An Upstate New York restaurant has been named one of the best places to eat in the nation.
The Rossi & Sons Rosticceria Deli in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is one of the 100 best restaurants in the U.S. for 2023, according to a new list published by Yelp. The review website said it based its rankings on the most popular and most highly rated eateries; Rossi Rosticceria was the only one in New York state to make the cut, ranking 79th overall.
“For more than 40 years, the Rossi family has provided the quintessential Italian deli experience in the Hudson Valley, with gigantic portions of exemplary meats on fresh-baked breads,” Yelp wrote. “People love the massive sandwiches on rounds of house-made focaccia, particularly the Italian-style muffuletta with thinly sliced cold cuts and Sicilian olive salad.”
The Rossi Rosticceria is best known for its large Number Four panini, featuring a crispy chicken cutlet, prosciutto, herb pesto, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, and extra-virgin olive oil. “The best sandwich of my entire life,” one Yelp reviewer said.
This file photo shows a sandwich at Rossi Rosticceria Deli in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
But the Italian favorite is also beloved for more than just sandwiches, including menu offerings like Chicken Parmigiana, meatballs, chicken marsala, lasagne bolognese, soup and an “out of this world” Robert Cobb Salad.
Rosticceria has previously been named the best lunch spot in Upstate New York and still maintains close to a perfect five-star score after expanding to a new location across town.
“Best deli sandwiches I’ve ever had,” another review said. “Like so good I drove an hour out of the way to get it all while my wife strongly objected. Once we got the sandwiches she quickly changed her tune lol.”
Yelp has named three Houston restaurants to its list of the top 100 places to eat in the U.S. The list is entirely user-generated and weighted on restaurant ratings, reviews, the volume of submissions and geographic representation, according to the website.
Five other Texas places made the list: two in Austin and three others in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The Chronicle has its own Top 100 list, but this one isn't a spreadsheet curated by data scientists in San Francisco. Each year, food critic Alison Cook ventures in and out of the city to find Houston's best restaurants. You can see which ones made the list, including No. 1, here.
A bahn mi at Viewich, a Vietnamese restaurant in Stafford, Texas.
Vietwich/Handout
Vietwich
The Vietnamese banh mi and boba tea shop got its start in 2019. This is the Stafford restaurant's first time on Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat list. We wrote about Vietwich last year when Yelp released their best eats for Texas. Aside from banh mi, Vietwich also has a selection of teas, smoothies and snacks.
Crumbville, TX owner Ella Russell talks about the impact the re-naming of the former Dowling Ave. to the new Emancipation Ave. will have on her business Monday, June 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Steve Gonzales / Houston Chronicle )Steve Gonzales/Staff
Crumbville
Ella Russell's Third Ward bakery started off as a pop-up and eventually turned into a brick-and-mortar spot around October 2017. Since then, it's emerged as a local favorite and found itself on a number of "best of" lists, including this one. Russell's bakery serves vegan, gluten-free and nonvegan cookies, brownies and her famous "stuffedcups" — cupcakes baked with a cookie inside.
A 5-ounce grilled cheddar cheeseburger with sautéed onions, kimchi relish and sambal mayo from the newly opened Burger-Chan near the Galleria
Alison Cook / Staff
Burger Chan
Willet and Diane Feng opened their burger joint in 2016 as Kuma Burgers but were forced to rename it due to a trademark dispute. The restaurant attracted plenty of accolades and attention, but the Fengs had to close the original Greenway Plaza location when the pandemic took hold. Sixteen months later, Burger Chan returned to Houston by way of a West Alabama strip mall. The menu includes a few signature burgers, but you can customize them to your liking.
UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. – A popular restaurant chain is planning to open its first Lehigh Valley location later this year at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.
Turning Point, an award-winning breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant with more than 20 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the Upper Saucon Township shopping center, according to a news release.
Ryan Kneller
The 4,449-square-foot restaurant will be located near UBreakIFix and Playa Bowls at the open-air center, 2845 Center Valley Parkway, according to the announcement, made by The Promenade Shops and its leasing partner, MSC.
“We are incredibly happy to welcome Turning Point to The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley," said Natalia Stezenko, general manager of the shopping center. "The addition of this well-known and very popular regional eatery is something we are sure our shoppers will embrace and yet another step in elevating our rapidly growing tenant roster. Significant and very positive changes have been taking place at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley; in recent months, we have added a number of exceptional new tenants, the beginning of many changes yet to come.”
Turning Point, an award-winning breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant with more than 20 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon Township.
