Jack's Wife Freda

I'm sure you can tell by now that downtown is my favorite place to be in all of Manhattan. That being said... there are still some places downtown that I can't stand. One of these places is pretty well known and is bustling with activity; this neighborhood is called SoHo. The place is just like a Time Square number two with a smaller people amount of people roaming through. When I say it's a Time Square number two, I don't mean it has billboards all over the place and flashing lights. What I do mean though is that it is swarmed by tourists on the daily.

Now, as much as I don't like SoHo, and this kills me to say, one of my favorite restaurants comes from this small, hipster neighborhood. Jack's Wife Freda is located on Lafayette Street between Broome and Spring Street; they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and have an array of items for everyone to enjoy. This place is always packed and I can almost guarantee that, if you go here, you'll have to wait behind a few people before getting to enjoy this gem of an establishment (seriously, it's that good).

image by jackswifefreda

There isn't a time of day during any time of the week that this place isn't absolutely packed to the brim. In my personal opinion, the best time of day to go is brunch; what better way to start your day than with a Mediterranean Breakfast?! The food served at Jack's Wife Freda is American-Mediterranean and is seriously too good to be true. If you enjoy Mediterranean food or anything with a bit of spice on it to really enjoy what you're eating, then you should go here.

Also, the story behind the way the owners of this restaurant met is one of my all time favorites. The two were separately on vacation in New York and went to a place called Balthazar (I went to this restaurant in London and I highly recommend!!). The two decided that they wanted to be together; The owner Dean being from South Africa and owner Maya being from Israel. Long story short, after coming to New York they opened up Jack's Wife Freda and named it after Dean's grandparents. How cute is that?!

Another really cool thing about this place is the way the restaurant is spaced out. Pretty much everybody sits together at a table, this makes coming here alone for a cup of coffee and a quick breakfast really nice and easy. This open space also allows people to talk to strangers, if they so desire; the atmosphere is always comfortable and welcoming here.

As much as I don't like SoHo, I'd say the subway trip down to Spring Street is definitely worth getting off at for Jack's Wife Freda. If SoHo isn't your cup of tea though, like it isn't for me, there is now a Jack's Wife Freda in the West Village! I've yet to try it, but I can almost guarantee that it'd be just as good as the original!