When I was young, green, naive, and 22, I thought I’d move to New York City and “live the life” by having an apartment in the East Village. Very quickly, I got the rude awakening that living in the East Village would not be as glamorous as I thought it would be, as it’s an area of the city that is notorious for having the teeniest, tiniest apartments possible. Plus, for those shoebox sized living spaces, I’d be paying an inordinate amount of money for the “privilege” to live there. I still remember when my friend and to-be roommate and I viewed a couple apartments in the neighborhood, and my jaw dropped when I saw one “kitchen” with a miniature, dorm-sized refrigerator in it. As soon as I saw that sorry excuse for a fridge, not to mention the apartment unit in general, I knew there was no way we could stomach living in this area and had to branch out — way out.

It’s okay, though. I honestly feel little loss there. I spent many Thursdays, Fridays and weekends hanging out in the East Village in my twenties and thirties. And though I never lived anywhere close to the East Village, I’ve always loved it and still always love going there. There are always fun nooks and crannies, holes-in-the wall dining spots I enjoy. The street art is alive and well; so are all the drugs and weed. It has some amazing bakeries and cafes. Oftentimes, many of the most interesting new restaurants and bakeries will open there and beckon. And the vibe there is forever fun. It doesn’t matter whether I am 22 or 40, but I will always love this neighborhood and never get sick of it.

I went down there today to get coffee with a friend at a little Asian-run cafe that specializes in fruit coffee. And it totally looks like it would be in the East Village: the outside is all black and textured. If you didn’t know any better, you’d look at it from the outside and think it was a bar or speakeasy. But when you walk in, it’s got cafe vibes, little tables that invite friendly chatter, and a beautiful line up of house-baked croissants and cookies. I had a durian-coconut coffee, while my friend had a grape-skin cold brew. We shared a pistachio orange blossom cookie flecked with large grains of sea salt. These are the types of interesting eats and drinks that always keep me coming back to the East Village – -and also keep my “to try” pins quite ample on my NYC food Google map.