Whether you’re more Ashley’s friend or Rayna’s friend, this guide to NYC, inspired by Girls Gotta Eat podcast, has something for everyone! Even though the girls have moved to LA, New York City has always been a main character on their show. It’s where they were based since the beginning, so it’s been mentioned a lot over the past few years. When my friend and I were trying to plan a fun girls weekend last fall, we realized our NYC/GGE bucket list had gotten pretty long, so we booked flights, packed our merch, and got ready to live our truths in the big apple!
Where to Stay
Based on context clues in the pod, it seems like Ashley and Rayna lived somewhere in or around The Lower East Side of Manhattan (I’m not creepy enough to figure out exact locations, although what I wouldn’t give to encounter some of those hot doormen or run into Rayna’s neighbor). We booked this Airbnb for a group of 4 ladies, but feel free to stay wherever in this general area. It worked out perfectly with our activities the whole weekend!
Where to Eat
Rayna is more of the foodie, so these recs mostly came from her but have definitely been co-signed by Ashley as well. The podcast is called Girls Gotta Eat for a reason–make sure you do the name proud!
- Tompkins Square Bagels (https://tompkinssquarebagels.com/): No trip to New York is complete without having AT LEAST one bagel, and this spot delivers everything you could want in an NYC bagel and more. They have the classics but they also offer some really fun options like rainbow bagels or cookie dough cream cheese. Come hungry… these bagel are big!
- Au Za’atar (https://www.auzaatar.com/): Not sure if it’s just selective hearing on my part, but I feel like this restaurant wins the award for most-mentioned-NYC-restaurant on the show. The girls go quite regularly–we were heavily #influenced and HAD to eat there on our trip. We loved the vibe and the food! Don’t skip the halloum mekli.
- Lola Taverna (https://www.lolataverna.com/): Ashley posted about this spot on her Instagram– it was so cute for a girls night! The cocktails were especially good as were the bao buns.
- Petite Pasta Joint (https://www.petitepastajoint.com/events): This was on our list but sadly there weren’t any events on during our visit. I wanted to include it anyways because Emily gets mentioned a lot on the pod and was even interviewed on an episode, so I would have LOVED to do this (her episode is actually one of my top 3 favorites). If you listen to the show, then you’d be familiar with her work in the food world. If you can’t snag a spot at one of the pop-ups, consider doing some pasta shopping at Raffetto’s instead! I’ll have to make this happen on my next visit.
Where to Drink
From coffee to cocktails, drinks get their fair share of mentions on the pod! Ashley and Rayna don’t actually drink *that* much these days (I’m here for those hangover-free mornings too), but their recs were 10/10. You don’t own a company called Vibes Only and have bad taste in vibes, jus sayin.
- Boris and Horton (https://borisandhorton.com/): Ashley was a regular at this dog friendly (!!) cafe. Need I say more? I don’t even have a dog and I wanted to buy all the dog merch. The coffee was delicious, and the pups were too cute. Out of all the coffee shops we went to this trip, Boris and Horton was by far our favorite.
- 787 Coffee (https://www.787coffee.com/): This was another one of Ashley’s neighborhood spots, and we loved that the beans were sourced from Puerto Rico. So good!
- Rolf’s German Restaurant (https://rolfsnyc.com/): This bar was mentioned in the early days of the podcast as being a good first date spot because it’s always Christmas-themed. Our trip was just before the holidays, so it would have been a perfect drink stop but we didn’t end up making it in. I’m definitely keeping it in mind for next time!
- Spes Natural Wine (https://www.spes.wine/) We didn’t go here because the girls started mentioning it right after our trip 🙁 but you’ll find this wine bar not even a block away from Au Za’atar. Ashley and Rayna have been raving about it, and I’m pretty sure it’s where they had their NYE party too. Is there anything better than talking shit with your girlfriends over a bottle of wine?
- East Side bar crawl: Ashley and Rayna don’t really mention specific “going out” bars on the podcast, at least none that have stuck out to me. But we wanted to do a bar crawl on the East Side in their honor anyways. We ended up at 3 spots–Jackdaw, Little Rebel, and Bella Union. Getting an espresso martini is a very GGE thing to do, and the ones at Jackdaw were soooo good. Little Rebel had fun music and celebrity mug shots all over the walls. Bella Union is a multi-story bar and was my favorite of the night. I just felt like it was more of a partying vibe and people actually co-mingled and struck up conversations here. Loved it!
