34 of the Most Underrated Things, People, and Places

An iced minty mocha (and the most delightful chocolate chip cookies) from Java Girl, UES.

These are all so under-appreciated, it’s downright criminal.
Thankfully, I’m here to lead you to these precious sources of joy.

  1. The OC
    —     my favorite TV show
  2. Joe Jr.
    — the best diner in all of Manhattan
  3. Claude Rains
    — the most endearing antagonist of your favorite classics
  4. pomegranates
    — especially when covered in dark chocolate (thanks, Brookside!)
  5. walking everywhere
    — FitBit will be very happy with you
  6. Think Coffee
    — fantastic atmosphere (and sandwiches) for studying
  7. any Frank Capra movie that isn’t It’s a Wonderful Life
    —     examples include: You Can’t Take It With You;
    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington;
    and, the most charming movie ever made, It Happened One Night
  8. window shopping
    —     which is way better than actually making purchases
  9. the Museum of the Moving Image
    — prime exhibitions and the best film screenings
  10. January Jones’s Instagram posts
    —her hashtag game’s #onpoint
  11. drinking coffee at home
    — and taking the time to enjoy it
  12. Across the Universe
    —     pretty much half of my most previous post
  13. bringing a pack of cards with you wherever you go
    —a family did so when coming to my restaurant’s outdoor patio a few weeks ago;
    I was indeed jealous that I was not involved in their card game
  14. pretty much every Tweet that Damien Fahey has ever composed
    — you can never read just one of them
  15. binge-reading
    — hello, New Yorker and The Guardian!
  16. Ryan Gosling’s acting chops and artistic devotion
    —     see: Lars and the Real Girl; Half Nelson; and Drive
  17. actually enjoying work
    —     leave that job at 5pm still feeling super great
  18. actually enjoying homework — leave that lecture hall feeling exhausted and inspired
  19. the Rockefeller Center’s Cucina & Co.
    —     the friendliest service in Midtown
  20. using your knowledge of foreign languages in daily life
    —     what was the point of taking Italian throughout high school if you’re not going to consistently implement what you learned?
  21. Philippe Coutinho — Liverpool’s star;
    would love to see him on the pitch more for Brazil’s NT
  22. saying “no” to plans because you’re tired
    — instead of enduring social events while you’re just dying for rest and/or sleep
  23. Inside Llewyn Davis
    —     and, while we’re at it: Oscar Isaac
  24. silence in conversation, even over the phone
    —     that’s how you know it’s real
  25. Java Girl
    —     the most delightful (and UNPRETENTIOUS) coffee shop on the Upper East Side… or all of New York City?
  26. not wearing makeup — do you know how beautiful you are when you wake up in the morning?
  27. wearing makeup AND BEING PROUD OF IT
    — one word: confidence
  28. Rose Byrne — some favorites: Troy; Adam; Bridesmaids
  29. leisure writing — everyone should do it, and everyone can create something brilliant from doing it
  30. the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival
    — I could never not love the place where I first saw All About Eve;
    also: Bryant Park will always win best park in my heart
  31. waking up early — as in, earlier than you actually need to
    — because then you will have FREE TIME in the MORNINGS
  32. New Order
    — the cream of the crop: “Ceremony”; “True Faith”; “Age of Consent”; “Temptation”; “Bizarre Love Triangle”; and, of course, “Blue Monday”
  33. Elizabethtown
    —     it’s all about that soundtrack
  34. saying “good morning”, “good night”, “hello”, “thank you”, and “sure”
    —     always