Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been getting a noteworthy increase in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at New York City businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are worth exploring, right now.
Prospect Provisions
Open since July of 2018, this breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches, bagels and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bagels" on Yelp.
Citywide, bagel spots saw a median 1.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Prospect Provisions saw a 29.7 percent increase, maintaining an outstanding five-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Prospect Provisions's review count increased by more than 550 percent.
Located at 597 Fourth Ave. (between Prospect Avenue and 17th Street) in Park Slope, Prospect Provisions offers a variety of sandwiches and salads, like the Windsor Place sandwich, with roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayonnaise and the Fourth Avenue salad with mixed greens, roasted beets, radish, goat cheese and chickpea croutons. (View the full menu here.)
Patisserie Fouet
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Greenwich Village's Patisserie Fouet, the bakery, which offers coffee, desserts and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bakeries" on Yelp saw a median 1.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Patisserie Fouet bagged a 31.6 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.0 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 15 E. 13th St. (between Fifth Avenue and University Place) since June of 2017, Patisserie Fouet offers a sesame apricot cake, a hazelnut chocolate mousse, a green tea tiramisu and more. (View the full list of offerings here.)
The Independent
Theater District's The Independent is also making waves. Open since December of 2018 at 147 W. 40th St., Floor 1 (between Seventh Avenue and Broadway), the cocktail bar and tapas spot has seen a 62.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.9 percent for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp.
The Independent offers a variety of cocktails, including The Teddy, which is made of bourbon, sugar, ginger lime shrub and mint and the Rat Race, made with tequila, banana, lemon and agave. (View the menu here.) Over the past month, it's maintained a sound 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Mimmo Cucina Italiana
Yorkville's Mimmo Cucina Italiana is the city's buzziest Italian spot by the numbers.
The wine bar and Italian spot, which offers pizza and more and opened at 1690 York Ave. (between 88th and 89th streets) in December 2017, increased its new review count by 30.2 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2 percent for the Yelp category "Italian." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 4.3 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Mimmo Cucina Italiana offers a penne dish with chicken breast, sun-dried tomato and a tarragon cream sauce, as well as a risotto with mussels, calamari, clams, shrimp and a chardonnay tomato sauce. (Check out the menu here.)
Flushing Ice Cream Factory
Flushing's Flushing Ice Cream Factory is currently on the upswing in the ice cream and frozen yogurt category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt" on Yelp saw a median 2.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this ice cream and frozen yogurt spot increased its by 36.6 percent—and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 170 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 135-15 40th Road since December of 2018, the business offers dozens of flavors, including coconut, pineapple, red bean, pistachio, ginger and more. (View the full list here.)
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
