One part of my life that I have not yet written about are my years living in New York City. I still have friends and family there, so I try to visit often. One of my favorite things to do in New York, both when I lived there and now when I go back to visit, is to have brunch and go shopping in Soho. SoHo stands for "South of Houston" and per its name, it is an area of New York south of Houston Street. The neighborhood rose to fame as a neighborhood for artists during the 1960s and 1970s, when the cheap spaces vacated by departing factories were converted by artists into lofts and studios. SoHo's lofts were especially appealing to artists because they could use the wide spaces and tall ceilings that factories and warehouses required to create and store their work. Now it has been gentrified so it is mostly stores, restaurants and high-end apartments.
When I go shopping in Soho, I always like to start out with brunch. My favorite place to go is Balthazar, a Keith McNally restaurant. It is adorable -- like it was pulled out of the set of a Parisian movie. And the food is fantastic -- croque monsiuer, steak frites, etc. It is always packed, so I would suggest a reservation. It is a fabulous place to go for dinner as well, but I would definitely try it for brunch.
Some other brunch options in the area include Le Pain Quotidien, Dos Caminos or Mercer Kitchen. However, being New York City, the options are really endless. If you really want to get your shop on, you can stop at Dean & Deluca for a quick coffee and a pastry and head out.There are a few main streets you want to hit on your shopping excursion. I have also highlighted some of the more notable shops on each street.
The most crowded street and really the main thoroughfare is Broadway. You will find a very cool Prada store on Broadway that may be too expensive to actually purchase anything, but certainly worth a stop in for coolness factor alone. There is also a store called Lounge which is a huge, hip store that even contains a DJ and a cafe. Be warned that you may not be cool enough for Lounge (I myself am not). There is a Scoop, which is a chainlet and fairly expensive. Additionally, there are a few more inexpensive stores on Broadway where even normal folks can shop -- Arden B., Guess and H&M. There is also a Sephora if you are in the market for make-up. There is also a store called the Pearl River Mart, which has crazy-cheap asian-inspired goods. It is very fun! Kate's Paperie has adorable, though pricey, stationary. There is also a Bloomingdales, though honestly, I would go to the original Bloomingdales -- it is bigger and an experience in itself.
A few streets aways is West Broadway, which is slightly confusing, but is actually parallel to Broadway. On this street you will find an Anne Klein, Elie Tahari and Emporio Armani. There is also an Anthropologie (which is one of my favorites), a Max Studio, a Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti and a MaxMara. A New York fave is Otto Tootsie Plohound, which is a shoe mecca. This is also a fairly big street.On Mercer Street (where Mercer Kitchen is located), you will find the very New York Marc Jacobs. There is also a John Varvatos, which is a very cool men's store, and Marni, which has beautiful, though expensive, women's clothes. There is an Agent Provocateur, in case you are into that (I am clearly not).
Greene Street is another popular street. It contains a Louis Vuitton and a Helmut Lang. There is also an Agnes B., an Anna Sui, a Jill Stuart and a Vivienne Tam. There is an Anya Hindmarch in case you are bag shopping and a Jonathan Adler for home goods.
On Prince Street, there is a Nicole Miller, a MiuMiu and a J.Crew. On Wooster Street, there is a Cynthia Rowley, a Design within Reach and a Simon Pearce. On Broome Street, there is a Catherine Malandrino, a Nanette Lepore and a Kate Spade.
Finally, on Spring Street, there is a Chanel and a Salvatore Farragamo. There is also Olive & Bette's, which is a cute, youngish store. There is also a Vosges Chocolates, which makes a fabulous afternoon pit stop, where you can buy decadent chocolates and chocolate drinks.
TIP: Assume you will be taking the subway to and from Soho as it is one of the more difficult places to find a cab. Keep that in mind as you keep accumulating shopping bags.
Obviously, my list above is only the tip of the iceberg, there is a ton more shops opening and closing daily. Even if you buy nothing, walking around Soho is a very New York experience and one I would highly recommend.
Balthazar Restaurant
80 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012
212-965-1414
balthazarny.com
