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Cafe M 1 Bakeries Coffee Shops Breakfast Cafes Chelsea Koreatown Tenderloin

Striking up a conversation with Richard Bock, a psychiatrist a few doors down, I learned that, of all the Korean eateries on 32nd, there is one that stands out for its coffee and sweets. As soon as we got to Cafe M, I knew that he had not steered me wrong. With a distressed country wood decor in soft colors, this quaint, adorable shop is constantly filled with people coming and going. Some baked goods are made in-house, while others are prepared off the premises, but the combination is perfect – macaroons, croissants, sandwiches, madeleines and good coffee and tea to wash it down. Café M is a warm, welcoming place to while away the hours or grab a tasty snack on the go.

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Cafe M 1 Bakeries Coffee Shops Breakfast Cafes Chelsea Koreatown Tenderloin
Cafe M 2 Bakeries Coffee Shops Breakfast Cafes Chelsea Koreatown Tenderloin
Cafe M 3 Bakeries Coffee Shops Breakfast Cafes Chelsea Koreatown Tenderloin
Cafe M 4 Bakeries Coffee Shops Breakfast Cafes Chelsea Koreatown Tenderloin
Cafe M 5 Bakeries Coffee Shops Breakfast Cafes Chelsea Koreatown Tenderloin

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Blank Slate 1 Cafes Coffee Shops undefined

Blank Slate Coffee + Kitchen NoMad

“We wanted to be that diamond in the rough, ” explained Ashley, the co-owner of Blank Slate. When Ashley and Zach, spouses and co-owners, were searching for a location for their restaurant, they wanted to find a neighborhood with a large crowd but not a lot of quality spots to eat. Blank Slate is successfully that hidden gem located in NoMad, one of Manhattan’s up and coming neighborhoods. Blank Slate attracts a crowd full of young, creative professionals who are quickly changing the area. Ashley and Zach established Blank Slate, which opened in November of 2015, in an effort to create the first coffee-shop-restaurant hybrid in New York City. Ashley explains that they were tired of going to places that provided quality coffee but low quality food. She wanted a place that offered superb grab-n-go coffee as well as more formal dining where friends could meet for a long meal. Ashley and Zach’s vision has been realized. Blank Slate serves killer coffee as well as an impressive assortment of salads, sandwiches and even gourmet desserts. Their coffee is proudly served from farm to cup in close to 20 days. They have a sign at the cash register indicating the green date and roast date of the coffee being served that day. My intern, Emily, hesitantly tried their brussels sprout Caesar salad and only had positive things to say about it, even though she usually does not enjoy Brussels sprouts. Blank Slate also has a small but wonderfully curated market located inside the restaurant, which offers primarily locally sourced products such as cookie dough, yoghurts, pickles and a host of beverages. In addition to serving excellent coffee and food, Blank Slate has a fun, creative atmosphere. Ashley and Zach chose Blank Slate’s name because they wanted to convey the idea that people can make or create everything here. While customers wait in line for coffee, for example, there are etch-a-sketches on which to play. They even have Instagram competitions that reward one talented etch-a-sketcher with a free meal. Ashley hopes that Blank Slate can be a space for people to create. She explained that the etch-a-sketch sends a message: the “possibility of everything. "

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Lost Gem
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong 1 Korean undefined

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong

“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. ”

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Blank Slate 1 Cafes Coffee Shops undefined

Blank Slate Coffee + Kitchen NoMad

“We wanted to be that diamond in the rough, ” explained Ashley, the co-owner of Blank Slate. When Ashley and Zach, spouses and co-owners, were searching for a location for their restaurant, they wanted to find a neighborhood with a large crowd but not a lot of quality spots to eat. Blank Slate is successfully that hidden gem located in NoMad, one of Manhattan’s up and coming neighborhoods. Blank Slate attracts a crowd full of young, creative professionals who are quickly changing the area. Ashley and Zach established Blank Slate, which opened in November of 2015, in an effort to create the first coffee-shop-restaurant hybrid in New York City. Ashley explains that they were tired of going to places that provided quality coffee but low quality food. She wanted a place that offered superb grab-n-go coffee as well as more formal dining where friends could meet for a long meal. Ashley and Zach’s vision has been realized. Blank Slate serves killer coffee as well as an impressive assortment of salads, sandwiches and even gourmet desserts. Their coffee is proudly served from farm to cup in close to 20 days. They have a sign at the cash register indicating the green date and roast date of the coffee being served that day. My intern, Emily, hesitantly tried their brussels sprout Caesar salad and only had positive things to say about it, even though she usually does not enjoy Brussels sprouts. Blank Slate also has a small but wonderfully curated market located inside the restaurant, which offers primarily locally sourced products such as cookie dough, yoghurts, pickles and a host of beverages. In addition to serving excellent coffee and food, Blank Slate has a fun, creative atmosphere. Ashley and Zach chose Blank Slate’s name because they wanted to convey the idea that people can make or create everything here. While customers wait in line for coffee, for example, there are etch-a-sketches on which to play. They even have Instagram competitions that reward one talented etch-a-sketcher with a free meal. Ashley hopes that Blank Slate can be a space for people to create. She explained that the etch-a-sketch sends a message: the “possibility of everything. "

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Dover Street Market 1 Women's Clothing Bakeries Coffee Shops Mens Clothing undefined

Dover Street Market New York

Dover Street Market is a seven level hodgepodge of runway-ready designer looks laid out like a modern art gallery. On the ground floor is a fun café, Rose Bakery, with an assortment of light eats like toast and eggs, market salads, and sweet scones, as well as a comprehensive listings of cold drinks, teas, coffees, and wines. Shoppers and art-enthusiasts alike can effectively spend their entire day here. As a fellow Sideways member and I explored the market with from head to toe, we could not help oohing and aahing, pointing at curiosities for the other to see, and interacting tangibly with some pieces. On the seventh floor, we tried on almost every pair of the funky glasses displayed. On the sixth, we were met with whimsical creations, all somehow embodying the phrase “we make noise not clothes” that filled a corner in bold, lit-up letters. One of these, a tee-shirt with a picture of an apple, was captioned “pepper. ” A large pole (an infrastructure found on each floor) was collaged with miscellaneous beer cans, shower items, and holiday-specific ornaments. The walls of the fifth floor were decorated with cooking utensils, and mannequins in motion sported looks that combined the aesthetics of circuses and lawyers. Probably the smallest floor, the fourth featured architectural garments fashioned from hard leather and light lace. At the end of the floor, a water park themed staircase, equipped with a tunnel, beach ball and sand structures, slid us downstairs to splash into the pattern-filled third floor. On the second, we were met by statement sneakers and more fun glasses. Back on the first floor, we decided to linger a bit longer, checking out the Bo & Play headphones that were set against a white wall surrounded by neutral shapes in all dimensions, each bringing the accessory more focus. We flirted with the shiny pieces of jewelry on the other side of the floor, wanting to bring each ring, bracelet and necklace home. Collectively, our side street exploration of Dover Street Market was filled with a beautiful assortment of artistic garments and accessories, eye-catching artwork and infrastructure, and a great deal of smiling.

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