New York in the Spring

After the congestion and chaos of Manhattan, a day in Prospect Park provided a welcome return to open spaces and slow paces, narrow trails lost in the trees, frisbees, and the clean sound of crunching leaves. A quirky fellow passing through on the...

Even in as city known as the concrete jungle, Manhattan offers a surprising number of opportunities to find a little peace and quiet and New Yorkers are masters at creating their own oases. Position yourself correctly, pop in your headphones and...

'They' say Rome has the best gelato in Italy. Since I haven't been to every town in Italy, I can't confirm that. Neither, though, can I deny it because when I tasted the gelato at Gelateria del Teatro while in Roma I definitely experienced...

Rare is the bar that can be all things to all people successfully, but so it is for Gallow Green. Located atop The McKittrick Hotel, the bar is a hot spot for weekend brunch, especially among art lovers who plan to gallery hop around the Chelsea...

It often seems there are as many cupcake shops in NYC, as there are hipsters. Everyone has a favorite. Butter Lane on East 7th (and now in Park Slope also on Seventh) is one of mine. They don't have the most inventive flavors in the world, though...

OK, OK - we all know by now that Brooklyn is ground zero for New York's artisanal food movement. But a chocolate factory in the middle of so-hip-it-hurts Williamsburg is still a pretty cool prospect. Created by real-life brothers Rick and Michael...

Bosie's Tea Parlor is something of an unexpected find. Located on charming brownstone-studded Morton Street in the West Village, it's one part curated tea oasis, one part wild child in its dessert experiments. Skeptics may feel the title of the...

The Bee's Knees Baking Company has, in a stroke of why-didn't-I-think-of-this genius, created a "cake cup". Designed to be both portable and decadent, it's basically homemade cake and frosting served in a petite cup. It allows you to savor each...

Just next door to Olivino Wines, where you can indulge your French-wine-loving heart (because their selection is outstanding), you can also indulge your love of French pastries at Beny's. Small and vaguely hipster it has just enough room to sit...

There are no lines wrapping around the corner of Rivington Street waiting for entrance to this Lower East Side Gem. It doesn't have the hype of Carlos' Bake Shop in Hoboken, featured on TLC's Cake Boss, and it didn't get fame as the neighborhood...

Rotisserie chicken is their specialty, but as I make my way through the entire menu I realize that's not all that special! Roast pernil, beef stew, plantains, rice & beans, mofongo... With Adela often behind the counter and Novelas blaring out...

You don’t have to go to the Middle East to get your hands on some delicious Arab street food, especially if you live in the Big Apple. As one of the oldest falafel joints in New York City, and one of the first Middle Eastern establishments...

Manhattan’s oldest dim sum parlor plays the part to the hilt, from faded storefront to checklist ordering. For kids, there’s a time-warpy thrill to seeing what Chinese restaurants used to look like. Lure them in with the scallion pancakes; seal...

Brasserie Les Halles is owned by famous chef Anthony Bourdain (which is the reason I wanted to go), and the food did not disappoint. I loved my moules et frites. They also have a great wine selection and a good bar, and the ambiance has that old ...

Food is a highly subjective love, of course, but my vote for the best bowl of Asian noodles in New York City goes to Xi'an Famous Foods. Most of their locations are small—you will likely wait, and in the summer it won't feel worth it. However,...

Malatesta is one of the best Italian restaurants in New York: when it comes to the quality of the food and the value, it cannot be beat. It sits on the corner of Washington and Christopher Streets in the West Village, and during but winter months,...

Unlike Los Angeles (duh) and Chicago (surprising!), New York City doesn't have too much in the way of "authentic" Mexican food outside of Red Hook Ball Fields' local street vendors. Yes, the city is filled with tons of Latino flavor, but when it...

Held yearly in the month of September, the San Gennaro Festival is New York City's oldest religious street festival. Little Italy was the first location in America for several hundred thousand Italian immigrants who came to the U.S. in the early...

The famous boathouse in Central Park is known for its fancy lunches for the ladies who lunch. But you can also get takeout and enjoy the same view for under 10 bucks.

New York is definitely one of the food meccas of the world, every restaurant, a living proof of the fusion of cultures that make up this amazing city. One thing you will find here is that some of the best restaurants are not obvious to the eye....

For much of its history, the western edges of Manhattan neighborhoods like the West Village and Chelsea consisted of small manufacturing buildings and warehouses that served the piers on the Hudson River. Over time, those factories were replaced...

The Morgan Library is an endowment from Pierpont Morgan and his son J.P. and hosts one of the finest collections of European manuscripts and rare documents in the country. The library hosts revolving exhibitions on literary classics, like recent...

For photography and art enthusiasts visiting NYC, don't overlook the International Center of Photography. Founded in 1974, ICP is conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan (42nd Street and Sixth Avenue). It's a world-leading museum, school, and...

Wow. What can we say about this place, other than that its curators are certainly well-versed in the art and history of the sensual arts? Now, don’t blush! That’s just an anti-onanism device! (Okay, you can blush. It’ll be pretty hard not to when...

Whoever invented the living history museum deserves, well, a place in a living history museum. Instead of reading dry text, visitors get to meet an early 20th-century immigrant, hang out in her shoebox apartment, and join a family at its Sabbath...

