East Village Faves

Blog, I neglect you. This calls for another TOP 5 LIST. 

Top new 5 Favorite East Village Spots, all around good ol' St. Mark's Place.

 5) Sunrise Mart - Asian grocery story on 3rd Ave. You have to take an elevator up, but this hidden little market has its fair of treasures and seems a little more authentic than M2M down the block. (Not that I don't also love M2M!)

4) The Spot Dessert Bar, so hidden and adorable you could almost miss it. 13 St. Mark's Pl. I recommend the milk teas and the chocolate chunk coconut cookie. But then again, everything looks good.

3) While we're talking dessert: The Chocolate Library, at 111 St. Mark's Pl. I stumbled upon this place on President's Day weekend. The salesperson was wise enough to stay open late. Combined with the free samples and the offer of a free orchid with purchase, I walked away with a $10 chocolate bar and an orchid that's still alive! I can't guarantee your experience will be quite so special, but they do have some delectable gourmet chocolate here.

2) And on to drinks. 10 Degrees Bar, a hop and a skip away from The Chocolate Library, at 121 St. Mark's Pl. The place has gorgeous and charming ambiance. Weekdays it tends to be a lot more low-key (and under the radar) than weekends!

1) Another bar. Ninth Ward. At 180 2nd Ave, with large wooden doors, it is easy to pass by. This bar not only has a fireplace, terrific ambiance (think speakeasy-esque) and serves food, but it also has delectable (and strong) cocktails. Absinthe included.

Early November NYC Adventures

I would say my fun last week began on Wednesday, November 3, when I met up with my friend to eat dinner at DuMont in Williamsburg. With a heated backyard garden and a pan-seared scallops special, my dining experience at DuMont was truly exquisite.

(The heated backyard garden at DuMont, open and airy,
and even more romantic and alluring by night.)

Then on Thursday, November 4 was Yelle at Highline Ballroom. Although I understood only a handful of the words in Yelle's lyrics, the songs are truly infectious, with high-energy rhythms and the lilting sounds of Yelle's titillating French.



And on Friday, I had yet another lovely Williamsburg dining experience: at Dressler's, located in South Williamsburg incredibly close to me. Dressler's is easily the most upscale place I have yet dined at in Williamsburg, with its charmingly decorated interior accentuated with classy chandeliers. Although my date was unable to secure reservations (unless we wanted to eat close to 10 pm), we enjoyed dinner and drinks at the bar, accompanied by a seemingly unending stream of fresh rolls. And topped off with a fresh apple tart. I do have to warn, it's not the most vegetarian-friendly place for dinner. This just means I'll have to return soon to Dressler's to try their brunch...

(Dressler's, above)

Yum. It has been a delicious week.

And speaking of delicious, I also finally redeemed a LivingSocial special for a box of handcrafted chocolates at Bespoke Chocolates, a simple, elegant chocolaterie in the East Village. Bespoke's profile on their website reads:

"Bespoke Chocolates is an award-winning artisanal chocolaterie established in New York City in 2008. Bespoke Chocolates specializes in the production of luxury handcrafted chocolates created with the freshest ingredients. Our chocolates are of the finest quality on the market, marrying classic European techniques with modern flavor profiles. Our Bespoke Chocolate shop, located in New York City’s East Village, features an open kitchen, allowing our guests to watch and interact with our chocolatier. It also serves as a unique destination for experiencing chocolate through regular in-store classes, tastings open to the public, and private sessions with our chocolatier for groups or corporations."

With chocolate morsels such as pretzel-covered sea-salted caramels, Turkish coffee bonbons and orange-infused dark chocolate, Bespoke Chocolate's diverse array more than compensates for is small size. I may just have to find out when the next chocolate tasting is.

(Above, the Turkish coffee bonbon.
As described on BeSpoke Chocolate's website:
"Soft Caribbean dark chocolate ganache, delicately infused with cardamom and coffee.
Not exactly a trip to Istanbul, but close enough for a Tuesday afternoon.")

