Lo-Fi’s Victoria Canty on the Lower East Side’s best kept secrets

On apertifs and low ABV cocktails:

I first got involved in the world of whiskies and amaros when I worked at Locanda in San Francisco after I graduated from fashion school and was doing freelance film for Google. That interest transferred when I moved to New York and was part of the opening bar staff at Dante, where there is also an apertif culture. I worked my way up to an Events Coordinator which and because of these large parties and events I was creating, Lo-Fi Apertifs offered me a job as a part-time ambassador in New York and I decided to just focus on that and my work in freelance film. It made sense to me to start to focus more on brand experiences. I identify with Lo-Fi because the botanicals and wines allow me to put part of what I loved about San Francisco into my New York life.

By the way, I still go to Dante three times a week. It’s an all-day cafe where everything from the bar is exquisite and you can use your computer and get a good cup of coffee and your low ABV cocktails. It’s been in the West Village for 103 years. There’s something to be said for wanting to hang out for long periods of time at a place you used to work.

On the Lower East Side:

I’m obsessed with this little corner of the Lower East Side…not up where Ludlow House is. In New York, it’s easy to get lost and for some reason this little area hasn’t turned into what the rest of the Lower East Side is.

Little Canal on the corner of East Broadway and Canal is this tiny coffee shop that has oat milk and the best coffee organic cream cheese and bagels that are super delicious. They turn into a wine bar at 4pm with happy hour specials and it creates this coffee shop vibe where everyone knows each other.

Right around there is Cervos, a really amazing tapas style restaurant. My favorite thing is their lamb burger with anchovies. It’s so not what you find anywhere else in New York and reminds me of the way I was eating in San Francisco. Even though I love steak and cabernet, I have a soft spot for this very California-style of eating.

Scarr's Pizza on Orchard - outside there is a neon glowing sign and always a line of people waiting to get slices from a heated case. If you don’t look carefully you might miss the fact that there is an entire back room with wood paneling and an old Pepsi sign that looks like it’s from the 60s... it reminds me of a BBQ spot in Tennessee. The funniest thing is that you get your amazing $2 slice of pizza and go to back then then all they have on the menu is natural wines. The owner is a guy named Scarr Pimentel who used to work at Joe’s Pizza (among other pizza greats) and then decided to do his own thing on the Lower East Side. He’s a big dude and so nice.

Across the street is Regina’s, where they make these delicious sandwiches with broccoli rabe and balsamic reduction and peppers. There are all these funny Italian jars of things around, like old medicinal hangover tablets. I like Dimes but every time I go there are no seats!

On the next corner is a bar called Up Stairs Bar with karaoke and you sit at the bar to sing and not all the words are not right and there might be a random tiger running in the background of the video. One time I walked in and there were 4 people asleep on one side of the bar and someone else was singing by themselves on the end and the woman bartending is telling everyone how cute they are. It’s really no frills. You think you are walking upstairs to an office.

A new friend of mine owns Brigitte and last time I was there he knew everyone that came in. That never happens anymore anywhere else in New York. It’s easy to not pay attention and be in your own little world and the Lower East Side to Chinatown border has become this little land of things and places where there people still all know each other. People basically stop at Grand Street... it’s like they are afraid of the bus stop.

On her Brooklyn go-tos:

Most of my favorite places are in the Boerum Hills area. Prime Meats, which is part of the same group as Frankie’s, is a place to be cozy - everything is exquisite and just mouthwateringly good. It’s a very neighborhoodly, old-school style that keeps on going strong.

Rucola, which was created by people who used to work at Prime Meats, has built a great connection between food and service.

June is in the same neighborhood and a place you could walk right past. It’s a really unique bar which has all these obscure and wacky dishes that I think are amazing.

On Fat Radish & heritage farming:

As a side project, Natalie at The Fat Radish asked me to redevelop their bar menu - it’s a passion project for me. I had never been to the restaurant before November, but it is magic - so cute and cool and the food is insane. It’s had its heyday with fashion influencer scene but it’s really this organic, hip, comfortable spot. It’s very veggie focused but they don’t try to throw the farm-to-table thing in your face. It’s still food you can indulge in.

