I stopped by Archestratus this past Sunday after wanting to check it out for a while. I had no idea…read morethat it was closing on 4/26 after being open in Greenpoint for 10 years. Most of their merchandise is heavily discounted in preparation for their closing, but they had very little left when I visited this past weekend. It's too bad they're closing, because they definitely were a unique concept store (books and food). Run by the next few weeks if you want to go through their remaining merchandise!

Haven't been here since they remodeled but they're the same cozy, amazing bookstore/gift shop for…read morefoodies or the foodies in your life. You are bound to find something cool or quickly create a theme of gifts. There's a cooler with some drinks that you can enjoy at the table by the entrance. They also put on cool events, so be sure to check out their website or socials.

City Hall Park Greenmarket is a memory for me now. I worked in the neighborhood when I worked for…read morethe city. On my lunch breaks I enjoyed sitting in the park and visiting the Greenmarket. I'm sorry I didn't take photos but take my word for it there's a great variety. Plus it's a great New Yorker lifestyle experience. If you are in the neighborhood on a weekday I recommend you take in the whole neighborhood while munching on a fresh picked apple!! Don't forget to photograph the fountain!

This is for the stands on Broadway on Tuesdays and Fridays in front of City Hall…read more Can't wait for the summer fruit: crispy tart Ginger Gold apples and white peaches. The apple stand closest to Chambers Street accepts credit cards. The guys who work there always give good advice on which apples are best for apple pie. I like to bake my own pies since I have mastered the art of the crust: lots of cold butter and don't manipulate the dough too much. I learned this in my cooking classes at Sur La Table. What I bake is much fresher than any pie sold at the farmers market. Also, the stand selling vegetables is good for zucchini in the summer.

I've browsed in this store a couple of times and made one small purchase. The prices are…read moreoutrageous. The stuff is cute, but there are about a hundred stores in the city that sell the same items for a better price. They must have a big problem with shoplifting because at least three of the staff were patrolling the aisles and watching customers like a hawk. They sell the $60 Labubus so the store was busy, but half the customers put them back on the shelf when they saw the price. I'd say this is a cute place to look at if you're nearby, but do your research on more reasonable options in the city before you spend your money here.

A nice little toy and stationary store. The selection and prices are pretty good, and worth a visit…read moreif you're in the area.

Came by with a friend running errands on a weekday evening and it was fairly quiet. This outdoor…read moremall is located in Glendale and consists of 5 main buildings with a green plaza-type area in the middle. Stores are located on ground, first and second floors, there are some commercial office spaces too. Parking is available for a fee in either structures or in the spaces directly in front of the stores. There are a fair number of stores for what is essentially a glorified strip mall, it's not quite large enough to make it a serious shopping destination, more of a come-by-for-specific stores kind of place. Of the approximately 50 businesses here, a dozen are commercial offices, another dozen service/utility stores (doctors offices, glasses store, UPS, T-mobile), a Regal Cinemas movie theater, a couple hobby stores (anime/manga, games, Bee's Arts & Crafts), several food/drink spots, some apparel/accessories stores (Foot Locker, Forever 21, TJ Maxx, White House/Black Market, Sacca's Suits), a few sports facilities (swim school, NY Sports Club, karate school, laser tag/bounce family fun center) and two home furnishing stores (Home Goods and Ashley Furniture). Probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here though I can see how it's convenient to have these store nearby for those that live in the area. There is a fun 3-story tall street art mural of a boy with big ears on one of the parking structure outer walls.

Came here for the first time with my daughter & her friend- it's a pretty decent outdoor mall…read more.. There's a Chili's, CPK, Pot Noodle, Subway, Don Nico (Mexican) as well as an Auntie Anne's, Mr. Cow's Corndogs, Starbucks, Cold Stone (ice cream) & Hokkaido Cheese Tarts. Not to mention, the biggest T.J.Maxx & Five Below I've ever been to in NY. There's also a HomeGoods, Laser Bounce (arcade), Slime Time, Ulta, Footlocker, an arts & crafts studio, movie theater and a few toy stores. Can definitely be a fun time with kids- the girls even played frisbee & volleyball on the synthetic grass, got bubble tea from Pot Noodle, which was surprisingly good and won some prizes from Laser Bounce too. Not an ideal place for clothing shopping and the parking was quite expensive- $30 for 4 hours but either way, we'll be back :)

Very interesting park. Right on water and nice views. Very big green spaces. Also right by the…read moreNoguchi museum which I recommend checking out.

