Hell’s Kitchen Local

Our favorite restaurant is this delicious Mexican spot that opened in 2001. You’re not going to get better Mexican food in Hell’s Kitchen, thanks to the owners Jesús and Irma Verdejo, who are two of the hardest working people in the neighborhood. They always welcome us warmly when we eat there for hearty cheese enchiladas and vegetarian nachos or take home a fat torta with queso blanco. If there’s one Hell’s Kitchen restaurant I recommend, it’s this one.

They make the most delicious lentil soup! Their falafels are fantastic, too.

I always go to VIV when I’m in the mood for Thai food. The vibe here is just so great!

They are the absolute best! I love coming here and making a lamination/tint appointment with the owner Santi, who is the best in the biz!

Great place for quick dim sum, especially when the outdoor seating is available. The dishes come out fast and fresh, and if I ever get a craving, this is the first place I think of for a satisfying bite.

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.

Red Eye has it all. It’s a coffee shop, it’s a cabaret space, it’s an event venue, it’s a club. I love seeing Marti Gould Cummings’ Stage Fright show, Justin Carter-Van Pelt’s Horror Movie Night: Movie Mausoleum, their underwear nights and drag events. Check out all their events, there is something for everyone!

How lucky am I to have a fresh fish market a few blocks from my apartment? These markets have become almost extinct. I love walking in and they know exactly what I want and are so welcoming. There are some very good people working behind that counter.

I go to Dave’s fruit stand especially when I need heavily speckled bananas — very soft to the touch and intensely sweet and fragrant — for baking my vegan oatmeal raisin cookies. I’ll be doing a lot of baking for the coming holidays.

I’m at this library several times a week, and every time I find something new, from books to a movie series to a friendly face. It opened on September 24, 1909, with funding by Andrew Carnegie, and I feel that history when I walk through the front doors and into the Renaissance Revival building. The librarians are always helpful and very friendly. They’ve recently expanded their events, and now they have everything from a horror book club to a scrapbooking workshop to a wider array of movies. I recently saw Soylent Green there, and it was the perfect weekday matinee getaway, just a few minutes from my home.