Hello, Fellow Wanderers…

Let’s be honest for a minute, can we? Traveling isn’t cheap. It isn’t easy. And planning for it can be like standing in the middle of thrift store racks and going ‘HUH?!’ I feel ya. I really do. But then, there is this magic to finding a random cafe in the middle of a busy bustling street. Or finding that hole in the wall place which locals call their own, but tourists haven’t discovered (read: destroyed) yet.

I live in New York City. Some might say its a slice of the world here. It really is. Every neighborhood unique. Every corner unusual. Every coffee claiming to be the “WORLD’S BEST COFFEE!!!” (Who remember’s Will Ferrell having a moment in Elf? My people.) We come galore with busy subways that don’t run on time. Crappy coffee, which was supposed to be great. 99 cent pizza slices, which were supposed to be crappy but turned out to be delicious. And about 20 Ray’s Pizzas (ALL claiming to be the original one). You never feel too out there or part of a cult. It’s the Goldilocks of JUST RIGHT!

So you’d imagine we have high tolerance. We suffer a lot on the daily but we love it here. It’s home. It’s not perfect but it’s perfect for us. AND YET, what New Yorkers hate more than almost anything are ‘tourists’. Being around tourist spots- walking into tourist spots, stuck in a tourist spot, Times Square at 5 pm in July, tourist restaurants and tourist favorites. We do not venture to any of these unless bribed or promised great meals and drinks (and even then you’re making your bets and taking your chances inviting us…). So I think my love for unusual corners came from being a New Yorker. I always wanted to turn the corners no one was turning. Walk the empty streets. Explore the little cafes no one was bustling into on a Friday evening. And alas, it is often when I do this that I find my gems. The keepers. The lifers. The ones that make your heart sing.

So welcome to my attempt at a blog. It isn’t always going to be a new place I review. Some of these will already be fan favorites. But I’d like to think the places I curate here are those that should make your list of place you HAVE to see/visit on your first trip to New York.

So follow me along as I venture out (while I try not to go broke) and explore unusual corners around the world.

Happy Wanderlusting,

Kriti