It seems we’ve reached a point where the “Holiday Season” begins before and perhaps now includes Halloween. While this whole voting thing and sixty degree temperatures make Christmas feel like an eternity from now, Holiday themed decoration and events are here to remind us it’s (somewhat) rapidly approaching. One of the bright spots in this festivity-overload is the Holiday Markets, one of the best of which is known as the Bryant Park Winter Village. There in the heart of Midtown you can stroll a tree lined “village” of shops centered around an ice skating rink complete with bar and significantly shorter waits than Rockefeller Center.
The shops here offer up all sorts of artisan gifts your relatives can’t wait to find out they didn’t know you needed. While that’s all well and good, I stopped in for a different gift of the season: the large array of food vendors. And I sampled a good chunk of what’s available so you don’t have to. Winding through this maze can leave you tired and indecisive after all. My favorites are below:
Fish Taco @ Coney Shack 
The crispy fish taco slathered in crema and slaw is one of my favorites in the city. Don’t miss it.
Little Italy Burger @ Black Iron Burger Covering a burger in bacon and gorgonzola is almost cheating, but it’s way too delicious for me to care.
Hot Dog @ Perros y Vainas 
I never associated Venezuela with hot dogs, but South Americans always seem to know what to do with meat. This dog is no exception. The Caracas-style frankfurter comes slathered in three sauces, sprinkled with cheese and crispy shallots.
Chicken Cone @ Chick ‘n’ Cone Think of this as handheld chicken & waffles. The cone is actually just a rolled waffle that’s a little on the sweet side. But the real stand out is the fried chicken which comes in 4 flavors. I went with the kick’n ranch which indeed has a nice kick with just hint of the creamy condiment.
Buns @ Kaya NYC The Taiwanese spot specializes in one my favorite handheld snacks: buns. They come filled with your choice of Red Curry Chicken, Flank Steak, Pork Belly, Peking Duck and Tofu. You can’t go wrong so order a bunch.
Cretzel @ Breads Bakery You’ve heard of the Cronut, now here’s the new love child of unsuspecting baked goods. The flakey pretzel works well, especially because Breads covers it with almonds and nutella.
Donuts @ Doughnut Project This is one of my favorite doughnut shops and you can read a full review here. They serve up some comically named crazy flavors like the Salty Pretzel “Costanza” and PB&J 2.0. The combinations all seem to work but my favorite remains the beet glazed ricotta “Those Beetz are Dope”
Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
Bryant Park (40-42nd Streets between 5th & 6th Avenues)
New York, NY