Discovered Socrates Sculpture Park on a visit to the Noguchi Museum down the block. Awesome to…read moreexplore this 5 acre riverside park that exhibits a range of eclectic larger size sculptures. Socrates also has some open space to also enjoy the view of Roosevelt Island and Manhattan on the other side of the East River. My favorite sculptures there are John Ahearn's painted bronze "Raymond and Toby," "Daleesha," and "Corey." Nearby, you'll also find a Free Store that perhaps has something to take home. (Full disclosure: I did not check out its actual contents.) "The Cubes," a new permanent building in the park, provides administrative offices as well as multi-use additional space. Socrates Sculpture Park was a nice surprise!

Cute little shop with a storefront selling bags, trinkets and toys, and a small cafe at the back…read moreselling egg tarts, wife cakes and drinks such as milk tea and coffee. The workers are very friendly, but their egg tarts and other snacks are limited in quantity, call ahead to order if you must have something. The egg tarts are Hong Kong-style cookie crust egg tarts.

They sell pandan tarts, egg tarts, organic teas, and lots of pandas. It is a very cute shop with…read moresuper sweet employees. The short crust on the pandan tart is flaky, buttery, and very tasty and inside it is jiggly, gooey, and delicately flavored. If you are a fan of egg tarts and pandas. this little shop is definitely worth stopping by.

Here to see the soccer match between Argentina and Egypt. I wanted to go to another food hall to…read moresee the game. A hot cappuccino and my all time favorite Cranberry shortbread rounds out the charm of being at Union Square Time Out Market.

Stumbled upon the Union Square Night Market while walking through the park on a Thursday evening…read more As a big fan of outdoor food markets, I was excited to see one pop up in Union Square for the summer. The Night Market is open on Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 10pm. For such a compact space, there's a great variety of vendors offering different types of food. After checking out the options, I went with a braised chicken arepa and a pork belly & sweet plantain empanada from Ehbra Colombian Food. The total came to $19, which felt like a solid deal given the portion size and quality. There are picnic tables set up around the vendors, so it was nice not having to eat on a park bench.

I'm surprised I'd never heard of this place prior to getting an ad on social media for a Keith…read moreHaring retrospective. First off, it's an impressive and imposing building, a former ConEd electrical substation so you've got a sturdy building with high clearances. Then you take on the fact that Walter De Maria (whose installations are still on view elsewhere in the city) used this building as his home and studio, and as a De Maria fan that's worthy of note. So whatever art is on, you have a unique setting. As for the art, there are 4 viewable galleries (shop at the ground floor), and the top floors have windows that give great views of the city. (An elevator will take you between floors so it is accessible though stairs are available too.) As mentioned, there was a Haring show happening when I visited. I wasn't terribly sure about the $20 price, unable to discern if it was going to be more like a gallery than a museum exhibition. But it was a museum-quality show and it took me about 45 minutes to make it through. The setting worked especially well for Haring - some of the art on show was subway chalk drawings he had made, and when they were paired with the brick backing of the room it looked authentic to the subway station where he created the work originally. Well worth the money. For this show at least there was a timed admission but it was not crowded and despite the respectable attendance you can still have an intimate experience.

I visited the Brant Foundation last Sunday to see their current exhibit on Keith Haring (which…read morecloses on May 31). It was my first visit, and I was really blown away by the space. It kind of falls somewhere between a gallery and a museum - their full name is "The Brant Foundation Art Study Center" - so what exactly are you in for? It's an exhibition space - no permanent collection - so they are open for exhibits and closed while the next exhibit is being installed. And it has a hefty admission price (I paid $20 for my admission to the Keith Haring exhibit). But if there's an exhibit you're interested in, there's nothing like the Brant. The space is incredible. The Brant is located in a former Consolidated Edison substation, so it has 7,000 square feet of space that looks industrial and loft-like, yet has incredible ceiling height and light. They also have two adjacent gardens. It's one of the most incredible spaces I've seen an art exhibit. On top of that, the exhibit was incredible. By scanning a QR code, you could pull up each of the pieces in the exhibit by floor of the Brant and read about them. As almost all of Keith Haring's work was untitled, I do wish they had included more context and information about the works included, but I was still floored by the exhibit and the works they were able to put together for the show. When I was shopping in their gift shop before leaving, I realized just how many incredible exhibits they've put on in their history. As soon as I got home, I signed up for their email newsletter so I don't miss their next great exhibit.