Loving fast New York and slow Provence

There is a particular kind of serendipity you can find sometimes in a city you arrive in without a plan.

I love simply going with the flow, allowing myself to be guided by the energy of a place and my own intuition. It is an instinct and a skill I have spent a lifetime cultivating — as a devoted foodie, board-certified nutritionist, and food and beverage professional, deepened still further by twenty years of roaming the world full time as a gastronomad, and ten years as the creator and co-host of the Gastronomad Experience.

We weren’t supposed to linger. We had just come from California to celebrate our nephew’s high school graduation, a joyful gathering of family we hadn’t seen in years. Those seventy-two hours held more richness than a full week might have.

But New York City called to us, as it always does. And for me, this city is personal. I ran food and beverage operations at some of its most iconic hotels before Mike and I left for California in 1999. Returning always feels like bumping into an old version of yourself, a life you miss living.

We gave it twenty-four hours before flying on to France for the Provence Gastronomad Experience, which we wrapped up just this past weekend. Then we made a beeline for England, and I find myself writing these words to you from Somerset, which feels like exactly the right place to reflect on it all.

Those twenty-four hours in New York were fast, glorious, and filled with unrelenting serendipity.

Following the city’s lead

We walked through SoHo, Greenwich Village, and Chelsea for miles, guided by nothing more than the moment and an intention to remain open. We wanted to experience that quintessential energy found only in a city that never sleeps, a city where I feel right at home.

We ate delicious food, discovered great cocktail bars, and let the rhythm of New York move us through it. It was full, and it was memorable.

If you’d like to go deeper, I wrote about it in the latest Gastronomad Experience Journal.

And if you’d like to walk these streets with us in real time, our latest podcast episode, 24 Hours in New York, takes you right there.

But here, in the spirit of serendipity, I want to leave you with something simpler: a list of the places that defined those hours, in case any of them are calling your name.

One suggestion before you go: let your time in the city find its own shape. Stay open, and serendipity will find you.

Where we went

Early evening

• Soso’s — a lively, vibrant cocktail bar and dining room in South SoHo, walk-in only. Sit at the bar if you can, order something unfamiliar, and stay for the food. The ingredients here are the real thing. Ask for Nick, and ask him to make you what he created for me: Nick’s Last Word.

• Opera House — a cocktail lounge tucked into Chinatown, from the team behind Chinese Tuxedo. Atmospheric and intriguing, with noodles worth going back for. One of those rooms that makes you feel like you found something.

Late night

• SoHo Diner — we arrived close to midnight, which is exactly when you should. Inside the SoHo Grand Hotel, classic American fare done honestly and without pretension. Order a milkshake. You will not regret it. There is a particular magic to New York at that hour, and this place holds it perfectly.

Next morning

• Tartinery Cafe — a French café-bar that understands the art of a slow morning. Good coffee, open-faced tartines, and a relaxed atmosphere that invites you to linger.

• Levain Bakery — born on the Upper West Side in 1995, these cookies are thick, gooey, and genuinely legendary. We bought several to take with us, and they made the long flight to France considerably more enjoyable. A small detour worth every step and every bite.

Next Afternoon

• Chelsea Market — the old Nabisco factory, now a labyrinth of food and wonder. Fresh pasta, artisan cheese, eateries from every corner of the world, charming gift shops, and cookbooks you’ll actually read. Go without a plan, stay for lunch. That’s the whole point.

• The High Line — step up from the street and the city shifts entirely. A mile and a half of elevated park built on a freight rail line, running above Chelsea. Free, and one of the most beautiful walks in Manhattan.

That evening

• Keg & Lantern West Village — a craft brewpub that crossed the river from Brooklyn and landed beautifully in the West Village. All their beers are phenomenal — ask the bartender what’s on tap and let them guide you. Welcoming, unhurried, and exactly the kind of place that feels like a neighborhood secret even when it isn’t.

• Fermento Pizza NYC — one last slice before the Uber to JFK. It was so delicious! Best idea.

Then off to Provence

Then we got on a plane to Provence.