Eat Seeker

Bologna has gotten a bad rep over the years. Most people aren't really sure what the product is even made up of. But what if it was made by hand with a delicate mix of wagyu and grass-fed beef with smoky pork? That's exactly what Joshua Smith is doing at Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions. He's thoughtfully crafting over 180 different types of meat and over 20 different sandwiches.

Chef Matt Pace doesn't care if you get powdered sugar all over his tables. In fact, he would prefer if you did. Pace is cooking up the New Orleans classics he grew up on like his grandfather's Louisiana-style BBQ shrimp and beignets. But he's not just making your basic mac & cheese and po' boys: he's improving on it and adapting it for the people of New York City.

In the late 19th century, a small population of Japanese people immigrated to Peru to build a railroad. As the Japanese people's lives began to intertwine with the Peruvians, so did their styles of cooking. A whole culture known as Nikkei. Sen Sakana is here to bring this style of food to the people of Midtown Manhattan.

It takes less than 45 seconds for Chef Mark Ladner to cook you a bowl of pasta at his new spot, Pasta Flyer. This isn't a new chef-driven fast-casual concept that charges $13 for fettuccine with alfredo. This is real fast food - it's under $9, lightning fast and has the added bonus of healthy ingredients sourced from around the city. This is the way fast food should be.

Chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz wants people to rethink the language they use when it comes to vegan food. The owner of Modern Love in Brooklyn, New York believes people need to say the word "cheese," even if they are referring to the non-dairy-based alternative. This is apparent on her menu, an assortment of various vegan cheeses that imitate the flavors and textures of dill havarti and chevre.

It wasn't until the tender age of 26 that Sruli "Izzy" Eidelman had his first bite of BBQ. Kosher barbecue to be exact. For Izzy, it was love at first bite. He started smoking briskets in his parents' backyard in Brooklyn and amassed a knowledge that helped him open Izzy's Brooklyn Smokehouse, the first kosher BBQ restaurant in NYC.

Located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Chef Mario Hernandez of The Black Ant is seasoning his guacamole with black ants and coating his shrimp with grasshopper flour for tacos. Chef Hernandez grew up tasting these flavors as a child in Mexico after his grandmother introduced him to grasshopper tacos and is now sharing an elevated version of the food he fell in love with as a child.

After a trip to Japan, husband and wife team Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi discovered the similarities in flavors between their different upbringings, his Jewish and hers Japanese. The Brooklyn-based Japanese-Jewish restaurant seamlessly blends the two cuisines with dishes like matzo ball ramen, sake-infused challah and pastrami topped okonomiyaki.

Welcome to the home of Yankee-style barbecue, Pig Beach. This new style of barbecue, pioneered by Chef Matt Abdoo, blends traditional pitmaster techniques with the flavors New York City and Italian cuisine. Breaking from other New York City barbecue spots, Chef Abdoo has focused primarily on pork and a variety of grilled options like their award-winning Pig Beach Burger.

Located in the basement of Patissiere Chanson in the Flatiron district of New York is Dessert Bar, a speakeasy that exclusively makes desserts. Chef Rory MacDonald is the pastry chef mastermind behind the six-course dessert tasting menu. Chef MacDonald has managed to create an entire meal by balancing sweet and savory flavors through the courses.

When Chef Brandon Jew took over the famed Four Seas building in San Fransisco for his new restaurant Mister Jiu's, his mission was to create a new space that still celebrated the Chinatown he grew up visiting. And while Brandon may constantly question his dishes, it would be rather hard for him to question his success.

Alex Stupak first made a name for himself in the pastry world. He worked at some of the most innovative restaurants in the country like Alinea and WD-50. But in 2011, Stupak stepped away from his elaborate pastries and started to cook the food he loved to eat: tacos. He opened Empellón in Midtown Manhattan early this year and has drawn inspiration for his tacos from all over the city.