New York is an international hub. It is a very convenient place to be if you want to learn and meet other cultures, but don’t feel like travelling too far or too often.

New York, as New Yorkers say, is ever-changing. You might rent a room in so-called deprived neighborhood and then one day find yourself in a young, vibrant, artistic borough, with a ton of pop-up stores, eye-catching exhibits, neat coffee shops, and hipster bars.  

What once was an Italian neighborhood now is a lively Asian community and vice-versa.

The two ways to fast-learn cultures in New York is through food and street art.

So here are a couple of suggestions for foodies out there. You can go on an ice-cream tour, bagel adventure, or choose to go from Asia to Europe and try dumplings and spaghetti in one night.

These are the locations I visited and found them exquisite.

Ice cream shops to visit:

Ice and Vice
Address: 221 E Broadway

Van Leeuwen
Address: 1625 2nd Ave

Morgenstern’s Finest Ice cream
Address: 2 Rivington Street

Il Laboratorio del Gelato
Address: 188 Ludlow Street

OddFellows Ice Cream
Address: 175 Kent Ave

Try iconic New York bagels at the following locations:

Ess-a-Bagel
 Address: 831 3rd Ave

Absolute Bagel
Address: 2788 Broadway

Kossar’s
Address: 367 Grand Street

The Bagel Store
Address: 754 Metropolitan Ave

Best dumplings can be found at:

Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle
Address:40 Bowery

Delicious’est hand-pulled noodles are served at:

Xi’an famous foods
Address: 45 Bayard St

While you are strolling from one food place to another, don’t forget to look around and enjoy the street art that is omnipresent. It’s so eloquently fitted into the nooks and crannies of the side streets that it’s easy to miss. But once you spot a couple of them accidentally you will start finding them everywhere.

I don’t like museums anymore, especially in summer when all you want is to be under the sun enjoying the warm weather. If you appreciate the free-spirited street art then welcome to New York – a large street art museum under the open sky!