thewayofthefuture

Introduction
In September 2012, I moved from San Francisco to New York. A few months after arriving, I was looking for a way to explore more of the city's neighborhoods and landed on the (possibly absurd) idea of trying to find food from every country in the world, alphabetically, within the five boroughs.

In this thread I will chronicle our progress and challenges, solicit advice, and post plans for upcoming meals. There is no set schedule, but the goal is to have one meal every two weeks or so (yes, this is going to take a while). In the event that a particular country's cuisine cannot be found at a restaurant or event, we will resort to our best attempt at a home-prepared meal.

For the purposes of this project there are 200 countries: the 193 UN States (with UK broken into England, Scotland, and Wales), plus Hong Kong, Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan, and Vatican City.

If you would like to join us or if you have any recommendations for cuisines we have yet to cover - particularly those coming up soon - please chime in.




The List
1) Afghanistan - Afghan Kebab House - 764 9th Avenue, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan (April 6, 2013)
2) Albania - Dukagjini Burek - 758 Lydig Avenue, Bronxdale, Bronx (April 20, 2013)
3) Algeria - Salam - 104 West 13th Street, West Village, Manhattan (May 5, 2013)
4) Andorra - Casa Mono - 52 Irving Place, Gramercy Park, Manhattan (May 18, 2013)
5) Angola - cooked at home with food purchased from Sidiki African Market - 96 Ralph Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (August 24, 2013)
6) Antigua & Barbuda - Cholo & Sons Bakery - 3825 White Plains Road, Williamsbridge, Bronx (September 15, 2013)
7) Argentina - Boca Juniors Restaurant - 81-08 Queens Boulevard, Elmhurst, Queens (September 25, 2013)
8) Armenia - Sevan - 21607 Horace Harding Expressway, Bayside, Queens (October 5, 2013)
9) Australia - The Australian - 20 West 38th Street, Midtown, Manhattan & Tuck Shop - 68 East 1st Street #1, East Village, Manhattan (October 20, 2013)
10) Austria - Edi and the Wolf - 102 Avenue C, Alphabet City/East Village, Manhattan (November 9, 2013)
11) Azerbaijan - The Lights of Baku - 2707 West 86th Street, Gravesend, Brooklyn (December 14, 2013)
12) Bahamas - Norman's Cay - 74 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan (January 18, 2014)
13) Bahrain - cooked at home with ingredients from Sahadi's - 187 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn (January 23, 2014)
14) Bangladesh - Sagar - 168-25B Hillside Avenue & Dhaka Sweets & Restaurant - 168-32 Hillside Avenue, Jamaica, Queens (February 1, 2014)
15) Barbados - Cock's Bajan Restaurant & Bakery - 806 Nostrand Avenue, Crown Heights, Brooklyn (February 22, 2014)
16) Belarus - Belarus Gastronom - 495-497 Neptune Avenue, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (March 1, 2014)
17) Belgium - Markt - 676 6th Avenue, Flatiron District, Manhattan (March 23, 2014)
18) Belize - Garifuna Day Festival, Evangelical Garifuna Church, 344 Brook Avenue, Mott Haven, Bronx (April 12, 2014)
19) Bhutan - Himalayan Yak - 72-20 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights, Queens (April 5, 2014)
20) Benin - Meytex Cafe - 543 Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn (May 10, 2014)
21) Bolivia - Mi Bolivia - 44-10 48th Avenue, Sunnyside, Queens (May 21, 2014)
22) Bosnia & Herzegovina - Cevabdzinica Sarajevo - 37-18 34th Avenue, Astoria, Queens (May 24, 2014)
23) Brazil - Churrascaria Plataforma - 316 West 49th Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan (June 7, 2014)
