Journalist Esther Bégin has just spent two years in New York. She drew from her stay a notebook of her best addresses, just to share her passion for a city without equal…
Updated March 30, 2012
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In December 2009, accompanied by her spouse John Parisella, sent to New York as the Quebec delegate, Esther Bégin moved to the American metropolis with three objectives in mind. Set up there as a correspondent for various media, obtain a degree from an American university (it will be New York University) and return to Montreal perfectly bilingual. Triple success, crowned by the publication these days of its Diary of a stroller in New Yorkin which she delivers her best addresses, the fruit of two years of intensely enjoying the city.
On the Upper East Side, Esther Bégin comes across a couple from Quebec, with her article in their pocket. The Pressabout a diner neighborhood. One day, she sees customers of the Halal Cart (Midtown) who hold in their hands the latest issue of the magazine Ricardo, where she praises the merits of the canteen. The same kind of phenomenon is repeated at Eataly, for which she was enthusiastic one morning, on the show of Christiane Charrette. Impossible to deny it, says Esther Bégin: Quebecers have a close, passionate relationship with New York.
scrapbook of memories
From this discovery was born the idea of making, little by little, this notebook, a hybrid object, at the crossroads of the tourist guide and the souvenir album. Added to this is the fact that as soon as she arrives, the journalist, curious about everything, sets out to get to know and list the city down to its smallest detours. Without wasting a second, she visits the restaurants listed by the critics of the New York Timesretains the addresses proposed by the Time Out New York. Her professional assignments, word of mouth, walks: all roads lead her to conquer the Big Apple.
In the final version of the guide, 125 addresses were selected. We had to make choices, establish criteria. The watchword: to disorient the tourist a little, first. But above all, keep only the emblematic addresses of New York on a daily basis. “Only the places, specifies the author, where I had my bearings, where I had my habits. The only criterion, in fact, was me!” She assumes, even claims the very personal character of her Notebook. We even manage to guess, between the lines, her preferences for certain neighborhoods: the Upper West Side, the Meatpacking District, Brooklyn… A special place is also reserved for Midtown, where she lived until last January.
The expatriate, we feel, quickly found herself in “friendly territory” in Manhattan. The culture shock, as she likes to tell it, lasted for… 15 minutes. Maximum: “As soon as I got off the plane, I became a New Yorker.” Did certain aspects of the city seem to him more astonishing, more disconcerting? She answers on the spot: “Yes, the kindness of the people. I didn’t expect New Yorkers to be such pleasant people to be around. Humorous, open-minded. They have confidence, their madness is contagious…”
“Contagious madness…” is the secret of New York, which makes it so fascinating, believes Esther Bégin. “Yes, people lead crazy lives in New York. But madness is the norm. I’m talking about good madness. There is never anything crazy enough, not a project, not an idea. There is such a positive energy about the city. It’s so intoxicating.”
The return
The real shock, his relatives had predicted when he returned to Montreal. However, it is not. “I’m rediscovering the city!” she said enthusiastically. She is full of praise for the Quebec metropolis: a city on a human scale, where economic vitality is exceptional: “We build everywhere!” Until finding there, ultimate compliment, tunes of New York. A bit of the Meatpacking District in Griffintown. A bit of Brooklyn in the Mile End.
New York in five words? In order: diversity, creativity, madness, audacity and energy. Living in this “pure concentrate of positive energy”, she concludes, opened her horizons. With the release of his Diary of a stroller in New York: my best addresses, we knew that Esther Bégin had conquered the Big Apple. There is no longer any doubt now that the city has conquered it too.
Five surprising addresses
1 Ten Bells
A wine bar doubled as a bistro named in “homage” to the pub where Jack the Ripper used to meet his victims… dark and unique.
The center of Korean business, in the shadow of the Empire State Building. A well-kept secret.
métro: 34th St. et Herald Square
5 The Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn
Around the “Main” of the neighborhood, Rue Van Brunt.
subway: Carroll St. (at least 5 min. walk).
Five favorites among the favorites
1 Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot.
2 Battery Park City. Near the World Financial Center complex: “The seaside, but right in the heart of New York.”
3 Roberta’s in Brooklyn. “It’s as if Roberta’s had made a nest in the garage yard of a run-down building. But even the New York Times calls it one of the most extraordinary restaurants in the United States.”
4 The High Line. This urban park laid out on a disused railway line that overlooks Manhattan.
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In December 2009, accompanied by her spouse John Parisella, sent to New York as the Quebec delegate, Esther Bégin moved to the American metropolis with three objectives in mind. Set up there as a correspondent for various media, obtain a degree from an American university (it will be New York University) and return to Montreal perfectly bilingual. Triple success, crowned by the publication these days of its Diary of a stroller in New Yorkin which she delivers her best addresses, the fruit of two years of intensely enjoying the city.
