New York City Shops
Mary Ann
Ask anyone in New York, what is the best city in the world? They will all tell you, New York City, of course! It may be your favorite city too. Despite the crowding, dirty streets, foul smells, and the like, it remains a beloved place for people from all over the world. It is the seat of entertainment, finance, art, and on and on. Those of us who got the chance to live or work there know how special a city it is. Yet, below what you first see, there is a bustling city of matchless wonders.
New York City is full of unique people; however, it is equally full of unique shops. When exploring the city, these charming places make an adventure unfolding around every corner. During my time in New York City, I enjoyed discovering many of the city’s best kept secrets. We all know Macy’s or Bloomingdales – where tourist roam! People seldom unearth the treasures of the one-of-a kind shops that populate New York.
The island of Manhattan has various districts for garments, flowers, furniture, jewelry, diamonds, etc. Nestled in among the warehouses, you can often find shops that sell wholesale items to the public. I can remember once going into a costume jewelry store, and I thought I had gone to earring heaven. Row upon row of very pretty, very inexpensive earrings greeted me as I entered.
In this blog, I want to share with you some of the distinctive places I found, and the best place to start is with sweets. Birthdays at my school were always a little over the top with treats for fellow classmates and teachers. As principal, I was included as well – lucky me! There were delicious cupcakes and whoopie pies and giant cookies. Some of the best treats came from world-famous Magnolia’s on Bleeker Street. The cupcakes were exceptional; however, the banana pudding is out-of-this-world. Magnolia does ship their baked goods, but the banana pudding recipe can be found online. I have made it, and the pudding is very close to the original. Another favorite of mine is Baked by Melissa. This bakery has a few shops throughout the city. The cupcakes are quarter-sized morsels of pure delight. They have hundreds of flavors that they change in and out. You can stop by and pick up a few to nibble as you walk down the street. Melissa also ships their mini cupcakes all over, and they offer lovely holiday assortments. They have a cute 3-pack that are nice to give as memorable favors.
Occasionally, a new yummy would hit the market. When the summer of cronuts premiered in the city, the lines wound around the block. They were a combo of a donut and a croissant and were coveted. You were crestfallen when you finally got to the front of the line only to find out they were out. Tears prevailed and sometimes colorful screaming!
Then we have the candy shops. Time Square has its Hersey and Reese’s shops, but they do not compare to the riches of the specialty chocolate shops that pepper the city. Jacques Torres is probably one of the most famous. The chocolate is good, and they will add red peppers or some other exotic ingredient to the chocolate to give it a tasty little kick. The chocolate comes in all shapes and sizes. I do love their very rich hot chocolate that comes in a variety of flavors – great on a cold NYC day. My favorite chocolate shop is Li-Lac’s, the oldest chocolate house in Manhattan founded in 1923 – there are several locations. It has the creamiest chocolate – once you start eating it, you can’t stop. They ship as well.
Another favorite candy store was Sockerbit featuring gummies, licorice, and chocolates. It was a stop and mix store, so you paid by weight of your mixed bag. Unfortunately, it closed, but Bon Bon and Lil Sweet Treat have opened in the West Village offering the same candies. What I noticed as I was checking out the shops, the locations may have changed or there is a new name for the same products. I think Covid changed the market in many cases.
One-item shops prospers in New York City. It would be hard for such shops to make it somewhere else. It take several million people to make it happen. However, it makes the shops memorable due to their uniqueness. There is a rice pudding store, Rice to Riches, where a variety of favors and toppings are offered. I found a shop that only sells salt with some chocolates, flowers and bitters called Meadows. The Parisian Laduree has a shop in NYC with their famous macrons – there are other macron only shops as well. How about a shop that only sells tassels and trims? Or a shop that sells mostly trays. Then there is a shop that sells just belts. The possibilities are almost endless. There is a lot of turnovers, yet some old timers remain.
There are bookstores that only sell one type of book – cookbooks, mysteries, or children’s books. Wonderful selections to explore. Barnes and Noble bookstore has several stores with huge inventories. New Yorkers are readers. The best of all is The Strand – a landmark bookstore near Union Square. All kinds of books, old and new, are available. It is a fun place to while away a few hours.
I could go on and on. Yet, I haven’t even talked about the restaurants or the many exclusive services. I will save that for the next New York, New York blog, and we can visit them together.
Silver Sage Sisters 