Summer in the City
You Really Can, and Should, Make Every Day a Summer Friday
MAYBE BECAUSE IT'S SUMMER, or that I just did a long stretch outside of the city on a road trip, or possibly because I recently got to spend an intensive workshop week at Columbia University mentoring a bunch of mostly from out-of-town students interested in breaking into the publishing space, but I’ve been thinking more than I usually do about how much I love New York City and how much it offers, all day, every day, but especially in the summertime. It never fails to surprise, and there is always some amazing new discovery just around the corner, whether that’s in your own neighborhood, near your office, or some distant spot towards the end of the subway line. That was how I felt instantly when we moved here over 20 years ago, and it still holds true to this very day.
So this seemed like a good time to share some of my NYC recommendations, which I have been meaning to do. So many writers and publishing folks who don’t live here regularly make their way to the city for book events, conferences, festivals, classes, business meetings, and more. I figured I’d gather up some of the pointers and suggestions I share in emails to visiting friends and colleagues into a post, one that I can add to from time to time.
And even for those who live here and know the city well, it’s always fun to trade notes. I’m always all ears when someone tells me about their favorite new place to eat or some cool new venue/exhibit/program they’ve just experienced, so by all means, share your recs and favs in the comments.
Without further ado, here are some of my recs, starting first and foremost with the mythical NYC slice:
SLICE OF THE GOOD LIFE
Get to Luigi’s in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, for a quintessential NYC pizza eating experience. It’s a family run, longtime staple of the neighborhood, and it will absolutely deliver what you seek when you are are craving that authentic NYC slice. Truth is, I’m grateful and game for the any and all options on the slice joint front, but this is the place I always recommend.
HAVE IT BOTH WAYS
Keeping things healthy, this is my go-to for cupcakes (and no, it’s not related to Sex and the City): Sugar Sweet Sunshine in the Lower East Side. Light and airy, both the cake and frosting. Tastes like the best-ever homemade cupcakes. I opt for the pistachio cupcake, but I must admit that we never just order one (they are all delicious).
JUST MAKE IT HOTTER
Craving noodles (despite the summer heat)? Make your way to Super Taste in Chinatown. Order at the register, angle for a seat at one of the few tables, and prepare to be enraptured by a heavenly bolt of spiced up deliciousness.
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
Forget the fancy, and go the way of the classic donut, which is old school and straightforward, at Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
ROLL WITH IT
Plenty of amazing options for Indian street food, but a great spot to check out for kati rolls is Thelewala in the Greenwich Village. Just a few stools at this compact spot, but these sumptuous wraps are easy to eat on-the-go, and since this place is right near Washington Square Park, you can just on-the-go yourself to a park bench and feast on your kati rolls while people/skateboard-watching in the storied NYC park.
Okay, that’s enough with the food recs. These are all very affordable, not-fancy spots, that, to me, far outshine the higher priced fare. Of course everyone has their own tastes and there are truly endless options. These days, the way I find the best food recs, in NYC and beyond, is Reddit. I just search the name of the town and, for example, “best donuts,” and boom, I get a great thread that helps me figure out my plan. I don’t want the influencer vids, just let me hear from the locals who are sharing their on-the-ground favs.
And in terms of a newsletter for solid recs on cheap eats in the city, check out longtime restaurant critic Robert Sietsema’s New York.
PARK YOURSELF IN THIS PARKING LOT
You’ve no doubt heard about or gotten to see Shakespeare in the Park. But have you ever been to Shakespeare in the Parking Lot? This is a scrappy and beautiful way to experience Shakespeare, in, yes, a parking lot in the Lower East Side — moving cars and passerbys and all the usual commotion of a city block swirling all around. And unlike Shakespeare in the Park, you don’t have to get up before the crack of dawn to wait in line for tix — you can just walk into the parking lot, throw down a blanket, and watch the magic unfold. Visit the production company’s website for full details — drillingcompany.org. They’re doing As You Like It this summer, July 16 through August 1, 2026.
Before the show, go pick up some dumplings and a few sesame pancake sandwiches at Vanessa’s Dumpling House. It’s an old standby for us, and it never lets us down. Cheap and absolutely will both hit the spot and fill you up.
