The NYC Carb Trifecta
Taste & See: There are a few foods associated with NYC that every visitor should try to eat, and, perhaps no coincidence, many of them are carbs. 
Treasures untold await. Until you read this. Then they'll be told treasures. But still waiting...so go eat them!
A prime example is bagels. The best of these is generally agreed to be H&H, at W. 80th & Broadway, on the Upper West Side. During his 93 plates project, The Wandering Foodie wrote about his expedition to H&H, and really said all that needs to be said. I won't be redundant, except to agree wholeheartedly: just order whatever's most freshly baked & tear into it like a lover. The Angeleño concurs.
Next on the list is probably pizza. Sure, we quibble with other cities around the US that make good pizza, but NYC's overall quality-per-slice average is pretty phenomenal. Even the bad pizza is good. It is possible I've had better pizza at random locations around the US than the best pizza I've had here:
Mushroom & Prosciutto and Pear Pizzas, Wine O'Clock, Prosser, WA
BBQ Chicken & Meat Combo Pizza, Pizza A Fetta, Cannon Beach, OR (the Thai chicken is superb but alas, I haven't got a photo of that).
But I'll never really know, unless these rival pizza makers set up shop right across from each other, fire the pies, and immediately feed me. So far I have been unable to create such a gathering and thus rely on the charity of others who have taken on the terribly wonderful task of consuming pizza from Franny's to Keste in the quest for the best.
I took the Angeleño to Keste, on Bleeker between 6th & 7th in the Village, widely regarded as "best," whatever that can possibly mean in a city with such great choices. I'm a huge fan, and my huge pizza fed me twice, which was handy, given that it cost about $25. The waiter neglected to note the price when he described the special in glowing terms. I mean, I could have asked, but why spoil tales of rucola & prosciutto with a price tag? The Angeleño & I were a little sticker shocked at the total bill but he was more than persuaded: NYC makes good pizza.
*It should be noted, of course, that Keste, like many of the other great NYC pizza joints, doesn't make New York style pizza. It makes la vera pizza napoletana, "true" pizza, of the style of Naples. But if borrowing someone else's culture and blending it in to what's already there isn't what it means to be American, I don't know what is. I'll gladly claim Keste as ours.
Finally, the NYC carb trifecta wouldn't be complete without the cookie.
What, you didn't know we are famous for cookies? Oh, man. Someone swindled you good if you came all the way to NYC and didn't taste our famous cookies. I mean, I can understand wanting to hide the good stuff from our guests, but it is still not very nice.
Tell you what. I can't make you the famous cookie; none but the sacred cookie masters can do that, though many of tried. But I can give you a big fat photo, right up in your cookie-craving face.
Oh. That just added to the craving? Sorry.
Levain Bakery, W 74th St, just off Amsterdam on the Upper West Side, is the cookie temple. I'd recommend trying them all, but that will cost you half a Keste special pizza, so you may want to pick one and savor it. I love them all, but the oatmeal raisin is the sleeper favorite; you just don't see it coming. The Angeleño was a fan of the double chocolate. A Levain cookie, still warm, gooey with melting chocolate, savored on the steps of a nearby brownstone on a chilly day is about as close to perfect as you're going to find this side of heaven.
Next time you're in town, forget the five star restaurants and get yourself a cookie.
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