Food & bodegas

A Jewish food shop specializing traditionally in foods eaten with dairy, such as smoked fish, cream cheese, salads, bagels, and related items.

““We stopped at the appetizing store for lox, cream cheese, and bagels.””

A hot breakfast sandwich—often ordered on a roll, bagel, or hero—that is a staple of New York bodegas, delis, and carts.

““Bacon, egg and cheese on a roll, toasted.””

A ring-shaped bread roll traditionally boiled before baking, producing a glossy crust and dense, chewy interior.

““I’ll take an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.””

A Jamaican baked pastry with a flaky yellow crust and seasoned beef filling, widely available through New York Caribbean bakeries, restaurants, and shops.

““I grabbed a hot beef patty before getting on the train.””

A round Jewish bread roll with a depressed center, usually baked with onion or another savory topping rather than boiled like a bagel.

““She ordered a warm onion bialy with cream cheese.””

A cake-like round cookie topped with two halves of vanilla and chocolate fondant or icing.

““Grab a black-and-white cookie from the bakery counter.””

A small neighborhood grocery or convenience store, often independently operated and woven into daily city life.

““I’m going to the bodega—need anything?””

A simple hard roll or kaiser-style roll split and spread with butter, commonly bought as an inexpensive New York breakfast with coffee.

““He grabbed a buttered roll and coffee from the cart before the train.””

Crisp tube-shaped fried pastry shells filled most commonly with sweetened ricotta-based cream.

““We picked up six cannoli from the Italian bakery.””

A halal-cart platter of seasoned chicken served over rice, commonly with salad and a choice of sauces.

““Chicken over rice, white sauce and a little hot sauce.””

A hot sandwich of chopped ground beef and melted cheese, commonly served on a hero with toppings and strongly associated with New York bodegas.

““Let me get a chopped cheese with lettuce, tomato, and hot sauce.””

A seasoned spread traditionally made from chopped cooked liver, onions, fat, and often egg; the words also appear in a humorous expression about being ignored.

““He ordered chopped liver on rye with a pickle.””

A soft, slightly sweet Jamaican bread made with coconut milk or coconut-derived ingredients, often folded around a patty or used for sandwiches.

““Put the beef patty inside the coco bread.””

A licensed mobile food cart selling quick breakfast items such as coffee, tea, rolls, pastries, bagels, and egg sandwiches, especially near offices and transit stops.

““The coffee cart by the station already knows her morning order.””

An affectionate nickname for a New York street-cart hot dog kept hot in seasoned water before being placed in a soft bun.

““He ordered a dirty-water dog with mustard and onions.””

A basic New York cheese pizza slice sold through a low-price, high-volume counter model historically centered on a one-dollar price point.

““We grabbed a dollar slice before getting back on the train.””

A New York fountain drink traditionally made with milk, flavored syrup, and seltzer, despite containing neither egg nor cream.

““He ordered an egg cream with the sandwich.””

Buying groceries, a regional expression many New Yorkers use where speakers elsewhere might say grocery shopping.

““I have to do food shopping before the storm.””

A square or rectangular slice of relatively thin, crisp pan pizza associated with New York and Long Island Italian-American cooking.

““Give me one grandma slice and one plain slice.””

A street-food cart serving food prepared to meet halal requirements, often including rice platters, gyros, and sandwiches.

““There’s a halal cart on the corner with a long lunch line.””

A long sandwich made on a split roll, the common New York label for what other regions may call a sub, hoagie, or grinder.

““Let me get a chicken cutlet hero with lettuce and tomato.””

A hero sandwich typically layered with Italian-style cured meats, cheese, vegetables, and an oil-and-vinegar-style dressing on a long roll.

““Make it an Italian hero with hot peppers and everything on it.””

A smooth frozen dessert made mainly from water, sugar, and fruit flavoring, commonly sold from neighborhood shops, carts, pizzerias, and seasonal stands.

““We got lemon Italian ice after the slice.””

A baked or fried pastry filled most famously with seasoned potato, though other savory fillings are also used.

““I grabbed a potato knish for the train ride.””

A deli, bodega, diner, or coffee-cart order asking for coffee with a generous amount of milk or cream and sugar.

““Large coffee, light and sweet, please.””

Salt-cured salmon traditionally served in thin slices, especially with bagels, cream cheese, onions, tomatoes, capers, or other appetizing-store foods.

““She ordered a bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomato, and capers.””

A chicken-based soup served with dumplings made primarily from matzo meal, eggs, fat, and seasonings.

““We split a pastrami sandwich and ordered matzo ball soup.””

A snack, light meal, or the act of eating something casually.

““Let’s grab a quick nosh before the movie.””

New York counter shorthand for Nova-style salmon, a cured and cold-smoked salmon commonly served with bagels and cream cheese.

““Can I get an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and Nova?””

A classic Jewish deli sandwich of sliced, seasoned, cured, and smoked pastrami served on rye bread, commonly with mustard.

““They split a pastrami on rye and a bowl of soup.””

A whole pizza, especially when contrasted with ordering one or more individual slices.

““Get a large pie—we have six people coming.””

A small, inexpensive, brightly colored sweet drink sold in plastic barrel-shaped bottles and remembered as a neighborhood-store childhood staple.

““We grabbed chips and a quarter water from the corner store.””

A small layered Italian-American almond cake confection, usually colored red, white or yellow, and green, joined with jam and coated in chocolate.

““Add a half pound of rainbow cookies to the bakery box.””

In traditional New York deli and coffee-cart ordering, brewed coffee prepared with milk or cream and sugar rather than served black.

““Large regular coffee, please.””

A compact bodega-order phrase requesting salt, black pepper, and ketchup, especially on an egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwich.

““Sausage, egg and cheese on a roll—salt, pepper, ketchup.””

A spread or layer of cream cheese on a bagel; it can also mean a spreadable topping more generally.

““Everything bagel, toasted, with a scallion schmear.””

Plain carbonated water, historically delivered in pressurized siphon bottles and deeply associated with New York Jewish food, soda-fountain, and home-delivery traditions.

““The egg cream gets its fizz from a strong shot of seltzer.””

A thick, pan-baked square pizza slice with an airy bread-like crust, widely sold in New York neighborhood pizzerias.

““The Sicilian slice is thicker than the regular slice.””

One portion of a pizza, commonly ordered by itself at a New York pizzeria rather than by naming the whole pie.

““Two plain slices and a soda, please.””

A viral request for an unusually elaborate, customized bodega or deli preparation associated with social-video sandwich content.

““Can you make the sandwich the Ocky way for the video?””

A creamy spread made from smoked whitefish mixed with mayonnaise or similar binders and seasonings, often served on a bagel or bread.

““I’ll take a toasted bagel with whitefish salad.””

Italian fried dough pastries, commonly served warm and dusted heavily with powdered sugar.

““We grabbed a bag of zeppole at the street fair.””