New England Style

On a recent visit to New York, the Hale Mercantile Co. team managed to combine hard work with some serious eats in the city that never sleeps. With a part-time vegan, a gluten free preference and everything in between, each palette was catered for and we managed to combine delicious, tasty food with healthy options that satisfied every price, location and cuisine. Here is our round-up of favourites.     Pietro Nolita Pietro NoLita is a unique pink jewel box in the heart of Nolita. The cafe serves delicious, healthy, seasonal Italian cuisine with a decor evoking a 50's style diner. The food is "healthy Italian," with a menu that will change seasonally. "The space is fun and kitschy and beautiful, but the food is very important to us" says co-owner Mina Soliman.     Pondicheri Industrial-chic spot for Indian combo plates & unique dishes inspired by the streets of Mumbai. Pondicheri is an innovative & nourishing Indian food restaurant with locations in Houston & New York. Traditional Indian flavours infused with local & organic ingredients, a full-scale bakery and inventive cocktails.     PS Kitchen PS Kitchen is a social business and artisanal, gourmet, plant-based restaurant who are committed to creating jobs for those marginalized in New York, donating 100% of profits to sustainable charitable work locally and overseas and providing New Yorkers with delicious food options that are kind to the body and the earth. Amazing raw desserts!     Le Botaniste Healthy delicious plant-based organic food & natural wine bar. An elegant atmosphere with a vintage apothecary feel complete with staff wearing white lab coats and elixir bottles adorning the walls. Le Botaniste is a responsible food concept that cares about health and the planet. A positive way to appreciate food. 100% Botanical and 99% Organic.     Ippudo Ippudo opened in 1985 with a counter seating capacity of 10. The interior with a heavy emphasis on wood is like a wood sculptor's studio yet kept sparkling clean with modern jazz playing in the background. Ippudo scrutinizes ingredients and seasonings from around the world to successively create new ramen varieties using some of the various cooking techniques found worldwide. Twenty years since its establishment, Ippudo continues to impact the ramen industry.     La Mercerie Cafe at The Guild Serving thoughtful reinterpretations of classic French dishes including breakfast, La Mercerie has an all-day menu, coffee, tea, cookies and cocktails. All served in a stunning setting where an immersive shopping experience allows diners to order homewares to go. The food is plated on intentionally mismatched ceramics sourced from Japan, Sweden Australia and Denmark.     Green Symphony Located just steps away from Times Square, Green Symphony provides a variety of food choices for everyone. This place is a little gem located amongst the fast-food tourist traps of the area. An extensive smoothie and juice menu is the perfect start to a day in NYC with healthy lunch options also available.     Good Dish at Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman is the ultimate ladies-who-lunch shopping destination! Tucked away in the basement of Bergdorf Goodman, Good Dish is more casual than their other eateries. Fresh salads and sandwiches make the perfect stop for lunch in between browsing the store's luxury goods.     Brooklyn Diner Located in the heart of the theatre district, the Brooklyn Diner is an elegant, more upscale diner for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their famous chicken soup, Chinese chicken salad and cheeseburger deluxe were all voted the Best of New York by New York Magazine. The pastrami is made on the premises and hand carved to order. Whatever you do, don't forget about the desserts!     Fanelli's Soho Simple pub food, beer & cocktails are served at Fanelli's; a classic old SoHo pub, dating back to 1847. Classic red and white check tablecloths, an intricately tiled mosaic floor, aged mirrors and a black wooden bar all create a well-worn patina with the intimate, friendly atmosphere of your local haunt. When in doubt, don't forget Wholefoods Market - the health food gourmand's mecca! 

Orchard Keepers is a superb 10-acre property nestled among the vineyards and orchards of Red Hill on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. There are three cottages that have been standing since the 1890s and 1950s, which have been restored and rejuvenated to create the ideal holiday accommodation with a touch of luxury. When I phone Poss Sampieri early one Monday morning to arrange a time for this interview, she is busily changing linen bedding after a full weekend of guests. Since opening Orchard Keepers in 2013, her hands-on approach has well and truly paid off.  Warm and vivacious, Poss is the first to admit that maintaining Orchard Keepers requires a huge amount of work. However, she does it with passion, which makes the effort possible, and ultimately, deeply rewarding. “Unless you are actually prepared to do it yourself, get your hands dirty and feel it, it’s not going to work,” she says. A 24-year background in sales and marketing with Ansett and Air New Zealand has given Poss a wealth of knowledge to apply to running Orchard Keepers, some of which is purely innate. Every detail of the business is carefully considered, from the slick website to the fresh flowers in each room, which are lovingly sourced from local gardens. Indeed, Orchard Keepers is attracting guests from as far as Singapore, England and America due to her business savvy and dedication to creating a “chic country” escape. Sweeping sea views, an established garden and children’s playground are just a few of the details that make Orchard Keepers stand out. Antique furniture, original artworks, Grown Alchemist and Hale Mercantile Co. bedlinen ensure guests feel suitably indulged.   “The biggest thing for me is that people appreciate the space and feel at home,” she says. “I don’t want Orchard Keepers to be a design success and for people to go there and think it’s awful. I always say it’s not about how it looks, it’s about how it feels.”   After deciding to open a holiday retreat, it took Poss three years to find the right location. Initially she was interested in the neighbouring property but when Orchard Keepers came up for sale, she bought it immediately (it had only been on the market for two days). The charm of the old cottages, beautiful garden and surrounding scenery completely won her over.   Running the business hasn’t been without challenges, but Poss always manages to find clever and positive solutions. You can’t foresee issues that may arise before beginning a business, but these are the things that strengthen your approach and grow your wisdom. “It’s a fine line between picking up on things and becoming too cynical,” she says. “You have to just allow things to happen and you have to let them go.” Poss says that Orchard Keepers wouldn’t be what it is without the people she works with and is quick to sing their praises. Every few months, she takes her small team out for a meal to touch base and express her gratitude. This open-hearted nature is characteristic of everything she does. “All the people I work with are not picked randomly, they are who they are because I need them and I know I can’t run the business without them,” she says. “It was basically getting the best people, putting them all together and making it happen.” Never in her wildest dreams did Poss imagine Orchard Keepers would be such a hit. The picturesque property is already booked out until November 2016, and the future is bright. She has bonded with the Red Hill community, and works closely with local wineries, restaurants, builders and gardeners. Poss is keen to open another holiday retreat in the area, one that offers the same unique features of Orchard Keepers, but with a different design aesthetic. It seems that part of Orchard Keepers’ success stems from the energy Poss injects into the business and her generous philosophy. With editorials in Elle Decor Ukraine and Condé Nast, Germany, Canada and more, obviously she is doing something pretty special.   “In the last six years of my corporate life I commuted to Sydney every week, so on a Monday morning I’d get on a plane to Sydney and stay for two or three days and I’ve got three kids. I was sometimes in Perth, Brisbane, New Zealand and the States,” she says. “Now when I go to work, I drive down the peninsula, I drive up the driveway with a beautiful hedge and I see the workers’ cottage, which is 150 years old. It’s just such a nice place to be.”