New York City Green Book
The wellness list: culty matcha and juice bars, favorite GF and plant-based spots, banyas and classes that rival LA's…from OG to new-school hippie, we’ve got you covered (without an Erewhon in sight).
A couple of months ago, our friend Brooks Reitz wrote a post in his newsletter A Small and Simple Thing about a recent visit to the city in which he and his wife decided to lean more green juice and less martini. It made me think about how there are some cities that seem to call for old-school steakhouses and classic bars, and then there are others (think LA, Seattle) where you’re booking an infrared sauna at the end of the day. Given that it’s winter, when many of us are focused on rebooting and detoxing, or just plain getting hot (it’s been a particularly cold one in New York), we wanted to give you our wellness list, which we decided we should call our Green Book (a twist on our NYC Black Book). As always, we’re so grateful for our friends who so generously give us their personal favorites. I can’t wait to get back and try all of these out! —Yolanda Edwards
P.S. We don’t have a hotels section (see our Black Book for that!), but included are a few hotel spas in here (all but one open to the public), where obviously you’ll have priority access if you stay.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
Angela Shore is the creative director and founder of Jiva-Apoha (Soul-Healing), beautifully scented holistic Ayurvedic oils infused with indigenous principles. Since her studies and travels in India, she gravitates to NYC spots that emulate those experiences.
Brooks Reitz is the founder of Jack Rudy Cocktail Co., owner of several epic restaurants in Charleston, and the author of one of our favorite newsletters, A Small and Simple Thing. His post on Wellness in NYC inspired us to pull this list together!
Camille Becerra is a chef, food stylist and recipe developer whose health-forward cafés (De Maria, Café Henry) have been favorites of ours. Now the chef at cool community hub As You Are at the Brooklyn Ace Hotel, her highly anticipated first cookbook, Bright Cooking is out in June.
Chrissy Rutherford is a brand consultant, mental health advocate, author of the FWD Joy newsletter and host of Maybelline’s “I’m fine, You?” podcast.
Christine Muhlke, a former editor at T Magazine and Bon Appétit, is deeply plugged into the worlds of food, travel, fashion, design, and wellness. She’s also the author of the xtine newsletter, founder of Bureau X culinary consultancy, and her most recent books include Wine Simple and Signature Dishes That Matter.
Claudia Lebenthal is the editor and founder of Style of Sport, a high-energy celebration of sport and its intersection with fashion, design, art, news and culture. Follow her on her “52 Weeks of Fitness” project—she’s basically tried every cool gym in the city.
Emilie Hawtin is the founder of Clementina, a tailoring and editorial project collaborating with tailors, shirtmakers, and shoemakers, but she’s also a marathoner and a relentless researcher, always seeking the healthy path.
Jonas Sundstrom is a designer at J. Mueser and the co-founder of En Passant, who is our vegan consigliere.
Kerrilynn Pamer is the founder of CAP Beauty, one of our longtime go-tos for natural beauty and clean skincare, and for wellness tips on her blog, The Thinking Cap.
Larissa Thomson, is the founder of ONDA Beauty, our favorite place for a facial or massage in the city, hands down.
Laurie Cole is a founding instructor at SoulCycle (her Soho classes draw a cult following including us), an actor, advocate for movement, and avid traveler who’s always looking for the best workouts (and croissants) in other cities. We love her motto: “Always plan the next trip on the plane ride back.”
Lia Ronnen is the VP, publisher and editorial director of Artisan Books (which published all of Matt’s books!), and Workman Publishing. She’s spent years navigating the city as a gluten-free and pescatarian eater and shared her favorite lunch spots with us.
Lucinda Scala Quinn, cookbook author and founder of Mad Hungry, has frequented NYC’s old-school health haunts for years. Her new cookbook comes out from Artisan in 2025.
Michele Promaulayko is steeped in the health and wellness world—most recently as VP of content for The Well, a NYC-based spa and functional medicine practice. Previously she was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Yahoo Health and Women’s Health.
Nicole Berrie is the author of Body Harmony and founder of everyone’s favorite West Village plant-based grab-and-go spot, Bonberi Mart.
Pilar Guzmán is the editorial director of Oprah Daily, a friend who’s always had a knack for finding the best body workers and other wellness recs.