Lonely Planet New York City

49 INGOLF POMPE / GETTY IMAGES © Barneys (p208), Madison Ave Shopping New York City is quite simply one of the best shopping destinations on the planet. Fashion boutiques, flea markets, booksellers, record stores, antique shops, Asian emporiums and gourmet grocers selling edibles from every corner of the globe are just a few places to begin the shopping adventure. And while it’s quite easy to spend a fortune, sample sales and designer outlets yield some startlingly good deals. Fashion Epicenter worldwide as department stores. New York One of the world’s fashion capitals, NYC is has a special blend of alluring draws – in ever setting trends for the rest of the country particular don’t miss Barneys (p208), Berg- to follow. For checking out the latest designs dorf Goodman (p208), Macy’s (p209) and hitting the streets, it’s worth browsing some of Bloomingdale’s (p208). the city’s best-loved boutiques around town – regardless of whether you intend to spend. A NYC Icons few favorites include Opening Ceremony, Issey A few stores in this city have cemented Miyake, Marc Jacobs, Steven Alan, Rag & Bone, their status as NYC legends. This city just John Varvatos, By Robert James and Piperlime. wouldn’t quite be the same without them. For label hunters, Century 21 (p81) is a If time is limited, or you simply want to Big Apple institution, with wears by D&G, browse a plethora of labels in one go, then Prada, Marc Jacobs and many others at low head to those heady conglomerations known prices. Other Music (p103) is a long-running

50 PLAN YOUR TRIP SHOPPING NEED TO KNOW BARRY WINIKER / GETTY IMAGES © Websites ¨¨Racked (www.ny.racked.com) In- formative shopping blog with its finger on the pulse. ¨¨New York Magazine (www.nymag. com) Trustworthy opinions on the Big Apple’s best places to swipe your plastic. ¨¨The Glamourai (www.theglamourai. com) Glossy downtown fashion blog that’s packed with cutting-edge style ideas. Ones to Follow Macy’s (p209) ¨¨Bill Cunningham (www.nytimes. com/video/on-the-street) Legendary SIVAN ASKAYO / GETTY IMAGES © fashion photographer who captures the zeitgeist in his work. ¨¨Andre Leon Talley (www.twitter. com/OfficialALT) Anna Wintour’s top fashion editor in the know at Vogue. ¨¨New York Times (www.twitter.com/ NYTFashion) Everything that’s happen- ing in the fashion industry. Opening Hours Brooklyn Flea Market (p280) In general, most businesses are open from 10am to around 7pm on weekdays and 11am to around 8pm Saturdays. Sun- days can be variable – some stores stay closed while others keep weekday hours. Stores tend to stay open later in the neighborhoods downtown. Small bou- tiques often have variable hours – many open at noon. Sales Tax Sample Sales Clothing and footwear that costs less than While clothing sales happen year-round – $110 is exempt from sales tax. For every- usually when seasons change and old stock thing else, you’ll pay 8.875% retail sales must be moved out – sample sales are held tax on every purchase. frequently, mostly in the huge warehouses in the Fashion District of Midtown or in indie music store (CDs and some vinyl) SoHo. While the original sample sale was that thrives despite the odds. Book lovers a way for designers to get rid of one-of-a- of the world unite at the Strand (p157), the kind prototypes that weren’t quite up to city’s biggest and best bookseller. Run by snuff, most sample sales these days are for Hassidic Jews and employing mechanized high-end labels to get rid of overstock at whimsy, B&H Photo Video (p209) is a wonderfully deep discounts. For the latest mecca for digital and audio geeks. sample sales, check out NY Racked (http:// ny.racked.com/sales). Consignment stores are For secondhand clothing, home furnish- another fine place to look for top (gently ings and books, good-hearted Housing used) fashions at reduced prices. Works (p160), with many locations around town, is a perennial favorite.

been invented yet. Try Mott St for something a 51 bit more something a little more idiosyncratic. PLAN YOUR TRIP SHOPPINGFlea Markets & Vintage Adventure ¨¨West Village, Chelsea & the Meatpacking LORRAINE BOOGICH / GETTY IMAGES ©As much as New Yorkers gravitate towards District Bleecker St, running off Abingdon Sq, is all that’s shiny and new, it can be infinitely lined with boutiques with a handful on nearby fun to rifle through closets of unwanted W 4th St. Other high-end shops lurk around wares and threads. The most popular Washington St, Hudson St and W 14th St in the flea market is the Brooklyn Flea (p299), Meatpacking District. housed in all sorts of spaces throughout ¨¨East Village & Lower East Side Hipster the year. The East Village is the city’s de treasure trove of vintage wares and design facto neighborhood for second­hand and goods. Go wild on E 9th St, St Marks Place and vintage stores – the uniform of the unwa- Orchard St. vering legion of hipsters. ¨¨Midtown Epic department stores, global chains and the odd in-the-know treasure – Shopping by Neighborhood window shoppers unite! ¨¨Upper East Side The country’s most ¨¨Lower Manhattan & the Financial District expensive boutiques are found along Madison While not a shopping hot spot per se, Lower Ave, but plenty of price-conscious consignment Manhattan serves up a trickle of gems, from shops can be scouted as well. vintage film posters and hard-to-find vino to ¨¨Brooklyn A healthy mix of independent hipster-chic threads and hand-crafted artisanal boutiques and thrift stores. Good shopping axes. streets include Bedford Ave and Grand Ave in ¨¨SoHo & Chinatown West Broadway is Williamsburg, Smith St in Boerum Hill and Fifth a veritable outdoor mall of encyclopedic Ave in Park Slope. proportions. It’s like the UN of retail – if you can’t find what you’re looking for then it hasn’t Window shopping, SoHo (p99)

52 PLAN YOUR TRIP SHOPPING Lonely Planet’s Best for Women Screaming Mimi’s (p103) Top Choices Lots of appealing clothes from Verameat (p127) Exquisite jew- decades past. Barneys (p208) Serious elry that treads between beauty Resurrection (p103) Mint- fashionistas shop (or at least and whimsy. condition pieces from couture browse) at Barneys, well-known Beacon’s Closet (p158) Valhalla labels. for its spot-on collections of for vintage lovers at multiple Tokio 7 (p128) A fun place to in-the-know labels. locations. browse high-end labels in the Brooklyn Flea (p299) Brook- MIN New York (p100) Unique East Village. lyn’s collection of flea markets perfumes in an apothecary-like offers plenty of vintage furnish- setting. Best Homewares & ings, retro clothing and bric-a- Design Stores brac, plus great food stalls. Best for Men ABC Carpet & Home (p173) Shinola (p81) Unusual accesso- Spread over six floors like a By Robert James (p129) Rug- ries from a cutting-edge Detroit museum, ABC is packed with ged menswear by a celebrated design house in Tribeca. treasures large (furniture) and new local designer. A&G Merch (p298) Clever small (designer jewelry, gifts). Nepenthes New York (p209) decorating ideas from this artful MoMA Design & Book Store Japanese collective selling Williamsburg shop. (p209) The perfect one-stop covetable, in-the-know labels. Magpie (p244) Ecofriendly shop for coffee-table tomes, art Odin (p102) Tiny downtown curios to feather your nest, in prints, edgy jewellery and ‘Where- men’s boutique for one-of-a- the Upper West Side. did-you-get?’ that homewares. kind pieces. Idlewild Books (p173) An Best for Children Best Bookshops inspiring place for travelers and daydreamers with titles (both Dinosaur Hill (p127) Fun and Strand Book Store (p157) fiction and nonfiction) spanning creative toys, books and music Hands-down NYC’s best used the globe. that will inspire young minds. bookstore. Chelsea Market (p134) Culinary Yoya (p157) Small clothing store McNally Jackson (p102) Great temptation in every shape and in the Meatpacking District. SoHo spot for book browsing form at this wondrous food- Books of Wonder (p173) Great and author readings. focused market. gift ideas for kids, plus in-store Housing Works Book Store readings. (p103) Used books and a café in Best Fashion an atmospheric setting in Nolita. Boutiques Best for Unique 192 Books (p159) The perfect Souvenirs & Gifts neighborhood book shop in Steven Alan (p81) Stylish, Chelsea. heritage-inspired fashion, with De Vera (p102) Beautiful glass- branches around NYC, including wares and art objects. Best Music Stores downtown. Obscura Antiques (p127) A Marc by Marc Jacobs (p158) A cabinet of curiosities packed Rough Trade (p298) Vinyl is far downtown and uptown favorite with strange and eerie objects. from dead at this sprawling new particularly the West Village Amé Amé (p209) Beautifully music shop/concert space in locations. made umbrellas and rain gear, Williamsburg. Rag & Bone (p102) Beautifully plus candy! Other Music (p103) Great tailored clothes for men and Top Hat (p129) Lovely collectible selection of rare grooves at this women, in SoHo and elsewhere. objects from around the globe. downtown icon. John Varvatos (p127) Rugged A-1 Records (p126) Endless bins but worldly wearables in a Best Vintage Stores of records in the East Village. former downtown rock club. Black Gold (p300) Rare vinyl Opening Ceremony (p102) Beacon’s Closet (p158) Get a (plus coffee and taxidermy). Head-turning, cutting-edge new outfit without breaking the threads and kicks for the fashion bank at this great vintage shop. avant-garde in SoHo.

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 53 Sports & Activities Although hailing cabs in New York City can feel like a blood sport, and waiting on subway platforms in summer heat is steamier than a sauna, New Yorkers still love to stay active in their spare time. And considering how limited the green spaces are in the city, it’s surprising for some visitors just how active the locals can be. Spectator Sports FOOTBALL BASEBALL Most of New York tunes into its NFL (Na- tional Football League) teams: the New York New York is one of the last remaining corners Giants (%201-935-8222; www.giants.com; Mead- of the USA where baseball reigns supreme owlands Stadium, Meadowlands Sports Complex, over football and basketball. Tickets start East Rutherford, NJ; g351 from Port Authority, dNJ around $15 – a great deal for seeing the home Transit from PennStation to Meadowlands), one of teams playing in their recently opened stadi- the NFL’s oldest teams, with four Super Bowl ums. The two Major League Baseball teams victories, most recently in 2011, and the New play 162 games during the regular season York Jets (%800-469-5387; www.newyorkjets. from April to October, when the playoffs com; Meadowlands Stadium, Meadowlands Sports begin. Complex, East Rutherford, NJ; g351 from Port ¨¨New York Yankees (p261) The Bronx Bombers Authority, dNJ Transit from Penn Station to Mead- are the USA’s greatest dynasty, with over two owlands), whose games are always packed and dozen World Series championship titles since new fans get swept away by the contagious 1900. ‘J-E-T-S!’ chants. ¨¨New York Mets (p316) In the National League Both teams play at the new Metlife Sta- since 1962, the Mets remain New York’s ‘new’ dium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in baseball team, and won the pennant in 2015. New Jersey (from Manhattan take NJ Transit via Seacaucus Junction, $11 return). Metlife BASKETBALL Stadium hosted the 2014 Super Bowl. Two NBA (National Basketball Association) Football season runs from August to teams now play in New York City. The blue- January or February. The NFL season has and-orange New York Knicks (Map p432; www. 16 regular-s­ eason games (held on Sunday nyknicks.com; Madison Sq Garden, Seventh Ave or Monday night), then up to three playoffs btwn 31st & 33rd Sts, Midtown West; tickets from before the Super Bowl. $75.50; bA/C/E, 1/2/3 to 34th St-Penn Station) are loved by New Yorkers, occasional scandal HOCKEY aside, while the Brooklyn Nets (www.nba.com/ nets; tickets from $15; g351 from Port Authority), The NHL (National Hockey League) has three formerly the New Jersey Nets, is Brooklyn’s franchises in the greater New York area; each new pro team (the first since the Dodgers team plays three or four games weekly during left town) and has gained a strong local fol- the season from September to April. lowing. The season lasts from October to ¨¨New York Rangers (www.nyrangers.com) May or June. Manhattan’s favorite hockey squad. ¨¨New York Islanders (www.newyorkislanders. com) New York City hasn’t given much Islander

PLAN YOUR TRIP SPORTS & ACTIVITIES54 to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan. The Upper East Side has a path that runs along NEED TO KNOW FDR Dr and the East River (from 63rd St to 115th St). Brooklyn’s Prospect Park has Websites plenty of paths (and a 3-mile loop), while ¨¨NYC Parks (www.nycgovparks.org) 1.3-mile-long Brooklyn Bridge Park has Details on park services, including free incredible views of Manhattan (reach it via pools and basketball courts, plus bor- Brooklyn Bridge to up the mileage). The ough biking maps. New York Road Runners Club organizes ¨¨New York Road Runners Club (www. weekend runs citywide, including the New nyrr.org) Organizes weekend runs and York City Marathon. races citywide. ¨¨Central Park (www.centralparknyc. BICYCLING org) Lists myriad activities and events inside NYC’s best-loved green space. NYC has taken enormous strides in mak- ¨¨NYC (www.nycgo.com/sports) Lists ing the city more bike-friendly, adding all the major sporting events and activi- hundreds of miles of bike lanes in recent ties happening in town. years. That said, we recommend that the uninitiated stick to the less hectic trails in Buying Tickets the parks and along the waterways, such as With so many teams and overlapping sea- Central Park, Prospect Park, the Manhattan sons, a game is rarely a day away. Some Waterfront Greenway and the Brooklyn teams’ hotlines or box offices sell tickets Waterfront Greenway. directly (available under ‘Tickets’ on the relevant websites), but most go via Ticket The new Citi Bike (www.citibikenyc.com) is master (www.ticketmaster.com). The handy for quick jaunts, but for longer rides, other major buy/sell outlet is StubHub you’ll want a proper rental. Bike & Roll has (%866-788-2482; www.stubhub.com). loads of outdoor hire spots, including at Central Park (p244) by Columbus Circle. love since the unremarkable four-consecutive- year Stanley Cup streak in the ’80s. Their stock Street Sports is on the rise, however, since their move to With all that concrete around, New York Brooklyn’s Barclay Center in 2015. has embraced a number of sports and ¨¨New Jersey Devils (http://devils.nhl.com) events played directly on the streets them- The Devils may not be New Yorkers, but they’ve selves. Those with hoop dreams will find seen more wins than their neighbors. pick-up basketball games all over the city, the most famous courts being the West 4th Outdoor Sports Street Basketball Courts, known as ‘the Cage’. Or try Holcombe Rucker Park up in RUNNING & JOGGING Harlem – that’s where many NBA bigshots cut their teeth. You’ll also find pick-up Central Park’s loop roads are best during games in Tompkins Square Park and River- traffic-free hours, though you’ll be in the side Park. Hudson River Park has courts at company of many cyclists and in-line skat- Canal St and on W 11th Ave at 23rd St. ers. The 1.6-mile path surrounding the Jac- queline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir (where Lesser-known handball and stickball are Jackie O used to run) is for runners and also popular in NYC – you’ll find one-wall walkers only; access it between 86th and courts in outdoor parks all over the city. 96th Sts. Running along the Hudson River For stickball, link up with the Bronx-based is a popular path, best from about 30th St Emperors Stickball League (www.stickball. com) to check out its Sunday games during the warmer months.

55 Lonely Planet’s Best Spas Area Yoga Center (p301) A PLAN YOUR TRIP SPORTS & ACTIVITIES Top Choices great choice for yoga in health- New York Spa Castle (p316) minded Cobble Hill. Central Park (p230) The city’s An enchanting wonderland of wondrous playground has rolling waterfalls and steam rooms far Best Urban hills, forested paths, open green out in Queens. Green Spaces spaces and a beautiful lake. Russian & Turkish Baths New York Yankees (p261) Even (p129) An East Village icon since Governors Island (p75) Car- if you don’t follow baseball, it’s 1892. free island just a quick hop from well worth trekking out to the Great Jones Spa (p104) Book a Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn. Bronx to experience the rabid massage, then enjoy the steam Bryant Park (p191) A small ap- fandom. room, hot tub and rock sauna. pealing oasis amid the skyscrap- Chelsea Piers Complex (p160) ers of Midtown. Every activity imaginable – from Best Bowling Madison Square Park (p165) kickboxing to ice hockey – under A pretty little park between one gigantic roof, just a stone’s Brooklyn Bowl (p301) A Wil- Midtown and downtown. throw from the High Line. liamsburg classic that’s equal Gantry Plaza State Park New York Spa Castle (p316) parts hipster hangout, concert (p305) A lovely riverside spot to Bathing behemoth with space and bowling alley. relax in Long Island City, Queens. wallet-friendly prices. Inspired Chelsea Piers Complex (p160) Inwood Hill Park (p256) Serene by ancient Korean traditions Take in a bit of bowling, followed setting of forest and salt marsh of wellness. You’ll want to stay by a stroll along the Hudson. in Upper Manhattan. for days. Lucky Strike (p210) A fun night Queens County Farm Museum Brooklyn Bridge Park (p265) of bowling in Midtown. (p314) Get a taste of barnyard This brand new green space is life without leaving the met- Brooklyn’s pride and joy. Best Out-of-the-Box ropolis. Prospect Park (p268) Escape Activities the crowds at Brooklyn’s gor- Best Gardens geous park, with trails, hills, a Royal Palms (p294) A mecca for canal, lake and meadows. shuffleboard lovers, this place Brooklyn Botanic Garden has shuffleboard courts, plus (p276) Japanese gardens, native Best Spectator food trucks and microbrews. flora and photogenic springtime Sports New York Trapeze School cherry blossoms. (p160) Channel your inner New York Botanical Garden New York Yankees (p261) One circus star at this trapeze school Fifty acres of old growth forest of the country’s successful with two locations. up in the Bronx. baseball teams. Cloisters Museum & Gardens New York Giants (p53) Football Best Indoor (p253) Pretty gardens next to a powerhouse that, despite the Activities Medieval-esque building. name, plays their home games The High Line (p132) Wild in New Jersey. The Cliffs (p316) Massive plants and towering weeds steal New York Knicks (p53) See the climbing center in Long Island the show. Knicks sink a few three-­pointers City, Queens. at Madison Square Garden. Brooklyn Boulders (p301) Brooklyn Nets (p53) The hot Another great spot for rock new NBA team in town and sym- climbers – this one’s in south bol of Brooklyn’s resurgence. Brooklyn. Brooklyn Cyclones (p297) See Jivamukti (p174) Lavish yoga a minor league baseball game center near Union Square. near Coney Island’s boardwalk. New York Mets (p316) NYC’s other baseball team play their games at Citi Field in Queens.

