Pret a Manger

Hanamizuki had an unexpected beginning in 2014: it grew out of a laser hair removal business. Jumi Fujiwara, who originally hails from Osaka, Japan, desired to combine beauty and health and open a healthy Japanese café adjacent to her hair-removal studio. Most things on the menu are traditional food items from her homeland, but with a twist. As she explained, “Rice balls are simple, but can have a lot of ingredients. ” Part of what lures the customers (and myself) in is the décor. Jumi shared that she teamed up with a “Green artist” from Japan who has expertly made the café look like the inside of someone’s lofty garden shed. Ivy and other plant life frame the space while dried herb and flower displays are nestled next to rusted accessories. The café is a little rustic watering hole in the center of the bustling city.

Somehow I can never get over the fact that on almost every side street of Manhattan, there is yet another fabulous coffee bar. Gregorys measures up to all of the rest. Located on the corner of Sixth Avenue, but with a side entrance, everyone raves about their cup of coffee. Like so many others, the environment is friendly, relaxed and filled with people on their laptops and just hanging out chatting. Upstairs I learned about "coffee cuppings. " Set up in the "traditional" way to taste coffee, five different coffees are lined up on the table with three bowls that have the same beans in each. Customers are invited to sample first by smelling, and then with a spoon once it is steeped and the grounds have moved to the bottom of the cup. According to one of the baristas who chimed in on my conversation with a fellow worker, Gregory Zamfotis first went down the road as an attorney before deciding that he wanted to open a coffee bar. His parents owned restaurants around the city, so he had grown up in this world and knew that he was ready to be a part of it, in his own way. He opened his first shop on Park and 23rd in 2006, and then several more followed. The home-baked goods are prepared for each of the locations at their shop on 46th Street and is overseen by Gregory's dad, George. And, in the not too distant future, there are several more coffee shops coming to the financial district.

Naturopathica is a one-stop shop for healing and wellness. The modern, uncluttered storefront on 26th Street contains a vitality bar where customers can purchase tonics, elixirs, tinctures, teas, and cold-pressed juices – as well as simple coffee and specialty hot drinks including spiced hot chocolate, matcha lattes, and coconut kava lattes. Each blend serves a purpose, whether it is to aid with healthy, clear skin, balance natural immunity, or ease stress or joint pain. And there is a lot of room for customization: for instance, kombucha, coconut water, and any juice can be combined with a herbal tincture and a vitality shot. On the other side of the store, there are shelves of Naturopathica’s various skin care products and remedies. The back wall, the “Remedy Bar, ” has jars of loose tea for visitors who wish to continue their road to wellness at home. As Heather Neufeld, the spa director of the Chelsea location, pointed out, Naturopathica has a “360 degree approach to wellness. ”As we were walking through the space, Heather shared a bit of background on Barbara Close, the founder and CEO. After being trained in aromatherapy, Barbara decided to create skincare and herbal remedies to reduce inflammation in the body and skin. She got her start in the mid-1990s and has since gained a reputation in the wellness and lifestyle world, thanks in part to attention from celebrities, notably Martha Stewart. Her methods involve products that work with the body’s natural processes rather than against them. She opened her first Healing Arts Center in East Hampton and has had her products carried in over 450 renowned resort and day spas in North America. Heather spoke about the East Hampton center, mentioning that it “speaks to the heritage of the brand. ” Enter the Manhattan store, which opened in December 2015: the new, twenty-first century base for Naturopathica. The Vitality Bar is one of their new features, and Heather says that it has been a wonder for introducing people to the brand. “There’s a discovery point for everyone, no matter where you are on your wellness journey. ” Even those who just come in for a coffee and decide to try dandelion root tea instead have been aided by Naturopathica. After all, “Your gut has so much to do with your overall health. ” What many people do not realize upon their initial visit, myself included, is that Naturopathica is much larger than it appears. Walking through a door in the back, I discovered numerous treatment rooms. Each one was decorated with their signature blue, with some rooms containing "seperatory funnels" filled with colorful oils. In addition to the six rooms, there is a consultation area where therapists can have private conversations and share their thoughtful cards that give clients a step-by-step list of instructions. Around the corner, a calming meditation center was situated, with a peaceful projection of a night sky in the woods. The projected photography evolves, but the softly glowing candles and variety of mats and low seats remain constant. As Heather led me back to the front, she assured me, “We practice what we preach. ” Her enthusiasm for the culture that Barbara has created was apparent. “Everything is mindfully created. ”

Nestled into the ACE Hotel, this familiar coffee shop welcomes the morning with the aroma of our favorite drink. It almost always has a constant line of both loyal customers and out-of-towners. Not to worry, however, the baristas move everyone through quickly, nicely, and efficiently. The small space is standing-room only, but the opportunity to relax amid squashy chairs and stately columns is just through the door into the adjoining lobby.

How is this for an architect’s resume: The Dakota (known today as the apartment building where John Lennon was shot), the original Waldorf and Astoria hotels, (subsequently torn down to make room for the Empire State Building), the Plaza Hotel, the Willard Hotel in DC and the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. Henry Janeway Hardenbergh designed the Hotel Martinique in two phases: the first part opened in 1898, and was then completed in 1910, with 600 rooms in total. The intricate mosaic flooring remains intact, as does the winding staircase that climbs eighteen stories.

