Is the place that all the hipsters are eating at recently. Its speciality is noodles and it has a baroque, video game, retro, decor inside, complete with pac man neons and cheesy strip lights and mirrors. Think 1984 strip bar meets bourgeois chinese take out spot.

Tucked away on the second floor, it’s easy to forget you’re in the middle of Manhattan. Order the Ika geso (squid legs) and the nankotsu (chicken cartilage), my personal favorites. You might notice people waiting around a nondescript door inside the restaurant; this is actually the entrance to the speakeasy bar Angel’s Share.

Economy Candy is an old-fashioned family owned candy store in the Lower east side. With glorious aisle after aisle of candy stocked as high as the eye can see including innumerable brands you never knew were still in production – its a treat for the eyes as well as the belly. Every time I get inside I'm looking for Willy Wonka.

I have old friends in San Francisco who grudgingly tell me that the High Line is everything that's wrong with New York. Well, too bad. To me, it embodies a culture that's constantly reinventing itself: a defunct elevated railway that was becoming a burden to the city ("we used to climb up there to throw garbage bags full of rotting Korean food at the Hasids!", noted a successful photographer's assistant) becoming a startling example of urban greening for the public good. The expert landscaping makes it feel like walking on a Montauk beach - but a stone's throw from some of New York's most progressive galleries and hotels.

Just by sitting on a bench and drinking a coffee in the park, I can be entertained by so many performers and some crazy people.