Note: This article was first published in April 2022 and some details may be out of date.
– I was seated right behind Iris Apfel. I’ve never been so high on life as I was then!
With the pandemic in the rear-view mirror (fingers crossed), we can finally plan and look forward to some travelling again. But after several years of standing still, you might need a little outside help.
Because where do you eat the tastiest food in Paris, what are the coolest shops in Copenhagen and which is the best rooftop bar in Barcelona?
In this series, Melk & Honning talks to influencers and celebrities to get their tips on big-city favourites around the world.In this week’s M&H city guide we talk to Elise Sandvik.
The stylist has called New York home for many years. Here are her very best tips from there.
Read also: M&H city guide: Influencer Nnenna Echem in Paris
What’s the first thing you think of when someone mentions New York?
– When someone mentions New York, I think “home”. After many years in the city, that’s exactly what it feels like.
Why did you choose to move to New York? What does it have that Oslo or Norway doesn’t?
– The first time I visited New York was as a fashion intern in May 2014. I immediately felt that I had found my place, says Elise Sandvik.
– There was something about the energy and the people in the city that made me feel a freedom I had never had before. I could be myself without worrying about what people would say.
– Nobody here knew what the Law of Jante was lol. It was probably the feelings the city gave me and all the opportunities I found here that made me move to New York.
Which parts of the city are your favourites?
– I love the Financial District, where I’ve lived for many years, but the West Village and TriBeCa are also gorgeous.
– The Lower East Side has lots of interesting shops and restaurants. Soho is very touristy, especially on Broadway, so walk the side streets instead – Mercer Street, Greene Street, Wooster Street and West Broadway between Houston and Canal. That’s where the shops of many of the biggest fashion houses sit side by side with cafés and showrooms.
– Steer clear of most of Midtown. The Upper West Side is mostly residential, while the Upper East Side has its high-end shops, libraries, galleries and museums.
Which hotels can you recommend?
– I did a staycation at The Ludlow Hotel when covid was at its worst. They have such lovely bathrooms and the morning sun comes straight into the bed.
– Otherwise there’s The Bowery, 11 Howard, The Beekman, Ace Hotel, The Marlton, Hotel Chelsea, Public and The High Line Hotel.
Where do you prefer to have breakfast and lunch?
– Hole in the Wall and The Black Fox in the Financial District, Dudley’s and Dimes on the Lower East Side.
– Two Hands and Bubby’s in Tribeca, Buvette and Roey’s in the West Village. Epistrophy and Ruby’s in Nolita, Citizens of Soho and Jack’s Wife Frieda in Soho.
And what about dinner?
– Tacombi and Jajaja for Mexican, Lovely Day for Thai, Spicy Moon and Chinese Tuxedo for Chinese, Misi and Caffè Dante for Italian.
– Babs for European, The Flower Shop and Bare Burger for burgers, Le Botaniste and Avant Garden for vegan, Fairfax, 232 Bleecker and Joseph Leonard for everything else.
Where do you prefer to have drinks or go dancing in New York?
– I don’t drink, and unfortunately there hasn’t been much dancing since covid. 🙁
Which shops do you prefer?
– I almost never shop for myself, maybe a couple of times a year. But when I do – Acne Studios on Greene Street! Other cool shops worth checking out are The Break, Prada, James Veloria, The Frankie Shop, Bode, Byredo, Café Forgot, Nanushka, Procell, Nepenthes and The Row.
What are your cultural favourites there? (Museums… galleries… other things?)
– I have a long list of things in a shared note with the guy I’m dating. We check out new things every weekend.
– Recently we visited The New York Earth Room, The Morgan Library, Dover Street Market, Dia Chelsea and Love House.
– We also have the Guggenheim, The Met Cloisters, The Broken Kilometer, 101 Spring Street, The Somerset House, MDFG, Neue Galerie, The Shed and Aire Ancient Baths on the list.
If you were to pick one good story from your life in New York, which would you tell?
– Something that will always be a fun memory is my second season of New York Fashion Week in autumn 2015. Since I knew the names of all the press contacts, I simply turned up at the door of seven different shows I wasn’t invited to and said I had spoken to “Laura”, “Michelle”, “Katie” and so on. They let me walk straight in.
– The Thom Browne Spring 2016 show was one of them, and I was seated right behind Iris Apfel. I’ve never been so high on life as I was then!
Will you move back to Norway one day?
– I can’t see myself moving back to Norway, but I always visit family and friends around Christmas and the summer holidays.
Read also: These are the best places for brunch in Oslo