Il Mulino

On a beautiful, tree-lined strip of 9th Street sits this old-world, white tablecloth, Northern Italian restaurant. The ambiance is warm, the staff professional, the dining room elegant and the food delicious. There are a few tables that spill out onto the sidewalk when the weather cooperates, but a larger outdoor space is available in the back garden where we chose to dine.

Casey Lane, a Los Angeles chef, opened Casa Apicii in the summer of 2016.  A couple months later,  Bar Fortuna opened in the space above Casa Apicii.  The cocktail bar is run by Fabio Raffaelli, who formerly bartended at Daniel. While the restaurant is open everyday, the bar is open from Tuesday through Saturday and offers bar snacks along with Italian-influenced cocktails.

Kenkeleba Garden, named for an African healing plant, is simply magical. We followed the densely forested greenery around to the back,  arriving at a clearing that transported us to another world far from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. We were completely surprised when we landed in front of the sculpture garden, which is only visible from 3rd Street. From large African sculptures to collections of scraps or bricolage, a specialty of the Lower East Side art scene, we could not help but linger before doubling back and re-emerging onto the concrete sidewalks of 2nd Street. It was not until many months later, when we had the pleasure of meeting Joe Overstreet and his wife, Corinne Jennings, that we learned that this is affiliated with their gallery next door, Kenkeleba House. It is their life-long dream to someday use these grounds to build a museum that would house their massive collection of African-American art.

Cleared and planted by a devoted couple back in the eighties, this garden continues to blossom and offer a warm shelter for those in the community who want to just sit and relax or to gather for parties.

With an entrance on both 2nd Street and 3rd, Kenkeleba offers a unique garden experience. Read more about it: Kenkeleba House Garden.