10 Amazing Restaurant Dishes to Make at Home

Yahoo Food
Updated

At Food52, we believe cooking on the cheap shouldn’t mean minute rice and buttered pasta every night. With a little creativity and a little planning, Gabriella Paiella shows us how to make the most of a tight budget — without sacrificing flavor or variety. 

Today: Recreate must-try restaurant dishes at home, for a fraction of the price.


One night, about a year after I had moved to New York, I was at a Mets Game. It wasn’t terribly memorable, but I do remember that my date ordered chicken tenders; they were $11, and predictably not very good, but I immediately thought, “Damn, those are surprisingly cheap.”

That was the moment that I realized that living in this city had permanently skewed my perceptions of what people should pay for food. Even though I’m incredibly frugal at the grocery store, I’m often lured into shelling out at every new restaurant that I have to try — and there is always another one.

Fortunately, working in food media means being surrounded by people creative and motivated enough to recreate some of the most acclaimed restaurants’ recipes. I’ve pulled together a few of my favorites — you’ll save money, won’t have to wait for a table, and can eat them in the privacy of your home (no pants!). Here’s how to live the dream:

Momofuku’s Pork Buns 



Northern Spy’s Kale Salad 

Brussels Sprouts Salad a la M. Wells 



Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake



Celery Salad and Cheese on Toast (Inspired by Prune)



Carrot Avocado Salad (courtesy of ABC Kitchen) 



Le Bernadin’s Crispy Skinned Fish



Union Square Café’s Hashed Brussels Sprouts with Poppy Seeds and Lemon 



Roberta’s Parsley Cake 



The River Café’s Strawberry Sorbet 

The River Café’s Strawberry Sorbet 

Makes 1½ quarts

2-3  lemons, 1 seeded and roughly chopped and the others juiced
2  cups sugar
2  pounds strawberries, hulled

  1. Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor, and pulse until combined. Transfer to a bowl.

  2. Purée the strawberries in a food processor, and add to the lemon mixture, along with the juice of 1 lemon. Taste and add more juice as desired. The lemon flavor should be intense but should not overpower the strawberries. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.

Save and print the recipe on Food52.

Tell us: What are your favorite restaurant dishes that you’ve adapted to your home kitchen?

This article originally appeared on Food52.com: 10 Restaurant Dishes to Recreate at Home