i realized as i was making a list of all the places i visited in june that this post was going to get very unwieldy if i included everything, so from here on out i think i’m going to keep it to the places that really stood out. as always this is a work in progress, and it’s going to take me a few more months to figure out the format that works for me. thanks for joining me on this adventure!

boerum hill.

had a great breakfast at mile end delicatessen when rebecca was in town. i loved the beauty bagel [i’m such a sucker for smoked salmon], and rebecca had the latke, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. currently no indoor dining available, but it was a beautiful morning to sit outside and provided the added bonus of being able to people watch and say hi to the pups on the street. shout out to michael for the recommendation.

flushing.

one saturday night i joined a new group of friends to explore the queens night market. an awesome market that happens on saturday nights through the summer, there are endless food and art vendors and musical performances from 5pm-midnight. between the nine of us we tried indian, thai, filipino, brazilian, ukranian, japanese, and possibly more that i can’t even remember, and it was all very delicious. some pro tips: go early! the lines get wild after about 6.30pm // bring blankets and spread out on the lawn and enjoy some great people-watching // if going by subway, take the 7 to mets-willetts and walk through the park for a more scenic adventure // the more people you go with, the wider the variety of foods you’ll be able to sample

long island city.

on memorial day maggie, chrystal, and i were at the lowery and struck up a conversation with a band who was in there having drinks after a practice. they introduced themselves as queens county roots and were really nice, so when they told us they had a show in lic the following weekend maggie and i said we would be there. it was at culture lab lic, a really cool warehouse / art gallery / music venue. the stage is set up in a parking lot with lots of chairs all around, and there are snacks and drinks for sale. the band was really good, and i will definitely be back at culture lab for more [free!] shows this summer!

east village.

robin was in town for work one week, and we were able to meet up for lunch at rowdy rooster to try out their indian fried chicken. we shared the chili chicken and chili cauliflower and each had a lil’ rowdy sandwich, and it was all very excellent. i especially appreciated that on their spice scale they list which indian state that level most closely correlates to. that’s a spice scale i can understand! will be back soon and often.

brooklyn bridge.

after the above lunch at rowdy rooster i had some time to kill before i needed to meet a friend in brooklyn so i decided to walk across the brooklyn bridge. for all my visits and all the time i’ve spent here, i’d never walked the pedestrian strip between manhattan and brooklyn, and it was great to take advantage of the lovely weather and the free time and enjoy a stroll. everyone else had the same idea so it was crowded, but i had a great time and hope some of attempted photobombs were successful. i want to do the reverse and walk from brooklyn to manhattan during sunset one day, so hopefully i can make that happen one night this summer.

downtown brooklyn.

michael and i had some time to kill before seeing a movie one evening, and because he shares my love of a good bookstore we wound up at mcnally jackson in downtown brooklyn. they have a great setup, and i especially loved how the upstairs is designed for you to wander and get lost amongst the titles. i would also like to point out that i managed to get out without buying anything, which is a real feat for me these days.

williamsburg.

one sunday i met some friends at a market in greenpoint; the market turned out to be a dud so instead we wandered down through williamsburg and eventually wound up at domino park. we were all a little peckish by that point and decided to get food at tacocina; the fried shrimp taco was very delicious and paired well with my margarita with a spiced salt rim.

central park.

in all of my visits to central park, i made it to sheep meadow for the first time in june. one weekend my book club met there, and i knew it was the perfect location for my early birthday bagel brunch the following weekend. the shade provided great protection from the heat and sun, and we got there early enough to stake out space for all of us to sit and chat and spend time together.

hell’s kitchen.

had a great dinner with jen and alex at v{iv}, a very delicious thai restaurant in hell’s kitchen. alex found it through a combination of desperation and sheer dumb luck, and it wound up being an amazing meal. the inside looked very crowded and loud, but luckily for us there was space outside which was much more relaxing. i opted for the spicy noodle kee-mao and ate every last bite.

astoria.

astoria park hosted an early fireworks show, so matt and i decided to make a date night of it with a picnic in the park. we met at compton’s to grab sandwiches and snacks before setting ourselves up for the show. he ordered the tony and i had the sticky tender hero, and holy crap was it good. be warned that these sandwiches are fairly messy, so make sure you have plenty of napkins and sanitizer, but they are well worth it.

midtown.

on the night before my birthday abi and i went to a live show with the hosts of the my dad wrote a porno podcast at radio city music hall, and it was very cool. the space itself is fantastic, and our seats got upgraded when we got there so instead of being up in the second mezzanine we wound up in orchestra seats; both of us were looking around in awe while waiting for the show to start. i’d love to return for another performance in the future.

june was a busy month! looking forward to seeing what july brings.

xx