Around the World in Five New York Boroughs
From a Brazilian samba club to an Indian spice shop, here’s how to eat, drink, shop and sweat your way around the world without ever leaving the Big Apple.
A lush velvet curtain guards the entrance to this Park Slope Italian joint, one of Brooklyn’s foodie favourites. Pull it back and uncover... Read more
Restaurants
This Park Slope mom-and-pop pays homage to the Slow Food movement. The menu lists the nearby farms that provide the restaurant’s largely... Read more
Restaurants
If you have an addiction to baked goods but want to feel good about eating a dozen cookies, then try BabyCakes NYC vegan bakery. Made somehow... Read more
Bakeries / Cafés
If you’re having a carnivore craving in Gramercy, head to this small, atmospheric room specializing in charcuterie. It’s part... Read more
Restaurants
In a city known for its designer fashion, Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship is the one-stop-shop to start. The lower floors house Prada... Read more
Shops
This is where ladies who lunch come for their daytime suits, while younger customers flock to the fifth floor for Michael Kors, Theory and... Read more
Shops
The crowded main-floor arcade may feel like Times Square on a Saturday, but it’s worth it for the second floor: headquarters for trendy,... Read more
Shops
Opened in 2000, this hidden gem in the basement of a Greenwich Village townhouse was among the vanguard of the slow and sustainable food movement.... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: The Breslin Bar and Dining Room
Chef April Bloomfield will change the way you think about British food and hotel restaurants. Bloomfield’s legendary pig’s foot... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Richard B.
From Yoko Ono to Shakespeare, performance art to Puccini, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) has been the community’s cultural heart... Read more
Arts & Culture
Find that perfect vintage dress, silver bracelet or industrial-chic fruit crate for your herb garden at the Brooklyn Flea Market, nestled... Read more
Restaurants | Shops
Hankering for King Tut? Move over MoMA. The Brooklyn Museum is just a stone’s throw away. An Egyptian Mummy Chamber, plus American,... Read more
Arts & Culture
Although the name refers to the strait between Brooklyn and Governors Island, it also reflects the restaurant’s emphasis on comfort... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: B. Milne
With the young Gavin Kaysen at the helm, Café Boulud meets the lofty expectations most diners have for a Boulud resto, except when... Read more
Restaurants
Mario Batali's cozy corner in Gramercy Park would make any meat-loving Madrileño feel right at home. Sit at the counter and watch the... Read more
Restaurants | Bars
A diner offering fresh-off-the-farm seasonal brunch and free-range buttermilk fried chicken, Community Food & Juice doesn’t let... Read more
Restaurants
In the heart of SoHo, between Prince and Spring Streets, The Crosby’s geographic niche advertises... Read more
Photo: Melissa Hom
This is all about American cooking with a sense of humour. Burke’s infamous monkey bread – cinnamon buns cooked with bananas and... Read more
Restaurants
This is the home of the original DB Burger – ground sirloin stuffed with succulent braised short ribs, foie gras and preserved black... Read more
Restaurants
In a dark corner on the Lower East Side, this minimal 19-seat wine and tasting bar feels like the kind of place that asks for a secret password... Read more
Restaurants | Bars
At Mario Batali’s Del Posto, the luxe interior is as detail-rich as the restaurant’s classic-meets-contemporary Italian menu.... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Mel Barlow
This is no time for a soda; cocktails are a must in this old Williamsburg diner car, filled with locals decked out like regular Don Drapers.... Read more
Restaurants | Bars
Like many of his fellow makeshift restaurateurs, Sam Richman focuses on fresh, local ingredients at his Brooklyn, New Yorksupper club, Dinner... Read more
Restaurants
Unofficial flagship of the venerable Canadian-owned chain, the I.M. Pei-designed Four Seasons Hotel New York extends its impeccable service... Read more
Hiding in an East Village alleyway, this quirky gem boasts a taxidermy collection on the walls and wild-boar terrine on the menu. But Freemans... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Guia Mano
The Park Avenue outpost of the Meatpacking District’s über-hip hotel of the same name offers sophisticated rooms and built-in nightlife... Read more
LaGuardia and JFK are both serviced by public transportation, but most people take cabs. To get into midtown Manhattan from either airport, a yellow cab will set you back $45 (flat rate) plus tip. If you’re arriving at Newark, take the Airtrain Newark train to Penn Station in Manhattan. The 35-minute ride costs only $5.50.