56 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Gay & Lesbian From hand-locked married couples on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen to a rainbow-hued Empire State Building at Pride, there’s no doubt that New York City is one of the world’s great gay cities. Indeed, few places come close to matching the breadth and depth of queer offerings here, from cabarets and clubs to festivals and readings. School Night Shenanigans Daniel Nardicio (www.danielnardicio.com) Party Here in the Big Apple, any night of the week promoter famed for his often hedonistic events. is fair game to paint the town rouge – espe- Josh Wood (www.joshwoodproductions.com) cially for the gay community, who attack the Known for gala events and philanthropic causes. weekday social scene with gusto. Wednesday Spank (www.spankartmag.com) Art-themed parties. and Thursday nights roar with a steady Erich Conrad (Twitter @ZIGZAGLeBain) One of the stream of parties, and locals love raging on city’s veteran party producers. Sunday (especially in summer). While there’s undoubtedly much fun to be had on Friday Gay & Lesbian by Neighborhood and Saturday nights, weekend parties tend to be more ‘bridge and tunnel’ – Manhattan- ¨¨East Village & Lower East Side Slightly grittier, ites often use these non-work days to catch sweatier, grungier versions of the west side haunts. up with friends, check out new restaurants ¨¨West Village, Chelsea & the Meatpacking and attend house parties. District Classic bars and clubs in the Village, with a wilting scene in high-rent Chelsea. Promoters ¨¨Union Square, Flatiron District & Gramercy One of best ways to dial into the party hotline Hosts a small spillover of gay venues from the East is to follow the various goings-on of your Village, West Village and Chelsea. favorite promoter. Here are some of ours: ¨¨Midtown Hell’s Kitchen is the city’s 21st- century gay epicenter, with a plethora of gay and BoiParty (www.boiparty.com) Throws impressive gay-friendly eateries, bars, clubs and shops. weekly, monthly, and annual dance parties. ¨¨Brooklyn Multi-neighborhood borough with The Saint at Large (www.saintatlarge.com) Team gays of every ilk, and diverse watering holes behind the annual Black Party, a massive circuit peppered throughout. event held in March. RESOURCES & SUPPORT One of the largest centers of its kind in the world, the LGBT Community Center (%212-620- 7310; www.gaycenter.org; 208 W 13th St, btwn Seventh & Greenwich Aves; suggested donation $5; h9am- 10pm Mon-Sat, to 9pm Sun; b1/2/3 to 14th St) provides a ton of regional publications about gay events and nightlife, and hosts frequent special events – dance parties, art exhibits, Broadway- caliber performances, readings and political panels. Plus it’s home to the National Archive for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History (accessible to researchers by appointment); a small exhibition space, the Campbell-Soady Gallery; and a cyber center.

57 Lonely Planet’s Best for Weeknights NEED TO KNOW PLAN YOUR TRIP GAY & LESBIAN Top Choices Therapy (p203) Evening music, There are tons of web- NYC Pride (p30) Rainbow-clad drag and showbiz guests give sites geared towards the pomp and circumstance. school nights some much- goings-on of the city’s gay Leslie-Lohman Museum of needed razzle dazzle. community. Gay & Lesbian Art (p87) The Flaming Saddles (p203) Boot- ¨¨Next Magazine (www. world’s first LGBT art museum. scootin’ barmen pouring liquor nextmagazine.com) Industry (p203) One of the down your throat – who said Online version of the best-loved bar-clubs in kicking weeknights were boring? ubiquitous print guide to Hell’s Kitchen. Boxers NYC (p169) From post- all things gay in NYC. Duplex (p156) Camp quips, work to late-night, this sports ¨¨Get Out! (www. smooth crooners and a riotously bar sees dudes tackling the getoutmag.com) Online fun piano bar define this Village tighter ends on and off the field. version of another print veteran. guide to all things queer Cock (p124) Love-it-or-loathe-it Best Old-School in town. debauchery in the fabled East Hangouts ¨¨Gayletter (www.gay Village. letter.com) E-newsletter Marie’s Crisis (p151) One-time covering queer-related Best Places to hooker hangout turned Village culture, musings and Slumber showtune piano bar. parties. Stonewall Inn (p153) Scene of ¨¨Gay City News (www. Standard East Village (p336) rioting drag queens during the gaycitynews.nyc) News Crisp, fresh, boutique chic in the Stonewall riots of ’69. and current affairs with funky East Village. Julius Bar (p151) The oldest gay a queer bent, as well as Chelsea Pines Inn (p337) Hol- in the village. arts and travel reviews. lywood posters, diva-moniker Cock (p124) Tongue-in-cheek rooms and a Chelsea address. sleaze in a former gay-punk other queer-centric Chelsea Hotel Gansevoort (p338) hangout. boutiques. Jetsetter cool and a rooftop pool in the Meatpacking District. Best for Women Pier 45 (Christopher Street Pier) (p136) Butt-hugging Best for Dancing Ginger’s (Map 444; 363 Fifth trunks and loved-up couples Queens Ave at 5th St, Park Slope) Happy make this a summertime hour specials, karaoke and sunbaking staple. Industry (p203) As night Sunday bingo pull the girls at deepens, this Hell’s Kitchen Brooklyn’s G-Spot. Fire Island (p321) Mingle with hit turns from buzzing bar to Cubbyhole (p153) A no-attitude the hot and rich at this sand- thumping club. Village veteran with jukebox dune-swept playground. Monster (p153) Cheeky go-go tunes and chatty regulars. boys and cheekier drag queens Henrietta Hudson (p152) A fun, Best Events keep the punters purring in the classic dive packed with super- basement. cool rocker chicks. NYC Pride (p30) A monthlong XL Nightclub (p203) A sprawl- celebration in June, with parties, ing danceteria of hot, sweat- Best Daytime Scene cultural events and the famous soaked muscle in where-it’s-at march down Fifth Ave. Hell’s Kitchen. Brunch on Ninth Avenue Pick a sidewalk table and do NewFest NYC’s premier queer your bit for Neighborhood film fest, with a weeklong pro- Watch, Hell’s Kitchen–style. gram of homegrown and foreign Shopping in Chelsea Style- flicks in September. up at Nasty Pig (p160) and MIX New York Queer Experi- mental Film Festival Six days of avant-garde and political queer cinema in November.

58 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd OPUS1NY / GETTY IMAGES © Explore New York City Lower Manhattan & Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 241 the Financial District. . 62 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 160 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 244 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Union Square, Flatiron Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 District & Gramercy. . . 161 Harlem & Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Upper Manhattan. . . 246 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . . 77 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . . 82 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . 168 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . 260 SoHo & Chinatown. . . 83 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 262 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 174 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 262 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Midtown. . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Brooklyn . . . . . . . . . . 263 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . . 97 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 104 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . 201 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 203 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . 288 East Village & Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Lower East Side . . . . 105 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 210 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 301 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Upper East Side . . . . . 211 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Queens. . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . 119 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . 225 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 129 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . 315 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 315 West Village, Chelsea Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 227 Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 & the Meatpacking Sports & Activities. . . . . . . . 316 District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Upper West Side & Central Park . . . . . . . 228 Day Trips from Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 New York City. . . . . . 318 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Top Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Sights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Sleeping. . . . . . . . . . . 330 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . . 149 Eating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Drinking & Nightlife. . . . . . 240 Grand Central Terminal (p184)

59 NEW YORK CITY’S TOP SIGHTS Statue of Liberty...................64 Ellis Island..............................66 National September 11 Memorial & Museum............68 One World Trade Center.......70 Chinatown.............................84 Lower East Side Tenement Museum............106 New Museum of Contemporary Art..............108 St Marks Place.....................110 The High Line...................... 132 Chelsea Market................... 134 Washington Square Park...................................... 135 Union Square......................163 Flatiron Building..................164 Times Square.......................177 Empire State Building........180 Museum of Modern Art......182 Grand Central Terminal......184 Rockefeller Center..............186 Radio City Music Hall......... 187 Chrysler Building................188 Guggenheim Museum....... 213 Metropolitan Museum of Art ..................................... 214 Central Park........................ 230 Cathedral Church of St John the Divine.............. 248 Studio Museum in Harlem............................ 250 Brooklyn Bridge Park........ 265 Brooklyn Museum .............267 Prospect Park..................... 268 Coney Island....................... 269 MoMA PS1.......................... 304

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61 1 Lower Manhattan & Gramercy are mostly residential with a hand- NEIGHBORHOODS AT A GLANCE  ful of high-end eating and drinking spots. the Financial District (p62) 6 Midtown (p175) Home to icons such as Wall St, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and This is the home of the NYC found on post- the Statue of Liberty, the southern end of cards: Times Square, Empire State Building, Manhattan pulses with businesslike energy Broadway theaters, canyons of skyscrapers, during the day before settling into quiet and bustling crowds. The Museum of Mod- nights. Tribeca, however, continues to hum ern Art (MoMA), Bryant Park, the grand well after dark with its cache of restaurants shops along Fifth Ave and the gay bars of and lounges. Hell’s Kitchen are also here. 2 SoHo & Chinatown (p83) 7 Upper East Side (p211) Sacred temples, hawkers peddling bric- High-end boutiques line Madison Ave and a-brac and steam-filled soup-dumpling mansions run parallel along Fifth Ave, parlors line the hurried streets of China- which culminates in an architectural flour- town, with SoHo, next door, providing the ish called Museum Mile – one of the most counterpoint with streamlined thorough- cultured strips in the city, if not the world. fares and storefronts representing all of the biggest–name brands in the world. Tucked 8 Upper West Side & somewhere in between is Little Italy (em- phasis on the ‘little’). Central Park (p228) 3 East Village & New York’s antidote to the endless stretches of concrete, Central Park is a verdant escape Lower East Side (p105) from honking horns and sunless sidewalks. Lining the park with inspired residential Old meets new on every block of this down- towers, the Upper West Side is home to the town duo – two of the city’s hottest ’hoods Lincoln Center. for nightlife and cheap eats that lure stu- dents, bankers and scruffier types alike. 9 Harlem & Upper 4 West Village, Chelsea & Manhattan (p246) the Meatpacking District Harlem and Hamilton Heights – a bastion of (p130) African American culture – offers good eats and jazz beats. Head up to Inwood for leafy Quaint, twisting streets and well-preserved park space, or try Morningside Heights to townhouses offer endless options for inti- soak up some student life. mate dining and drinking in the West Vil- lage. The Meatpacking District next door a Brooklyn (p263) has trendy nightlife options galore; further up is Chelsea, home to hundreds of art gal- Brooklyn’s sprawling checkerboard of dis- leries and a vibrant gay scene. tinct neighborhoods is over three times the size of Manhattan, not to mention more di- 5 Union Square, Flatiron verse and far-reaching. For skyline views and a pinch of history, try brownstone-studded District & Gramercy (p161) Brooklyn Heights; or try Williamsburg for vintage wares and late-night bar crawls. Though short on sights, there’s lots happen- ing on and around Union Square, which bus- b Queens (p302) tles with a medley of protesters, buskers and businessfolk. North of there is grassy Madi- A patchwork of communities, Queens is trail- son Square Park, an elegant oasis en route blazer territory for return visitors and locals to Midtown. The peaceful streets around alike. Gorge at the ethnic delis of Astoria, ogle contemporary art in Long Island City,

62 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Lower Manhattan & the Financial District WALL STREET & THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT | NEW YORK HARBOR | BATTERY PARK CITY | EAST RIVER WATERFRONT | CITY HALL & CIVIC CENTER Neighborhood Top Five 1 Scaling the Statue of (p72) and One World Ob- 5 Exploring the making servatory (p70). Liberty (p64), peering out of modern America at the from her crown and seeing country’s most poignant, the world’s greatest city 3 Climbing the One World historically significant point spread out before you. of entry, Ellis Island (p66). Prepare to pinch yourself. Trade Center (p72) for a knockout panorama of Man- 2 Reflecting on loss, hattan and beyond. hope and resilience at 4 Taking in sunset-blazing the National September skyscrapers from New York 11 Memorial & Museum City’s free-and-fantastic Staten Island Ferry (p82). 00000R0000N0o0000000ce0000P00kl000000sa0000e00o000r0000f00000kn0e0000000N0000l000C00000l0A000000oe000o0000000000r0r0000v000000000t0000000e000h0000V0000000000000000000e000P00000000000B000s000A0000000000e00000A000000R000y0000000T00000A0K0000S00000T0000l0000tb000EC0000000a0000R00I000n000T0000Y000y00000Y00030000#000S0000000000T0000t00000000000000R0020000#000000000000I00000000B00000000000000000000E000000000000000C00000000000000B00000A00000000M0000a00000C000000r0000u000D0ch000000r000l00au00ra00000ama00y0000yn000S0b00e0S00e0t00t0S0r0000s0t00C0000S00000o0000t00000r000P0P0tHC0000a0l00F0aa00ir0a00C0urt00n00000l0y0k000ldl0H000t0000000t0o000000I0000S0n0N0000000t00000SA00000000tT000000OM0M00F00000Wra00A00a00i0L0dNN0n000Oe0k0H0nW0foaALrrETkatRRTSoAtwNGreenwich StWest St (West Side Hwy)W BroadwayCentre StPSt James PlMadison StFranklin D Roosevelt Dr TWO Broadway k Row BRIDGES Church St Pearl St Brooklyn Bridge Front St Gold St Hudson River Trinity PGl reenwich St Broadway Wall St East River BriBdrgoeoPkalyrnk Nassau StBeaver St (Pier 1) Battery Pl Water St Franklin D RoForsoentvelSttDr BaBttPae1#StarttryekVrPy(ila1.d9um0c00ti00)0000000000000F00000D00I000N00I000S0A000T00N040R0#00C000I0000C0I000A0000T0000L000000000000000000#Whitehall St Robert F South Wagner Jr 0 500 m Park 0 0.25 miles Upper New York Bay e5# (1.2mi) D D For more detail of this area see Map p410A

63 Explore Lower Manhattan & Lonely Planet’s Lower Manhattan & the Financial District  the Financial District Top Tip A little planning will save you a lot of time in Lower After cheap tickets to Broad- Manhattan. Book tickets online to the unmissable Ellis way shows? Ditch the TKTS Island and Statue of Liberty. Alternatively, catch the first Booth in Times Sq for the ferry and avoid weekends, especially in summer. You’ll TKTS Booth at South Street need a good four or five hours to explore the two sights Seaport. Queues usually properly, and bring a picnic lunch – the food onsite is move a little faster and you awful. Online ticket purchasing is also highly recom- can purchase tickets for mended for both the National September 11 Museum next-day matinees (some- and the neighboring One World Observatory. To expe- thing you can’t do at the rience the Financial District’s power-broking intensity, Times Sq outlet). The TKTS go during business hours. But to calmly contemplate the Smartphone app offers area’s Federal homes, Greek Revival temples and early- real-time listings of what’s modern skyscrapers, go after hours. To avoid the hordes on sale. at shopping mecca Century 21, raid the racks by 8am on weekdays. If the weather is on your side, soak up some 5 Best Places rays and river views on Pier 15 at South Street Seaport, to Eat or walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for jaw-dropping views of Lower Manhattan. For an evening buzz on any ¨¨Locanda Verde (p77) night, head to Tribeca’s string of renowned eateries and ¨¨Bâtard (p77) drinking dens, the former best reserved in advance. ¨¨North End Grill (p77) ¨¨Brookfield Place (p77) Local Life ¨¨Da Mikele (p76) ¨Coffee Ditch the chains for in-the-know Bluestone For reviews, see p76A Lane (p77) and La Colombe (p79). ¨Wine Swill free vino on Sunday afternoons at 6 Best Places Pasanella & Son (p81). to Drink ¨Cocktails Sip meticulous libations at top-of-the-class Dead Rabbit (p79). ¨¨Dead Rabbit (p79) ¨Culture Catch encore-provoking drama at the Flea ¨¨Ward III (p79) Theater (p80). ¨¨Brandy Library (p79) ¨Escape Cycle, relax and eye-up art on the summer ¨¨Smith & Mills (p80) oasis that is Governors Island (p75). ¨¨Bluestone Lane (p77) For reviews, see p77A Getting There & Away 1 Best Places to Conjure the Past ¨Subway The Financial District is well serviced by subway lines, connecting the area to the rest of ¨¨Ellis Island (p66) Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Fulton St is the main interchange station, servicing the A/C, J/Z, ¨¨Trinity Church cemetery 2/3 and 4/5 lines. The 1 train terminates at South Ferry, (p72) from where the Staten Island Ferry departs. ¨Bus From the Staten Island Ferry terminal, useful ¨¨Fraunces Tavern Museum routes include the M15 (to East Village, Midtown East, (p72) Upper East Side and East Harlem) and the M20 (to Tribeca, West Village, Chelsea and Midtown West). ¨¨South Street Seaport ¨Boat The Staten Island Ferry Terminal is at the southern (p75) end of Whitehall St. Ferries to Governors Island leave from the adjacent Battery Maritime Building. Services to For reviews, see p72A Liberty and Ellis Islands depart from nearby Battery Park.

STATUE OF LIBERTY Lady Liberty has been gazing sternly towards DID YOU KNOW? JOSEPH MCNALLY / GETTY IMAGES © ‘unenlightened Europe’ since 1886. Dubbed the ‘Mother of Exiles,’ the statue symbolically admonishes The Statue of Liberty the rigid social structures of the old world. ‘Give me weighs 225 tonnes and your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning stretches 93m from to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming ground to torch-tip. shore’ she declares in Emma Lazarus’ famous 1883 poem ‘The New Colossus.’ PRACTICALITIES From the Suez to the City ¨¨Map p410 To the surprise of many, France’s jumbo-sized gift to America was not originally conceived with the US in mind. ¨¨%212-363-3200, Indeed, when sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi began tickets 877-523-9849 planning the piece, his vision was for a colossal sculpture to guard the entrance to the Suez Canal in Egypt, one of ¨¨www.nps.gov/stli France’s greatest 19th-century engineering achievements. ¨¨Liberty Island Bartholdi’s ode to Gallic ingenuity would incorporate ele- ¨¨adult/child incl Ellis ments of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Island $18/9, incl crown $21/12 the Colossus of Rhodes and the lighthouse of Alexandria. ¨¨h8:30am-5:30pm, Despite its appeal to human vanity, the ambitious monu- check website for sea- ment failed to attract serious funding from either France sonal changes or Egypt, and Bartholdi’s dream seemed destined for the ¨¨fto Liberty Island, scrapheap. Salvation would come from Bartholdi’s friend, b1 to South Ferry; 4/5 to Edouard René Lefèbvre de Laboulaye. A French jurist, Bowling Green writer and anti-slavery activist, de Laboulaye proposed a gift to America as a symbol of the triumph of Republican- ism and of the democratic values that underpinned both France and the US. Seeing an opportunity too good to miss, Bartholdi quickly set to work, tweaking his vision and turn- ing his Suez flop into ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’, an enviable gift to commemorate America’s centennial of the Declaration of Independence.

