Moxie Raia travels all over the world, but she loves coming home to New York City. "The city taught me how to go after things without hesitation," she says. The pop singer shares her favorite spots in NYC, unveiling her love for great pastas.
Less“Drake actually raps about this spot [on "Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2"] with Jay-Z. It’s my dad’s restaurant. It’s been around for a long time. They serve really old-school Italian food, heavy but really cozy. I’m vegetarian, so I usually just get all different types of pasta."
"There's a section of the zoo that is free to go to. When I used to go on my runs in college, I would run to the park and go by the zoo because you can stop and just look at the seals at all hours of the day and night. I find it very calming. It's a happy place for me to go and watch these animals in Central Park. Cause you don't really experience animals like that in New York City."
“OMG. They have the most amazing pasta. It's just not even fair. I'm a big pasta lover. All my fans know. This is an Italian restaurant right by the Williamsburg bridge. It's right on the water, and they have some of the best pasta I've ever had in New York. The fettucini on the menu is amazing, the tortellini is delicious. It’s very modern and sleek. I love sitting at the bar and having a meal."
"This place is really cool. When I was in high school, I used to go to all the independent theaters in New York. So there's the Angelika, Film Forum, and also Metrograph. They mostly play 35-millimeter movies in the theater, and I just think it's really cool. It's also so beautiful, modern, and clean, and they have all the best candy and snacks. It’s just like a really fun thing to do."
"I was a jazz major in college, and one of my favorite places to see jazz in school was at this place. When I used to go there, it was on Broome and Hudson. Now it's on 27th Street. It's not like a traditional jazz club; it really looks like an art gallery, basically where you view jazz. There’s a seating area but no elevated stage. It's just super lovely. Definitely one of my favorite places to see really A+ musicians."
"This is a really cool spot. It’s an art installation house that combines tech and art. It basically explores the limitlessness of what you can do with art through technology. The exhibits are usually very immersive. I went yesterday actually. You sit in a room and you have projection and lasers. The art is projected all around you— on all the walls, on the floors, on the ceiling, on your body. I love going here."
"This is one of my favorite clothing stores in New York. She always has young, up-and-coming designers who are even still in design school selling their clothes there. And that's the stuff that I like. I’m always searching and seeking. Usually you can find that stuff online, but not really in a store. So that's why I like her store because I can go in there and find some really unique pieces. I like to dress outside the box. I like to mix masculine and feminine energy together."
"Procell is one of my favorite vintage shops in New York. They just have really good staple vintage shirts and button-ups. It's a cool spot in the middle of NoHo. It's just like a good staple vintage store. The vintage clothes I cherish the most are pieces that are from my mom that she gifted me."
"This is my favorite vegan restaurant. It's Asian cuisine, and it's just the absolute best. They have the best vegan sushi, which sounds like it might not be good, but it's incredible. Everything is just delicious here."
"This is a really cute place to get your nails done. It's just super quick, clean, and easy. I like to do different designs on my nails, so they do cute little designs, and they have a bunch of locations all over the city. When I was younger, I would do designs on my nails and people would look at me crazy and they would get mad at me at the nail salon because they'd be like, we can't do that. But GlossLab, they’ll do anything you bring them. Right now, I have yin-yangs on my nails."