Where to Eat in November: The Musket Room, Naro, Tatiana, and More

Fresh off yet another Michelin star, The Musket Room is a New York favorite that deserves your attention. Here, executive chef Mary Attea and pastry chef Camari Mick deliver creative, sublime dishes that never cease to satisfy. Choose from an omnivore or vegan tasting menu ($109 per person) or order a la carte — you can’t go wrong either way.

The same team behind New York favorites Atomix and Atoboy are behind this stunner of a spot at Rockefeller Center where you can choose between two different dining experiences — a tasting menu ($195 per person) or a prix-fixe menu ($50 for lunch and $85 for dinner) — both of which are grounded in centuries-old Korean culinary traditions and techniques.

Satisfy the collective nostalgia for all things ‘90s — think appletinis and Jell-O shots — with a stop at this spot from cocktail expert Julie Reiner (Clover Club and Leyenda) and company. The original Milady’s, a beloved old-school dive bar known for draft beer, burgers, and a diverse crowd (Bruce Springsteen was known to drop in from time to time), closed in 2014 after being in business for decades, but Reiner and her team recently reopened it, retaining a bit of its original spirit (yes, there are burgers and chicken fingers) while adding some more decidedly cheffy touches (caviar dip pie, anyone?). Better yet, you’ll likely find Reiner behind the bar, along with a rotating lineup of guest bartenders.

Walk-ins only.

Rejoice! Finally reopened after an agonizingly long renovation process, Great N.Y. Noodletown, is still a classic stalwart that encapsulates everything that makes New York special, attracting New Yorkers from every corner of the city with its wildly expansive menu of Cantonese specialties. In other words, if you’ve not been here yet, stop whatever you’re doing and head straight to Bowery and Bayard immediately. Pro tip: Everyone goes for the char siu and the wonton noodle soup (as they should), but don’t sleep on the silky-smooth Fishman congee. Also, it’s cash only.

Walk-ins only.

After making it big in D.C., chef Kwame Onwuachi has finally come home to New York to open Tatiana at Lincoln Center. Named for his sister, it’s a deeply personal love letter to the foods he grew up with, both here in the Bronx and in Nigeria, as well as the Afro Caribbean traditions at the heart of his cooking.

It’s a true family affair at this new Bronx restaurant from a group of Cocina Cente veterans. Chef and owner Moises Lopez, along with his wife, Eluisania, and his brother and sister, opened Tobala with the aim of exploring the breadth of Oaxacan cuisine and small-batch mezcals. Don’t sleep on the lamb tacos, aguachile de camarones, or the elote tierno, which features a chicatana sauce made with ants imported directly from Oaxaca.

M. Wells is the very definition of cozy and well worth a visit to Long Island City, especially for its pitch-perfect French onion soup. Chef Hugue Dufour draws influences from around the world for this globally inspired, always slightly off-kilter bistro where Dufour’s French Canadian roots run deep. Think mussels with uni cream and fries, heritage goat tagine, and tres leches. Plan ahead: M. Wells’ annual holiday market makes its return on Nov. 13.

There are a number of momo purveyors scattered throughout Jackson Heights — all of them worth checking out, in our humble opinion — but in this year’s annual Momo Crawl, Om Wok reigned supreme, thanks to its impeccably juicy beef momos. You won’t just find momos at Om Wok, though; do try some of their chicken lollipops, crispy fried tofu with honey and chile, gyuma (blood sausage), and thenthuk (hand-pulled noodle soup).

Walk-ins only.

The team behind Ayat and Al Badawi are behind this halal Italian restaurant where you can find all the crowd pleasers, from margherita pizzas and fried calamari to fettucine Bolognese, eggplant parmigiana, and tiramisu. Pro tip: Because the restaurant doesn’t serve wine, it’s also BYOB.

Call (718) 925-2667 for reservations.

One of the city’s most covetable pizzas comes not from a fancy Neapolitan-style wood-fired oven but from an “off-brand” home oven that belongs to chef Chris Hansell in his Bushwick apartment.

For Hansell, a New York native who grew up just outside of Queens, pizza is something near and dear to him — a tradition he’d share with his father, who passed away in 2011 — but it wasn’t until just before the pandemic that he started to take pizza making seriously. Since then, Hansell has spent time in the kitchens at the original Bellucci Pizza in Astoria, L’industrie in Williamsburg, and F&F Pizzeria in Carroll Gardens and in December 2021, he debuted Chrissy’s Pizza (an allusion to his nickname) where, as he says, “The goal is not to make a fancy ‘new’ New York-style pie using a sourdough starter, etc., but just a heightened version of the pies I enjoyed with my father as a kid.”

Orders are already sold out through November, but you can check the Chrissy’s Pizza Instagram account regularly to see when pre-orders open up (setting notifications also helps). (One downside to that home oven is that Hansell can only make close to 20 pies per week.)

Pre-orders required; pick-up only.

Chef Yuji Tani wowed diners near and far with his House Nishiazabu restaurant, which set a high bar for French Japanese cuisine in Tokyo, and beginning next month, you’ll find him in his new home in New York, serving up the same level of excellent, thoughtful fare at an intimate eight-seat counter in Greenpoint. The menu at House Brooklyn changes all the time but do anticipate dishes like Tani’s signature decadent foie gras pilaf and light-as-air burrata with black currant sauce, strawberries, and black pepper.

Do note: House Brooklyn shares the same space as two other straight-from-Japan brands that are definitely worth paying a visit to: Dashi Okume, a purveyor of premium dashi (you can even make your own blend!), and Cibone, which sells Japanese ceramics, housewares, and art.

Note: Reservations are open now for Dec. 1.