65 Creating The Lady NEED TO KNOW Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t S tat u e o f L ibe r t y The artist spent most of 20 years turning his dream – Although the ferry ride to create the hollow monument and mount it in the from Battery Park in New York Harbor – into reality. Along the way it Lower Manhattan lasts was hindered by serious financial problems, but only 15 minutes, a trip was helped in part by the fund-raising efforts of to both the Statue of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Lending a Liberty and Ellis Island further hand was poet Emma Lazarus, whose ode is an all-day affair, and to Lady Liberty was part of a fund-raising cam- those setting out on the paign for the statue’s pedestal, designed by Ameri- ferry at 2pm or later will can architect Richard Morris Hunt. Bartholdi’s only be allowed to visit work on the statue was also delayed by structural one of the two sites. challenges – a problem resolved by the metal Security screening at framework mastery of railway engineer Gustave the ferry terminal can Eiffel (yes, of the famous tower). The work of art take up to 90 minutes. was finally completed in France in 1884 (a bit off Regardless of the ticket schedule for the centennial). It was shipped to NYC you’re buying (Crown as 350 pieces packed into 214 crates, reassembled Access, Pedestal or over a span of four months and placed on the US- Grounds Only), reserva- made granite pedestal. Its spectacular October tions to visit the Statue 1886 dedication included New York’s first ticker- of Liberty are strongly tape parade, and a flotilla of almost 300 vessels. recommended. Aside Put under the administration of the National Park from guaranteeing you Service in 1933, a restoration of the Lady’s oxidized a specific time to visit, copper began in 1984, the same year the monument reserve tickets allow made it onto the UN’s list of World Heritage Sites. you to skip the often insanely long queues Liberty Today awaiting those without pre-purchased tickets. Folks who reserve their tickets in advance are able to climb the (steep) 393 steps to Lady Liberty’s crown, The book of law in her from where the city and harbor are breathtaking. left hand is inscribed That said, crown access is extremely limited, and with July IV MDC- the only way in is to reserve your spot in advance; CLXXVI (July 4 1776), the further in advance you can do it, the better, as a the date of American six-month lead time is allowed. Each customer may Independence. The only reserve a maximum of four crown tickets, and rays on her crown children must be at least 4ft tall to access the crown. represent the seven seas and continents; If you miss out on crown tickets, you may have the 25 windows better luck with tickets to the pedestal, which also adorning it symbol- offers commanding views. Like crown tickets, ped- ize gemstones. At estal tickets are limited and should be reserved in her feet, chains and advance, either online or by phone. Only crown and a broken shackle ac- pedestal ticket holders have access to the Statue of centuate her status Liberty museum in the pedestal. as free from oppres- sion and servitude. If you don’t have crown or pedestal tickets, don’t The torch is a 1986 fret. All ferry tickets to Liberty Island offer basic ac- replacement of the cess to the grounds, including guided ranger tours original, which is now or self-guided audio tours. The grounds also host a housed at the on-site gift shop and cafeteria. (Tip: bring your own nibbles museum. and enjoy them by the water, the Manhattan skyline stretched out before you.)

66 ELLIS ISLAND Ellis Island is America’s most famous and historically DON’T MISS important gateway – the very spot where old-world despair met new-world promise. Between 1892 and ¨¨Immigration 1924, over 12 million immigrants passed through this Museum exhibits processing station, their dreams in tow. An estimated ¨¨Main Building 40% of Americans today have at least one ancestor architecture who was processed here, confirming the major role ¨¨American Immigrant this tiny harbor island has played in the making of Wall of Honor & Fort modern America. Gibson ruins Restoration PRACTICALITIES After a $160 million restoration, the island’s Main Building was reopened to the public as the Ellis Island Immigra- tion Museum in 1990. Now anybody who rides the ferry ¨¨Map p410 to the island can experience a cleaned-up, modern ver- ¨¨%212-363-3200, sion of the historic new-arrival experience, the museum’s tickets 877-523-9849 interactive exhibits paying homage to the hope, jubilation ¨¨www.nps.gov/elis and sometimes bitter disappointment of the millions who ¨¨Ellis Island came here in search of a new beginning. Among them were ¨¨ferry incl Statue of Hungarian Erik Weisz (Harry Houdini), Rodolfo Guglielmi Liberty adult/child $18/9 (Rudolph Valentino) and Brit Archibald Alexander Leach ¨¨h8:30am-5:30pm, (Cary Grant). check website for sea- sonal changes Immigration Museum Exhibits ¨¨fto Ellis Island, b1 to The museum’s exhibits are spread over three levels. To get South Ferry; 4/5 to Bowl- the most out of your visit, opt for the 50-minute self-guided ing Green audio tour (free with ferry ticket, available from the muse- um lobby). Featuring narratives from a number of sources, including historians, architects and the immigrants themselves, the tour brings to life the museum’s hefty collection of personal objects, official documents, photographs and film footage. It’s an evocative experience to relive personal memories – both good and bad – in the very halls and corridors in which they occurred. The collection itself is divided into a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions. If you’re very short on time, skip the ‘Journeys: The Peopling of America 1550–1890’ exhib- it on the 1st floor and focus on 2nd floor. It’s here that you’ll find the two most fascinating exhibitions. The first, ‘Through America’s Gate,’ examines the step-by-step process faced by the newly arrived, including the chalk-marking of those suspected of illness, a wince- inducing eye examination, and 29 questions in the beautiful, vaulted Registry Room. The second, ‘Peak Immigration Years,’ explores the motives behind the immigrants’ journeys and the challenges they faced once free to begin their new American lives. Particularly interesting is the collection of old photographs, which offers intimate glimpses into the daily lives of these courageous new Americans. For a history of the rise, fall and resurrection of the building itself, make time for the ‘Restoring a Landmark’ exhibition on the 3rd floor; its tableaux of trashed desks, chairs and other abandoned possessions are strangely haunting. Best of all, the audio tour offers optional, in-depth coverage for those wanting to delve deeper into the collections and the island’s history. If you don’t feel like opting for the audio tour, you can always pick up one of the phones in each display area and listen to the recorded, yet affecting memories of real Ellis Island immigrants, taped in the 1980s. Another option is the free, 45-minute guided tour with a park ranger. If booked three weeks in advance by phone, the tour is also available in American sign language.

67 Main Building Architecture AN IRISH DEBUT Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t E llis I sl a n d With their Main Building, architects Edward Lip- Ellis Island’s very first pincott Tilton and William A Boring created a suit- immigrant arrival was ably impressive and imposing ‘prologue’ to America. 15-year-old Anna ‘Annie’ The designing duo won the contract after the origi- Moore. After a 12-day nal wooden building burnt down in 1897. Having journey from County attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, it’s not Cork, Ireland, on the surprising that they opted for a beaux-arts aesthetic steamship Nevada, the for the project. The building evokes a grand train steerage passenger station, with majestic triple-arched entrances, deco- stepped onto the island rative Flemish bond brickwork, and granite quoins on January 1 1892, (cornerstones) and belvederes. Inside, it’s the 2nd- accompanied by her floor, 338ft-long Registry Room (also known as the brothers Phillip and Great Hall) that takes the breath away. It was under Anthony. The three its beautiful vaulted ceiling that the newly arrived siblings had headed to lined up to have their documents checked, and that America to join their the polygamists, paupers, criminals and anarchists parents, who had mi- were turned back. The original plaster ceiling was grated to New York City severely damaged by an explosion of munition four years earlier. After barges at nearby Black Tom Wharf. It was a bless- tying the knot with Ger- ing in disguise, the rebuilt version was adorned man immigrant Joseph with striking, herringbone-patterned tiles by Rafael Augustus Schayer, the Guastavino. The Catalan-born engineer is also be- Irish-American gave hind the beautiful tiled ceiling at the Grand Central birth to at least 11 chil- Oyster Bar & Restaurant at Grand Central Terminal. dren, only five of whom survived. Annie died on American Immigrant Wall of Honor December 6 1924 and & Fort Gibson Ruins was laid to rest at Cal- vary Cemetery, Queens. Accessible from the 1st-floor ‘Journeys: The Peo- pling of America 1550–1890’ exhibit is the outdoor HOSPITAL OF ALL American Immigrant Wall of Honor, inscribed NATIONS with the names of over 700,000 immigrants. Be- lieved to be the world’s longest wall of names, it’s At the turn of the 20th a fund-raising project, allowing any American to century, the since- have an immigrant relative’s name recorded for the defunct hospital on Ellis cost of a donation. Construction of the wall in the Island was one of the 1990s uncovered the remains of the island’s original world’s largest. Con- structure, Fort Gibson – you can see the ruins at the sisting of 22 buildings southwestern corner of the memorial. Built in 1808, and dubbed the ‘Hospi- the fortification was part of a harbor-defense system tal of all Nations,’ it was against the British that also included Castle Clinton America’s front line in in Battery Park and Castle Williams on Governors the fight against ‘im- Island. During this time, Ellis Island measured a ported’ diseases. The modest 3.3 acres of sand and slush. Between 1892 institution’s fascinating and 1934, the island expanded dramatically thanks history is vividly relayed to landfill brought in from the ballast of ships and in writer/producer Lorie construction of the city’s subway system. Conway’s documen- tary and accompanying book Forgotten Ellis Island.

NATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL & MUSEUM The National September 11 Museum and Memorial is DON’T MISS EVAN SEMONES - COSMOPHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES © a dignified tribute to the victims of the worst terrorist DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT MICHAEL ARAD & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PETER WALKER attack on American soil. Titled Reflecting Absence, ¨¨Reflecting Pools the memorial’s two massive reflecting pools are ¨¨Memorial Museum symbols of hope and renewal as well as tributes to the ¨¨Santiago Calatrava’s thousands who lost their lives. Beside them stands oculus the Memorial Museum, a striking, solemn space documenting that fateful fall day in 2001. PRACTICALITIES Reflecting Pools ¨¨Map p410 ¨¨www.911memorial.org/ Surrounded by a plaza planted with 400 swamp white oak museum trees, the September 11 Memorial’s reflecting pools occupy ¨¨180 Greenwich St the very footprints of the ill-fated twin towers. From their ¨¨memorial free, mu- rim, a steady cascade of water pours 30ft down towards a seum adult/child $24/15, central void. The flow of the water is richly symbolic, be- 5-8pm Tue free ginning as hundreds of smaller streams, merging into a ¨¨h9am-8pm Sun-Thu, massive torrent of collective confusion, and ending with to 9pm Fri & Sat, last a slow journey towards an abyss. Bronze panels frame the entry 2hr before close pools, inscribed with the names of those who died in the ¨¨bE to World Trade terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and in the World Center; R to Cortlandt St; Trade Center car bombing on February 26, 1993. Designed 2/3 to Park Pl by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, the pools are both strik- ing and deeply poignant. Memorial Museum The contemplative energy of the monument is further enhanced by the National Sep- tember 11 Memorial Museum. Standing between the reflective pools, the museum’s glass entrance pavilion eerily evokes a toppled tower. Inside the entrance, an escalator leads down to the museum’s main subterranean lobby. On the descent, visitors stand in the shadow of two steel tridents, originally embedded in the bedrock at the base of the North

69 Tower. Each over 80ft tall and 50 tons heavy, they CALATRAVA Lower Manhattan & the Financial District NATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL once provided the structural support which allowed ARCHITECTURE the towers to soar over 1360ft into the sky. In the subsequent sea of rubble, they remained standing, It was the image of a becoming immediate symbols of resilience. child releasing a dove that inspired Santiago The tridents are two of over 10,300 objects in Calatrava’s dramatic the museum’s collection. Among these are the Ve- oculus above the new sey Street Stairs. Dubbed the ‘survivors staircase’, WTC Transportation they allowed hundreds of workers to flee the WTC Hub. While budget- site on the morning of September 11. At the bottom driven tweaks of the of these stairs is the moving In Memoriam gallery, Spanish architect’s its walls lined with the photographs and names of design have led some to those who perished. Interactive touch screens and call it an ‘immobilized a central reflection room shed light on the victims’ stegosaurus’, there’s no lives. Their humanity is further fleshed out by the doubt that the soaring numerous personal effects on display. Among these creation is arresting. The is a dust-covered wallet belonging to Robert Joseph structure will stream Gschaar, an insurance underwriter working on level natural light into the 92 of the South Tower. The wallet’s contents include WTC’s $3.9 billion transit a photograph of Gschaar’s wife, Myrta, and a $2 bill, center, expected to serve given to Myrta by Gschaar as a symbol of their sec- 200,000 subway and ond chance at happiness. PATH train commuters daily once completed in Around the corner from the In Memoriam gal- early 2016. A whopping lery is the New York City Fire Department’s Engine 2.5 times bigger than Company 21. One of the largest artifacts on display, Grand Central Terminal, its burnt out cab is testament to the inferno faced the project features by those at the scene. The fire engine stands at the around 200,000 sq ft of entrance to the museum’s main Historical Exhibi- retail and dining space tion. Divided into three sections – Events of the Day, for those who want to Before 9/11 and After 9/11 – its collection of videos, linger in Manhattan’s real-time audio recordings, images, objects and tes- latest architectural con- timonies provides a rich, meditative exploration of troversy. the tragedy, the events that preceded it (including the WTC bombing of 1993), and the stories of grief, One of the Memo- resilience and hope that followed. rial Museum’s most curious (and famous) The Historical Exhibition spills into the monu- artifacts is the so- mental Foundation Hall, flanked by a massive sec- called ‘Angel of 9/11’, tion of the original slurry wall, built to hold back the eerie outline of a the waters of the Hudson River during the towers’ woman’s anguished construction. It’s also home to the last steel column face on a twisted removed during the clean-up, adorned with the girder believed to messages and mementos of recovery workers, re- originate from the sponders and loved ones of the victims. point where Ameri- can Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower. Experts have a more prosaic explanation: natural corrosion and sheer coincidence.

ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER Filling what was a sore and glaring gap in the Lower DON’T MISS F11PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES © Manhattan skyline, One World Trade Center symbolizes rebirth, determination and a city’s resilience. More than ¨¨A photo from the just another supertall, this tower is a richly symbolic base looking up giant, well aware of the past yet firmly focused on the ¨¨Sky Pod elevators future. For lovers of New York, it’s also the hot new stop ¨¨Observatory views for dizzying, unforgettable urban views. The Building PRACTICALITIES Leaping up from the northwest corner of the World Trade ¨¨Map p410 Center site, the 104-floor tower is architect David M Childs’ ¨¨%844-696-1776 redesign of Daniel Libeskind’s original 2002 concept. Not ¨¨www.oneworld- only the loftiest building in America, this tapered giant is observatory.com currently the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, ¨¨cnr West & Vesey Sts not to mention the fourth tallest in the world by pinnacle height. The tower soars skywards with chamfered edges. ¨¨adult/child $32/26 The result is a series of isosceles triangles that, seen from ¨¨h9am-8pm, last ticket the building’s base, reach to infinity. Crowning the struc- sold at 7:15pm ture is a 408ft cabled-stayed spire. Co-designed by sculptor ¨¨bE to World Trade Kenneth Snelson, it brings the building’s total height to Center; 2/3 to Park Pl; 1776ft, a symbolic reference to the year of American inde- A/C, J/Z, 4/5 to Fulton pendence. Indeed, symbolism feeds several aspects of the St; R to Cortlandt St building: the tower’s footprint is equal to those of the twin towers, while the observation decks match the heights of those in the old complex. Unlike the original towers, however, One WTC was built with a whole new level of safety in mind, its precautionary features including a 200ft-high blast-resistant base (clad in over 2000 pieces of glimmering prismatic glass) and 1m-thick concrete walls encasing all elevators, stairwells, and communication and safety systems. One thing that wasn’t foreseen by the architects and engineers was the antenna’s noisy disposition; the strong winds that race through its lattice design producing a haunting, howling sound known to keep some locals up at night.

71 One World Observatory FAMOUS Lower Manhattan & the Financial District One World Tr ade Center RESIDENTS Not one to downplay its assets, the skyscraper is home to One World Observatory, the city’s loftiest VIP buildings demand observation deck. While the observatory spans lev- VIP clients, and One els 100 to 102, the experience begins at the ground- World Trade Center de- floor Global Welcome Center, where an electronic livers. It’s most famous world map highlights the homeland of visitors (data tenant is Condé Nast relayed from ticket scans). The bitter bickering that Publications, which plagued much of the project’s development is all made the move from 4 but forgotten in the adjoining Voices exhibition, Times Square in 2014. where architects and construction workers wax The company’s portfo- lyrically about the tower’s formation on 144 video lio includes Vogue mag- screens. After a quick rundown of the site’s geology, azine, headed by the the real thrills begin as you step inside one of five woman with the world’s Sky Pod elevators, among the fastest in the world. most famous bob, Anna As the elevators begin their 1250ft skyward journey, Wintour. As to be ex- LED wall panels kick into action. Suddenly you’re pected, the company’s in a veritable time machine, watching Manhattan’s headquarters are noth- evolution from forested island to teeming concrete ing short of fabulous, jungle. Forty-seven seconds (and 500 years) later, complete with dramatic you’re on level 102, where another short presenta- spiral staircase and a tion ends with a spectacular reveal. Skip the over- glam-glam cafeteria priced eateries on level 101 and continue down to with gourmet bites and the real highlight: level 100. Waiting for you is an a million-dollar view. epic, 360-degree panorama guaranteed to keep your How else can one ex- index finger busy pointing out landmarks, from pect to work, darling? the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, to Lady Lib- erty and the Woolworth, Empire State and Chrysler TICKETS & TIPS buildings. If you need a hand, interactive mobile tablets are available for hire ($15). As expected, the Pre-purchase your tick- view is extraordinary (choose a clear day!), taking in ets online (oneworld all five boroughs and adjoining states. For a close- observatory.com/ up view of the Midtown skyscrapers, however, you’re tickets) to avoid the better off scaling the Empire State Building or the longest queues. Tickets Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock. purchased online using a smartphone don’t require a printout; sim- ply take a screenshot of your ticket (including the bar code) and scan it on arrival. When purchas- ing your ticket, you will need to select a specific visiting time; head in by 9:15am for short waiting periods and thin crowds. Sunset is the busiest time. Whatever the hour, always arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled visiting time to avoid delays at security.