Turning Point
Turning Point, "using exceptional ingredients to deliver carefully crafted menu selections that are made-to-order and delivered in a warm and inviting setting," offers pancakes such as cinnamon roll and peppermint hot chocolate (hot cocoa cakes topped with crushed peppermint, marshmallows and a mint chocolate cream drizzle); waffles such as southern chicken and tropical crunch (bananas, strawberries, mango, granola and warm strawberry reduction); omelets such as Key West shrimp and smoked salmon; and sandwiches such as a chicken pesto panini, Pavo Cubano and roadhouse bacon stack (triple stack grilled cheese on sourdough bread with smokehouse aioli, cheddar jack, thick crispy bacon, caramelized onions, tomato and baby spinach).
Other "eggstraordinary dishes" include a classic pork roll "Sammy" (toasted bagel, Taylor pork roll, two over-hard eggs and American cheese with side of potatoes or citrus-tossed greens), Wilbur skillet (skillet of potatoes, crushed bacon, avocado, diced tomato, jack cheese and two eggs your way with English muffin) and barbacoa Benedict (cornbread, beef barbacoa, sliced avocado and caramelized onions, topped with two poached eggs and honey sriracha hollandaise; served with choice of citrus dressed mixed greens or breakfast potatoes).
Turning Point, an award-winning breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant with more than 20 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon Township.
Turning Point
Customers also can enjoy French press coffees, including Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain blends, along with other specialty beverages such as cold-brew iced coffee, old-fashioned milkshakes, "Tropical Bliss" fruit smoothies, "Annie's Lemonade" (frozen pink lemonade blended with strawberries), "Just Beet It' juice (red beets, carrot, orange, apple, pineapple and ginger) and espresso drinks such as a French toast latte and salted caramel mocha-chino.
“This will be our first restaurant in the Lehigh Valley area, something we are very excited about,” said Kirk Ruoff, founder and CEO of Turning Point. “We absolutely love the energy of the shopping center, and the surrounding retailers and restaurants will make wonderful co-tenants. Based on the popularity of our dishes in other areas throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, we are sure our breakfast and lunch menu will resonate with the residents of Center Valley and the surrounding areas, and we look forward to welcoming each and every one of them as they become regular customers.”
Turning Point, an award-winning breakfast, lunch and brunch restaurant with more than 20 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023 at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon Township. Pictured is Turning Point's Nashville hot honey chicken wrap.
Turning Point
Turning Point currently has eight Pennsylvania locations, including outposts in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
The restaurants' culinary teams cook the meals to order, making it possible to make modifications for diet or personal preference to any dish.
Other menu highlights include salads such as "Martha's Vineyard" (mixed greens, grilled chicken, seasonal berries, mango, toasted coconut and honey walnuts) and starters such as avocado toast, turkey chili and bacon lollipops (brown sugar-dipped, smoked bacon wrapped over a slow-roasted skewered apple).
Turning Point will join more than a half dozen other Promenade Shops restaurants, including Bar Louie, Kome Fine Japanese Cuisine, Melt, Playa Bowls, Red Robin, Starbucks, Top Cut, Torre and White Orchids Thai Cuisine.
The new eatery is a welcome addition to the shopping center, which has seen several changes over the past year.
Businesses that have recently left The Promenade Shops include All Weather Selvedge Denim Co. and Evolve Salon & Spa, while new additions include ELITE Salons & Suites and Squishable.
ELITE Salons & Suites recently opened at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.
Ryan Kneller
Additionally, a multi-vendor, holiday pop-up market took place in November and December, and Batch Microcreamery is set to open its newest location at the Upper Saucon shopping center in the coming months.
Batch, offering ice cream and other chilled treats such as milkshakes, sundaes and floats, also has locations at the Trolley Barn Public Market in Quakertown and Shepherd Hills Golf Club in Lower Macungie Township. The Shepherd Hills location is closed for the season and will reopen in the spring.
"They are still working on the renovations, so we don’t have an exact date from them just yet," Stezenko said of Batch's new location. "Ballpark is first week in March pending final township review/approval and their hiring/training of employees."
The Promenade Shops, which debuted in 2006 with more than 70 tenants, now has around 20 vacant storefronts.
Closures over the past few years include Plow & Hearth, Peeps & Company and fashion chains Justice, The Children's Place and New York & Company. Some closures were attributed to the pandemic.
Newer additions include European Wax Center, formalwear retailer La Femme Boutique and fashion-comfort footwear store The Extra Pair by Sole Provisions.
Many people struggled to keep warm and ate food past its use-by date in the build-up to Christmas as prices continued to soar, official data shows.
