The Beginning of the EV adventure

The East Village will always have a special place in my heart. Ok, that sounded cheesy and it’s probably not the best way to start this off. But it’s true. Living there was like finally realizing “oh, this is New York, now I get it”.

When I moved to the East Village, Alphabet City, to be exact, it was all about leather, tight pants, tattoos…ah. FINALLY! I thought to myself. Though I partook in none of these, besides maybe the tight pants, I was officially in the cool kids club. And it felt so good to be in it. I could roll out of bed wearing whatever and walk down the street confidently because the “homeless-chic” look, as I liked to call it, was actually the best way to blend in. I said good bye to the boringly conservative UES. And suddenly, I had no problem finding ways to occupy my time. Shopping for vintage clothes, dining on cheap international cuisine in tiny unassuming places, dancing the night away in bars with taxidermy and awesome tunes from the 90’s.

But really, for me the best thing about living in the EV was finding those little places that not everyone was talking about and only certain people knew about. Knowing that I was having a unique experience that most people will never get to have. It made me feel very, very lucky.

I know there are people out there who are clueless to the magic of the EV like I once was, and also people who know the scene well but are always hunting for new places to explore. So here I’ll revisit some of my favorite hidden gems, and also hunt down new places.

Some of these places will have very tiny signs. Some of them will have no signs. Some of them are totally hidden. And some of them are just hidden in plain sight. But they’re all worth knowing about.

Just promise not to share this info with anyone lame or undeserving. Or you’ll ruin it for everyone.