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.

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.