The LES, where classic meets hip...

History:

The Lower East Side can trace its roots to the pre-Revolutionary farm of James Delancey – from which the street names Delancey and Orchard still survive – and a crucial legacy of Manhattan lies in its tenements, once occupied by the panoply of immigrants that came through Ellis Island in the late 19th century.  The LES  has completely rebounded from a slump in the 70s and 80s with a renewed interest in the “downtown” lifestyle. Now remodeled and reformed, the streets that once held dressmaker and butcher shops now boast stylish boutiques and lounges for Manhattan’s bourgeois bohemians.

From the F/V train on Second Avenue and East Houston, all the sites of the Lower East are within a 10-minute walk. 

To Eat:

Lunch at either Katz’s Deli, the 100-year-old specialty shop that serves sandwiches made with corned beef and pastrami cured for a full 30 days or hit up Russ and Daughters for lox and bagels. Another option: check out how New Yorkers of old shopped, with a stroll through the Essex Street Market, where customers are on a first-name basis with the butcher, baker and cheesemonger,. 

To Drink:

The Grey Lady on Delancey, which takes its name from the fog on Nantucket, serves up the freshest seafood and local beers this side of Montauk in a mellow ambiance that pulls patrons far away from the city streets. Or After picking up a book from activist bastion Bluestockings Bookstore on Allen, head over to the Donnybrook bar, the real home “to lively debate and raucous rivalry”

To Do:

For an art-filled excursion, the New Museum, offers up the work of living artists who do not yet have wide public exposure or critical acceptance. If a glimpse into the past fits the agenda, the Tenement Museum, one of the city’s best kept secrets, offers guided visits through detailed re-creations of the homes – and lives – of early 20th-century immigrant families.