Live like a local in New York City’s Lower East Side

If you’re only in New York City for a weekend, then there are plenty of stylish hotels happy to take your money. However if you’ve got a bit of extra time, why not rent a short-term apartment and try living like a local?

After a bit of research on Airbnb, we decided on a compact one-bedroom place on Madison Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Our landlord was Randall — he was quick to answer our queries as we were finalising our plans, and had helpfully left the keys and a map of local points of interest ready for our collection in the laundromat downstairs.

As always when you’re stepping into the unknown, we were a bit apprehensive to see what the apartment would be like — thankfully it was exactly as it had been described on the website, and turned out far better than we’d expected.

The Lower East Side wasn’t really an area that I was familiar with, so it was great to quickly get to know our way around, working out what was where, and how the streets connected together — trying to avoid pulling out our tourist map as much as possible.

Here’s some of the highlights that we found:

Groceries
Utilise your kitchen and save on restaurant bills.

Stock up on supplies from Whole Foods — truly a great supermarket if you’re into that kind of thing.
Grab specialty items from the Essex Street Food Market.
The Hester Street Fair (Saturdays) is a very cool little market. Highlight was some macaroons that we tried — Honey & Cognac, and Candied Bacon & Maple — totally amazing.
Coffee, cakes and cafes
Clinton, East 7th, Ludlow, and Orchard streets are all worth exploring, with plenty of great cafes to try.

Butter Lane for some superior cupcakes (East 7th);
Clinton Street Bakery Company — popular with tourists so get there early to get a table;
Roasting Plant — they take their coffee very seriously (Orchard Street);
Lost Weekend NYC — selling good coffee and clothes (Orchard Street);

Bagel and coffee from 88 Orchard Street, New York City. Photo: Gareth Johnson
Sweet treats
16 Handles — takes frozen yoghurt to a whole new level (Spring Street).
Rice to Riches — it’s rice pudding, but not as we know it (Spring Street).
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream — the best in NYC (East 7th).
Doughnut Plant — serious donuts. The peanut butter and jelly has to be tasted to be believed (Grand Street).
Pop Karma — hand crafted popcorn (Orchard Street).
Melt — ice cream sandwiches. AKA a lump of ice cream served between two cookies (Orchard Street).
Milk Bar — desserts to get excited about (East 13th).
Shopping
New York City has always been a bit of landmark shopping destination, but the Lower East Side has some great independent and boutique stores that ensure you’ll be able to impress even your most fashion-forward friends.

Restaurants
Manhattan’s Chinatown is a ‘proper’ Chinatown, if there is such a thing. Sprawling, smelly, and busy — there’s plenty of cafes and restaurants selling all of the standard Chinese fare, as well as some really stand out operations. Don’t be fooled though — the Lower East Side has more going on than just Chinese food.

Vanessa’s Dumplings — top quality and really inexpensive (Eldridge St).
Il Buco — innovative Italian, the breakfast is particularly good (Great Jones St).
Mission Chinese Food — perhaps the best food we had all trip, a taste sensation. If the wait for a table is too long then get take-away (Orchard St).
Momofuku — try the pork buns. I say no more (1st Avenue).

Ming outside Ming’s Caffe — Lower East Side, New York City. Photo: Gareth Johnson
Bars
While a lot of Manhattan’s bars and clubs are way over West, there’s a couple on Lower East Side worth investigating.

I used to really love Eastern Bloc, but that’s now closed. The Boiler Room on East 4th Street is still good.

Late night cheap eats
If you’re making the most of your time in New York City, then you’re bound to be pulling a few late nights. Avoid fast food chains or dodgy pizza-by-the-slice joints, there’s quality late-night food options on the Lower East Side.

Asia Dog — New York hotdogs with Asian toppings. Surprisingly tasty (Kenmare).
La Esquina — super-cool Mexican takeaway. Really good tacos (Lafayette).
Pommes Frites — Belgian-style fries with a huge range of flavoured mayo (2nd Ave).
Katz’s Deli — pastrami sandwich and pickle please (East Houston);
Mac Bar — an American carb-loading classic (Prince St)
New York City has so much to explore, discover and enjoy. Living like a local helps you to connect with the neighbourhood around you — the Lower East Side is a pretty good place to start.