January 28, 2025 • 36 mins
This episode will give you all the spots you need to check out in the popular Financial District of New York City!
Where is the Financial District in NYC?
While most neighborhoods in NYC do a bit of blurring together, the Financial District technically covers most of the southernmost tip of Manhattan.
It runs from the West Side Highway on the west to the Brooklyn Bridge and East River on the east. This neighborhood runs from the north, starting at Chambers Street and City Hall and running south until The Battery.
Battery Park and Battery Park City are not technically a part of the Financial District, but we will include them as part of our guide to the lowest part of Manhattan.
Things to Do in Financial District NYC
- The Oculus--transportation hub, shopping mall, lots of restaurants
- One World Trade Center+Observation Deck
- 9/11 Museum
- Charging bull
- Wall St.
- Museum of Jewish heritage
- The Battery (+ Battery Park City)
- Brookfield Place Mall (mostly for the view and yachts and park nearby but also a high end mall)
- Ferry to Staten Island for Statue of Liberty view
- Pier 17- lots of concerts here
- Brooklyn Bridge
- City hall
- Elevated Acre - Park space with lawn, boardwalk and seasonal beer garden
- Woolworth building
- Stone street (cobblestone, no cars)
- South street seaport
- South Street Seaport Museum
- St. Paul's Chapel - originally built in 1766 and is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan
- Trinity Church - Burial place for the likes of Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, Francis Lewis, Angelica Church, and other prominent figures in the early period of the United States
NYC Financial District's Best Bars
- Dead Rabbit - Rated best bar in the world in 2016
- Fraunces Tavern
- Overstory - 64th floor deck with panoramic views
- WarrenPeace - Dimly lit cocktail bar with friendly staff
- White Horse Tavern - NYC's 2nd-oldest bar, circa 1880, with a storied history and watering hole for Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac, and James Baldwin
- Carragher's - Soccer-themed sports pub
- Brickyard Craft Kitchen & Bar
- Stout NYC
- O'Hara's Restaurant and Pub - Classic Irish Pub
This Episode's You'll Have to Check It Out Segment - Pisillo Italian Panini
Bread is sourced from a bakery in Brooklyn and is fresh daily. All ingredients are imported from Italy and these are massive AND delicious sandwiches! Check it out here.
Coffee Shops in the Financial District
- Hungry Ghost Coffee
- Black Fox Coffee
- 787 Coffee
- La Colombe Coffee Workshop
- Birch Coffee
- Laughing Man Cafe-technically Tribeca, owned by Hugh Jackman
Restaurants in FiDi NYC
- Fraunces Tavern
- Joe's Pizza
- Delmonico's
- Manhatta - 60th floor, high-end New American cuisine
- Siena Pizza
- Eataly
- El Vez and Burrito Bar
- Pick A Bagel
- Los Tacos #1
- Smorgasburg WTC
- Multiple spots in Pier 17, including The Fulton by Jean-Georges
- JR Sushi (technically Tribeca)
- Nish Nush (technically Tribeca)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the Better Together Here podcast with your host,
Devin. And Ashley?
Helping you make the most of your time in New York City.
Hey everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the Better
Together Here podcast. My name is Devin.
And my name is Ashley. And in today's episode, we are
going to dive deep into one of the most popular neighborhoods
in Manhattan, the Financial District.
(00:22):
We're going to give you bars, restaurants, things to do, talk
about getting around the financial district and a little
bit of history as well. Let's get right into it.
First off, when we say the Financial District, it is
sometimes called Fidi. You will also sometimes hear it
just referred to as Lower Manhattan generally, and that's
often what people are referring to when they are saying Lower
(00:44):
Manhattan is the Financial District.
Let us clarify here as well. We're going to talk about where
the Financial District is. Like most neighborhoods in New
York City, things kind of blurred together and one
neighborhood map might say one thing and another might say
another, but we're going to giveyou the general overview.
The Financial District technically covers most of the
(01:05):
southernmost tip of Manhattan, so it runs from the West Side
Highway on the West to the Brooklyn Bridge and East River
on the east. And then from the north it
starts at Chambers Street and around City Hall and runs S
until the Battery. An interesting thing here is
that Battery Park City, which ison the West side of the
financial district and to the West of West Side Highway, is
(01:27):
actually not part of the financial district as well as
Battery Park, the actual park atthe very most southern part of
Manhattan. Those are not a part of the
financial district. For the sake of this episode,
we're going to include Battery Park City Battery Park.
We're also going to include somethings as that are technically
in Tribeca but are still very close to the financial district
(01:51):
and a little bit of history as it relates to the financial
district. It was initially settled and
inhabited by the Lenape tribe and was called Manahatta, which
means Hilly Island. That is, Manhattan as a whole
was called Manhattan and was inhabited by the Lenape tribe.
And then in the 17th century, like most of America, Europeans
(02:12):
came over and decided they wanted to take it over
colonialism. And the financial district is
where Europeans first settled inNew York City, and it roughly
mimics the boundaries of what was called New Amsterdam, which
was founded by the Dutch. So it's like a little overview
of the Financial District as a whole.
If you've seen views or picturesor videos of Manhattan and you
(02:39):
see the big skyline and you see One World Trade Center and it's
often those sweeping views coming in over the water, you
are often looking at the skylineof the Financial District
between outside of Midtown, the Financial District probably has
the most recognizable buildings and skyline in all of New York
City. So it's something you have
probably seen before. One thing I love about the
(03:00):
financial district is just walking around is basically like
you're taking yourself on a hugearchitecture tour.
It's really wild because you have some of the tallest, nicest
buildings you've ever seen. And then immediately right next
door is a building that was built in like the 1700s and is
like an old brick building that's two stories.
(03:21):
And you know that it's been heresince like the founding of our
country, which is really crazy. Really, really cool buildings,
very beautiful neighbourhood to walk around.
One of my offices at work is actually down in this area.
So I get to like take walks sometimes around that area and
explore. And I'm always just taken aback
by how beautiful it is and how much history is down in this
(03:43):
area. Yeah, If there's one area that
you wanted to just go and explore a wide variety of
architecture and see a wide variety of buildings, the
financial District is one of thebest places to do that.
And when we talk about exploring, maybe wonder, like
most parts of the city, is it safe?
Is the financial district safe? I think generally, yes.
It has a below average crime rate compared to the rest of
(04:06):
Manhattan and New York City as awhole.
During the daytime, it's usuallyreally crowded because it is,
again, the financial district. There are tons of corporate
buildings and workers and you see massive rushes for lunch as
soon as like 12:00 hits, you've got people all over the street,
so it's generally safe. I would say, like most spots in
the city, remain attentive to your surroundings, especially at
(04:27):
nights, but we've generally feltsafe walking around and
exploring the Financial District.
Yeah, I would say the financial district is pretty safe.
I have less like sketchy experiences down in that area
than I do like in Midtown, for example.
One thing that Devin touched on the lunch rush, if you want to
try to get a fast casual bite for lunch at like noon on a
(04:51):
weekday, just prepare yourself for a line.
I made that mistake once becauseI ordered from a place called
Naya that we love. It's like a fast casual Lebanese
spot. And I was like oh this will be
super quick, I'll be back in 10 minutes.
Told my Co workers I was just going to go pick up food and
come right back. It took me like 30 minutes to
get my food that I'd already ordered and was just picking up
because every single finance broand their sister was in line for
(05:15):
Naya which is the fast casual spot.
So just be aware around lunchtime it's going to be busy.
Which also if you want to see like the joke stereotypical
finance bro, you go to the financial district
understandably. What are what are they wearing,
Devin? Often Often they're wearing a
nice puffer jacket, usually fromPatagonia.
(05:38):
Well, they're primarily wearing Patagonia vests.
Sorry, yes, I meant to say vest.Yes, sometimes.
It's a puffer vest. Yeah, the the puffer vest.
The fleece vest. It's the finance bro uniform,
the unofficial, but maybe it should be official.
OK, getting around the financialdistrict.
Great thing about Fight Eye is that most of the subway lines go
(06:00):
to the Financial District. Pretty much all the major ones
except for the BD and FM lines end up there.
So whether you are coming from the Upper West Side, the Upper
East Side, you're coming from Midtown, you're coming from
Columbia University, you're coming from somewhere in
Brooklyn, it's likely going to have a train line that is going
to cross in through the Financial District.
