MY Secret NY

NYC’s best dive bar

Sunny’s is not just a bar, it’s a legend. This establishment has been owned by the Neapolitan Balzano family for over a century now. Opened in 1890 in the harbor of Red Hook, it passed through time under various names. Once the haunt of longshoremen and sailors, the bar has now become the refuge of artists and, along with the neighborhood’s gentrification, the sanctuary of a few hipsters. If over the decades the clientele dramatically shifted, the atmosphere however remains exactly the same. It’s a simple dive bar, a timeless…

Yurt alert

Brrr. It’s cold outside. You have entered hibernation mode and the only thing that could drag you out of your winter torpor (and your quilt) is an exceptional venue. What about an end-of-the-world experience? This winter the terrace of the Standard Hotel East Village transforms into a Siberian forest. Five yurts are hidden in an enchanting setting, in the middle of the fir trees and between the garlands of light. Come inside to warm up! Inside the tents, the muted atmosphere is closer to the…

Beyond magic

It’s a new show – but we can’t tell you about it. It is an original and surprising experience – but we can’t reveal anything. Anyone who saw it will urge you to go, but no one will give you any details. So how do you talk about a show when you can’t disclose anything? It is a performance at the crossroads of a haunting one-man play, a bewildering magic show and an immersive theater experience. A one-of-a-kind hybrid concept. When you enter the small…

Ephemeral & enchanting

What would you say of a gastronomic menu in the intimacy of a small local bakery? It sounds very much like a Christmas tale. At nightfall, the kitchen of a Brooklyn bakery transforms into a fancy grand restaurant. Chef Mads Refslund has temporarily settled in Claus Meyer’s bakery. These two met while working at Noma, the Danish darling restaurant of all globetrotters, which won the title of world’s best restaurant for several years. This Christmas season Meyers Bageri metamorphoses into Knightshift where a culinary high…

3 winter pleasures

Left picture: cheese fondue at Diviera Drive (photo credit to Jeanne Chiaravalli); Top right picture: hot chocolate at Cacao Market; bottom right picture: knitting with Sophie. We have some good and some bad news. The bad news is that it’s going to get colder and colder. The good news is that we have 3 discoveries to share that will soften the blow of winter’s arrival. 3 guilty pleasures to warm you up and help you to have some patience while waiting for Christmas to get here….

A day in Westchester

So we’re back to winter time. It’s the beginning of a long tunnel of too short days and too cold nights. To give you a little boost, we put together a special daytrip upstate, close to NYC. A culture / hiking / gastronomy trilogy that that will cheer you up. First stop: the charming hamlet of Katonah, one hour north of Manhattan. The Katonah Art Museum is a hidden gem under the radar of most art-lovers. The space is tiny (managing expectations here: it is…

Small café, Big crush

Fall has quietly set in New York, at the slow pace of vermilion leaves paving the streets of Manhattan and dwindling temperatures. Indian summer is officially over! Our new fancy: find the best spots to sip a steaming hot tea curled up in a comfy sofa. And to smoothly start November, we found you a cozy little café where you can enter hibernation mode. L’estudio is your new sanctuary on the Lower East Side from here on out. A café full of charm where hanging around feels just right. It’s the kind…

Get ready to be surprised

What we love in New York is discovering hidden gems, finding oneself in exceptional places and being surprised. Recently we had the chance to attend a cello concert in a chocolate factory lost in the far shore of Brooklyn with a beer and chocolate tasting. Magical moment! Or listening to a string quartet in a remote artists’ studio on the beach 50 minutes from Manhattan. Total change of scene! How? By way of Groupmuse. Groupmuse is a classical music collective which invites itself in exceptional…

MY Secret NY guide is out!

To start September off on the right foot, let us share some good news: the MY Secret NY guide is out today! MY Secret NY teamed up with Hachette to write the 2018 version of their collection “Un Grand Weekend“. Result: 221 pages of insider spots if you want to spend a long weekend in NYC. A confidential restaurant, a secret shop, a trendsetting hidden bar… find all our exclusive tips in a small practical guide full of good vibes and illustrated by our artist Mathilde. And to celebrate…

Summer vibes

You already emptied your suitcase and put away your swimsuit, but summer isn’t over! To get back to it smoothly and get you up to speed on the latest hotspots, we decided to embark on a quest for the Holy Grail. You know, that hipster hidden gem that no one knows about and that you will be envied to have the exclusivity. We proceeded methodically. We wanted a beach shake to extend the vacation feeling. With a fish and selfish atmosphere to remind you of…