There's something about a multi-course brunch that I reminds me of some of the extended, high-end brunches I've enjoyed in Paris. In London, it's often a more casual affair, but in these COVID-19 times, why wouldn't I want to linger over two brunch courses plus speciality coffee from Difference Coffee? And brand-new cafe–bar Queens of Mayfair is a beautiful setting to do just that.

If you've been following my Instagram, you'll know that I spent a week in New York last month. I was there to work in my company's Financial District office but did get three weekend days and a public holiday free to explore in the city, and was blessed with crisp but sunny weather for most of the week. I'm lucky enough to visited New York about once or twice a year for the past quarter-century, which takes off the pressure and means coffee shops, restaurants and things to do can sometimes remain on my to-do list for a couple of years. I've already written about my most recent speciality coffee experiences here, but here's how I spent the rest of my trip.

In addition to checking out various speciality coffee spots on my recent visit to New York, I had a little time to explore the city once I'd finished my days in our company's Financial District office. October is one of my favourite months to visit New York — as the constant stream of Facebook 'memories' suggest — and I was really lucky with the weather. It was crisp and sunny most of the time — perhaps a little too crisp on my last day — which was perfect for wandering around the city.

Brooklyn
After working for eight days straight, I decided to do all of my favourite NYC things (including some from this long weekend guide) on my day off. First off was a morning run from my Lower East Side hotel over Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn and back via the Brooklyn Bridge — with a stop-off at the gorgeous new Cobble Hill branch of Stumptown Coffee. It was a beautifully clear morning and the views were fantastic. No matter how many times I cross Brooklyn Bridge, I still get a little thrill each time I step out onto the walkway.



As I'd done two of the three 'BMW bridges (a helpful mnemonic to remember the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges from south to north), I decided to walk over the Williamsburg Bridge from the LES to downtown Williamsburg, which took about 30 minutes. The weather wasn't quite as good as the day before but I still enjoyed the views.



After indulging in a little retail therapy, including at Baggu, Catbird, and Artists & Fleas, I wandered down to the riverfront for some street food at Smorgasburg. I don't know if it's always incredibly windy there or just when I go, but I did get a little chilly while I made the rounds of the food trucks, trying to narrow down my food choices. In the end, I went for some Mao's Baos, plus a massive dulce de leche almond doughnut from Dough, which I ate with a wonderful view of the Manhattan skyline.



One night after work, two colleagues and I went for cocktails at Elsa, a cool and beautiful cocktail bar in Cobble Hill. I'd actually visited Elsa's now-defunct East Village location some years ago and was happy to be back. As well as a cool neon sign, well-stocked bar and famously selfie-worthy bathrooms, Elsa's cocktails are spot on. I had the gin-heavy 'Hemp Ascot' and although I was a little sad the 'rainbow peppercorn' didn't translate into a rainbow-coloured cocktail, it was potent and very well mixed. In need of sustenance, we then hopped over the road to Table 87, sharing a massive coal-oven pizza with soppressata, which more than fit the bill.



Financial District
I spent the first couple of days of my trip in the Financial District, arriving from DC a couple of minutes too late to catch the sunset from Battery Park, although its aftermath was still pretty stunning.


Not wanting to travel too far or to wait in line for dinner, I decided to go to a new opening nearby called Pastagram. Although its name references Instagram, it isn't actually particularly Instagram friendly, mainly because the lighting isn't great. The pasta at the small eatery was pretty good, however. You can choose your noodle style and your sauce — or opt for one of their set dishes. I went for the 'don't touch my protein': chunky fusilloni pasta with ragù, which was tasty and filling.


After dinner, I went for a walk over to the Westfield mall inside the 'Oculus' World Trade Center transport hub. I took a few photos and did a little window shopping.


In the morning, I got up early to go for a run — and for coffee — snapping a quick photo of the old and new architecture on Trinity Street. And then I arrived at the office, where every visitor has to spend at least five minutes taking photos of the views of Lower Manhattan skyline and Liberty Island.



