A Day in Battery Park City
Inatteso Cafe Casano
A journey through the historic heartbeat of New York City begins with surprisingly charming morning eats at Inatteso Cafe Casano. Inatteso, a long-time fixture in Battery Park, is one-part gourmet cafe and one-part pizza bar with culinary experience that is truly special. Your morning just got better! There’s an array of freshly baked pastries like the chocolate-almond croissant or the cheddar thyme scone. The standout here, however, is the Leoni, 2 eggs served on country bread with leeks, provolone, pecorino, smoked bacon, and arugula.
Brookfield Place
For decades, the former World Financial Center was the mecca of shopping and finance until the events of 9/11. Today, your newest nabe is known for its strength and resilience. The area was rebuilt, and Brookfield Place has become the newest shopping hub in Battery Park. The complex is made up of five buildings on Liberty and Vesey streets and houses the headquarters for Merrill Lynch, American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, and Time, INC. The shopping is obscenely surreal with the high-end storefronts such as Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Bonobos, Burberry, Club Monaco, and Gucci. There are many excellent accessory shops such as Warby Parker, The Newstand, and Salvatore Ferragamo.
The Sphere
You’re back at the Battery Park Promenade, but this time you have planned a little walking tour of the historic Battery Park and its memorials. The first and foremost is a stop at Fritz Koenig’s The Sphere. The 25-foot-high sculpture once symbolized world peace through world trade in the center plaza of the World Trade Center. The events of 9/11 damaged the sculpture, but didn’t destroy it. Now the sculpture stands as a WTC memorial near Castle Clinton in front of the eternal flame. The next stop is the East Coast Memorial, one of three WWII memorials in the United States administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. A little further down is the American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial sculpture, located on the Hudson River just a little south of Pier A. The bronze sculpture depicts four merchant seamen with their sinking vessel in the water following an attack by U-boat during WWII. There’s also a Korean War Memorial as well as a statue of Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to sail into New York Harbor. If you keep moving, you’ll discover the World War II Coast Guard Memorial and another for John Ericsson, the designer and innovator of ironclad warships. The Park is home to some 10 monuments. If you travel a little bit outside of the promenade, you will find the Irish Hunger Memorial. You'll also discover historic New York City landmarks such as the James Watson House (the first Speaker of the New York State Assembly). There’s also the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, the Battery Park Underpass (opened in 1951), and the Battery Park Control House (aka the Bowling Green subway station entrance that opened in 1905).
Battery Park Promenade
Since the 17th century, the Battery Park Promenade has been the face of the New York City coastline. It’s the first thing the visitors see as they approach the great skyline. Battery Park Promenade offers the best views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The centerpiece of the landmark park is Castle Clinton. Named after former Mayor DeWitt Clinton, the fort was built for the War of 1812 and has since become the ticket office for the ferries to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. The National Monument has been known to record more than 4 million visitors per year.
Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Before the Holocaust Museum and Memorial opened in Washington D.C., the Museum of Jewish Heritage was the premiere location for Jewish history and remembrance. The museum, which opened in 1997, remains a very popular educational facility. There are more than 25,000 items on display, a tapestry of Jewish history as well as chronicles of the horrors of the Holocaust. The core exhibits focus on the stories of 20th and 21st Century Jewish life from the perspective of those who lived it. The three exhibits are in chronological order: Jewish Life A Century Ago, The War Against the Jews and Jewish Renewal. Before you leave, immerse yourself in Andy Goldsworthy’s Garden of Stones, a living memorial garden which was dedicated in 2003. Many of the trees and florals there were planted by Holocaust survivors
The Skyscraper Museum
Now that you have put yourself in a nostalgic mood, you make your way to The Skyscraper Museum. The modest museum was founded in 1996 and it focuses on high-rise buildings around the world. The museum’s curators used to hold pop-up exhibitions all over the city before opening the museum' permeant location in 2004. On show are architectural models of the Twin Towers. There’s a strong focus on the Asian movement in architecture with evolving skyscrapers all over Asian cities. There are also models of iconic structures such as Jin Mao, Tomorrow Square, Shanghai World Financial Center and the Shanghai Tower. The newest addition is the “Supertall!” that focuses on buildings higher than 1,250 feet, such as the Empire State Building.
A Night in Battery Park City
Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar, Conrad Hotel
The nightlife in Battery Park is, to say the least, underrated. When you enter the Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar in the Conrad Hotel, you instantly think you must have come upon the greatest place on earth. The views of the sunset reflecting of the New York harbor are just breathtaking. The place is decorated with stylish comfy couches, white chairs and tables complementing the hardwood-planked floors. For a moment, you feel like you are on a beach in Miami. The one thing with Loopy Doopy that separates them from the rest of the pack is their ultra-unique signature cocktail. You start building it by opting for either Rose or Prosecco. Then you get choose an ice pop to place in the drink: a choice of blueberry peach, strawberry lemongrass or empire apple. Weird? Nope, yum!
Atlantic Sail & Charter
Your newest nabe is right on the water, so naturally there are boating and sailing excursions right at your fingertips. The best of the bunch is the Atlantic Sail & Charter, which features their jewel “The Ventura.” For around $70 you will have the most romantic and/or relaxing experience. There's nothing like taking in the city skyline from the New York harbor and sailing around the Statue of Liberty
Blacktail
There are two reasons you decide to end your night at Blacktail. The first is that this is a Cuban-themed, speakeasy-style cocktail bar. The second is that the owners are the same ones behind the nearby Dead Rabbit, which is considered the best bar in the world. Located in the heart of Battery Park Promenade, the bar's ambiance reflects what an American bar would have been like in Havana during the prohibition. The centerpiece of the bar is a reproduction of the 1847 John Vanderlyn painting “Landing of Columbus." The drinks, of course, are ridiculously good. The best is the Mazagran (Guyanese rum, Brandy de Jerez, Italian amaro, green chartreuse, lime, coffee, pecan, and finished with smoked black peppercorn).
North End Grill
Dinner is always a hard decision in NYC, but when you hear the name Danny Meyer you know you can’t ignore the venue. Meyer, the Shake Shack king and genius behind Eleven Madison Park, also owns the popular North End Grill. The restaurant showcases rustic, elemental French-inspired food. There’s a touch of smoky flavor from the eatery's wood-burning grills and mesquite charcoal that turns the food into a unique sensory experience. The place serves some incredible dishes like asparagus tart with guacamole and peas. There’s also the “British Cut” double lamb chop with flageolet beans. Even the side dishes have personality: duck fat fries and potato aligot with roasted garlic are a must-taste.
The Black Hound
The biggest selling point for having a drink or two at The Black Hound is in its inspiration. The owners, formerly of Death & Co in the Standard Hotel, used literature as their muse. Most of the drinks are named after famed literary authors. Gitanilla, for example (named after Cervantes) is a spicy margarita. There are drinks named after Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oscar Wilde, and Hunter S. Thompson.
