Eat & Drink

 

Babbo Italian restaurant on Waverly Place by pcphoto on Flickr

Babbo (110 Waverly Place), the flagship Italian restaurant of celebrity chef Mario Batali, is bang opposite the hotel. Make a reservation in advance, or if you can’t get in, console yourself with the cookbook. The Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia St) is an excellent alternative, with a performance space downstairs – Suzanne Vega got her first big break here.
The cupcake craze is not going anywhere, and in this neighbourhood you’re spoilt for choice. The Magnolia Bakery (401 Bleecker St at West 11th), made famous by its appearances in Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada, has now expanded to three other sites in Manhattan (Upper West Side, Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Terminal) but this is the first and the original.

Sweet Revenge, New York by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Bake on Flickr

There are plenty of competitors for its crown: Sweet Revenge (62 Carmine St) is a bar that pairs its cupcakes with wine and beer, Crumbs Bake Shop (37 East 8th St) is famous for its ‘colossal’ cupcakes (the size of an average birthday cake), and Cupcake Stop (70 Greenwich Avenue) also has a mobile truck which parks at different destinations around the city daily – check their twitter feed for location details.
Beloved local gourmet deli Citarella (424 6th Ave at 9th St) also sells an impressive range of cupcakes and other baked goods, but is better known for its incredible array of seafood, aged meats and handcrafted breads. Head here to stock up for your Central Park picnic.

Citarella by snowpea&bokchoi on Flickr

Joe the Art of Coffee (141 Waverly Place) is the choice of locals for your daily java, and late night snackers will find satisfaction at the 24hr Washington Square Diner (150 West 4th St at 6th Ave).
The White Horse Tavern (567 Hudson St at 11th St) is one of the very few remaining artist and writer hangouts that is still open today. Dylan Thomas drank here, as did Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Jack Kerouac and Norman Mailer. Mix it up with locals, NYU students and tourists, and dream of that novel you’ll write one day. The Stonewall Inn (53 Christopher St) kickstarted the modern gay-rights movement after the infamous Stonewall Riots of 1969. Its bars on two levels have recently been renovated and host nightly events and parties.