About two years ago, comedian Kaneez Surka realised she’d reached a tipping point in her career. “I believed I had done whatever I could do in India,” she shares. “I’d built the audience I could build, and I felt like I was about to hit a ceiling. So I decided to move to New York to hone my craft.”
Surka had spent two months in 2013 studying improv at NYC’s Magnet Theatre, so when she decided to permanently relocate to the city, she wasn’t expecting to experience the culture shock that she did. “I think American culture at one point became very alienating for me. I thought I was well-versed with it, because I had watched so many TV shows and read so many books and comics. But when I came here, I realised it is very capitalist and individualistic.” Over time, though, as she explored the offbeat niches of the city, she discovered an energy that was fairly similar to that of Mumbai—loud, diverse, and unapologetic. “Every 10 blocks, the vibe of the city changes. I explore on my own. I walk everywhere—it’s the best walking city in the world—and I’ve discovered a lot of places just by walking into them.” Now a broken-in New Yorker, Surka can put together an itinerary that takes you far away from the overbearing commercialism of Times Square and tourist traps of Rockefeller Centre. Pro tip: walk where you can, and you’ll discover a whole lot more along the way.
A legendary stand-up venue
My home club, New York Comedy Club—that’s where I perform most of my stand-up—curates a great line-up. It has some of the biggest comedians in the world, like Hasan Minhaj, Ronny Chieng, Andrew Schulz, and Jessica Kirson, but they’ll perform alongside a lot of up-and-coming comedians, so you get the full picture of what the comedy scene is like. New York Comedy Club has three venues: one in the East Village, one in Gramercy, and one on the Upper West Side, and we perform in all of them on rotation. Also, a lot of the improv that shut down during the pandemic has started coming back. The Second City, an improv club based in Chicago, just opened an arm in New York, so that’s worth checking out.
A coffee shop worthy of a Friends/Seinfeld episode
Tom’s on the Upper West Side was the actual diner used for the establishing shot in Seinfeld, and is a great place to hang out and work—but in terms of the hang-out-on-a-sofa coffee shop culture you see in Friends, I haven’t found anything like that here. Coffee shops these days are just single tables where people sit with their laptops. The best coffee, honestly, is at the Capital One Café, which you find outside most Capital One bank branches. It does a great roast. Nobody believes me, though!
The hottest new neighbourhood to walk around
Because I’m such an aunty, I only just found out that my own neighbourhood, Ridgewood, is actually one of the coolest up-and-coming areas in the city in terms of nightlife. Every time someone tells me about a cool new place—like this warehouse called TV Eye that hosts a lot of indie music gigs—I’ll Google it and it’ll be a two-minute walk from my house. I haven’t explored all the nightlife here yet, but I’ve heard Nowadays and The Deep End are great for indie music and art—at least that’s what the cool kids tell me.
A cinema that brings festival darlings to the big screen
I went to go watch my friend Richa Chadha’s movie, Girls Will be Girls, at the Angelika Film Centre, and it was a very different experience from the flashy chain cinemas like AMC. Angelika has smaller theatres and it’s very quaint, so you feel like you’re going to a theatre back in the day. The feeling is a lot more intimate. There’s another indie cinema called Film Forum, which screens a highly curated and unique line-up of indie and foreign films.
A place to grab a quiet drink
I only drink red wine, so I can’t speak for the cocktails, but the Book Club Bar in the East Village is a lovely place to go hang out. It has the vibe of a cosy library with tons of books, and you can sit there for hours with a glass of wine. I went there on a date once and it was really fun! There’s also a cosy little Italian wine place in Greenwich village called Sogno Toscano that is rustic and quaint and has a very nice selection of wines.
An way to meet all the cool NYC creatives
Every month, galleries across the Lower East Side team up for LES Gallery Nights, where you can hop from one venue to another, drink, and meet the indie artists on the rise. And going beyond the art, the Lower East Side has such a unique vibe, with its mix of old-school stores and delis, and trendy, upscale boutiques. Parts of it can seem gritty, but there are a lot of pubs and clubs you can make a stop at. Just walking through the streets and alleyways on your gallery crawl is good fun—you’re always surprised by what you find. It feels like the city itself is one big art installation.
A meal you have to make time for
Come home and I’ll make chilas! [laughs] I love the bagels with cream cheese and lox from Russ and Daughters, which was on a New York Times Best Bagels in The City list. Also, my favourite restaurant in the city is Café Mogador, a family-run Middle Eastern joint that does an excellent watermelon and feta salad. It also has a lamb tagine that I love, and all the mezzes are delicious. It’s got one location on the Lower East Side and another in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
A thrift store that never disappoints
LTrain Vintage has a few different locations around Brooklyn and the East Village, and an exhaustive collection of apparel and accessories—all vintage and consignment rejects—that are very affordable. The stores themselves have a warehouse feel to them with rows and rows of clothes—but I always manage to find something cool there.
A live show you should not miss
There’s a Japanese improv game show called BATSU! where comedians have to compete in various challenges and go through these absurd punishments if they lose. So, it’s like you sit down with food and drinks and watch this ridiculous Takeshi’s Castle-style show live. There’s also a place called House of Yes, which is very queer-friendly and hosts interesting performances, like drag and burlesque and even a circus show.
An activity you can do for free
This one is a bit complicated, but at the New York Public Library, you can get a temporary library card as a visitor. Then, you can use that library card to get a Culture Pass—you just go on the website and put in your barcode number to sign in, and you can then register for so many free activities in the city—including free visits to The Met and the MoMA, concerts, and even workshops.
A quiet place to get away from it all
My apartment! [laughs] There’s two places in Central Park that I love to go to get away from things. One is The Ramble, which is this winding area that’s full of trees and little pathways. Not a lot of people go there, and it has some large open landings where you can sit and chill. I usually bring some food and make a picnic of it. Also, if you go all the way up to the north side of the park near Harlem, there’s a beautiful little stream that you can sit by—it’s literally called the Secret Stream. Prospect Park in Brooklyn is another beautifully designed park, by the same landscape architect who designed Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is within walking distance as well.
