I don't go to the movies much but when I do I love coming here... they have the best of the independent and international films and it's the last of it's kind in New York.

It's Christmas year-round at Panna II, as the walls and ceilings are completely covered with festive string lights. A great restaurant for a group dinner, Panna II offers small sharable plates in a fun and lively atmosphere. It's BYOB with no corkage fee so stop by the liquor store beforehand to pick up all the wine, beer and liquor you can carry.

The Brooklyn Flea is another treasure trove of odd finds, cool artifacts, and handmade goodness. If you're looking for inspiration or just something cool to hang on your wall, you can probably find something here. And if all that treasure hunting leaves you hungry, you are in luck--there's a delicious assortment of local food vendors and artisans there too.

I'm a huge Japanophile: if there's one other place I'd like to live, it's Tokyo. I must have been there seven or eight times, most recently just after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Anyway, EN is a gem on Hudson Street, serving real Japanese cuisine. It turns out that EN is a chain in Japan; there are a lot of branches making lovely bosky food in cosy neighbourhood locations. But their New York incarnation is grand in scale and ambition, with solid, warm interiors (not unlike if the Whitney were a Japanese restaurant, oddly) - a remarkable hybrid of this city, and the other one that I'd love to live in.

My favorite coffee ever in NYC ! The first place I went when I lived in Brooklyn. The music is perfect, food is excellent. Definitely the perfect spot to read a book on sunday morning and a good work place for freelancers.