(06:22):
The Oculus, which we will talk about, has 12 subway lines that
run through it, and there's alsothe World Trade Center PATH.
The PATH station is what makes it really easy to get to and
from New Jersey. So that makes getting to and
from the Financial District very, very viable for most parts
of the city. I will say the Financial
(06:43):
District is definitely a very walkable neighborhood, very easy
to get around generally, like ifyou're coming from a different
part of the city or if you're coming from New Jersey.
But walking around is a little bit more difficult in my
opinion, because it's not on thegrid system.
So the financial district, that area down at the southern tip of
Manhattan is what was first settled, and that was before
(07:05):
they have the grid system in place.
And so the streets have actual street names and they kind of
like intersect and they're not perpendicular to each other.
There's no St. numbers. So it gets really confusing
getting around. Yes.
So compared to like Midtown, forexample, you know, OK, I want to
go to something that's on 44th St. between 6th and 7th Ave.
(07:25):
It's really easy, easier to navigate because you know, if
you're on 50th St. you know you need to go downtown.
If you know that you're on Madison Ave. you know you need
to go West. But when you're down in vitae,
it's things that are on the corner of Vessy and Pearl or
whatever streets and it's like, Oh no, I've got to figure this
out the old way, meaning Google Maps.
(07:47):
All right and that leads us to this episodes New York know how.
All right again we are pulling this from the NYC Basic Tips and
Etiquette book by Nathan W Pyle.One of our favorite coffee table
books about New York City. Has great illustrations, witty
(08:09):
humor and just some good things to learn about the city.
We will link to it in the show notes.
All right, so this is New York basic tips and etiquette #93 It
says when shopping in New York, beware of unusually high prices
or unusually low prices. So if a price on something like
an electronic seems too good to be true, it probably is.
(08:31):
There a lot of souvenir electronics type shops around
New York City, and a lot of themhave cheap gimmicky electronics,
so just be aware of that. But on the flip side, if
something is unusually high prices, especially when it comes
to food, it can be a cause for concern.
And the main thing to know aboutthis is that if you go up to a
street vendor or someone like a food truck type or a food cart
(08:55):
and there are not prices listed,you should ask the price before
you order. Because a lot of times what
they'll do if they think that you look like a tourist or if
they think that you're in a pinch and they don't know you
and they're going to be able to take advantage of you, you might
order a plate of halal food thatis $20.
Yes, definitely. Make sure that you ask what the
(09:17):
price of the food is before you order it.
We had a bad experience once where we were leaving the
concert venue and we're starvingand there was a halal cart on
the corner and I was like, oh great, let's get some food like
this would be basic and yummy and delicious.
Everything we were looking for at 1:00 AM and he hands me the
food and said it was going to be20 bucks.
(09:37):
Which is crazy because the halalguy is in midtown which is
arguably the best halal food in the city, is like 7 or $8 for a
plate. So he definitely was trying to
price gauge us, but I should have asked before ordering.
So if it's not listed, be sure to ask before the order.
And that is this episodes New York know how.
All right, back to the financialdistrict.
(10:03):
We're going to talk about some of the things to do in the
financial district of New York City.
We could do entire episodes about so many of these
individual places. So we're going to kind of fly
through these, but we'll give you just some general points and
tips for each of these. So we mentioned it briefly when
we were talking about getting around the financial district,
the Oculus. So the Oculus is this massive,
(10:26):
unbelievably shaped build. It looks like it's white and it
has these spike type things thatgo out each direction and it
almost looks like the back of a dinosaur or something like that.
It's hard to describe. When I looked it up today, it's
actually symbolic of like someone opening their hands with
like a dove inside. I frankly see like a
(10:47):
stegosaurus, but I appreciate the symbolism.
You won't. You won't miss it it when you
walk by like you, you'll know exactly what we're talking about
when you see it. But it is a huge shopping mall.
There's tons of restaurants. There's actually really good
fast casual options in there as well for the lunch crowds, but,
you know, you don't have to go at the lunch times.
Yeah, tons of stores. And it's a transportation app.
(11:09):
Like we talked about 12 different subway lines run
through the Oculus, including the PATH train getting to and
from New Jersey. So I would say walk through it.
It's beautiful. When you get on that main level,
it's super wide open. And then you can look up and
just kind of see the expansiveness of the building
itself. And I think you can see outside
(11:30):
that it's just an absolutely beautiful building to be inside
of. So make sure you check it out
when you're down in Fight Eye. Next one on our list is One
World Trade Center. This is the new World Trade
building that went up in place of the Twin Towers that we lost
on 9/11. Specifically, I want to
recommend the observation deck in this building.
I mean, even just walking aroundoutside the building, it's
(11:51):
pretty breathtaking. It's the tallest building in
North America and it happens to be 1776 feet tall, including the
Spire on top, which is significant.
America. The observation deck is really
awesome and you get really beautiful views of the Statue of
Liberty. You get great views looking up
(12:11):
towards Hudson Yards, Midtown. You can even see a little bit of
Central Park, I believe through some of the buildings.
But really a awesome observationdeck experience.
And it's indoors, so it's a great option for if you're
coming in the winter time or coming on a day where it's
raining or something. Yeah, it's a pro and a con that
it's only indoors. I think that it has its
(12:31):
advantages, but sometimes it is nice to be outside, but still a
good observation deck. And also up at that level there
is a restaurant and bar that youcan grab a drink.
Some of the tickets that you canget for the observation deck
will include a drink at the at the restaurant there.
So check that out as well. And right next to that, of
course, is the 9/11 museum O there are many pieces of the
(12:53):
9/11 museum and kind of memorials around.
There are the pools that are theoriginal foundations of the two
twin towers that are these massive fountains of water that
kind of go in on itself. And then it drops down into a, a
space you can't see and then kind of recycles back out.
And then around the perimeters of those, it has the names of
(13:13):
everyone who passed away on 9/11.
So definitely worth checking that out.
That's completely free. You can just explore and look at
that. If you want to go into the 9/11
museum itself, I think it's worth doing, especially if you
are from America and you know, even even if you're not
American, but specifically if you are American, the 9/11
(13:35):
museum will just hold a lot of meaning.
And it's a very powerful experience to be there.
And to the way they lay it out. They kind of walk you through
moment one of that day and walk you through all the different
intricacies of things that are happening.
And you hear communications fromthe FAA, you hear communications
(13:57):
from the NYPD. You see videos, there's
pictures, there's stories. I mean, it is.
It's just powerful. It's a very well done museum, I
highly recommend checking that out if you're going to be down
in that area. All right.
Another thing that you can do inthe financial district, another
famous thing is the charging bull that is the symbol of kind
(14:20):
of finance and the financial system.
You can expect to have a crowd if you go to the Charging Bowl.
So just know that if you want topicture next to it, there's
going to be probably dozens of other people in your picture.
But it is cool to check out and to see.
And it's close to Wall Street. So this is the Wall Street that
is referenced in so many things.And it is the home of the New
(14:43):
York Stock Exchange and other major financial institutions.
It truly is kind of the financial hub of America as a
whole and in a sense of the entire world.
I don't believe you can go in tothe New York Stock Exchange.
I never actually tried. Seems like probably not.
Yeah, I feel like probably not, but it is cool to kind of walk
(15:03):
around that area and see where all the money's happening on all
the computers. Yeah, all the made-up numbers,
they're made-up, right? They just make them up.
Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I don't think they're
real. OK.
Another thing that is real and that you should check out, and
that is again, a very powerful experience, is the Museum of
Jewish Heritage. This is technically in, in like
(15:25):
the Battery Park parts or not inPhaidai.
But right there it is mostly a museum laying out the history
and story behind World War 2 andthe Holocaust and painting the
picture of what led up to all ofthose things, what the
experience was like for people who lived in Europe at that
(15:45):
time. Again, very sombre, very
powerful museum to to experience.
One thing I want to mention about the Museum of Jewish
Heritage is that they actually have a section that's like a
exhibition that's geared towardschildren.
So everything's broken down and like language.
It's a little bit easier to understand and there's more like
animated characters. But it tells the story of what
(16:08):
was going on during the Holocaust and how Denmark
specifically was helping a lot of Jewish people at the time.
So gave me, like, a really cool,informative educational
experience on part of the Holocaust that I didn't know
anything about. So this is something you could
take your kids to. I think the children's
exhibition part of it. I mean, again, it's for adults
(16:29):
too, but geared more towards children.
