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A Lovely Day · 7 stops · about 5.5 km on foot

A Lovely Day on the Lower East Side & Chinatown

A 1914 appetizing counter, tai chi and Cantonese opera in Five Points' old park, the city's oldest dim sum parlor, a donated library on cobbled Crosby Street, golden hour on a Canal Street wine-bar plaza, then provincial Indian cooking in Essex Market and a knock on an unmarked Eldridge Street door.

Best days Every stop is open seven days. Weekends suit Columbus Park best (the record notes musicians and opera singers on weekend mid-mornings), but expect waits at Nom Wah; arrive at its 11 AM opening. Housing Works closes at 5 PM on Sundays, which is fine for a 1:30 PM visit.

  1. 19:00 AM
    Illustration of an American table: a burger, fries and a pickleIllustration

    LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN

    Russ & Daughters

    The appetizing counter has sliced smoked fish on Houston Street since 1914; take a number, order the Classic, and carry it to a bench in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, as there is no seating.

  2. about 20 min on foot

    210:15 AM
    Columbus Park in Chinatown, its paved court ringed by trees

    CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

    Columbus Park

    Built in 1897 over Mulberry Bend, the worst corner of the Five Points, this is now Chinatown's tai chi plaza and xiangqi pavilion; approach from Bayard Street and let the music find you.

  3. about 2 min on foot

    311:30 AM
    The yellow-trimmed storefront of Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers Street, with its vintage red sign in English and Chinese and paper lanterns overhead.

    CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN

    Nom Wah Tea Parlor

    On the bend of Doyers Street since 1920, it is New York's oldest dim sum parlor, cooking to order from a paper checklist; get the original egg roll, then walk the full bend of Doyers after.

  4. about 17 min on foot

    41:30 PM
    The two-level, wood-shelved interior of Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

    SOHO, MANHATTAN

    Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

    A former factory on cobbled Crosby Street holds two levels of donated books under a mezzanine balcony, with a small café; every dollar funds Housing Works' services.

  5. about 18 min on foot

    5About an hour before sunset
    Illustration of cocktails on a bar topIllustration

    LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN

    Le Dive

    A natural-wine bar styled like a French tabac on the Canal Street triangle known as Dimes Square, where the real seating is the plaza out front.

  6. about 7 min on foot

    67:30 PM
    Illustration of a South Asian thali with curries, rice and breadIllustration

    LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN

    Dhamaka

    In Essex Market, Dhamaka cooks home and roadside dishes from provincial India with daily-ground spices; it has a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and the one-per-night khad khargosh must be pre-ordered.

  7. about 4 min on foot

    79:45 PM
    Illustration of cocktails on a bar topIllustration

    LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN

    Attaboy

    Behind an unmarked Eldridge Street door, in the room that was once Milk & Honey, there is no menu; describe a flavor and the bartender builds the drink.

More lovely days

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