Last weekend, the “bomb cyclone” and an Artic blast hit NYC.  Of course, the awful weather coincided with my Girls Weekend, so finding things to do inside was a must.  We ended up on the Lower East Side and had a blast.  There is so much to do, from great bars and restaurants, to museums, to fun live music venues. Our day included lots of food and drinks and a visit to the Tenement Museum.

Brunch was at my go to Hotel Chantelle, which if you’ve read my boozy brunch post you know how much I love it.  Cheap, delicious drinks and amazing food, with a live jazz band.  Dinner was at Ivan Ramen, a place my friend Sarah had seen on a tv show and wanted to try.  It’s not my favorite ramen spot in the city (Jin Ramen and Totto Ramen take that prize), but it was good and the menu had options other than ramen, if ramen isn’t your thing.

If you find yourself on the Lower East Side looking for things to do or just want to plan a nice day in the city, here are some of my suggestions:

Food/Drinks

Sons of Essex
A great brunch spot.  It is occasionally on Groupon for a nice discount.  I highly recommend the breakfast pizza, the truffle tots and the truffle mac and cheese.

Beauty and Essex
Hidden behind a pawn show, Beauty and Essex opens into a beautiful and grand restaurant and club.  Their food and cocktails were a little on the pricey side, but really tasty.  Also fun fact, they have a bar in the bathroom that serves champs.

Sweet Chick
Delicious comfort food.  I highly recommend the fried chicken and waffles, SO good.  The food and drinks were reasonably priced.

Cheese Grill
Everything is better with cheese.  This place has the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches.  Also try the cheese fries and sweet potato tots.  Also good drinks, which was unexpected for a grilled cheese shop.

Katz’s Delicatessen
World famous Katz’s is not to be missed.  Known for their pastrami and corned beef.  Also, the matzoh ball soup was fantastic.  A weeknight may be best, as you can expect to wait in line on the weekends.

Cocoa Bar
A coffee, chocolate and wine bar.  Is there a more perfect bar?  A rich, dark hot chocolate was the perfect way to warm up on a freezing cold Saturday.  Cocoa Bar is cute, cozy place with a variety of menu items, both sweet and savory.

Entertainment

Tenement Museum
The Tenement Museum is one of the best museums in the city in my opinion.  There are several tours to choose from, each with a little different theme.  I have done the Hard Times tour, the Irish Outsiders tour and this time we did the Under One Roof tour.  Each tour takes you through apartments in an old tenement building, from different time periods in the past century.  The tour guides provide lots of history, including interviews and stories about the families who actually lived in the building.  The families spoke a lot about how challenging immigrating to America was for them and their family.  It’s educational and emotional and just a great experience.

Rockwood Music Hall
My favorite bar in the city.  Live music every day.  There are 3 separate stages, where different artists/bands play, typically hour long sets, throughout the evening/night.  The newest stage (Stage 3) has ticketed shows, however they are very reasonably priced.  Stages 1 and 2 have mostly free shows, with an occasional ticketed show.  The people who play here are crazy talented.  And bonus…Rockwood is a small venue so the artists/bands come and go via the main entrance, giving you an opportunity to meet them after.

My fav singer at Rockwood – John Gallagher Jr

Mercury Lounge
Another live music venue on the Lower East Side. It’s bigger than Rockwood and only has one stage. All shows are ticketed and if you really want to see a particular show, I would advise getting tickets in advance because they do sell out. This is also a venue where you can meet the artists after the show.  I met Shaun White for this first time after his band Bad Things performed, which was one of the best nights ever!

From where I live on the Upper West Side, the Lower East Side is far, and often a place that gets overlooked solely because of distance and convenience. However, every time I go, I find a new amazing restaurant or experience. If you are visiting NYC for the first time or just looking for some place to spend the day, get away from the tourist hot spots and check out the Lower East Side, for a more authentic New York experience.