I think you probably could get through it in like, 45 minutes.
Yeah. Yeah, it's a good.
It's definitely worth checking out.
And it right around that area iswhat's called the battery and
Battery Park City. So the Battery is a park itself
that is at the very southern tipof Manhattan.
(16:49):
It is where there is the boats that will take you out to the
Statue of Liberty. It's where the Staten Island
Ferry goes out from, but also just amazing views down there at
this exact moment. We're recording in January of
2025. There's a lot of construction
going on in this area of the Battery, which is unfortunate,
(17:11):
but you can still go and exploreparts of it.
There's a Korean War memorial aswell.
And generally it's just a good spot.
If you don't want to take the time or money or effort to
actually go out to the Statue ofLiberty, there are great spots
to just see views of the statue from the Battery in Battery Park
City in that area generally. Also in the battery, be aware of
(17:33):
all the people trying to scam you and get you to buy tickets
to go see the Statue of Liberty.If you, we've talked about this
before, but if you want to go see the Statue of Liberty, we
have lots of resources and you should buy it online, but don't
buy anything from those dudes that will get in your.
Way And if you want to just go by the Statue of Liberty and not
actually go to it, you can take the Staten Island Ferry, which
(17:55):
is 100% free all the time. OK, a few other things that you
can do there is Brookfield PlaceMall.
Mostly it's cool for the views of the water and of seeing
Jersey and Statue of Liberty andall that good stuff.
But it's also a high end mall with a lot of stores.
Sometimes there are unbelievablyexpensive massive yachts that
(18:16):
are like docked right by Brookfield Place Mall.
And actually the scene from Wolfof Wall Street where the I
believe FBI guy is coming on to his yacht and they have like a
very interesting dialogue that was filmed at Brookfield Place
Mall, like near in the little harbor there, the docking area
for yachts. So that's kind of fun to check
(18:36):
out. Brookfield Place Mall also has a
really great food court, so if you're travelling with a big
group of people and everyone might want something different,
they have a lot of really great options in that food court as
well, with a lot of like New York specific restaurants
featured there. Another place to go in the
Financial District, more on the east side, is Pier 17.
(18:56):
So Pier 17 has a large, I believe it's called the Tin
Building, which was like some type of historical building that
was converted into like a grocery store.
And there's some shops in there.There's a bunch of restaurants,
but they also have a nice littlerooftop area on Pier 17.
And they have tons of different concerts there.
So when you're coming into the city, you can check out their
list of concerts there. And right near there as well is
(19:19):
the Brooklyn Bridge. So if you want to walk across
the Brooklyn Bridge, that is where you will do it.
It starts in the financial district actually right next
like or close to City Hall, which the City Hall buildings
and all the old city and government type buildings that
are down in the financial district.
Really, really, truly some amazing architecture.
(19:41):
Some of my favorite in the city is down in the financial
district near this near City Hall and some of the other
buildings around there. In a related note, there are
some amazing very old churches. There's Saint Paul's Chapel,
which is originally built in 1766, and it is the oldest
surviving church building in Manhattan.
There's also Trinity Church, which is the burial place for
(20:02):
the likes of Alexander Hamilton,Robert Fulton, Francis Lewis,
Angelica Church and other prominent figures in the early
period of the United States. And an interesting thing about
Trinity Church, so the ownershipgroup of Trinity Church, it got
a massive land grant in 17 O 5 and to this day it is still one
of the largest land owners in New York City.
(20:23):
They own 14 acres of Manhattan real estate, including 5.5
million square feet of commercial space in Hudson
Square. So Trinity Church is an amazing
building to even if you just walk by, you don't have to go
in. Really worth checking out a
couple other places of note, just kind of more general.
There's Stone St. which is famous.
(20:44):
It's a kind of an old cobblestone St.
No cars are allowed on there. There's tons of restaurants and
bars along that area and similarly there's like South St.
Seaport, which has some kind of fun old school looking buildings
and just older streets. There's a South St.
Seaport museum down there. They're just some very
interesting unique streets in the financial district that
(21:07):
you're not going to find in other parts of the city because
it is such an old part of the city.
OK, that was a lot of things to talk about for things to do, but
there is so much to do in the financial district.
So let's talk now about bars. If you want to get a drink in
the financial so district, here are some of the spots that we
recommend. Some of these we have been to
personally. Others are on lists of places
(21:27):
that you should check out and and have good ratings and
reviews. If there's one that you're going
to go to in the financial District, it is probably the
Dead Rabbit. It was rated the best bar in the
world in 2016 and I think it lives up to that.
I mean, the we've gone once and the cocktails that we had there
were amazing and like very unique blends of flavors too.
(21:49):
Great cocktails. The vibe in there is just really
cool, like it's such an old building and so when you walk in
you're like flooded with nostalgia and history.
Very very cool bar to hang out at.
Similarly is Francis Tavern, which we have talked about
before. This was a there's like a museum
portion of Francis Tavern and there's multiple bars within it.
(22:10):
There's also a restaurant, very cool historical building that
was the site where George Washington gave his farewell
speech after the Revolutionary War.
So again, just so much history. Those are right next to each
other. And another one on kind of the
historical side of things is Whitehorse Tavern.
It's New York City's second oldest bar from 1880 and has a
(22:31):
storied history. It was a watering hole for the
likes of Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac and James Baldwin.
So again, just a lot of history in this area.
A few other bars that we recommend over Story is one, it
has a 64th floor deck with panoramic views.
Of course, you're going to pay apremium for that.
So know that it is a little bit more expensive.
(22:52):
There's some classic pubs, Carriger's O'hara's Restaurant
and pub, Brickyard Craft Kitchenand Bar is a little bit more
trendy. They have some games.
They have, you know, again, morecraft beers, that type of thing.
Stout NYC. We have not been to this
location, but we've been to multiples of their others and
they're just they're kind of a well oiled build machine.
(23:13):
Like the food's always good. They have a massive beer
selection, tons of TV's. Yeah, great sports bar.
Like if you're trying to catch agame, I would recommend Stout.
Yeah. And then another one that we've
been to that we really liked wasWar and Peace.
It's a very dimly lit cocktail bar with friendly staff.
They have nice bites, small biteoptions, very kind of trendy hip
(23:35):
spot that I forgot. We went there with some friends
and our group message is now named after a cocktail there.
And that leads us to this episode.
You'll have to check it out segment.
The next stop is Pasillo ItalianPanini.
Pasillo Italian Panini is They probably have the best
sandwiches I've ever had in New York City.
They are absolutely massive. So as the name implies, they're
(23:59):
all Italian paninis or sandwiches.
The bread is sourced fresh dailyfrom a famous bakery in Brooklyn
and all of the ingredients are imported from Italy.
So, you know, they're great. All their meats, cheeses,
condiments, all of that is imported from Italy and they
have the most massive sandwichesyou've ever seen in your life.
I would say share one between two people.
(24:21):
If you're hungry, you could probably share with three and
have them like split it in thirds.
Every single sandwich I've had from there is incredible.
I personally recommend getting the sandwiches on the ciabatta
bread the they traditionally come on the focaccia bread which
is also great. I just prefer more of like a
typical sub style sandwich. But you do you.
(24:44):
Every single sandwich I've had from there has been absolutely
phenomenal. Cannot recommend this place
enough. Yeah, my days become much better
when Ashley text me and tells methat she's coming home from work
with a sandwich from Pasilla. So this is a place that you
should check out Pasillo ItalianPanini in the financial
District. And now back to the financial
(25:05):
district guide. Stand clear of the closing
doors, please. All right, we'll talk about a
few coffee shops in the financial district.
There are a lot of course, most coffee shops are pretty similar
in the general sense, but a few that are down there that are
popular. Hungry Ghost coffee.
Delicious delicious coffee. Black Fox coffee has great
(25:27):
reviews. 787 coffee. One of the highest reviewed
coffee shops I've ever seen in the city.
I think it had 4.8 stars and over 2000 reviews, which like
we've talked about this before, but anything that has 1000 or
more reviews and is 4.5 stars orhigher is going to be good.
And to have 4.8 stars with over 2000 reviews like you are doing
(25:49):
something right for sure. Agreed, they also have a few
locations of 787 coffee, so if you're craving coffee you can
just plug that into Google Maps.See where you are in the city,
there might be one close to you.There's definitely a couple.