72 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE 1 SIGHTS AMERICAN INDIAN MUSEUM Map p410 (%212-514-3700; www.nmai.si.edu; 1 Bowling Green; h10am-5pm Fri-Wed, to 8pm 1 Wall Street & Thu; W; b4/5 to Bowling Green; R to Whitehall the Financial District St) F An affiliate of the Smithsonian Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t S igh t s oNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 Institution, this elegant tribute to Native American culture is set in Cass Gilbert’s MEMORIAL & MUSEUM MONUMENT. MUSEUM spectacular 1907 Custom House, one of See p68. NYC’s finest beaux-arts buildings. Beyond a vast elliptical rotunda, sleek galleries play host to changing exhibitions documenting oONE WORLD OBSERVATORY VIEWPOINT Native American art, culture, life and be- liefs. The museum’s permanent collection See p70. oONE WORLD TRADE CENTER BUILDING includes stunning decorative arts, textiles and ceremonial objects that document the See p70. diverse native cultures across the Americas. FRAUNCES TAVERN MUSEUM MUSEUM The four giant female sculptures outside the building are the work of Daniel Chester Map p410 (%212-425-1778; www.frauncestav- French, who would go on to sculpt the seat- ernmuseum.org; 54 Pearl St, btwn Broad St & ed Abraham Lincoln at Washington, DC’s Coenties Slip; adult/6-18yr/under 6yr $7/4/free; Lincoln Memorial. Representing (from left hnoon-5pm Mon-Fri, 11:30am-5pm Sat & Sun; to right) Asia, North America, Europe and bJ/Z to Broad St; 4/5 to Bowling Green; R to Africa, the figures offer a revealing look at Whitehall St-South Ferry; 1 to South Ferry) Com- America’s world view at the beginning of the bining five early-18th-century structures, 20th century; Asia ‘bound’ by its religions, this unique museum/restaurant/bar pays America ‘youthful and virile,’ Europe ‘wise homage to the nation-shaping events of yet decaying’ and Africa ‘asleep and barbar- 1783, when the British relinquished control ic.’ The museum also hosts a range of cul- of New York at the end of the Revolutionary tural programs, including dance and music War, and General George Washington gave performances, readings for children, craft a farewell speech to the officers of the Con- demonstrations, films and workshops. The tinental Army in the 2nd-floor dining room museum shop is well-stocked with Native on December 4. American jewelry, books, CDs and crafts. The site was originally built as a tony residence for merchant Stephen Delancey’s family; barkeeper Samuel Fraunces pur- TRINITY CHURCH CHURCH chased it in 1762, turning it into a tavern in honor of the American victory in the Revolu- Map p410 (www.trinitywallstreet.org; Broadway, tionary War. After the war, when New York at Wall St; hchurch 7am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm was the nation’s first capital, the space was Sat, 7am-4pm Sun, churchyard 7am-4pm Mon- used by the Departments of War, Treasury Fri, 8am-3pm Sat, 7am-3pm Sun; bR to Rector and Foreign Affairs. The tavern was closed St; 2/3, 4/5 to Wall St) New York City’s tallest and fell into disuse in the 19th century – building upon completion in 1846, Trin- and soon after was damaged during several ity Church features a 280ft-high bell tower massive fires that destroyed most colonial and a richly colored stained-glass window buildings and Dutch-built structures in the over the altar. Famous residents of its se- area. In 1904, the Sons of the Revolution, a rene cemetery include Founding Father historical society, bought the building and Alexander Hamilton, while its excellent returned it to an approximation of its colo- music series includes Concerts at One (1pm nial-era look – an act believed to be the first Thursdays) and magnificent choir concerts, major attempt at historical preservation in including an annual December rendition of the USA. Today, the museum hosts lectures, Handel’s Messiah. Revolutionary War paintings, occasional The original Anglican parish church historical walking tours, and some surpris- was founded by King William III in 1697 ing Washington relics, including a lock of and once presided over several constituent hair and a fragment from his original coffin. chapels, including St Paul’s Chapel at the corner of Fulton St and Broadway. Its huge landholdings in Lower Manhattan made it the country’s wealthiest and most influ-

73 ential church throughout the 18th century. corruption in his newspaper. There’s also a Burnt down in 1776, its second incarnation visitor information hall with city maps and was demolished in 1839. The third and cur- brochures. rent church, designed by English architect Richard Upjohn, helped launch the pictur- Distinguished by a huge statue of George esque neo-Gothic movement in America. Washington, the building itself stands on the site of New York’s original City Hall, ST PAUL’S CHAPEL CHURCH completed in 1703. Remodeled by French Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t S igh t s engineer Pierre L’Enfant in 1788 and re- Map p410 (%212-602-0800; www.trinitywall- named Federal Hall, the building would street.org; Broadway, at Fulton St; h10am-6pm see Washington taking the oath of office Mon-Sat, 7am-6pm Sun; bA/C, J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to as the first US president on April 30, 1789. Fulton St; R to Cortlandt St; E to World Trade Cent- (The museum’s artifacts include the very er) After his inauguration in 1789, George slab of stone on which Washington stood Washington worshipped at this classic re- while taking that oath.) After that struc- vival brownstone chapel, which found new ture’s demolition in 1812, the current build- fame in the aftermath of September 11. ing rose in its place between 1834 and 1842, With the World Trade Center destruction serving as the US Customs House until occurring just a block away, the mighty 1862. structure became a spiritual support and volunteer center, movingly documented in NEW YORK STOCK its exhibition ‘Unwavering Spirit: Hope & EXCHANGE NOTABLE BUILDING Healing at Ground Zero.’ Map p410 (www.nyse.com; 11 Wall St; hclosed to Through photographs, personal objects the public; bJ/Z to Broad St; 2/3, 4/5 to Wall St) and messages of support, the exhibition Home to the world’s best-known stock ex- honors both the victims and the volunteers change (the NYSE), Wall Street is an iconic who worked round the clock, serving meals, symbol of US capitalism. Behind the porten- setting up beds, doling out massages and tous Romanesque facade about one billion counseling rescue workers. shares change hands daily, a sight no longer accessible to the public due to security con- FEDERAL HALL MUSEUM cerns. Feel free to gawk outside the building, Map p410 (www.nps.gov/feha; 26 Wall St, en- protected by barricades and the hawk-eyed trance on Pine St; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri; W; bJ/Z to Broad St; 2/3, 4/5 to Wall St) A Greek Revival NYPD (New York Police Department). masterpiece, Federal Hall houses a mu- BOWLING GREEN PARK seum dedicated to postcolonial New York. Map p410 (cnr Broadway & State St; W; b4/5 Themes include George Washington’s in- to Bowling Green; R to Whitehall St) New York’s auguration, Alexander Hamilton’s relation- oldest – and possibly tiniest – public park ship with the city, and the struggles of John is purportedly the spot where Dutch settler Peter Zenger – jailed, tried and acquitted of Peter Minuit paid Native Americans the libel on this site for exposing government equivalent of $24 to purchase Manhattan BLAST FROM THE PAST If you wander past the former headquarters of JP Morgan Bank on the southeast corner of Wall and Broad Sts, take a minute to examine its limestone facade on the Wall St side. The pockmarks you see are the remnants of the so-called Morgan Bank bombing – America’s deadliest terrorist attack until the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. The fateful day was Thursday, September 16, 1920, when at exactly 12.01pm, 500 pounds of lead sash weights and 100 pounds of dynamite exploded from a horse- drawn carriage. Thirty-eight people were killed and around 400 injured. Among the latter was John F Kennedy’s father, Joseph P Kennedy. The bomb’s detonation outside America’s most influential financial institution at the time led many to blame anticapitalist groups, from Italian anarchists to stock- standard Bolsheviks. Yet the crime has yet to be solved, with the decision to reopen both the bank and New York Stock Exchange the following day leading to a swift clean-up of both debris and vital clues. Almost 100 years on, the shrapnel marks re- main, purposely left by banker Jack Morgan as an act of remembrance and defiance.

74 Island. At its northern edge stands Arturo 1 New York Harbor Di Modica’s 7000lb bronze Charging Bull, placed here permanently after it mysteri- oSTATUE OF LIBERTY MONUMENT ously appeared in front of the New York Stock Exchange in 1989, two years after a See p64. market crash. Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t S igh t s oELLIS ISLAND LANDMARK, MUSEUM The tree-fringed triangle was leased by the people of New York from the English See p66. crown beginning in 1733, for the token amount of one peppercorn each. But an an- 1 Battery Park City gry mob, inspired by George Washington’s nearby reading of the Declaration of Inde- oMUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM pendence, descended upon the site in 1776 and tore down a large statue of King George Map p410 (%646-437-4202; www.mjhnyc.org; III; a fountain now stands in its place. 36 Battery Pl; adult/child $12/free, 4-8pm Wed MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FINANCE MUSEUM free; h10am-5:45pm Sun-Tue & Thu, to 8pm Wed, Map p410 (%212-908-4110; www.moaf.org; 48 to 5pm Fri mid-Mar–mid-Nov, to 3pm Fri rest of yr; Wall St, btwn Pearl & William Sts; adult/child $8/ Wc; b4/5 to Bowling Green; R to Whitehall St) free; h10am-4pm Tue-Sat; b2/3, 4/5 to Wall An evocative waterfront museum, explor- St) Money makes this interactive museum ing all aspects of modern Jewish identity go round. It focuses on historic moments and culture, from religious traditions to ar- in American financial history, and its per- tistic accomplishments. The museum’s core manent collections include rare historic exhibition includes a detailed exploration of currency (including Confederate currency the Holocaust, with personal artifacts, pho- used by America’s southern states during tographs and documentary films providing the Civil War), stock and bond certificates a personal, moving experience. Outdoors is from the Gilded Age, the oldest known pho- the Garden of Stones installation. Created tograph of Wall St and a stock ticker from by artist Andy Goldsworthy and dedicated circa 1875. to those who lost loved ones in the Holo- caust, its 18 boulders form a narrow path- Once the headquarters for the Bank of way for contemplating the fragility of life. New York, the building itself is a lavish spec- tacle, with 30ft ceilings, high-arched Pal- The building itself consists of six sides ladian windows, a majestic staircase to the and three tiers to symbolize the Star of Da- mezzanine, glass chandeliers, and murals vid and the six million Jews who perished depicting historic scenes of banking and in WWII. Exhibitions aside, the venue also commerce. hosts films, music concerts, ongoing lecture series and special holiday performances. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK Frequent, free workshops for families with children are also on offer, while the on-site OF NEW YORK NOTABLE BUILDING kosher café serves light food. Map p410 (%212-720-6130; www.newyorkfed.org; 33 Liberty St, at Nassau St, entrance at 44 Maiden Lane; reservation required; hguided tours 1pm & BATTERY PARK PARK 2pm Mon-Fri; bA/C, J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Fulton St) F The best reason to visit the Federal Map p410 (www.nycgovparks.org; Broadway, Reserve Bank is the chance to (briefly) ogle at Battery Pl; hsunrise-1am; b4/5 to Bowling at its high-security vault – more than 10,000 Green; R to Whitehall St; 1 to South Ferry) Skirting tons of gold reserves reside here, 80ft below the southern edge of Manhattan, this re- ground. You’ll only see a small part of that vamped, 12-acre oasis lures with public art- fortune, but signing on to a free tour (the works, meandering walkways and perennial only way down; book several months ahead) gardens. Its memorials include a Holocaust is worth the effort. Memorial and the Irish Hunger Memorial. It was on this very part of the island that While you don’t need to join a guided the Dutch settled in 1623. And it was right tour to browse the bank’s interactive mu- here that the first ‘battery’ of cannons was seum, which delves into the bank’s history erected to defend the fledgling settlement and research, you will still need to book a of New Amsterdam. These days, the park is time online. Bring your passport or other also where you’ll find historic Castle Clin- official ID. ton (Map p410; www.nps.gov/cacl; Battery Park;

75 GOVERNORS ISLAND Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t S igh t s Off-limits to the public for 200 years, former military outpost Governors Island (%212-825-3045; govisland.com; h10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Sat & Sun; b4, 5 to Bowling Green; 1 to South Ferry) F is now one of New York’s most popular seasonal playgrounds. Each summer, free ferries make the seven-minute trip from Lower Man- hattan to the 172-acre oasis. In 2014, 30 new acres of island parkland opened to the public, with features including the 6-acre, art-studded Liggett Terrace; the 10-acre Hammock Grove (complete with 50 hammocks); and the 14-acre Play Lawn, with a duo of natural-turf ball fields for adult softball and Little League baseball. Things get even better in 2017, with the completion of the Hills, an ambitious quartet of man- made hills offering spectacular city and harbor views. Art is the focus at Figment (www.figmentproject.org), a one-weekend-only interac- tive art festival in June, while inspiring views are also on tap along the Great Prom- enade. Running for 2.2 miles along the island’s perimeter, the path takes in everything from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, to Staten Island and New Jersey. Bike rental is available on the island. Besides serving as a successful military fort in the Revolutionary War, the Union Army’s central recruiting station during the Civil War, and the take-off point for Wilbur Wright’s famous 1909 flight around the Statue of Liberty, Governors Island is where the 1988 Reagan-Gorbachev summit signaled the beginning of the end of the Cold War. You can visit the spot where that famous summit took place at the Admiral’s House, a grand-colonnaded, 1843 military residence that’s part of the elegant ghost-town area of Nolan Park. Other historic spots include Fort Jay, fortified in 1776 for what became a failed attempt to prevent the Brits from invading Manhattan; Colonel’s Row, a col- lection of lovely, 19th-century brick officers’ quarters; and the creepy Castle Williams, a 19th-century fort that was eventually used as a military penitentiary. The best way to explore it all is with the National Park Service (www.nps.gov/gois), whose rangers conduct guided tours of the historic district. See the website for specific days and times. h8am-5pm; W; b4/5 to Bowling Green; R to IRISH HUNGER MEMORIAL MEMORIAL Whitehall St; 1 to South Ferry) and the ferry ser- vice to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Map p410 (290 Vesey St, at North End Ave; b2/3 to Park Place; E to World Trade Center; A/C to Chambers St) F Artist Brian Tolle’s com- SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM MUSEUM pact labyrinth of low limestone walls and Map p410 (%212-968-1961; www.skyscraper. patches of grass pays tribute to the Great org; 39 Battery Pl; admission $5; hnoon-6pm Wed-Sun; b4/5 to Bowling Green; R to Whitehall) Irish Famine and Migration (1845–52), which prompted hundreds of thousands of Fans of phallic architecture will appreciate immigrants to leave Ireland for better op- this compact, high-gloss gallery, examin- ing skyscrapers as objects of design, en- portunities in the New World. Representing abandoned cottages, stone walls and potato gineering and urban renewal. Temporary fields, the work was created with stones exhibitions dominate the space, with past exhibitions exploring everything from New from each of Ireland’s 32 counties. York’s new generation of super-slim resi- 1 East River Waterfront dential towers, to the world’s new breed of supertalls. Permanent fixtures include in- SOUTH STREET SEAPORT NEIGHBORHOOD formation on the design and construction Map p410 (www.southstreetseaport.com; bA/C, of the Empire State Building and World J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Fulton St) This enclave of cob- Trade Center. bled streets, maritime warehouses and The museum also hosts free, architecture- shops combines the best and worst in his- themed book talks and lectures; see the toric preservation. It’s not on the radar for website for upcoming events. most New Yorkers, but tourists are drawn to the nautical air, the frequent street per- formers and the mobbed restaurants.

76 Lower Manhattan & the Financial District E ating The district incorporates the South Street cans (nearby Trinity Church graveyard had Seaport Museum (www.southstreetseaportmu- banned the burial of Africans at the time). seum.org; 12 Fulton St; printing press & shop free), Today, a memorial and visitors center hon- home to a vintage printing press and Bowne ors an estimated 15,000 Africans buried Stationers & Co (p81). The museum’s booty here during the 17th and 18th centuries. extends to the iron-hulled Pioneer (p82) at Pier 16, a 19th-century vessel running spirit- The visitors center requires airportlike lifting sailing journeys through the warmer security screenings, so leave your nail files months. Happy times also await at neighbor- in the hotel. ing Pier 15 (Map p410; South St, btwn Fletcher & John Sts; h6am-dusk; bA/C, J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Ful- 5 EATING ton St), a breezy, soothing two-level pier with green spaces, deckchairs and spectacular city The Financial District’s food scene and water views. Also on the water is Pier 17, is enjoying new verve thanks to a revamped combo of boutiques, restaurants new arrivals Brookfield Place and and a public rooftop terrace scheduled to Smorgasburg, perfect bedfellows to open in 2017. more established winners like North End Grill and Shake Shack. Further north, 1 City Hall & Civic Center Tribeca is no stranger to cool, with a string of celeb-chef hot spots and one WOOLWORTH BUILDING NOTABLE BUILDING of New York’s best (and most curiously Map p410 (%203-966-9663; woolworthtours. located) bakeries. com; 233 Broadway, at Park Pl; 30/60/90min SEAPORT SMORGASBURG MARKET $ tours $20/30/45; bR to City Hall; 2/3 to Park Pl; 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall) The world’s Map p410 (www.smorgasburg.com; Fulton St, tallest building upon completion in 1913, btwn Front & South Sts; dishes $6-19; h11am- Cass Gilbert’s 60-story, 792ft-tall Wool- 8pm May-Sep; bA/C, J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Fulton St) worth Building is a neo-Gothic marvel, ele- Brooklyn’s hipster food market has jumped gantly clad in masonry and terracotta. Sur- the East River, injecting touristy South passed in height by the Chrysler Building Street Seaport with some much-needed lo- in 1930, its landmarked lobby is a breath- cal cred. Cooking up a storm from May to taking spectacle of dazzling, Byzantine-like late September, its offerings include any- mosaics. The lobby is only accessible on thing from lobster rolls, ramen and pizza, to prebooked guided tours, which also offer slow-smoked Texan-style brisket sandwich- insight into the building’s more curious es. Add a splash of historic architecture and original features, among them a dedicated you have one of downtown’s coolest cheap subway entrance and a secret swimming feeds. pool. ARCADE BAKERY BAKERY $ At its dedication, the building was de- scribed as a ‘cathedral of commerce’; Map p410 (%212-227-7895; www.arcadebakery. though meant as an insult, FW Woolworth, com; 20 Church St, btwn Worth & Thomas Sts; head of the five-and-dime chain-store em- pastries from $3, sandwiches $9, pizzas $9-13; pire headquartered there, took the com- h8am-4pm Mon-Fri; b1 to Franklin St) It’s ment as a compliment and began throwing easy to miss this little treasure, occupying the term around himself. the vaulted lobby of a 1920s office build- ing. Where an ATM once stood, a counter now trades in beautiful, just-baked goods. AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND MEMORIAL Edibles include artful sandwiches and (be- Map p410 (%212-637-2019; www.nps.gov/afbg; tween noon and 4pm) a small selection of 290 Broadway, btwn Duane & Elk Sts; hmemorial 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, visitor center 10am-4pm Tue- puff-crust pizzas with combos like mush- room, caramelized onion and goat’s cheese. Sat; b1/2/3, A/C, J/Z to Chambers St; R to City Top of the lot is one of the city’s finest al- Hall; 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall) F In 1991, construction workers here uncov- mond croissants. ered over 400 stacked wooden caskets, just DA MIKELE PIZZA $$ 16ft to 28ft below street level. The boxes contained the remains of enslaved Afri- Map p410 (%212-925-8800; luzzosgroup.com; 275 Church St, btwn White & Franklin Sts; pizzas

