Hudson Falafel - In funky West Village there are some fabulous cafes and restaurants including trendy and exclusive ones but there's also Hudson Falafel, a small and plain looking place nestled amongst those nice boutiques and eateries on Hudson Street. Here there are all sorts of mixed plates you can get including the quarter roasted chicken (with dried chilli on the skin), rice cooked with lentils and butter (much better than it sounds), salad and tahini for only $5.
Festive Markets - around Thanksgiving and Christmas there were festive markets set up in major hubs like this one at Union Square and also Columbus Circle. The stalls set all sorts of gifts, festive decorations and hand-made items.
**TASTY TIP: The one at Union Square included a stall by Momofuku Milk Bar and Toby's Estate Coffee - prices were the same as the actual stores but they were a welcome snack.
Opening Ceremony - the store in NY is 3 stories high and filled with amazing designs from their namesake collection made even more famous by collaborations with Chloe Sevigny, Rodarte and more recently Adidas. Shop here for unique and quirky items for the fashion-lover including these outrageous Adidas sneakers:
Hershey's Shop - The brand's signature store in Times Square sells all their brands and in huge quantities too - check out this 5kg tub of Reese's Peanut Butter! Nothing 'all natural' about that size! They also sell branded merchandise like pillows and gifts in case you want more.
M & M's store - Not to be outdone by Hershey's the M & M's store across the road is even bigger, more interactive and fun. You can customise your own M & M's here in colour and with your initial. There are also mugs, caps, key rings, gift boxes and their own clothing line. It's a fun place to look around but you will likely walk out with a purchase or 200.
Amber - This is the Upper East Side branch of Amber, a pan-Asian restaurant of which there are numerous around NY that essentially serve a range of different Asian cuisines including generally, Thai, Japanese and maybe even Chinese and Vietnamese. Amber is normally a little pricey but they have a great brunch special on weekends where $15.95 gets you an appetiser (shu mai chosen), an entree (sangria roasted duck complete with diced apple!), pickles, rice, a huge salad, miso soup and a large beer.
**TASTY TIP: Most cafes and restaurants have a weekday lunch special as well as weekend brunch menus so you can eat at some great places on a budget. Check out menus online before you go.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - MoMA is always worth a visit or a return visit due to the revolving exhibitions. Recently, I saw a version of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' which complements his other works that they have on display including Jealousy and Madonna.
*TIP: I mentioned this in my last post but in case you missed it, MoMA has free entry on Fridays from 4pm. Get there early or later to avoid the queues somewhat.
Zucker's Bagels - Right near Chambers Street station on the 123 line in trendy Tribeca is Zucker's Bagels, a lunch time place that sells an array of their house-smoked or house-cured fish. There is a daily lunch-time special for $6.95 that includes the filling of the day (tuna salad on the day I went) on a bagel of your choice with lettuce and tomato, a pickle (cutely wrapped in greaseproof paper), coleslaw and a soda or water.
Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) - This small museum is free and has a really interesting exhibition about how technology has been integrated in fashion design and production. Anyone with an interest in fashion or cultural history will enjoy this place and it's open until 8pm on most weeknights.
United Nations - The UN offers free tours from its' visitors' centre. Even if you don't have time to make it on a tour, you can sneak in a visit into the visitors' centre that usually has interesting photographic exhibits (currently there is one on the history of quinoa for the foodies!), unique gift shop with UN merchandise and you can send letters and postcards from their very own post office.
*TIP: You're no longer on US controlled land at the UN HQ! The post office in the UN visitors' centre is the only place where you can get a UN-stamp - a unique souvenir!
So, yes it's possible to eat well and nutritiously in nice neighborhoods, see the world's best art and shop at fun and special places in the city where anything is possible: New York New York - so good they named it twice!
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