Samantha Mangino, Author at journiest

Samantha Mangino

Samantha is a Boston-based freelance writer and restaurant industry professional. She takes her martinis with gin and olives. You can follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samantharosemangino/">Instagram</a> and find her other other work <a href="http://samanthamangino.com">here</a>.

The Best Foods Under €10 Throughout Europe

Lucali

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Celebs: The spot where Jay-Z and Beyonce ate instead of attending the 2012 Grammy’s. A date night favorite for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.

Cuisine: Old school Italian, wood-fired pizzas, gobs of cheese. An intimate place with date night vibes and cozy ambience.

Emilio’s Ballato

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Celebs: A girls night spot for Blake Lively, Brittany Mahomes, Taylor Swift, and more. A popular joint for Barack Obama and George Clooney. New York athletes and movie stars galore.

Cuisine: Universally loved Italian comfort food in a joint that’s been around since 1956. Italian-American fusion that everyone should partake in once in their lives — at least.

Banzarbar

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Celebs: Good enough for Taylor Swift’s birthday party and a star-studded guest list with names including Sabrina Carpenter, Gigi Hadid, Zoe Kravitz, and many more.

Cuisine: Eclectic cocktails circa the 19th century. Combining modernism and classics, you’ll never have a drink like these.

Ray’s

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Celebs: A celebrity hotspot. Think Swift, the Hadids, Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Zoe Kravitz, Dave Chappelle. Partly owned by Nicholas Braun and Justin Theroux.

Cuisine: A funky dive bar with bad cell service (which is kind of the point for celebs.)

MAMO

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Celebs: With a famous sister-restaurant in Paris, MAMO SoHo attracts stars like Rihanna, Samuel L. Jackson, Magic Johnson, and more.

Cuisine: More Italian food. Don’t blame me, the celebs love their Italian.

Central Park

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Celebs: All of them. Seriously, just hang out for a while and keep your eyes open. My friend saw Jason Bateman the other day while she was heading home from work.

Cuisine: The hot dog vendor. They’re not there for the food — they’re there to go for a run around the reservoir, take a walk or film something.

Torrisi

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Celebs: Where Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter had a steamy date night that confirmed they had not broken up.

Cuisine: You guessed it…Italian.

The Mercer Hotel

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Celebs: Deep inhale. Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Marc Jacobs, Kanye West, Hailey Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Timberlake, Zendaya, Doja Cat, Jay-Z…are you convinced yet, or should I keep going?

Cuisine: Not really for the food…more for the stay. But, The Mercer Hotel does have terrific cuisine considering it’s a top-notch, high-profile Manhattan hotel with some of the most high-profile clientele. Pro tip: go during NY Fashion Week.