24) Botswana - Prepared by a representative from Botswana's Permanent Mission to the UN, 154 East 46th Street, Midtown, Manhattan (June 29, 2014)
25) Bulgaria - Trakia - 38-14 30th Avenue, Astoria, Queens (August 16, 2014)
26) Burkina Faso - prepared by a native of Burkina Faso - Williamsbridge, Bronx (October 11, 2014)
27) Cambodia - Cafe Cambodge - 111 Avenue C ), Alphabet City/East Village, Manhattan (October 17, 2014)
28) Canada - Mile End, 53 Bond Street, NoHo, Manhattan & Ontario - 555 Grand Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (November 15, 2014)
29) Brunei - Sanur - 18 Doyers Street, Chinatown, Manhattan (December 20, 2014)
30) Chile - San Antonio Bakery - 3620 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria, Queens (January 23, 2015)
31) Czech Republic - Cafe Prague - 2 W 19th St, Flatiron, Manhattan (February 6, 2015)
32) China - Mulan - 136-17 39th Avenue, Flushing, Queens (March 14, 2015)
33) Colombia - Bogota Latin Bistro - 141 5th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn (March 21, 2015)
34) Côte d’Ivoire - New Ivoire Restaurant - 76 East 119th Street, East Harlem, Manhattan (August 1, 2015)
35) Croatia - Rudar Soccer Club - 34-01 45th St, Astoria, Queens (August 15, 2015)
36) Cuba - Rincon Criollo - 40-09 Junction Boulevard, Corona, Queens (November 1, 2015)
37) Cyprus - Zenon Taverna - 34-10 31st Avenue, Astoria, Queens (November 15, 2015)
38) Denmark - Great Northern Food Hall - Grand Central Terminal, 89 E 42nd St, Midtown, Manhattan (July 3, 2016)
39) Myanmar - Mingala Cafe - 1393 B 2nd Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan (September 24, 2016)
40) Serbia - Kafana - 116 Loisaida Avenue, East Village, Manhattan (January 8, 2017)
41) South Africa - Madiba - 195 Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn (January 20, 2017)
42) Sri Lanka - Lakruwana - 668 Bay Street, Stapleton, Staten Island (February 5, 2017)
43) Yemen - Queen Sheba - 317 W 141st Street, Harlem, Manhattan (March 11, 2017)
44) Moldova - Moldova Restaurant - 1827 Coney Island Avenue, Midwood, Brooklyn (March 31, 2017)
45) Iran - Persepolis - 1497 2nd Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan (April 28, 2017)
46) Wales - Sunken Hundred - 276 Smith Street, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (June 11, 2017)
47) Laos - Khe-Yo - 167 Duane Street, Tribeca, Manhattan (July 7, 2017)
48) Spain - Spain Restaurant - 113 W 13th Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan (November 4, 2017)
49) Romania - Romania Garden - 43-06 43rd Avenue, Sunnyside, Queens(June 15, 2018)
50) Morocco - Nomad - 78 2nd Avenue, East Village, Manhattan(September 9, 2018)
51) Georgia - Old Tbilisi Garden - 174 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan (April 22, 2019)
52) Uzbekistan - Uma's - 92-07 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Rockaway Beach, Queens(August 24, 2019)
53) Uruguay - Charrua - 131 Essex St, Lower East Side, Manhattan (November 10, 2019)
54) Chad - Green Garden Buffet - 332 E 9th Street, East Village, Manhattan (March 18, 2021)
55) Ukraine - East Village Ukrainian Restaurant - 140 2nd Avenue, East Village, Manhattan (May 9, 2022)
56) Paraguay - I Love Paraguay - 4316 Greenpoint Avenue, Sunnyside, Queens (July 22, 2022)
57) Turkey - Akdeniz - 43 W 46th Street, Midtown, Manhattan (June 1, 2023)
58) Germany - Heidelberg - 1648 2nd Ave, Upper East Side, Manhattan (October 18, 2023)
59) Estonia - Estonian House - 243 E 34th St, Murray Hill, Manhattan (April 7, 2024)


Meal Map

thewayofthefuture

Countries remaining - 141

Meals by Borough
Manhattan - 28
Queens - 15
Brooklyn - 11
Bronx - 4
Staten Island - 1

