MY Secret NY

Into the wild

Left picture: Minnewaska State Park; Top right picture: beach at Sebago Cabin Camp; bottom right picture: Sebago Lake. Still no plans for Labor Day? Let’s face it: D-1 before America’s most anticipated long weekend, it’s probably too late! You won’t find the beach house of your dreams in the Hamptons or the charming lakefront cottage in the Catskills. But don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you stranded in NYC. We’re launching a special weekend rescue operation! Did you know that within two hours of Manhattan…

Spending August in NYC? Lucky you!

Any plans for Monday night? Movie buffs or night owls: rendez-vous on Hotel Hugo’s rooftop. A hotel hidden in Hudson Square, a sort of no-man’s land between the trendy neighborhoods of Soho and TriBeCa, lost between a UPS center and the Holland Tunnel’s entrance. Anti-glamor you said? Trust us, it’s Downtown’s most stylish terrace. Take the elevator, go to the top floor and enter the very chic Hugo bar with its large bay windows and its stunning 360-degree views of Manhattan. You will feel the…

Your Summer Trilogy

Left picture: The Roof; Top right picture: The Crown; bottom right picture: Good Story. Rooftop, rooftop, rooftop. It’s the watchword this summer if you’re staying in Manhattan. HQ of night owls during the warmer months, reach for the sky on the perched roofs above NYC’s urban jungle. The good news is that the 2017 hit list of panoramic terraces is full of pleasant surprises. Judge for yourself: we selected 3 new bars hooked up to the skyline where you will be able to fine-tune your suntan….

A night at Gatsby’s

There is a time machine in the catacombs of a hotel in Tribeca. It instantly transports you to the Jazz Age. Many of you are familiar with the Roxy hotel, but we would guess that very few are aware of the presence of a private jazz club concealed in its basement. Welcome to The Django, a vintage cabaret boasting vaulted ceilings and candlelit corners. You can have dinner or share some nibbles at a table and have a drink at their sumptuous bar. Get dizzy…

You said Jersey City?

There is a huge cultural space right next to Manhattan that you probably never heard of. Intrigued ? Welcome to Mana Contemporary – perhaps one of the art world’s best-kept secrets. So yes, you’ll have to cross the Hudson River and venture over to Jersey City but we guarantee the discovery is worth the detour. This former tobacco warehouse and factory occupying 6 floors and stretching over 450,000 square feet was converted into a contemporary art center. A gigantic space. At a time of deep cuts in arts funding for museums, Mana is a refreshing…

By word of mouth

It is a secret restaurant we wish we could keep secret. A neighborhood restaurant tuned to Pink Floyd. A restaurant for regulars where you always end up chatting with the person sitting next to you or with the owner Pierre. After spending several years as a bartender in New York, this French epicurean saved enough money to open his own restaurant three years ago. A restaurant no bigger than a handkerchief with only 18 seats. But don’t worry, Pierre will always find a seat for…

The bar that hipsters don’t know about yet

In the galaxy of NY speakeasies, there’s a new kid on the block. And the least you can say about it is that its entrance is a headscratcher! You will first need to find the front door of a former laundromat, enter a Mexican grocery store and step up into a fridge door to penetrate the sanctuary of La Milagrosa. Above all, you will need to get their phone number as it’s reservation-only. Ready? La Milagrosa is a bar concealed behind a bodega selling Mexican…

Under the radar

Initially we wanted to tell you about this new restaurant, Loring Place. Chef Dan Kluger offers an inventive veggie-centric cuisine with premium quality products and a light-hearted spirit. The only downside: it took us over a month to get a reservation at a decent time (i.e. not 5 or 10.30pm). Because of recent press coverage, because Obama just dined there or whatever, Loring Place is one of those (too many) NYC restaurants which has fallen victim to its own success and where it is impossible…

All-in-one movie date

Movie buffs and gastronomes do not always mix well together. A movie screening indeed often ends in a sugar high after the usual orgy of buttered popcorn and an overdose of candy bars. What if you could have a proper meal during your screening? Just to reconcile the Seventh Art adepts and food-lovers. Syndicated is among the (too) rare cinemas offering an all-in-one movie date: screening and dinner in the same evening. Find your seat, get cozy while looking at the menu and order food…

Concert in a living room

8pm, somewhere in Soho. A small crowd is gathering in front of an old industrial building. Where are they heading? To a concert. Who’s playing? They don’t know. NY cultivates the art of secrecy like no other city. Glorious legacy of Prohibition, it is the kingdom of the speakeasy, hidden bars, and confidential rendez-vous. Good news because we LOVE secrets. And even more to share them with you. So let us tell you about the underground concerts organized by Sofar Sounds: concerts every night all…