While the current trend in noodles may well be ramen, this bafflingly-named Japanese restaurant just ten minutes from my apartment specialises in udon. Unless you are my friend Diego Zambrano it will probably take you several visits to get through all the things you need to try on the menu - the gyoza are otherworldly, the sushi 'tacos' clever enough without being silly. New York has thousands of awful Japanese places; this is not one of them. It's super nice to come in on a Sunday night and eat at the bar next to curmudgeonly old guys barking at each other in Japanese.

Good vibes bar with some of the best food-next-to-your-drink in the city.

This is the view from the Manhattan Bridge of the Fulton Ferry Park, a pretty popular destination being between the Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridges, which still has the old waterfront tobacco warehouses. It’s changed a bit being made more of a “finished” park with a kind of beach etc, and has also been a regular spot for outdoor music shows, one for me being the memorable 7-7-7 Boadrum orchestrated by the Boredoms.

“We wanted to create a place where people felt at home, somewhere that people came back to often and the quality of the food shone.” – Rose Carrarini. Rose Bakery was created by Rose Carrarini and her husband Jean Charles. Great place to sit and chat with a friend, definitely try their scone with butter + jam and stroll around Dover Street Market afterwards.

Part of the Marlow restaurant group, Diner is one of the more casual / rustic options. The menu changes daily and is written out (most likely upside down by the wait staff) on your table or the back of a receipt. The only constant item is the burger, which to be honest, is one of the best in the neighborhood. If they have a breakfast sandwich for brunch, get that. The fried chicken sandwich (with dark meat) is also a favorite. They make scrambled egg dishes better than most. Dinner is solid all around (they crush a steak for two). Homemade ketchup and dijon mustard are on every table, so regardless of what you get, these two condiments are worth the visit.