What to Do
A lot of your NYC itinerary will fill up just from those eating and drinking recs above, but I did want to share a few more things that have the GGE stamp of approval (you know the GIF I’m talking about)!
- Shopping at Modern Mystic (https://modernmysticshop.com/): Kelley does Ashley’s psychic readings and has been interviewed on the pod (love her episodes), so we knew we wanted to check out her shop. It was SO BEAUTIFUL and had amazing energy–I think I actually manifested something while browsing some of the crystals. Kelley was there and spent a few minutes talking to us which was so sweet. Give yourself enough time here because literally everything is worth looking at. Even as a Harry Potter fan, I’ve never come so close to buying a spell book before in my life.
- See a comedy show at The Stand (https://thestandnyc.com/): Ashley regularly performs here, so we were hoping to catch her. It wasn’t meant to be, but I’d recommend going to a show no matter who’s performing. It was so nice inside and made for such a fun night!
- Swipe right and go on a date: If you’re visiting with any single friends, have them set up a date and put some of the skills we’ve all learned from the pod to use. An itinerary inspired by a dating podcast has to include a date 😉
- Hot tub boat tour (https://www.seathecity.com/hot-tub-boat-tours/): I feel like the girls do this at least once a year. We didn’t do this on our trip, but it looks like such a good time even for the photo ops alone!
Can’t Recommend It Enough
I love NYC so much and try to visit at least once a year, so I wanted to share some of my own personal recs in this post as well. These are the things I think fellow Snackheads like myself would enjoy! If you’ve never been to NYC before and time allows, make sure to sprinkle in a couple of the touristy things–they’re popular for a reason (think museums and Times Square and Grand Central Station and Top of the Rock and walking the Brooklyn Bridge or The High Line, etc. etc.).
- Get your portrait taken by Jean Andre Antoine (Who Says Old-Fashioned Street Photography is Dead?): This was a highlight of our trip and made for the most special souvenir. After finding Jean on the street, he took our picture on rare film using a camera from the 40s. We got to speak with him and see more of his work. Highly recommend– he won’t be doing this forever!
- See a show on Broadway (https://www.broadway.com/ ): Some shows I highly recommend for a girls weekend are SIX: The Musical (about Henry the 8th’s six wives with insane vocal performances), Funny Girl (so funny and SO New York), and Wicked (an impressive classic).
- Picnic in Central Park: I feel like no trip to NYC is complete without spending at least some time in Central Park. If you’re visiting when the weather is good, BYOB, pack a picnic, and spend a few hours lounging in the sun. Bonus points if you bring a copy of Sapiens and leave it sitting in plain view. Let me know if you get approached haha.
- Sleep No More (https://mckittrickhotel.com/sleep-no-more/#/ ): This is one of the most unique theatre experiences I’ve ever done. You’re essentially immersed in the show with the actors and can walk around to different scenes as you please. Such a good night out with friends that will leave you with so much to talk about!
- Here are some of my past NYC posts if you’re looking for more (lots of food and drink recs in these too): Culture, Concrete, & Calories: 5 Amazing Days in NYC and Summer vs. Winter: NYC Edition
Hear Me Out
It’s only right to end this guide by sharing a few of my favorite episodes of “Girls Gotta Eat.” I’m sure you’re already a fan and have heard these, but if you randomly found this post and have never listened to the show, these episodes are a good place to start! Thank you so much for reading this post–hope you found something to add to your NYC bucket list in the process 🙂
- Surviving and Thriving After A Breakup feat. Emily Fedner: after getting blindsided by a break up, how can you see the positives and move on?
- F*CK YOU Carrie Bradshaw: such a funny episode about how toxic Carrie is… this is the first GGE ep I ever listened to!
- What You Need to Know About Finding (and Keeping) Love with Jay Shetty: Ashley highlights this interview as one of her favorites and I loved it as well.
- Cheating Isn’t Black and White feat. Esther Perel: Rayna’s self-proclaimed favorite episode of the pod. Esther is a genius. I listen to her podcast and have read one of her books and find everything she has to say so profound. I cannot get enough of her take on relationships.
- The Power of Female Friendship: The episodes where it’s just Ashley and Rayna with no guests are some of the best! This one was their 5 year anniversary episode, so there’s a mix of everything that’s great about them!
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