12 Trips in 12 Months: NYC – Lower East Side

Almost two weeks ago, when all of New York was (slightly) panicking about the impending blizzard, I hopped on the last plane that wasn’t cancelled and headed right into it for an event. The whole blizzard thing ended up not even happening (it did snow, but only about half as much as predicted), so it all worked out. And I had a snowy memory in NYC to take home with me too, for my official March trip for the 12 trips in 12 months series. Just a little late on posting the photos. Win-win!

With the snow and my inability to pack the proper clothing for extreme temperatures, it was too cold to explore much of NYC. But I did get a feel for the area that I was in (lower east side) and wanted to share some photos from my trip, along with a handful of places that I’d total recommend checking out.

Lower East Side Places to Eat

1. Beauty and Essex My fave (food) spot from the trip! If you’re casually walking by, you’ll never spot it because the storefront is set up to look like a cheesy pawn shop. But when you walk in, and pass the glass cases of whatever they carry at a pawn shop these days, you open another door and it opens up into this gorgeous two story restaurant and bar.

Their cocktails are AMAZING and so is the food. I went with the team from Hunter PR and we ordered a little bit of everything. Literally every single thing was delicious. Just be sure to make a reservation in advance.

2. Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop It’s literally around the corner from Maryam Nassir Zadeh (a must-stop shop) and they have delicious sandwiches.

3. Dimes I didn’t get a chance to eat here, but it looked so cute and the reviews are really good. If you get a chance, let me know how you like it. It’s on my list when I go back.

4. Schiller’s Liquor Bar This place is much more casual than somewhere like Beauty and Essex, but it’s still a good food and drinks spot. The chicken pot pie looked amazing, but I think they’re best known for their burgers.

Lower East Side Places to Shop

1. Maryam Nassir Zadeh (photo above) Love this store! But be prepared to throw down some cash at this spot. It’s not cheap.

2. Assembly New York Another amazingly curated boutique – featuring hip, hard-to-find luxury labels. And there’s an online store, if you’re not planning a visit to NYC any time soon.

3. Tictail Market (feature photo at the very top of post) Oh my goodness. I’ve been shopping on TicTail ever since I discovered it last year, but I didn’t realize how close their physical market was to my hotel until I got to NYC. If you like cool things (decor, clothing, accessories, etc) from independent designers, be sure to visit!

4. Frankie I didn’t actually get to go into this shop, but I will definitely be stopping in next time I’m in town! It’s women’s clothing.

Lower East Side Places to Stay

1. Hotel on Rivington I stayed at the Hotel on Rivington, which I thought was awesome. The location was great (super close walking distance to almost everything on this list) and the rooms have lots of great natural light and a minimal modern vibe, with a twist. Plus, there’s a really good restaurant on the bottom floor, called Cafe Medi, which I should probably add to the restaurants list, for the Instgram-worthiness alone.

2. Sago Hotel I’ve also heard that Sago is a cool hotel. I didn’t get a chance to stop by and check it out in person, but the photos of the rooms look good to me.

Top feature photo from TicTail / Shop section photo from MNZ / All other photos by Brittni Mehlhoff

So that’s it for lower east side NYC suggestions. Did I miss anything? Where are your favorite must-stop spots in NYC?