SUGGESTED TIME: 4 to 7 hours, leisurely.
I spent over six years living in New York for school and other education related endeavors, so I figured I’d start somewhere very familiar for my first official tour post. I will, however, be the first to admit that six years is nothing, and I could spend multiple lifetimes in the city and still discover new things about it every single day. That said, the only thing I can do is to do the best that I can in chronicling some adventures in the city, right?
Start off the day right with a visit to Clinton Street Baking Co. (4 Clinton Street between East Houston & Stanton), my personal favorite brunch place in the city. The place is usually packed on weekends, so try to go at off peak brunch hours. Clinton St is probably best known for its banana walnut pancakes, served with maple butter but you really can’t go wrong with any item on their menu.
After you’ve eaten your fill, and trust me, you will as their portions are more than generous, make a left and head south. For those of you who are still jonesing for something sweet, the Dessert Truck shop next door (6 Clinton Street) is a quick and easy stop. Dessert Truck started as another one of the city’s many food trucks, but they quickly settled into a brick and mortar store. Nowadays, it’s easier getting your warm chocolate bread pudding with a bacon custard sauce stop— gone are the days of following the truck’s location on Twitter.
Follow Clinton Street further south until you hit Rivington Street and turn right, making your way towards Economy Candy (108 Rivington St). Economy Candy has been a staple of the LES since 1937 and today it remains a family-owned candy store that sells an obscenely large selection of candy. Whether you’re craving the candy of your childhood or a specific type of Belgian chocolate, there’s a good chance they have it. Some people may find the cramped spaces a little hard to navigate, but the wall to wall shelves of candy provide endless entertainment and nostalgia.
Now that you’re loaded down with sweets, make your way even further south and take in the street art. Notice the buildings that surround you and their distinct style and how close together they are. Tenements are a fascinating part of New York, and extremely crucial in the city’s development. In the late 1800s, the influx of immigrants to the city caused a housing crisis and the city’s solution was to hold a competition to figure out the solution to overpopulation. While you’re in the LES, you will recognize that most buildings have a dumbbell design. That’s to make the most out of the limited living space and create multiple family homes in such cramped corners, all while providing small strips of breathing room called airshafts. While by no means ideal, it still provided residents with a sliver of light and air, which was much better than what they had before. A lot of times, people tend to focus only on the glitzy side of New York, but the work and life of immigrants is a huge cornerstone of the city’s evolution. The LES Tenement Museum (97 Orchard Street) will give you an idea just how tight quarters were and give you a little perspective at what a good portion of the population went through in order to pursue their American dream.
Finish the day off with dinner at any of the surrounding restaurants by the museum. The Lower East Side is a very diverse area of the city and perfect for those who appreciate good food and interesting street art. It’s a great place that many tourists overlook in favor of Times Square, so it’s a good place to visit if you’ve already been to New York a few times and are looking to branch out. As always, this is only a suggested itinerary. The best part of the LES is that you can pretty much wander around and still find plenty of interesting things to do.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien
One of my favorite things to do is wandering somewhere unfamiliar, armed only with a map and a backpack. This blog is dedicated to walking tours of various places that I’ve been, peppered with food recommendations along the way and can’t miss destinations. Some tours will be themed, such as an upcoming post about London that follows the cases and landmarks of the fictional Sherlock Holmes, while others will be completely unplanned and meandering. Hopefully, all will be of interest.
Just one thing: don’t be afraid to get a little lost.
