NEW YORK CITY

a city guide

To be honest, writing a guide about New York City has always intimidated me. I spent a lot of my life visiting the city—mostly sticky summer days spent at my grandmother’s apartment off the Van Wyck expressway eating lots of Jamaican beef patties and slice pizza and Italian ices with my cousins and sister all piled together in the middle of the fold out bed. We’d take the double decker bus every summer, and we would always beg our grandmother to let us stop at the candy store at FAO Schwarz. 

I ended up moving to NYC in my early 20’s after returning from abroad after university. I lived the typical life that most young people do trying to make it in fashion in NY–tossed about by creatives with power trips and paid less than I could live on. I carried garment bags across long avenues, talked about my work as much as I could hoping to “make it”, and went to fashion week more than a few times. 

Usually when I visit NYC, I stick to my usuals to remind me of those sweet years I spent in this city. Most trips, I treat myself to a veggie bowl and chickpea fries from Peacefood Cafe and sit in my hotel room with the TV tuned to some junky show. I always try to walk past my old office by Union Square to remind myself how far I have come, and bask in the sun on the High Line if the weather is nice. All of this to say that a lot of times I don’t venture too far out from my old favorites. 

However. For my birthday trip this year, I did end up exploring a bit more than usual, so here are some of my recent faves from this visit. Perhaps I’ll add in some older haunts once in a while to fill out this list :).