Hey everyone!
Well, I really didn’t thought that I would write another article about New York, as there are already so many blogs about NYC (such as Alex for exemple ) but I have had so many questions from you all that I decided it would be a great idea to share a little recap of my favourite adresses, sweet spots & vegetarian friendly restaurants. As for the hotels and places to sleep, I did not try any so far since we rent a flat when we are intown, so feel free to share any tips or recommandation in a comment under this post !
Food @ Manhattan
- In the mood for Italian ? Eataly Nyc // Flation or Downtown .. A food court basically dedicated to high-end italian cuisine, an absolute dream ! You can find fresh pasta to take away, olive oil, or any other Italian speciality that you want really. Or if you just want to sit and chill and enjoy a nice pizza cooked in a real pizza oven, this is the place to go, and especially when its cold outside, you appreciate it all the more ..
- Craving for Greek cuisine ? I would recomand Nisi Nyc, the cutest little restaurant, located in the West village ! We simply loved this place !! The meals are delicious and not too overpriced either.. It was actually here where we came for Christmas Eve and it was amazing …
- For a healthy lunch , go to Pain Quotidien . It’s perhaps not the most orignal, but strangely the Pain Quotidien in New York were a lot nicer than in Paris !! This is the place I stop by for a late lunch after my castings cause they serve all day.. I love their homemade soup, avocado toast or quinoa & veggie couscous… So delicious! The advantage as well of these restaurants is that they are everywhere and the prices are very reasonable!
- Go green .. For green juice, soup, a smoothie or a healthy breakfast, go to Juice press ! They are everywhere in Manhattan and Brooklyn and their products are delicious.. I love their soup for example!
- Chelsea Market , I cannot talk about food adresses without mentioning this amazing place.. I just love it ! You can find what ever you’re are looking for, whether it’s a snack or a lunch, healthy or not, exotic or classic.. The Chelsea market is a real mix of all types of cuisines and produce, and there are a wide selection of small restaurants which are generally very good. We love Beyond sushi for example because they offer 100 % vegan sushi.. And lets not forget Amy’s Bread which is just at the entrance of the market and which is also very, very good.. Check here to read the post about the Chelsea Market.
- For a chic and fancy breakfast: go to Balthazar. A chic French-style bistro, the kind that we can’t seem to actually find in France anymore, but it’s great and gives the feeling of stepping back in time to old style bistros. For the lunch and dinner there aren’t too many vegetarian options, but breakfast and afternoon tea is a great time to go…
- Snack & cie at Dean and Deluca .. you can find pretty much everything in this fancy gourmet market on Broadway street.. The coffee or the chaï tea are not the best that I have tasted but I love their peanut butter cookies, chocolate brownies and other sweet treats that they sell, and of course their chocolates are amazing too!! Products are all excellent quality but a little pricey. (reminds me of the french Galerie Lafayette gourmet in Paris ..)
- Coffee time! I am not a huge coffee drinker myself but Peter (who is very picky for his fav beverage) only swears by La Colombe for a good cappuccino or coffee worthy of its name.. They do a lot of other drinks too, but their speciality is coffee. They have several spots in Manhattan around Noho, Soho, Tribecca or Wall Street.. They are all usually far too crowded, but we can always get a coffee to go…
Food @ Brooklyn
In Brooklyn too, where we usually live when we stay in NYC, there are lots of really nice places to eat near Dumbo, Brooklyn Hight or even Downtown Brooklyn. We can also find the famous Le Pain Quotidien and Juice Press in this neighbourhood which is quite nice, especially if you are not really in the mood to go all the way to Manhattan .. ( when its minus 10 for example)
Downtown Brooklyn //
- Coffee & Tea time : We love going to Bien cuit on Smith Street in Brooklyn.. And actually on this street, there are lots of small restaurants and nice cafes to try out also, but our favorite is still Bien cuit.. Pastries, coffee and a chai latte with soy milk are really good.
- Snack, dinner etc… DeKalb Market Hall, Downtown Brooklyn. We love having dinner or late lunch in this food hall, especially when it ‘s raining or when we do some shopping at Trader Joes.. There are lots of stands, all ultra nice, healthy (and less so) vegetarian and not ; there is a little something for everyone, for all tastes and preferences, junk food, green food, Korean, Mexican, etc… The bread french style in Le Cafe d’Avignon is excellent and the Italian restaurant is just delicious !!!!