77 $17-21; hnoon-10:30pm Sun-Wed, to 11:30pm BÂTARD MODERN AMERICAN $$$ Thu-Sat; W; b1 to Franklin St; A/C/E, N/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) An Italo-Tribeca hybrid where Map p410 (%212-219-2777; www.batardtribeca. pressed tin and recycled wood meet retro com; 239 W Broadway, btwn Walker & White Sts; Vespa, Da Mikele channels the dolce vita 2-/3-/4-courses $55/69/79; h5:30-10:30pm (sweet life) with its weeknight aperitivo Mon-Sat; b1 to Franklin St; A/C/E to Canal St) (5pm to 7pm), where your drink includes a Austrian chef Markus Glocker heads this complimentary spread of lip-smacking bar warm, Michelin-starred hot spot, where a bites. The real reason to head here, how- pared-back interior puts the focus squarely Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t D r i n ki n g & Nigh t life ever, is for the pizzas. We’re talking light, on the food. It’s attention well deserved. beautifully charred revelations, simultane- Glocker’s dishes are beautifully balanced ously crisp and chewy, and good enough to and textured, whether its sweet Maine lob- make a Neapolitan weep. ster paired with salsify and gritty potato crisps, or tender venison wrapped in a skin of Swiss chard and golden filo pastry for BROOKFIELD PLACE FAST FOOD, MARKET $$ added comfort. Service is gracious and the Map p410 (%212-417-7000; brookfieldplaceny. Francophile wine list stellar. com; 200 Vesey St; W; bE to World Trade Center; 2/3 to Park Place; R to Cortland St; A/C, 4/5, J/Z NORTH END GRILL AMERICAN $$$ to Fulton St) World Financial Center is now Map p410 (%646-747-1600; www.northendgrill- Brookfield Place, a polished, high-end of- nyc.com; 104 North End Ave, at Murray St; mains fice and retail complex that’s home to two lunch $19-37, dinner $27-44; h11:30am-10pm fabulous food halls. For Gallic flavors, hit Mon-Thu, to 10:30pm Fri, 11am-10:30pm Sat, Le District (Map p410; %212-981-8588; ledis- 11am-9pm Sun; W; b1/2/3, A/C to Chambers St; trict.com; Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey St; sand- E to World Trade Center) Handsome, smart and wiches $6-15, market mains $16-24, Beauborg friendly, this is celeb chef Danny Meyer’s dinner mains $18-45; h6:30am-11pm Mon-Fri, take on the American grill. Top-tier pro- 8:30am-11pm Sat, 8:30am-10pm Sun; W; bE to duce (including herbs and vegetables from World Trade Center; 2/3 to Park Place; R to Cort- the restaurant’s own rooftop garden) forms land St; A/C, 4/5, J/Z to Fulton St), a sprawling the basis for modern takes on comfort grub, wonderland of high-gloss pastries, stinky happily devoured by suited silver foxes and cheese, pretty tartines and lusty steak a scattering of more casual passersby. frites. One floor above is Hudson Eats (Map Dishes are given a kiss of smoke, either p410; %212-417-2445; brookfieldplaceny.com/ in the charcoal-fired oven or on the smokier directory/food; Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey St; wood-fired grill, with standouts including dishes from $7; h10am-9pm Mon-Sat, noon-7pm clam pizza with chili flakes and a feel-good Sun; W; bE to World Trade Center; 2/3 to Park roasted chicken for two. In true Meyer style, Place; R to Cortland St; A/C, 4/5, J/Z to Fulton St), waitstaff are hawk-eyed and charming. a fashionable enclave of quality fast bites, from sushi and tacos to salads and burgers. oLOCANDA VERDE ITALIAN $$$ 6 DRINKING & NIGHTLIFE Map p410 (%212-925-3797; www.locandaverdenyc. com; 377 Greenwich St, at Moore St; mains lunch $19-29, dinner $29-36; h7am-11pm Mon-Thu, to Corporate types don’t always bolt 11:30pm Fri, 8am-11:30pm Sat, 8am-11pm Sun; for the ’burbs when 5pm hits, many bA/C/E to Canal St; 1 to Franklin St) Step through loosening their ties in the smattering the velvet curtains into a scene of loosened of wine bars and pubs around Stone button-downs, black dresses and slick bar- St, Wall St and South Street Seaport. men behind a long, crowded bar. This cel- Tribeca keeps its cool with artisanal ebrated brasserie showcases modern, Italian- coffee shops and venerated cocktail inspired fare like house-made pappardelle dens. Thankfully, the drinks here tend with lamb bolognese, mint and sheep’s milk to be stirred with a little more precision ricotta and Sicilian-style halibut with heir- than over on the East Side. loom squash and almonds. Weekend brunch oBLUESTONE LANE CAFE features no less creative fare: try scampi and grits or lemon ricotta pancakes with blueber- Map p410 (%646-684-3771; bluestonelaneny.com; 30 Broad St, entrance on New St; h7am-5pm Mon- ries. Bookings recommended. Fri, 9am-3pm Sat & Sun; bJ/Z to Broad St; 2/3,

¦# 78 22Neighborhood Walk e# 0 200 m Lower Manhattan 0 0.1 miles Landmarks w w Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t N E I G H B OR H OOD WA L K START LA COLOMBE ¦# SOHO END FEDERAL HALL W Broadway LENGTH 2.5 MILES; THREE HOURS Broadway¦#Canal St&~Canal St Lafayette St ¦#Canal St #¦ Lispenard St Intimate, circuitous and sometimes confusing #1 Canal St side streets, Gothic churches and a fine collec- Varick St Beach St Walker St tion of early-20th-century skyscrapers: Lower Manhattan is an area steeped in history. #2 White St Franklin St Start with coffee at 1La Colombe (p79). ¦#Franklin St In the 19th century, the site was a stop on the antislavery ‘underground railway,’ a secret Leonard St nACtwSbiVsCbbmCB4tCSoabnb(OvoN8nhapoirnneoueeeattefrhhaoeenYloeyr6‘souttrhlwrianr8uuwsnCeyBielnwtgWoic8attbWiintcarrote0s1sn’shrWuhh,abdi)iccosudkdor1nutnosda.tewmo,nohhwrsitohaaksrSuSlyrsmoa1kfmfadiheAk.naSSrdetieroeu9toscltlliloeArim,yywloelnwnmhettdubtgh0aieisvtfrn,.cewtmsge’chsrupuoaoest1TtBlareartsGitlooeu.totrynlrunecacrratrylsaeocIhtnqr,ar–bturitiotpgPotonehaqftcnhrn9hhshodsuoutmlyerluedsiieaaueeeeaesteeallriayor’Besebnal’fergcs5ztemWlndslr6ntulCbffnT(soatahtuco(atfittyitppihouneedvrBilnptoohthinnHonyii7iooeslmrengnnS7ttsnirnebNddud0lthootdtnottt2dt3ttrueeheioiooea-o)teseahie2at)nLccscpreyTPerrfcnoasyaetdPsaie,otogaolornVttaiiffl.L.cm,TwwnoaaghymtoenCnfntiFaCH8(uiheenedrdnnesehtandppuhrhckspilorrexperafesyiHot7’.ar7nrsooocrusslnnhtPtr,edeFte6seCtellukheomdjirhctrehn–uleatC)ehlSoMiescceyroiaeean,eaSrwRmcopeos-ehntshetnrntkJfuirGiitnaleBk1hd-sshtattoadepd.sdued(7Haeyvdyso&etceinuOaptoptnsoS.7rtor-NrsiqtatrVlew7eoiouheDinw6helw.losLtlg1ruosue2smnptdiMFloidifui9sugaithnaohcwtrts)tt(upahirieei1metihdh’rtoup-dnenowlsiorhin3e,ntd0cnni7oytde0tgnenn0da.-hth’og0g30rse-0rl,0tos0e0yen)so000rf000r00,0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000M000000#0000000080000000We0000000000000P0m000000000#¦00000ao000000000000o00W00or0000000#0000000rr0000l000600000T00o0e0i00000000M00000a00000r00Rn0000000000000l000l0000000de000P000I00C00S00000000000Bm000000l00¦#T#00h00000t0a000000R0000700E000r00a000o00z00000a00000000eBm00C00000ar000000d0000000c0000i000a000AP000bae00000000t0000000r000000e00lao000000C0c0000000000r000r00r000000l0e00s0000ka000000000S000n00000000Sy00000P000t00t00000000t00eT00#¦S000l000000#¦000r00#¦00h00#0t000000W0003000aV00#¦00D000C000R00m0e00o0000u000es0h0C000Z0#¦r00eea0c000aPo0t0u0Py0st00Pn00h000rml#¦o0ca000a0aSet0S0##00C0H0cr0r0l00crS004t90ab00ok00t#0Sika0Se00000t00ntW005t000elyt00t0t000ld000000i0ra¦#000#¦#¦000t00s000l00000l000S00F000W0S0S000F0ut000M00000C0t00t0el0a00000t¦#00000100LdA0H0o0l001000l0000#C0Lie0n00100N00bI01S0000000riO0N100000Se0tP010a0H0t0000y100¦#00W0rtA0al000000#00tA¦#0001rPH001T00y001ô#0k0E00T10100l000aO'0a0S€000R0T000l000z00t01Wl00A0000a0000000000NN00000000000000000000¦#00¦#00000000#¦00 Church St Hudson St W Broadway NasPsarakuRSotw West St (West Side Hwy) Church St Broadway 1846. Its cemetery is the final resting place Broad St of steamboat inventor Robert Fulton. Head BATTERY FINANCIAL Broad St PARK CITY New St east onto Wall St to the a New York Stock Exchange (p73) and bFederal Hall (p73). DISTRICT Beaver St You can visit the latter, in which John Peter Bowling Whitehall St Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel in 1735 Green – the first step, historians say, in establishing ¦# a democracy committed to a free press. w w #¦

79 4/5 to Wall St) While the NYSE busies itself BRANDY LIBRARY BAR with stocks, its tiny Aussie neighbor does a roaring trade in killer coffee. Littered with Map p410 (%212-226-5545; www.brandylibrary. retro Melbourne memorabilia and squeezed com; 25 N Moore St, at Varick St; h5pm-1am into the corner of an art-deco office block, Sun-Wed, 4pm-2am Thu, 4pm-4am Fri & Sat; b1 it’s never short of smooth suits and homesick to Franklin St) When sipping means serious antipodeans craving a cup of decent, velvety business, settle in at this uber-luxe ‘library’, Joe. A small selection of edibles include its club chairs facing floor-to-ceiling, bottle- pastries and Australian cafe standard ‘avo lined shelves. Go for top-shelf cognac, malt Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t D r i n ki n g & Nigh t life smash’ (mashed avocado on toast). scotch or vintage brandies, expertly paired with nibbles such as Gougeres (Gruyere- cheese puffs) and a wonderful tartare made oDEAD RABBIT to order. Saturday nights are generally qui- COCKTAIL BAR Map p410 (%646-422-7906; www.deadrabbitnyc. eter than weeknights, making it a civilized com; 30 Water St; htaproom 11am-4am; parlor spot for a weekend evening tête-à-tête. 5pm-2am Mon-Wed, to 3am Thu-Sat; bR to White- hall St; 1 to South Ferry) Named in honor of a WINE BAR TERROIR TRIBECA dreaded Irish-American gang, this most- Map p410 (%212-625-9463; www.wineisterroir. com; 24 Harrison St, at Greenwich St; h4pm-1am wanted rabbit is regularly voted one of the Mon-Sat, to 11pm Sun; b1 to Franklin St) Award- world’s best bars. During the day, hit the sawdust-sprinkled taproom for specialty winning Terroir keeps oenophiles upbeat with its well-versed, well-priced wine list. beers, historic punches and pop-inns (light- Drops span the Old World and New, among ly hopped ale spiked with different flavors). Come evening, scurry upstairs to the cozy them natural wines and inspired offerings from smaller producers. Best of all, there’s Parlor for over 70 meticulously researched a generous selection of wines by the glass, cocktails. Tip: head in before 5:30pm to avoid a long wait for a Parlor seat. making a global wine tour a whole lot easier. LA COLOMBE CAFE PIER A HARBOR HOUSE BAR Map p410 (%212-343-1515; www.lacolombe.com; Map p410 (%212-785-0153; www.piera.com; 22 Battery Pl; h11am-4am; W; b4/5 to Bowling 319 Church St, at Lispenard St; h7:30am-6:30pm Green; R to Whitehall St; 1 to South Ferry) Look- Mon-Fri, from 8:30am Sat & Sun; bA/C/E to Ca- nal St) Coffee and a few baked treats is all ing dashing after a major restoration, Pier A is now a super-spacious, casual eating and you’ll get at this roaster but, man, are they drinking house right on New York Harbor. good. Join cool kids and clued-in Continen- tals for dark, intense espresso and Third If the weather’s on your side, try for a seat on the waterside deck. Here, picnic benches, Wave offerings like draft latte, a naturally sun umbrellas and an eyeful of New York sweet iced caffè latte. Also on tap is La Colombe’s cold-pressed Pure Black Coffee, skyline make for a brilliant spot to sip craft beers or one of the house cocktails on tap. steeped in oxygen-free stainless steel wine If you’re feeling peckish, stick to the tanks for 16 hours. burgers, sandwiches or raw bar options. WARD III COCKTAIL BAR Map p410 (%212-240-9194; www.ward3tribeca. WEATHER UP COCKTAIL BAR com; 111 Reade St, btwn Church St & W Broadway; Map p410 (%212-766-3202; www.weatherupnyc. com; 159 Duane St, btwn Hudson St & W Broad- h4pm-4am Mon-Fri, 5pm-4am Sat, to 2am Sun; way; h5pm-late Mon-Sat; b1/2/3 to Chambers bA/C, 1/2/3 to Chambers St) Dark and bus- tling, Ward III channels old-school jaunti- St) Softly lit subway tiles, amiable barkeeps and seductive cocktails make for a bewitch- ness with its elegant libations, vintage vibe ing trio at Weather Up. Sweet talk the staff (including old Singer sewing tables behind the bar), and gentlemanly house rules (No over a Whizz Bang (scotch whisky, dry vermouth, house-made grenadine, orange 2: ‘Don’t be creepy’). Reminisce over a Mo- bitters and absinthe). Failing that, comfort roccan martini, or sample the bar’s coveted collection of whiskeys. Top-notch bar grub yourself with some satisfying snacks. is served till close. KEG NO 229 BEER HALL Map p410 (%212-566-2337; www.kegno229. com; 229 Front St, btwn Beekman St & Peck Slip;

80 Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t E n t e r ta i n me n t Sean Muldoon, co-owner of award-winning bar Dead Rabbit (p79), gives the lowdown on his favorite downtown drinking holes. Best Cocktails My favorite bar is Mayahuel (p123) in the East Village. From the cocktails and bar- tenders, to the food and music, it’s exactly what a tequila cocktail bar should be. They use a lot of mezcal, a smoky, tequila-like spirit. For New York’s best negroni, reserve a spot at nearby PDT (p123). Best Newcomers Notable newbies include Alphabet City’s Pouring Ribbons (p122; from the team behind the Death & Co) and the Lower East Side’s Attaboy (p125). Old Favorites In the West Village, Employees Only (p149) offers a different take on the speakeasy bar, with interesting art-deco touches. The place was once only open to people in the hospitality industry, hence the name. While I don’t necessarily love their drinks – I usually opt for a beer – the bartenders, music and vibe are brilliant. Down in Tribeca, don’t miss the decor at Macao (p80) and the effortless cool of Weather Up (p79). h11:30am-midnight Sun-Wed, to 2am Thu-Sat; back on a plush banquette. A seasonal menu bA/C, J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Fulton St; R to Cortlandt spans light snacks to a particularly notable St) If you know that a Flying Dog Raging burger pimped with caramelized onions. Bitch is a craft beer – not a nickname for your ex – this curated beer bar is for you. 3 ENTERTAINMENT From Elysian Space Dust to Abita Purple Haze, its battalion of drafts, bottles and SOHO REP THEATER cans are a who’s who of boutique American brews. Across the street, Bin No 220 is its Map p410 (Soho Repertory Theatre; %212-941- wine-loving sibling. 8632; sohorep.org; 46 Walker St, btwn Church St & Broadway; bA/C/E, N/Q/R, 6, J/Z to MACAO COCKTAIL BAR Canal St) This is one of New York’s finest Map p410 (%212-431-8642; www.macaonyc. off-Broadway companies, wowing theater com; 311 Church St, btwn Lispenard & Walker Sts; hbar 5pm-2am Sun-Wed, to 4am Thu-Sat; fans and critics with its annual trio of sharp, innovative new work. Kevin Spacey, bA/C/E to Canal St) Though we love the ’40s- Ed O’Neill and Kathleen Turner all made style ‘gambling parlor’ bar/restaurant, it’s the downstairs ‘opium den’ (open Thurs- their professional debuts here, and the company’s productions have garnered no day to Saturday) that gets our hearts rac- shortage of Obie (Off-Broadway Theater) ing. A Chinese-Portuguese fusion of grub and liquor, both floors are a solid spot for Awards. Check the website for current or upcoming shows. late-night sipping and snacking, especially if you’ve got a soft spot for sizzle-on-the- FLEA THEATER THEATER tongue libations. Map p410 (%tickets 212-352-3101; www.theflea. org; 41 White St, btwn Church St & Broadway; SMITH & MILLS COCKTAIL BAR b1 to Franklin St; A/C/E, N/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Ca- Map p410 (%212-226-2515; www.smithandmills. nal St) One of NYC’s top off-off-Broadway com; 71 N Moore St, btwn Hudson & Greenwich Sts; h11am-2am Sun-Wed, to 3am Thu-Sat; b1 to companies, Flea is famous for performing innovative, timely new works in its two Franklin St) Petite Smith & Mills ticks all the performance spaces. Luminaries, includ- cool boxes: unmarked exterior, kooky indus- trial interior and expertly crafted cocktails ing Sigourney Weaver and John Lithgow, have trodden the boards here, and the year- with a penchant for the classics. Space is round program also includes music and limited so head in early if you fancy kicking dance performances.

7 SHOPPING 81 While the Financial District is not tion of shoes by cognoscenti brands such as a shopping destination per se, it is Common Projects and Isabel Marant Étoile. where you’ll find cut-price fashion mecca Century 21. Further north in PHILIP WILLIAMS POSTERS VINTAGE Tribeca, hit the lower end of Hudson St and surrounding streets for high-end Map p410 (%212-513-0313; www.postermuseum. interior design, antiques and a handful com; 122 Chambers St, btwn Church St & W Broad- of niche shops peddling everything from way; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat; bA/C, 1/2/3 to local threads to fetching axes. Chambers St) You’ll find over half a million posters in this cavernous treasure trove, Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t E n t e r ta i n me n t from oversized French advertisements for perfume and cognac to Soviet film post- ers and retro-fab promos for TWA. Prices oCENTURY 21 FASHION range from $15 for small reproductions to Map p410 (%212-227-9092; www.c21stores. a few thousand bucks for rare, showpiece com; 22 Cortlandt St, btwn Church St & Broadway; h7:45am-9pm Mon-Fri, 10am-9pm Sat, 11am- originals. There is a second entrance at 52 Warren St. 8pm Sun; bA/C, J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Fulton St; R to Cortlandt St) For penny-pinching fashionis- PASANELLA & SON WINE tas, this giant, cut-price department store Map p410 (%212-233-8383; www.pasanellaand- is dangerously addictive. Raid the racks for son.com; 115 South St, btwn Peck Slip & Beekman designer duds at up to 65% off. Not every- St; h10am-9pm Mon-Sat, noon-7pm Sun; bA/C, thing is a knockout or a bargain, but persis- J/Z, 2/3, 4/5 to Fulton St; R to Cortlandt St) tence pays off. You’ll also find accessories, Oenophiles adore this savvy wine peddler, shoes, cosmetics, homewares and toys. with its 400-plus drops both inspired and affordable. The focus is on small producers, SHINOLA ACCESSORIES with a number of biodynamic and organic Map p410 (%917-728-3000; www.shinola.com; winemakers in the mix. It offers an impres- 177 Franklin St, btwn Greenwich & Hudson Sts; h11am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun; b1 to sive choice of American whiskeys, free wine tastings of the week’s new arrivals on Sun- Franklin St) Well known for its coveted wrist- days, and themed wine and cheese tastings watches, Detroit-based Shinola branches out with a super-cool selection of Made-in- throughout the year. USA life props. Bag anything from leather BOWNE STATIONERS & CO GIFTS iPad cases, journal covers and toiletry Map p410 (%646-315-4478; 211 Water St, btwn bags, to grooming products, jewelry and Beekman & Fulton Sts; h11am-7pm; b2/3, 4/5, limited-edition bicycles with customized A/C, J/Z to Fulton St) Suitably set in cobbled bags. Added bonuses include complimen- South Street Seaport, this 18th-century vet- tary monogramming of leather goods eran stocks vintage reproduction New York and stationery, and an in-house espresso posters, city-themed notepads, pencil cases, bar, Smile (Map p410; %917-728-3023; www. cards, stamps and more. You can even bag thesmilenyc.com; 177 Franklin St, btwn Greenwich New York–themed wrapping paper to wrap & Hudson Sts; h7am-7pm Mon-Fri, 8am-7pm Sat, them in. Next door is the printing workshop, 8am-6pm Sun; b1 to Franklin St), to boot. where you can order customized business cards or hone your printing skills at one of STEVEN ALAN FASHION, ACCESSORIES the monthly workshops. Map p410 (%212-343-0692; www.stevenalan. com; 103 Franklin St, btwn Church St & W Broad- CITYSTORE SOUVENIRS way; h11:30am-7pm Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat, 11:30am- Map p410 (%212-386-0007; a856-citystore. 8pm Thu, noon-6pm Sun; bA/C/E to Canal St; 1 nyc.gov; Municipal Bldg, North Plaza, 1 Centre to Franklin St) New York designer Steven Alan St; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri; bJ/Z to Chambers St; mixes his hip, heritage-inspired threads for 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall) Score all men and women with a beautiful edit of manner of New York memorabilia, from au- clothes from indie-chic labels like France’s thentic taxi medallions, manhole coasters Arpenteur and Scandinavia’s Acne and and subway-themed socks to NYPD base- Norse Projects. Accessories include hard-to- ball caps and wine totes featuring Manhat- find fragrances, bags, jewelry and a selec- tan and Brooklyn themes. Topping it off is a great collection of city-themed books.

