Mario Carbone

New York is famed for its amazing shopping and it’s one of my favourite cities for finding those cool hidden gems.

While I love wandering around the Big Apple and discovering hotspots as I go, it can be easy to take a wrong turn and miss the best shopping streets. Luckily, travel specialists Hayes and Jarvis have created a handy Shop NYC app for the iPhone, so you’ll never miss the best places to drop some dollars.

The App

The innovative app features 100 of New York’s best stores handpicked by retail experts as well as curated shopping guides and reviews of all stores.

The stores are filtered into 10 categories for easy navigation, under sections including American Classics, Beauty Products, New York One-Offs, Classic Department Stores, Homewares and Food & Drink. It couldn’t be easier to plan a day of boutique hopping, or simply whip out the app when you’re in need of a bit of instant inspiration.

Shoppers can find important info such as opening hours, direct links to the store websites and even call stores directly from the app. Even though New York is known as the city that doesn’t sleep, it’s still easy to make a shopping faux pas and arrive to find the shutters closed, wasting valuable holiday time.

Route Planner

One of my favourite features is the route planner, calculating the walking time between stores and noting the spots that you can visit on the way. It’s almost impossible to get lost, as the real-time GPS pinpoints your location and guides you along your route.

My favourite shopping area is Downtown New York, in particular its SoHo and Nolita neighbourhoods. This hip area below Houston Street is filled with designer concept stores, independent boutiques, and American brands that are hard to find in the UK.

Here are a few of my favourite haunts on the SoHo and Nolita shopping scene…

Madewell SoHo

The younger sister of J.Crew, Madewell is the place to find your downtown New York wardrobe with high quality basics, casual dresses and slouchy leather bags. I bought one of my favourite jewellery pieces – a hot pink thread and gold bead necklace – at Madewell last time I was in the US and often stock up on accessories there.

Opening Ceremony

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon launched their first Opening Ceremony store in New York and this SoHo store still leads the way with a well-edited selection of pieces by designers across the world. Look out for cool sneakers, exclusive collaborations and lashings of KENZO.

Nicole Miller

I’m a fan of New York-based designer Nicole Miller’s cool, playful clothes with bold prints and interesting design details. With only one other store in West Hollywood, you’re sure to find a unique dress that no one will be wearing at your next cocktail party.

Proenza Schouler

The SoHo flagship store of New York designer brand Proenza Schouler is a sleek, high-tech space that houses the full collection of womenswear, jewellery, shoes, bags and accessories.

CB2

The hipper offshoot of Crate & Barrel, CB2 offers well-priced contemporary homewares and furnishings to recreate that New York loft vibe at home. You can even have a one-to-one consultation with the resident design expert every Thursday from 6-8pm.

McNally Jackson Books

It would be easy to lose an entire afternoon in this fantastic independent bookshop. Not only does it have an excellent selection of books and a cute cafe, but you can self-publish your very own book right there and then.

Of course, even the most seasoned New York shopper needs a quick refuel, so here are my top places to indulge and really make a day of it…

Charlie Bird

Hot downtown restaurant Charlie Bird takes new spin on Italian-American comfort food with plenty of New York hip hop soul. Tuck into tasty pasta, fresh oysters and seasonal vegetable dishes.

Crosby Street Hotel

Find a little corner of London in New York at Firmdale Hotels’ colourful Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo. Start a day of shopping with delicious Eggs Benedict, refuel with a decadent afternoon tea or numb the pain of weary feet with cocktails and bar bites.

Balthazar

Keith McNally’s French-style bistro is a SoHo institution and still the place to see and be seen. Cosy up on a red leather banquette and review your purchases over Steak Frites and a glass of Champagne.

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Home of the trend-setting Cronut, Cookie Shot and other sweet creations, Dominique Ansel Bakery is perfect for a SoHo sugar fix. Be sure to get there early in the morning if you want to try the world’s most talked-about pastry.

Dean & DeLuca

I always find myself drawn to this gourmet food temple when I’m out and about in SoHo. Its posh deli sandwiches and fresh salads are to die for and don’t forget to share (because they’re enormous) a box of sweet potato fries.

Parm

Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone’s Italian-New York diner in Nolita is the place to feed the soul with classics such as parmigiana subs, mozzarella-smothered meatballs, baked ziti, club sandwiches and patty melts.

Where are your favourite shops in NYC? Are you more of a Downtown or Uptown shopper?

To get the best out of New York shopping, download the free Hayes and Jarvis Shop NYC app for the iPhone from the App Store.

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Parm, a new downtown New York-Italian diner was top of our list of eats, as a visit to NYC just isn’t complete without some meatballs!

Parm is the casual younger sister of Torrisi, an Italian specialities restaurant next door, where locals flock to for the weekly seven course menu ($60).

Owners Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi continue the rapidly diminishing cultural heritage of nearby Little Italy (Parm is on a stretch of Mulberry Street now declared Nolita), with authentic parmigiana sandwiches, platters and daily specials, but with their own quirky touches such as Chinese food on a Sunday.

Parm doesn’t appear to take reservations and there was a short queue when we arrived, but frankly, we’d have waited all night to get a seat. Luckily, it only took around five minutes to get two seats at the bar, just close enough to the open kitchen to watch the chefs at work.

The staff at Parm are easy-going yet attentive and sitting at the bar put us in the middle of the action. We ordered a Diet Coke and a Ginger Ale for a very reasonable $2 each and asked the staff for menu and portion recommendations, so we didn’t overdo it (New Yorkers don’t scrimp on size when it comes to meatballs).

The side order of Brussels Sprouts ($5) came first and they were a real treat. For those who haven’t scoured almost every New York restaurant menu, Brussels sprouts are huge over there, mostly down to their infinitely more imaginative ways of cooking and serving them. These ones were roasted and doused in olive oil, chilli, mint, lemon and fresh parmesan, mixed with slithers of flash-cooked red onion.

I ordered the Meatball Parm Platter ($15) served with baked ziti (or a choice of Sunday salad). The platter came with two giant meatballs, made up of tender minced meat, breadcrumbs and fresh herbs. They were smothered in marinara sauce, melted mozzarella and topped with fresh, cool ricotta and torn basil leaves.

If you’re unfamiliar with ziti (like we were), it’s a kind of American pasta bake – penne layered with a rich tomato sauce and different cheese, baked in the oven. Parm’s ziti was slow-cooked and loaded with crispy cheese – a perfect accompaniment for the meatballs.

Steven went for the Sausage and Peppers Platter ($15), also with baked ziti. The sausages were similarly huge and succulent and were covered in a spicy tomato sauce with tender roasted peppers.

We’d planned to have cannolis in Little Italy for dessert, but if you still have room, try Parm’s multicoloured ice cream cake, resembling something from a kid’s birthday party.

Parm is like the neighbourhood diner that everyone would like on their street. Rumour has it that Parm will be expanding to more locations across New York (another is based the Yankee Stadium) and hopefully they’ll be as cosy and quirky as the Nolitan original.

It already has a loyal following – we met a regular who visited every night to work his way through the specials and Parm kept back a table for him and his friends.

Jay-Z was also spotted dining there with his new signing Rita Ora. Jay-Z is quickly becoming my New York restaurant guru, as his comfort food dining habit with Beyoncé also put Brooklyn’s Buttermilk Channel on my radar. Wherever Jay goes, good food will surely follow!

Parm, 248 Mulberry Street, New York 10012

For more New York travel ideas, read my review of:

Hayes and Jarvis New Shop NYC App