If you hate Paris, can you love New York? Apparently, if you have the sensibilities of a Picky Eater you can. After a year or two in Pittsburgh she is a veteran of urban life, and quite enjoys the many amenities of the Big Apple, especially the museums, amazing shopping and upscale restaurants with vegetable options. So, here for your visual pleasure, is the first of three perfect days in New York, as endorsed by the Picky Eater.
Day One: Downtown (on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday)
Emerge from the Union Square subway station on the northwest corner of the park in the midst of the famed
Union Square Greenmarket and rub shoulders with chefs and schoolchildren as you explore the bounty brought to the heart of Manhattan from as far afield as Vermont, the Hudson River Valley, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
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| Tasting late harvest apples. |
This heavenly visual feast includes homegrown lavender, maple syrup, heritage apples, hard cider, honey, focaccia, pretzels, flowers, fresh & aged cheeses, etc. etc etc. Pick up a little something for an alfresco lunch- a huge apple perhaps. Enjoy the gentle irony of a decidedly down home greenmarket in the shadows of one of the ultimate urban environments.
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| Lush interior of abc Carpet & Home |
Saunter north along Broadway a few blocks until you reach the circa 1882 W&J Sloane Building at the corner of 19th Street, now home to what we consider one of the quintessential New York shopping experiences-
abc Carpet & Home. As you enter, this contemporary take on a bazaar style marketplace entices you deeper & deeper to explore its oh-so exquisite (& pricey) treasures. Here's what the Picky Eater has to say, and I quote-
"PRETTY. Beautiful clothing, jewelry, be sure to check out the eco-friendly stuff on the mezzanine. Minaret-esque umbrellas handstitched in Brooklyn for $400."
We don't know how many people actually end up buying anything at abc Carpet, but the pleasure of looking is worth well more than the price of admission. The salespeople are unfailingly polite, even to browsers, the bathrooms are clean (on the 2nd & 4th floors), and if you aren't going anywhere else for lunch, we highly recommend the
abc Kitchen, a satellite restaurant from the eponymous chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The menu includes a nice selection of vegetarian choices at relatively (by NYC standards) moderate prices that satisfy even the Picky Eater:
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oasted beets with housemade yogurt 10
roasted kabocha squash toast, fresh ricotta and apple cider vinegar 11
lentil soup, celery root, parmesan and herbs 14
If you are feeling touristy, continue north on Broadway four blocks to
Madison Square Park, tilt your head back, and take in an amazing view of the Empire State Building. Then turn around and try to see at least two sides of that fanciful triangular NYC original and early (1902) skyscraper, the
Flatiron Building. If you can stand the chaos (not much to the Picky Eater's taste) cross the street to the mecca of everything foodie Italian -
Eataly - brainchild of Mario Batali, and Joe & Lydia, with multiple restaurants and cafes, including a rooftop beer garden (don't look for the Picky Eater there, either), and acres of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat alimenti Italiani.
But, the Picky Eater grows impatient, it's time to head south to Soho for a little (or maybe a lot!) shopping. Take the Fifth Avenue side of the Flatiron Building and make your way through the heart of Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park. Once you've crossed the park while admiring the Greek Revival row houses, continue four blocks in the same direction on any of the southerly arteries- McDougal, Sullivan, or Thompson until you reach the nexus of Soho shopping- Prince Street - and watch the Picky Eater's eyes light up and a massive smile plaster her face.
For an excellent Soho shopping experience, it is best to schedule your visit early in the week, when the visiting hoards seem less in evidence, and avoid Broadway, where the most egregious chain stores have installed themselves.
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| Prince St, Soho, as rendered in gingerbread by the Picky Eater. Note the wrought iron ornamentation. |
While part of the pleasure of Soho shopping is your own unexpected discoveries, these are the Picky Eater's personal Soho shopping favorites:
1.
Dusica Dusica 67 Prince St @ Crosby St (212) 966-9099
The Picky Eater's favorite for elegant taupe, blush, and black knit tops. Mores the pity, the amazing original coat and shoes designs are prohibitively expensive but oh so fun to browse.
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| So many boots, so little time ... |
2.
Frye Boot Company (Soho "Flagship" store) 113 Spring St (212) 226-3793 The place for a new pair of boots, especially if the mater is paying. Appears to stock everything in all categories- even children's shoes & boots. Also has the best non-restaurant bathroom in lavatory impaired Soho, and you don't need to spring for a pair of boots to use it, just ask!
3.
