The Distant Bell: Guide to lower Manhattan
Including a saved Google map, the tool I live by for planning trips
Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of The Bell!
Thanks for your lovely responses to last week’s newsletter. Sounds like a lot of you have overflowing gardens this time of year and also tried your hand at some pickling—or even fermenting!
My husband and I went to New York over the weekend for a fairly spontaneous trip, so that’s why the pickling and preserving became so urgent all of a sudden.
Growing up, I only visited uptown, so lower Manhattan is new-ish to me and it’s been fun to get to know that part of the city. We found a lot of good spots!
I know I’m always looking for recommendations when I go somewhere, so I thought I’d share my list from this trip, trips in the last couple of years, and friends’ endorsements.
Plus, if you want to take these recs on the go, I made a saved a Google Map that you can add to your account and reference anytime. I have these for an embarrassing number of cities around the world—some where I’ve never even been—and they’re so useful to plan a trip but also just to consult when you’re already in a neighborhood and deciding what to do next. My husband calls it “la carte magique,” the magic map. I’ll share them with you every time I do a travel guide.
Click here for The Bell Guide to Lower Manhattan.
Eat and drink
Top-notch coffee and daily selection of baked goods in the East Village. They don’t have decaf, and I was informed that “that’s not really a thing in this neighborhood,” lol. I got an iced peppermint tea, and my husband said his coffee was amazing.
This Greenwich Village restaurant has become sort of our date spot each time we’re in the city. Great martini and an approachably short, very high quality menu.
Cocktail bar specializing in amaro in the East Village. A great place to discover new amaros that you might want to add to the home bar.
New York location of a Parisian coffee shop I love. Great terrace in a great location, right across the street from Dante and down the block from Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone.
A West Village institution with a great menu of Italian dishes besides pasta. They’re known for their martinis, but the whole cocktail menu is fabulous. Try to get a terrace seat on a nice evening!
A New York institution in the West Village and honestly the best pizza I have ever tasted. Super thin-crust and a great atmosphere for a pizza place.
French bakery in the East Village with great bread and a small market of imported French products.
Cute French-style breakfast and lunch café with multiple locations in New York. Take out or eat in, in a laptop-free environment. Order a box of their cookies, coffee, or tea as a great gift.
David Chang’s iconic ramen restaurant in the East Village. Shop their products online!
Truly excellent bagels in Greenwich Village. Bring home a dozen if you drove or took the train. Nationwide bagel shipping! I will be doing this—I need an assortment of NY bagels in my freezer.
More truly excellent bagels in the East Village. Be prepared to wait in line, but the line moves quickly. Also nationwide bagel shipping!
Fine dining Italian restaurant with multiple locations in New York and beyond. The West Village location is on a beautiful corner, with indoor and outdoor seating.
Fabulous and lively Mexican restaurant on 2nd Ave in the Lower East Side.
Shop - with links to shop now!
A note on affiliate links which is usually at the bottom of this newsletter: I like to shop small and don’t exclusively feature brands that are part of an affiliate program, so not all links will earn me a commission (in today’s case, most will not). But some will! If you check out after clicking one of my affiliate links, I will earn a small commission on all items in your cart. It’s like I’m your personal shopper working on the sales floor. It doesn’t cost you any extra and it helps support the time and love I put into writing these and curating picks for you. I only ever feature items I genuinely love, many of which I own and use, and I want to shout them out whether your purchase earns me a commission or not. I appreciate your support so much!
Alex Mill *affiliate
If there’s one brand I’ve worn most this summer, it’s Alex Mill. I can’t quit their poplin double-button shirt, and they make my favorite heavyweight tee. This brand makes easy, everyday uniform pieces and I can’t wait to see what they release for fall.
This is a shop selling secondhand cookbooks and a handful of vintage kitchen implements. We had a great chat with Bonnie about the stack of vintage Michelin maps she had just gotten (and which also populate the attics of my husband’s French relatives) and learned that she knows the provenance of essentially every book in her shop. I bought two out-of-print books that my mom has in her collection: Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Cookies and Muffins by Elizabeth Alston. I found a copy of each on Thriftbooks (linked above) but if you see a copy of either of these anytime, buy it!! Or give Bonnie a call if you’re ever looking for a title—she will take the order over the phone and ship to you!
