The Zagat guide helped herald the restaurant revolution, with its user-submitted reviews and rating systems, but the gourmet experience is no longer restricted to those who eat out. Responding to consumer demand and other changes in the dining landscape, Zagat has created the New York City Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining 2008 guide, collecting ratings and reviews for both brick-and-mortar shops as well as online retailers, based in New York City and across the country. Even if you can’t make it to the fine dining establishments cited in the Zagat guide, you can capture the experience under your own roof.
New York City has long been known as a gourmet destination, but good food doesn’t exist only in restaurants. Any number of delicious concoctions and top-shelf ingredients — just like the ones you find in those fancy dining halls — can come home with you too, whether you’re simply looking for takeout or entertaining in your home. Zagat can point you in the right direction.
Coming out on top in Zagat’s New York City Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining 2008 guide with average Quality, Display, and Service rating scores of 28 are Zeze for flowers, Moore Brothers for wine and liquor, and among bakeries, Colette’s Cakes. Right on the heels of this powerful group are seven more merchants with scores of 27: Lobel’s Meats for meats/poultry, Richart Design for candy, Belle Fleur for flowers, Ito En for coffee/tea, Minamoto Kitchoan for candy, Bottlerocket Wine for wine/liquor, and Petrossian for caviar/smoked fish.
The guide also provides highly regarded picks in nearly three dozen categories, reflecting the wide range of New York City’s markets. Can’t spend a fortune? No worries there — Zagat lists 90 of the city’s best and most delicious buys, such as Borgatti’s Ravioli, Madonia Bakery, and LeNell’s, which happen to be found in Brooklyn. And speaking of that borough, Zagat notes another welcome trend: the newfound popularity of formidable bakeries in Brooklyn, such as the French-Belgian Colson; Trois Pommes, a spinoff of Union Square Café; Sweet Melissa; Betty Bakery in Boerum Hill; and Cheeks in Williamsburg.
Like so many other aspects of modern life, our dining habits have been affected by the Internet, a fact taken into account by Zagat New York City Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining 2008 guide, which now includes ratings and reviews for the most notable online retailers, 225 of which are based in New York with another 75 spread across the states. Garnering top honors are Enstrom’s for candy; Hudson Valley Foie Gras for meat, poultry, and game; Upton Team Imports for coffee and tea; and Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, founded by Armandino Batali (father of Mario).
These picks and more, including party venues, gourmet supermarkets, media personalities, and stats on the latest trends are all contained in the Zagat New York City Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining 2008 guide. The food revolution is here, right in your home, and dinner will be served. Zagat.com
