A PICTORIAL CITY GUIDE
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EAT `.`.`.`.`. SHOP `.`.`.`.`.`. ETC
Having lived in Manhattan for over two years, the city irreversibly shaped my impressionable 18-year-old sensibilities towards people, art and urban loneliness. Sometimes I felt it was my home, other times it was supremely alien. But I matured there, became an artist there, and fell in love there.
New York is not always warm but always friendly, not always open but always awake, not always a holiday - but always exciting.
My favorite memories stem from the connections you make with the great people there - since almost everyone is from some place else, and native New Yorkers love to tell you good stories about their town. But if you are like me and don't get jazzed about Time's Square, have fun exploring the island's many distinct neighborhoods.
59th St + 2nd Ave
for $2 get out of the subway and up 3,100 ft. for the most spectacular 4 minute view.
I recommend going at nighttime! take it for the Roos. Is. Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring
Gray's Papaya
402 6th Ave [multiple locations]
in the epic hot-dog/fruit-juice war, I prefer Gray's over Papaya King's. Why? I don't know.
The Tick Tock Diner [site]
Corner of 34th Street + 8th Avenue
i've read a number of bad reviews on this place, but myself have had only good experiences!
a nice place to enjoy a slow breakfast or late-night waffle fries with friend
Koreatown
W. 32nd St behind the Empire State Building 5th Ave to Broadway
lots of good bimbimbap, music stores and kareoke places
Hagi izakaya
152 W 49th Street btw 6th + 7th Ave
cheap, exceptional food - exactly like in Tokyo - try the yuzu sake
M+J Trimmings [site]
1008 Sixth Avenue
lots of unique handmade things to discover
Housing Works [site]
157 E. 23rd St
a great upscale thrift shop, benefits go towards AIDS research
Reminiscence [site]
50 W 23rd St
retro clothes + cool toys
oddly, their only other branches are in Shibuya and Yokohama, Japan
Irving Plaza [site]
17 Irving Place between 15th St + 16th St
inexpensive SRO concerts - features newbies/music legends alike
Little India
Lexington Ave + E. 23rd St up to E. 27th
a stretch of amazing Indian restaurants in my old Kip's Bay neighborhood
Frank's Pizza
E 23rd + Lexington Ave
get a huge slice and soda for $1.50
great Sicilian-style, too!
St. Mark's Place
8th St. and 2nd Ave
a great street to eat, shop and eat some more
Cozy's Soup+Burger [site]
739 Broadway
nice staff, great variety, better to try and avoid the lunch rush
*Sadly, my favorite place The Comfort Diner just closed, but this is very close
St. Alp's Tea House [site]
39 3rd Avenue
great honey toast + bubble tea in big mugs
Screamin' Mimi's [site]
382 Lafayette Street
super mod, super chic, super pretentious but fun
Macaron Parlour [site]
Hester Street Fair / Hester Street + Essex Street
try the bacon macaron!
Film Forum [site]
209 W. Houston St
my favorite place to catch an art house film or noir revival
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory [site]
65 Bayard St
try the red-bean or coconut!
Apothéke [site]
9 Doyers St tea room designed to look like a 19th century Austrian apothecary
The Sugar-Dumpling Lady
anywhere she feels like it
*Okay, you have to find this lady in Chinatown - she is the only one of her kind to my knowledge.
She and her son have a little cart and make tiny sugar donut bites for a $1-a-bag - sometimes she is on Canal St, sometimes she is on Hester or Elizabeth - she always moves! When she sells out, she goes home.
Good luck on the hunt! It's worth it!
Des Pomme Frites [site]
123 Second Avenue
next to the Toy Tokyo store - this place servesFrench Belgian fries and only Belgian fries.
split a small and try all the dips
Animazing Gallery [site]
54 Greene St.
one of my absolute favorite art galleries in the city besides the Frick Collection
fine artwork by animators [hand-drawn and stop-motion] + comic artists - you need to check it out
Chinese New Year Festival
Elizabeth St every February
an annual tradition - must be experienced!
New York is not always warm but always friendly, not always open but always awake, not always a holiday - but always exciting.
My favorite memories stem from the connections you make with the great people there - since almost everyone is from some place else, and native New Yorkers love to tell you good stories about their town. But if you are like me and don't get jazzed about Time's Square, have fun exploring the island's many distinct neighborhoods.
These are all places discovered from wandering around the city or introduced to me by friends.
You can read more of my individual trips here
You can read more of my individual trips here
UPTOWN / MIDTOWN / GARMENT DISTRICT
Roosevelt Island Cable Car [site]59th St + 2nd Ave
for $2 get out of the subway and up 3,100 ft. for the most spectacular 4 minute view.
