When I first rolled into New York City on a Greyhound from the Martha's Vineyard ferry terminal back in 1981, I never dreamed I would spend at least the next 26 years of my life here. I was crashing on the floor of my former college roommate's studio apartment in the far West Village and I hoped, as I meandered about those maze-like streets, that downtown Manhattan would someday be my home. After protracted periods of life on the Upper East and West sides, I finally settled in Greenwich Village with my family of five. With an office in Soho, downtown is pretty much my full-time stomping ground.
Mornings are perfect at Balthazar in Soho, where the locals meet for blazing hot coffee, bread, and pastries baked at the Balthazar Bakery next door. Farther west on 12th Street, the new Cafe Cluny has a quiet neighborhood feel and plenty of free newspapers to peruse while ... [more]
Andy Arons, Gourmet Garage
Gramercy
Gramercy is a small residential neighborhood filled with young families with children, dogs, or children and dogs, centered on Gramercy Park, a locked space between 20th and 21st Streets, Park Avenue South, and Third Avenue. The gated park is for the residents of the square, including the National Arts Club and the Gramercy Hotel. The lovely little street that abuts the park from the south, Irving Place, is the area’s own Restaurant Row.