I know there's one in the Upper East Side.
I don't remember where the others are, but I know there's a
few a. Couple other options.
There's Birch Coffee, there's LaColombe Coffee Workshop, which
(26:11):
we love, LA Colome coffee. They're cold brew that you can
get from Costco. I mean they have at other places
but we usually get it from Costco.
It's like the best pre bottled cold brew that you can buy.
I personally don't like it out of the cans, but I do love it
out of like the huge bottles. Yeah.
Best cold brew ever. Highly recommend.
(26:31):
Not sponsored. We just love this.
Wish we were sponsored by LA Colome.
Someone should tell them they should.
Sponsor us LA Colome. If you're listening LA Colome OK
our. Newsletter.
Yeah. Arguably our which on that note,
that was kind of a joke, but subscribe to our newsletter.
We send an e-mail once a week about current events.
(26:52):
We talk about things in the news.
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We talk about some of our favorite places to go.
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(27:15):
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So make sure that you do that, OK?
And our arguably favorite spot for coffee in the Financial
District? It's technically in Tribeca, but
(27:37):
it is Laughing Man Cafe, which is owned by.
Hugh Jackman. The Hugh Jackman.
Laughing Man Cafe is owned at least partially by Hugh Jackman
and like the Hugh Jackman, Wolverine.
Greatest Showman. Greatest showman.
I've been here a couple times when I've again I work down in
this area sometimes. Laughing Man Cafe has incredible
(27:57):
coffee. All of the lattes I've had from
there are amazing. I think I had a salted cinnamon
something latte with vanilla once and it I still think about
it. Highly recommend this spot.
They also have food options as well.
I haven't gotten the food but italways looks good when I see it.
Yeah, so that's Laughing Man Cafe, technically in Tribeca,
(28:18):
but close enough. Last little section of this
podcast, I know we've been goingfor a bit here.
We're going to talk about some good restaurants in Fideye.
We talked about this already, but Francis Tavern, they do have
food. They have a full restaurant
there. Very, very good.
There's a Joe's Pizza. I really like the Reuben at
France's Tavern. Not at Joe's Pizza.
(28:39):
Not at Joe's Pizza, they don't. Don't get the Reuben at Joe's
Pizza. If there was a Reuben at Joe's
Pizza, I probably wouldn't get it, but.
But at France's Tavern, there's a Joe's Pizza, which Joe's Pizza
is a very famous chain. I think it's a great slice.
It gets a little bit of a bad rap because it's gotten like
kind of overly popular in a way,but it's still really good New
York style pizza. Every time I've had Joe's I'm so
(29:01):
satisfied and happy. Always left me satisfied and
smiling. All right, next on our list is
Del Monico's, which is a fine dining restaurant.
It is a steak restaurant, very popular, very well reviewed,
will show up on pretty much any list of great steakhouses in New
York City. So definitely worth checking
out. Another one along that same vibe
(29:22):
is Manhattan, which is on the 60th floor of a building and
it's high end New American cuisine.
Again, not only the high end cuisine, but you're on the 60th
floor in the financial district.So you're going to pay for that
premium. But I kind of really like the
experience of, I mean, observation decks are great, but
you're just going up and standing there and then taking
(29:43):
some pictures and like, oh, OK, that was fun.
But like going up to a high building and being able to have
a meal and have those expansive views while you eat, it's an
amazing experience. So definitely worth checking
that out. Another pizza spot that we
really like that we randomly stumbled upon when we had family
in town is Sienna Pizza. Do you remember that?
(30:04):
That's where we went with the place.
Was so good. That's where we went with the
nephews, right? Yeah, yeah.
We just got like a large cheese pie for all of us and it was so
good. Yeah, like Joe's level quality
in my opinion. And they had garlic knots that
were super, super good. We don't always get garlic
knots, but I'm very glad that wegot them from Sienna Pizza.
So definitely check that out. And Sienna Pizza is nice because
(30:25):
it has spots to actually sit andeat and it's not usually overly
crowded, but still very, very good food.
Another spot to check out is Italy.
We've talked about Italy in other episodes before, but it is
an Italian grocery type chain that also has restaurants in
there and they have bars inside of it and they have workshops
(30:45):
and cooking classes. It's kind of this cultural like
gathering hub around all things Italian.
So like obviously like really good pastas and and seafoods and
apparel spritzes and those typesof things.
So and side note, you should check out their calendar because
sometimes they have food fests like food and wine fests at this
(31:06):
Italy. Oh my gosh.
You have if you're here in New York when Italy is doing one of
those food fests, I cannot recommend it enough.
I think it's like, I don't know,60 to 80 bucks or something I
feel. Like it's closer to 80.
But I think you get it's. Like an experience and you're
getting food and you're getting alcohol.
Yeah, well, and it's, it's unlimited wine and unlimited
(31:28):
hors d'oeuvres. They have like 11:50 different
spots with like appetizers and hors d'oeuvres throughout the
Italy, like kind of grocery area.
And you have just, they know that you're a part of the thing
and you just get as much as you want and there's unlimited wine
and everyone's kind of having a party and it's, it's a fun time.
So definitely check that out. OK, getting towards the end
here, a couple others that we'vebeen to and really liked El Vez
(31:50):
and Burrito Bar. I believe this is technically in
Tribeca. It might be in, I think it's in
Battery Park City. But either way, really good
Mexican food. We've mentioned this before.
We're from the West Coast, and so we're a little bit spoiled
when it comes to Mexican food. And I will say that the Mexican
food in New York City is not thebest cuisine.
(32:11):
It's not what we usually choose,but this was a good spot.
They had good portions. The food is fresh, good flavors.
Friendly. Staff, yes, great margaritas,
friendly staff. Good spot if you're looking for
Mexican food as well. Los tacos #1 we've talked about
this on other episodes. Arguably the most popular Taco
chain, at least in Manhattan. Every single Taco that they have
at Los Tacos number one is delicious.
(32:32):
It's fast, it's filling, great, great spot.
There are so many bagel spots. The one that kind of stuck out
to us here is Pick a Bagel. It's not necessarily our
favorite bagel spot in the city,but Pick a Bagel is a very solid
option. And they do have a location down
in the financial district. There's a ton of different bagel
spots in Friday. So really, if you're down there,
(32:53):
like plug it into Google Maps and and see what you like.
Don't eat a bad bagel in New York City.
That's true. There's so many amazing bagels
in New York. Don't eat a bad bagel in New
York, but look up the reviews ofyour bagel spot before you go.
Yeah, cuz again, anything that has like 500 or more reviews and
it's under four stars, you shouldn't step foot into that
restaurant or bagel spot or bar.Like there are way too many
(33:16):
places to explore to go to somewhere with less than four
stars on Google Maps. Like, and I will die on that
hill. I will, I will literally fight
people on that hill. You're gonna literally fight
people. I will literally fight people on
the hill of don't go into placeswith less than 4 Google stars
because we did 1. So we had family in town and
there was like this bar that waslike holiday and I walked in and
(33:38):
I was like, this is the worst. It was it was awful.
And it was less than four stars.OK, A couple other quick spots.
There's Jr. Sushi, which is technically in
Tribeca. They have nice kind of to go
lunch options available. Nishnush is arguably the largest
portions I've ever gotten for like falafel style food.
It's more like it's not a cart, it's like fast casual.
(34:02):
Like Mediterranean food. Yeah, it's amazing.
Really great falafel, like Devinsaid.
Really fresh, huge portions. I would get one plate and share
it between two people honestly. Amazing, amazing food.
OK. And then the last one, we
probably saved the best for lastand that is Smorgasburg World
Trade Center. So Smorgasburg is kind of what
(34:22):
it sounds like it is every Friday starting this year on
April 5th, and it usually runs through like August or
September. So you just have to check it
out, like, you know, look it up to make sure it's still
happening when you're here. But it is dozens and dozens of
food trucks and food vendors of the widest variety.
And most of them are kind of like smaller portions generally.
(34:45):
And so kind of the idea is like,you know, you go with your date
or you go with a group of friends and everyone can get a
bunch of different foods and youcan try bites of all the
different vendors. And there are such a wide, like
there's Filipino food, there's Vietnamese food, there's
Ukrainian food, there's. There's ice cream.
