By now you probably know that I am a walking tour fan. There’s no better way to see the city than on foot accompanied by someone who knows their stuff. And among the tour groups, Urban Adventures is one of my favorites thanks to their wealth of knowledge, small group sizes and choice of lesser-known locations. So when I …
Read MoreTag / East Village
March 21, 2015
…tasted Insomnia Cookies
Look at this awful weather! What you need is a pick-me-up. How about one delivered right to your door? I say you turn your attention to Insomnia Cookies. As the name suggests, they help you get your cookie fix (nearly) all hours of the day and night, but unlike some of you may be thinking, …
Read MoreFebruary 12, 2015
…ate gluten-free treats from Jennifer’s Way Bakery
Let’s start this off on the right foot. I’m not a gluten-free nut and I pretty much try to cram gluten and carbs into every meal possible. But even though it might seem like a hippy food fad to many, I appreciate that for others, a gluten-free diet has made a massive, life-changing difference. Plus, …
Read MoreJuly 22, 2014
…ate Dirt Candy
It’s been a gluttonous slog, but I’ve nearly worked my way through New York’s top vegetarian restaurants. Yet one has been left on the list for ages now: Dirt Candy. There’s a reason it’s been on my list – unvisited – for a while. It’s a nightmare to get a reservation. When I decided to look for a spot in …
Read MoreApril 1, 2014
…brunched at Smile
I’ve completed a lot of new activities over the past 15 months, but one thing I’ve done without fail every single weekend is brunch. It’s the best meal of the week and the perfect excuse to quaff alcohol before midday. So why don’t I start blogging about my favorites, eh? Oh, I will – but today I’m sharing …
Read MoreMarch 21, 2014
…celebrated Macaron Day
Have you ever tried to make a macaron? Unfortunately, I’ve inherited absolutely zero baking skills from my pastry chef mother and the only time I tried to make them, they came out flat, burnt and not at all pretty. Which is why I leave the baking up to the professionals (and Mummy Warren). The tasting …
Read MoreMarch 11, 2014
…made cupcakes at Butter Lane
When I lived in Manchester in the UK, I had a gloriously large kitchen – it was new, sparkly and it inspired me to cook. But four years on, and I’m living in a (very pretty) shoebox in Manhattan with virtually no kitchen. So as you’ve seen before, when I have an urge to cook, I quite …
Read MoreFebruary 20, 2014
…sipped cocktails at a Japanese speakeasy
While Heather’s visiting, I want to give her a taste of my favourite things to do in the city. And what’s more tasty than a cocktail from one of New York’s bars? I wanted to show her the classier side of my habit so we headed to Stuyvesant Street and met outside a Japanese restaurant …
Read MoreDecember 21, 2013
…took the East Village Mosaic Trail
I’ve lived in the East Village for nine months now and I’ve obviously not been paying attention. Today I was looking for new things to check out nearby and came across the Mosaic Trail – quirky mosaicked lampposts just a stone’s throw from my front door. Even though I pass the lampposts every single day …
Read MoreNovember 14, 2013
…cheered at an art battle
A week ago, Ryan noticed this graffiti underway in a building near his office at Bryant Park. After a bit of sleuthing, he found out it was to celebrate the upcoming ‘Art Battle U‘ where student artists paint live on stage. So we bought tickets. The battle was held tonight at Webster Hall – and …
Read MoreOctober 21, 2013
…drank at McSorley’s – New York’s oldest Irish tavern
As a Brit who’s also enjoyed a beer or two in Ireland, I’d like to think I know a real pub when I see one. A lot of bars here in New York claim to be Irish but I’ve never seen any half as authentic as McSorley’s – the city’s first Irish tavern. This East …
Read MoreOctober 18, 2013
…raised a glass to Cider Week
Fridays usually mean a bevvy or five – but this week there was an excuse: The start of Cider Week 2013. The 10-day festival features talks, tastings and classes at around 50 different pubs, bars and markets across the city – and tonight was the kickoff event: The night market at Union Square. Ryan and …
Read MoreOctober 13, 2013
…snooped around a stranger’s home with Open House NY
