Aaron Emanuel Salon on the Upper East Side is not only a salon where you get a high level of customer service and the latest in hair trends—you will also be intellectually stimulated.

Before coloring, cutting or styling a client’s hair, salon workers ask, “Who do you want to embody?” If you bring a photo of how you want your hair to look, they will replicate it down to the precise detail.

The salon is open seven days a week to serve patrons no matter what their schedule is. Their clientele includes visitors and newcomers to the city as well as native New Yorkers. How often people come in “varies from three times a week to once a month,” Emanuel said.

For this stylist, the art of making ordinary people look like celebrities is in his blood, and his passion for hair took flight at a young age.

“My mother is a hairdresser, and my father is a barber,” Emanuel said. His mother has styled hair for the majority of her life in their Brooklyn home.

A French stylist trained Emanuel, and he set himself apart by memorizing hair-color formulas and other techniques that most stylists do not know. Before he was a stylist, Emanuel was a high-end jeweler. He has owned his shop for almost two years and said that his styling technique as well as the people he has hired to work at the salon have helped it stand apart. Some of the stylists who work at the salon have been in the business for more than 30 years, while others are just starting out on their hair-styling journey.

“It’s very modern and has a different kind of vibe than other salons,” said Ana Cibotari, assistant to Emanuel. She said that the products at the salon are top-notch, and she’s glad to be working in a friendly, learning environment.

When he’s not at the salon, Emanuel is like any other family man. He loves to spend time with his wife and kids and to take them to museums as well as doing their hair. His favorite part of owning the salon is the interaction that he gets from running into patrons.

“I see us starting another place in the near future,” Emanuel said.

For more information, visit aaronemanuel.com.

By Alicia Bynum

New York can be fast-paced and brutal, but those who work at Madison Square Garden know they have a friend they can turn to in Danford Adams, a cleaner at the famous arena. Among his co-workers, Adams is known for having a friendly ear.

“People look for me when they seek advice,” Adams said. He has spent 12 years working at Madison Square Garden, where he has cleaned up after eager fans of live concerts and a plethora of other events that take place there. It’s a job that he takes pride in.

Adams grew up in a family of six children in Brooklyn and had to overcome several challenges to help provide for his family.

“Hard work and determination is how I chose to live my life,” Adams said. Previously, he worked at KeySpan Park as a part-time restroom attendant, but when it came time to help put his daughter Michelle through college, he knew that he would need another job. With the help of a friend, he put in an application at Madison Square Garden, went for an interview and was hired. He said that his formula for success is a simple one: He shows up on time every day and is respectful to the customers and the other people he works with.
When he’s not at work, Adams’ second passion in life is automobiles. He spends any opportunity he gets working on cars, having had a natural curiosity about automobiles as far back as his teenage years. He said that tinkering on cars is a good way to relax. Whenever there is a car show in the city, he is always present. His other hobbies include hanging out with friends and playing the occasional game of chess.

Being a stadium cleaner is a hectic life, he said, but “there is no other place I would rather be working.” Madison Square Garden hosts 320 events a year, and Adams has pretty much seen it all. Whether it’s a concert, basketball game, hockey game, rodeo or dog show, he gets to interact with fascinating people and also his co-workers, whom he considers part of the family.

Beat the onset of the winter chills with these hot-temp brews
Café Lalo
201 W. 83rd St. near Broadway, cafelalo.com
Café Lalo is primarily a dessert spot, and it doesn’t disappoint in the drink selection. This is the place to enjoy a cool-weather cordial after dinner or indulge in a hot spiked-coffee drink on a lazy afternoon. All their coffee and alcohol drinks are served with fresh whipped cream and include classics like coffee with Baileys Irish Cream and twists like the Café Jamaica, with coffee, brandy and Tia Maria. They also offer adult hot chocolates, paired with the likes of peppermint schnapps or black Sambuca.