FlyerTalk Attendee Leaderboard (current only through 8/1/2015)
bdnyc - 14 (Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China)
greendx - 11 (Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire)
frantic - 8 (Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile)
monitor - 8 (Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile)
plon - 6 (Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia)
GrjApp - 5 (Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Chile)
jackal - 4 (Bahamas, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile)
bk3day - 2 (Belgium, Cambodia)
dangeruss - 2 (Chile, China)
dhammer53 - 2 (Burkina Faso, China)
LuxurySuite - 2 (Canada, Chile)
TravisSC - 2 (Bolivia, Brazil)
365RoadWarrior - 1 (Chile)
akelkar - 1 (Bhutan)
austin_res - 1 (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
AutoSlash - 1 (Bolivia)
BOB W - 1 (Chile)
BuildingMyBento - 1 (Bangladesh)
Calcifer - 1 (Canada)
DLroads - 1 (Chile)
FlyinHawaiian - 1 (Canada)
jmj8778 - 1 (Bulgaria)
karung99 - 1 (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Kathy_Wdrf - 1 (Burkina Faso)
marsherida - 1 (Cambodia)
onehitrenegade - 1 (China
PBodyPhoto - 1 (Australia)
Pinky - 1 (Brunei)
saxman66 - 1 (Bahamas)
serfty - 1 (Brazil)
st1575 - 1 (Côte d’Ivoire)
travelmad478 - 1 (Bahamas)
yunicorner - 1 (Bolivia)

Sweet Willie

great idea.^

We've been having quite a few Flyertalk Dinners at ethnic places but not to the "check of the list" extent you've gone to. I just may have to poach this good idea and apply to the Chicago area.It looks like I might be out in mid Nov or early Dec & would for sure like to join you, might even have a suggestion, thanks for the invite! I sure hope you get other FTers to join you.

thewayofthefuture

We would love to have you come along. I would expect us to be somewhere in the Azerbaijan-Bahamas-Bahrain-Bangladesh section of the list by that time.

Poach away, but I will definitely have to arrange a trip to Chicago if you guys organize a similar project.

__________

A quick summary of our first 7 meals follows. These are a bit short on detail as I was not originally planning to document this journey.

Meal #1 - Afghanistan - Afghan Kebab House - 764 9th Avenue, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan (April 6, 2013)
Simple and flavorful kebabs. Our daughter came along for our first stop and loved the decor, which included flags, photos, and handicrafts from Afghanistan.


Meal #2 - Albania - Dukagjini Burek - 758 Lydig Avenue, Bronxdale, Bronx (April 20, 2013)
My first visit to the Bronx outside of Yankee Stadium or the zoo. Also my first burek:



Meal #3 - Algeria - Salam - 104 West 13th Street, West Village, Manhattan (May 5, 2013)
A "Middle Eastern" restaurant owned by Algerians who were all very interested in our quest. We enjoyed a bottle of Algerian wine (a first for me) - the Chateau Tellagh Syrah - and ordered ouzi and macloubee (pictured) for our entrees.



Meal # 4 - Andorra - Casa Mono - 52 Irving Place, Gramercy Park, Manhattan (May 18, 2013)
I could not find anything specifically from Angola, so we settled for a Catalan meal with Andorran wine. This was the first Michelin-starred restaurant of the project.


Meal # 5 - Angola - cooked at home with food purchased from Sidiki African Market - 96 Ralph Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (August 24, 2013)
Angola was the first true road block. I searched extensively and found absolutely nothing. One afternoon I stopped by the Angolan consulate at the UN to see if they had any advice. I was told that to their knowledge, the only Angolan restaurants in the US are in Boston and Houston. We modified our own rules a bit to allow for a home-cooked meal in a case like this. In the interest of authenticity, we purchased all ingredients at an African market. The surprisingly-delicious result of our efforts was Muamba de Galinha:



Meal #6 - Antigua & Barbuda - Cholo & Sons Bakery - 3825 White Plains Road, Williamsbridge, Bronx (September 15, 2013)
This was another challenge. While stuck on Angola, I found that a couple of other people in NY have started blogs based on the same idea. One of the blogs was abandoned in the C's, and the other does not include nations with populations below 1 million. The first blog did include a recommendation of a night club/restaurant adjacent to the Antiguan-owned Cholo & Sons Bakery, but it was not open at the time of our visit. We were able to pick up an Antiguan-style roti and a few baked goods from the bakery.