Dôen *affiliate
This shop is on the same corner as Dante and Café Kitsuné above, and I happily window shopped while we waited for our table. While I don’t connect with the pioneer woman side of Dôen, I’m a huge fan of their nightgowns and I own one dress that I love. This pant and this top from the fall collection are very much in line with my tailored-but-soft personal style.
Curated West Village stationery store that inspires you to sharpen your pencil and take notes, write stories, and romanticize your to-do list. Online shop coming soon!
Gorgeous Mediterranean homeware store that we sadly didn’t have time to stop into. They have an online shop, though, and you know you need these ceramic sardines.
John Derian and John Derian Drygoods
You probably know John Derian for the signature artsy, quirky, elevated-bohemian look, and the John Derian store on E 2nd Street in the Bowery is just that. But in my opinion, the real gem is next door at John Derian Drygoods, a super-stylish flea market full of textiles, home goods, jewelry, children’s toys, and curiosities from all over the world. You can find many one-of-a-kind items there, and the inventory is always rotating. There’s a vast online store, too: charm your dinner guests with this blackberry tart candle or mount an antique German wooden carved horse head on your wall.
Loeffler Randall *affiliate
I’ve mentioned this brand before for their old-Bottega-esque woven leather handbags. Their fall collection was just released and I’m eyeing this camel skirt as a forever classic. I would pair it with these boots.
If you don’t have a Muji where you live, shop online for stationery and office supplies, home organization, and other minimalist, unbranded items. With back to school season, I can’t wait to get some fresh notebooks, pens, and office organization items.
An Asian home goods shop in SoHo with an incredibly peaceful atmosphere. I went in looking for something I didn't find, but I did find the matcha latte flavor of KitKats, and you know I bought a bag. Will be rationing them out over the next few months. I wish I didn’t just find out that they ship, because I’m very interested in this peppermint foot mask and need to know more about this black truffle masala popcorn (!!!).
The Parisian shop where one of my favorite handbags came from (and the one I almost always travel with), now in SoHo! I rarely see this brand in the wild in America but feel like it’s about to blow up. If I were to buy a new bag today, it would be this one.
I walked past here but they were closed on Sunday. The cashmere throw blankets in the window stopped me in my tracks though, and I immediately looked them up online. They feature beautiful, minimalist designer furniture, books, and objects for an elegant life. These are the blankets that caught my eye.
Of course! The icon! 18 miles of books! New books, used books, signed books, rare books, books on any topic your heart desires. I bought a used edition of The House in Good Taste by Elsie de Wolfe, considered by many to be the inventor of interior decoration as a profession.
Pick up all your high-end picnic supplies at this fancy pantry and cheesemonger on Bleecker Street. Or have Murray’s shipped to you! Their Cheese of the Month Club would make a great gift.
Do
Book tickets to a show at the iconic New York jazz club. There are shows just about every night!
My New Yorker friend has informed me that this park is currently closed for construction, but no doubt will once again be a great picnic spot once it reopens!
I haven’t been here, but it looks like the most fun, immersive experience for anyone who loves design and color. Great for kids!
I used to go to the Paris location of this yoga studio several times a week when I lived there. Offering classes of all styles, including heated. You can also take online classes!
Stay
We had a great stay at this West Village hotel in summer 2021. Tiny but comfortable rooms in a beautiful building.
Never stayed here, but I wrote last week’s newsletter from their lobby while my husband and I enjoyed some refreshments. Based on the lobby and the reviews, it seems like a fabulous place to stay.
Again, you can find the shared Google map with all these locations here.
Let me know your favorite places in lower Manhattan and I’ll update this post. Leave a comment below or hit reply to this email.
This week’s expanded recs are coming on Friday!
I’ve decided to give the bottom section of this newsletter the spotlight it deserves. Weekly recs will now arrive separately on Friday, for when you’re planning your weekend. I might switch that to a Sunday send, but TBD. I’m also adding a few new topics: “using,” “eating,” “trying,” maybe more.
If you have a preference of the date to receive weekly recs, or topics you’d like recommendations for, leave a comment! Can’t wait to share this week’s roundup with you!
Thinking of you—hope you’re having a great week! I am eating so many pickles now that we’re back in town. Talk to you Friday!
xx Jane
Love your list!!
Some East Village/Bowery favorites of mine:
Culture: St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery, Merchant's House Museum,
Food: John's of 12th, 787 Coffee, Veselka, The Mermaid Inn, The Wren, Death & Co
A few other downtown recs: Paul's Cocktail Lounge, Frenchette, Au Cheval, and Paul's Casablanca.