7 Favourite NYC Haunts
De Maria
I stumbled into De Maria for the first time upon the early wake of its opening, pushed in by the early Spring-but-feels-like-Winter NYC wind. The two things that I still hold within me are the equal warmth of my server and that of the Turmeric Ginger juice with lemon she so graciously created for me off-menu to warm up. For a more filling pit-stop, try their Endive & Poached Chicken Salad or a quick plate of crudités.
Dr. Cow Store
This little shop is the motha of nut cheeses—the O.G. shop—teeming with a rotation of selections spiked with tongue-twisting and appetite whetting additions like blue-green algae and reishi on the rind. It's a rainbow whirl of cheese. Make sure to get their house-made hazelnut mylk made with Sun Potion Anandamide & other various provisions while you're there.
The Good Sort
Green, Blue, Pink, Gold, Blue, and Black are all the expansive millennial hues your latté can take at its equally millennial spot that sits near a bilingual sign. As you stare at the pink walls or the neon pink sign, sip on the earthy Black latté with charcoal & black sesame seeds. Alternatively, spoon bowls of congee if grain is a part of your diet, with flavours ranging from poached strawberries and lychee to turmeric with coconut cream & lemon zest.
Dimes
One of the first to surf the gnarly hit of the California-Manhattan food wave, this women-owned destination is a restaurant slash boutique slash deli, dotted with wild-harvested Greek herbs, palo santo, and edible goods like açai bowls. They even have a copy of Zadie Smith's most recent novel—sit and stay a while, why don't you?
Clover Grocery
This West Village épicerie is the store counterpart of its sister restaurant Café Clover, two doors down the street. It offers an equally tantalising menu consisting of sundries and café staples like kale-hemp seed pesto & lavender yuzu tonic. It's also stocked with items for beauty inside and out, from Sun Potion & Moon Juice provisions to small-batch skincare goods from Linné (De Maria's Camille Becerra has some dotting her bathroom counters) & Vintner's Daughter (which sells "the face oils to end all face oils," according to ITG).
Stanley's Pharmacy
One of the O.G. herbs as medicine destinations, Stanley's is part pharmaceutical drug dispenser, part tea counter, and part juice bar that revolutionises what it means to dispense medicine. A menu of drinks & drugs will provide a prescription of kombucha for systematic balance and an anti-cramping tea blend with an optional side of Midol.
