The night before Mayor de Blasio made his appearance on "The Brian Lehrer Show," to defend his record on crime and homelessness, he fortified himself with an icy treat.
Mayor @BilldeBlasio waiting buzzer and daughter in hand for late night @shakeshack custard. #UES pic.twitter.com/RNAZSGgjGk
— Upper East Side (@UESpeeps) September 1, 2015De Blasio and his daughter, Chiara, bought frozen custard at the Shake Shack on 86th Street, a few blocks away from Gracie Mansion.
The mayor hadn't been all that common a sight in the neighborhood around his new home as of this March, when Yorkville restaurant owners told the Daily News they felt "slighted" by the mayor's loyalty to his old Park Slope stomping grounds. (De Blasio and his family moved to Manhattan from Brooklyn in July 2014.)
For nostalgia's sake, we rounded up some of the mayor's favorite places to eat, all of which are, naturally, in his beloved Park Slope neighborhood.
► Bar Toto, 411 11th St.
This low-key Italian eatery, half a block from the de Blasio's rowhouse, was a dining-out staple for the family. In his pre-mayoral days, de Blasio would meet his wife and kids there for dinner, as well as fellow politicians for meetings. The simple food at Bar Toto — basic pastas, pizzas and paninis — caters to his Italian roots.
► Convivium Osteria, 68 5th Ave.
For swankier meals, the de Blasios went to Convivium Osteria, an Italian-Portuguese restaurant on Fifth Avenue. There they dined with William Bratton and his wife just before the then mayor-elect named Bratton his police commissioner.
► Smiling Pizzeria, 323 7th Ave.
De Blasio favors the black olive pizza at this pizzeria on 9th Street, where he kicked off the final phase of his mayoral campaign in Sept. 2013. But he told Redditors in an AMA during his mayoral candidacy that the best pizza in New York is to be found at Di Fara, a pizzeria in Midwood that uses the kind of mozzarella beloved in his grandmother's province in Italy.
► Little Purity, 390 7th Ave.
When he lived in Park Slope, De Blasio liked to have power breakfasts at this diner. According to its owner, the politician loves the place, but hates the coffee he drinks there.
► Tacos Nuevos Mexico, 489 5th Ave.
When based in Brooklyn, the de Blasio clan would often order mole poblano and other Mexican specialties from this neighborhood joint.
► Colson Patisserie, 374 9th St.
Before his move to Yorkville, de Blasio would often stop by Colson for a cup of coffee and an oatmeal or chocolate-chip cookie after his morning low-intensity workout at the nearby YMCA. De Blasio's usual barista, Edouard Houilliez, even asked him to officiate his wedding. “We bonded over his mastery of espresso," de Blasio said of the groom at the ceremony.
► Bagel Hole, 400 7th Ave.
At a press conference in Washington D.C. last year, de Blasio proclaimed Bagel Hole the home of "the most authentic, traditional authentic New York City bagel.”