There's fried chicken. Yeah, it's just like such a wide
(35:06):
variety. And that's every Friday evening
in the summers, and that's actually right outside of the
Oculus. So if you're in town and you're
looking for a fun activity that also includes eating some
amazing food and you're going tobe down in this area, check out
Smorgasburg World Trade Center. It's only on Fridays and this
year it starts on April 5th. All right, that was a lot.
(35:26):
We flew through so many different things about the
financial district. At some point we will have this
condensed into an article as well.
So you can read through our synopses of each and every place
and all, and we'll have links toall the places as well.
Eventually we'll have a Google Maps list that has all of these
places. Also make sure you're subscribed
to our newsletter so that you know when that comes out,
(35:48):
because trust me, we that's those are probably two of our
most popular articles on our website is our Hell's Kitchen
neighborhood guide and our UpperWest Side neighborhood guide.
It's a wealth of information. So make sure you go to
bettertogetherhere.com and sign up for our newsletter if you
have not already. It's a huge, huge help if you
can review, rate, subscribe, allthe different things on whatever
(36:10):
podcast platform that you were listening to.
It is very helpful for this podcast getting more visibility
in those podcast algorithms thatkind of our question mark.
And it's hard to know exactly how to get shown.
But the more that you as a listener can engage with our
podcast, the more it will help us get shown.
And other than that, we'll catchyou on the next episode.
The last stop on this frame. Everyone, please leave the
(36:42):
frame. Thank you for watching us.
Welcome to the Better Together Here podcast with your host,
Devin. And Ashley?
Helping you make the most of your time in New York City.
Hey everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the Better
Together Here podcast. My name is Devin.
And my name is Ashley. And in today's episode, we are
going to dive deep into one of the most popular neighborhoods
in Manhattan, the Financial District.
(00:22):
We're going to give you bars, restaurants, things to do, talk
about getting around the financial district and a little
bit of history as well. Let's get right into it.
First off, when we say the Financial District, it is
sometimes called Fidi. You will also sometimes hear it
just referred to as Lower Manhattan generally, and that's
often what people are referring to when they are saying Lower
(00:44):
Manhattan is the Financial District.
Let us clarify here as well. We're going to talk about where
the Financial District is. Like most neighborhoods in New
York City, things kind of blurred together and one
neighborhood map might say one thing and another might say
another, but we're going to giveyou the general overview.
The Financial District technically covers most of the
(01:05):
southernmost tip of Manhattan, so it runs from the West Side
Highway on the West to the Brooklyn Bridge and East River
on the east. And then from the north it
starts at Chambers Street and around City Hall and runs S
until the Battery. An interesting thing here is
that Battery Park City, which ison the West side of the
financial district and to the West of West Side Highway, is
(01:27):
actually not part of the financial district as well as
Battery Park, the actual park atthe very most southern part of
Manhattan. Those are not a part of the
financial district. For the sake of this episode,
we're going to include Battery Park City Battery Park.
We're also going to include somethings as that are technically
in Tribeca but are still very close to the financial district
(01:51):
and a little bit of history as it relates to the financial
district. It was initially settled and
inhabited by the Lenape tribe and was called Manahatta, which
means Hilly Island. That is, Manhattan as a whole
was called Manhattan and was inhabited by the Lenape tribe.
And then in the 17th century, like most of America, Europeans
(02:12):
came over and decided they wanted to take it over
colonialism. And the financial district is
where Europeans first settled inNew York City, and it roughly
mimics the boundaries of what was called New Amsterdam, which
was founded by the Dutch. So it's like a little overview
of the Financial District as a whole.
If you've seen views or picturesor videos of Manhattan and you
(02:39):
see the big skyline and you see One World Trade Center and it's
often those sweeping views coming in over the water, you
are often looking at the skylineof the Financial District
between outside of Midtown, the Financial District probably has
the most recognizable buildings and skyline in all of New York
City. So it's something you have
probably seen before. One thing I love about the
(03:00):
financial district is just walking around is basically like
you're taking yourself on a hugearchitecture tour.
It's really wild because you have some of the tallest, nicest
buildings you've ever seen. And then immediately right next
door is a building that was built in like the 1700s and is
like an old brick building that's two stories.
(03:21):
And you know that it's been heresince like the founding of our
country, which is really crazy. Really, really cool buildings,
very beautiful neighbourhood to walk around.
One of my offices at work is actually down in this area.
So I get to like take walks sometimes around that area and
explore. And I'm always just taken aback
by how beautiful it is and how much history is down in this
(03:43):
area. Yeah, If there's one area that
you wanted to just go and explore a wide variety of
architecture and see a wide variety of buildings, the
financial District is one of thebest places to do that.
And when we talk about exploring, maybe wonder, like
most parts of the city, is it safe?
Is the financial district safe? I think generally, yes.
It has a below average crime rate compared to the rest of
(04:06):
Manhattan and New York City as awhole.
During the daytime, it's usuallyreally crowded because it is,
again, the financial district. There are tons of corporate
buildings and workers and you see massive rushes for lunch as
soon as like 12:00 hits, you've got people all over the street,
so it's generally safe. I would say, like most spots in
the city, remain attentive to your surroundings, especially at
(04:27):
nights, but we've generally feltsafe walking around and
exploring the Financial District.
Yeah, I would say the financial district is pretty safe.
I have less like sketchy experiences down in that area
than I do like in Midtown, for example.
One thing that Devin touched on the lunch rush, if you want to
try to get a fast casual bite for lunch at like noon on a
(04:51):
weekday, just prepare yourself for a line.
I made that mistake once becauseI ordered from a place called
Naya that we love. It's like a fast casual Lebanese
spot. And I was like oh this will be
super quick, I'll be back in 10 minutes.
Told my Co workers I was just going to go pick up food and
come right back. It took me like 30 minutes to
get my food that I'd already ordered and was just picking up
because every single finance broand their sister was in line for
(05:15):
Naya which is the fast casual spot.
So just be aware around lunchtime it's going to be busy.
Which also if you want to see like the joke stereotypical
finance bro, you go to the financial district
understandably. What are what are they wearing,
Devin? Often Often they're wearing a
nice puffer jacket, usually fromPatagonia.
(05:38):
Well, they're primarily wearing Patagonia vests.
Sorry, yes, I meant to say vest.Yes, sometimes.
It's a puffer vest. Yeah, the the puffer vest.
The fleece vest. It's the finance bro uniform,
the unofficial, but maybe it should be official.
OK, getting around the financialdistrict.
Great thing about Fight Eye is that most of the subway lines go
(06:00):
to the Financial District. Pretty much all the major ones
except for the BD and FM lines end up there.
So whether you are coming from the Upper West Side, the Upper
East Side, you're coming from Midtown, you're coming from
Columbia University, you're coming from somewhere in
Brooklyn, it's likely going to have a train line that is going
to cross in through the Financial District.
(06:22):
The Oculus, which we will talk about, has 12 subway lines that
run through it, and there's alsothe World Trade Center PATH.
The PATH station is what makes it really easy to get to and
from New Jersey. So that makes getting to and
from the Financial District very, very viable for most parts
of the city. I will say the Financial
(06:43):
District is definitely a very walkable neighborhood, very easy
to get around generally, like ifyou're coming from a different
part of the city or if you're coming from New Jersey.
But walking around is a little bit more difficult in my
opinion, because it's not on thegrid system.
So the financial district, that area down at the southern tip of
Manhattan is what was first settled, and that was before
(07:05):
they have the grid system in place.
And so the streets have actual street names and they kind of
like intersect and they're not perpendicular to each other.
There's no St. numbers. So it gets really confusing
getting around. Yes.
So compared to like Midtown, forexample, you know, OK, I want to
go to something that's on 44th St. between 6th and 7th Ave.
(07:25):
It's really easy, easier to navigate because you know, if
you're on 50th St. you know you need to go downtown.
If you know that you're on Madison Ave. you know you need
to go West. But when you're down in vitae,
it's things that are on the corner of Vessy and Pearl or
whatever streets and it's like, Oh no, I've got to figure this
out the old way, meaning Google Maps.
(07:47):
All right and that leads us to this episodes New York know how.
All right again we are pulling this from the NYC Basic Tips and
Etiquette book by Nathan W Pyle.One of our favorite coffee table
books about New York City. Has great illustrations, witty
(08:09):
humor and just some good things to learn about the city.
We will link to it in the show notes.