82 2 SPORTS & INSTITUTE OF CULINARY ACTIVITIES EDUCATION COOKING COURSE Map p410 (ICE; %212-847-0700; recreational. ice.edu; Brookfield Place, 225 Liberty St; courses oSTATEN ISLAND FERRY FERRY $70-605; bE to World Trade Center; 2/3 to Park Map p410 (www.siferry.com; Whitehall Terminal, Place; R to Cortland St; A/C, 4/5, J/Z to Fulton 4 South St, at Whitehall; h24hr; W; b1 to South Ferry) F Staten Islanders know these St) Release your inner Jean Jacques with Low e r M a n h at ta n & th e Fi n a n cia l D is tri c t sp o r t s & Ac t ivi t ies a cooking course at the Institute of Culi- hulking, dirty-orange ferryboats as com- nary Education (ICE). The center runs the muter vehicles, while Manhattanites like to think of them as their secret, romantic country’s biggest program of cooking, bak- ing and wine-appreciation courses, from vessels for a spring-day escape. Yet many 90-minute classes to multiday sessions. The a tourist is clued into the charms of the Staten Island Ferry, whose 5.2-mile journey varied themes range from Tuscan cooking and American comfort food, to classic gin between Lower Manhattan and the Staten cocktails. Restless foodies can choose from Island neighborhood of St George is one of NYC’s finest free adventures. numerous culinary tours of the city. In service since 1905, the ferry service BIKE & ROLL BIKE RENTALS BICYCLE RENTAL carries around 20 million passengers each Map p410 (%212-260-0400; www.bikenewyork year. Whether you choose to simply ride city.com; State & Water Sts; rentals per day from it to Staten Island and back in one run – $44, tours from $50; hvaries, check website; enjoying cinematic views of the city skyline, b4/5 to Bowling Green; 1 to South Ferry) Located the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (which con- just northwest of the Staten Island Ferry nects Staten Island to Brooklyn) and the terminal, this is one of several Bike & Roll Statue of Liberty – or stay and explore New Bike Rental outlets in the city. The outfit also York’s least-known borough before catch- leads bike tours, including across the Brook- ing a later return ferry, you’re guaranteed lyn Bridge and along the Hudson River. a memorable experience. Alas, not all fer- ryboats in the fleet have extensive outdoor side decks (your best bet for a clear view of PIONEER SAILING the skyline); some only offer an open sec- Map p410 (%212-742-1969; southstreetseaport- museum.org; Pier 16, South Street Seaport; adult/ tion at the very front and back of the ves- child $45/35; hvaries; b2/3, 4/5, A/C, J/Z to sel, with most people taking in the views through dirty ferry windows. Fulton St) In the warmer months, break free with a salty sail aboard one of the South Services from Manhattan depart from Street Seaport’s historic schooners, the the Whitehall Terminal, located right above South Ferry subway station on the 1 line. Pioneer. Tickets can be purchased via the South Street Seaport Museum website or directly at Pier 16.

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 83 SoHo & Chinatown SOHO, NOHO & NOLITA | CHINATOWN & LITTLE ITALY Neighborhood Top Five 1 Maxing out the credit zling lights of Chinatown. pork) sandwich from Di cards on SoHo’s big-name (p85) Palo (p97) in hand. fashion streets, followed by cool-hunting and lesser- 3 Snooping around the 5 Nighttime conversa- known labels on the cogno- scenti sidewalks of nearby time-jarred Merchant’s tion, drinks and the chance Nolita and NoHo. (p99) House Museum (p91), imag- of comedy, cabaret or live ining NYC life in the wild tunes at modern classic 2 Slurping soup dump- and dusty 1800s. Joe’s Pub (p99). lings and haggling for de- 4 Re-imagining Little signer wares of ambiguous authenticity amid the siz- Italy’s action-packed past, with prized porchetta (roast MEATPACKING GREENWICH Fifth Ave Broadway DISTRICT VILLAGE Lafayette St WEST VILLAGE Was0h0W00i00na00S000sgq000h0t000Po0i00n00a0n00g0r000Skt00o0q0n0N Third Ave HGuredesnown icSht St Seventh Ave Second Ave5##ýCooper West Side Hwy W 3rd St Square First Ave 3#â# Sixth Ave (Avenue of the Americas) LaGuardia Pl NOHO EAST VILLAGE James J W Houston St E Houston St Walker WPaHrokuston St 1#ú# Hudson River Hudson Thompson St NOLITA Chrystie St LOWER River Park W Broadway Spring St Bowery EAST Broadway SIDE LCafeantyreettSetStSOHO Holland Tunnel TRIBECA Canal St 4#ú# RSoPaoarsaerkvDelt HudsonWest Side Hwy LITTLE Square ITALY 0000000000.00200000005000000005000m000000000000000i0000000l000000e00000000m0000s0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000Hudson StVarick St Canal St Greenwich WFoorrthmSotre000d00000e00000t000000aW0000000i000l00o00000o00r00000f0t000h00t000h0S0i0ts areaCPsaoerluke2##æmMCb0a0H0u0p00s00I00N0p0000000040A000000100T0002000O000a0W00nEdNBrpo4ad1w5aAy St e# 0 0

SoHo & Chinatown 84 Explore Lonely Planet’s Like a colorful quilt of subneighborhoods sewn together Top Tip in mismatched patches, the areas orbiting SoHo (SOuth of HOuston) feel like a string of mini republics. Style-mavens Serious shopaholics should boutique hop in booming Nolita (NOrth of LIttle ITAly), consult the city’s in-the- Italo-Americans channel Napoli in ever-shrinking Little know retail blogs (p18) Italy, and Chinese extended families gossip over xiao long before hitting SoHo and bao (soup dumplings) in hyperactive Chinatown. surrounds – there’s always some sort of ‘sample sale’ Lower-rise buildings inject these streets with a cozy, or offer going on, not to village-like vibe (main drags Broadway and Canal St ex- mention the opening of yet cepted). Celebrities, cast-iron lofts and A-list boutiques another boutique stock- stud SoHo’s cobbled side streets, while humbler 19th- ing fresh, emerging design century tenements and quirkier one-off boutiques flavor talent. neighboring Nolita. 5 Best Places In Chinatown, an ‘anything goes’ spirit wafts up like to Eat stall smoke, with frenzied crowds and hawkers mingling and haggling under faded billboards. The best way to ¨¨Uncle Boons (p92) weave your way around here is on foot. And don’t bother ¨¨Dutch (p93) planning your route of attack. It’s all about letting your ¨¨Public (p93) senses guide you. Whether you’re following your nose ¨¨Estela (p92) down an alleyway for freshly baked pork buns, or your ¨¨Prince Street Pizza (p90) ears to a prayer gong in a heady Buddhist temple, unex- pected surprises are always at the ready. For reviews, see p90A Local Life 6 Best Places to Drink ¨Family style Hit Chinatown’s bustling dining dens with a handful of friends and eat ‘family style’ (order ¨¨Pegu Club (p98) a ton of dishes and sample spoonfuls of each). You’ll ¨¨Spring Lounge (p97) think the waiter left a zero off the bill. ¨¨Genuine Liquorette (p97) ¨Side streets The stretch of Broadway cutting ¨¨Joe’s Pub (p99) through SoHo is reserved for the legions of tourists – ¨¨Apothéke (p99) you’ll find New Yorkers scouring the one-of-a-kind boutiques on the side streets for idiosyncratic buys and For reviews, see p97A slashed prices. ¨Cultural breaks It’s not all retail therapy in SoHo. Take 7 Best Places time to explore the area’s artistic legacy at spaces such as to Shop Drawing Center (p87), Artists Space (p87) and the Leslie- Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art (p87). ¨¨MoMA Design Store (p102) Getting There & Away ¨¨Rag & Bone (p102) ¨Subway The subway lines dump off along various points of Canal St (J/Z, N/Q/R and 6). Once you ¨¨MiN New York (p100) arrive it’s best to explore on foot. The neighborhood’s downtown location makes it easy to access from ¨¨Will Leather Goods Midtown and Brooklyn. (p100) ¨Bus & Taxi Avoid taking cabs or buses – especially in Chinatown, as the traffic is full-on. For SoHo, have your ¨¨United Nude (p102) taxi let you off along Broadway if you aren’t fussed about your final destination. Don’t take cabs south of Canal St For reviews, see p99A if you’re simply planning to wander around Chinatown.

CHINATOWN CHRISTIAN MUELLER / GETTY IMAGES © Endless exotic moments await in New York City’s most DON’T MISS colorfully cramped community, where a walk through ¨¨A family-style meal the neighborhood is never the same, no matter how at a bustling, back- many times you pass through. Catch the whiff of fresh alley dive fish and ripe persimmons, hear the clacking of mah- jongg tiles on makeshift tables, drool over dangling ¨¨Museum of Chinese duck roasts swinging in store windows, and shop for in America everything imaginable, from rice-paper lanterns and ¨¨Canal St vendors ‘faux-lex’ watches to tire irons and a pound of pressed and street life nutmeg. America’s largest congregation of Chinese ¨¨Mahayana Temple immigrants is your oyster – dipped in piquant soy sauce, of course. PRACTICALITIES Canal Street ¨¨Map p415 ¨¨www.explorechina- Walking down Canal St is like a game of Frogger played town.com on the streets of Shanghai. This is Chinatown’s spine, ¨¨south of Canal St & where you’ll dodge oncoming human traffic as you east of Broadway scurry into side streets to scout treasures from the Far East. You’ll pass stinky seafood stalls hawking slippery fish; mysterious herb shops peddling a witch’s caul- ¨¨bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to dron’s worth of roots and potions; storefront bakeries Canal St; B/D to Grand St; with steamy windows and the tastiest 80-cent pork buns F to East Broadway you’ve ever had; restaurants with whole, roasted ducks and pigs hanging by their skinny necks in the windows; produce markets piled high with fresh lychee, bok choy and Asian pears; and street vendors selling every iteration of knock-off, from Gucci sunglasses to Prada bags. Buddhist Temples Chinatown is home to Buddhist temples large and small, public and obscure. They are easily stumbled upon during a full-on stroll of the neighborhood, and at least two such temples are considered landmarks. The Eastern States Buddhist Temple (Map p415;

86 So H o & C h i n atow n C h i n at o wn HISTORY %212-966-6229; 64 Mott St, btwn Bayard & Canal Sts; h8.30am-6pm; bJ/Z, 6 to Canal St) is filled with hun- The history of Chinese dreds of Buddhas, while the Mahayana Temple immigrants in New York (p89) holds one golden, 16ft-high Buddha, sitting City is a long and tumul- on a lotus and edged with offerings of fresh or- tuous one. The first Chi- anges, apples and flowers. Mahayana is the largest nese people to arrive in Buddhist temple in Chinatown, and its entrance, America came to work which overlooks the frenzied vehicle entrance to the under difficult condi- Manhattan Bridge, is guarded by two proud and tions on the Central handsome golden lions. Step inside and you’ll find Pacific Railroad; others a simple interior of wooden floor and red paper lan- were lured to the West terns, dramatically upstaged by the temple’s mag- Coast in search of gold. nificent Buddha, thought to be the largest in the city. When prospects dried up, many moved east to Food Glorious Food NYC to work in factory assembly lines and in The most rewarding experience for Chinatown neo- the laundry houses of phytes is to access this wild and wonderful world New Jersey. through their taste buds. More than any other area of Manhattan, Chinatown’s menus sport wonder- CHINESE fully low prices, uninflated by ambience, hype or EXCLUSION ACT reputation. But more than cheap eats, the neighbor- hood is rife with family recipes passed across genera- A rising racist senti- tions and continents. Food displays and preparation ment gave way to the remain unchanged and untempered by American Chinese Exclusion Act norms; it’s not unusual to walk by storefronts sport- (1882–1943), which ing a tangled array of lacquered animals – chickens, made naturalization an rabbit and duck, in particular – ready to be chopped impossibility, and large- up and served at a family banquet. Steaming street ly squashed the op- stalls clang down the sidewalk serving pork buns portunity for mainland and other finger-friendly food. Don’t forget to wan- Chinese to find work in der down the back alleys for a Technicolor assort- the US. When the ban ment of spices and herbs to perfect your own Eastern was lifted, the Chinese dishes. were given a limited immigration quota that Museum of Chinese in America eventually expanded and grew. Today it’s Map p415 (%212-619-4785; www.mocanyc.org; 215 Centre estimated that over St, btwn Grand & Howard Sts; adult/child $10/free, first Thu 150,000 citizens fill the of month free; h11am-6pm Tue, Wed & Fri-Sun, to 9pm Thu; bursting, tenement- W; bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) In a space designed like structures orbiting by architect Maya Lin (designer of the famed Viet- Mott St. nam Memorial in Washington DC), the Museum of Chinese in America is a multifaceted space whose engaging permanent and temporary exhibitions shed light on Chinese American life, both past and present. Browse through interactive multimedia exhibits, maps, timelines, photos, letters, films and artifacts. The museum’s anchor exhibit, ‘With a Sin- gle Step: Stories in the Making of America’, provides an often intimate glimpse into topics including im- migration, cultural identity and racial stereotyping.

1 SIGHTS 87 1 SoHo, NoHo & Nolita something not easily found in the city: dirt (250 cu yd, or 280,000lb, of it, to be exact). DRAWING CENTER GALLERY Walking into the small space is a heady experience, as the scent will make you feel Map p412 (%212-219-2166; www.drawingcenter. like you’ve entered a wet forest; the sight of org; 35 Wooster St, btwn Grand & Broome Sts; such beautiful, pure earth in the midst of adult/child $5/free; hnoon-6pm Wed & Fri-Sun, this crazy city is surprisingly moving. to 8pm Thu; bA/C/E, 1 to Canal St) America’s only nonprofit institute focused solely on A short walk away is De Maria’s equally drawings, the Drawing Center uses work by arresting Broken Kilometer (Map p412; masters as well as unknowns to juxtapose %212-989-5566; 393 W Broadway, btwn Spring So H o & C h i n atow n S i ghts & Broome Sts; hnoon-3pm & 3:30-6pm Wed- Sun, closed mid-Jun–mid-Sep; bN/R to Prince St) F. the medium’s various styles. Historical exhi- LESLIE-LOHMAN MUSEUM bitions have included work by Michelangelo, James Ensor and Marcel Duchamp, while OF GAY & LESBIAN ART MUSEUM contemporary shows have showcased heavy- Map p412 (%212-431-2609; www.leslielohman. org; 26 Wooster St, btwn Grand & Canal Sts; weights such as Richard Serra, Ellsworth hnoon-6pm Tue, Wed & Fri-Sun, to 8pm Thu; Kelly and Richard Tuttle. As to the themes themselves, expect anything from the bA/C/E, N/Q/R, 1 to Canal St) F Expected to double in size in 2016, the world’s first whimsical to the politically controversial. museu m dedicated to LGBT themes stag- Artist lectures and performance-art pro- grams are hot tickets here; check the web- es six to eight annual exhibitions of both homegrown and international art. Offer- site for upcoming events. ings have included solo-artist retrospec- NEW YORK CITY FIRE MUSEUM MUSEUM tives as well as themed shows exploring Map p412 (%212-691-1303; www.nycfiremu the likes of art and sex along the New York seum.org; 278 Spring St, btwn Varick & Hudson waterfront. Much of the work on display is Sts; adult/child $8/5; h10am-5pm; Wc; bC/E from the museum’s own collection, which to Spring St) In a grand old firehouse dating consists of over 24,000 works. The space from 1904, this ode to firefighters includes also hosts queer-centric lectures, readings, a fantastic collection of historic equip- film screenings and performances; check ment and artifacts. Eye up everything from the website for updates. horse-drawn firefighting carriages and early stovepipe firefighter hats to Chief, a ARTISTS SPACE GALLERY four-legged fire-fighting hero from Brook- lyn. Exhibits trace the development of the Map p412 (%212-226-3970; www.artistsspace. NYC firefighting system, and the museum’s org; 38 Greene St, 3rd fl, btwn Grand & Broome friendly staff (and the heavy equipment) Sts; hvary; bA/C/E, N/Q/R, 1 to Canal St) F make this a great spot to bring kids. One of the first alternative spaces in New York, Artists Space made its debut in 1972. The New York Fire Department (FDNY) Its mission was to support contemporary lost half of its members in the collapse of artists working in the visual arts, from the World Trade Center on September 11, video, electronic media and performance, 2001, and memorials and exhibits have be- to architecture and design. More than 40 come a permanent part of the collection. years on, it remains a solid choice for those Fans can stock up on books about firefight- seeking crisp, provocative and experimen- ing history and official FDNY clothing and tal creativity. Check the website for upcom- patches in the gift shop. ing exhibitions. NEW YORK EARTH ROOM GALLERY INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF Map p412 (%212-989-5566; www.earthroom. PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY org; 141 Wooster St, btwn Prince & W Houston Map p412 (ICP; www.icp.org; 250 Bowery, btwn Houston & Prince; adult/child $14/free, by dona- Sts; hnoon-3pm & 3:30-6pm Wed-Sun, closed tion Fri 5-8pm; h10am-6pm Tue-Thu, Sat & Sun, mid-Jun–mid-Sep; bN/R to Prince St) F Since 1980 the oddity of the New York to 8pm Fri; W; bF to Second Ave; J/Z to Bowery) ICP is New York’s paramount platform for Earth Room, the work of artist Walter De photography, with a strong emphasis on Maria, has been wooing the curious with photojournalism and changing exhibitions

88 e# 0 200 m Grand St¦# 0 0.1 miles LITTLE ITALY Broadway Lafayette St Grand St #8 LOWER Centre St EAST #9 '€ SIDE SOHO Chrystie St Bowery Howard St Mott St Mulberry St Baxter St #¦Canal St Hester St Sara D Roosevelt Park Canal ¦# ¦#Canal SCt aCCnoaHlPulaImSrN#ktb2AuTsOWMNos#Wc3ooStrBtCh0Pa0a000ey00S0n000al0000a0l0t000000r#00S000l00d00700000D0000St000000000000CS00o00010000t0000000S000y0000th000000#00000e0000q0#00000a4000000100r0000001000u0#s00010t00000000000005h00000a00S000000000000000001t00a000r000000000010000000e0000m000000100000000000000000000000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000#00C00000000000060000000D00000o00000000000P0i000000n00v00000000M000l0i0000f000as000E00000u000E000i000az00o0B0n000000c00000000anBn00000t00r0i000000000u0rh00ri00S000000d0a0o00000s00a0t00000000g0na000000000t0000000d00e0ct00000000000a0w000e00000000000n0000a00000000000y0000000C000000000000000a000000000n00000000a000000l0000S000t St St Broadway Lafayette St Elizabeth St Bowery Centre St Mott St Baxter St &~Worth Thomas 1 1 P00a00i000n0000e0000000P0000a000r00k0 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 22CNheiignhabtoowrhnood Walk 1 START CHATHAM SQ#ô last century earned it the nickname Bloody END MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICA Angle. American composer and lyricist Irving LENGTH 0.9 MILES, 1½ HOURS Berlin practiced upstairs at number 10, while at number 12 stands the neighborhood’s old- BegChinaBmerbixdepgrselo-SCrtii/tnyBgHroaaoltlkl1yn Chatham Sq, home est Chinese restaurant, wokking since 1920. to the Kim Lau Memo¦#rial Arch, erected in Turn left into Bowery and head north. At 1962 to honor the Chinese Americans who the southwest corner of Pell St and Bowery have fallen in battle. There’s also a statue of Lin Ze Xu, a Qing-dynasty scholar whose stands 5Edward Mooney House, NYC’s anti-drug trafficking stance largely lead to the First Opium War in 1839. oldest townhouse, built in 1785 by butcher Edward Mooney. This Georgian-Federal–style From Chatham Sq head northwest on veteran has housed a store, hotel, billiards parlor and Chinese social club; it’s now a Worth St until you hit 2Colombus Park, bank. Continue north on Bowery to Canal St, where you’ll see Manhattan Bridge and, Chinatown’s unofficial living room. In the 19th century, this was NYC’s notorious Five just beyond that, the 6Mahayana Bud- Points slum, about which Charles Dickens wrote: ‘Debauchery has made the very dhist Temple (p89). See the massive golden houses prematurely old’. To the east, slip Buddha inside, then dive into 7Canal St, into 3Mosco St, known in the 19th cen- Chinatown’s hyperactive spine and NYC’s tury as Bandits Roost, a menacing hangout one-time Jewish Diamond District. Make a for Irish gangs. Turn left into Mott St, right right on Mott St for superlative steamed bao into Pell St, then right into 4Doyers St, a at 8Golden Steamer (p97). Turn left into crooked lane dubbed ‘Barbers Row’ for its Grand St and left again at Centre St, delving bounty of hair snippers. The lane’s popular- into the Chinese-American experience at the ity with feuding tongs (secret societies) early 9Museum of Chinese in America (p89).

89 on a wide range of themes. Past shows have 1 Chinatown & NEIGHBORHOOD included work by Sebastião Salgado, Henri Little Italy Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray and Robert Capa. Its new 11,000-sq-ft home on the Bowery oCHINATOWN places it close to the epicenter of the down- town art scene. See p85. The center is also a school, offering MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICA MUSEUM coursework (for credit) and a public lecture See p85. series. Stop by the excellent gallery shop, great for instant cameras and photography MAHAYANA TEMPLE TEMPLE tomes, cool little gifts and NYC souvenirs. Map p415 (%212-925-8787; en.mahayana.us; 133 CHILDREN’S MUSEUM Canal St, at Manhattan Bridge Plaza; h8.30am- So H o & C h i n atow n S i ghts OF THE ARTS MUSEUM 6pm; bB/D to Grand St, J/Z; 6 to Canal St) Ma- Map p412 (%212-274-0986; www.cmany.org; 103 hayana is the biggest Buddhist temple in Charlton St, btwn Greenwich & Hudson Sts; admis- sion $12, 4-6pm Thu by donation; hnoon-5pm Chinatown and its magnificent 16ft-high Buddha – sitting on a lotus and edged with Mon, noon-6pm Thu & Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun; offerings of fresh oranges, apples and flow- Wc; b1 to Houston St; C/E to Spring St) This small but worthy stop encourages kids aged ers – is believed to be the largest in town. The temple itself faces the frenzied vehicle 10 months to 15 years to view, make and entrance to the Manhattan Bridge, and its share art. Rotating exhibitions aside, the center offers a vast program of daily activi- entrance is guarded by two giant golden li- ons – symbols of protection. ties for fledgling artists, from sculpture and collaborative mural painting, to songwrit- ing and children’s book design. It also runs MULBERRY STREET STREET movie nights and other special treats. See Map p415 (bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St; B/D to Grand St) Named for the mulberry farms the website for upcoming offerings. that once stood here, Mulberry St is now ST PATRICK’S OLD CATHEDRAL CHURCH better known as the meat in Little Italy’s Mapp412 (%212-226-8075;www.oldsaintpatricks. sauce. It’s an animated strip, packed with com; 263 Mulberry St, entrance on Mott St; smooth-talking restaurant hawkers (es- h6am-9pm; bN/R to Prince St; B/D/F/M to pecially between Hester and Grand Sts), Broadway-Lafayette St; 6 to Bleecker St) Though wisecracking baristas and a healthy dose of St Patrick’s Cathedral is now famously lo- kitschy souvenirs. cated on Fifth Ave in Midtown, its first Despite the neighborhood’s many chang- congregation was housed here, in this es over the years, history looms large. It was recently restored Gothic Revival church. inside restaurant Da Gennaro (Map p415; Designed by Joseph-François Mangin and %212-431-3934; www.dagennarorestaurant.com; constructed between 1809 and 1815, the 129 Mulberry St, at Hester St; pizzas $13.50-15, church was once the seat of religious life for mains $17-28; h10am-1am; bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to the Archdiocese of New York, as well as an Canal St; B/D to Grand St), formerly Umberto’s important community center for new im- Clam House, that ‘Crazy Joe’ Gallo was migrants, mainly from Ireland. gunned down on 2 April 1972, an unexpect- ed birthday surprise for the Brooklyn-born When the church was built, the city mobster. One block further north stands hadn’t yet spread this far north, the build- fourth-generation Alleva (Map p415; %212- ing’s calculated isolation a welcome relief 226-7990; www.allevadairy.com; 188 Grand St, from the hostility of New York’s Protestant at Mulberry St; h8.30am-6pm Mon-Sat, to 3pm majority. Anti-Catholic sentiments also led Sun; bJ/Z, N/Q/R, 6 to Canal St; B/D to Grand St), to the construction of the church grounds’ one of the city’s original cheese shops and brick wall, an attempt to hinder stone- famed for its mozzarella. Across the street throwers. on Grand lies another veteran, Ferrara Cafe & Bakery (Map p415; %212-226-6150; www.fer- The church and its beautiful graveyard raracafe.com; 195 Grand St, btwn Mulberry & Mott feature in Martin Scorsese’s celluloid clas- Sts; pastries $5; h8am-midnight; bJ/Z, N/Q/R, sic Mean Streets (1973). It’s a spot well- 6 to Canal St, B/D to Grand St), celebrated for known to the Italian-American auteur, who its classic Italian pastries and gelati. Back grew up in nearby Elizabeth St.

90 on Mulberry, old-time Mulberry Street and the Church of the Transfiguration Bar (Map p415; %212-226-9345; www.mulber- doesn’t stop adapting. First it was the Irish, rystreetbar.com; 176 Mulberry St, at Broome St; then Italians and now Chinese. Indeed, the h11am-2am Sun-Thu, to 4am Fri & Sat; bB/D to sermons here are delivered in Cantonese, Grand St; J/Z to Bowery) was a favorite haunt Mandarin and English. This small land- of the late Frank Sinatra; its own TV cameos mark is not far from Pell and Doyers Sts, include Law & Order and the Sopranos. two winding paths worth exploring. So H o & C h i n atow n E at i ng Alcohol was openly traded on the corner 5 EATING of Mulberry and Kenmare Sts during Pro- hibition, leading to its nickname, the ‘Curb In the land of acronyms there are Exchange.’ That the police headquarters at only three letters you need to know: the time were only a block away at 240 Cen- Y.U.M. Though the area may not have tre St is testament to the power of good old- a plethora of headliners like the East fashioned bribes. From this point north, the and West Villages just beyond, it has no old-school delis and restaurants of Little shortage of worthy options, from cult- Italy give way to the new-school boutiques, status delis to Michelin-starred Thai galleries and restaurants of Nolita. Take a and New American restaurants. The gander at what was once the Ravenite So- 99 percenters are spoiled for choice in cial Club (Map p412; 247 Mulberry St; b6 to Chinatown, where heaping portions are Spring St; N/R to Prince St) to see how things served up for pennies. have really changed around here. Now a designer shoe store, it was once a mob- 5 SoHo, NoHo & Nolita ster hangout (originally known as the Alto Knights Social Club). Indeed, it was right oPRINCE STREET PIZZA PIZZA $ here that big hitters such as Lucky Luciano and John Gotti (as well as the FBI, who kept Map p412 (%212-966-4100; 27 Prince St, btwn a watchful eye from the building across Mott & Elizabeth Sts; pizza slices from $2.95; the street) logged time. Only the shop’s tile floor remains from the day, the shop win- dows once an intimidating brick wall. COLUMBUS PARK PARK h11am-11pm Sun-Thu, to 2am Fri & Sat; bN/R to Prince St; 6 to Spring St) It’s a miracle the Map p415 (Mulberry & Bayard Sts; bJ/Z, N/Q/R, oven door hasn’t come off its hinges at 6 to Canal St) Mah-jongg meisters, slow- this classic slice joint, its brick walls hung motion tai-chi practitioners and old aunt- with shots of B-list celebrity fans. Ditch ies gossiping over homemade dumplings: the average cheese slice for the exceptional it might feel like Shanghai, but this leafy square varieties (the pepperoni will blow oasis is core to NYC history. In the 19th your socks off, Tony). The sauces, mozza- century, this was part of the infamous Five rella and ricotta are made in-house and Points neighborhood, the city’s first tene- while the queues can get long, they usually ment slums and the inspiration for Martin move fast. Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. The ‘five points’ were the five streets that used to converge here; now you’ll find the intersection of only Mosco, Worth and Bax- RUBY’S CAFE $ ter Sts. Aside from serving up an intriguing Map p412 (%212-925-5755; www.rubyscafe.com; 219 Mulberry St, btwn Spring & Prince Sts; mains slice of multicultural life, the park’s other $10-15; h9:30am-11pm; b6 to Spring St, N/R to perk these days is its public bathroom, making it the perfect place for a pit stop. Prince St) Almost always packed, this min- ute, cash-only cafe has all the bases cov- ered: ‘breakie’ friendly avo toast (mashed CHURCH OF THE avocado on ciabatta or eight-grain toast), TRANSFIGURATION CHURCH buttermilk pancakes, competent pastas Map p415 (%212-962-5157; www.transfiguration and salads, and (above all else) lusty burg- nyc.org; 29 Mott St, btwn Bayard & Mosco Sts; donations welcome; hEnglish-language services ers named after Australian surf beaches. Flat-white coffees and Aussie beers com- 12:10pm daily, 6pm Sat, 11:30am Sun; bJ/Z, plete your Down Under dining adventure. N/Q/R, 6 to Canal St) It’s been serving New York’s immigrant communities since 1801,

91 MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM Built in 1832 and purchased by merchant magnate DON’T MISS So H o & C h i n atow n E at i ng Seabury Tredwell three years later, this red-brick man- sion remains the most authentic Federal house (of ¨¨Chairs attributed to which there are about 300) in town. It’s an antiquarian’s Duncan Phyfe dream, as much about the city’s mercantile past as it is ¨¨Servant call bells a showcase of 19th-century high-end domestic furnish- ¨¨Maid’s quarters ings. Everything in the house is testament to what mon- ¨¨Ghost tours ey could buy, from the mahogany pocket doors, bronze gasoliers and marble mantelpieces, to the elegant par- PRACTICALITIES lor chairs, attributed to noted furniture designer Duncan Phyfe. Even the elaborate system of multilevel call bells ¨¨Map p412 for the servants works to this day. ¨¨%212-777-1089 ¨¨www.merchant- Many believe that the ghost of Gertrude Tredwell – shouse.org Seabury’s youngest child and the building’s last resident ¨¨29 E 4th St, btwn – haunts the old mansion, making cameo appearances Lafayette St & Bowery late in evenings and sometimes at public events. At a ¨¨adult/child $10/free Valentine’s Day concert a few years back several at- ¨¨hnoon-5pm Fri-Mon, tendees witnessed the shadow of a woman walk up to the to 8pm Thu, guided performers and take a seat in the parlor chairs. Appropri- tours 2pm Thu-Mon & ately, the museum offers ghost tours after dark (usually 6.30pm Thu in late October), as well as lectures, special events and historical walking tours of NoHo. Check the website. CAFÉ GITANE MEDITERRANEAN $ thou Acai Bowl (berries, cocoa and acai powder, almond milk, gluten-free granola, Map p412 (%212-334-9552; www.cafegitanenyc. coconut, cocoa nibs, hemp and chia seeds). com; 242 Mott St, at Prince St; salads $9.50-16, mains $14-17; h8:30am-midnight Sun-Thu, to 12.30am Fri & Sat; v; bN/R to Prince St, 6 to MEXICAN $ TACOMBI Spring St) Clear the Gauloise smoke from Map p412 (%917-727-0179; www.tacombi.com; 267 Elizabeth St, btwn E Houston & Prince Sts; your eyes and blink twice if you think you’re tacos $4-6; h11am-midnight Mon-Wed, 11am- in Paris: bistroesque Gitane has that kind of louche vibe. This is a classic see-and- 1am Thu & Fri, 10am-1am Sat, 10am-midnight Sun; bF to Second Ave, 6 to Bleecker St) Festively be-seen haunt, popular with salad-picking strung lights, foldaway chairs and Mexican models and the odd Hollywood regular. Join them for a nibble on the likes of blue- men flipping tacos in an old VW Kombi: if you can’t make it to the Yucatan shore, berry and almond friands (small French here’s your Plan B. Casual, convivial and cake), heart-of-palm salad or Moroccan couscous with organic chicken. Cash only. ever-popular, Tacombi serves up fine, fresh tacos, including a fine barbacoa (roasted CAFE $ black Angus beef). Wash down the good- TWO HANDS Map p415 (www.twohandsnyc.com; 164 Mott St, ness with a pitcher of sangria and start btwn Broome & Grands Sts; dishes $6-15; h8am- 6pm; v; bB/DtoGrandSt,J/ZtoBowery) Named plotting that south-of-the-border getaway. after the crime-com film starring Heath AB BIAGI ICE CREAM $ Ledger, Two Hands encapsulates Australia’s Map p412 (%212-219-8094; abbiagi.com; 235 Elizabeth St, at Prince St; ice cream from $4.75; relaxed, sophisticated cafe culture. Dream of h10am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat; b6 Byron Bay over small-batch specialty coffee and out-of-the-box grub such as sweet corn to Spring St; N/R to Prince St) Precious things come in small packages, including this tiny, fritters with spinach, avocado, sour cream, bright gelateria. Squeeze in for some of the pickled beets and chili, or a healthier-than-

92 finest gelato in town, made fresh on-site us- plements. Vegan and gluten-free diners ing first-rate ingredients. A rotating cast of won’t go hungry either. eight outstanding flavors usually includes Bronte pistachio and mint chocolate chip BOQUERIA SOHO TAPAS $$ that actually tastes like just-picked mint. Map p412 (%212-343-4255; www.boquerianyc. com; 171 Spring St, btwn West Broadway & Thompson St; tapas $6-18; hnoon-10.30pm oUNCLE BOONS THAI $$ Sun-Thu, to 11.30pm Fri & Sat; bC/E to Spring St) Channeling Barcelona, this expansive, Map p412 (%646-370-6650; www.uncleboons. welcoming tapas joint serves both classic com; 7 Spring St, btwn Elizabeth St & Bowery; small and classic-with-a-twist morsels, dexter- plates $12-16, large plates $21-28; h5:30-11pm ously assembled in the open kitchen. Order Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat, to 10pm Sun; W; a beer-and-pear sangria and feast on stand- bJ/Z to Bowery; 6 to Spring St) New York’s new outs such as abondigas (Colorado lamb So H o & C h i n atow n E at i ng favorite uncle, Boons serves up Michelin- meatballs with tomato sauce and sheep’s star Thai in a fun, tongue-in-cheek combo milk cheese), mushroom and Serrano ham of retro wood panels, Thai film posters and croquettes, and a fine selection of hard and old family snaps. Spanning the old and the soft cheeses. new, zesty, tangy dishes include fantastical- ly crunchy mieng kum (betel leaf wrap with You’ll find another branch of Boqueria ginger, lime, toasted coconut, dried shrimp, (p167) in the Flatiron district. peanuts and chili), kao pat puu (crab fried rice) and banana blossom salad. Book ahead or head in either before 6pm LA ESQUINA MEXICAN $$ or after 10pm. Map p412 (%646-613-7100; www.esquinanyc. com; 114 Kenmare St, at Petrosino Sq; tacos from $3.25, mains cafe $15-25, brasserie $18-34; BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER VEGETARIAN $$ htaqueria 11am-1:45am daily, cafe noon-midnight Mon-Fri, from 11am Sat & Sun, brasserie 6pm-2am Map p412 (%212-219-3434; www.thebutchers daily; b6 to Spring St) This mega-popular and daughter.com; 19 Kenmare St, at Elizabeth St; quirky little spot combines three places salads & sandwiches $12-14, dinner mains $16-18; really: a stand-while-you-eat taco window, h8am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat; Wv; a casual Mexican cafe (entrance on Lafay- bJ to Bowery; 6 to Spring St) The butcher’s ette St) and a dim, slinky, cavernous bras- daughter certainly has rebelled, peddling serie downstairs requiring reservations. nothing but fresh herbivorous fare in her Standouts include the elotes callejeros white-washed cafe. While healthy it is, bor- (grilled corn with queso Cotija cheese, ing it’s not: everything from the soaked or- mayo and chili powder), pulled pork tacos ganic muesli, to the spicy kale Caesar salad and mango-jicama salad. with almond Parmesan, to the dinnertime Butcher’s burger (vegetable and black-bean patty with cashew cheddar cheese) is devil- oESTELA ishly delish. MODERN AMERICAN $$$ Add glow to your halo with a juice Map p412 (%212-219-7693; www.estelanyc.com; 47 E Houston St, btwn Mulberry & Mott Sts; dishes spritzer, or get buzzy with a craft beer or $15-37; h5:30-11pm Sun-Thu, to 11:30pm Fri & biodynamic vino. Warning: service can be painfully slow. Sat; bB/D/F/M to Broadway-Lafayette St, 6 to Bleecker St) Estela might be hopeless at hide- and-seek (its location up some nondescript SIGGI’S CAFE $$ stairs hardly tricks savvy gourmands), but Map p412 (%212-226-5775; www.siggysgood this busy, skinny wine-bar kicks butt on the food.com; 292 Elizabeth St, btwn E Houston & Bleecker Sts; dishes $11-22; h11am-10.30pm food and vino front. Graze from a competent string of market-driven sharing plates, from Mon-Sat; v; b6 to Bleecker St; B/D/F/M to phenomenal beef tartare (spiked with beef Broadway-Lafayette St) Organic deliciousness awaits at this casual, art-slung cafe (bonus heart for added complexity) to moreish mus- sels escabeche on toast, to an impossibly sexy points for the wintertime fireplace). All endive salad with walnuts and anchovy. bases are covered, from soups and salads to made-from-scratch burgers, sandwiches, Another highlight is the delicate, smooth ricotta dumplings, lavished with earthy even vegetarian lasagna. Virtuous libations mushrooms and pecorino sardo (firm Ital- include smoothies and freshly squeezed juices, with optional health-boosting sup- ian sheep-milk cheese). Book ahead or head in early for a seat at the bar.