WHERE EXCESS SCREEN TIME IS A GOOD THING
Skip the summer blockbusters and go check out some indie films in nontraditional screening venues throughout the city, like Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, via Rooftop Film’s terrific programming. Another fun movie night option is to watch a film in Brooklyln Bridge Park, with the forever five-star++++ Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. But if you’re just in the mood to get out of the heat and spend some time in movie theater darkness, I recommend either Film Forum in Greenwich Village, or Metrograph in the Lower East Side. Both venues are always showing an eclectic mix of classics and newly released independent films. I recently got to see Memoria, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, at Metrograph — was so happy to finally get to experience that film in a theater, because it had a very unique approach to how and when you could see it.
MUSEUMING
Check out the Morgan Library & Museum in Midtown. Pro-tip: it’s free on Friday evenings (RSVP required). And of note is that right now through Oct 25, 2026, there is a Peter Hujar exhibit. I've been fascinated by Hujar ever since I saw Peter Hujar’s Day (at Film Forum!), so this is high on my to-do list.
And while you certainly know about MoMA in midtown, make sure you also get to MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. In addition to groundbreaking, edgier exhibits, it runs a great outdoor music series (in the expansive courtyard) over six Fridays in July and August (starting July 24), and also hosts Printed Matter’s annual Art Book Fair (this year’s fair takes place Sept 11-14).
So many more recs to share. Will be sure to add to this post in the coming weeks. But in the meantime, here are a few resources that make it their mission to keep you in the loop on goings-on worth checking out.
NYC RESOURCE RECS
You can always count on Tyler Wetherall’s Reading the City to get you up to speed on the literary happenings in NYC.
For art openings and gallery scene news, check out New York Art List — a very interesting and useful experiment in art mapping from researcher and writer Alex Feim.
And if you just want to get a weekly dose of cool events and things to do in NYC, check out Alexa Weiser’s aptly named City Happenings.
Alexa and Alex recently collaborated on a “perfect literary life in NYC” post. Read it here.
RECENT PUBLISHING / LITERARY ITEMS WORTH CHECKING OUT
This is separate from the NYC recs — just cool things that have come across my feed recently that I wanted to share.
Want to know what the book industry folks are doing during summer, in terms of submissions to agents and editors? Read this informative post from lit agent Danielle Bukowski.
Love this joyful post from Juhu Thukral about the electric World Cup vibes. I can definitely feel the positive energy and community, and am very grateful for it.
Sandhya Jain-Patel, who has been sharing about her WIP and exploring Masala Romance (even establishing a unique rating system) in her excellent newsletter, is developing a podcast and in search of a co-host. Looks like a really fun opportunity — full details here.
Great recap of the recent Beacon LitFest from Beacon resident and writer Jackie Corley.
Jerry Portwood’s Queer Love Project showcased its first community-inspired poetry drop. Check it out here. And there’s currently an open call for poems, so consider submitting some of your own for possible inclusion in future poetry-focused posts.
Another way to keep poetry front and center in your feed is by subscribing to Philly Chapbook Review, which consistently showcases poems and poets, and also sends out a weekly round-up of new poetry collections. Special thanks to the editor, Aiden Hunt, for highlighting Heather Sellers’ latest book, Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators, in a recent post.
Three authors who had their debut novels come out this year — Juliet Izon (The Encore), Portia Elan (Homebound), and Sara Maurer (A Good Animal)— are joining forces to share all the details about their debut publishing journeys at P&T Knitwear on July 15. Full details here.
Juliet was just featured on librarian Jen Jumba’ Storied Account podcast. Absolutely worth a listen, as are all the other episodes of this great new author-focused program. Jen clearly does a deep read of the books she’s spotlighting, and asks the authors truly incisive and engaging questions — this is no surprise at all, given that Jen comes from the library realm.
Thanks as always for reading, commenting, and sharing.
In book publishing land, Fridays in the summer are known as “Summer Fridays,” where some companies close down earlier on that glorious last day of the work week, from Memorial Day through Labor Day. My high level recommendation: definitely bring some of that tradition into your everyday — after all, you’re going to need the extra hours to take advantage of all the fun things summer has to offer, in NYC and beyond.
— Jeffrey Yamaguchi
jeffreyyamaguchi.com
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ABOUT THE WRITER OF THIS NEWSLETTER
Jeffrey Yamaguchi is a longtime publishing professional currently working directly with authors and publishers to successfully build their platforms and launch their books. You can find out more about his marketing and publicity services by visiting his website.
What a great list Jeffrey! We had cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine at our wedding 😋
This is incredibly helpful! I will be sure to see as much as I can while I'm here—Sugar Sweet Sunshine is definitely top of the list. :)