New York: If you can make it in Katz’s Deli, you can make it anywhere

Don’t let this tame corner in Katz’s Deli in New York fool you. The rest of the restaurant was a madhouse.

The moment my brother and I walked into the famous Katz’s Deli in New York, we were each handed a blank ticket that we would have to present to the cashier when leaving. If one of us were to lose the ticket, God forbid, we would have to pay a $50 lost ticket fee. And because that’s not enough of a burden, we then had to order from a packed counter that was more free-for-all than line and somehow find an open table in that madhouse.

Eating shouldn’t be this stressful.

Does New York pizza live up to the hype?

The Montanera pizza at Don Antonio in New York.

I had always assumed Chicago has better pizza than New York pizza because c’mon. But I hadn’t tried the top pizza spots in New York, despite having interned there back in the day, so I couldn’t say for sure. That’s why I made it a point to visit the best of the best during my most recent visit to New York. If I’m going to spend the rest of my life bragging about Chicago pizza, I better know my sh**.

I did my homework on New York’s best pizza joints and ended up visiting six of them. My favorite? The Montanara at Don Antonio, which has a lightly fried dough. It was different. And different was one of the main things I was looking for. The other two pizzas I liked were at John’s of Bleecker St and NY Pizza Suprema, both of which serve pizzas with excellent sauce and perfectly baked crust. For the most part though, the pizzas I tried tasted like pies you can find around the country. Sorry, Roberta’s.

Start spreading the news: I ate bull penis in New York

I really outdid myself this time. Less than two months after eating guinea pig in Colombia, I raised the bar by eating bull penis in New York, of all places. What kind of New York restaurant sells bull penis? A quirky Japanese one called Kenka with kinky decor and an izakaya layout. The menu also includes all sorts of oddities such as pig brains, fried frog and silk worm fried rice, in case you’re looking for a good date spot.

I came strictly for bull D and was surprised to see it only cost $6.50. I don’t know what the market rate is for bull dong, but that seemed like a steal — especially in New York. One thing I noted was that the portion size wasn’t very big. Either Kenka serves only half a penis or this poor bull got a raw deal.