( how it used to be )
If you like gardens and gardens and garden design then the high line is a must.
The high line is an old rail way turned into a park. The high line runs from 34th street west through chelsea and meatpacking down to Gansevoort Street in west village.
The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. Section 1 of the High Line is open as a public park, owned by the City of New York and operated under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Friends of the High Line is the conservancy charged with raising private funds for the park and overseeing its maintenance and operations, pursuant to an agreement with the Parks Department.
When all sections are complete, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen. It features an integrated landscape, designed by landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings. Fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features arelso included in the park.
http://www.thehighline.org/
I wanted to buy a flash for my camera for quite some time, with the dollar so low I checked online and found B&H. Knowing that I'll be in New York soon I did not order. But my alacartemap also had B&H on it and since we were on our way from 42th to 4 th Street we thought we pass here.
B&H is not a normal camera shop in fact it's one of the craziest things I have seen in new York so far.
You enter through a rather small door but behind opens up a huge space there's signs everywhere telling you where the telescopes are, the cameras the video stuff the .... On the selling is a railway system with green boxes driving around.
Totally lost I asked one of the jewish men working here where I would find ricoh stuff and he directed me to the second floor where I had to cue at the line for one of the 60 desks. Didn't take long and the light above desk 10 started to flash and a nice lady asked me what I was looking for.
She search her computer found my flash told me the they have a great deal for rechargeable batteries and of course the also have a very good european adaptor... I was asking for the mount and she said I could pre-order it and they would send it to me ... Which I did not do.
Ok then I had to be entered into the system she asked if I was sure that I am a new customer because she has 8 sarah huber in her system.
After she finishe my registration she bend down to pick up a green box with all my stuff in it! Now I was really confused but she told me to check the bottom of the counter - there it was again the conveyor. So while we are talking some one somewhere packed my stuff and sent it here. She checked everything then I got a big paper and said now I could continue shopping and when I'm done I could go down to the cashier with all the papers and pay and collect my stuff. Off went my little green box again.
By the way The flash was 200.- less than in switzerland.
www.bhphotovideo.com/
Sunday:10:00am - 6:00pm
Monday - Thursday:9:00am - 7:00pm
Friday:9:00am - 2:00pm
Saturday:Closed
9th Ave. @ 34th St. New York, NY 10001
This is the sort of product thats get's me very excited even though I couldn't try it yet. Hand made chocolate from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The two mast brothers have a keen eye for details one can tell from the in-house handprinted wrapping of the bars to how the shop looks.
foto by oh joy!
They only use the finest products from very special farms and their community link list seems to be one of the most intresting ones I came across in a long time - on there The blue hill farm one of my favorite restaurants in New York.
So I guess the chocolate can be nothing but delicious! But as soon as I'm back in NYC I'll find out and let you know.
Have a look at this:
The Mast Brothers from The Scout on Vimeo.
Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory
105A North 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 388-2625 phone
(718) 228-5805 fax
www.mastbrotherschocolate.com
Looking for a place to stay in lower east-side I came across Hotel on Rivington. I would rave about this place if I would not have found out that the price we paid for our rooms is not available anymore...
This Hotel does many things right (more than most others). The rooms a "simple" no fancy decor the only thing spectacular is the view you have. Most rooms have two glass fronts so you are sort of in the middle of New York.
They offer some nice amenities like an ipod docking-station to listen your music. The beds are Tempur-Pedic , which is fantastic! I slept like a baby. The bath rooms are fancy some even have steam showers! The minibar offers a wide selection from nice beers to sextoys... You also find a list with all good restaurants and cafes of the neighborhood in your room along a nice selection of magazines. Particularly nice are the fresh baked cookies you get every evening. Of corse we got different ones every evening.
The lobby is on the second floor and there you also find a lovely lounge with a pool table which, when we were there, no one used.
Street level is a nice bar and their restaurant Thor which we did not get to check out.
Most amazing where the doormen. Every single one of them was fucking handsome! All dressed in black "gaban" jackets...
So what did we not like about Hotel on Rivington? First the breakfast wasn't very nice beside bagels you don't get anything nice. No cheese, horrible jam and filter coffee! you have to pay extra for the cappuccino! Thats probably why we did not eat at thor restaurant. Second it lacks a bit the friendly atmosphere one is looking for when inna foreign city. And third we paid 240$ for the room which is normal these days but a lot of money for a bed. Now they only have rooms for 400.- which I find just too much for any Hotel Room, I rather spend that money in a nice restaurant or shop or go more often.
www.hotelonrivington.com
I initially read about this place on Coolhunting and finally found time to check it out. Unfortunately I was not hungry so I bought several different cookies and took them home to switzerland for tasting.