- Healthy lunch, breakie and snack : Le Pain Quotidien .. Also the street where it is located, Montague street, is really nice, with lots of shops and restaurants. And it leads directly onto the Brooklyn Height promenade where we can see the whole of Manhattan .. This where we shot this post => here.
Dumbo //
I looooove this neighbourhood and especially Water street which is really nice for a stroll along the river with a view of the bridge.. And there are lots of restaurants, cafes and ultra cool and trendy shops to explore and discover here…
- Lunch & breakfast : On Water street there is the VHH foods, which is just great for breakfast, brunch or lunch, the choc mousse is to die for…
- Coffee, snack & shopping : Another place that I loved is the Feed shop & coffee, designed in the theme , made in Brooklyn. They sell super cute accessories and their cafe is just delicious ( of course because its La Colombe 😉
- Coffee & shopping : Still of Water street on the corner of Main street, there is the boutique West Elm in which there is also a little cafe, in a big open space, which is really cool and a perfect spot to take a rest when it’s cold. We can also find loads of art deco here in the little shop next to the cafe ( not in the main shop), this is just ideal to find souvenirs or gifts for friends back home. It’s not exactly the most reasonable pricing but at least its original and local, and it makes a change from fridge magnets and key rings that you usually find everywhere in Manhattan…
Good to know ..
For sport, restaurants, beauty salon, hairdressers, hair removal or any other service actually, do not hesitate to look for groupon offers in New York or Brooklyn to find some good deals, reductions or trial sessions over a week, one month or more. This system allowed me to go to the gym and go for a wax for much cheaper..
- Shopping : We were lucky enough to be there for the black friday sales and cyber monday so we took advantage and indulged (way to much)…. Otherwise shopping in New York is very expensive, especially for French brands.. But when we are lucky enough to be there for the sales (which are rather frequent in New York) you can find brands with up to 60% off. Also you can order online on websites like Luisa via Roma, Asos or others and get them to deliver to your Us address, and there are loads of online offers!!
- Food .. Having tested quite a lot of places, we only go to Trader’s Joe which is a good compromise between the cheap Target and Wholefood (great but really too expensive in the long run).. Trader’s Joe offers local products of excellent quality and reasonable prices and there are several in Brooklyn and Manhattan. We usually go to the one Downtown Brooklyn which is rather cool and right next to our apartment. We also go to Brooklyn Fare a lot cause it is an excellent organic food market.. This one is really not cheap but we can find organic and local products here.. Their home-made guacamole, soya steak or almond butter are excellent for example, as well as their catering service.
- Yoga , meditation, relaxation : Yogawork & Y7 studio yoga in Brooklyn & Manhattan, and Inscape Manhattan . (thanks to my personal tester Lucile, who tried and tested those places for us )
- Work out, fitness & training : The best and cheaper solution is to stay in a Rbnb or a hotel with a gym included, which is actually what we always do. There is gym in our building, which is practical and cheaper but otherwise the Equinoxe gyms are very good, and we can find a lot of places that do boxing, and cross fit in Brooklyn/ Manhattan .. I will be testing this asap and get back to you (if you have any fav places to recommand or advice they are always welcome).
- Waxing : Well to be honest, Americans are not the best when it comes to waxing ,apparently they prefer laser removal and it definitely shows.. I tested many places and high-end spas for waxing and every time the work was botched. Either there were still hairs, or they were broken but not removed, and lets not even start with the positions that they make you get into, here there are no frog positions, just legs up in the air in something they call “happy baby”, as they must always still see the clients eyes apparently.. great.. Anyway not the best in terms of quality and price hurts just as much as the waxing itself… It is roughly 80 dollars for a Brazilian wax. That’s way too expensive in the long run. And if you bring your epilator or waxing machine to do it yourself, make sure that it works in the US voltage, as neither my epilator nor my hair dryer or any other of my french appliances worked, although they are all good brands.. So in terms of where to go, you can visit the skin spa New York… They do have interesting offers on groupon and the spa also offers package deals. But honestly if you are just passing through, wax before you leave !
- Reiki : If you feel down, need to reload your energy or want a good reiki session, rdv at the Marie Bové hair & Healing Salon in the Flatiron district.. It is actually a super cute and cosy hair and healing salon and I just love it!.. Everything is made for you to feel better inside and outside.. I really recommend this place =>tel : (212) 533-3400
So there you go for my little recap which I will be updating asap! And of course as always if you have any addresses, places or suggestions do not hesitate to share them in the comment section! I am available for all your questions <3
xxx