This spiraling white concrete structure, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is one of the most iconic buildings in NYC, if not in all of the USA. This is one museum where the building itself is as interesting as the exhibition inside. First check out...

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is often on lists of must-visit places in New York, and for good reason. The museum’s impressive collection of contemporary art is unparalleled and allows guests to study art by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso,...

by Jason Lampkin “MoCADA is a sleek, modern space where pressing issues are explored. I loved last year’sPink Elephantexhibit, about gentrification in Brooklyn.” 80 Hanson Pl., at S. Portland Ave., (718) 230-0492, mocada.org. As told to Linda...

Early this spring, I had an hour to kill in Manhattan, so I ducked into the Grolier Club, where I saw a fascinating exhibit devoted to Wunderkammer, the cabinets of curiosities that originated in 16th-century Europe. I am a big fan of visiting...

This picture was taken outside the Studio Museum in Harlem. Harlem was my favorite part of NYC. While alot of people might feel more attracted to the sleek and stylish architecture, I really like the old school feel of Harlem. The brownstones and...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art—or, commonly, the Met—is one of the world's great museums, alongside the Louvre, the British Museum, and a handful of others. It would be easy to devote an entire week's visit to the museum alone, and...

Joe Coffee is a great go-to coffee shop where the product is excellent, and—wait for it—the service isn't snooty! The company prides itself on hospitality, is family-owned, and provides a well needed dose of caffeine after a long day wandering...

In the heart of the Lower East Side is Berkli Parc, an unassuming cafe with some fantastic java. This is a great place to meet a friend or get some work done. Plus, I got a new recommendation that's now on my regular espresso rotation: the Dirty...

For me and for a lot of publications, this is the best Espresso in NYC. I used to go to the store in the 13th street. East Village. If you are in that área, try it.

Minerva, with it’s inviting interior and casual style, is the perfect place for a weekend chill out session with your computer - OR come back at night and have a few drinks with your date. Places that can be used for different types of scenarios...

During my year living in Soho, I went to my fair share of coffee houses but it was Cafe Borgia on Prince Street that first caught my eye. Prince Street is notoriously crowded but luckily, the cafe lies just beyond the crowded boutiques. Walking...

Actor Hugh Jackman is definitely a do-gooder, in more senses than one. His boutique coffee shop, Laughing Man, started in Tribeca on Duane Street, and is one of those places where the coffee not only tastes good (try the Flat White, made with...

Among caffeine addicts, coffee is a hotly debated beverage. Gimme! Coffee is a no-nonsense artisanal coffee outlet that brews the freshest beans and only serves coffee the way it's meant to be enjoyed. You won't need to sweeten it with sugar & on...

Weekend people watching in SoHo would not be the same without the little coffee shop gem that is Ground Support. Grab a cappuccino and a pastry, then sit back to enjoy all of the fashionable New Yorker’s that walk on West Broadway. Amazing ginger...

Tucked down a nondescript route off a much busier thoroughfare, the building out front isn't something to write home about. But the secret garden out back is one of the best places in town to grab a pint. The bar serves a litany of cocktails and a...

You know how they say that Montreal is a happy mixture of North America and Europe? Well, if there's one place in the city that's truly unique, and not influenced by any other colony, it's Plateau Mont-Royal. Located just a few minutes north of...

Let me tell you a secret. I'm a geek. Huge geek. Always have been. I've been into Lord of the Rings since I was 12, I have a world-class comic book collection, I'm a little obsessed with letterpress and typography, and I can't go anywhere without...

The Carré Saint-Louis (also known as St. Louis Square) is one of Montréal's most important literary streetscapes. Famed Québecois poets Émile Nelligan and Gaston Miron called this home. Brightly painted Victorian/Second Empire graystone rowhouses...

One of the first things I learned about Montreal while attending McGill University is that the tourists head to the Old City and western parts of town, while the locals go east. Vieux Montreal, while quaint and cobblestoned, is an overpriced...

This place is nothing short of a local institution. Bo-Bec has served countless cones and ice cream sandwiches since it opened in the late 1980s, but the owner never changed the warm, genuine smile he offers every customer who walks in. And that...

Chez Baptiste has been open since 1922 and although it recently underwent a rejuvenating identiity change, it still holds that old-world mystique that only places this old can have. Times have changed. Fashion has changed. Residents have changed....

A cozy, intimate vegan restaurant right across the street from Montreal's best indie bookshop. A great place to sit down for a bite and thumb through your new book, if you ask me. The menu has a number of exciting options, though I was quite...

If you only have a day in the city, go to Mont-Royal park for the views. But if you have more time, I strongly suggest you also visit Laurier Park, just a stone throw's from Laurier metro station. It's the park Montrealers enjoy the most. Mature...

In the heart of Montreal’s Quartier Latin, Foufounes Électriques, or simply Les Foufs, is the oldest alternative rock venue in the city and has been a cultural institution since 1983, with its four bars, performance space, and art gallery. The...

When the weather is warm, many Montreal residents flock to an off-the-beaten path bit of Berlin in the city’s Mile-Ex district (the current name for the industrial section of Little Italy). The atmosphere is decidedly unpretentious at the...

Don’t let the formal name of the Société des Arts Technologiques fool you. Yes, SAT is a non-profit cultural institution, established in 1996 to promote the development of immersive technologies and augmented reality. It is also, however, a...