Hell’s Kitchen Local

This place is well equipped with a huge pool, jacuzzi, sauna, gym and studio. I love taking the water aerobics classes and working out there. I also love teaching Dance Cardio every Monday night at 7pm. All the people that come to my classes are pretty awesome. Their energy always has me leaving feeling better than when I arrived. It’s become a lovely community. People always stay and hang out after class.

Grind is a relatively new (at least for my long HK history) addition to Hell’s Kitchen. The coffee is very good and they have a nice selection of breakfast and lunch options. If you sit in the window, it makes for excellent people watching.

I love the square-sliced pizzas from Claudio’s. They’re crispy, cheesy, and hit the spot every single time. Plus, they stay open late, which makes them one of my top go-to spots after a long day. Honestly, their pizza beats a lot of the more “famous” New York places.

The Vanilla Gorilla Cafe is my go-to coffee shop for meeting up with friends. It’s spacious and bright with great beverages and bakery treats. My current favorite is the Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea.

This Greek bakery serves the most delicious tiropita: a flaky cheese pie made with ricotta, cream cheese, feta and a touch of mint. One cheese pie with a bowl of olives is my perfect lunch. I love that the business is so old school, they use an honest-to-god cash register. Poseidon has been in its 9th Avenue location since 1950, although the business started in 1923 — a true Hell’s Kitchen institution.

A perfect location for a celebratory dinner and drinks — great vibes and fabulous margaritas!

A lovely restaurant with a romantic lower level lounge — have a seat on the sofa by the fireplace.

When I’m craving Korean food, I often visit this neighborhood spot instead of traveling down to Koreatown on 32nd Street. Their Korean fried chicken, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and bibimbap (veggie/meat rice bowl) always hit the spot.

Tannen’s Magic Shop is so historic, dark, mysterious and everything you want a magic shop to be. You’ll regularly find me here browsing the huge bookshelf of magic books. I just can’t get enough!

The best place to people-watch is in this 24-hour plaza, where you never know which friends you’ll run into or what kinds of conversations you might overhear from New Yorkers and tourists of all stripes. On a crisp fall day, there’s no better place to grab coffee and catch up al fresco.