Foodie And Fitness Hotspots In New York
So I've recently had the best week of food in my life in New York, we were visiting my aunty and Sam's friends who live there and also having a little holiday for ourselves. I'd last been as a teenager with my family and Sam was there for work in his early twenties and told me he spent pretty much every day at Soho House, eye roll, so we definitely wanted to make the most of it this time and of course both being foodies, we had a huge list of foodie spots to get through.
The food scene in London would be hard to beat for me but from street food style to Michelin star and vegan to fish tacos we were completely spoilt in New York. I loved the diversity and personally felt it was actually less overwhelming then London which is so hard to navigate and keep up with sometimes.
I honestly couldn't choose my favourite out of the list below but there was something simply perfect about sitting in the sunshine in Central Park eating the most amazing smoked salmon cream cheese bagel. It's the little things in life. Read on to find out more about the best foodie hotspots as well as how we stayed fit and healthy during our week in the big apple...
Authentic mexican tacos are a must and we headed to the Tacombi's Nolita location on 267 Elizabeth street which is also home to some gorgeous boutique shops. We loved strolling around this area in Lower East Side and definitely deserved our huge plate of tortilla chips with guacamole. Just watch Sam's reaction to that guacamole on my New York vlog to get an idea of how good it was. We then each had the baja crispy fish taco after being recommended it by the waitress. We could have eaten another but we were having pizza that evening so thought we better not overdo it. I loved the vibe at this location with the sunshine hut bar and taco van and can imagine it's a great atmosphere for dinner with cocktails too.
Thank goodness for Ludlow Coffee Supply and their life changing iced vanilla oat milk lattes, after 27k steps in 30 degree New York heat these really were a little taste of heaven. The perfect pit stop to rest up and get a creamy caffeine hit. I also had an iced mocha here later on in the week, also also it's opposite one of the three Reformation stores so if you want somewhere for your BF to chill while you try on many many dresses then this is the one.
So of course there's lots of places for good pizza in New York but oh my goodness am I happy we had a John's Pizzeria within 5 minutes walk of our apartment in Jersey. There's 3 size options, personal, small and large. Sam went for large and was given a questionable look by the waiter who wasn't convinced he could finish it. I knew he would easily! I've recently read that fire brick oven thin crust pizza's are way better than the trendy sourdough based pizza's you see at the moment and as a pizza fanatic I'm starting to agree. It's the toppings that really pop on a pizza and the dough should compliment them rather than overpower them. I had a simple margarita and the mozzarella was perfection. Eaten al fresco with a glass of red- even better!
An avocado toast favourite amongst foodies, this plant based cafe and juice bar is buzzy and had been on my list for ages. I had to visit and of course ordered the avocado toast. It can be a hit and miss with avocado toast right and although not the best I'd ever had the fact we were sitting out in the sunshine made this lunch spot so dreamy and I did catch other dishes going out which looked amazing so if you can cope with not ordering everyone's fave then maybe try something different here. I think the 9 Grain French Toast would be my order next time.
As a Psycle fan in London, I had to get myself to a Soul Cycle class in New York. Due to the time difference we were waking up early so thought why not make the most of the days and hit some early morning fitness classes. Soul Cycle was so familiar and I really didn't need to be nervous from the chattiness in the girls changing room to the epic music, I loved the whole experience although I would say Psycle is tougher! Can you believe it!
I read about Mimi Cheng's in a magazine on the plane flying over. Low key, casual but incredibly tasty is how Sam and I love to eat the most and this ticked all those boxes and more. If you are a dumpling fan then your mouth will water just looking at their website and Instagram. I went for the steamed tofu dumplings with steamed rice and Sam went for the fried version. We swapped 1 of each and I must say I know it's the healthier option but I did prefer the steamed version the best- so so fresh and soon delicious. I think I'd be detouring past Mimi Cheng's every night for a take out if I lived in New York. Hint hint- please come to London and bring that secret Mimi Cheng's dumpling sauce too!
Vegan and unbelievably good. One of the two michelin star restaurants we were taken too by Sam's friends who live in New York, what I loved most about these michelin star restaurants was how low key they were. You wouldn't have guessed they would have been until you taste the absolutely delicious food. We basically tried a little bit of everything on the menu as a group but a must is the cauliflower tempura with steamed buns and pickles. I definitely haven't come across vegan vegetarian restaurant as good in London.