Issues regarding the costs of heating and eating, and the impact on individuals, are shown in data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Nearly one in five adults surveyed said they had eaten smaller portions and food beyond its use-by date.
Use-by labels have a date until when perishable food can be eaten safely.
The Food Standards Agency says that people should "never eat food after the use-by date, even if it looks and smells ok, as it could make you very ill".
It warns after this date, people should not eat, cook or freeze food, warning "you cannot smell the bacteria which make you ill".
Best-before guidance is different. It is for when the product should be consumed to get the best quality, taste and texture. A number of supermarkets have dropped the use of best-before labels claiming they create food waste when consumers could simply use their discretion instead.
Almost a quarter of those asked in the survey, conducted in the four weeks to 18 December, said they had occasionally, hardly ever, or never, been able to keep comfortably warm in the previous fortnight.
Rising prices
The ONS poll, based on responses from more than 4,700 people, suggests that the winter weather, energy bills and rising food prices were having a significant impact on health and wellbeing.
In total, around one in seven (15%) adults were somewhat, or very, worried their food would run out before they had money to buy more.
Over two-thirds (70%) of those who ran out of food in the previous two weeks, and could not afford to buy more, were also struggling with heating.
Some 41% of people on prepayment meters said they had struggled, at least occasionally, to keep warm.
Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "This bleak winter is taking a horrible toll on people's lives, and their health."
The cost of energy and the war in Ukraine have been key factors in the soaring cost of food.
Official data shows that food prices rose 16.8% in the year to December. Basics such as milk, cheese and eggs saw the largest increases.
Prices for sugar, jam, honey and chocolate, as well as soft drinks and juices, also jumped. However, price growth slowed for bread and cereals.
Overall inflation, which charts the rising cost of living, was 10.5% in the year to December - meaning a typical basket of goods and services rose in price by 10.5% in a year. The Bank of England's inflation target is 2%.
The latest data comes from a monthly survey which asks various, and changing, questions about winter pressures such as the cost of living. This means it is not necessarily possible to say whether issues, such as eating after a use-by date, has changed over time.
It also covers the issue of hospital waits, with the poll suggesting that 21% of adults reported they were waiting for a hospital appointment, test, or to start receiving medical treatment through the NHS.
The latest findings come shortly after a survey for the BBC indicated that a third of respondents who used credit to help get through Christmas and the holiday season said they were not confident about their ability to repay.
It suggested more than eight in 10 of those asked were worried about the rising cost of living, with some losing sleep over it.
But people are finding different ways to cut costs to pay their bills. A majority of respondents have been turning the heating down and lights off, or reducing their grocery shop.
When you eat during the day may have less effect on your long-term weight loss goals than the size and number of meals.
A study published earlier this month in the Journal of the American Heart Association found a positive association between the number and size of daily meals and weight change over a six-year span. The study did not find an association between time-restricted eating and weight loss.
Some weight loss plans involve a level of intermittent fasting, or limiting food intake to specific times of the day and/or fasting for a number of hours or days in a given week. The study results suggest that eating less overall and fewer large meals may be more effective for weight management than restricting meals to a set time window.
“I think intermittent fasting may have its benefits but I don’t know if it’s necessarily the perfect fit for everyone,” said Kim Griffin, a registered dietitian for Metz Culinary Management at Albion College who read the study. “If people want to see long-term weight loss results and health benefits, I try and help them to focus on eating health foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats, no matter when you eat.”
More than 500 participants in the study used a mobile application to record the timing of meals and sleep. Researchers analyzed participant weight and comorbidities going back 10 years and forward 10 months after baseline using electronic health records.
For each logged meal, participants indicated what time they ate and whether the meal was small (less than 500 calories), medium (500-1,000 calories), or large (more than 1,000 calories). Participants were encouraged to use the app as much as possible for the first four weeks and again one week per month for six months.
Time between first and last meal, as well as time from wake up to first meal, last meal to sleep, and total sleep duration were not associated with weight change. However, the daily number of large and medium meals was associated with increased weight, and total number of small meals was associated with decreasing weight.
Researchers said consuming energy early in the day might facilitate weight control, as participants with shorter time from wake up to first meal and with longer time from last meal to sleep appeared to have less weight increase.
While prior studies have suggested intermittent fasting may improve the body’s rhythms and regulate metabolism, the AHA study did not detect this link within its large group of individuals with varying body weights.
Dr. Parag Patel, a family medicine clinician with Corewell Health East, formerly known as Beaumont Health, said intermittent fasting can benefit individuals with high insulin and sugar levels, but it’s not applicable for everyone. Often times, success stories with intermittent fasting are a result of caloric restriction, which can be done in other ways.
