For certain staples, "best" means "the best within a short walk"—especially in these chain-store-resistant neighborhoods,* where fierce local partisanship means the best—rather than the biggest—tend to survive.
*If your neighborhood isn’t here, it doesn’t mean we don’t love you. We’ll cover your turf soon, we promise.
| Upper East Side | Upper West Side | Midtown East | West Village | Lower East Side | Financial District | Boerum Hill Cobble Hill Carrol Gardens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wine Shop | Garnet Wines & Liquors929 Lexington Ave. | Nancy’s Wines for Food 313 Columbus Ave. | Winfield Flynn 558 Third Ave. | Winesby.com23 Jones St. | De-Vino Wine Boutique 30 Clinton St. | Pasanella and Son, Vintners 115 South St. | Smith & Vine268 Smith St. |
| Basic Manicure | Charming Nails 212 E. 87th St. | Fashion 74 Nails 303 Amsterdam Ave. | CoCo Nails 164 E. 33rd St. | Jin Soon 23 Jones St. | Grand Spa389 Grand St. | Salon 25 111 John St. | Dashing Diva 129 Smith St. |
| Pet-Supply Store | Litter & Leashes 343 E. 66th St. | PetHealthStore 440 Amsterdam Ave. | For Pets’ Sake 206 E. 38th St. | Beasty Feast630 Hudson St. | Whiskers Holistic Pet Care 235 E. 9th St. | Le Pet Spa 300 Rector Pl. | Love Thy Pet 164 Union St. |
| Hardware Store | Wankel Hardware 1573 Third Ave. 212-369-1200 | Gracious Home 1992 Broadway | HomeFront Hardware 202 E. 29th St. | Garber Hardware 710 Greenwich St. | Rothstein Hardware 56 Clinton St. | Dick’s Do It Best Hardware 9 Gold St. | Mazzone True Value 470 Court St. |
| Bagels | Tal Bagels 333 E. 86th St. | H&H Bagels 2239 Broadway | Daniel’s Bagels 569 Third Ave. | Murray’s Bagels500 Sixth Ave. | Kossar’s Bialys 367 Grand St. | Pick a Bagel 102 North End Ave. | Court Street Bagels 181 Court St. |
| Shoe Repair | Empire Shoe Repair 991 Lexington Ave. | Angelo’s 228 Columbus Ave. | Europe Shoe Repair 113 E. 31st St. | Andrade Shoe Repair 320 Bleecker St. | Erik Shoe Repair 353 Grand St. | Cobbler Express 60 Wall St. | Michael’s Shoe Repair 319 Smith St. |
| Tailor | Mak’s Hong Kong Tailor 1218 Lexington Ave. | La Mode Cleaners & Tailors 106 W. 71st St. | Tudor Cleaners 45.5 Tudor City Pl. | Hong Kong Tailor Jack 136 Waverly Pl. | Stanton Tailor Shop 90 Stanton St. | Alex Tailor Shop 29 John St. | Object Custom Tailor 68 Bond St. |
| Dry Cleaner | Milton Cleaners 1287 Madison Ave. | Same as above | Methinks Cleaners 333 Lexington Ave., Ste. 1 | Acme Cleaners 508 Hudson St. | Special Touch Valet Cleaners405 and 559 Grand St. | Four Seasons Dry Cleaners 21 South End Ave. | Trusting Dry Cleaners232 Court St. |