Reviews
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Nom Wah Tea Parlor
Mandarin, Food and Drink
This place is on the coolest of old Chinatown streets, but it seems to me to be the victim of its own popularity. The last time I was there, the wait staff were the only Chinese people in the place,…
La Maison Française of New York University
French, Museums/Cultural, Conferences/Lectures
Founded in 1959 and housed in a 19th-century red-brick carriage house, La Maison Française offers lectures, symposia, films, exhibits, and other French cultural events. It is described on its website as “the most active center of French-American cultural and intellectual…
Lee Young Hee Museum of Korean Culture
Korean, Museums/Cultural
I haven’t been to this Koreatown museum, but I found it online while compiling this directory. According to its website, the museum has traditional Korean costumes, furnishings, and more.
German Language Learning Club
German, Organizations, Classes/Conversation, Social, Kids
Yorkville historian Kathy Jolowicz founded this club in 1990, which, according to the website, is “keeping Yorkville/Kleindeutschland’s Heritage Alive.” Yorkville refers to a swathe of the Upper East Side once heavily populated with Germans, and Kleindeutschland…
Chung Hwa Bookstore
Mandarin, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
I visited this bookstore in Flushing’s Chinatown soon after I began my Mandarin studies, and boy, did I feel helpless! I could not read a word. A friendly Chung Hwa employee helped me out, giving me advice on which…
Little Italy, Manhattan
Italian, Neighborhoods
Today’s Little Italy is primarily a tourist attraction, shrunk to Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal streets, with a presence on Grand Street as well. As writer Sam Roberts noted in a 2011 New York Times article…
New York Public Library (Mid-Manhattan)
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
The Mid-Manhattan Library, at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, is the main language-learning repository of the New York Public Library. I used it a lot in 2009 and 2010, mostly for Pimsleur audio lessons, but also borrowed books and other resources as…
CafePress
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Shopping, Kids
According to its website, CafePress has “the world’s largest selection of artist-designed t-shirts, clothing, accessories, housewares and gifts.” I have included this company here because they happen to sell numerous foreign-language items, such as mugs, hoodies, posters, clocks, and…