Food, Shopping, and Chinatown!

After several previous visits to the city, when Polly Foster and her daughter Caitlyn came from South Carolina to the Big Apple to celebrate Caitlyn’s birthday, they were looking for something other than an introduction to NYC. They are subway savvy and know their way around town but Polly, who had previous Greets in both New York and Chicago, thought Caitlyn would enjoy seeing the city with a local.

With food, shopping, and Chinatown on the Fosters’ wish list, Greeter May Chen knew she would be a good fit for the Greet. Originally from Taiwan, May has lived in New York for 15 years. She started volunteering with Big Apple Greeter during the pandemic, works in the fashion industry, and enjoys showing visitors around SoHo and the Lower East Side, as well as Chinatown.

Taking the subway from a hotel in Times Square to SoHo, May, Caitlyn, and Polly’s first stop was La Cabra on Lafayette Street, one of two Manhattan outposts of a Danish coffee shop and bakery chain. Fortified by coffee and cardamom buns, a La Cabra specialty, the trio headed east, passing the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral at the corner of Prince and Mulberry Streets. Often called Old St. Patrick’s, the building dates from the early 19th century and was the seat of the Archdiocese of New York until the better-known St. Patrick’s Cathedral opened on Fifth Avenue in Midtown in 1879. Old St. Patrick’s was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

A stroll down Mulberry Street led to Little Italy. Although much smaller than in its heyday—the current Little Italy encompasses just five blocks of Mulberry north of Canal Street—the neighborhood retains an Italian flavor thanks to numerous restaurants and shops. May took Polly and Caitlyn into a couple of the best-loved spots, including DiPalo’s where the fourth generation of the DiPalo family continues to sell pasta, meat, and cheeses. Ferrara Bakery opened in 1892 and is now operated by fifth-generation descendants of co-founder Antonio Ferrara, an opera impresario.

Greeter May Chen with Caitlyn and Polly Foster at North Dumpling

At Canal Street, Little Italy becomes Manhattan’s Chinatown, one of at three large Chinese immigrant neighborhoods in New York, including areas of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Flushing, Queens, home to the largest Chinese population outside Asia. Like many parts of New York City, Chinatown in Manhattan has seen significant population shifts over the years. May explained that the Five Points area of Chinatown was once considered one of the world’s most dangerous neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and violent crime. The streets are lined with numerous 19th-century tenement buildings that were home to successive waves of Italian immigrants, freed Black Americans, and newcomers from Ireland. The changing nature of the neighborhood is reflected in The Transfiguration Church on Mott Street.  Originally Lutheran and then Episcopalian, the church is now Roman Catholic and offers services in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.

Walking through Chinatown

A walk along Grand Street, one of Chinatown’s main thoroughfares, provided the chance to stop in several Chinese markets and bakeries. Viewing the variety of food on offer was great, and built up everyone’s appetites. It was noon and time for lunch at North Dumpling, a tiny, casual, and inexpensive restaurant on Division Street near Bowery, in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge. (A second North Dumpling location on Essex Street in the Lower East Side offers the same menu and great prices.)

With food checked off the agenda, the focus shifted to clothes shopping. The trio headed to James Veloria Vintage, on the second floor at 75 East Broadway, one of several shops in the building featuring vintage and contemporary designer clothing and accessories.

Polly and Caitlyn had tickets for a Broadway matinee and it was nearly time to head back to Midtown. They thanked May for taking them off the beaten path and making the birthday celebration a very special treat.