41 Best NYC Gifts That Aren't an “I Heart NY” T-Shirt

21.10.2024 - 21:39 / cntraveler.com / Meghan Markle

Spend any time in New York City and you’ll invariably encounter a shop selling “New York City Gifts.” And while there’s nothing wrong with a miniature Statue of Liberty or “Daddy’s Little Meatball” T-shirt in theory, the versions of these items you’ll find at street level are pretty poorly made. And annoyingly, these stores rarely list prices, operating on the fact that they can probably sell the same thing to two sets of customers at wildly different prices.

Hopefully, you know how to haggle. If you don’t though, there are ample ways to collect souvenirs of your time in New York that don’t require the skill. Plenty of New York City institutions will ship their collectibles directly to your house. You can get relics from the city’s best museums, foods from its best restaurants, even models of the cars from the occasionally functional subway system. Best of all, you won’t need to make room in your already rotund suitcase to bring them back home.

Read on for 40+ of the best NYC gifts for locals, former residents, and anyone enamored with the Big Apple.

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For over a decade, Rubirosa has been slinging delicious pies and pastas that have earned it fans like Meghan Markle, who referred to it as the “holy grail” of pizza, and Michelin reviewers, who deemed it worthy of a Bib Gourmand in 2012. If you miss the chance to visit the cozy Nolita space, buy its pasta sampler, or a box of its sauces and olive oil, to make at home.

You have to actually visit Cobble Hill staple Frankies 457 in order to try its best dishes, like the cavatelli that’s paired with hot sausage, sage, and brown butter. But you can get the absolutely luscious, spiced olive oil they often drizzle on the pies at their pizza place next door. It’s a very delicious consolation prize.

There is a cheaper way to get bagels back home—namely, just buying a dozen from whatever great shop is closest to your hotel the morning of your flight and putting it in a plastic bag. If you forget though, these H&H bagels will save you a lot of grief from whoever is waiting for you at home.

Di Fara is located so deep into Brooklyn that even most New Yorkers haven’t been. Make sure whoever is lucky enough to be with you when you pull these out of the oven knows they’re being treated.

Fans of “Hot Ones,” the show with hot questions and even hotter wings, should know the team sources its hot sauces with the help of Heatonist, a hot sauce emporium in Brooklyn. To get someone to try the 10 sauces celebrity guests are subjected to, just tell them it's a condition of New York City citizenship.

Even though it’s been open since the 19th century, Peter Luger can still be a tough reservation to claim. Not to worry, if you’re at all competent behind the stove, the