this has become one of my favorite posts to write each year. i love reading back through all the places i visited over the year and remembering the lovely memories from each place. below are my favorite places that i visited for the first time in 2025.

bar mario — had a nice cozy early february dinner here with some friends; the meat and cheese board and bread and truffle fries were delicious, and my lasagna was downright heavenly | red hook, brooklyn

royal seafood — bonnie chen and bao hosted a huge – 60 people! – family-style lunar new year dinner at royal seafood, and we had a great time eating all the delicious food and chatting. my favorites were the chicken and the string beans, and i’d love to return and try more of their menu | chinatown, manhattan

chatti by regi mathew — had a lovely cousin dinner with abi at this new kerala restaurant. we both agree the chili roasted calamari was our favorite dish of the night, but both the mutton potato curry and the raw mango curry with prawns were big hits as well | midtown, manhattan

village underground by comedy cellar — this is one that has been on my list since i moved to new york and i finally got to a show in march. had a great time, will definitely return | greenwich village, manhattan

bar dalia — when pranay was here in the spring we wanted to stick around the neighborhood his first night and bar dalia hit the spot. the drinks were good, the snacks were tasty, and it was pretty good people watching. would be a good date night spot | astoria, queens

din tai fung — had an incredible lunch here with jen before seeing a show, and their soup dumplings might be the best i’ve ever had. also they get a shout out for having dr pepper on fountain | midtown, manhattan

“oh, mary!” — saw this delight of a play with jen and laughed non-stop for 80 minutes. it’s so funny and smart and is worth every dollar for a ticket | theater district, manhattan

gramercy theatre — abi and i saw hari kondabolu perform here at the end of may and it was a really cool venue. my pro tip is to select the loge seats at the back because they are actual theater seats and not folding chairs | flatiron / gramercy park, manhattan

gov ball — i wrote a whole separate post about our gov ball adventures but wanted to mention it here also because it was a lot of fun and i would love to return in 2026 | flushing, queens

bedouin tent — had the loveliest dinner with rochelle at this delicious middle eastern restaurant. i love a place that gives you enough pita to go with your dips, and the merguez lamb sausage sandwich was so good i was legit drooling. highly recommend snagging a table in the back garden space if you’re able because it’s so nice back there | boerum hill, brooklyn

new york liberty game — finally in my fourth year of living in the city i made it to a new york liberty game at barclays and it was so much fun. the energy is great, the team is so good, and big ellie is the best mascot in any league | downtown brooklyn, brooklyn

brooklyn hero shop — their cold italian hero is truly one of the best things i’ve ever eaten, and if i lived in the neighborhood i would be there every week restocking my pickles and olives and spreads from their shelves | fort greene, brooklyn

hindu temple canteen — abi and i went to the temple one saturday morning and of course had to have breakfast at their delicious canteen. we both had dosas and we shared a poori masala and everything was amazing | flushing, queens

levant — this new middle eastern spot opened near me, and rochelle and i finally made it over there to give it a try. it’s so nice inside, everyone who works there is very welcoming and answered all our questions, and the food is delicious. we split a mixed feteer which was enough for both of us to eat our fill and to both pack some to take home as leftovers. highly recommend | astoria, queens

dyker heights christmas lights — since i moved to nyc i have been wanting to see the christmas lights in the brooklyn neighborhood of dyker heights, and this year i finally made it happen. one monday night a few weeks ago rochelle and i walked up and down the streets to goggle at the decorations and speculate on the residents of the houses. it was awesome | dyker heights, brooklyn

ayat — we were very hungry after our dyker heights adventure and rochelle recommended trying ayat, a palestinian restaurant in the next neighborhood over. we sat at the counter and were able to watch the fresh pita get made which paired perfectly with the baba ghanoush, and as a main we shared the maklouba which was so flavorful and delicious and also provided plenty of leftovers for us both. they’ve recently opened a location in astoria so i’ll be making a visit there soon | bay ridge, brooklyn

bryant park ice skating — for maggie’s birthday she, molly, and i went ice skating in bryant park and had a blast. i had only previously been ice skating once in my life and that was nearly 25 years ago so i stuck to or near the rail for my time on the ice, but maggie and molly were zooming around like pros. i’m proud to report we had no injuries and are all excited to do it again next year | bryant park, manhattan

and some old favorites —

i always love finding new-to-me places, but now that i have lived here for almost 4 years [which is wild to think about] there are also places i love returning to and i thought with this year’s recap i will also share a few of my favorite places i revisited in 2025.

the lowery — it feels a little unfair to include this on the list because it is probably my most-visited place in all of new york city, but this lovely irish pub is my favorite place. it’s great to visit on my own with a book or with friends, and it is where maggie, molly, and i hold our silly book club discussions. the staff are the best, and the vibes are immaculate | sunnyside, queens

poster house — i first visited poster house on my “one year in nyc adventure day” and had a great time returning with rochelle to check out some new exhibits, which was also inspiration to return a few times to work out of their lovely cafe | flatiron, manhattan

nepali banchha ghar — my favorite place in all of new york city for momos | jackson heights, queens

eat it astoria — my favorite halal cart on my street, both for the delicious food and for the friendly guys who run it | astoria, queens

american museum of natural history — listen, seeing dinosaurs never gets old. i returned to this perennial favorite with katie and andrew when they were in town in may and was reminded just how cool it is. i saw the gemstones exhibit for the first time and loved it | upper west side, manhattan

semma — being the number one restaurant in nyc and having the best chef in nyc means it’s nearly impossible to get a reservation here, but luckily for me abi has gotten to know chef well the last few years and can get a bar reservation and often when she does she calls me. and whenever she does, i always say yes | greenwich village, manhattan

kanyakumari — my other favorite indian restaurant and the closest biryani to sheilamma’s and where i know i can always get a reservation. also they featured me on their instagram! | union square, manhattan

us open — my favorite nyc event every year. i love going the saturday of labor day weekend because there’s so many matches and such great energy | flushing, queens

spicy moon — this fully vegetarian / vegan chinese restaurant is always such a hit, and i welcome any chance to return | bowery, manhattan

and there you have my 2025 nyc adventures! i can’t wait to see what i get up to in 2026.

xx