City Guide: New York City
At HNDSM, we love living in New York. We really, really love it. Yes, our love has definitely waxed and waned over the years but at the core, New York is super special to us. There is a hustle in this city that we have not experienced elsewhere and especially as young entrepreneurs, this place pushes us to be bigger and better just by being in it. While there is always something new to do, we are creatures of habit. We are loyal to a handful of spots and we wanted to share our favorite things to do in the city we call home.
Coffee. Everyone that knows Team HNDSM knows that the ritual around coffee is the grounding force of every morning. While we make pour overs at home on weekdays, the weekend is reserved for slow strolls to pick up cappuccinos and bagels.
Abraço which means hug in Portuguese, at 7th St and 1st Ave, roasts all their coffee beans in-house. Along with the coffee, their olive oil cake which is baked fresh, is amazing. We have spent many a Saturday morning here, sitting at a table (if we can find space!), chatting away about the week or splitting cakes with friends and family that are visiting for a few days.
Black Seed at 1st Ave and 11 St also hosts us on most weekend mornings. We describe their bagel as a fusion of a New York and a Montreal style bagel. You can watch the bagels being baked in a wood burning oven as you walk into the restaurant or while you wait in line. We love the sesame seed bagel toasted with their house made almond butter and raspberry jam.
Thai Diner in Nolita is our go to Thai spot. They don’t take reservations so we usually arrive around opening for an early dinner. The decor is funky and the vibe is great. Things to order: green mango salad, massaman curry, crab fried rice, khao soi and the bone marrow when it is available.
Ivan Ramen in the Lower East Side, was featured on the first season of Chef’s Table and it is no surprise. The ramen is great. We always get the chicken paitan but you can’t go wrong with whatever you choose.
A recent favorite in the West Village has been Fairfax. The cosy, all-day café has a cool ambiance and great food.
We have spent many hot Summer afternoons enjoying waffle cones at Van Leeuwen's after hitting the playground. They serve up both classic and vegan flavors, and the quality is amazing. Shoutout flavors include mint chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate.
We enjoy home cooked meals and on weekdays, we cook more than we eat out. We are lucky to live close to Eataly in Flatiron which serves as the main spot for picking up produce, meat and fish. We love their fresh pasta bar and they have pizza dough balls which have been featured in many of our dinner parties. Eataly also has a rooftop bar/restaurant in the Summer that plays live music and is a nice spot to grab a quick glass of wine and some appetizers.
For a really good ribeye, Japan Premium Beef is the place. They sell wasabi straight from Japan as well as yakitori and other delicious goodies. We usually grill the steak on a cast iron skillet and then pop it in the oven for a few minutes and it is simply delicious!
Aside from food, we enjoy walking around the city and jumping from neighborhood to neighborhood. In the Summer, we’ll spend inspiring afternoons at The MET before or after spending some time at Central Park with a frisbee or playing cards. Often you can find us gallery hopping in Chelsea and we might end up at the High Line or Chelsea Market for Mexican food at Los Tacos No.1. Even before we had kids, we would spend time at the children’s bookstore, Books of Wonder, reading books to each other for a dose of positivity and humor. Sometimes we will spend a cosy evening at The Uncommons, sharing a hot chocolate and duking it out at over a Scrabble showdown.
Some of our favorite moments occur while commuting through the city. The subway is a great place to people watch while listening to a great audiobook or a good music album.
When it comes to shopping, we like a mix of vintage and new. We enjoy walking through Dover Street Market New York especially when the space changes over season to season and of course, KITH. For good vintage finds, we hit up 10 ft. Single by Stella Dallas in Brooklyn that has curated sections which require some searching but is mostly well labelled and organized. For a deeper dive, we go to L Train Vintage where we have found real gems at an unbeatable price.
For the best facial in town, we hit up Soo-Young at SYK Skin 'where great skin is a good time'.
Now that you know our local haunts, if you see us around, come say hi. We would love to meet you!