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44 West 17th Street
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Petite Abeille 1 Brunch Belgian Breakfast Flatiron

Set in an adorable café serving Belgian favorites since 1995, owner Yves Jadot arrived from his homeland to pursue his American dream. He has certainly succeeded in pleasing both native New Yorkers and foreigners alike. Petite Abeille is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and offers a terrific happy hour serving wine and Belgian beer. One cannot go wrong with any meal - Belgian waffles for brunch, or mussels and steak frites later in the day - all served on blue and white checkered tablecloths.

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Petite Abeille 1 Brunch Belgian Breakfast Flatiron
Petite Abeille 2 Brunch Belgian Breakfast Flatiron

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Breads Bakery and Stretch Pizza 1 Pizza Bakeries Breakfast Videos GrabGoLunch undefined

Breads Bakery and Stretch Pizza

Every time I am walking with someone new, I find myself winding past Breads Bakery to have us try yet another delicious bite of their freshly baked goods. I cannot call this a hidden gem, by any means, as the lines are sometimes out the door. In a matter of a few weeks from when Uri Scheft and Gadi Peleg opened, they have managed to be written up everywhere. They have even been cited as having the best rugelach and babka in different periodicals, but I must encourage all who visit to sample Breads' take on focaccia - the multigrain version. If it is not still warm from the oven, then take it home, heat it up, add a bit more olive oil and savor every bite. Another that I cannot resist are the flaky cheese straws. Direct from the oven, they are impeccable. In fact, fresh is king here, and the baked goods are often fresher than the vegetables around the corner. While most bakeries have their employees come in during the night to pump out a days worth of starchy creations, Uri's staff at Breads Bakery has fresh bread coming out just in time for each of the mealtime rushes. Uri was raised in Israel, but went back to his parent's roots in Denmark for his training in baking. He then traveled and worked in Europe before returning to his homeland to open up his first bakery in Tel Aviv. Many years later, Gadi was traveling in Israel and discovered Uri's Lehamim Bakery. It took several more years of persistence, but ultimately the timing was right and Uri made the huge decision to move to New York and partner with Gadi to open up shop near Union Square. The store itself feels modern and spacious, with one counter for bread and baked goods just as you enter on the left, and another further back with sandwiches and drinks. Extending further back another 75 feet are the kitchens. Customers can watch bakers ease proofed dough off rolls of canvas onto an adjustable conveyer belt, which feeds into the carefully regulated ovens. Unlike Sheft's locations in Israel, he got to design this one from the ground up so the technology involved is sometimes just as amazing as what comes out of the ovens.

More places on 17th Street

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Shareen 1 Bridal Vintage undefined

SHAREEN

Today, Shareen Mitchell is a bicoastal business owner, a sought-after entrepreneur with fourteen employees and a celebrity following. But no one would have guessed it eleven years ago, when Shareen was, in her own words, “broke, in debt, and selling at a flea market. ” That flea market booth soon grew into a 7, 000 square foot vintage warehouse in LA, and within a few years, Shareen had expanded to New York City. In spite of her success, Shareen’s location on West 17th Street is one of the best-kept secrets in Manhattan. Hidden away on the second floor of an old walk-up, the only sign of its existence is a red dress hanging from the fire escape, and sometimes—like the day I visited—not even that. Fortunately, a friendly employee from the salon next door pointed me in the right direction, but if I had not been in the know, I would have missed Shareen entirely. This secret location may seem like a bad business decision, but it is actually one of the keys to Shareen’s success. Her stores have always fostered a sense of exclusivity, and Shareen told me that her warehouse, especially in the early days, was not only the hottest vintage store in LA, but also a gathering place for a society of hip young women. “It was a crazy, fun secret, ” she told me. “No one knew where they were getting their vintage. ”Because there are no dressing rooms at Shareen—women change out in the open—both store locations have the same “no boys allowed” policy. But the resemblance between Shareen’s two stores ends there. While the LA warehouse is constantly buzzing with youthful energy, the New York location has a quiet, sophisticated feel that caters to a slightly older crowd. The reason for the difference, Shareen explained, is that by 2009, many of her original customers at the LA warehouse were now young professionals living in New York City. “They told me there was nothing like Shareen in the city, ” she said, “so I decided to test the waters. ” She opened a shop in a train station parking lot on Long Island, above an auto shop. “People like Ivanka Trump would get off the train, ” she told me, laughing, “and walk into this auto shop with their dogs and babies and everything. ” But after a while, the trip to Long Island became exhausting, and Shareen decided to open a location in the city. “It was kind of a secret, ” she said. “I had no money for a sign, so I put the red dress out on the fire escape. ”Though she did not put much effort into the store’s exterior, Shareen transformed the inside. The former apartment is now an elegant retail space, filled with ornate mirrors and old-fashioned couches, and yet it still manages to feel warm and welcoming. One large room is devoted entirely to wedding dresses, while another two rooms are filled with vintage clothing of all kinds, from evening gowns to 1950s prom dresses. When I asked Shareen about the bridal section, she told me that the store is in the process of transitioning. “A lot of my clients are starting to get married, ” she told me, “but they don’t want to look like traditional brides. ” These young women, many of whom get married in unorthodox venues—upstate farms, Brooklyn lofts, and Manhattan rooftops—are looking for unique dresses that will express their personalities. Over the past few years, the demand for these “indie wedding dresses” has grown so much that Shareen predicts that the store may soon be entirely bridal. “A year ago, we were half bridal and half vintage, and now it’s more like seventy-thirty, ” Shareen told me. “We’re double-booked on the weekends with brides. ”The New York location may be transitioning into bridal wear, but Shareen insisted that the store will not abandon its vintage roots. Along with her bridal collection, which is all under $2, 000, many of the wedding dresses for sale in the store are reworked vintage. Shareen added that her collection is designed to flatter all kinds of body types, to celebrate women rather than inhibit them. She always tells her brides, “I want to see you looking beautiful, not you in a beautiful dress. ”

