Hell’s Kitchen Local

This is my favorite local supermarket for fresh produce. I love browsing the shelves, and often find unique items I wouldn’t expect to find in a typical grocery store.

PS Kitchen on W48th Street is a fully vegan restaurant that proves plant-based food in this city can be genuinely great, not just a compromise. Beyond the food, they donate 100% of their profits to charity and hire people who’ve faced barriers to employment; it’s the kind of small business that makes the neighborhood come to life.

A wonderful little bar with incredible cocktails after a show.

“The Kash” as my sweetie Marty and I call it. I love how the Middle Eastern theme connects so many different regions and culinary delights. The kale salad is by far the best I’ve ever had — what do they massage it with? I’ll never know. But they add roasted walnuts, pecorino cheese and dried figs. The diversity of texture and flavor is delish! Plus the octopus skewers, beet skordalia, walnut pepper spread and spinach feta tapas. My favorite area is the garden room in the back.

For their Drag Brunch!

Flex is a great neighborhood bar. I love the crowd and there’s always a crowd in there. It’s got a fun Happy Hour.

This is a great way to get out any stir crazy feelings or Seasonal Affective Disorder behavior — go rock climbing at the gym! I love to do this especially in the winter, where you can self belay up walls with different rock climbing routes, or try bouldering. It’s hard!

On the other hand, my husband is Italian and has a high standard for Italian food. Norma has it. With a wonderful variety of dishes and pastas, the real hit here is the Neopolitan pizza. My favorite is the Norma, it makes sense that both their Norma pizza and pasta hit hard. Their friendly Italian staff and great outdoor seating make this one of my favorite spots to people-watch, enjoy some great high quality food and relax.

Red Eye has it all. It’s a coffee shop, it’s a cabaret space, it’s an event venue, it’s a club. I love seeing Marti Gould Cummings’ Stage Fright show, Justin Carter-Van Pelt’s Horror Movie Night: Movie Mausoleum, their underwear nights and drag events. Check out all their events, there is something for everyone!

Another favorite restaurant is this small Thai spot on 10th Avenue. It’s a friendly family-run business, and they always make us feel welcome. You can’t go wrong with their moist chive pancakes, one of the vegan curries with mock duck and a mason jar of Thai iced tea.