Eat, chill, read and benefit charity all in a couple of hours! The Housing Works Used Book Cafe in Soho is a book lovers' delight and allows customers to help the HIV afflicted too. Browse through tens of thousands of new and used books while you go through their range of snacks. Beer, books and cushy chairs turn out to be the perfect recipe for a relaxing and lazy day. A comfy library-esque ambiance and casual service add the finishing touches. The cafe even hosts events and live music acts, with proceeds donated to charity.
Cellini Jewelers is the place you must visit if you seek authentic creations. The store has a variety of diamond jewelry on offer, which are delicate and beautiful. Also the store is a den for 'special edition watches', from IWC, A.Lange & Sohne, A. Piguet, F.P.Journe and the likes. Hence, one can be assured that a time-piece picked from here is definitely a hard-to-find one.
Today there is only one true pickle store in Lower East Side and that is Pickle Guys. They make pickles using old east European recipes, curing them in jars for more than six months with salt brine, garlic, spices and no preservatives. They have pickled radishes, cabbages, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, peppers, baby carrots, garlic, okra, beans, celery, kraut, gherkins, onions, mushrooms and just about every other vegetable or foodstuff under the sun. It is no wonder that these Guys are known to make some of the best pickled produce in the city.
While most tourists in New York only have time to see the attractions, fitting in time to make your own pasta dinner is hardly possible to do. However, for local denizens Raffetto's is one of the best places to pick up an eclectic array of pasta in the city. With choices in fresh pasta made of buckwheat, lemon, saffron and even from exotic squid-ink, the list goes on-and-on. They also make their own sauce(s) and have been doing so for more than 100 years. This is only the beginning, their ravioli is delectable and if you seek something else or a great gift from the Italian Peninsula that is authentic, Raffetto's is the place to visit.
The Alvarez family has been in the cigar business for a long time. Their shop is located in Perth Amboy, just a short drive from Woodbridge. Here you can watch the staff hand-roll high quality Cuban-style cigars. Proprietor Luis Alvarez Junior is a fourth-generation cigar roller from Cuba, so if you have any questions about their well-respected brand, don't hesitate to ask!
Delphinium Home caters to the up-and-coming Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, allowing nearby residents to decorate their living spaces with any number of bright and fun products on offer. Quirky clocks, mugs and candles are just a few products in Delphinium's collection, each product suited to particular design tastes that let shoppers put their mark on their surroundings. With reasonably priced wares and something for everyone, Delphinium is a worthwhile shop for the traveler looking to pick up a trinket for friends back home.