At Fat Radish, if there’s meat involved, the veggies are still the highlight, and the meat is from heritage farms. (And what is Heritage Farming?) We are essentially just breeding the same breeds of pigs (or other livestock) and the other breeds of pigs just fall off the map. Heritage farms focus on keeping a purpose for the other breeds by keeping the lineages of other breeds alive. Vegetables, too - there are all these other breeds that are mapped out and we don’t get any of the offshoot breeds normally. I hope this trend continues as it helps make room for all of the smaller farms. As far as the bar program goes, I’m taking what the kitchen is doing and turning it into drinks, but that’s another story.

On her most recommended suggestions from her bartending days:

When I worked behind the bar, I would always make lists for people visiting New York and anyone reading this is going to recognize some of these places from my list. First, I always recommend Mile End Deli, which is like a Canadian Jewish deli where chefs come in and do a special monthly poutine and they have latkes and black seed bagels.

My other guilty pleasure is the Butcher’s Daughter Carbonara -- it’s spaghetti squash with tahini you mix in and it’s super duper garlicky.

Veselka (for pierogies) is just one of the best place in New York.

Tony Danza owns Alleva in Little Italy and there is a great sandwich named after him. He is often there. The guys that work there want to know your name and talk to you about your life - it’s old school.

I pried on her uptown favorites and she suggested Gramercy Tavern.

I know it’s not exactly uptown, but I don’t go up there much! I always have a nice experience; the drinks and the food and the service are incredible and it’s very reliable.

Tons of people I know go to Seamstress on the Upper East Side. Everyone that works there is great - especially Pam, and Jeremy when he was there.

And we’re back downtown.

Ghost Donkey is the most fun place in the world. It’s a Mezcal bar that used to be called Madame Geneva on Bowery and Bleecker. The bartender is Nacho and he loves everyone and is a great presence behind the bar. I recommend that place to everyone and I’ve never heard of anyone going there and not having a good time.

On her ideal day off

I try to spend my whole day off with my dog and take her on these long walks. I end up finding all these places that are dog friendly and tend to have great summer vibes. We sit outside at Roberta’s where there is a huge backyard and all these amazing pizzas and even their side dishes are delicious. It’s nice to find a place that does what it does well without all the bells and whistles.

On what people don’t know about her:

I used to be an extra on Dawson’s Creek. I grew up in Myrtle, South Carolina and I would drive up to Wilmington and we made friends with the actors so we could hang out on set instead of where the rest of the extras were.

On her favorite New York sweet treat:

Dank Banana Bread, which I get at Gimme! Coffee in Brooklyn, pulls me in everytime. It’s a palm size loaf with chocolate chips and cinnamon. Sometimes I buy two so I can have one in the wings. Every time I tell people about it they get mad at me because now they need it too.

On what she loves about the industry:

I’m genuinely interested in the human side. There aren’t a lot of other industries where you can learn about people in the same way. There’s a barrier that goes away in a bar. There’s not the same openness or unspoken relationship when you sit next to someone in a theatre. The bar becomes an entryway - it’s a place where people can be themselves or you as the bartender open that door from them. There’s always someone who just needs to have a drink and sit at the bar and talk about politics and spirituality. It’s this funny land of possibilities that’s not anywhere else and it’s all about the food and drinks that bring people together.

On her top 3 San Francisco favorites:

When I go home I make sure to go to Ichi, Bar Crudo, and Nopa. I am such a Nopa fan. I also have to go to Turtle Tower on 23rd and Geary every time I go home.

On her weekend getaways:

When I lived in San Francisco, I loved the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur.  

In New York, my weekend thing is to go to Phoneicia in the Catskills and rent a room at the Roxbury Shell House. It looks like a shell or a 70s gym built on a big plot of land. My friends and I go on hikes always to the Phoenicia Diner. The blog Escape Brooklyn always has fun adventures for the weekend in the Hamptons and on the North Fork too.

On her last great vacation:

I’m a workaholic and I don’t go away a lot but there’s a place called Playa Escondida in Sayulita, Mexico that has these houses built into a jungle covered hill. It is run by an American who is really into yoga and set up this hotel piece by piece and he made sure there was space to do yoga and also be a special and unique place integrated into nature. Hector is the the bartender that goes from the beach bar during the day to regular bar at night and he the first time he meets you he never forgets you. That’s the best personality traits of a bartender.

I also visited this really amazing place in Marfa, which is this weird dessert art town in the middle of Texas that I don’t know how it came into existence. El Cosmico has these airstream trailers you stay in and they have bands that come through and play music. It’s a weird little campground and one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited.