Shop like your city depends on it. In an ever-evolving New York, one thing remains the same, against all odds — we’ve got some of the greatest, most unique independent businesses on earth. And Small Business Saturday is one of the biggest days on the calendar for these cornerstones of Big Apple life — a full-on celebration … Read more
The best peanut butter & jelly in town lurks behind a door with the letter “D” — marking a former Dunkin Donuts that’s now Hani’s Bakery + Cafe, the city’s hottest place for fabulous baked goods and sandwiches. The doorhandle “D” might stand for delicious or decadent, both of which apply to Hani’s, located at 67 … Read more
Cheers to NYC! North America’s 50 Best Bars of 2025 has been revealed — and it was an NYC takeover. Superbueno, a Mexican-American cocktail bar in the East Village, is little over two years old, yet it’s already achieved the title of second-best bar on the continent. Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, pictured holding Superbueno’s Green Mango … Read more
It’s an optical illusion you can eat in. With NYC restaurants increasingly going high-tech, one enterprising omakase restaurant is reverting back to the drawing board — by allowing customers to “dine in 2D.” Up is down and black is white at Shirokuro, the Big Apple’s first full-service “two-dimensional” restaurant in the East Village, which evokes … Read more
This bodega guy isn’t just selling tea – he’s spilling it. East Villager Alyssa Brewer went viral on TikTok this week for revealing she gets updates on her former fling from her local bodega’s employee, who documents him coming into the store with other women. The blonde beauty posted a TikTok video of Numan Hauter, … Read more
You never know what you’re gonna get. At Surprise Scoop, a new ice cream shop in the East Village, customers don’t get to choose a flavor. The only menu item is “surprise ice cream” ($9.18). Customer order via a touchpad in the sparse, nearly empty storefront, noting allergies and preferences if they desire. (The former … Read more
As New York City bakeries go, this pastry shop takes the cake. Veniero’s Pasticceria is celebrating its 130th anniversary this fall, and its fourth-generation owner dished on the East Village shop’s star-studded clientele — from Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio to Knicks star Jalen Brunson and the cast of “Sex and The City.” Although known … Read more
It’s a time warp! In recent weeks, New York City has gone back decades as two major period pieces have been shooting around town. “Marty Supreme,” directed by Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”), is set in the 1950s and stars Timothée Chalamet as a ping pong champion. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his love interest. The streets of … Read more
Each week, Alexa is rounding up the buzziest fashion drops, hotel openings, restaurant debuts and celeb-studded cultural happenings in NYC. It’s our curated guide to the very best things to see, shop, taste and experience around the city. What’s making our luxury list this week? Foundrae opens on Madison Avenue, The Brooklyn Museum Turns 200 … Read more
New York is a paradise of quick bites, from world-class pizza slices to hot dogs with all the trimmings, but a really good plate of pasta is typically reserved for a nice night out at an Italian restaurant. However, with the cost of dining out higher than ever, big eaters in the Big Apple no … Read more
City living is ruff. Local dog trainer Annie Grossman doesn’t just teach pups to be obedient and well-mannered, she also giving them coping skills — from walking calmly amidst sirens and loud construction noises to sitting pretty in subway carriers — for life in the Big Apple. “If your dog can make it here – … Read more
When Frank Kabatas first came to the United States in 1997 when he was 23, he’d only ever seen pizza in the movies. A quarter of a century later, the Turkish immigrant, now 49, is the proud owner and operator of one of Manhattan’s most beloved pizza joints — the same one that fired him … Read more
This yogi has taken “nama-stay at home” seriously. While most people don’t dream of sleeping at the office or welcoming strangers and celebrities into their houses daily, Alex Schatzberg does — because he legally has to. The longtime East Villager signed a rare live-work lease in 2017, which requires that he run a business out … Read more
Each week, Alexa is rounding up the buzziest fashion drops, hotel openings, restaurant debuts and celeb-studded cultural happenings in NYC. It’s our curated guide to the very best things to see, shop, taste and experience around the city. What’s making our luxury list this week? A super-cool Yankees collab, yet another buzzy Korean restaurant, and … Read more
True to the raw, anarchic spirit of punk-rock, the Ramones played as dirty as those notoriously filthy CBGB bathrooms when they got a spontaneous offer from their first manager at the holy underground in New York’s East Village in 1975. “They wanted to be in my column in the SoHo Weekly News. And I kept … Read more
Fine-dining and popsicles might seem like an awkward union, but at trendy restaurants across the city, chefs are serving frozen desserts on a stick. “Everybody’s doing popsicles,” said Jing Wen Ng, the chef de cuisine at Nōksu (49 W. 32nd St., Koreatown, NoksuNYC.com), a 15-seat chef’s counter. She serves a haute pop as a palate-cleansing … Read more
Bella McFadden is taking her fashions from URL to IRL. The 28-year-year old Canadian nearly broke the internet in 2020 when she became the first person to earn more than $1 million in sales on Depop, the go-to Gen Z platform to buy used and vintage clothing. Now, she’s opened her first-ever brick-and-mortar shop, iGirl, … Read more
They’re spiking their drink. Coffee has become the latest canvas for including seemingly incongruous ingredients like butter, olive oil and even meat, like Starbucks’ notorious pork latte in Shanghai. As the espresso splicing trend percolates, East Village fruit-centric coffee shop Not as Bitter has concocted possibly the wildest rocket-fuel hybrid to date: the durian latte. … Read more
We’ll have what they’re having. Sandwich icon Katz’s Delicatessen and beloved Ukrainian East Village eatery Veselka have teamed up to create a new menu mashup: the “pastrogi,” a pastrami-stuffed pierogi. The city’s oldest deli provides its signature deli meat, and Veselka works the pastrami into its classic Eastern European dumplings. Katz’s Deli is known for … Read more
A lovelorn New York man who posted flyers “looking for a girlfriend” 10 years ago is back at it. Dan Perino, 60, first grabbed people’s attention in 2014 when he plastered the city with posters looking to land a film or TV role. The ads touted him as a “professional, experienced actor” who is “looking … Read more