93 oDUTCH MODERN AMERICAN $$$ over mains such as whole roasted branzino (European sea bass) with fennel pollen and Map p412 (%212-677-6200; www.thedutchnyc. charred lemons. com; 131 Sullivan St, at Prince St; mains lunch $18-29, dinner $29-58; h11:30am-11pm Mon-Thu, 11:30am-11:30pm Fri, 10am-11:30pm Sat, 10am- BALTHAZAR FRENCH $$$ 11pm Sun; bC/E to Spring St; N/R to Prince St; Map p412 (%212-965-1414; www.balthazarny. com; 80 Spring St, btwn Broadway & Crosby 1 to Houston St) Whether perched at the bar St; mains $19-45; h7:30am-midnight Sun-Thu, or dining snugly in the back room, you can always expect smart, farm-to-table comfort 7:30am-1am Fri, 8am-1am Sat; b6 to Spring St; N/R to Prince St) Still the king of bistros, bus- grub at this see-and-be-seen stalwart. Fla- tling (OK, loud) Balthazar is never short of a vors traverse the globe, from sweet potato tempura with Thai basil and fermented chi- mob. That’s all thanks to three winning de- tails: its location in SoHo’s shopping-spree li sauce to ricotta ravioli with Swiss chard heartland; the uplifting Paris-meets-NYC So H o & C h i n atow n E at i ng and walnut pesto. Reservations are recom- mended, especially for dinner and all day ambience; and, of course, the something- for-everyone menu. Highlights include the on weekends. outstanding raw bar, steak frites, salade oPUBLIC MODERN AMERICAN $$$ Niçoise, as well as the roasted beet salad. The kitchen stays open till 1am Friday Map p412 (%212-343-7011; www.public-nyc. and Saturday, and weekend brunch here is com; 210 Elizabeth St, btwn Prince & Spring Sts; mains $21-34; h6pm-10pm Mon, to 11pm Tue-Fri, a very crowded production. For a decadent treat to go, grab a pastry from the Balthazar 10:30am-3:30pm & 6-11pm Sat, 10:30am-3:30pm bakery next door. & 6-10pm Sun; b6 to Spring St; N/R to Prince St) What was once a muffin factory is now a svelte culinary hot spot, complete with sul- CHERCHE MIDI AMERICAN, FRENCH $$$ try bar, industrial touches and masterfully Map p412 (%212-226-3055; www.cherche midiny.com; 282 Bowery, at E Houston St; lunch textured dishes deserving of their Michelin 2-course prix-fixe $25, dinner mains $19-39; star. Global twists surprise and delight, whether it’s ricotta cavatelli schmoozing hnoon-3:30pm & 5:30-11pm Mon-Wed, to mid- night Thu & Fri, 10am-3:30pm & 5:30pm-midnight with candied sunflower seeds and Thai Sat, 10am-3:30pm & 5:30pm-11pm Sun; W; bF basil, or Berkshire pork matched with carrot-pineapple puree and chimichurri. to Second Ave) Chipped subway tiles, red banquettes and a nostalgic amber glow: The Australian provenance of chef de Montparnasse meets Manhattan at this cuisine Alan Wise sneaks through in dishes such as kangaroo carpaccio, not to men- studiously vintage newcomer. Stay pure with lunchtime salade Niçoise or tartine, tion what is one of the city’s most extensive or salute Franco-American fraternity with selections of antipodean wines. the all-day prime-rib burger, pimped with cognac-spiked bacon marmalade, aged IL BUCO ALIMENTARI Gruyère and perfect fries. If it’s on the & VINERIA ITALIAN $$$ dinner menu, make sure someone orders Map p412 (%212-837-2622; www.ilbucovineria. the lobster ravioli in ginger beurre blanc. com; 53 Great Jones St, btwn Bowery & Lafay- ette St; sandwiches $12-16, dinner mains $32-34; Consider booking ahead for dinner and the popular weekend brunch. hcafe 7am-late Mon-Fri, from 9am weekends, restaurant noon-3pm & 5:30-late Mon- Fri, 11am- 3pm & 5:30pm-late weekends; W; b6 to Bleecker St; B/D/F/M to Broadway-Lafayette St) Whether 5 Chinatown & it’s wham-bam espresso at the front bar, Little Italy a panino to go from the deli, or long-and- lazy Italian feasting in the sunken dining BÁNH MÌ SAIGON BAKERY VIETNAMESE $ room, Il Buco’s trendier spin-off delivers the Map p415 (%212-941-1541; www.banhmisaigon nyc.com; 198 Grand St, btwn Mulberry & Mott Sts; goods. Brickwork, hessian and giant indus- sandwiches $3.50-5.75; h8.30am-7pm; bN/ trial lamps set a hip-n-rustic tone, echoed in the menu’s bold, nostalgic flavors. Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) This no-frills storefront Whet the appetite with crunchy Casarec- doles out some of the best bánh mì in town – cio bread, linger over beautiful pasta we’re talking crisp, toasted baguettes gen- dishes, and ponder the adage ‘less is more’ erously stuffed with hot peppers, pickled

KRZYSZTOF DYDYNSKI / GETTY IMAGES ©94 ©Lone- PAUL DE GREGORIO / GETTY IMAGES © 1. Cannoli Indulge in traditional Italian cuisine in Little Italy (p93). 2. Mahayana Temple (p89) Pay respects to the giant golden Buddha in Chinatown. 3. La Esquina (p92) Join the crowds at this popular Mexican brasserie and cafe. 4. SoHo shopping (p99) Browse high-end boutiques or fossick for a vintage gem. 5. SoHo streets (p87) Wander through SoHo’s cobbled streets and towering apartment blocks. CHRIS MINERVA / GETTY IMAGES ©

95 MATT MUNRO / LONELY PLANET © WAYNE FOGDEN / GETTY IMAGES ©

96 So H o & C h i n atow n E at i ng LITTLE ITALY DON’T MISS In the last 50 years, New York’s Little Italy has shrunk ¨¨Mulberry St from a big, brash boot to an ultra-slim sandal. A mid- ¨¨San Gennaro century exodus to the suburbs of Brooklyn and beyond Festival in September has seen this once-strong Italian neighborhood turn into ¨¨Pizza by the slice a micro pastiche of its former self. Indeed, Little Italy is little more than Mulberry St (p89) these days, an en- PRACTICALITIES dearingly kitsch strip of gingham-tablecloths, mandolin ¨¨Map p415 muzak and nostalgia for the old country. ¨¨bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St; B/D to Come late September, the street turns into a rau- Grand St cous, 11-day block party for the San Gennaro Festival, a celebration honoring the patron saint of Naples. It’s a loud, convivial affair, with food and carnival stalls, free entertainment, and more big hair than Jersey Shore. It’s also on Mulberry St that you’ll find the tiny Italian American Museum (Map p415; %212-965-9000; www. italianamericanmuseum.org; 155 Mulberry St, at Grand St; suggested donation $7; hnoon-6pm Fri-Sun; bJ/Z, N/Q/R, 6 to Canal St; B/D to Grand St), a random mishmash of historical objects documenting early Italian life in NYC, from Sicilian marionettes to old Italian comics starring mafia-busting cop, Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Petrosino. Between 1885 and 1932, the building was occupied by the Banca Stabile, which helped immigrants sort their monetary needs and provided a lifeline back to the homeland. carrots, daikon, cucumber, cilantro and fabulous with its hand-rolled, kettle-boiled your choice of meat. Top billing goes to bagels. Star of the show is the Mooch, an the classic BBQ pork version. Tip: head in epic concoction that’s half Scottish salmon, by 3pm as the bánh mì sometimes sell out, half cold-smoked sable and utterly scrump- leading the place to close early. tious. Bagels aside, other standouts include blintzes and latkes, the latter made to the XI’AN FAMOUS FOODS CHINESE $ owner’s grandmother’s recipe. Map p415 (xianfoods.com; 67 Bayard St, btwn Mott & Elizabeth Sts; dishes $2.75-10.25; JOE’S SHANGHAI CHINESE $ h11:30am-9pm Sun-Thu, to 9:30pm Fri & Sat; Map p415 (%212-233-8888; www.joeshanghai bJ/Z, N/Q, 6 to Canal St) Food bloggers short- restaurants.com; 9 Pell St, btwn Bowery & Doyers circuit their keyboards at the mere thought St; dishes $5.25-20.25; h11am-11pm; bN/Q/R, of this small, no-fuss Chinatown joint. Star J/Z, 6 to Canal St; B/D to Grand St) This Flush- turn here is the spicy cumin lamb burger – ing transplant has no shortage of loyal fans, tender lamb sautéed with ground cumin, descending en masse for Joe’s cult-status toasted chili seeds, long-horn peppers, crab-meat xiao long bao. Frankly, you can red onions and scallions, and stuffed into find better soup dumplings in town, but the a crispy, flat-bread bun. The hand-pulled place is still a safe bet for a cheap, cheer- noodles also enjoy a cult following. ful Chinatown feed. Chomp outside the box with dishes such as string beans Szechuan- BAZ BAGELS JEWISH $ style with pork and spicy buffalo carp fish Map p415 (%212-335-0609; bazbagel.com; 181 belly. Cash only. Grand St, btwn Baxter & Mulberry Sts; bagels $10-16; h7am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Sat & Sun; bJ/Z, N/Q/R, 6 to Canal St; B/D to Grand St) A NICE GREEN BO CHINESE $ shamelessly flamboyant combo of pink, Map p415 (New Green Bow; %212-625-2359; www.nicegreenbo.com; 66 Bayard St, btwn Eliza- palm prints and portraits of Dolly and Bar- beth & Mott Sts; mains $5.95-19.95; h11am-11pm bra, New York’s campest diner keeps things Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat; bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6

97 to Canal St; B/D to Grand St) Not a shred of ef- Sat; bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) Chinatown’s fort – not even a new sign (you’ll see!) – has favorite ice-cream peddler keeps it local been made to spruce up Nice Green Bo, and with flavors such as green tea, pandan, that’s the way we like it. It’s all about the durian and lychee sorbet. The Factory also food here: gorgeous xiao long bao served sells ridiculously cute, trademark T-shirts in steaming drums, heaping portions of with an ice-cream–slurping happy dragon noodles and gleaming plates of salubrious, on them. sautéed spinach. Cash only. NYONYA MALAYSIAN $$ GOLDEN STEAMER CHINESE $ Map p415 (%212-334-3669; www.ilovenyonya. com; 199 Grand St, btwn Mott & Mulberry Sts; Map p415 (%212-226-1886; 143a Mott St, btwn mains $7-24; h11am-11:30pm Mon-Thu & Sun, Grand & Hester Sts; buns from $0.80; h7am- 7:30pm; bB/D to Grand St; N/Q/R, 6 to Canal St; to midnight Fri & Sat; bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal So H o & C h i n atow n D r i nk i ng & N i ghtl i fe Street; B/D to Grand St) Take your palate to J/Z to Bowery) Squeeze into this hole-in-the- steamy Melaka at this bustling temple to wall for some of the fluffiest, tastiest bao (steamed buns) in Chinatown. Made on-site Chinese-Malay Nyonya cuisine. Savor the sweet, the sour and the spicy in classics by bellowing Chinese cooks, fillings include such as tangy Assam fish-head casserole, succulent roast pork, Chinese sausage, salt- ed egg and the crowd favorite – pumpkin. rich beef rendang (spicy dry curry) and re- freshing rojak (savory fruit salad tossed in For something a little sweeter, try the egg a piquant tamarind dressing). Vegetarians custard tart. should be warned: there’s not much on the menu for you. Cash only. LAN LARB THAI $ Map p415 (%646-895-9264; 227 Centre St, at Grand St; dishes $9-21; h11:30am-10:15pm; bN/ Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) Food fiends flock to 6 DRINKING & Lan Larb’s plastic tables for cheap, flavor- NIGHTLIFE packed Thai. The place specializes in larb, GENUINE LIQUORETTE COCKTAIL BAR a spicy, minced-meat salad from Thailand’s northeast (Isan) region (opt for the duck Map p415 (genuineliquorette.com; 191 Grand St, at Mulberry St; h6pm-midnight Tue & Wed, to version). Other top choices include sucker- 2am Thu-Sat; bJ/Z, N/Q/R, 6 to Canal St; B/D punch som tam (green papaya salad) and a delicate kui teiw nam tok nuer (dark noo- to Grand St) What’s not to love about a jam- ming basement bar with Cha-Chunkers dle soup with beef, morning glory, scallion, (canned cocktails) and a Farah Fawcett– cilantro and bean sprouts). themed restroom? Hell, you’re even free to grab the bottles and mixers and make your own drinks (bottles are weighed before DI PALO DELI $ and after you’re done). At the helm is prolif- Map p415 (%212-226-1033; www.dipaloselects. ic mixologist Eben Freeman, who regularly com; 200 Grand St, at Mott St; sandwich from $7; h9am-6:30pm Mon-Sat, to 4pm Sun; bB/D to invites New York’s finest barkeeps to create cocktails using less-celebrated hooch. Grand St; N/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) Food blog- Retro-hip bites come from the playful gers revere the porchetta sandwich from this family-run deli; a crusty baguette upstairs eatery, including burgers, fries and a buttermilk battered chicken sandwich. stuffed with melt-in-your-mouth roast pork seasoned with garlic, fennel and herbs. Not only is it sinfully good, it’s huge, so opt for SPRING LOUNGE BAR just one slice of porchetta when asked. Nor- Map p412 (%212-965-1774; www.thespring lounge.com; 48 Spring St, at Mulberry St; h8am- mally available from 1:30pm (though this 4am Mon-Sat, from noon Sun; b6 to Spring St; can vary), the prized meat sells out in 20 minutes. Get there at 1:15pm or call ahead. N/R to Prince St) This neon-red rebel has never let anything get in the way of a good Not available Mondays. time. In Prohibition days, it peddled buck- ORIGINAL CHINATOWN ets of beer. In the ’60s its basement was a gambling den. These days, it’s best known ICE CREAM FACTORY ICE CREAM $ for its kooky stuffed sharks, early-start Map p415 (%212-608-4170; www.chinatownice regulars and come-one, come-all late-night creamfactory.com; 65 Bayard St; ice cream from $4.35; h11am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 10:30pm Fri & revelry.

So H o & C h i n atow n D r i nk i ng & N i ghtl i fe98 DRINKING IN THE CITY Eben Freeman, mixology meister behind Genuine Liquorette (p97), talks liquor and New York City. Crowning Achievement While I’m very happy with my Cha-Chunker at Genuine Liquorette, it would probably be my smoked Coke and bourbon cocktail, the Waylon. The idea was inspired by pas- try chef Sam Mason, who was playing around with smoking the milk and cream that he was making ice cream with. It was the first time I realised that you could smoke liquids. Bar Scene Trends Greater technical precision combined with a more playful attitude. Take Genuine Liquorette, where serious technique takes place in what is a fun, casual, high-volume environment. Other good examples include the Happiest Hour (p150) and Slowly Shirley. One standout mixologist is Kenta Goto. After a successful run at Pegu Club, he’s now making very Japanese-style drinks at his own place, Bar Goto. A Taste of Old New York Head to Bemelmans Bar (p226), a beautiful space with murals by Ludwig Bemel- mans and good martinis. Fanelli’s Cafe has one of the city’s first liquor licences. It hasn’t changed in years and you can really get a sense of the old New York there. Another spot is Capri Social Club in Brooklyn. You can still see the once- separate sections for men and women, and the carved wooden bar is beautiful. Barkeep Peeves People coming in and saying ‘I’ve been dying to come here and try this thing’ and then wanting to modify it. Another trend is younger people asking for sugarless cocktails. I understand what sugar can do to a body, but it’s just gotten a bit ridiculous. One bar recently reacted by putting on a cocktail named ‘Not Too Sweet’. Fueling the fun are cheap drinks and Sts; h5pm-1am Mon-Wed, to 2am Thu-Sat; b6 to free grub (hot dogs on Wednesdays from Spring St; N/R to Prince St) A snug melange of 5pm, bagels on Sundays from noon, while Gallic-themed wallpaper, svelte armchairs they last). Bottoms up, baby! and tea lights, La Compagnie des Vins Sur- naturels is an offshoot of a Paris bar by the PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL BAR same name. Head sommelier Caleb Ganzer steers an impressive, French-heavy wine Map p412 (%212-473-7348; www.peguclub.com; list, with some 600 drops and no shortage 77 W Houston St, btwn W Broadway & Wooster St; of arresting drops by the glass. A short, h5pm-2am Sun-Thu, to 4am Fri & Sat; bB/D/F/M sophisticated menu of bites includes house- to Broadway-Lafayette St; C/E to Spring St) Dark, made charcuterie and (if you’re lucky) buf- elegant Pegu Club (named after a legendary falo chicken rillettes. gentleman’s club in colonial-era Rangoon) is an obligatory stop for cocktail connoisseurs. The good-value happy hour (5pm to 7pm Sink into a velvet lounge and savor seamless Wednesday to Saturday, to 8pm Tuesday) libations such as the silky smooth Earl Grey offers house wines and snacks at $5 a serve. MarTEAni (tea-infused gin, lemon juice and raw egg white). Grazing options are suit- CAFÉ INTEGRAL CAFE ably Asianesque, among them sloppy duck Map p412 (%646-801-5747; www.cafeintegral. (braised duck with tropical fruit BBQ sauce com; 135 Grand St, btwn Crosby & Lafayette on toasted mini-brioche buns). Sts; h8:30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat; bN/Q/R, J/Z, 6 to Canal St) Refuel with excep- tional single-origin coffee at Café Integral, LA COMPAGNIE DES a teeny-tiny espresso bar inside kooky shop- VINS SURNATURELS WINE BAR cum-gallery American Two Shot. You’ll Map p415 (%212-343-3660; www.compagnie probably find owner César Martin Vega nyc.com; 249 Centre St, btwn Broome & Grand