Even though moving apartments is always a pain, I love it because you get to snoop around other people’s houses. So when I learned there was a city-wide event this weekend where you could do exactly that without having to feign interest in moving in, I was very keen. Open House New York has been …
Read MoreAugust 20, 2013
…tasted Ethiopian food
Today I headed a few blocks south of my apartment and ended up in Ethiopia – for dinner at Meskel. I’d never had Ethiopian food before and had zero idea what to expect, but Ryan had nabbed a very generous Groupon, so we decided to give it a go. Meskel is a simple little place …
Read MoreJuly 30, 2013
…ate a pretzel
Every day when I leave work, I’m greeted by this: Usually I walk right past without even noticing the food carts, but a few days ago I took another look and realised that I’ve never had a pretzel. Even though it’s originally a European food, for some reason I connect it with New York; perhaps …
Read MoreJuly 1, 2013
…ate poutine for Canada Day
Today is Canada Day. But trying to find a Canadian-themed place in New York is like trying to find a Welsh bar in London. For a city that has restaurants and supermarkets for every nation possible, it’s bizarre that New York seems to have entirely ignored its nearest neighbour. I could hardly track anything down …
Read MoreJune 4, 2013
…cycled to work on a Citi Bike
Every morning I have a 23 minute walk to work. Okay so I know that’s quite a luxury but seeing as I start at 7am, I’m happy to do anything that’ll shear off 10 minutes. Well, finally, it’s here! The Citi Bike. The clunky blue bikes have been up and running (rolling?) for a week now, …
Read MoreMay 18, 2013
…danced in Tompkins Square Park
I’d planned to watch the city’s 7th annual dance parade today, but somehow my Saturday boozing got a little out of hand. Thankfully, said boozing was taking place just a stone’s throw away from Tompkins Square Park, where the dancers congregated after taking to the streets. It meant that I did even better than just watching them …
Read MoreMay 6, 2013
…tried an egg cream
As Rachel and I walked home tonight, we made a stop at Gem Spa, a scruffy bodega in the East Village and just one of the many eateries in the city claiming to sell ‘New York’s best egg cream’. Even though we have zero experience to draw from, we decided to see what they had. Now, I’m still not …
Read MoreApril 15, 2013
…paid my respects to Boston at a Red Sox bar
Today has been a tough one. The Boston bombings are horrifying. They’ve shaken me like I’ve not been shaken while working on a story before. As I watched the tragedy unfold, I grew fearful for my friends running the marathon. And at work, I had the job of scrolling through graphic image after graphic image in our picture system, swiftly …
Read MoreMarch 3, 2013
…went on a graffiti tour
While I’ve admired a lot of street art since being in New York, I’ve always seen tags and sprayed names as a sloppy mess on the city’s streets. But today, after taking a great graffiti tour, I can finally appreciate their origins and purpose. The walking tour was hosted by Grafftours and snaked through the East Village, Lower East …
Read MoreMarch 2, 2013
…moved to the East Village
While it’s been a great 18 months battling tourists to get to my front door, rejecting the same restaurant hecklers each evening and hearing bar crowds just hours before my 7 a.m. shift, today I moved out of Little Italy. Little Italy was my first home in the city, and it was actually a great neighbourhood to move …
Read MoreMarch 1, 2013
…went to a kinky film festival
Tonight I went Anthology Film Archives in the East Village to Cinekink, an annual film festival celebrating the sexually diverse and perverse. After looking at the week’s line up, I decided to head to ‘Sexing the Transman’, a documentary about the sex lives of transgender men that was written and directed by female-to-male transsexual porn …
Read MoreFebruary 6, 2013
…rocked out at Bowery Electric
Tonight I battled the cold to walk a few blocks north to Bowery Electric, where I thawed out to a couple of sets in the Map Room. It’s the first time I’ve been to the venue, which is owned by Jesse Malin and Johnny T, and is was reportedly a favourite haunt of Drew Barrymore …
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