Lower East Side
For my last three nights, I moved to the Orchard Street Hotel in the heart of Lower East Side. October is a pretty expensive time to visit NYC, and even booking 3–4 months in advance didn't really yield any bargains. My room at the Orchard Street Hotel was tiny but had a great view, down to Lower Manhattan and up to the Empire State Building. It was also comfortable and quiet, and the hotel's location was ideal: in walking distance of or a short subway ride from most of the neighbourhoods I wanted to visit.



It definitely didn't hurt that my hotel was just one block down from new pizzeria Una Pizza Napoletana. I went one evening — try to go early if you don't have a booking — and ordered the margherita. Although expensive — the margherita was $22 plus tax and tip — it was absolutely delicious, with a puffy crust, creamy mozzarella and tasty tomato sauce, and the décor, ambiance and service were great too. Sometimes I forget how spoiled we are in London to be able to get world-class Neapolitan pizzas for under £10.


Soho & Nolita
It only took ten minutes to walk to Nolita from my hotel and I spent quite a bit of time there, shopping, coffee-shop hopping and wandering. I stopped into one of my favourite book stores, McNally Jackson (which is relocating but not closing, thankfully), a number of the clothing chains I like, and also the Amazon four-star shop, which stocks only items that have a four-star rating or higher on the Amazon website. I didn't buy anything but it was busy and there were plenty of tech, travel and kitchen items I could have bought.



On my last morning in the city, I went for breakfast at Egg Shop, which has been on my list for a long time. It was busy even at 9 am, but as I was dining solo I soon nabbed a spot at the bar. I had an excellent Egg Shop B.E.C. (bacon, egg, cheese) sandwich, with Vermont white cheddar, Black Forest bacon, tomato jam and pickled jalapeño. The coffee, which was good, is from Café Integral, which is located right next door.


West Village, Greenwich Village & East Village
Arriving in the city shortly before Halloween meant that the decorations and pumpkins were already out in full force. As I felt like doing a seasonal activity, I took a Boroughs of the Dead walking tour, one night. This entailed a two-hour wander through the East Village and Greenwich Village, ending near Washington Square. It wasn't supposed to be a 'scary' ghost walk, but there were lots of good historical stories — some rather tragic — and ghostly lore. Another time, I would like to take the 'forgotten dark histories of Lower Manhattan' tour.




It was 9.30 pm when the ghost tour finished and I was ravenous. I decided to go to Greenwich Village favourite, J. G. Melon, for a quick dinner. My no-frills bacon cheeseburger was juicy and perfectly medium rare. I probably didn't need a whole side of 'cottage fries', but they were tasty too.


Over in the West Village, I ate one of the best burgers I've ever had at Emily. Primarily a Detroit-style pizza restaurant, Emily also serves a limited number of burgers per day. With a double patty, American cheese, caramelised onions and 'Emmy sauce' on a pretzel bun, and curly fries on the side, this burger was immense and utterly delicious. At $26, it wasn't cheap, but I will definitely make a beeline to Emily on my next trip to New York.


For my last brunch of the trip, I went to Joseph Leonard in the West Village. I didn't book and had to wait about an hour for a spot to open up at the bar in the small, cosy restaurant, but I was able to leave my name and visit a few of my favourite shops in the area, like stationery store Greenwich Letterpress and travel book store Idlewild. Back at Joseph Leonard, I had a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, which tasted great. Ahead of my flight home, I'd switched to mocktails, but like at their sister restaurant Jeffrey's Grocery, these are great too.


On this trip, I made my first visit to David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village, which has long been on my to-visit list. The signature pork belly ramen was comforting and delicious — just what I needed after a long day in the office and faced with a chilly evening. I arrived early and there was a seat available at the bar — by the time I left, closer to 7 pm, a line was starting to form at the bar. Speaking of David Chang, I binge-watched his excellent Netflix series Ugly Delicious, where each episode explores the culture and history underlying eight different popular foods. The first episode on pizza was particularly good.


