Only in New York! I encountered this guy, and his friendly, well-balanced cat Nicholas, yesterday at the intersection of Houston and Broadway where he was only too happy to pose for a photo in exchange for a crisp dollar bill. Wonder if Nicholas got to spend any of it?

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Now this is what three-quarters of the apartments in Manhattan could do with: a chair, made from a kitchen oven and tucked away discreetly out of view, and all for just $250 on Etsy. Nice.

Chances are, spicy fermented cabbage isn’t at the top of your list of favorite condiments. But that could change soon if Lauryn Chun has anything to say about it. The owner of Mother in Law’s Kimchi, a Manhattan-based outfit that was just launched last year, Chun has set out to introduce the ancient Korean staple to Western palates.

Like a good wine, Chun says, well-made kimchi has subtle layers of flavor that can add depth to a whole range of dishes. Her kimchi, which is based on her mother’s 20-year-old recipe, combines Napa cabbage, chilli peppers, onions, scallions and a delicate blend of sauces to deliver a fiery punch of flavor. Layer it onto a burger or try it on top of grilled fish. With that kind of zing, we promise you won’t miss your ketchup.

You know that super sweet milk that lingers at the bottom of your cereal bowl in the morning? Well a couple of culinary geniuses over at the Momofuku Milk Bar in Manhattan have created their own gourmet version and made it a feature ingredient in a host of delicious treats. Think cereal-milk soft serve, cereal-milk milkshakes – even a tipsy cereal-milk White Russian.

Not in the mood for dairy? We hear the Milk Bar’s baked goods are downright addictive. Check out the crack pie (yep, that’s right) with its oh-so-sweet creamy, buttery filling in a crispy oatmeal cookie crust. Dairy or not, one thing’s for sure: this little gem in David Chang’s Momofuku empire is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Yestadt Millinery is a New York-based custom, handmade hat company that produces some pretty classy headware inspired by vintage looks but designed to suit modern styles. You can get a made-to-measure piece or make a wholesale order – their hats are also available at retailers around Manhattan such as Anthropologie and The Hat Shop.

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Remember the thrill you’d get to hear the ice cream truck jingling its way through your neighborhood as a kid? Those days may be long gone, but Milkmade Ice Cream wants you to rediscover some of that childhood glee. Now, though, there’s no need to sprint across the street to beat the other kids to the front of the line: these guys bring the goods straight to your front door.

And they’re some pretty tasty goods at that. The six-month-old Manhattan-based outfit has already created its own range of drool-inducing flavors like blackcurrant gingersnap, maple pancake, and even double chocolate chip with under-baked peanut butter cookie (sigh) — all made from local organic ingredients.

But don’t get too excited just yet. The subscription-based company — founded by two twenty-somethings who have been friends since their college days at Berkeley – only does deliveries, and right now they only deliver in one little corner of Manhattan. So unless you live somewhere south of West 35th Street, you’re out of luck, at least for now. But keep your eyes on Milkmade — they’ve got a stellar concept, and they’re already growing fast.

Tacos are one of my favorite foods because they’re deceptively simple and highlight the quality of ingredients. They also often use offal and other cuts of meat that are usually thrown away, but are considered the choice bits in most other cultures. Having only been to Mexico a couple of times, I can’t say with authority what the real deal is like, but like my anthropologist roommate used to say, “there’s no such thing as authenticity.” I am confident, however, that Tehuitzingo on 49th and 10th in Manhattan is one of the best places to get tacos on the East Coast — it will always have a place in my heart with their goat tripe.

Tortillaria Sinaloa in Baltimore, however, is nearly as good, and they make their own corn tortillas on premises to boot. Located in the Fells Point neighborhood on Eastern Avenue, La Tortillaria (as people here refer to it) is a bright and colorful little spot decorated with amazing Dia del Muertos kitsch. Each order of tacos comes with two generous little dishes full of salsa verde and red salsa (be careful, the heat sneaks up on you) that go great with an order of fresh chips. This is one of the only places in the city to get a decent fish taco, they have plenty of vegetarian options and deserts, and their meat offerings are succulent and flavorful. At between $2.55 and $4.50 a taco (only slightly more than neighboring establishments, but well worth it) you can’t go wrong. You can also buy fresh tortillas to take home for $1.35 a kilo.

Take my word for it, there’s really no better place to see the new Chris Rock documentary Good Hair than in a midtown Manhattan cinema at 7.45pm on a Friday night. Why? Because the atmosphere in the theatre was just about as entertaining as what was taking place on the giant screen in front of us.

Good Hair, an hilarious [hair-larious?] look at the trials and tribulations of the eternal quest for straight hair, as pursued a large proportion of America’s black community, was greeted with hollers of agreement, hand-clapping, and voracious cheering at various points, which was more than fitting fun cast of characters that Rock assembled for it, including Ice T and the girls out of Salt n Pepa, all of whom put my thirty second mess-up of my hair each morning to absolute shame.

I was delighted to discover the newly opened Crisp restaurant a few blocks from where I work in midtown Manhattan (not normally known for its selection of tasty lunch fare, much less, tasty vegetarian fare). It’s similar to Chipolte, but with a Mediterannean slant and cooler decor.

I tried the Baja Fresh hummus salad bowl, which consists of two delicious baked falafel balls, cliantro pesto, avacado, corn, salsa, jalepenos and nachos. It also comes with a warm whole wheat or white tortilla. It was delicious, with the perfect blend of ingredients. And the portion was huge. For the adventurous, there is also a Crisp Africa hummus bowl, which includes North African peanut sauce and sweet potatoes. Crisp uses corn resin plastic for their biodegradable packaging and their tagline is ‘Crisp syncs your taste with your conscience’. Very true.

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Located on West Houston, Alphaville is my favorite gift store in Manhattan. It offers a great selection of vintage objects, from Nixon’s campaign buttons, to Sesame Street 80s mobiles, 50s greeting cards and the original Mr. Potato Head and his friends. It’s one of those places I walk into just to look but always end up buying something.

Anything goes in New York, even a white peacock in the middle of Manhattan. Yes, a white peacock! Who says the Upper West side is ‘upstate?’ Come visit one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in New York, which host the famous Cathedral of St. John The Divine (112th St. and Amsterdam Avenue). When you’re there, make sure to check out Keith Herring’s alter as well, and then take a stroll through the garden next to the cathedral. If you’re lucky, you can see him dancing with feathers open, within a foot from where you are standing.

Canadian designer Michael Surtees takes pictures of the same patch of sky every day as seen from his Manhattan apartment. The resulting series is surprisingly beautiful, with no two days ever being exactly the same.