Apart from the craziness of working a temp job and also running around all of Manhattan interviewing for a permanent gig, I've surprisingly been able to find some time to enjoy the city and all of it's many wonderful and unique neighborhoods.
My absolute FAVORITE area is Greenwich Village/The West Village. Everything about it appeals to me. Not only is it fairly clean, quiet, and cozy compared to the rest of Manhattan, but it has arguably the best restaurants, bars, and shops. While the stores may be a bit high-end and too expensive for a broke recent college grad such as myself, it doesn't hurt to window shop.
Just a few weekends ago I spent all of my Saturday hanging around The West Village. I love bar hopping there. It may be most preferred thing to do on a wide open Saturday afternoon/evening. I started off at Daddy-O's located at 44 Bedford St. This spot is one of my regular stompin' grounds. Everything about it is perfect. It's a cozy bar with a wide variety of food that entirely surpasses your typical bar grub. They serve everything from fresh salads to flatbreads, tacos, and kick ass sandwiches like their Moroccan Spiced Chicken Breast (Pan-roasted Moroccan Spiced Chicken Breast on Toasted Ciabatta with Shredded Lettuce, Red Onions and Cherry Pepper served with their absolutely DELICIOUS Caper Mayo, Cucumber, Red Onion, Yogurt, and Mint Salad). Additionally, they also always have a large board filled with daily specials and other yummy treats.
BUT, the best part of Daddy-O's is no doubt their bartenders. Every single one of them not only makes the best drinks, but they are the most personable, friendly staff I've ever encountered, and they are truly what keeps me coming back on a regular basis. They make sure to attend specifically to every person at the bar, and they are more than happy to make you a personal drink depending on what you're feeling. I needed a light and refreshing cocktail, and within seconds I had one of the best East Side's in front of me. Later on (obviously as the drinks started flowing) I was made a cocktail called The Last Word, and it was basically a delicious gift handcrafted from the heavens.
Here's a glimpse of my East Side and a Manhattan served up (no, surprisingly I was not double fisting):
Daddy-O's was only a pregame to the fun, romantic dinner that was next on the list. I spent a 3 year anniversary at Aria Wine Bar located on 117 Perry Street. It also was a smaller, cozier space, but it was packed with character. Aria Wine Bar is an Italian restaurant that specializes in small plates, which was perfect since I had spaghetti and meatballs on my mind. We posted up at the bar (duh....I'm definitely a bar-sitter) which was composed of classic looking black and white tiles. The waiters also catered to the theme by wearing sharp black pants, white button down shirts, and black suspenders.
Both the plates AND the drinks were very affordable. I was able to get a nice glass of Sangiovese for 8 bucks a pop. For an appetizer, which comes at $10 for a healthy portion, we got the Datteri E Gorgonzola (gorgonzola stuffed dates wrapped in speck) and mussels. All of the above was incredible, ESPECIALLY the dates. For my main course I obviously ordered the classic spaghetti and meatballs. The portion, which was absolutely the perfect size, came in at only $12. Aria is undoubtedly a cozy (and importantly affordable) date spot that I would definitely make plans to come back to.
After scarfing down our food and drinks, we made a pit stop at one last favorite joint, that being The Spotted Pig. Since it was just around the corner and is located at the very top of our list, we stopped in for one of their famous Manhattans.
All was right in the world.
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