A Hell’s Kitchen Weekend

December 2016

For a perfect weekend, look no further than the blocks surrounding the Hell’s Kitchen rentals at 555TEN. Living at the heart of Manhattan in a neighborhood deeply rooted in the city’s past (and present!) puts some of NYC’s best dining, shopping, and cultural institutions at your doorstep.

Wake up to a Saturday breakfast with friends at Friedman’s, where you can start the weekend with New York classics that have a locavore, gluten–free twist like pastrami hash or a “nova benny,” a hot plate of sunnyside-up eggs served with smoked salmon. Celebrating the best of New York, old and new, one of Friedman’s signature omelets is made with pastrami and the classic fixings of caramelized onions and mustard. Wash it down with an Earl’s 75 cocktail: gin infused with Earl Grey tea and honey, combined with lemon and blanc de blancs.

After breakfast, check out the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market, touted by Time Out New York as “one of the most rummage-worthy markets in Manhattan.” Time Out recommends a visit to Store with No Walls, where you can find vintage pieces by designers like Oscar de la Renta or a one-of-a-kind leopard-print clutch that could be the perfect throwback fashion statement for your night on the town—or in the neighborhood.

Hell’s Kitchen is also the home of one of the most stylish clothing stores from Tokyo. Nowhere else but at Nepenthes can you find the Samu jacket in black velveteen, a garment cut with the elegant lines of a Samurai’s robe and made with a material worthy of a 19th-century urban dandy like Oscar Wilde. Nepenthes also features its own label, Engineered Garments, which has a line for women called “FWK.”

Round out your afternoon with a visit to the Sean Kelly Gallery, where you can currently check out the work of Jose Davila, one of Mexico’s most up-and-coming young artists. Then head to the Westside Theater, housed in what was once a 19th-century Baptist Church, to catch Cagney, a musical directed by and starring Robert Creighton, who the New York Times says was “born for the role.”

Stepping out of the theater on a Saturday evening, as Hell’s Kitchen denizens know, means the night has just begun. This is the perfect time to grab dinner at 44 & X: enjoy their decadent Maine lobster tacos, served with charred tomato salsa, avocado relish, cilantro, and herb salad, before moving on to drinks with friends at local hot spot Tanner Smith’s, a 1920s-style speakeasy with a carefully curated cocktail list.

In Hell’s Kitchen, the opportunities for exploration are endless. Day seamlessly fades into night, and nights tend to evolve and revolve around the energy of this vibrant neighborhood. Moving into 555TEN is just the beginning.