EAT
Superiority Burger – Lower East Side $
430 E 9th Street
It’s easy to miss this unassuming locale but we urge you to pay close attention because chef Brooks Headley (formerly the pastry chef at Michelin star decorated, Del Posto) has been making some serious waves since opening his East Village vegetarian fast food project a few years back. The signature superiority burger made headlines when it was named the first non-meat burger to top GQ’s Burger of the Year Awards and it’s not hard to see why. Intentionally no – frills, this is more of a grab and go affair so grab your food and head over to neighbouring Tompkins Square Park where you’ll be treated to some of the most eclectic people watching opportunities NY has to offer.
Via Carota – West Village $$$
51 Grove Street,
The no-reservation policy at this cozy neighbourhood favourite means you can typically wait around 3 hours for a table in the evening but believe us when we say: It. Is. Worth. It. The food – created by chef duo Rita Sodi and Jody Williams – is perfection, the wine list extensive and the buzzy ambiance feels very New York and somehow wonderfully Italian at the same time. Put your name on the list early and enjoy the many charms the West Village has to offer while you wait.
Los Mariscos – Chelsea $
409 W 15th Street
One of the worst kept secrets in Manhattan is Los Tacos in Chelsea Market. For good reason the taco joint draws lines that on any given day will spill into and stretch beyond its neighbouring spice market. But bypass the line, head out the market’s side door and take a left and you’ll immediately stumble upon a slightly better kept secret; Los Mariscos. Run by the same team as Los Tacos, this bustling Mexican seafood stand serves up ceviche, oyster shooters, and the finest fish tacos you’ve ever had. Pair with an ice cold Pacifico or a mezcal margarita and thank us later.
DRINK
Gallow Green – Chelsea $$$
542 W 27th Street
There are fewer places more perfect than Gallow Green on a summer’s evening. Perched upon the rooftop of the McKittrick Hotel (which incidentally you can’t stay at because it has no rooms and is instead occupied by Sleep No More, the highly acclaimed immersive theatre production from Punchdrunk) it feels like you’ve stumbled into a forgotten secret garden far from the tourist crowds of Midtown. Seek out a spot in one of the many artistically placed nooks and sample your way through the innovative cocktail list. The garden becomes enchanted with fairy lights as the sun sets so there’s just no good reason to go home early.
WORK OUT
WeFlowHard Vinyasa Yoga at multiple Y7 location; y7-studio.com
Embrace New York’s trendy work out scene by booking a Y7 WeFlowHard Vinyasa Yoga class but be sure to forget everything you think you know about yoga because Y7 is changing the beat – literally. The popular classes replace the usual zen sounds of the yoga studio with R&B and Hip Hop tracks that inspire faster movement and facilitate the practice’s “flow hard” mantra. The infrared-heated vinyasa yoga class are also held in a dark, candlelit room with no mirrors to encourage you to turn your focus inward without the distraction of mirrors and other things you may focus on in a well lit room.
CULTURE UP
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1,000 5th Ave
The Costume Institute’s most playful exhibit “Camp: Notes on Fashion” is on show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and explores the lively, audacious nature of the camp aesthetic, its origins and evolution, through more than 250 objects from the 17th century to the present. Using Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp'” (which contains 58 different definitions of the term) as a framework , the exhibition examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.
