2 Wash Heights Restaurants' Dishes Named Among Best Of Year

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Eater NY critic Ryan Sutton recently put together his list of the 23 best dishes of 2021, and creations from two restaurants in Washington Heights made the list.

The two Upper Manhattan dishes to make the list? Empanadas from the Columbian bakery Salento at 2112 Amsterdam Avenue (corner of 165th Street) and the Roti john sandwich from the Vietnamese restaurant Native Noodles at 2129 Amsterdam Avenue (near West 166th Street).

Here's what Sutton said about each.

Empanadas from Salento

"Further south in Washington Heights, a panaderia and cafe known as Salento serve a fine Colombian empanada, stuffing yellow masa shells with juicy shredded chicken and potatoes. Be sure not to overlook the pandebono cheese bread," Sutton wrote.

Roti john from Native Noodles

"Amy Pryke deserves credit for using Native Noodles to highlight one of the world’s great sandwiches, the Singaporean specialty known as the roti john. Pryke sautees cumin-spiked ground beef on a flattop with onions and garlic, pours an egg mixture over the meat, then places a toasted baguette over it all to soak up the creamy mixture," Sutton wrote in the list. "When ready, everything gets snatched up into the hero, which is finished with a good measure of chile mayo. The result is a squishy, beefy, drippy Southeast Asian treat that deserves as much citywide representation as the classic bodega-style egg sandwich."

The list of 2021's best dishes isn't the first time that Eater has written about Salento and Native Noodles.

Earlier this year, the food review and news website named Salento one of the best new pastry shops in New York City and named Native Noodles one of the hottest restaurants in Manhattan.

Read More:

• Washington Heights Cafe Named Among Best New Pastry Shops In NYC
• Wash Heights Eatery Named Among Hottest New Restaurants Of 2021