Seed + Mill is in Chelsea Market and we stumbled across it much to my delight as a huge all things sesame fan. It's a tahini and goats cheese ice cream spot and also has the most amazing range of halva. Halva is a sweet middle eastern delight made by mixing tahini with sugar at a high temperature then stirring in individual flavours. On offer at Seed + Mill there's flavours like rose, pistachio and sea salt dark chocolate to name a few. Crumbled on top of our tahini ice cream, this was the perfect treat to enjoy in the park outside Chelsea Market before walking the High Line.
Back in the East Village we had a perfect moroccan brunch with orange juice, coffee and eggs alongside pitta, bread and potatoes and hummus of course. Cafe Mogador is a must and another spot that I would have loved to have come for dinner too if we'd had time. Although it's Moroccan it feels really New Yorky and we sat watching the world go back enjoy every second of our brekkie. There's also a Brooklyn location.
As the home of Pilates and a Pilates teacher and enthusiast I couldn't not hit some reformer Pilates classes whilst in New York. My expectations were high and New York Pilates surely did exceed them. We went to their soho location which is in the most beautiful building and the feel is very chic but casual. Also next door to a Reformation store FYI and opposite a gorgeous coffee shop. Clara our wonderful teacher taught such a beautiful class that we went twice! If I could pick anything up from New York and plant it in London (and preferably within walking distance of my flat) it would be this studio. If you are in New York and want a fun functional experience on the reformer in a stunning and very cool studio then book in. It's worth it. I loved how enthusiastic and passionate lots of people are about Pilates in New York which I think is lacking at the moment in London.
For the last two days of our trip we stayed at The Viceroy Hotel right by Central Park, it's Roof top bar is a must for a drink but they also arranged a 5K Central Park Sight Seeing tour for us with Fit Tour's NYC. I must say we were slightly hungover so when they lobby called up on the Sunday at 8am saying our guides were here for our run we were a little worst for wear however it really was one of highlights of the trip and definitely a great way to recover from the night before. We were taking around a really amazing route and shown all the tourist spots which have such great stories, our guide was so knowledgable and it was really interesting. I'd really recommend this.
H&H Midtown Bagels
We wanted to have a wander around Upper East Side which was definitely a change from downtown but really lovely to be near the park with beautiful museums and the most gorgeous streets and views. We both decided bagels was needed so I literally typed into google best bagels in New York and H&H Midtown Bagels came up, we headed straight there and was not disappointed with lots of choice. We grabbed two bagels to go and sat in Central Park in the sunshine eating them. My bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese was EPIC! So so much cream cheese! Sam went for an avocado one. The sweet option with blueberry compote looked amazing too.
I was so happy that we were able to spend a night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's full of cute restaurants and feels a bit like being in a film as you walk around. Its the place for delicious al fresco dining. We went to Meadowsweet which I think is hands down one of the best meals I've ever had. I could have just sat and eaten the bread and tajarin and truffle forever. It's another place where ordering a few starters and a few mains for the table seems to be the thing- get a beautiful bottle of wine and spend hours here wining and dining. Perfect holiday vibes.
On our last day we went back to New York Pilates and I really wanted a yummy healthy brunch after so our Pilates teacher recommended Two Hands. She was adamant we went there which is always a good sign and thank goodness she did as this was one of the best avocado toasts I've had. It's got Aussie beach side vibes but in the heart of the trendy Nolita area. Two things that make a good avocado toast in my opinion- amazing rustic thick cut bread and a good amount of creamy slightly salty slightly spicy avocado.
And last but certainly not least of this epic list, Hu Kitchen, we didn't eat at their cafe but stocked up on their nut butter chocolates which yes are just as good as they sound. Think cashew butter and vanilla bean dark chocolate and my favourite hazelnut butter dark chocolate which is like eating a nutella chocolate bar. You can get them in the Wholefoods out there too, which is another must go if your obsessed the wonderful world of health foods too. Before our flight, Sam and I went to the Wholefoods salad bar to get dinner and sat in Bryant Square for our last al fresco New York meal.
This is, I'm sure, just a sprinkling of what New York has to offer so definitely wander around and find your own gems but let me know if you go to any of the above. I'm literally looking up flights to go out again as I hit publish on this post.
Love, Lottie x