All right, so this is New York basic tips and etiquette #93 It
says when shopping in New York, beware of unusually high prices
or unusually low prices. So if a price on something like
an electronic seems too good to be true, it probably is.
(08:31):
There a lot of souvenir electronics type shops around
New York City, and a lot of themhave cheap gimmicky electronics,
so just be aware of that. But on the flip side, if
something is unusually high prices, especially when it comes
to food, it can be a cause for concern.
And the main thing to know aboutthis is that if you go up to a
street vendor or someone like a food truck type or a food cart
(08:55):
and there are not prices listed,you should ask the price before
you order. Because a lot of times what
they'll do if they think that you look like a tourist or if
they think that you're in a pinch and they don't know you
and they're going to be able to take advantage of you, you might
order a plate of halal food thatis $20.
Yes, definitely. Make sure that you ask what the
(09:17):
price of the food is before you order it.
We had a bad experience once where we were leaving the
concert venue and we're starvingand there was a halal cart on
the corner and I was like, oh great, let's get some food like
this would be basic and yummy and delicious.
Everything we were looking for at 1:00 AM and he hands me the
food and said it was going to be20 bucks.
(09:37):
Which is crazy because the halalguy is in midtown which is
arguably the best halal food in the city, is like 7 or $8 for a
plate. So he definitely was trying to
price gauge us, but I should have asked before ordering.
So if it's not listed, be sure to ask before the order.
And that is this episodes New York know how.
All right, back to the financialdistrict.
(10:03):
We're going to talk about some of the things to do in the
financial district of New York City.
We could do entire episodes about so many of these
individual places. So we're going to kind of fly
through these, but we'll give you just some general points and
tips for each of these. So we mentioned it briefly when
we were talking about getting around the financial district,
the Oculus. So the Oculus is this massive,
(10:26):
unbelievably shaped build. It looks like it's white and it
has these spike type things thatgo out each direction and it
almost looks like the back of a dinosaur or something like that.
It's hard to describe. When I looked it up today, it's
actually symbolic of like someone opening their hands with
like a dove inside. I frankly see like a
(10:47):
stegosaurus, but I appreciate the symbolism.
You won't. You won't miss it it when you
walk by like you, you'll know exactly what we're talking about
when you see it. But it is a huge shopping mall.
There's tons of restaurants. There's actually really good
fast casual options in there as well for the lunch crowds, but,
you know, you don't have to go at the lunch times.
Yeah, tons of stores. And it's a transportation app.
(11:09):
Like we talked about 12 different subway lines run
through the Oculus, including the PATH train getting to and
from New Jersey. So I would say walk through it.
It's beautiful. When you get on that main level,
it's super wide open. And then you can look up and
just kind of see the expansiveness of the building
itself. And I think you can see outside
(11:30):
that it's just an absolutely beautiful building to be inside
of. So make sure you check it out
when you're down in Fight Eye. Next one on our list is One
World Trade Center. This is the new World Trade
building that went up in place of the Twin Towers that we lost
on 9/11. Specifically, I want to
recommend the observation deck in this building.
I mean, even just walking aroundoutside the building, it's
(11:51):
pretty breathtaking. It's the tallest building in
North America and it happens to be 1776 feet tall, including the
Spire on top, which is significant.
America. The observation deck is really
awesome and you get really beautiful views of the Statue of
Liberty. You get great views looking up
(12:11):
towards Hudson Yards, Midtown. You can even see a little bit of
Central Park, I believe through some of the buildings.
But really a awesome observationdeck experience.
And it's indoors, so it's a great option for if you're
coming in the winter time or coming on a day where it's
raining or something. Yeah, it's a pro and a con that
it's only indoors. I think that it has its
(12:31):
advantages, but sometimes it is nice to be outside, but still a
good observation deck. And also up at that level there
is a restaurant and bar that youcan grab a drink.
Some of the tickets that you canget for the observation deck
will include a drink at the at the restaurant there.
So check that out as well. And right next to that, of
course, is the 9/11 museum O there are many pieces of the
(12:53):
9/11 museum and kind of memorials around.
There are the pools that are theoriginal foundations of the two
twin towers that are these massive fountains of water that
kind of go in on itself. And then it drops down into a, a
space you can't see and then kind of recycles back out.
And then around the perimeters of those, it has the names of
(13:13):
everyone who passed away on 9/11.
So definitely worth checking that out.
That's completely free. You can just explore and look at
that. If you want to go into the 9/11
museum itself, I think it's worth doing, especially if you
are from America and you know, even even if you're not
American, but specifically if you are American, the 9/11
(13:35):
museum will just hold a lot of meaning.
And it's a very powerful experience to be there.
And to the way they lay it out. They kind of walk you through
moment one of that day and walk you through all the different
intricacies of things that are happening.
And you hear communications fromthe FAA, you hear communications
(13:57):
from the NYPD. You see videos, there's
pictures, there's stories. I mean, it is.
It's just powerful. It's a very well done museum, I
highly recommend checking that out if you're going to be down
in that area. All right.
Another thing that you can do inthe financial district, another
famous thing is the charging bull that is the symbol of kind
(14:20):
of finance and the financial system.
You can expect to have a crowd if you go to the Charging Bowl.
So just know that if you want topicture next to it, there's
going to be probably dozens of other people in your picture.
But it is cool to check out and to see.
And it's close to Wall Street. So this is the Wall Street that
is referenced in so many things.And it is the home of the New
(14:43):
York Stock Exchange and other major financial institutions.
It truly is kind of the financial hub of America as a
whole and in a sense of the entire world.
I don't believe you can go in tothe New York Stock Exchange.
I never actually tried. Seems like probably not.
Yeah, I feel like probably not, but it is cool to kind of walk
(15:03):
around that area and see where all the money's happening on all
the computers. Yeah, all the made-up numbers,
they're made-up, right? They just make them up.
Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I don't think they're
real. OK.
Another thing that is real and that you should check out, and
that is again, a very powerful experience, is the Museum of
Jewish Heritage. This is technically in, in like
(15:25):
the Battery Park parts or not inPhaidai.
But right there it is mostly a museum laying out the history
and story behind World War 2 andthe Holocaust and painting the
picture of what led up to all ofthose things, what the
experience was like for people who lived in Europe at that
(15:45):
time. Again, very sombre, very
powerful museum to to experience.
One thing I want to mention about the Museum of Jewish
Heritage is that they actually have a section that's like a
exhibition that's geared towardschildren.
So everything's broken down and like language.
It's a little bit easier to understand and there's more like
animated characters. But it tells the story of what
(16:08):
was going on during the Holocaust and how Denmark
specifically was helping a lot of Jewish people at the time.
So gave me, like, a really cool,informative educational
experience on part of the Holocaust that I didn't know
anything about. So this is something you could
take your kids to. I think the children's
exhibition part of it. I mean, again, it's for adults
(16:29):
too, but geared more towards children.
I think you probably could get through it in like, 45 minutes.
Yeah. Yeah, it's a good.
It's definitely worth checking out.
And it right around that area iswhat's called the battery and
Battery Park City. So the Battery is a park itself
that is at the very southern tipof Manhattan.
(16:49):
It is where there is the boats that will take you out to the
Statue of Liberty. It's where the Staten Island
Ferry goes out from, but also just amazing views down there at
this exact moment. We're recording in January of
2025. There's a lot of construction
going on in this area of the Battery, which is unfortunate,
(17:11):
but you can still go and exploreparts of it.
There's a Korean War memorial aswell.
And generally it's just a good spot.
If you don't want to take the time or money or effort to
actually go out to the Statue ofLiberty, there are great spots
to just see views of the statue from the Battery in Battery Park
City in that area generally. Also in the battery, be aware of
(17:33):
all the people trying to scam you and get you to buy tickets
to go see the Statue of Liberty.If you, we've talked about this
before, but if you want to go see the Statue of Liberty, we
have lots of resources and you should buy it online, but don't
buy anything from those dudes that will get in your.
Way And if you want to just go by the Statue of Liberty and not
actually go to it, you can take the Staten Island Ferry, which
(17:55):
is 100% free all the time. OK, a few other things that you
can do there is Brookfield PlaceMall.
Mostly it's cool for the views of the water and of seeing
Jersey and Statue of Liberty andall that good stuff.
But it's also a high end mall with a lot of stores.
Sometimes there are unbelievablyexpensive massive yachts that
(18:16):
are like docked right by Brookfield Place Mall.
