My Favorite NYC Places

Breakfast this morning: Banana- and red roasted pepper hummus on rye bread sandwiches. Obviously someone else was interested in trying them...

Now that spring is finally about to come to the Big Apple after a long, harsh winter, I thought I’d present my own favorite places in the city that never sleeps. Mind you, I am not listing stuff like the Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building, because I know you take care of that on your own anyway. So without further ado and in no particular order, here they are, my favorite places in NYC

1. Tompkins Square Park Located in the East Village, Tompkins Square Park is the perfect centerpiece for a leisurely spent afternoon. It is lined with several casual eateries, and there’s a lovely little public library nearby (for when it gets too hot) and even a small pool (mostly for kids, but I always bring my swimsuit anyway). And most importantly, it has the ever-hip East Village vibe to it. Forget Williamsburg, which hasn’t happened in a long time and which by now is chock-full of rich trust fund babes on their way to private Pilates sessions. Go to East Village instead. Subway: L-train to First Avenue or F-train to Second Avenue. 
2. New York City Ballet All right so their star choreographer Balanchine has been dead for thirty years, but this is still the American ballet company. Had it with old romantic Russian ballets? The New York City Ballet presents ballets that are sleek, exciting, New World-y, and as elegant as some advanced mathematical formula. Bring your boyfriend/husband with you – chances are even he will fall in love with ballet if Union Jack, Movements for Piano and Orchestra or Episodes are scheduled for performance. Subway: 1-Train to 66 Street, Lincoln Center. 
3. The Strand If you love books, you’ll love The Strand independent bookstore. The folks here promise “18 miles of books”. I’ve never fact checked that, but it’s safe to say there’s a whole lot of books here. New books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books – here you’ll find it all and to pretty good prices also. Subway: L-, 4-, 5-, and 6-Trains to Union Square. 
4. Coney Island Are there better beaches in New York? You bet. Are there any beaches as New Yorkey as Coney Island? Nope. Buy yourself a mango on a stick or a funnel cake or some corn on the cob, stroll down the boardwalk and look at the people doing their crazy dance moves. There’s nothing sweeter in life than dozing off in the dunes and hearing “Ice cold Corona!” being called out nearby. Subway: F-train to the New York Aquarium.
5. Williamsburg Wait, didn’t I just say to skip Williamsburg? Well, yes and no. Skip the pretentious hippity hip Williamsburg. Take the L-train from Union Square (where you are anyway since you’ve just been picking up some titles at The Strand) get off at the first stop in Brooklyn and then run, don’t walk, down Bedford Avenue until you come to the Hasidic Jewish section, that’s where you want to spend some time. It’s eerie. It will make you feel like you’re in another century. Time stands still here. If you are a woman and you’re wearing shorts, kids here will stare at you. Subway: L-train to Bedford Avenue.
6. Shakespeare in the Park One day you will be too tired to do any sightseeing. It will be a summer day and man will it be hot. That’s the day when you and your friend(s) pack blankets, books and magazines and perhaps some cards and head to the Delacorte Theater in Central Park and line up with everyone else for hours in order to get free tickets to that night’s performance of Shakespeare in the Park. This summer's plays are The Tempest (starring Sam Waterson as Prospero) and Cymbeline. Subway: B- and C-trains to 81^st Street. 
7. The White Horse Tavern OK, so I haven’t been here in a while – chances are it is still pretty much the same though, the White Horse Tavern (located on 567 Hudson Street) is one of those places that don’t change much. There was a time when I used to take acting lessons around the corner at HB Studio, and in those days we’d come here to memorize lines (and also because this was Dylan Thomas’ favorite hangout). The point is, you will do Greenwich Village, so why not stop here? A stone’s throw away from Magnolia Bakery on 401 Bleecker Street, where you will want to go and buy banana pudding. Subway: 1-, 2- or 3-Trains to 14^th Street.
8. Broadway Bring your good walking shoes (but make sure they’re cool and/or pretty also, please) and walk Broadway from the 80’s down to Union Square, located between 14^th and 17^th Street. Stop wherever you feel like it for a coffee or soda. For sentimental reasons, I always make a stop at Margot Patisserie located in the Ansonia on 2109 Broadway.
9. Chinatown Try whatever restaurant you want, just make sure you go here. I go once a week and absolutely love Chinatown. My personal favorites include: sugared donuts and bubble tea at Dragon Land Bakery (125 Walker Street) and New Kam Man, 200 Canal Street, a place where you will find Asian groceries, inexpensive china and other kitchen items (rice cookers and stainless steel pots), as well as Japanese beauty products to die for. I never leave without buying the honeydew-filled goldfish crackers. Subway: 6-Train to Canal Street.
10. Bryant Park If for no other reason, please stop here to use the restrooms! Who’d ever think public restrooms like these were even possible in a city like New York? They are so beautiful and well-maintained they nearly make me cry. The rest of the park is just as beautiful, there are free classes in juggling, yoga, tai chi, and knitting. In the wintertime you can ice skate. Subway: 7-Train to 5th Avenue.
11. The Cloisters New York City has more museums than you will be able to handle in a week or two. My favorites are MoMA and the Met, but in the summer I love to go all the way up to the Cloisters for a picnic. Subway: A-Train to 190th Street.
12. Harlem I wrote about Harlem here the other day. Don’t go to New York without visiting Harlem.

My favorite place to eat is usually the nearest diner (I love New York diners, especially their Swiss cheese omelets with home fries). But for fancier lunches, there’s Le Pain Quotidien, which you can pretty much find all over the city. For more exotic places, I like to venture out of Manhattan to the following:

1. Pollos Mario in Queens. Colombian food. I cannot tell you how much I love this place! The waitresses have extremely tight white pants, which might or might not be off-putting, and there is a giant fake orange tree in the middle of it and sometimes you have to stand in line for quite a bit before you get seated, but once you are seated, you don’t want to leave. I’m a vegetarian and I love this place – that says a lot. I always order the same: sweet plantains, pickled red onions, yellow rice, avocado salad, and a tall glass of tomate de arbol (a drink made with milk and tree tomato). If you aren’t a vegetarian, my husband suggests you try the pargo rojo frito (fried snapper with rice, green plantain, and a side salad). 86-13 Roosevelt Avenue. Subway: 7-Train to 90 Street – Elmhurst Avenue.
2. Christina’s on 853 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn – best Polish food ever! I adore their pierogis. For Polish donuts (pączkis), head over to Rzeszowska Bakery on 948 Manhattan Avenue. Subway: G-train to Greenpoint.
3. Minni’s Shabu Shabu in Flushing, Queens. All right, so my husband pretty much forced this onto the list. He likes to go there and my son likes the idea of going there, and I sort of just string along. We usually tag this one onto a visit to the New York Hall of Science. I haven’t gotten the hang of the shabu shabu swish-swish food yet, but one day I hope I will. Subway: 7-Train to Roosevelt Avenue/Main Street.