Growing up in a small town surrounded by nature, life in the city becomes difficult sometimes. Prospect park is a great place to take a deep breath and refresh. Seeing the horizon there eases my mind.

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.

Consistently superb wlbrg staple. Good for coffee, lunch and lavish dinners.

Growing up I’d go to Staten Island a lot due to how close it was to my hometown. It wasn’t until I went back as an adult that I realized the uniqueness of this place, the outdated but also artistically beautiful aesthetic of the island, and appreciated it more. Plus the food (lots of diners and Italian food) is great and people watching is also pretty interesting.

At independent record label RVNG’s Commend Records you can shop for vinyl from artists like….along with an eclectic mix of clothing, ceramics, and more.