At Paris Baguette, the Manhattan Sideways team grabbed a tray and a set of tongs and indulged. We found each baked bread to be more desirable than the next, from the simple white loaf to the peanut crumb to the chocolate cream bread. The cakes are magnificent pieces of art. We were particularly drawn to the strawberry and fresh cream, and the chocolate and banana. A chain that originated in Korea, Paris Baguette now provides baked goods to almost three thousand stores. Although not everything is prepared in-house, the aroma alone makes it worth a visit, as does the show of people who come through Paris Baguette each day.

It is always fun to pass by a restaurant where there are people rolling out tempting creations in the window. At Mandoo, the women in front can be found, at any hour of the day, preparing dumplings with a variety of fillings.

“We were just voted the best Asian barbecue restaurant in New York, ” said Philip, the general manager of Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong. “We’re getting a lot of buzz these days, because Korean food is very trendy right now. ” And Baekjeong, founded by Korean wrestler and TV personality Kang Ho-dong, is the trendiest of all. It is a favorite hangout of actors and celebrities, and has received high praise from celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and David Chang. At Baekjeong (the Korean word for “butcher”), meat is king. But while Korean barbecue traditionally makes use of the second-best cuts of meat, marinating them for flavor, Philip emphasized that Baekjeong uses only the highest-quality meat. “We don’t even marinate it, ” he added. Between the quality of the meat and the reputation of executive chef Deuki Hong, a twenty-five year old prodigy who recently won the 2015 Young Guns Chef award, Baekjeong has become one of the hottest new restaurants in New York. The wait to be seated, Philip told me, is sometimes as long as an hour and a half. By all accounts, it is worth the wait. As customers munch on small starter dishes known as banchan, waiters prepare the meat - mainly beef and pork - on large metal grills set into each table. Another highlight at Baekjeong is dosirak, a traditional Korean children’s lunchbox filled with rice, kimchi, and a fried egg. In the seventies, Philip explained, Korean kids always shook up their metal lunch boxes before eating them, and at Baekjeong - which aims for a “1970s industrial Korea feel” - customers are encouraged to do the same. But Philip emphasized that guests who do not know much about Korean food should not be worried. The waiters, who all speak English and Korean, “make sure to cater to customers who don’t know what’s going on. ” For the most part, though, the Chinese tourists and Americans who make up most of Baekjeong’s clientele (“Koreans don’t like to wait in line, ”) do know what is going on. “No one just walks in off the street, ” Philip told me. “The kind of people who come here are in the know. ”

While gazing at the menu, one of the members of the Sideways team giddily pronounced, "This is totally hippy food. " It immediately took her back to her time spent in Oregon and she was thrilled. The tiny sandwich shop owned by chef Nisha Patel, is vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free, serving incredible bowls, wraps, salads and smoothies of healthy, delicious food. With their success in Brooklyn at the now well known and loved Smorgasburg, Shiv Puri and Shikha Jain decided to open their own brick and mortar in the fall of 2013. The only issue that anyone could have with this tiny gem is deciding what to order, as everything is excellent.

“Probably, it is too big, ” says Vincenzo, a solemn expression on his face. This is Pisillo, purveyors of fine panini sandwiches, in its second petite location. Pisillo is Italian from back to front, importing everything - including the handsome young men and women assembling the paninis - from the old country. The weighty sandwiches are studies in the perfection of simplicity, a perfection which begins and ends in the ingredients: bufala mozzarella, parmacotto, prosciutto, speck, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and bright-tasting olive oil. “Everything comes from Italy, ” says Vincenzo. “It tastes better... I don’t know what it is, maybe what the animals eat. ”Indeed, Pisillo, itself, is a story of Italian transplantation. Vincenzo, who oversees the new Chelsea shop, was born in NYC, but went to live in Italy with his parents at age seven. When he returned as a grown man, things had changed: “The first thing I noticed [when I came back to America] is nobody playing in the streets in the nighttime. There were no kids outside anymore. ” The Italian community, on the other hand, is good-naturedly stuck in the past. “[Italians] remain with tradition... when they came here in the 50s, they stopped time. ” Having worked in tile flooring, then restaurants, coming to own his own pizzeria back in Italy for a period, Vincenzo exudes fulfillment. “I did my little steps. ”Thanks to a Juventus Jersey, a chance meeting between Carmelo and Antonella - Pisillo’s founders - and Vincenzo developed into a business venture and lifelong friendship. “We are not like friends, we are like family, ” he stated, adding: “But this is their story. ”Vincenzo also worked in construction, and still carries a contractor’s keen sense of what makes a good location: “We feel good about our side street location... there’s a lot of people on the avenue. ” A tall boxy storefront opening onto the street, Pisillo is little more than a counter, a couple of high-chairs, and a blown-up photo of Montesarchio, Italy. Soft blues, yellows and whites provide a welcome respite from the outside grey. The sandwiches are each named after an Italian city, with the “New York” (roasted chicken breast, fresh mozzarella, hot peppers, arugula, lemon dressing) being half an exception. Pick your city, pick your bread - the soft focaccia is a favorite of both diners and employees - and the sandwich is assembled. Unadorned and un-grilled, the paninis allow the fresh ingredients to charm the palate individually. They are also weighty enough to challenge anyone with a Manhattan-length lunch break to finish them in one sitting, but there are no plans to scale back the grandeur. “If you reduce it, you’re gonna become a regular sandwich, ” says Vincenzo, “This is what makes you special. Everybody says, this is really big, and this is really good. ”