Roll N Roaster is a fast food place in Sheepshead Bay that has been open since 1971. Get the roast beef sandwich with cheese and a bottle of Moet champagne (not joking).

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.

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.

This place is amazing. It's a short walk from our apartment and has an amazing happy hour including cheap guacamole and $4 margaritas. We can spend an hour or five hours here at a time because the environment is so casual, welcoming, and the food is just damn good. Get the lengua or the camaron al mojo de ajo tacos or hongos and rajas con papas if you are vegan.

It's the smallest espresso bar making the best espresso drinks in Manhattan.