INA Designer Consignment 101 Thompson St (212) 941-4757 Still way, way out of our price range, but fun to look at the vintage Chanel, Alexander McQueen, etc.
4.
Purl Soho 459 Broome St (212) 420-8796 Not your auntie's yarn store- sleek interior, cool yarns & fabrics, even cooler employees. Purl's website, the
Purl Bee is also totally trendy (in a good way), and incredibly generous with their project instructions, which do always seem to look best made with Purl Soho goods.
5.
Vosges Haut-Chocolat — SoHo 132 Spring St between Green & Webster (212) 625-2929 You seem to see a chocolate boutique on almost every other block in Soho, but the Picky Eater's pick is Vosges. While she eschews the famous bacon chocolate bars she does likes the "Smoke & Stout" and "Pink Himalayan Crystal Salt Caramel" flavors. We have found Vosges to always be quite generous with their samples as well.
6.
Dean & Deluca 560 Broadway @ Prince St (212) 226-6800 Mon-Fri 7 am-8 pm; Sat-Sun 8 am-8 pm Like any great cultural innovation that spawned legions of imitators, it has hard to imagine today how unique Dean & Deluca was when it opened in 1977- offering foodstuffs that were unfamiliar even to sophisticated New Yorkers- virgin olive oil radicchio, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. And how many scenes in romantic comedies from the 1980's and beyond were set in D&DeL's aisles?
Will & Grace,
The Devil Wears Prada, and
Julie & Julia, to name a few.
7.
Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (aka LAFCO New York) 285 Lafayette St (212) 925-0001
Admittedly not as spectacular as the mothership pharmacy in Florence, we still love being able to purchase the Santa Maria Novella soaps and lotions here in the U.S., which are still more or less formulated the way they have been since the middle ages.
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| Isabel Marant vitrine |
We also love to gaze longingly at the display windows of
Isabel Marant, but are too intimidated to go inside. Some other too hip for us boutiques are the famous Rem Koolhas designed
Prada store on Broadway and
Alexander Wang.
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| They say that Gudrun Sjoden is the most cheerful shop in Soho. |
Last shopping stop is at
Gudrun Sjoden, the only stateside outlet of the eponymous Swedish clothing manufacturer of funky cheerful mommy-type clothes.
Most Soho shops are open Mon-Sat 11 am-7 pm ; Sun12 pm-6 pm for your browsing pleasure.
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| Yes, it's all cast-iron! |
How are your feet holding up at this point? If you can still stagger upright, it's worth a five minute walk down Greene Street to Canal ogling the incredible versions of Renaissance and neoclassical ornaments in cast-iron that adorn most of the buildings. Feel free to rap your knuckles on one of the pillars, just to prove to yourself that it's metal and not masonry!
By this point the Picky Eater is most likely ready to grab a bus and head back to her Airbnb apartment on the Upper West Side, but making a pit stop at her favorite skin and hair care emporium-
Malin & Goetz. Its cool clinical interior and clean scented beauty products must appeal to her chemist's sensibilities.
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| "Chard in a box" at Dovetail |
After a brief rest, it's off to a vegetable-focused dinner at
Dovetail, a chic but affordable Michelin one-* UWS restaurant. The Picky Eater loved her chard in a box and "awesome" Salted Caramel Mousse with Popcorn Ice Cream. A perfect end to a perfect day.
Addresses
Downtown:
abc Carpet & Home 888 Broadway @ East 19th St Open Mon-Sat 10 am-7 pm; Sun 12 pm-6 pm
abc kitchen 35 East 18th St Brunch: Sat-Sun 11 am-3:30 pm; Lunch: Mon-Fri noon-3 pm; Dinner Mon-Sun 5:30 pm-10:00 pm
Alexander Wang 103 Grand St @ Mercer (212) 977-9683
EATALY NYC 200 5th Ave (212) 229-2560 Open daily @ 10 am; Caffe Lavazza opens @ 8 am
Flatiron Building 172 5th Ave (bet 22nd & 23rd)
Gudrun Sjoden 50 Greene St (212) 219-2510
Isabel Marant 469 Broome St (212) 219-2284
Prada 575 Broadway near Prince St (212) 334-8888
Union Square Greenmarket Union Square & East 17th St Mon, Weds, Fri, Sat 8 am-6 pm
Westside:
Dovetail 103 West 77th St (212) 362-3800 Serving dinner daily and brunch on Sunday
Malin & Goetz 455 Amsterdam Ave @ 82nd St Mon-Fri 11 am-8 pm; Sat noon-8 pm; Sun noon-6 pm
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