I recommend going at nighttime! take it for the Roos. Is. Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring
402 6th Ave [multiple locations]
in the epic hot-dog/fruit-juice war, I prefer Gray's over Papaya King's. Why? I don't know.
The Tick Tock Diner [site]
Corner of 34th Street + 8th Avenue
i've read a number of bad reviews on this place, but myself have had only good experiences!
a nice place to enjoy a slow breakfast or late-night waffle fries with friend
Koreatown
W. 32nd St behind the Empire State Building 5th Ave to Broadway
lots of good bimbimbap, music stores and kareoke places
Hagi izakaya
152 W 49th Street btw 6th + 7th Ave
cheap, exceptional food - exactly like in Tokyo - try the yuzu sake
M+J Trimmings [site]
1008 Sixth Avenue
lots of unique handmade things to discover
KIP'S BAY / GRAMERCY / FLATIRON / UNION SQ.
Housing Works [site]
157 E. 23rd St
a great upscale thrift shop, benefits go towards AIDS research
50 W 23rd St
retro clothes + cool toys
oddly, their only other branches are in Shibuya and Yokohama, Japan
Irving Plaza [site]
17 Irving Place between 15th St + 16th St
inexpensive SRO concerts - features newbies/music legends alike
Little India
Lexington Ave + E. 23rd St up to E. 27th
a stretch of amazing Indian restaurants in my old Kip's Bay neighborhood
Frank's Pizza
E 23rd + Lexington Ave
get a huge slice and soda for $1.50
great Sicilian-style, too!
EAST VILLAGE / ST. MARK'S PLACE / WAVERLY
St. Mark's Place
8th St. and 2nd Ave
a great street to eat, shop and eat some more
Cozy's Soup+Burger [site]
739 Broadway
nice staff, great variety, better to try and avoid the lunch rush
*Sadly, my favorite place The Comfort Diner just closed, but this is very close
St. Alp's Tea House [site]
39 3rd Avenue
great honey toast + bubble tea in big mugs
SOHO / LITTLE ITALY / CHINATOWN
Screamin' Mimi's [site]
382 Lafayette Street
super mod, super chic, super pretentious but fun
Lombardi's [site]
32 Spring St.
home to NYC's first pie and the friendliest bartendersMacaron Parlour [site]
Hester Street Fair / Hester Street + Essex Street
try the bacon macaron!
Film Forum [site]
209 W. Houston St
my favorite place to catch an art house film or noir revival
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory [site]
65 Bayard St
try the red-bean or coconut!
Apothéke [site]
9 Doyers St tea room designed to look like a 19th century Austrian apothecary
The Sugar-Dumpling Lady
anywhere she feels like it
*Okay, you have to find this lady in Chinatown - she is the only one of her kind to my knowledge.
She and her son have a little cart and make tiny sugar donut bites for a $1-a-bag - sometimes she is on Canal St, sometimes she is on Hester or Elizabeth - she always moves! When she sells out, she goes home.
Good luck on the hunt! It's worth it!
Des Pomme Frites [site]
123 Second Avenue
next to the Toy Tokyo store - this place serves
split a small and try all the dips
Animazing Gallery [site]
54 Greene St.
one of my absolute favorite art galleries in the city besides the Frick Collection
fine artwork by animators [hand-drawn and stop-motion] + comic artists - you need to check it out
Chinese New Year Festival
Elizabeth St every February
an annual tradition - must be experienced!
@moduslotus
This is a such an excellent resource! The photos and layout are beautiful - my fave is New Year w/ all the paper bits floating in the air
ReplyDeleteHey! Gonna maybe steal this idea and make a guide for Seattle! These city guides are seriously cool.
ReplyDeleteThis is nice, i lived in NY for a couple of years, but haven't visited even half those places, maybe if I go visiting again I'd pull out your blog and have an adventure ;P
ReplyDeleteI WANT TO GO SO BADLY AAARRRGGG, i hope everything goes well for the summer *crosses fingers* i wish u could show me around!
ReplyDeleteTHAT BUBBLE TEA LOOKS OM NOM YUM!
Alison - it's such a fun experience!
ReplyDeleteZ - Do it!
Jane - Do it!
Bianca - Do it!
Oh gosh, I would love to live in NYC. I only got to visit for about a week and I could not capture everything there is. There is just so much going on! Love it!
ReplyDeleteStop making me want to go back this year!!!! One long weekend just wasn't long enough XD
ReplyDelete