And actually the scene from Wolfof Wall Street where the I
believe FBI guy is coming on to his yacht and they have like a
very interesting dialogue that was filmed at Brookfield Place
Mall, like near in the little harbor there, the docking area
for yachts. So that's kind of fun to check
(18:36):
out. Brookfield Place Mall also has a
really great food court, so if you're travelling with a big
group of people and everyone might want something different,
they have a lot of really great options in that food court as
well, with a lot of like New York specific restaurants
featured there. Another place to go in the
Financial District, more on the east side, is Pier 17.
(18:56):
So Pier 17 has a large, I believe it's called the Tin
Building, which was like some type of historical building that
was converted into like a grocery store.
And there's some shops in there.There's a bunch of restaurants,
but they also have a nice littlerooftop area on Pier 17.
And they have tons of different concerts there.
So when you're coming into the city, you can check out their
list of concerts there. And right near there as well is
(19:19):
the Brooklyn Bridge. So if you want to walk across
the Brooklyn Bridge, that is where you will do it.
It starts in the financial district actually right next
like or close to City Hall, which the City Hall buildings
and all the old city and government type buildings that
are down in the financial district.
Really, really, truly some amazing architecture.
(19:41):
Some of my favorite in the city is down in the financial
district near this near City Hall and some of the other
buildings around there. In a related note, there are
some amazing very old churches. There's Saint Paul's Chapel,
which is originally built in 1766, and it is the oldest
surviving church building in Manhattan.
There's also Trinity Church, which is the burial place for
(20:02):
the likes of Alexander Hamilton,Robert Fulton, Francis Lewis,
Angelica Church and other prominent figures in the early
period of the United States. And an interesting thing about
Trinity Church, so the ownershipgroup of Trinity Church, it got
a massive land grant in 17 O 5 and to this day it is still one
of the largest land owners in New York City.
(20:23):
They own 14 acres of Manhattan real estate, including 5.5
million square feet of commercial space in Hudson
Square. So Trinity Church is an amazing
building to even if you just walk by, you don't have to go
in. Really worth checking out a
couple other places of note, just kind of more general.
There's Stone St. which is famous.
(20:44):
It's a kind of an old cobblestone St.
No cars are allowed on there. There's tons of restaurants and
bars along that area and similarly there's like South St.
Seaport, which has some kind of fun old school looking buildings
and just older streets. There's a South St.
Seaport museum down there. They're just some very
interesting unique streets in the financial district that
(21:07):
you're not going to find in other parts of the city because
it is such an old part of the city.
OK, that was a lot of things to talk about for things to do, but
there is so much to do in the financial district.
So let's talk now about bars. If you want to get a drink in
the financial so district, here are some of the spots that we
recommend. Some of these we have been to
personally. Others are on lists of places
(21:27):
that you should check out and and have good ratings and
reviews. If there's one that you're going
to go to in the financial District, it is probably the
Dead Rabbit. It was rated the best bar in the
world in 2016 and I think it lives up to that.
I mean, the we've gone once and the cocktails that we had there
were amazing and like very unique blends of flavors too.
(21:49):
Great cocktails. The vibe in there is just really
cool, like it's such an old building and so when you walk in
you're like flooded with nostalgia and history.
Very very cool bar to hang out at.
Similarly is Francis Tavern, which we have talked about
before. This was a there's like a museum
portion of Francis Tavern and there's multiple bars within it.
(22:10):
There's also a restaurant, very cool historical building that
was the site where George Washington gave his farewell
speech after the Revolutionary War.
So again, just so much history. Those are right next to each
other. And another one on kind of the
historical side of things is Whitehorse Tavern.
It's New York City's second oldest bar from 1880 and has a
(22:31):
storied history. It was a watering hole for the
likes of Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac and James Baldwin.
So again, just a lot of history in this area.
A few other bars that we recommend over Story is one, it
has a 64th floor deck with panoramic views.
Of course, you're going to pay apremium for that.
So know that it is a little bit more expensive.
(22:52):
There's some classic pubs, Carriger's O'hara's Restaurant
and pub, Brickyard Craft Kitchenand Bar is a little bit more
trendy. They have some games.
They have, you know, again, morecraft beers, that type of thing.
Stout NYC. We have not been to this
location, but we've been to multiples of their others and
they're just they're kind of a well oiled build machine.
(23:13):
Like the food's always good. They have a massive beer
selection, tons of TV's. Yeah, great sports bar.
Like if you're trying to catch agame, I would recommend Stout.
Yeah. And then another one that we've
been to that we really liked wasWar and Peace.
It's a very dimly lit cocktail bar with friendly staff.
They have nice bites, small biteoptions, very kind of trendy hip
(23:35):
spot that I forgot. We went there with some friends
and our group message is now named after a cocktail there.
And that leads us to this episode.
You'll have to check it out segment.
The next stop is Pasillo ItalianPanini.
Pasillo Italian Panini is They probably have the best
sandwiches I've ever had in New York City.
They are absolutely massive. So as the name implies, they're
(23:59):
all Italian paninis or sandwiches.
The bread is sourced fresh dailyfrom a famous bakery in Brooklyn
and all of the ingredients are imported from Italy.
So, you know, they're great. All their meats, cheeses,
condiments, all of that is imported from Italy and they
have the most massive sandwichesyou've ever seen in your life.
I would say share one between two people.
(24:21):
If you're hungry, you could probably share with three and
have them like split it in thirds.
Every single sandwich I've had from there is incredible.
I personally recommend getting the sandwiches on the ciabatta
bread the they traditionally come on the focaccia bread which
is also great. I just prefer more of like a
typical sub style sandwich. But you do you.
(24:44):
Every single sandwich I've had from there has been absolutely
phenomenal. Cannot recommend this place
enough. Yeah, my days become much better
when Ashley text me and tells methat she's coming home from work
with a sandwich from Pasilla. So this is a place that you
should check out Pasillo ItalianPanini in the financial
District. And now back to the financial
(25:05):
district guide. Stand clear of the closing
doors, please. All right, we'll talk about a
few coffee shops in the financial district.
There are a lot of course, most coffee shops are pretty similar
in the general sense, but a few that are down there that are
popular. Hungry Ghost coffee.
Delicious delicious coffee. Black Fox coffee has great
(25:27):
reviews. 787 coffee. One of the highest reviewed
coffee shops I've ever seen in the city.
I think it had 4.8 stars and over 2000 reviews, which like
we've talked about this before, but anything that has 1000 or
more reviews and is 4.5 stars orhigher is going to be good.
And to have 4.8 stars with over 2000 reviews like you are doing
(25:49):
something right for sure. Agreed, they also have a few
locations of 787 coffee, so if you're craving coffee you can
just plug that into Google Maps.See where you are in the city,
there might be one close to you.There's definitely a couple.
I know there's one in the Upper East Side.
I don't remember where the others are, but I know there's a
few a. Couple other options.
There's Birch Coffee, there's LaColombe Coffee Workshop, which
(26:11):
we love, LA Colome coffee. They're cold brew that you can
get from Costco. I mean they have at other places
but we usually get it from Costco.
It's like the best pre bottled cold brew that you can buy.
I personally don't like it out of the cans, but I do love it
out of like the huge bottles. Yeah.
Best cold brew ever. Highly recommend.
(26:31):
Not sponsored. We just love this.
Wish we were sponsored by LA Colome.
Someone should tell them they should.
Sponsor us LA Colome. If you're listening LA Colome OK
our. Newsletter.
Yeah. Arguably our which on that note,
that was kind of a joke, but subscribe to our newsletter.
We send an e-mail once a week about current events.
(26:52):
We talk about things in the news.
We talk about events happening for that upcoming week.
We link to some of our popular articles.
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We talk about some of our favorite places to go.
We include or you'll have to check it out.
I mean, the newsletter is good. You should be subscribed to it.
If you're not already, go to bettertogetherhere.com.
There's a big button in the menuthat says newsletter.
(27:15):
When you sign up for that, you also get access to our ultimate
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So make sure that you do that, OK?
And our arguably favorite spot for coffee in the Financial
District? It's technically in Tribeca, but
(27:37):
it is Laughing Man Cafe, which is owned by.
Hugh Jackman. The Hugh Jackman.
Laughing Man Cafe is owned at least partially by Hugh Jackman
and like the Hugh Jackman, Wolverine.
Greatest Showman. Greatest showman.
