New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [175]
SPOTLIGHT ON SOHO, NOLITA, AND LITTLE ITALY
In this high-rent neighborhood dining options are somewhat limited, resulting in crowded restaurants with steep prices. But snacking is a great strategy for experiencing the local flavor without buyer’s remorse.
Longtime New Yorkers lament that SoHo has evolved from a red-hot art district into a big-brand outdoor mall. Shoppers engulf the neighborhood on weekends like angry bees, turning Lafayette Street into a buzzing hive of commerce. As a result, popular spots can be tough to get into during prime times.
In NoLita, the trendy next-door neighborhood of indie boutiques and restaurants, the spirit of old SoHo prevails. Modest eateries are squeezed between boutiques featuring products from up-and-coming designers.
If you want authentic Italian food, don’t head south to Little Italy: most of the pasta factories along the main strip of Mulberry Street have developed reputations as tourist traps. As with SoHo, it’s a better bet to snack your way through this area.
FRESH-BAKED
Follow the beguiling scent of fresh-baked bread to Balthazar Bakery (80 Spring St., near Crosby St. | 212/965–1785), where you’ll find baguettes, boules, batards, brioche, and several other different breads. The bakery—an extension of Keith McNally’s always-packed Balthazar restaurant—boasts an extensive menu of panini, sandwiches, quiches, and homemade soups, plus newly added fresh breakfast egg dishes. The pastry chefs also turn out custom-made pastries, cakes, and cookies. Try the berry noisette tart or coconut cake, or keep it simple with a few of Balthazar Bakery’s buttery lemon or chocolate madeleines.
SOHO SIPS AND SNACKS
3 Quick Bites
Relax and refuel at one of these neighborhood haunts.
Cuban sandwich at Café Habana (17 Prince St., at Elizabeth St. | 212/625–2002): This popular pan-Latin dive also boasts excellent Mexican-style grilled corn and café con leche (with milk). The Cuban sandwich features roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and chipotle mayo.
Tacos at La Esquina (106 Kenmare St. | 646/613–7100): Order tasty pulled chicken or char-grilled steak tacos and tortas to go from the counter-service taqueria, or squeeze into the small café around the corner for a bigger sit-down meal.
Apertivo at Emporio (231 Mott St., near Prince St. | 212/358–1707): Visit this cozy Italian restaurant at happy hour, weekdays 5 to 7 pm, when cocktails and wine come with free snacks. The daily selection may include olives, ricotta frittata, cheeses, pizzas, and cubed Italian ham.
ELEVATE YOUR COCKTAIL CONSCIOUSNESS
The American cocktail renaissance is under way at Pegu Club (77 W. Houston St., near West Broadway | 212/473–7348), where renowned mixologist Audrey Saunders developed impeccable modern cocktail recipes steeped in pre-Prohibition tradition.
Inspired by a 19th-century British officers club in Burma, the intimate second-floor lounge has a colonial aura, outfitted with palm trees, dark woods, and low-slung brown-velvet couches.
Since Pegu opened several years ago, many imitators have followed, but Saunders’s libations still hold their own, with fresh-squeezed juices and house infusions in every cocktail. Watching the barkeeps in their natty vests and shirtsleeves ply their trade making drinks like an Earl Grey martini with tea-infused gin, or the Jamaican Firefly, featuring fresh ginger beer with rum and lime, makes the bar a prime perch. Ice is hand-chipped, bitters and syrups are brewed on the premises, and the results show in every glass.
“You have to look at well-crafted cocktails as fine cuisine with elements of sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy,” Saunders says. “They’re not just fruit and booze. You need spices, herbs, and other ingredients to add complexity.”
AND FOR DESSERT …
Slip into MarieBelle (484 Broome St., between Wooster