Carol Lim

WHAT WOULD THE TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY BE?  “Make It Happen”

WHAT CAN’T YOU TRAVEL WITHOUT? My toiletries. One of my mottoes is: if my skin feels good, then I’m ok!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION?  Asia! All parts of it. To me, there are very few places where the food and shopping are as superior as what you can find in Asia.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN NYC?  Since I’ve been blessed with my two little ones, my dream Sunday would be to sleep in, indulge in a large brunch, and treat myself to a massage!

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE ONE PERSON TO SHOW YOU “THEIR NEW YORK CITY,” WHO WOULD IT BE?  My friend Carrie Imberman, who runs Kentshire Gallery.  She was born and raised in New York, and her knowledge of all interesting things in New York is unsurpassed.

WHO HAS INSPIRED YOU RECENTLY?  Humberto, always, for his endless creativity.  He surprises me every day.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE NYC RESTAURANTS?  I really like Dimes, and honestly, I would recommend their entire menu. My office at OC also really favors the organic smoothies and juices at Madhufalla, which is in Nolita; the green smoothie is amazing.  Also, there are two incredible dessert places I’ve recently discovered: Snowdays Shavery for shaved ice and Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream.  The “snow cream” at Snowdays is not made with water or ice; they actually freeze the cream and make shavings from that, so the flavor is throughout the entire dessert. At Morgenstern’s, there is such a wide offering of all kinds of delicious flavors, but chocolate oat ice cream is my favorite.  

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO SPOT IN NYC FOR DRINKS? I discovered a new place called Hi-Collar on East 10th Street in the East Village; I love their sake and coffee offerings.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE NYC BRUNCH SPOTS? Bacaro just started a brunch menu, which is really great.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR ART FIX IN NYC, AND DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST?  Walking through Chelsea is definitely a favorite pastime it’s hard to pick one artist, but if forced to, I’d have to say I love the work of my good friend Marcel Dzama.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE LATE-NIGHT HANGOUTS IN NYC?  Paul’s Cocktail Lounge and The Boiler Room.  These two places are favorites of Humberto’s and mine–we’ve spent some of our best nights with our friends there!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MUST-DO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NYC VISITORS?  For under-the-radar things to do, I’d recommend getting out of Manhattan proper to check out the outer-boroughs.  For example, going to Queens can be a really fun day trip: you can check out MoMA PS1 or the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, or go to Flushing for the best Asian food in New York. When the weather is nice, I love to bike to Rockaway Beach from the city.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE NYC STORES?  I love John Derian – they have great home goods – and Kentshire, if you want to splurge on antique jewelry for yourself, which I’ve done many times.

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO THESE DAYS?  Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Disclosure, Future Islands, FKA Twigs, and Depeche Mode.

WHEN YOU THINK OF NYC, ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR EMOTIONS OR MEMORIES THAT IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND?  With New York, everything can be surprising, and you can’t predict what will happen next.  I love that feeling.