NYC food scene: Rainbow doughnuts, Poke and more of what’s hot

This trend is here to stay.

New York City is already home to nearly a dozen food halls, where diners can sample from a variety of diverse vendors in a communal space. Recent additions include The Pennsy, which opened in January in the Penn Station area, and Urbanspace Vanderbilt, which debuted last fall near Grand Central Terminal.

More are on their way, too. Next up: Great Northern Food Hall, opening in Grand Central Terminal this spring. Noma co-founder Claus Meyer is behind the operation, which is slated to debut in May with five food pavilions, including an outpost of Meyer’s bakery, Meyer’s Bageri, and a bar. He will also open an adjacent, Nordic-inspired restaurant, Agern, likely next month with acclaimed Icelandic chef Gunnar Gislason in the kitchen.

Also on the horizon are TurnStyle, slated to open this spring in the Columbus Circle subway station with 20 food vendors and retail spots; Dekalb Market, which will bring upwards of 45 food vendors to the Downtown Brooklyn mixed-use development City Point this fall; and Anthony Bourdain’s much-anticipated global food hall, Bourdain Market, opening next year at Pier 57 in the Meatpacking District.

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Photo Credit: Georgia Kral

Poke isn’t just popping up on menus across town — restaurants devoted to Hawaii’s famed raw seafood dish are opening, too.

For the fast-casual route, there’s Wisefish Poke, which opened in Chelsea in late January, and Pokeworks, which opened late last year in midtown. At both restaurants, customers can customize poke bowls.

It doesn’t have the word poke in its name, but Sons of Thunder, a West Coast-inspired eatery that opened in October in Murray Hill, also specializes in the raw fish (as well as hot dogs).

For a more refined dining experience, there’s Noreetuh, an East Village restaurant that opened last spring with, among other Hawaiian dishes, poke on the menu.

And just an FYI — it’s pronounced “po-kay.”

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Photo Credit: iStock

New York City is a foodie’s paradise, with a culinary scene that’s forever evolving at a rapid pace befitting this bustling metropolis.

If you want to be at the fore of what’s new in the world of dining, amNewYork offers this primer on the trends that are shaking up the milieu as the calendar turns to March.