Jen’s Guide to NYC Pt. 1 (East Village… and then some)

I’m not sure if it’s the light pollution, the noise pollution or just the pollution pollution that draws me to New York City but I always leave wanting more.  I was fortunate enough to have a travel companion who shared the same interests as I did and having already been to NYC before, there wasn’t that desire to wear my camera around my neck and fit the touristy bill. With that said, I only had my camera with me for the last two of the seven days of my trip, which I’m regretting now but such is life.

Canal St:

Tattoo/piercing supplies – Unimax:

I’ll start by telling you about this seriously kickass tattoo and piercing supply shop I stumbled across while looking for sea salt solution for my existing piercings. I thought it’d questionable it being on Canal St and all but it was right around the corner from our hostel and so I thought I’d give it a go. I walked up the narrow stairs nestled between the sketchy Canal St shops and pushed the heavy metal door to reveal any piercing/tattoo enthusiasts dream. The environment had this sterile industrialized feel to it with one room lined with an endless supply of body jewelry and the other filled with floor to ceiling tattoo supplies.
Not only were the staff knowledgeable about the product, but it was significantly cheaper than any tattoo/piercing supply shop I’ve visited in Toronto (with the exception of Studio One on Queen East but their selection is sorely lacking). For example, titanium 16g barbells at Yonge St Tattoos will run you up 20-30 bones each. Here? It was $4. Needless to say I stocked up hardcore on those, as well as some nifty industrial barbells with crazy swirls and such for twelve bucks a pop which would’ve left me $65 lighter had I gone to Adrenaline on Queen West. I could go on about this place forever but you might as well visit it yourself the next time you find yourself in the city!

http://www.unimaxsupply.com
269 Canal St
New York, NY

Seriously cheap souvenirs:

The Po must not be very adamant about cracking down on counterfeit goods because Canal St is a notorious supplier of said goods. Actually, buying a counterfeit item anywhere in Manhattan is easier than buying the real thing in Toronto (well, unless you’re in Chinatown).  The best and probably the most unexpected place to peddle counterfeit goods is probably White Castle, where I heard someone mutter “DVDs for sale” under their breath and realized it was the sketchy patron sitting at the table in front of me.
Also, looking to for an I ❤ NY shirt? How about five? Because on Canal, that’s how many you can get with ten bucks! With that said, Canal is definitely the place to go for cheap souvenirs. The closer you get to Times Square the higher the price, obviously.
The only other thing that’s really worth mentioning is the woman I saw almost every day selling turtles. Gah.

Little Italy/Chinatown:

Canal and Chinatown are adjoined, not surprisingly, with Little Italy adjacent.
Little Italy closes their streets down every Friday evening for their weekly street festival where patrons can relax and enjoy some of the most authentic Italian food found in North America while the cars behind them who drove down these narrow streets with the intention of passing through are left in the biggest traffic clusterfuck of life.

I was always told that Chinatown was really sketchy at night and for the most part that’s true but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. If you’re really that nervous for your safety, stop by John Jovino’s Gun Shop at 183 Grand St in Little Italy and find yourself some protection! 😀

Where to eat?

Lombardi’s Pizza – America’s first pizzeria.
One of the two places I would ever be caught dead eating pizza with a fork and knife.  The other place, being Grimaldi’s which is apparently the city’s best pizza, located in Brooklyn at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.  I can’t actually vouch for Grimaldi’s supposed awesomeness because we didn’t have time and they don’t do slices. Why can’t gourmet be on the go? Lost a few brownie points for that, but I’m sure the pizza will more than make up for it the next time I visit.

* Lombardi’s:  32 Spring St, New York, NY
* Grimaldi’s: 19 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn

SOHO (SOuth of HOuston (Pronounced HOW-ston)

Soho is basically the Queen West of Toronto. Sort of. It’s since become a lot more commercialized but I guess the same could be said about Queen. When I think Soho I think fashionistas, cobblestone roads, cast-iron artist lofts, fashion houses, shopping, and unfortunately, tourist trap.
I could spend the better part of my day visiting the fashion houses and art galleries which is probably my favorite thing about Soho. This time around I happened to stumble across a gallery that was selling Dr. Seuss originals which are apparently rare and hard to come by, so seeing them was pretty neat.
I wish I could remember what the taxidermy store I visited was called but it was ridiculous.  They had a myriad of dead insects and animals on display.  What was the most disturbing was likely the taxidermied fetus.
Walk west to Broadway and that’s probably where all the commercialization comes in. So just keep east and you’re swiss.
You’d think that with all these artists there would be some decent coffee. Nope. Maybe it’s because I approached the cafes with greater expectations but their Americanos were mediocre at best.