Amai Tea and Bake House is a tinny place where you get a very nice selection of tea ( like all new york places they use tap water for the tea which, for my delicate swiss palate, has a rather unplesant taste ).
Really interesting is the baking they do. Rich brownies made with botanical ingredients like lychee and and white peach, as well as crisp tea cookies in flavors like chai almond and green tea (the latter of which won the Golden Scoop Award for Best Bakery Recipe from the French Culinary Institute this year) are available in their shop and online.
I bought:
- Earlgrey & Current cookies
- Chai Allmond cookies
- White tea & strawberry cookies
- Lemongrass & ginger
- Hojicha Sesame cookies
- Champagne brownies
- Lychee brownies
- Green-tea cookies and muffins
They are all very nice, of course my favorite are Lemongrass & ginger and earlgrey.
Amai Tea and Bake House
171 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
tel. +1 212 863 9630
www.amainyc.com/
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Thursday we had dinner at Freemans. A trendy but cosy Restaurant on Lower Eastside. The Restaurants is specialized in seasonal rustic american cuisine. The menu features wild game, sustainable seafood, and produce from local new york state farms. Freemans is also known for their cocktails.
We had a lovely artichoke dip and very fresh salds as starters. For main course we had a lovely grilled trout.
If you have something to discuss don't go there - it's very loud ;-)
End of Freeman Alley, New York, NY 10002
nr. Rivington St.
Tel.212-420-0012
Hours
Daily, 11am-4pm and 6pm-11:30pm
Nearby Subway Stops
F, V at Lower East Side-Second Ave.; 6 at Spring St.
Directions
Freemans is located at the end of Freeman Alley, off of Rivington St. between Bowery and Chrystie St.
Prices
$12-$26
Payment Methods
American Express, MasterCard, Visa
www.freemansrestaurant.com
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A very nice shop in Soho. Beside their own brans opening ceremony they have a good selection of brands.
Like a high-fashion version of a cultural-exchange program, Opening Ceremony features fashions from a different country each year, with Brazil, Germany, and the UK dominating recent racks.
They also have a selection of Hello Kitty Toy Machines!
Neighborhood: Manhattan/SoHo
New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-2688
35 Howard Street New York, New York 10013
Tel. (212) 219-2688
Store Hours: Monday–Saturday 11–8pm, Sunday 12–7pm
Nearest Transit:
Canal Street (J, M, Z, N, Q, R, W, 6)
Canal-Church Sts (A, C, E)
Franklin St (1)
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Whether you speak English or Japanese, this impressively stocked bilingual bookstore promises a unique experience.
An amazing store selling japanese magazines, books, cool toys, games. They also stock a wide range of very nice japan related books and dvds. A must for people who like japanese culture.
Kinokuniya Bookstore
1073 Sixth Ave., New York, NY 10018
nr. 41st St.
Tel: 212-869-1700
www.kinokuniya.com/
Hours:
Mon-Thu, 10am-7:30pm; Fri-Sat, 10am-8pm; Sun, 11am-7:30pm
Nearby Subway Stops
B, D, F, V at 42nd St.-Bryant Park
Looking for special fabrics? Walk around New Yorks fashion destrict on 40 th/Fashion Av. Ther are plenty of great fabric shops. They all do wholesale and retail.
Here two we particularly like:
N.Y Elegant Fabrics
222 west 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Tel: (212) 302-49 84/4980
nyelegant@aol.com
Fabric House, Inc
214A 39th Street Between 7th & 8th Aves.
New York, NY 10018
Tel: (212) 944 7016
alish0826@yahoo.com
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South Williamsburg's hidden surprise. There is no sign on the door so hopefully this jewel will remain hidden from the masses.
Heavily barred windows enclose a comfort zone for artsy locals who crave a taste of the trendier end of town in this low-rent sector. Sample the beer and wine list, but don't miss the food. The inexpensive paninis, made with crusty bread and fine Italian fixings such as sopressata and portobello mushrooms, are worth the trek, and the grilled doughnuts, sweet, warm and indulgent, put Krispy Kreme to shame.
349 Broadway, Brooklyn NY 11211 (Corner of Hooper)
PHONE: 718.599.6895
CARDS: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
HOURS: Mon-Fri, 6pm-1am; Sat-Sun, 6pm-2am
SUBWAY: J, M at Hewes St.
www.circa1938.com/
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