Meal #7 - Argentina - Boca Juniors Restaurant - 81-08 Queens Boulevard Elmhurst, Queens (September 25, 2013)
Spotted by monitor on a recent ride home from JFK, Boca Juniors claims to be the best Argentinean restaurant in New York. Appropriately, flags of the world were hanging from the ceiling throughout the dining area. The steaks were good - both in the grilled and steak parm variety - and we managed to cover half of the wine list in one sitting.

monitor

^ ^ ^
...and we will join him if it is at all possible since I am intimately familiar with the OP's concept, having heard the matter broached at a previous dinner.
As he mentioned, we were able to join him at Boca Junior's last evening for a delightful cholesterol-infused wallow washed down with copious quantities of South American grape.
I am really looking forward to the next of these that are on his schedule if and when we are in town.

Gamecock

Let me know when you get to Ethiopia. I can help you out....

BuildingMyBento

Head to the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island for Sri Lankan, just in case you won't be checking off that borough for anything else!

I'm hesitant to give specific restaurant recommendations, but Elmhurst, Queens for Indonesian is another neighborhood I've visited specifically to eat.

As a bonus, there's at least one Uyghur place in Brooklyn, in Brighton Beach.

monitor

Why is it that I do not think that he will be looking for an Uyghur place for quite a while?

And from our conversation, I recall that he needs some help finding a country that starts with "X," although that is another one that he will not really be worrying about for another while.

exilencfc

What a great idea, and a wonderful way to explore the city.

thewayofthefuture

Thanks for the comments everyone. I will certainly follow up on the recommendation offers as I make my way down the list. I will be looking for unique regional variations on the more common cuisines (Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc.) so Uyghur cusine might fit the bill when we get to China.

Meanwhile, I've made tentative plans for Meal #8 - Armenia
It appears that there is only one true Armenian restaurant in the city - Sevan, all the way out in Bayside, Queens. I considered Almayass in the Flatiron District, but while it is operated by Armenians, the cuisine appears to be more on the Lebanese side.

Since there isn't a good way to reach the restaurant by subway/LIRR, I'm going to pick up a car when I land at LGA next Friday night, then make the trip out to Sevan for lunch on Saturday, October 5 @ 1pm. The address is 21607 Horace Harding Expressway, Bayside, Queens. I can be flexible with the time if anyone else would like to make the trip out to Bayside

Reviews of Sevan : Urbanspoon | Yelp

monitor

No matter what kind of place that thewayofthefuture comes up with, if we are in town, we are in.

So it just happens that we are in town on the Fifth to go to Sevan and might have an extra seat or two in the car from Manhattan. Since I grew up on Long Island, I definitely know my way out to that place.

ETA: A look at the menu makes it look like no liquor license so it may very well be BYOB time. Request that thewayofthefuture make inquiry when he tells them we are coming. It also looks like the place is very small so that must be a consideration.

thewayofthefuture

I just gave them a call. They do not have a liquor license, only beer and (non-Armenian) wine. I was told there would be no corkage fee if we can get our hands on an Armenian wine before Saturday. Seating is available for up to 90. If it looks like we will have a crowd I will make reservations closer to the date.

GrjApp

This sounds like such a great adventure! Sadly I won't get to NYC until the 6th, but given that it may take years to get through the alphabet, I may still make it some other time

monitor

What Armenian wine? A quick look at the googz turned up a couple of dry reds that you can buy in Armenia and Lithuania and a sweet fruit wine made from pomegranates that is sold as a novelty item in some stores in the States .

It appears that almost all the wine grapes grown over there are used to make brandy.

thewayofthefuture

I came across one - the Zorah Karasi Areni Noir in this article . It doesn't appear to be available for pickup in the immedate area though.


Well, how long are you in town? There is no set date for the Australia meal.