For as long as New York City has been one of the world’s culinary capitals, its neighborhoods have been in competition among themselves for local and international bragging rights. Nestled between the celebrated, food-packed areas of West Village, SoHo and Tribeca, the small, oft-overlooked area of Hudson Square is currently trying to stake a claim as New York’s latest epicurean destination, with a heady makeover, which includes a wealth of bars and eateries. The recently renovated hub has plenty to reward the intrepid eater and drinker, with everything from bars with 300 global wines by the glass to locally sourced farm-to-table restaurants.
Beyond the culinary delights, Hudson Square is attracting forward-thinking cultural players, welcoming TED conferences, the Guggenheim Foundation and even indomitable businesses looking for a new home, like Cadillac. This month, Cadillac uproots its Detroit headquarters to set up shop at 330 Hudson, fitting right in to a community now being celebrated for its propulsive spirit. To see why the area is attracting creative businesses and people from far and wide (and, more importantly, how they amuse themselves), read on.
LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy isn’t the first New York music guy to go into the wine bar business. In 2008, Michael Dorf, founder of Tribeca music venue, Knitting Factory, opened City Winery. Unusually, the space combines a concert venue with a full winery, where the foolhardy can be involved in making their own wine, or just drink from a huge selection made by professionals, poured directly from French Oak barrels.
City Winery, 155 Varick St., New York.
Houseman is one of Hudson Square’s newest restaurants, but it already feels like an unusually good local joint that’s been around for a while. Unlike many new eateries, this place dares to keep things simple, which is often harder than bells-and-whistles cooking. Former Prune chef-de-cuisine Ned Baldwin produces outstanding roast chicken, a rotating selection of house-made sausages (including unusual meats like goat) and other seemingly straightforward but hard-to-execute dishes. This one’s a keeper.
Houseman, 508 Greenwich St., New York.
The Greene Space, located on the ground floor of New York Public Radio’s headquarters, can’t be put in a box. There are classes offering advice on maintaining your sex life after becoming a parent, along with events hosting LGBT singles nights. If none of that appeals, there are also talks by famous chefs like Marcus Samuelsson and Madhur Jaffrey, plus renowned authors like Rick Moody. Music selections are equally broad, from the traditional—members of the London Philharmonic—to the almost-punk: new young composers at the SONiC Boom! Festival.
The Greene Space, 44 Charlton St., New York.
Hudson Square is experiencing a construction boom, but until all those penthouse apartments are complete, the best place for a drink with a view is the Hugo Hotel, which has not one, but two rooftop bars. Bar Hugo and Azul On The Rooftop both look out over the Hudson, Freedom Tower, Statue of Liberty and more, and they have drink menus that will keep you there long after sunset.
Bar Hugo, 525 Greenwich St., New York.
The western border of Hudson Square is, of course, the river, and its bank provides plenty of activities for the intrepid. In addition to NY Kayak, Pier 40 also has the Trapeze School New York, whose slogan is “Forget fear, worry about the addiction.” Perhaps you should worry more about the excellent view of the skyline, which could distract you as you fly through the air with the greatest of harnessed ease.
Trapeze School New York, 353 West St., New York.
Legendary music venue SOBs is now the same age that CBGBs was when it shut its doors (33). The two mid-sized clubs have more in common than acronym names and bold music policies. (They also have their differences: The crowd has always danced better at SOBs.) While CBs gave early exposure to uncountable rock bands, SOBs, located across town, did and continues to do the same thing for acts from the worlds of Latin and tropical music, as well as soul, jazz and hip-hop. From Tito Puente to Eddie Palmieri, Drake to Erykah Badu, the list of heavyweights that have graced the stage is remarkable. The place is always worth checking out, but the CMJ Music Festival, during October, is a great time for a first visit.
SOBs, 204 Varick St., New York.
The Tribeca Film Festival may hoard the glamour for a couple of weeks each year, but Hudson Square’s independent cinema, Film Forum is always there, rain or shine, daring to fly in the face of commercial pressure with Kurosawa retrospectives, Cary Grant marathons and strange Iranian movies that you didn’t know you wanted to see. It’s also a great cinema for gourmands: Film Forum has some of New York’s best popcorn (Naked Orville Redenbacher kernels, freshly popped).
Film Forum, 209 W Houston St., New York.
Named after a windswept part of Long Island, and located on a windswept part of Spring Street, Lazy Point is a bright, laidback urban beach house of a bar, in the historic Dennison Wood House. Drinks include well-crafted but unfussy cocktails, and there’s a maritime menu for all seasons—try scallop crudo in the warmer months, and oyster pot pie when the wind is whipping off the Hudson river.
Lazy Point, 310 Spring St., New York.
Since New York is full of micro-neighborhoods, it’s fitting that Hudson Square, despite being small, actually has another area (landmarked, no less) within its boundaries. As the Landmarks Commission declared in 1966: “This is not Greenwich Village; this is not ‘downtown,’ this is the Charlton-King-Vandam area.” Said area has all sorts of historical importance (George Washington’s headquarters were located there during the Revolution), but it’s of most interest to architecture lovers, with its blocks of beautifully preserved buildings. The neighborhood has the longest rows of Federal and Greek Revival houses in the city and, more importantly, it’s just a great place for a stroll.
Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District incorporates Charlton, King and Vandam Streets between Avenue of the Americas and Varick Street.
For breakfast or lunch, locavore eatery Mae Mae Café is one of the area’s best options. The farmhouse-style Mae Mae features locally sourced ingredients, including organic vegetables from their own Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook, NY. Menus change weekly, but the high quality of the food never varies.
Mae Mae Café, 68 Vandam St., New York.
Perhaps the area’s best date spot, Lelabar has wood paneling and a warm, intimate feel. In fact, the place feels like it would be too small to have a selection of 300 wines available by the glass, but it does. (Appropriately for a date bar, this means you can try a new wine without committing.) There are daily drink specials, guided tastings, small plates of cheese, meats and oysters, and chocolates made in house. However your evening turns out, you’re at least guaranteed to eat and drink well.
Lelabar, 422 Hudson St. New York.
This story is part of our Dare Greatly series, inspired by Cadillac. For more stories on those who drive the world forward, go to Cadillac’s DareGreatly.com.