Image via Complex Original
When on the West Coast, ordering an Animal Style burger at In-N-Out elicits a certain smug thrill. The mustard-grilled patty, topped with caramelized onions, is not publicized, and so asking for one is akin to uttering a password that grants you entry into a clandestine, boisterous party behind a bookcase. Seeking out off-menu specialties is hardly a new phenomenon; we’ve long been giving waiters knowing glances while requesting insider preparations. Yet, because of their coveted nature, these items are always in flux. From tricked out burgers to nocturnal eggs, here are 13 dishes New York’s hoi polloi don’t know they should be clamoring for.
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Baked Fontina
Where: The Red Cat
Address: 227 10th Ave.
Website: theredcat.com
Chelsea mainstay the Red Cat draws loyalists and gallery fiends for shell steak and tempura green beans, but in-the-know regulars realize their meal isn't complete without a cast-iron skillet of bubbling, gooey, fontina cheese baked with olive oil, garlic, and thyme.
Beef Wellington Burger
Where: Le Perigord
Address: 405 E. 52nd St.
Website: leperigord.com
If fancy French Midtown haunt Le Perigord is serving a burger, you know there's nothing ordinary about the patty. Made with rendered foie gras, it's topped with a mélange of mushrooms, rolled in puff pastry, and finished off with truffle sauce. Naturally, a fork and knife is the only civilized way to tackle this one.
Mini Mac 'N Cheese
Where: Almond
Address: 12 E. 22nd St.
Website: almondnyc.com
With its blend of béarnaise sauce, gruyère, parmesan, shaved prosciutto, and sliced summer truffles, the heady mac 'n cheese at Flatiron brasserie Almond will leave you crying uncle after just a few bites. By downsizing to the daintier (but still mighty) Le Mini Grand Mac 'n Cheese, leftovers may not be obligatory.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Where: Isola
Address: 19 Crosby St.
Website: isolasoho.com
After dinner at Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar in Soho, the dessert menu's blood orange panna cotta and pistachio semifreddo will tempt. Skip them. It's the chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven and slightly under baked, that you won't want to leave without biting into.
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
Where: Black Tree Sandwich Shop
Address: 131 Orchard St.
Website: blacktreenyc.com
On weekend mornings, Lower East Siders ease their way out of hangovers with Black Tree Sandwich Shop's artisanal rendition of a breakfast classic: farm-fresh eggs, Prairie Breeze cheddar, and thick-cut slabs of bacon on ciabatta. Luckily, for those evenings when, say, a Cubano doesn't appeal, one of these protein bombs is a possibility.
Whole Crispy Snapper
Where: Molyvos
Address: 871 7th Ave.
Website: molyvos.com
Ensconced in a Greek restaurant, the desire to dig into a whole fish is a natural one. Molyvos chef Jim Botsacos knows this, so seafood-loving Midtowners can rest assured a crispy whole snapper topped with a vivid ouzo, orange, and honey glaze awaits.
Dry-Aged Ribeye
Where: Osteria Morini
Address: 218 Lafayette St.
Website: osteriamorini.com
Some nights it's on offer, some nights it's not, but when the 120-day dry-aged boneless ribeye does make an appearance at Michael White's bustling Osteria Morini in Nolita, customers swoon over a crusty exterior that yields to rich, buttery innards.
Roasted Duck
Where: Edi & the Wolf
Address: 102 Ave. C
Website: ediandthewolf.com
Wiener schnitzel and spätzle is what usually leave us revved at Edi & the Wolf. For those who have the foresight to call the cozy East Village Austrian restaurant 24 hours in advance, thoughts instantly turn to duck. With just three friends in tow, a whole roasted duck feast, complete with pretzel brioche, braised red cabbage, and marjoram jus, can be yours.
Special Burger
Where: Peels
Address: 325 Bowery
Website: peelsnyc.com
The burger on the menu at Bowery hangout Peels-grass-fed beef, cheddar, pickles, griddled onions-certainly curbs carnivorous cravings, but it's the secret one you really want. Tucked into a fresh Parker House onion roll, this house-ground orb of Piedmontese beef is layered with pimento cheese, house-smoked bacon, pickled jalapeno, and red onion slaw. Best part: predictable fries are passed over for tater tots.
Mikey-Style Gyro
Where: Amali
Address: 115 E. 60th St.
Website: amalinyc.com
Lunchtime at Upper East Side Mediterranean restaurant Amali can be a classy affair, revolving around merguez washed down by rosé. Or, if you get there early enough—before they run out—it could be as simple as street food, in the form of a gyro hot off the charcoal grill. For the most decadent results, ask for it "Mikey-style," plumped up with bacon.
Ahi Tuna Tartare
Where: L&W Oyster Co.
Address: 254 5th Ave.
Website: landwoyster.com
A raw bar helmed by a Per Se alum is reason enough for residents straddling Kips Bay and Flatiron to rejoice. When bivalve fatigue sets in, however, they can request the ahi tuna tartare. A staff favorite, the tuna is wrapped in nori and accompanied by yuzu aioli, a swirl of bright lemon gastrique, and a mess of crunchy wonton chips.
Carabineros Shrimp
Where: Cull & Pistol
Address: 75 Ninth Ave.
Website: cullandpistol.com
Grouper tacos nestled in homemade tortillas with chipotle crema always sate at Chelsea Market seafood joint Cull & Pistol. Do order them, as long as they don't keep you from springing for the special Moroccan Carabineros shrimp. These jumbo red crustaceans—heads and all—are cooked on the plancha or grilled, beautifully and simply, with Maldon sea salt and lemon juice.
Fry Bread with Toffee Sauce
Where: Blue Smoke
Address: 116 E. 27th St.
Website: bluesmoke.com
Blue Smoke's warm, puffy fry bread is always served with spicy chipotle-herb butter (shown here). Cave in to your sweet tooth-even before the spareribs arrive-at both the Gramercy and Battery Park locations by slathering it in pastry chef Michiko Cinar's warm, sticky toffee sauce instead.
