nyc diaries: screaming at you in the ludlow, i was yours for free.
✨things to do, places to eat, coffee to drink and life to live laugh love.
WELCOME TO THE NEW YORK CITY DIARIES ON SUBSTACK.
The Lower East Side is one of the most underrated and least talked about areas in New York City and I need it to get the appreciation it deserves.
🍦: As the Oat Milk Leader, there is absolutely no way I can allow you to visit the Lower East Side without recommending the world’s first ever oat milk ice cream shop: Whipped Urban Dessert Lab. Yes, every ice cream base in this store is dairy free so there is no need to run to CVS to pick up a box of lactaid! Not only is this store dairy-free, it is also black owned. I don’t know what more I could ask for! I’m a very simple girl. The signature base is sweet cream with a touch of vanilla, which I would recommend if you plan on getting toppings, as the whipped twist (chocolate and sweet cream) doesn’t compliment every topping as easily. If the abundance of choice overwhelms you, they do also have a menu of hand selected fusions including; salted pecan, mint chocolate cookie, cinnamon apple crisp and strawberry shortcake, to name a few. The cinnamon apple crisp and the strawberry shortcake are two items on the menu that I cannot rave about enough. They’re just the perfect flavours and you don’t get a stomach ache after. Honestly, this place is a dream.
🍸: Dudley’s is my favourite restaurant/bar in the LES. Granted, I have only ever had drinks here, I’m sure the food is equally as brilliant because everyone else seems to be devouring it. I’m a tequila girl and I understand why some people may not like tequila (hint: a lot of places are often serving cheap tequila at bars and that never tastes nice), but the ‘waterboy’ cocktail on the menu at Dudley’s is comprised of watermelon, lime, tequila and agave and it is a pour of heaven on a hot day. Oh, I could write MLA format dissertations on how good this drink is. It is refreshing and subtly sweet, in a way that isn’t overpowering or tacky. Dudley’s also have a small but great selection of beers. As the most tourist Brit I could be, I always drink a Brooklyn Lager whilst I’m in NYC. It is one of my favourite lagers regardless of what continent I’m on but there is something cool about ordering it whilst in New York where they have it on tap in a lot of bars there.
☕️: Ludlow Coffee Supply, situated right next to the Ludlow Hotel, is Starbucks if Starbucks had good coffee. The menu at Ludlow Coffee Supply shocked me. It is a relatively small store but the menu is not reflective of that whatsoever. I opt for the Signature Lattes whenever I’m in there which includes the options of; Bourbon Lattes, Salted Caramel Lattes, Maple Lattes and Pumpkin Spice Lattes. My only fault with this coffee shop is the $2 charge for oat milk? IN THIS ECONOMY? but if you’re still drinking cow’s milk, you can have a field day on a budget in the Ludlow Coffee Supply.
If going to coffee shops for free Wi-Fi is your thing then I’m sorry, this one isn’t for you. Cafe Grumpy is a chain across New York City but I’ve found that the one in the LES is the quietest, even at times that are typically rush hour slots for coffee drinkers. Despite this being coffee centric, if you are a matcha drinker, you must try the strawberry matcha. No ifs, ands or buts, order the damn strawberry matcha! But if you are going in for coffee, let it be known that they do have every single regular coffee drink you could order - from a latte to a cortado. But, the stars of the show here are the Honey Oat Latte and the Tahitian Vanilla Latte. Truthfully, I think I’m salivating just mentioning them.
🌮: As you may have noticed from my West Village recommendations, I am a sucker for Mexican food. Jajaja Mexicana in the LES is a plant-based Mexican restaurant with Mezcal and Tequila menu’s longer than a short novel and a street taco menu that will make you drool before you’ve even placed your order. Not only does this restaurant have a lunch/dinner menu that will leave you spoilt for choice, they also have breakfast burritos and brunch cocktails. If you are ever stuck for choice for where to eat, at any time of day, head to Jajaja in the LES.
🕶️: For my fellow Soho House members who have made it their mission to visit all of the houses to get the full value of their membership, stop sleeping on Ludlow House! Nobody is ever there and it is the perfect spot to kick back and get work done with a picante beside your laptop. Dumbo House is objectively the best house in NYC and thus, it is always packed and the Soho House in Meatpacking has a very business feel to it but Ludlow House seems to be the hotspot for creatives who want to get some work done in the garden. Ludlow House is a refurbished factory that still holds it’s rustic feel whilst also being stylish and hip in true Soho House fashion.