“Having smaller meals does change what the person perceives as being full, so over time, by eating smaller meals, you can feel less hungry which allows you to cut down on how much you’re eating,” Patel said. "
More long-term research is needed to better understand the association of time of eating with weight change as it relates to a person’s metabolism.
Griffin and Patel agreed the best way to achieve long-term healthy weight loss involves crafting an individualized meal plan based in healthy foods, in addition to staying physically active, drinking enough water and getting ample rest.
Many people will fixate on unrealistic goals, especially when setting resolutions for a new year. Griffin said those folks are better off establishing healthy choices as their goal rather than the outcome they’re hoping to achieve.
“For example, looking at every meal and every snack as an opportunity to make a healthy choice,” she said. “My philosophy is that all foods can fit. It’s just about making healthy choices and eating small meals frequently throughout the day.”
“Weight loss difficulties are across the board and each individual is unique so it’s hard to generalize,” Patel said. “I think the study is good in that calorie restriction is more effective; it’s just how to get there and maintain it, that’s the key component for each individual.”
Yelpers are nothing if not engaged. They will regularly wax poetic about their favorite restaurants, write a scathing review of an unsavory meal, comment on each other’s mutual obsessions and upload full albums of dishes so good they simply cannot help but share. All of that intensity translates to millions of reviews used to determine this year’s ranking of Yelp’s Top Places to Eat in 2023.
To come up with the annual list, Yelp asks its users to submit their favorite restaurants, which it then analyzes based on the number of crowd-sourced reviews and ratings received. All of this information is handed over to its legions of community managers who further curate the list to ensure an “accurate reflection of the Yelp community itself.”
Most of the places you’ll see here earned five stars with only some earning a 4.5 rating. You’ll find bakeries, diners, delis and fine-dining establishments and every type of restaurant in between, spanning the country from Miami to Seattle and beyond. The top two entries serve Hawaiian food, a regional cuisine you don’t often see represented. But you’ll also spot Mexican, Ethiopian, Chinese and Middle Eastern—options span the globe.
We’ve included the top 10 restaurants below and the full list is available here. If your favorite made the cut, congrats! But also, sorry. Yelp just blew up your spot so good luck getting a table anytime soon.
1. Broken Mouth, Los Angeles, CA
2. Kaaloa's Super Js, Captain Cook, HI
3. Archibalds Village Bakery, Fort Lauderdale, FL
4. Beyer Deli, San Diego, CA
5. Adela’s Country Eatery, Kaneohe, HI
6. Sunbliss Cafe, Anaheim, CA
7. The Nook Cajun Cafe, Norco, CA
8. Tumerico, Tucson, AZ
9. Selam Ethiopian & Eritrean Cuisine, Orlando, FL
10. Sababa Falafel Shop, Garden Grove, CA
A new year is when many people pledge to improve their diets – whether to better their own health or the planet’s.
One aspect of our diets where we can generally give ourselves a break is how far our food has traveled from the point of production. These food miles make up only 5% of the overall greenhouse gas emissions of food, and even less for carbon-intensive foods. While recent research has suggested that scientists have been undercounting these transport emissions, most people view food miles as the distance from producer to consumer. When calculating these food miles, the transport emissions of food are trivial.
One reason is that how food is produced has a much bigger impact than how it’s transported. Growing seasonal produce under the sun and then exporting it generally results in much lower emissions than growing it domestically in energy-guzzling greenhouses.
When it comes to transport, it’s not just the distance that matters, but the mode of transport. Air freighting is high in emissions, but only 0.16% of food is air-freighted. The majority of food shipped internationally comes by sea.
So why does the food miles myth persist? It’s one of the most tenacious fallacies when it comes to the environment. In a Purdue University consumer analysis in October 2022, the majority of people surveyed believed that local food is better for the environment. As the report counters, “These beliefs, however, do not appear to be motivated by better information, as a statement like local food is better for the environment is largely unfounded while the idea that eating less meat is better for the environment has significant scientific grounding.”
“This idea is pervasive,” believes Nicholas Carter, an ecologist who co-founded Plant Based Data. He continues to hear the food miles myth from ordinary people as well as climate scientists. It’s rooted in a combination of not understanding where food’s environmental components come from, plus the psychological aspects of buying local.
On the one hand, the world is awash in claims about health and environment, and it can be easy to long for simple, intuitive answers that give you a feeling of control. “There’s a lot of fear around food insecurity. There’s a lot of fear about things coming from outside your country,” Carter acknowledges. “But the reality is that we live in a global food system. And to then shift to produce certain things locally at 10 or 20 times more environmental impact, that doesn’t make sense.”
