tad and i went to nyc last week and i had such a remarkable time, i need to share.
i would certainly say that i’m a country mouse, who’s always had a dream of moving to nyc, but for reasons mostly associated with short-sightedness, has never put together a plan for actually executing that dream. what i’m hooked on is the inspiration there. it’s like an artery of creativity and culture i can tap into for energy. (that sounds super-dramtic, but let’s go with it). the city has sort of become a restorative thing for me – and luckily, although it requires the constant search – nyc is never short on delivering. and this trip in particular. it was remarkable in that i experienced more new things last week in the city than i have in several recent visits combined. it’s vital for me to keep being surprised. to constantly be challenged, and asked to consider new things.
blah blah life is hard, but not, but is. here’s what i found worth sharing.
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| dimes |
first of all, eating —
there’s a tattoo shop shop in chinatown that i’ve been to a couple of times (say a tiny prayer asking my mother for understanidn, or just forgiveness) — it’s called daredevil — they’re great, highly recommended — and after this trips’ visit, we ducked across the street to new-to-me restaurant dimes. it was nasty outside – rain you should have an umbrella for, and so cold –dimes was the perfect little hipster cave of matcha lattes (they’ve made it to dinner!), miso quinoa risotto and maybe a parsnip situation. the crowd was extra-attractive, full of locals on a first name basis with the staff, and the food was actually amazing – fresh, and flavorful and appropriately filling on a cold night. they sell cute little candles with their logo, and the bathroom was a diy-done-right treat – white subway tiles randomly brushed with watercolors. rull cute.
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| russ and daughteres cafe |
i’d been to the counter-situation in the east village, but this was the actual sit down cafe on orchard, and it was lovely for lunch. chic businessmen with their pants appropriately hemmed dining alone, with a glass of white wine and a new york times folded like a pamphlet. the eggs benedict was truly eggceptional and the heebster with wasabi roe was good AF.
next door is a sneaker shop – extra butter -and we popped in and were alerted some new camo converse had ‘dropped’ that day, so i figured I must need a thing that had just come into retail existence. i still feel pleased with that acquisition.
my other new thing (what was the first?) whilst in nyc is getting a little late-night snacky treat at the milk bar (btw, we gotta talk about the new chef’s table featuring christina tosi – i lit.tra.lee cried b/c she is the whole entire american dream). n-e-way, i’ve found a cereal-milk shake gives me fortitude for nighttime wandering, which we tend to do if the weather cooperates.
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| spoils of my things for the study shopping spree. I think all dis was maybe $38? |
i’ve been going to barre3 in the west village, and luckily our hotel this time was walking distance, so i did some daytime wandering to get there, via washington park (so freaking great on a sunny day and full of magic) and up 8th street, where i discovered things for the study: a really charming shop full of obscure french notebooks, hipster writing instruments, beautifully designed and clever greeting cards, good-looking desk accessories and other pretty things made obsolete by the internet but now having a moment bc the pendulum is swinging back to offices with water colors and pencil totes.
SHOP: i may be the last person to know about this great little shop on sullivan, global table — well, second-to-last (did you know?), but finding this gem definitely scratched an itch for me. i felt like a magpie plucking around all the rainbow-colored glassware. they have a great edit of all the fairly-easy-to-source japanese blue and white porcelain dinnerware, candy-colored tumblers, chic pitchers, beautiful serving bowls and lots of other thoughtful gifts you could pop in for en route to a dinner party. because you’re just living your life going to dinner parties in new york and popping in for hostess gifts. super jeal.
SHOP: st frank just opened a little west village outpost across the street, and though the shop is tiny, it’s mighty. great bolivian frazedas in bublegum pinks, pretty cookbooks, and little global bits to add a layer of personality to your areas.
SHOP: also noteworthy: zara has all the things for spring. so good. again, i gravitate towards all the tasseled, fringed, beaded boho eye-candy but end up getting the basic black sandals that hopefully, will be the spring me.
STAY: sixty soho
i’d stayed here forever ago when it was sixty thompson – apparently the hotelier sold the thompsons (love the one in playa del carmen, and in nashville!) but held onto sixty, just changing the name a bit.
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| bistro leo |
such a great street, on thompson — right there, we had bistro les amis (french fries!), vin et fleurs, and blue ribbon sushi, OH! and a doggy dog-care where you can stalk pups in the window while they play on trampolines! plus the hotel’s restaurant, bistro leo, was extra-attractive and we had a great breakfast there a couple of mornings. we got our room on hotel tonight for maybe $450 – it was 500 sq. feet, had two balconies, a big bathtub and got super dark, and cold at night. all the conveniences to meet my preferences.
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| bistro leo |
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| bistro les amis |
in real life news, we had dinner at hirohisa, also on our street, and i did not care for it. at all. everything tasted like wet, cold earth dirt.
what we actually went for, besides the wandering, the milkshakes, the french notebooks and french fries — was a play. we had tickets to angels in america, a play in two long parts (3.5 hr and 4.5 hours), and this was the particular day in the month that you could catch both parts back to back. it was a long day of theatre, but didn’t feel like it for even a second. the play was magnificent. andrew garfield and nathan lane. probably the best show i’ve ever seen, and i completely 110% think you should go see it if you get the opportunity.
you asked politely several times, and i can tell when your patience is wearing thin b/c you do that huffing thing, so i am working on travel guides to the places i know a bit about, and will have the blog looking and feeling a bit more resourceful in the near future. you’ll be able to search by city, shop the things i like from around the world of webatory, and other things the other bloggers did 4 years ago and i just, didn’t. yet.
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