I've been here a couple times when I've again I work down in
this area sometimes. Laughing Man Cafe has incredible
(27:57):
coffee. All of the lattes I've had from
there are amazing. I think I had a salted cinnamon
something latte with vanilla once and it I still think about
it. Highly recommend this spot.
They also have food options as well.
I haven't gotten the food but italways looks good when I see it.
Yeah, so that's Laughing Man Cafe, technically in Tribeca,
(28:18):
but close enough. Last little section of this
podcast, I know we've been goingfor a bit here.
We're going to talk about some good restaurants in Fideye.
We talked about this already, but Francis Tavern, they do have
food. They have a full restaurant
there. Very, very good.
There's a Joe's Pizza. I really like the Reuben at
France's Tavern. Not at Joe's Pizza.
(28:39):
Not at Joe's Pizza, they don't. Don't get the Reuben at Joe's
Pizza. If there was a Reuben at Joe's
Pizza, I probably wouldn't get it, but.
But at France's Tavern, there's a Joe's Pizza, which Joe's Pizza
is a very famous chain. I think it's a great slice.
It gets a little bit of a bad rap because it's gotten like
kind of overly popular in a way,but it's still really good New
York style pizza. Every time I've had Joe's I'm so
(29:01):
satisfied and happy. Always left me satisfied and
smiling. All right, next on our list is
Del Monico's, which is a fine dining restaurant.
It is a steak restaurant, very popular, very well reviewed,
will show up on pretty much any list of great steakhouses in New
York City. So definitely worth checking
out. Another one along that same vibe
(29:22):
is Manhattan, which is on the 60th floor of a building and
it's high end New American cuisine.
Again, not only the high end cuisine, but you're on the 60th
floor in the financial district.So you're going to pay for that
premium. But I kind of really like the
experience of, I mean, observation decks are great, but
you're just going up and standing there and then taking
(29:43):
some pictures and like, oh, OK, that was fun.
But like going up to a high building and being able to have
a meal and have those expansive views while you eat, it's an
amazing experience. So definitely worth checking
that out. Another pizza spot that we
really like that we randomly stumbled upon when we had family
in town is Sienna Pizza. Do you remember that?
(30:04):
That's where we went with the place.
Was so good. That's where we went with the
nephews, right? Yeah, yeah.
We just got like a large cheese pie for all of us and it was so
good. Yeah, like Joe's level quality
in my opinion. And they had garlic knots that
were super, super good. We don't always get garlic
knots, but I'm very glad that wegot them from Sienna Pizza.
So definitely check that out. And Sienna Pizza is nice because
(30:25):
it has spots to actually sit andeat and it's not usually overly
crowded, but still very, very good food.
Another spot to check out is Italy.
We've talked about Italy in other episodes before, but it is
an Italian grocery type chain that also has restaurants in
there and they have bars inside of it and they have workshops
(30:45):
and cooking classes. It's kind of this cultural like
gathering hub around all things Italian.
So like obviously like really good pastas and and seafoods and
apparel spritzes and those typesof things.
So and side note, you should check out their calendar because
sometimes they have food fests like food and wine fests at this
(31:06):
Italy. Oh my gosh.
You have if you're here in New York when Italy is doing one of
those food fests, I cannot recommend it enough.
I think it's like, I don't know,60 to 80 bucks or something I
feel. Like it's closer to 80.
But I think you get it's. Like an experience and you're
getting food and you're getting alcohol.
Yeah, well, and it's, it's unlimited wine and unlimited
(31:28):
hors d'oeuvres. They have like 11:50 different
spots with like appetizers and hors d'oeuvres throughout the
Italy, like kind of grocery area.
And you have just, they know that you're a part of the thing
and you just get as much as you want and there's unlimited wine
and everyone's kind of having a party and it's, it's a fun time.
So definitely check that out. OK, getting towards the end
here, a couple others that we'vebeen to and really liked El Vez
(31:50):
and Burrito Bar. I believe this is technically in
Tribeca. It might be in, I think it's in
Battery Park City. But either way, really good
Mexican food. We've mentioned this before.
We're from the West Coast, and so we're a little bit spoiled
when it comes to Mexican food. And I will say that the Mexican
food in New York City is not thebest cuisine.
(32:11):
It's not what we usually choose,but this was a good spot.
They had good portions. The food is fresh, good flavors.
Friendly. Staff, yes, great margaritas,
friendly staff. Good spot if you're looking for
Mexican food as well. Los tacos #1 we've talked about
this on other episodes. Arguably the most popular Taco
chain, at least in Manhattan. Every single Taco that they have
at Los Tacos number one is delicious.
(32:32):
It's fast, it's filling, great, great spot.
There are so many bagel spots. The one that kind of stuck out
to us here is Pick a Bagel. It's not necessarily our
favorite bagel spot in the city,but Pick a Bagel is a very solid
option. And they do have a location down
in the financial district. There's a ton of different bagel
spots in Friday. So really, if you're down there,
(32:53):
like plug it into Google Maps and and see what you like.
Don't eat a bad bagel in New York City.
That's true. There's so many amazing bagels
in New York. Don't eat a bad bagel in New
York, but look up the reviews ofyour bagel spot before you go.
Yeah, cuz again, anything that has like 500 or more reviews and
it's under four stars, you shouldn't step foot into that
restaurant or bagel spot or bar.Like there are way too many
(33:16):
places to explore to go to somewhere with less than four
stars on Google Maps. Like, and I will die on that
hill. I will, I will literally fight
people on that hill. You're gonna literally fight
people. I will literally fight people on
the hill of don't go into placeswith less than 4 Google stars
because we did 1. So we had family in town and
there was like this bar that waslike holiday and I walked in and
(33:38):
I was like, this is the worst. It was it was awful.
And it was less than four stars.OK, A couple other quick spots.
There's Jr. Sushi, which is technically in
Tribeca. They have nice kind of to go
lunch options available. Nishnush is arguably the largest
portions I've ever gotten for like falafel style food.
It's more like it's not a cart, it's like fast casual.
(34:02):
Like Mediterranean food. Yeah, it's amazing.
Really great falafel, like Devinsaid.
Really fresh, huge portions. I would get one plate and share
it between two people honestly. Amazing, amazing food.
OK. And then the last one, we
probably saved the best for lastand that is Smorgasburg World
Trade Center. So Smorgasburg is kind of what
(34:22):
it sounds like it is every Friday starting this year on
April 5th, and it usually runs through like August or
September. So you just have to check it
out, like, you know, look it up to make sure it's still
happening when you're here. But it is dozens and dozens of
food trucks and food vendors of the widest variety.
And most of them are kind of like smaller portions generally.
(34:45):
And so kind of the idea is like,you know, you go with your date
or you go with a group of friends and everyone can get a
bunch of different foods and youcan try bites of all the
different vendors. And there are such a wide, like
there's Filipino food, there's Vietnamese food, there's
Ukrainian food, there's. There's ice cream.
There's fried chicken. Yeah, it's just like such a wide
(35:06):
variety. And that's every Friday evening
in the summers, and that's actually right outside of the
Oculus. So if you're in town and you're
looking for a fun activity that also includes eating some
amazing food and you're going tobe down in this area, check out
Smorgasburg World Trade Center. It's only on Fridays and this
year it starts on April 5th. All right, that was a lot.
(35:26):
We flew through so many different things about the
financial district. At some point we will have this
condensed into an article as well.
So you can read through our synopses of each and every place
and all, and we'll have links toall the places as well.
Eventually we'll have a Google Maps list that has all of these
places. Also make sure you're subscribed
to our newsletter so that you know when that comes out,
(35:48):
because trust me, we that's those are probably two of our
most popular articles on our website is our Hell's Kitchen
neighborhood guide and our UpperWest Side neighborhood guide.
It's a wealth of information. So make sure you go to
bettertogetherhere.com and sign up for our newsletter if you
have not already. It's a huge, huge help if you
can review, rate, subscribe, allthe different things on whatever
(36:10):
podcast platform that you were listening to.
It is very helpful for this podcast getting more visibility
in those podcast algorithms thatkind of our question mark.
And it's hard to know exactly how to get shown.
But the more that you as a listener can engage with our
podcast, the more it will help us get shown.
And other than that, we'll catchyou on the next episode.
The last stop on this frame. Everyone, please leave the
(36:42):
frame. Thank you for watching us.
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