular stretch of restaurant and stop by a place where the menu really draws you in, like Brett it put it, “Menues that make me hungry move me.” Follow your hunger and you can’t (probably) go wrong.
For more
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
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Foreign Minister Antony Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing about what the Pentagon described as a Chinese “intelligence-gathering balloon” flying over the US
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legislature were concerned over the balloon over a recently classified report outlining the potential use of advanced espionage technology by American adversaries.
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US employer 517,000 jobs created There was an unexpected surge in hiring last month, sending the unemployment rate to its lowest level in more than half a century.
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The Northeast wakes up dangerously cold temperatureswhere the wind falls below zero in places.
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US officials fear Russia will launch a nuclear weapon have loosened up since tense moments last fall.
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A jury found Elon Musk is not liable for any losses suffered by Tesla investors after tweeting about the company in 2018.
CULTURAL CALENDAR
🍿 Magic Mike’s Last Dance (Friday): Steven Soderbergh remains one of the most interesting American film directors. In the last four years alone, he’s churned out a Covid-era thriller (“Kimi“), a historical neo-noir crime thriller (“No sudden movement“), a light Meryl Streep drama (“let them all talk“), a whimsical semi-comedy about the Panama Papers (“The Laundromat“) and a film about a sports agent that he shot on an iPhone (“Soaring Bird“). Now he returns with the third installment in a series that began with the 2012 film Magic Mike. Salma Hayek joins Channing Tatum in this case. There is something for everybody.
📚 “Big Swiss” (Tuesday): A woman has the job of transcribing a sex therapist’s recorded sessions. As she listens to some of these conversations – some of the most intimate imaginable – she begins to fall in love with a particular patient, a tall blond woman, whom she nicknames the book and gives it its title. Then she meets her in real life. (If this summary interests you, read it this Vulture profile by the author, Jen Beagin.)
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
waffles
When was the last time you got out your waffle iron? If you can’t remember, then it’s high time for a crunchy, golden brunch waffles, brushed with butter and maple syrup. This no-fuss recipe has everything you want in a waffle — those crispy edges, that fluffy texture, those little square pockets just waiting to be filled with syrup. Make a batch this weekend, then freeze any leftovers that are easy to reheat in the toaster. Her future self will be very thankful to find her on Monday morning when such a deluxe breakfast is usually off the table.
A selection of New York Times recipes is available to all readers. Please note a cooking subscription for full access.
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Lonliness: Retirees lose millions of dollars every year to love scams. How to protect your loved ones.
Better Training Secret: Caffeine can help you lift more weight and to run faster.
ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER
The art of pilling sweaters
Nothing spoils a cozy outfit like balls of fuzz defacing a sweater, but a little effort and a some Wirecutter approved tools can help revive even the worst offenders in your winter wardrobe. Use a motorized tool to depilate synthetic fabrics. Go slow and lay your garment on a flat surface to avoid cuts and snags. For delicate natural fibers like wool and cashmere, Wirecutter experts recommend using a gentler metal sweater comb. Gently slide the teeth of the comb over the lint spots while pulling the fabric taut. Pick up any remaining lint with a sticky lint roller, then step into your like-new knits with confidence. – Zoë Vanderweide
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Connecticut, Women’s College Basketball: When UConn announced that former International Player of the Year Paige Buckers would miss this season with a knee injury, all eyes fell on Azzi Fudd, one of football’s brightest young stars. Then Fudd injured his knee. “So much for having two generation players, right?” Geno Auriemma, longtime coach of UConn, said the Times. Injuries have so drained UConn’s roster that the team had to postpone a game last month. And yet the huskies keep winning; The team is now 21-2, although at times there are only seven players in the lineup. Tomorrow noon East on Fox.
Related: Women’s basketball has seen one rash from injuries this season.