I met an old friend for drinks at East Village bar Mace early one evening. Earning a place on the World's 50 Best Bars list, Mace has really excellent cocktails, each based around a different spice. Although the pink peppercorn listed on the menu wasn't available, the two drinks I tried (one acacia-based and one that invoked fragrant south-east Asian flavours and spices) were impeccable. We also got to sit by the window and watch the East Village stroll by.



Chelsea & Flatiron
I didn't spend much time above 20th Street on this trip but I did head up to see the Empire State Building lit up in blue and orange to celebrate the New York Knicks on my first night in the city. The stretch of Fifth Avenue and Broadway between 16th and 23rd Streets is one of my favourite places in the city to shop, so after I'd taken a few photos, I indulged in a spot of retail therapy too.


Further west, I also did my usual walk along the High Line one afternoon, which was busier than ever.

Have you ever bathed in a 16th century Turkish bath with a stained-glass ceiling? Stayed in the residence of a former prime minister? Haggled for cherries and paprika in a historic market hall? These are just a few of the experiences that Budapest — the ultimate city of two halves — has to offer.

April is one of my favourite times to visit New York City, although even a late April visit doesn't guarantee clement weather in the cruellest month. On our recent family trip, we were extremely lucky and apart from the rain that greeted us on our arrival, we were treated to clear blue skies and bright sunshine for the rest of our stay. The blossoms were out too in all the parks, making the city particularly pretty.

During the trip, I visited a number of new-to-me coffee shops (and a few old favourites) and will be writing about these in a separate post (my NYC speciality coffee guide is here in the meantime). I've included below a few of my other favourite experiences, sights and foods. Spoiler alert: the real highlight of the trip was when I got to see PACEY (Joshua Jackson, to non-Dawson's Creek fans) on Broadway.

Food and drink


Motorino in the East Village is the perfect spot for a quick but delicious jet-lag-beating supper. The Neapolitan pizzas are fantastic, as are the contorni.


I've done several tours from the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side, each of which has been fascinating. This time we took the Foods of the Lower East Side walking tour, a two-hour walk around the neighbourhood with plenty of stops to sample foods from diverse immigrant cultures. Highlights were the pickled pineapples from the Pickle Guys, chocolate pretzels from Economy Candy and the amazing dumplings from Vanessa's. You will probably need to book a ticket in advance.


After the tour, I met some friends at the Flower Shop, a pretty bar located just across from Vanessa's Dumplings on Eldridge Street. The cocktails were fab and the $1 happy hour oysters were also a great bargain.


While wandering from my Brooklyn coffee and breakfast spot, Golda, to Brooklyn Heights, I came across DeKalb Market Hall, a new-ish subterranean space filled with food vendors. I had coffee at Nobletree, and wished I had room for some pierogies or a unicorn churros ice cream sandwich.  


On a sunny Saturday, brunch tables are hard to come by in Greenwich Village. We couldn't face the two-hour wait at Buvette but managed to score a cancellation at Dante, a family favourite cafe-bar on a particularly pretty block of Macdougal Street. With brunch cocktails, delicious food and a terrific ambiance, this is a fab place to spend your Saturday.


Some hours later, we found ourselves at The Up & Up, which is just a block north of Dante in the heart of Greenwich Village. The pretty underground bar has William Morris wallpaper and serves superb cocktails from a menu so extensive and creative that ordering was a challenge. I went for the Surprise Trip, which contained gin, black trumpet mushroom, three types of peppercorn and unicorn (NB cocktail is not rainbow coloured!). It was delicious and my brother ranked his Zuzu’s Petals (my second choice) as one of his all-time top three cocktails.


