MY GUIDE TO; NEW YORK CITY

If you’re going to New York, fully commit.

I lived there for seven years… working in the hospitality and photography world, shooting the openings, tasting the menus, running around the city like a mad woman often. I didn’t just visit restaurants. I studied them. The lighting. The energy. The way a room feels at 9:47 p.m. when it’s exactly right.

Yes, walk the West Village at night. That part is mandatory. Low lit restaurants, corner tables, martinis that taste expensive (and are expensive). Sit at the bar; always the bar. That’s where the real city lives.

But also? Eat every pizza slice your stomach can handle. The perfectly greasy, life-affirming slices that ruin your version of pizza you’ve had in your head. Order the pasta at the place that just opened. Go to the new spot before it becomes impossible to get into. Let dinner stretch into midnight because in New York, it’s normal.

Do a rooftop at golden hour. Let the skyline flirt with you a little (or a lot). And when it rains, wander into somewhere warm and chat with strangers… that is the best past.

New York doesn’t coddle you. It refines you. It makes you decisive about what’s good and what’s not. After seven years of exploring the best openings, the buzziest rooms, the spots that actually last… I can tell you this:

The city is best experienced hungry. Hungry for food. Hungry for momentum. Hungry for more. And if you’re ready for that? Let’s get into it!