Where to eat:
Balthazar’s (80 Spring St, New York, NY)
A little french brasserie (no, not brassiere) that’s perfect for a brunch date. The pastries are always so warm and fresh and the service is incredible; possibly too incredible.  There was a single server devoted to refilling our Pellegrino water after every sip.
I’ve only ever been there for brunch so I can’t vouch for their dinner menu, but if you go during brunch hours, do yourself a favor and get yourself an eggs Norwegian.

Film Forum (209 West Houston St, New York, NY):

Venture west and a touch bit north from Soho and you’ll find yourself at the Film Forum. Definitely check this place if not for the indie movie flicks, then for the simple fact that it houses the only recycling bin in Manhattan.  Granted it was a garbage can with recycling taped to the side of it BUT STILL. Fact of the matter is, Manhattan doesn’t recycle and nobody returns empties. What are dumpster divers doing in Toronto? MIGRATE SOUTH!
I got to see a documentary about the Stonewall Uprising one night which was the perfect prelude to visiting New York’s gaybourhood :

*If you don’t know what the Stonewall Uprising is then check this out

Christopher St (Manhattan’s Church St):
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I always get the warmest of feelings whenever I walk down gaybourhoods from any city and Christopher St was no exception. I’m pretty sure I walked by a bathhouse but unfortunately never went in.  Not that I would’ve been allowed in any way. Other than that, the most notable thing was just going to the Stonewall Inn.  It was incredible to be where a big part of history had taken place and having seen live footage from it an hour or two previous.
I expected a really awesome sex shop but they were all pretty sketchy.

In my next post, I will be covering Seinfeld hot spots, where to get THE BEST latte I’ve ever had, C-Squat, museums, Brooklyn, Staten Island and all the other goodness that New York City has to offer… including a pioneer village. Who knew?

Fleurs From a Friend

My semi-sober attempt at focusing a photo at 3am. I just like the composition of this.

Thanks, Chaddington!

Love,
Alicia

Fetishes Explained

I was thinking about my recent trip to NYC (which will be covered in detail in a forthcoming post) and for some reason thought about the fetish diagram at the Museum of Sex that I spent more time studying than I did prodding at the Real Dolls. I was kicking myself for having not taken a photo of it but after a little sifting through the interwebs, voila!

Hope you find this as interesting as I do! Now excuse me while I go mudlarking…

Village de Value

It was actually only recently had I embraced Value Village as a legitimate vintage store that was worth rummaging through for more than just Halloween costumes. Here are some of my most recent finds:

Sweet Find #1: A Speaker Belt?! WHAT?

Really, how much more awesome can this be? I may never wear another belt again.

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Sweet Find #2: Mazel Tov!!

I can say with great confidence that this hat was probably never worn. Why? Because only a select few can pull of this tacky wedding souvenir with utmost style (i.e. yours truly C:). Kidding. I’m going to have to mod this in some way and rock the shit out of it. Ideas? Would you ever consider souvenirs for your wedding? I draw the line at photo birthday cakes. Holy Moses; photo wedding cakes. Oh the tack!

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Last but not least, Sweet Find #3:

JESS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY CLOSET?!

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Lol. Aside from the speaker belts and unwanted wedding souvenirs, Value Village had a surprisingly current book section. It’s filled with all the guilty pleasures you would never pay the cover price for, all for under four bones a pop. Golden.

As well, it’ll also serve as a great place to get the ‘Elaine Benes’ look that’s supposedly becoming more ubiquitous amongst the Williamsburg hipster crowd. You know the look; the below the knee-length shapeless floral frock with doily like accents, usually sported with visible thick white socks? Yeah, that’s the one. This ensemble was  initially donned to mask her pregnancy. Not surprisingly seeing as you can hide anything in there!*Illegal immigrants take note.

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Me personally? I think I’d rather pull off the puffy shirt.

Brave New World

Hopping on to the blogospherical bandwagon, apparently.

Enjoy.