For some time, I've been wanting to try the Impossible Burger — a plant-based burger that even carnivores love — for some time. As a former vegetarian, I've eaten a lot of mediocre veggie burgers in my time and as this market has begun to grow in recent months and years, it's been great to see the offering improve so much. We went to the Umami Burger at the Hudson Hotel and although my 'primary' burger was a very meaty (and tasty) Manly Burger, my dad also ordered an Impossible Burger 'for the table'. Although it couldn't quite compete with my Manly Burger, the Impossible was very good indeed — the flavour and texture was very good indeed, although the patty did begin to lose its integrity.


On Sunday evening, the weather was so beautiful that we decided to try to eat by the water. My dad managed to get us a last-minute table at the River Café and we made our way down to City Hall so that we could first walk over Brooklyn Bridge at dusk. The only other time I've been to the River Café was in 2000 when the parents of our group planned to eat there while we teens were going to go Grimaldi's, the pizzeria next door. The epic snowstorm meant no pizza but the River Café were able to accommodate our snowy selves — there was, however, about 2% visibility and so no iconic views of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan. The sun had set by the time we set down to eat but it was a special experience to dine with the twinkling skyscrapers in the background. The food was delicious too. I had scallops followed by roast chicken and everything was beautifully prepared. The pièce de resistance was the chocolate Brooklyn Bridge I had for pudding. When in Brooklyn... Overall, a wonderfully spontaneous night.


For our last meal of the trip, we went to Mighty Quinn's, an awesome BBQ joint, where I've dined before. We ordered everything, as usual, and the fried chicken sandwich, the brisket and the corn fritters were real stand-outs for me.


Neighbourhoods

Central Park


We stayed near Central Park this time and I ran there almost every morning, enjoying the gorgeous morning light and the cherry blossoms. Talk about motivation for getting out of bed and into the city!

Chelsea


I always try to walk along the High Line at least once during every New York trip, especially when the weather is nice. If I have time, I try to stop at Story or Chelsea Market afterwards for some shopping and/or eating.

Flatiron




I spent a lot of time around the Flatiron Building, Madison Square Park and NoMad on this trip, mainly because there were a few new coffee shops and shops that I wanted to visit in the area. I love the architecture, the views and the park itself in this neighbourhood.

Greenwich Village




If I had to pick just one New York neighbourhood to live in, it would probably be Greenwich Village, or perhaps the West Village. I love Washington Square Park, especially on a sunny day when everyone is chilling out, I love the architecture and I love the shops like the wonderful Three Lives & Co bookstore.

Nolita & Soho


I love to shop and eat in Nolita and its westerly neighbour, Soho. I didn't spend as much time there as usual on this trip but did get to wander through the lovely streets, visiting old favourite shops like McNally Jackson and pop-ups like Everlane.

Brooklyn






Most of my Brooklyn interludes on this trip were spent walking from Brooklyn Heights to Lower Manhattan one sunny morning and the return journey to the River Café and Brooklyn Bridge Park the following evening at dusk. It's one of my favourite walks in the world and one of my top recommendations to any visitor to the city — try to go from Brooklyn to Manhattan, though.

Culture


One of the main reasons I went to New York was to see one of my all-time favourite actors, Joshua Jackson, in Children of a Lesser God on Broadway. The production was originally in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and sadly ended the day before I arrived in Boston last summer so I was really glad to hear it would make the transfer to Broadway. Jackson and his co-star Lauren Ridloff were really terrific and the play — which tells the story of a teacher at a school for the deaf who falls for the school's housekeeper, a deaf alumna of the school — was powerful and moving. It's a story about what it means to communicate, to connect and to love. Ridloff, a former Miss Deaf America, signed all her lines while Jackson would also translate her lines for the audience members not familiar with ASL. If you get the chance, do try to go — it is a wonderful production.


The Blue Note in Greenwich Village is one of the most famous jazz clubs in the city — and, perhaps, the world. I'd somehow never been before and we enjoyed an evening set with Kenny Garrett and his band. The food wasn't anything special but we had great seats and it was an entertaining night.