Here in New York City we welcome all newcomers, from all over the world. Even—and sometimes it's hard to admit this as a Yankees and a Knicks fan for the last, like, 60 years—if they're from Boston.
So when two completely unrelated Beantown hotspots opened outposts here within days of each other last month, both with pretty much just a single item on their respective menus—one serves chicken cutlet sandwiches, the other bowls of udon noodles—and both instantly attracting sidewalk-lining hordes to their new neighborhoods (the East Village and NoMad), it was a coincidence too unusual not to check out.
Could two Boston-born specialty restaurants really deliver enough punch and pleasure to get excited about here in the greatest, most diverse eating city in the world? The short answer is mostly yes. The longer answer is below.