Got time to kill between fashion shows? We know the coziest place to eat a warm cupcake, read a good book, or just plain duck-and-cover from the snow.
The Tom Tom Club
Tom Colicchio transforms Craftsteak into Colicchio & Sons, serving the sophisticated, contemporary American dishes he pioneered at Gramercy Tavern. The more casual front Tap Room serves meats and vegetables roasted in the wood-burning oven.
Getting Tipsy
Tipsy Parson has all the Southern gentility a neighborhood could hope for. Shelves are full of mementos (lucky horseshoe, vintage typewriter), bar snacks are plentiful (cheese curds, pickled shrimp, hush puppies), and a slushie machine churns out Concord grape juleps.
World on a Vine
Appellation Wines & Spirits is the first wine shop in NYC to specialize in organic and biodynamic wines. As in, it sells wines made with minimal or no pesticides. Because, according to owner Scott Pactor, wines should “reflect the earth from which they come.”
Cup o’ Joy
At Joe the Art of Coffee, meticulously trained baristas who take their roast, grind, and foam very seriously give coffee the sort of care usually reserved for wine, cheese, and chocolate. No wonder the cafe inspires such cultish devotion.
Pop Tarts
Pretty little sweets shop Three Tarts stocks sugary delights wrapped and ready for giving: petits fours and cookies in ceramic bowls, parfaits in glasses, pots de crème in tiny espresso cups with saucers. Or consider the hatboxes of rosebud china, handmade marshmallows, and artisanal honey in tall glass bottles.
Double Identity
A pastiche of Nicole Farhi’s Notting Hill store of the same name, 202’s lifestyle shop is strewn with antiques from Paris, and the resto’s communal table is rumored to be a relic from a French prison.
Book Worm
The bright and airy 192 Books has an obsessively neat curation of titles that feels like a private library, with authors dropping in throughout the month to host.
Artsy Von Fartsy
Chelsea’s Von Lintel Gallery presents thoughtful paintings and pictures. Past exhibitions have featured the dreamy landscapes of photographer John Chiara or Stephen Ellis’s vibrant pattern paintings.
Le Shopping
French fabric boutique Les Toiles du Soleil stocks throw pillows, totes, window treatments, and Creation Catalan espadrilles. Customize your new home furnishings with endless fabric choices.
Bedazzled
Swing by Pippin Vintage Jewelry to sort through drawers of pearls, rhinestones, and Bakelite — at insanely good prices. Peruse cuff links, gloves, hat pins, brooches, beaded necklaces, cigarette boxes, tie bars, hand mirrors, beaded bags, and opera glasses.
Haute Housewares
A lifestyle shop for modern design junkies, Auto stocks bedding, books, and stuff for baby. It’s a good spot for indie wedding registries, too.
Fountain of Youth
Sally Hershberger Face Place is a minimalist spa dedicated to youth-enhancing treatments (manicures and reflexology can be administered at the same time). We are hooked on the deep-cleaning facials that involve crazy leather masks and galvanic current (kind of a miracle).
Quick Dry
Unlike most joints in this area, Blow Salon accommodates walk-ins. In less than an hour, you can get the do of your choosing. Starting at $35, this may very well be the only good deal left in the hood.
Shear Delight
The experts at Antonio Prieto are determined to create a unique style for your mane. In addition to traditional services, the salon also offers workshops so you can learn to replicate your do at home. Worried about your wallet? Schedule an apprentice cut or color for a fraction of the cost.