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ABC Cocina

When Union Square favorite for Latin American tapas, Pipa, closed its doors, locals were heartbroken. To appease the masses when moving into the former eatery’s space in the spring of 2013, the team behind ABC Cocina tried to incorporate what diners loved about Pipa into their own restaurant, as well as a few surprises. Attached to the name Jean-Georges Vongerichten, ABC Cocina needed no press when it opened its doors. Dan Kluger has continued his role as chef at both ABC restaurants, but the theme here is Latin inspired - a nod to Pipa. As we mentioned in our post for ABC Kitchen, we have never had a less than spectacular meal at any of Jean-Georges’ many establishments. The menu at ABC Cocina focuses heavily on seafood, spicy flavors, and rice and corn based entrees. When the Manhattan Sideways team visited, the menu listed various sharing plates, including tuna sashimi with avocado, steamed bouchot mussels and chorizo, peekytoe crab fritters and patatas bravas with rosemary aioli, spicy baby back ribs, and seared diver scallops with coconut. Additionally, there were a variety of tacos. An interesting take on traditional guacamole is made with fresh spring peas and comes with homemade warm tortillas. Cocina is located on the ground floor of ABC Carpet and Home and can be accessed from 19th Street. It flaunts a dark, “sexy” atmosphere, decorated with an array of lighting fixtures to promote the idea of “luminance as art, ” explained Shari Garb, the restaurant’s public relations director. To keep with the restaurant’s dedication to sustainability, ABC Cocina makes use of LED lighting specifically to herald eco-consciousness. It also mirrors ABC Kitchen, in that it places considerable emphasis on local, organic, and otherwise sustainably grown ingredients. They source from “hyper local” venues like the Union Square Greenmarket, Hudson Valley farmers, and their own community supported agriculture program “ABCSA, ” supported by the non-profit FarmOn. A five-page wine and cocktail list should ensure that any exhausted ABC shopper can enjoy an eclectic, high-spirited meal.

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ABC Kitchen

There are many reasons to visit the environmentally conscious furniture and housewares store ABC Carpet & Home, as the selection in furnishings is diverse, interesting and fun, but many are also drawn here for the restaurants. ABC Kitchen, which can be accessed either through the store or directly on 18th Street was the first of celebrity chef and Alsatian native Jean-Georges Vongerichten's endeavors in this building - adding yet another new restaurant to his empire of critically acclaimed eateries. He reached out to his friend Paulette Cole, the CEO of the store, with his ideas for a new eatery several years back, and they both say that neither of them could have anticipated the overwhelming success of their collaboration, ABC Kitchen. Since 2010, ABC Kitchen has been churning out quality farm-to-table meals and continually receives rave reviews. When I asked their public relations director, Shari Garb, how ABC Kitchen enticed diners to return, without hesitation she replied "by being consistently excellent. ” Using only the best local ingredients cooked by chefs with “feverish expertise, ” ABC Kitchen serves high-end New American fare that is accessible and comforting without sacrificing artistry. The range of dishes spans from bow tie pasta with veal meatballs to Maine lobster and crispy pork confit. I happen to be a huge fan and have eaten in almost all of Jean-Georges’ restaurants in Manhattan, and have never had a disappointing meal. For me, the term flawless comes to mind. I celebrated a special occasion with friends at ABC one afternoon where we shared several courses – an absolute feast – but what continues to stand out in my mind was the fact that I tried my first bite of roasted brussel sprouts at one of Jean Georges' restaurants. I have been ordering them ever since, but none have equaled that first bite. Other members of the Manhattan Sideways team have also eaten here and are incredibly enthusiastic about the crab toast with lemon aioli, raw diver scallops with sea beans, green chiles and spring herbs, and the house made ricotta ravioli. They have also loved and salivated over the roast carrot and avocado salad and the whole wheat mushroom pizza. I was particularly impressed when Shari spoke of the restaurant’s humility in their daily drive for self-improvement, despite being one of the founders of the farm-to-table movement that has gained popularity nationwide. Shari relayed an anecdote to me about how in order to be environmentally responsible in the ornamentation of the dining room, designers chose to use only vegetable-based dyes in the furniture. However, this lead to the over-harvesting of plants in upstate New York, and upset vegetable production. Not shying from the blame, ABC Kitchen noted their liability and took action to seek a solution, rather than walking away and leaving the problem with the farmers. The restaurant's guiding principles are sustainability and locality, and the eco-friendly themes permeate all levels of the dining experience: many of the plates used to serve guests are vintage, the wooden tables are made from salvaged wood, and the menus are printed on 100% post-consumer fiber. While we chatted about the trendiness of the restaurant, Shari admitted she is continually gratified by ABC Kitchen’s achievements, being that it all started “before farm-to-table was a hashtag” and has therefore helped pave the way for the concept to become a tangible reality. Shari noted that the “cultural shift” pushing diners to become “conscious consumers” is really something to be excited about, as it can potentially have a great positive effect on the future of the planet.