Where Pope Francis Should Eat When He's in NYC

Pope Francis only has 36 hours in New York—we recommend he spend it eating.

Rumor has is the Pope loves pizza. He's come to the right city.

Pope Francis—lover of pizza and the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church—lands in New York this afternoon for a two-day visit before continuing his United States tour to Philadelphia. Over the course of his barely 36 hours in the Big Apple, he'll be passing by some of our favorite places for food. 

Here are our favorite spots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along the course of Pope Francis's tour—should he have the oppurtuntiy to ditch the popemobile and dine: 

Upper East Side (72nd Street and 5th Avenue):

• Pope Francis will be staying in a townhouse owned by the Archdiocese of New York on the Upper East Side. While the only thing he's requested in his room is some still water and bananas, we hope he'll make it outside—after all, he's staying next-door to a number of classic New York eats like East Pole (Lexington Avenue and 65th Street), Ladurée (Madison Avenue between 71st and 70th Streets), and Felice 64 (1st Avenue and 64th Street)—which, like the Pope, "reflects the soul of Italy."
• We also recommend that he take his popemobile across the park to Levain (Amsterdam Avenue and 74th Street) for some heavenly baked goods.

Evening Prayer at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (5th Avenue and Rockefeller Center): 

• His holiness should stop by Xi'an Famous Foods (5th Avenue and 45th Street) for cumin lamb noodles, but he should be sure to get extra napkins so he doesn't get chile oil stains on his robe. 
• Next stop is the Biryani Cart (6th Avenue and 46th Street) because no trip to Midtown would be complete without some kati rolls—that is, if he can get through the traffic.
• Since pizza is one of the Pope's favorite foods (he reportedly misses going to local pizza joints like he did in Argentina), it's important that the Pope get a taste of Roberta's Pizza at UrbanSpace Market (Vanderbilt and 45th Street). 

The pope is on a fish and rice diet—luckily, New York has lots of sushi.

Address to United Nations General Assembly (FDR Drive between 42nd and 48th Streets):

• Pope Francis is under his doctor's orders to eat primarily fish and rice so Sushi Yasuda (3rd Avenue and 43rd Street) is a no-brainer. We recommend he opt for omakase.

Multi-religious Service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum and World Trade Center (Battery Park):

• While he's in the neighborhood, we recommend the Pope head to Hudson Eats (West Side Highway and Vessey Street), where he can get a Black Seed Bagel and try to give his fellow diners, the bankers, a soul... (Did we really just say that?)

The fried chicken at Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken isn't all the different from a dish from the Pope's home country.

Visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem (3rd Avenue and 111th Street)

• Since Pope Francis isn't heading to the South this visit (we don't think D.C. counts, but then again, we're from New York so what do we know?), we highly recommend he get a taste of that part of the country at Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken (Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 151st Street). Plus, we're betting it reminds him of a classic dish from his home country of Argentina: breaded and fried milanesa de pollo.

Papal Motorcade through Central Park:

• This one's easy: Find the good ICEE guy and go for lemon. Though this may require some difficult popemobile maneuvering. (Yes, we realize we've mentioned the pope's mode of transportation three times in this post already, but have you seen this thing?!)

Madison Square Garden Mass (Pennsylvania Plaza):

• This is the perfect opportunity for Pope Francis to hit up Eataly (5th Avenue and 23rd Street), New York Suprema Pizza (8th Avenue between 30th and 31st Streets), and Shake Shack for some custard (8th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets). 

Do you like pizza as much as Pope Francis does? Did we miss out on any divine eats? Tell us in the comments below!

Photos by James Ransom