On the Upper East Side, Esther Bégin comes across a couple from Quebec, with her article in their pocket. The Pressabout a diner neighborhood. One day, she sees customers of the Halal Cart (Midtown) who hold in their hands the latest issue of the magazine Ricardo, where she praises the merits of the canteen. The same kind of phenomenon is repeated at Eataly, for which she was enthusiastic one morning, on the show of Christiane Charrette. Impossible to deny it, says Esther Bégin: Quebecers have a close, passionate relationship with New York.
scrapbook of memories
From this discovery was born the idea of making, little by little, this notebook, a hybrid object, at the crossroads of the tourist guide and the souvenir album. Added to this is the fact that as soon as she arrives, the journalist, curious about everything, sets out to get to know and list the city down to its smallest detours. Without wasting a second, she visits the restaurants listed by the critics of the New York Timesretains the addresses proposed by the Time Out New York. Her professional assignments, word of mouth, walks: all roads lead her to conquer the Big Apple.
In the final version of the guide, 125 addresses were selected. We had to make choices, establish criteria. The watchword: to disorient the tourist a little, first. But above all, keep only the emblematic addresses of New York on a daily basis. “Only the places, specifies the author, where I had my bearings, where I had my habits. The only criterion, in fact, was me!” She assumes, even claims the very personal character of her Notebook. We even manage to guess, between the lines, her preferences for certain neighborhoods: the Upper West Side, the Meatpacking District, Brooklyn… A special place is also reserved for Midtown, where she lived until last January.
The expatriate, we feel, quickly found herself in “friendly territory” in Manhattan. The culture shock, as she likes to tell it, lasted for… 15 minutes. Maximum: “As soon as I got off the plane, I became a New Yorker.” Did certain aspects of the city seem to him more astonishing, more disconcerting? She answers on the spot: “Yes, the kindness of the people. I didn’t expect New Yorkers to be such pleasant people to be around. Humorous, open-minded. They have confidence, their madness is contagious…”
“Contagious madness…” is the secret of New York, which makes it so fascinating, believes Esther Bégin. “Yes, people lead crazy lives in New York. But madness is the norm. I’m talking about good madness. There is never anything crazy enough, not a project, not an idea. There is such a positive energy about the city. It’s so intoxicating.”
The return
The real shock, his relatives had predicted when he returned to Montreal. However, it is not. “I’m rediscovering the city!” she said enthusiastically. She is full of praise for the Quebec metropolis: a city on a human scale, where economic vitality is exceptional: “We build everywhere!” Until finding there, ultimate compliment, tunes of New York. A bit of the Meatpacking District in Griffintown. A bit of Brooklyn in the Mile End.
New York in five words? In order: diversity, creativity, madness, audacity and energy. Living in this “pure concentrate of positive energy”, she concludes, opened her horizons. With the release of his Diary of a stroller in New York: my best addresses, we knew that Esther Bégin had conquered the Big Apple. There is no longer any doubt now that the city has conquered it too.
Five surprising addresses
1 Ten Bells
A wine bar doubled as a bistro named in “homage” to the pub where Jack the Ripper used to meet his victims… dark and unique.
247, Broome St. 212-228-4450 thetenbells.com métro: Delancey St., Bowery, Grand St. ou Essex St.
2 Roberta’s Encore!
261, Moore St., Brooklyn. 718-417-1118 robertaspizza.com subway: Morgan Av.
3 Katz’s Delicatessen
Since 1888, a pure New York experience…
205, E. Houston St. 212-254-2246 katzsdelicatessen.com subway: 2nd Avenue
4 Korea Town
The center of Korean business, in the shadow of the Empire State Building. A well-kept secret.
métro: 34th St. et Herald Square
5 The Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn
Around the “Main” of the neighborhood, Rue Van Brunt.
subway: Carroll St. (at least 5 min. walk).
Five favorites among the favorites
1 Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot.
2 Battery Park City. Near the World Financial Center complex: “The seaside, but right in the heart of New York.”
3 Roberta’s in Brooklyn. “It’s as if Roberta’s had made a nest in the garage yard of a run-down building. But even the New York Times calls it one of the most extraordinary restaurants in the United States.”
4 The High Line. This urban park laid out on a disused railway line that overlooks Manhattan.
5 The Upper West Side, in full.
Photo Photos.com
Le quartier Upper West Side
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