And last night I discovered an East Village staple, Heather's, a very inconspicuous "dive" bar on East 13th St. (Personally, I see this place as more lounge than dive bar; it is simple and clean without being pretentious.) It was so refreshingly free of 22-year-olds and loud frat-party types that I felt like I was back in Williamsburg, that is, before Williamsburg also became flooded with people from outside hoods and boroughs. Yelpers also rave about their happy hour and DJ's.

So many places to try and so many places to try again.

Bike Basket Find: NYC 70's Flash Map

The other day I rode my bike into Manhattan to go to Yoga to the People. Located on St. Mark's Place in the East Village, it's a relatively quick bike ride for me from Williamsburg; and Yoga to the People is a donation-based studio that accepts any amount you wish to pay for the class, if any. (Yes, I paid; it is well worth it!) The typical class runs an hour long and you feel the workout. Nothing like a bike ride to wind down after some serious yoga stretches...

So I am generally unconcerned about my bike; as long as it's locked up, it's safe enough, though the deteriorating state of my bike seat seems to encourage people to mess with it more these days. And this time, returning to my bike after yoga, which was locked up on 3rd Ave by the Stomp theater, I found that my basket was overflowing with books. Okay, garbage in my bike basket I've seen, but books? What was going on?

A closer look revealed that they were all maps, from all over the world. My automatic response was to be annoyed that someone saw my bike basket as a place to discard their unwanted maps, but a closer look revealed that the maps were actually intriguing. I decided to keep only one: a New York in Flash Maps book from the 70's. Hopefully someone else picked up the other discarded treasures... Here are some pictures of the fantastically dated book. Note that it was only 98¢!




(Above: How many of these shops still exist? Note some of the classics, Like Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Ave and Tiffany's)

Interesting, there was the West Side, and Lower West Side, all above Chelsea. And so continues the constant evolution of NYC.

Mellow Sunday

I am recovering from a minor bike accident, so I kept it mellow last night and today.

Today I enjoyed some wining and dining in not one, but two cafes in the East Village: Cafe Brama and the MudSpot.

Cafe Brama, on 2nd Ave. at 10th St., features a $10 brunch menu with $2 drinks (my $2 drink was a mimosa - yum!). Its evening menu looks quite delectable as well. My spinach and cheese crepes were phenomenal - seriously, incredible! It couldn't quite make my scratches go away, but it could certainly take my mind off things!

Even more special was the MudSpot, located at 307 East 9th St. Known for its Mud trucks around the city, the MudSpot is a very quaint cafe with a charming, hidden backyard they call the Secret Garden, a nickname that is fully deserved! My sangria and molten brownie with vanilla ice cream were delectable. Aparrently they have live events on Monday nights at the Mudspot cafe.

Free Comedy Over Free Music Last Night

As much as I really, really wanted to see Blondie live last night, I wasn't quite prepared for the combination of the long subway rides and the crowds that were surely there - in masses and masses, out for the free show with legendary rock performers Blondie and Pat Benatar, along with the Donnas.

So I stayed semi-local and saw a free comedy show at the Nightingale Lounge, in the East Village.

Thursdays they offer free comedy -- which started out strong and generally very enjoyable, and slowly declined with each successive comedian. Anyway, it was free, so I can't say it wasn't worth it! Nightingale Lounge has a very relaxed, intimate set-up, with the small stage central, across from the bar and encircled by the audience.

I recommend checking out this lounge and seeing their Calendar of Events, which features nightly happenings, such as open-mics of all kinds, poetry readings, music jam sessions and dance parties.

East Village Bar/Restautant: Death & Co.

Now that the chill in the air has become a regular feature of NYC life, I find that I am more inclined towards cozy nights in lounges and at home than bar-hopping or trying to squeeze as many music shows as I can into my schedule.

That said, I wanted to highlight this bar/lounge/restaurant I came across as an under-the-radar gem in the East Village: Death and Company. The name of the place is a reference to the Volstead Act of 1919 and the Prohibition era, when, as Death & Co's website states, "It was thought that to drink alcohol was to live a life shadowed by death. It was thought by some that these were death and company."

As such, the lounge has sought to refine the perfect cocktail and has a menu with elaborate cocktail concoctions, as well as a wine list. They also have a delectable culinary menu.

The lounge does not permit photography, but I snapped a couple of pictures before realizing.