Carter refers to the feelgood effect of “locavore romanticism.” Meanwhile, Jayson Lusk, an agricultural economist at Purdue University, refers to the halo effect of buying local. The perceived quality of local food in one dimension can trick people into thinking that it’s superior in other ways too.
There are clearly other benefits to buying food produced nearby, like supporting local economies and strengthening communities. Vegetables from a neighborhood garden are both low-emissions and local.
Yet the buy-local mantra risks ignoring other kinds of communities. Buying from distant areas can be even more of a lifeline for low-income farmers. This idea led to the development of a now little-discussed concept: fair miles rather than food miles. That is, accounting for sustainable development in producer areas, rather than single-mindedly focusing on the distance that food travels, is ultimately better for both people and the planet.
And benefits in terms of local community strengthening don’t necessarily translate to environmental benefits. Carter understands the yearning for strong local economies. “As long as we understand that this is not an environmental solution, then we can address the other community and economic aspects” in more efficient ways, he proposes.
As for improving the environmental efficiency of our diets, the emphasis on food miles can be harmful. Carter believes that buying from local butchers or farms allows people to feel better about eating meat. “The whole buy-local movement is…a last-ditch effort to prop up animal farming.”
The unscientific popularity of the food miles movement is a reminder that there’s just no way around it: a diet that’s kinder to the planet has to involve cutting down on meat.
A new year is when many people pledge to improve their diets – whether to better their own health or the planet’s.
One aspect of our diets where we can generally give ourselves a break is how far our food has traveled from the point of production. These food miles make up only 5% of the overall greenhouse gas emissions of food, and even less for carbon-intensive foods. While recent research has suggested that scientists have been undercounting these transport emissions, most people view food miles as the distance from producer to consumer. When calculating these food miles, the transport emissions of food are trivial.
One reason is that how food is produced has a much bigger impact than how it’s transported. Growing seasonal produce under the sun and then exporting it generally results in much lower emissions than growing it domestically in energy-guzzling greenhouses.
When it comes to transport, it’s not just the distance that matters, but the mode of transport. Air freighting is high in emissions, but only 0.16% of food is air-freighted. The majority of food shipped internationally comes by sea.
So why does the food miles myth persist? It’s one of the most tenacious fallacies when it comes to the environment. In a Purdue University consumer analysis in October 2022, the majority of people surveyed believed that local food is better for the environment. As the report counters, “These beliefs, however, do not appear to be motivated by better information, as a statement like local food is better for the environment is largely unfounded while the idea that eating less meat is better for the environment has significant scientific grounding.”
“This idea is pervasive,” believes Nicholas Carter, an ecologist who co-founded Plant Based Data. He continues to hear the food miles myth from ordinary people as well as climate scientists. It’s rooted in a combination of not understanding where food’s environmental components come from, plus the psychological aspects of buying local.
On the one hand, the world is awash in claims about health and environment, and it can be easy to long for simple, intuitive answers that give you a feeling of control. “There’s a lot of fear around food insecurity. There’s a lot of fear about things coming from outside your country,” Carter acknowledges. “But the reality is that we live in a global food system. And to then shift to produce certain things locally at 10 or 20 times more environmental impact, that doesn’t make sense.”
Carter refers to the feelgood effect of “locavore romanticism.” Meanwhile, Jayson Lusk, an agricultural economist at Purdue University, refers to the halo effect of buying local. The perceived quality of local food in one dimension can trick people into thinking that it’s superior in other ways too.
There are clearly other benefits to buying food produced nearby, like supporting local economies and strengthening communities. Vegetables from a neighborhood garden are both low-emissions and local.
Yet the buy-local mantra risks ignoring other kinds of communities. Buying from distant areas can be even more of a lifeline for low-income farmers. This idea led to the development of a now little-discussed concept: fair miles rather than food miles. That is, accounting for sustainable development in producer areas, rather than single-mindedly focusing on the distance that food travels, is ultimately better for both people and the planet.
And benefits in terms of local community strengthening don’t necessarily translate to environmental benefits. Carter understands the yearning for strong local economies. “As long as we understand that this is not an environmental solution, then we can address the other community and economic aspects” in more efficient ways, he proposes.
As for improving the environmental efficiency of our diets, the emphasis on food miles can be harmful. Carter believes that buying from local butchers or farms allows people to feel better about eating meat. “The whole buy-local movement is…a last-ditch effort to prop up animal farming.”
The unscientific popularity of the food miles movement is a reminder that there’s just no way around it: a diet that’s kinder to the planet has to involve cutting down on meat.