The best pizza in New York is a topic that gets almost as heated as Mets versus Yankees, but almost everyone can agree that Grimaldi’s,... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Gansevoort Hotel Group
Opened in 2004, the ultrahip Hotel Gansevoort anchors the busy retail, restaurant and nightlife scene in the Meatpacking District. That lineup?... Read more
The name says it all: from the moment you walk into the lobby you’re bathed in an ambient... Read more
Photo: Mike Mabes
Close to hipster-dense Bedford Avenue, this 64-room ambassador of the Brooklyn boutique scene is built around a three-season saltwater pool,... Read more
Cheekily self-described as New York City’s oldest operating whiskey distillery – technically true since it got its first licence... Read more
Shops
This tiny West Village resto seats just 30, plus four if you count the bar (which is, allegedly, the chef’s choice table). Serving up... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Locanda Verde
Authentic Italian cooking is what you will find at Locanda Verde at the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca. A simple salad of bitter greens is elevated... Read more
Restaurants
Restaurants
Need socks or an umbrella? This is the spot for essentials, but from all the big brands – everyone from Guess and Esprit to Calvin Klein.... Read more
Shops
Williamsburg houses some of New York’s best drinking establishments. Sip absinthe at the New Orleans-flavoured bar at Maison Premiere... Read more
Restaurants | Bars
Photo: Mel Barlow
This restaurant in Williamsburg, known for its granola and crostini, will often have special cocktails with house-made bitters, though the... Read more
Restaurants | Bars
The Met is one of the world’s largest art galleries, with an incomparable permanent collection. It’s located at the edge of the... Read more
Arts & Culture
Did somebody say brunch? Miriam’s menu of Mediterranean delicacies can’t help but garner stylistic comparisons to Café... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Noah Fecks (noahfecks.com)
Head to this Brazilian comfort food eatery for the moqueca de peixe e pirão, a traditional fish stew, and the live music. Everything... Read more
Restaurants | Bars
David Chang’s East Village Korean noodle bar is fortunately no longer just a bar. The first iteration, offering only counter service,... Read more
Restaurants
Delicious and affordable, the Pan-Asian menu offers fresh selections like miso salmon that are served up quickly, making it a perfect lunch... Read more
Restaurants
For a dining experience that’s both ridiculously inexpensive and ridiculously satisfying, try the delicious Middle Eastern food at the... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Museum of Modern Art
The MoMA’s long-awaited renovation by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi in 2004 transformed the space into an architectural marvel,... Read more
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
This museum reopened its doors in 2009 in the middle of New York’s Nolita neighbourhood, in a stunning new building made out of six... Read more
Arts & Culture
Photo: Night Hotel NY
Though Vikram Chatwal’s mod-Gothic, black-and-white Night Hotel is somewhat Dali-esque, it still helps you stay centred in the heart... Read more
Set in an abandoned public school in Queens, this museum is primarily dedicated to the work of experimental artists in a wide range of media.... Read more
Arts & Culture
Williamsburg is home to this renowned steak house, a favourite of Sinatra’s that still turns out the best porterhouse this side of Buenos... Read more
Restaurants
Kids will love horseback riding along the bridle path, discovering the wildlife at the Audubon Center and galloping on the carousel, which... Read more
Arts & Culture | Landmarks
The subway system is extensive and cheap – you can get anywhere for the $2.25 flat fee. Buses also cover most of the city and cost the same as the subway. Whichever you use, get a metrocard.
This top-end department store is filled with major designer labels, ranging from Manolo Blahnik to Philip Lim to Tory Burch passing by Sonia... Read more
Shops
Photo: Shizuka New York
The Geisha Facial at this luxe New York spa involves uguisu no fun, or sterilized Japanese nightingale dung, an elixir that apparently blesses... Read more
Health & Wellness
Located in Queens, a short drive from the Flushing–Main Street subway station, this five-storey, 100,000-square-foot space offers both... Read more
Health & Wellness
For one of the best affordable Thai meals in New York City, make your way to Woodside in Queens. The casual decor misleads: dishes at Sripraphai... Read more
Restaurants
Photo: Luis Villa Del Campo
Established in 1927, Broadway’s dusty Strand is the largest, cheapest second-hand bookstore in town. Whether it’s graphic novels,... Read more
Shops
In NYC, the prevailing trend for steak houses has been cavernous, loud rooms with testosterone-priced wine lists for Wall Street warriors.... Read more
Restaurants
There are more than 10,000 yellow cabs in New York. New Yorkers complain if one doesn’t stop within 90 seconds – you really can always hail one quickly. And don’t be shy; there’s almost nothing you can’t learn about the city from a New York cabbie.
Yellow Cab NYC: 1-800-619-4419
Photo: Gregory Goode
The owners of the Bowery – who also run its cousin property, The Maritime, near the meatpacking district – have turned this former... Read more
On the heels of its sister property in Chicago comes the James New York in SoHo: a design-minded spot that mixes in local art curated by Matt... Read more
The art-deco floors in the lobby are enough to make your heart go pitter-patter, and by the time you reach your room, designed by the incomparable... Read more
Photo: Lloyd Tapper
The National located in the Benjamin hotel in Midtown East is home to chef Geoffrey Zakarian, The Next Iron Chef winner. Zakarian can take... Read more
Restaurants
Situated on Madison Avenue, this unabashedly opulent hotel is within walking distance of Central Park and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.... Read more
The Pod makes the most of its, well, pod-sized rooms with minimal furniture, bunk beds, colourful bedspreads and inset LCD screens. Every... Read more
Photo: James Higgins
Located in one of Manhattan’s oldest buildings, this spot has copper keg taps, Singer sewing machine tables and raw-hide calfskin booths... Read more
Bars
Photo: Ellen Silverman
Skip celebrity chef Michael Anthony’s prix-fixe menu in the dining room. Eating in the bar (also known as the Tavern) at this legendary... Read more
Restaurants
With one foot in the world of Wall Street and the other in Houston high fashion, the Tribeca Grand is equally likely to be the site of a bigwig-loaded... Read more
From Frank Costello to Franklin Roosevelt, Cole Porter to Marilyn Monroe, the list of former Waldorf residents reads like a cast of characters... Read more
Photo: Michael Yarmark
Under the blue awning of this boutique, a pair of eco-minded oenologists and Slow Wine followers have helped establish New York’s sustainable... Read more
Shops
A room reno of the W New York has made a good thing nothing short of brilliant. “Extreme Wow” suites come with separate bedrooms... Read more
Housed in a converted red-brick factory with postcard views of the Manhattan skyline, the spacious (for New York) rooms feature locally made... Read more
This sleep clinic/wellness centre is so futuristic looking that you’ll half expect side orders of Soylent Green to be served with your... Read more
Canada's Best New Restaurants | Health & Wellness
From a Brazilian samba club to an Indian spice shop, here’s how to eat, drink, shop and sweat your way around the world without ever leaving the Big Apple.
Check in to one of our favourite hotels in Brooklyn, New York.
Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton takes us to her favourite spots.

