NYC Snackdown: Help Patch Pick The Big Apple's Most Iconic Food

NEW YORK — Maybe it's the New York slice, famous for its cartoonish size and crispy crust. Maybe it's the bagel, made here like nowhere else. Maybe it's the venerable halal platter, which has filled bellies on street corners for decades. Or maybe it's something sweet, like a saucer-sized black-and-white cookie or a hefty slice of cheesecake.

New York City has an abundance of hometown delicacies for which the city is famous to visitors as well as its own discriminating diners. But which of them defines the Big Apple's big heart — and bigger appetite?

That's the question Patch wants your help answering during the NYC Snackdown, our quest to determine the city's most iconic food.

Eaters and expert judges crowned a street food king on Saturday at the final Vendy Awards, a celebration of the city's diverse street vendor community. But we want Patch's readers — the people who know the five boroughs best — to decide which dish represents Gotham's gold standard.

Over the next four weeks, our March Madness-style competition will pit eight of New York's most significant culinary exports — or imports, given that many of them are products of the city's rich immigrant heritage — against each other.

The process will start with four categories: Savory Doughs, Pockets of Deliciousness, Street Meats and Sweet Treats. Readers will vote for which item they think best represents the city's character, history and culture. Half the dishes will be eliminated each week until one emerges victorious.

Here are the eats in the running for the title of New York City's most iconic food. A tip: It may be helpful to sample each one before making your decisions.

Savory Doughs

Bagels
The beloved rings of boiled and baked dough may date back as far as the 17th century, and they've since become an unshakable breakfast staple for New Yorkers. Whether it's a luxe lox sandwich from Russ & Daughters or a bacon, egg and cheese from the deli on the corner, no other bagels are like the ones made and sold in the city.

Pizza
Just as with bagels, there is a broad spectrum of New York pizza, from the dollar slice to the handcrafted pies at Di Fara, the beloved Brooklyn spot recently came back from a big tax debt. It's often imitated, but never duplicated. Eat your heart out, Portland.

Pockets Of Deliciousness

Dumplings
There are nine — yes, nine — Chinatowns in New York City, and dumplings are sure to be found in each one. There are the pork-and-chive staples at Lan Zhou on the Bowery, the famous crab and pork soup dumplings and Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, and innumerable varieties in between.

Knishes
Jewish immigrants brought these stuffed dough snacks to North America around the turn of the 20th century, and it didn't take long for them to become a must-eat item in New York City. Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery on the Lower East Side — the last knishery in Manhattan — has been serving them up since 1910.

Street Meats

Hot Dogs
Hot dog carts are an integral part of street life in New York. Chicago talks a big wiener game, but where else can you find Gray's Papaya, or take in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest before taking a spin on Coney Island's Cyclone? Nowhere.

Halal Platter
Whether you go for lamb, chicken or the combo, the halal platter is always there, always filling and always kind to your wallet. The texture of the meat mixed with rice and white sauce is inimitable, whether you get it from one of the carts scattered around the city or at a brick-and-mortar spot such as The Halal Guys.

Sweet Treats

Black And White Cookie
It may not be the symbol of racial harmony that Jerry Seinfeld made it out to be. But the black and white cookie is nonetheless a New York City institution with its thick frosting and soft shortbread base. It's said to have originated at Glaser's Bake Shop, a Yorkville bakery founded by a German immigrant that closed last year after more than a century in business.

Cheesecake
There's a good reason many grocery stores and chain restaurants label their version of this dessert "New York cheesecake." While the modern American version can reportedly trace its roots to the Orange County town of Chester, New York City — particulary Junior's, the Brooklyn-based cheesecake institution — does it best.

Cast your votes for New York City's most iconic food below. The first round of voting will end at 11 p.m. Thusday, Sept. 26. We'll announce which items made it to the next round the following Sunday, Sept. 29.