I have a laundry list of things that inspires me in or about New York City. While it would be impossible to dedicate a full article to each and every one of them, I decided to start a new column where I give the top five things I’m currently loving a shout-out.
Photo Credit: https://twitter.com/zamazon
While the “do” mention is decidedly NYC specific, the rest of the things mentioned are accessible to you, no matter what city (or suburb, or rural paradise) you live in, hence why the (NY) is in parenthesis.
Here’s 5 fun things to do in New York City this month:
DO:
Ever wonder what would happen if “Inside Amy Schumer” & “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” had a child and hired Tim Minchin as the manny? (Of course you have!;-) And you can watch it happen live in NYC this weekend, with the all-women musical comedy and sketch troupe, Broad Comedy. Nothing is sacred to them, except an unflinching and hilarious look at our culture. The show will perform at the Soho Playhouse, April 20th-22nd at 8pm.
READ:
I just finished the book The Age Of Reinvention and honestly, couldn’t put it down. The book moves between NYC and Paris (the first city I’m in a long standing romance with and the latter I’d have a love affair with any day!), and tackles the subjects of fidelity, religion, identity, and success, as you follow the life of a famous New York Muslim-but-pretending-to-be-Jewish lawyer whose charmed and glamorous life is a sham. It’s a perfect beach or subway read–absolutely addictive.
MAKE:
While it may not be possible to dine at the top NYC restaurants on any kind of regular basis (Hi, Eleven Madison Park!), The New York Times has made it (thankfully) possible to reproduce one of their signature dishes at home: their granola.
WATCH:
We’re reading Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned for our book club this month, so of course I was tickled pink to watch the Amazon series about him and his wife Zelda, Z: The Beginning of Everything. While the series starts in her home state of Mississippi, it quickly moves to NYC during the roaring 20’s. The costumes are divine!
EAT:
I went to Chinatown recently and discovered “Buddha Bowls”, essentially a bowl of rice packed with a protein and whatever in-season veggies are available on top. Think of it as a whole grain + a bean + a green. I love how much protein is packed into these veggie bowls, how easy it is to prep a week’s worth on a Sunday, and what an affordable dinner they make.
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
