Goldbelly City Guide: Our Favorite Picks

Goldbelly is a subscription food site unlike any other. They work with small businesses across the country to bring dishes from top restaurants, bakeries, and chefs straight to your door. Browsing Goldbelly's site is like venturing into a delicious labyrinth; you'll find meal kits designed by top chefs, gifts galore, monthly food subscriptions, and dishes from cities all across the country. As our writers are scattered in cities all over the US (and abroad!), we thought it might be fun to spotlight some of our favorite dishes and restaurants you can find on Goldbelly. Here are our top picks!

Christen: Primanti's

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The Primanti's sandwich is a classic Pittsburgh food experience. It's a gigantic deli sandwich built from locally made bread that just barely holds together its layers of grilled meat and cheese (of your choice), French fries, peppery vinegar coleslaw, and tomatoes. It's so delightfully low brow, and the hot-and-cold combo is at once satisfying and refreshing. Goldbelly delivers this mega-sandwich in pieces, letting you be the yinzer who pieces it together — don't forget to be both friendly and rough around the edges while you're flinging your spatula by the griddle. You can always tell a tourist or newbie to the city, they'll call the restaurant by its full name: Primanti Brothers. Pittsburghers call it "Primanti's," pronounced "per-man-eez."

Jeanne: NYC Bagels

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New York bagels are legendary for a reason — the crust shiny, the inside chewy. Raised in New York, I'm admittedly partial to my home area, but I've been all around the country and never found anything like them. Bagels everywhere else just seem like bread with a hole in the middle, which is why my husband and I have taken to gifting (and sometimes mailing ourselves) NY bagels to friends and family out of the area. It's the holiday gift they just can't get anywhere else, and it's a taste that's unmatched. H&H bagels are a New York staple — maybe you saw them on Seinfeld? — and you can't go wrong with a dozen cinnamon raisin with schmear (what we New Yorkers call cream cheese)!

Mary: Baltimore Crab Cakes

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“Crab cakes and football, that’s what Maryland does!” - Wedding Crashers

While I’m not really into football, I can attest to the crab cakes portion of this quote. I’ve tried crab cakes all over the world and have discovered my Maryland absolutely does it the best. From the jumbo lump blue crab meat, to McCormick & Co. Old Bay Seasoning, and minimal filler, there’s only one true Maryland crab cake and they’re hard to find outside of the state. Until now…

Imagine my surprise to discover that Goldbelly has Maryland crab cakes ready to ship from trusted names like Faidley Seafood located in the renowned Lexington Market in Baltimore, Maryland, and various crab houses along Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Now that I’m getting an insane amount of targeted crab cake ads, it’s making me a bit crabby. I might have to run out and buy some crabmeat to make some crab cakes tonight! Or I’ll just drop by Lexington Market or Oprah’s favorite place, Pappas, this weekend. YUMMY!

Naomi: California Vegan Treats

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There are more and more amazing vegan options exploding on the Los Angeles food scene; I am in heaven! Goldbelly is bringing that tasty experience to anyone, pretty much anywhere. From the delicious vegan versions of your favorite childhood treats, to savory appetizers and entrees. Enter the Rice Box, a personal favorite of mine. A family-owned business that is redefining Cantonese BBQ in downtown Los Angeles. I am absolutely obsessed with their Impossible Vegan Egg Rolls with Black Vinegar Soy Sauce. Fried to perfection, the exterior is light and flaky with a mouthwatering crunch, and the inside is stuffed with delicious pickled veggies and ‘Impossible’ meat. A quick dunk in the black vinegar soy, and you have the perfect bite. I would highly recommend this to any vegan foodies out there. Now onto the real question… is Rice Box worth the big bucks to ship across the country? I think that depends on what kind of a person you are. If you are a vegan and there aren’t many or any vegan Cantonese BBQ options where you live and you are looking to experience a food adventure right from the comfort of your own home, then I would say yes, this is absolutely something you might want to try. Shipping the LA vegan food scene to you may be a bit pricey but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than a Cali food run.

Lindsey: Best of New Orleans

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I currently live in New Orleans, a city known for Cajun and Creole cuisine you just can’t find anywhere else. No one does New Orleans food quite like New Orleans, and Goldbelly works with a number of the city’s most famous restaurants to ship authentic dishes all across the country. If you want to taste the best the city has to offer, I recommend checking out the Turtle Soup from Commander’s Palace. Commander's is one of the finest restaurants in the city, and it's one of my favorite spots to celebrate a special occasion. (Even if that special occasion is just: it's Tuesday and I want turtle soup.) Need a little Mardi Gras in your life? Try a King Cake from Gambino’s Bakery. Just eat carefully. Remember there’s a plastic baby inside! I also highly recommend trying a Muffuletta from Central Grocery, the inventor of NOLA’s famous take on the Italian sandwich. Tangy olive salad layered with ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, and Swiss on Sicilian sesame loaf is just the thing to make you throw your hands up in the air and exclaim, "laissez les bon temps rouler!"

Have you tried any of these dishes? Or do you have a favorite Goldbelly offering we didn't mention? Let us know in the comments!