Chapter One the BEST of NEW YORK
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6484-6 Ch01.F 3/25/02 9:06 AM Page 11 Chapter One THE BEST OF NEW YORK I certainly hope that you will be reading every word in this book (and underlining the good parts in pink felt-tip pen), but I under- stand that many people are truly living the New York Minute and are constantly on a mad dash from here to there—unable to spare the time to read this guide from cover to cover. Or, you may have the time to read this entire book, but find all the possibilities overwhelming. It’s also possible that you won’t be overwhelmed by the information in this book, but find that when you actually get to New York City, you get confused just trying to figure out which way is uptown and which is down- town, let alone trying to find a specific shop in NoLita. To combat the above problems, I have created this at-a-glance chapter to help you get started quickly and easily by using these pages as a handy tip sheet. This chapter features some easy- to-locate shops where you can find what you need if you’re short on time. Each store mentioned here is explained in greater depth in later chapters, and there are plenty more shops discussed inside. Addresses in all listings are given with cross streets so that you can find your destination more easily. When taking a taxi, tell the driver the cross streets as soon as you get in the car so there is no confusion. If you are in a hurry, the subway may be your best bet—especially for long hauls, which can get tedious (and expensive) in traffic. Never take the uptown or downtown bus when you are in a hurry unless you use an express bus; crosstown buses, however, are worth the effort. 11 6484-6 Ch01.F 3/25/02 9:06 AM Page 12 12 THE BEST OF NEW YORK Because of the size of the city, and the interest in the vari- ous downtown neighborhoods, I have given both uptown and downtown options for some of the categories in this chapter. Please note: I’m using 34th Street as the dividing line. This is not a traditional dividing line between uptown and downtown (many people use 14th St. or 23rd St. as the official dividing point and consider 34th St. as midtown), but I find it very handy and use it throughout this text. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO SHOP If you only have an hour to shop, your choices really depend on what part of town you’re in, what your goals are, and how frequently you get to New York. Sometimes I’m willing to blow my 1 hour in town on something totally nontraditional and sometimes I’m forced to look for something as specific as a matching button. But let’s concentrate on location in this chap- ter, since time is so tight here. The Upper East Side I can walk from 57th Street to 79th Street along Madison Avenue in about 2 hours, poking into whatever stores interest me (but not doing serious shopping). You can do this same stroll in an hour if you stick to window-shopping. Few districts of the city give you a better overview of why New York is so special. Middle Fifth Avenue Do you want an hour’s worth of visual stimulation and excite- ment or do you want to do some serious shopping? If it’s inspiration you seek (and maybe not that much in terms of durable goods), poke in quickly at Henri Bendel (712 Fifth Ave. at 56th St.). Bendel’s was heading toward bankruptcy, until it changed its focus to offer lots of hip and not-so-well-known designers. At Christmas, their tree is one of the best in New York. From there, walk to West 56th Street and hang a left, 6484-6 Ch01.F 3/25/02 9:06 AM Page 13 You Have One Late-Night Chance to Shop 13 going west, just a few feet to a store called Felissimo (10 W. 56th St.), filled with whimsy and wonder. If you really need something and need it fast, do what I do, and spend an hour in Saks Fifth Avenue (611 Fifth Ave. at 49th St.). Saks in New York is a festival unlike any other Saks in the world, but it’s also a bit of a cop-out: I want you to have your hour in Saks, but I do hope you’ve got another hour to do some shopping that’s more wild and crazy. Herald Square One hour divided between Macy’s (Broadway at 34th St.) and Old Navy (150 W. 34th St. at Broadway) should get your creative juices flowing. Lower Fifth Avenue or Chelsea Take a taxi to Jeffrey (449 W. 14th St. near Tenth Ave.) and step on it. Walk over to Barney’s Co-op (236 W. 18th St. near Seventh Ave.), if you have time. SoHo/NoLita Sure you can spend an hour breezily and easily in SoHo, but take time out and head for nearby NoLita! You’ll only have time to window shop, but you’ll have a whirlwind tour of what’s new and what’s happening in New York retail. Head directly to Janet Russo (262 Mott St. near Prince St.), and then “do” all of Mott Street and NoLita. YOU HAVE ONE LATE-NIGHT CHANCE TO SHOP Thursday night is traditionally the night that stores in Manhattan stay open late; most are open until 8 or even 9pm. However, with the amount of alternative retail in Manhattan and with all the discount stores and superstores opening New York branches, hours are changing. Some stores now stay open late on other (if not all) nights of the week as well. 6484-6 Ch01.F 3/25/02 9:06 AM Page 14 14 THE BEST OF NEW YORK YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU SEE SOMETHING VERY NEW YORK If you’re visiting from Europe, much of American retail will seem new and fresh to you. If you’re visiting from another American city, you’ll find that many Manhattan versions of your favorite chain stores are bigger and better but funda- mentally the same. Therefore, visiting those stores that are the epitome of New York style (even if they have stores in other cities as well) will give you supreme pleasure, whether you buy anything or not. For those reasons, check out: TAKASHIMAYA 693 Fifth Ave. at 54th St. EILEEN FISHER 521 Madison Ave. at 54th St. ABC CARPET & HOME 888 Broadway at 19th St. YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAY TO SHOP MARKETS Manhattan is a great city for flea markets as well as green markets (farmer’s markets). Market day has never been as good as a Saturday in Manhattan, when you can start with the flea market on Sixth Avenue and 26th Street and then bop through myriad antiques garages and junk shops in the neigh- borhood before heading east to the Green Market at Union Square (14th–16th sts. at Broadway). Uptown flea markets are on the West Side. Try Columbus at 77th Street, where there’s an outdoor and indoor portion to this Sunday-only market; the same folks who do the Sunday market now have a Saturday version at Columbus Avenue and 84th Street. 6484-6 Ch01.F 3/25/02 9:06 AM Page 15 You Want One New Store to Tell Friends About Back Home 15 YOU WANT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT PACKS IT IN SoHo. No doubt about it, SoHo is changing and is bursting with new stores—some original shops, some branches of big names. If you have the energy, there are also plenty of great overlapping shopping areas (lets call them SoHo Adjacent) nearby. Stores open late (beginning at 11am, some at 11:30am), so make a day of it by adding on a dinner at one of the hot restaurants in the vicinity. The big money continues to move into SoHo (Chanel, Eres, Armani Casa), so if you are looking for funky, hunt for it on the fringes. YOU WANT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD TO STROLL THAT IS REALLY EXCITING It’s NoLita for me, which is conveniently near SoHo, so if you have the time, you can shop ’em both. YOU WANT ONE NEW STORE TO TELL FRIENDS ABOUT BACK HOME Get your fix at Dylan’s Candy Bar (Third Ave. at 60th St.) opened by none other than Ralph Lauren’s daughter. It has two floors of goodies and items not found anywhere else, including 24 flavors of M&Ms. I would have preferred a more old-timey Polo kind of décor instead of this moderne take on a penny-candy store, but the candies are moving like, uh, hot cakes. There’s a basement floor and plenty of gift ideas as well as an old fashioned soda fountain. 6484-6 Ch01.F 3/25/02 9:06 AM Page 16 16 THE BEST OF NEW YORK YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING WILD & CRAZY Head for East 9th Street. But before you start, a warning: This is not for everyone. East 9th Street is not for anyone who buys Chanel retail. It’s funky, it’s got an edge of the creepy, and it’s not ready for prime time. But therein lies its charm. There are 2 blocks of new and funky stores, plus a very interesting branch of my beloved Eileen Fisher (314 E.