Caledonia Scottish Pub
1609 Second Ave. near East 83rd Street,
caledoniapub.com
Home to one of New York’s most impressive collections of whisky (they insist that real whisky doesn’t have an “e”), Caledonia Scottish Pub is a cozy Upper East Side bar offering over 150 different varieties of the amber gold liquid. The vast selection includes varietals from Scotland, Japan, Ireland and the U.S. as well as an impressive array of single malts, listed on the menu according to their particular Scottish origins. They also serve up savory Scottish pies, making it a perfect spot to hunker down and get warm from the inside out.

Eggnog at Ward III
111 Reade St. near West Broadway,ward3tribeca.com
Though Ward III is an ideal place for liquor connoisseurs to experiment with flavors, be bold and just go with eggnog. Its thick, dessert-like taste has attracted the taste buds of many an online foodie, testifying to its successfully chic take on this holiday classic (the secret: the dynamic duo of orange and Averna). Not a fan of the egg? Ward III also produces a reliable hot toddy and bourbon-spiked cider. Complemented by warm lighting and tasteful music, Ward III is the ideal winter hideout.

Espresso con Panna at Eataly
23rd Street at Fifth Avenue, eatalyny.com
This large indoor Italian market offers much more than a pizza and prosecco—its espresso bar is an attraction by itself. An Espresso con Panna (whipped cream) is an indulger’s must, though any option won’t be regretted—the Espresso Torinese even comes with a small glass of sparkling water! While you savor the rich texture (and profit from the body heat of the crowded building), stroll around the other stations and admire other quirky finds, among them Buddha hand lemons, honeydew gelato and crudo bites.

Haru Sake Bar
1327 Third Ave. near East 76th Street, harusushi.com
Dark, romantic and unique, the Haru Sake bar is a great place to hole up and savor hot or chilled sake. The eclectic cocktail menu offers $13 sake cocktails, like the Ultimate Saketini (vodka, sake and plum wine served up) as well as a wide variety of sake served hot or cold and tasting flights available to sample four selections at a time. Housed across the street from its sister restaurant, the sake bar does serve sushi as well, so you can kick off the evening or park yourself there all night.

Jacques Torres
285 Amsterdam Ave. between West 73rd and 74th streets, mrchocolate.com
Sparking every chocolate lover’s fantasy, Jacques Torres’ hot chocolate is the best quencher when the temperature drops. The authentic hot, rich, thick chocolate drink—which has been described as pure chocolate in liquid form, is perfect for the upcoming chilly weather. The shop offers twists on the traditional with chili pepper kicks and white chocolate chai on the menu, so it’s a great spot to satisfy kids just looking to guzzle chocolate as well an adult with a more sophisticated sweet tooth.

The Upper East Side just became a little crunchier.

Fernanda Capobianco recently opened Vegan Divas Bakery at 1437 First Ave. and 75th Street featuring items that are baked with love. “Our goal is to satisfy your taste buds by using healthy and fresh ingredients,” she said.

Capobianco said that the time is right for more health-conscious choices in the neighborhood since most of the vegan restaurants and bakeries are below 14th Street.

From an early age, Capobianco said she didn’t like the normal carnivorous Brazilian diet in her native country. After her father died from diabetes, she decided to become vegan. Capobianco, who is married to renowned pastry chef François Payard, said vegan cooking is all about using ingredients that are made without harming animals.

“Giving individuals the option to choose products that do not harm animals and do not cause harm to their own bodies is what we aim for here,” she said.

Before launching her bakery, Capobianco was a journalist as well as manager and owner of the Payard restaurant and pastry shop in Rio de Janeiro. Felipe Saint-Martin, Capobianco’s Brazilian cousin, manages the shop on the Upper East Side. Saint-Martin has a background as a chef, working as head cook at Gramercy Tavern as well as head chef in the pasta department at Eataly.

She said that the initial reaction from Upper East Siders to vegan cooking was one of suspicion and presumption that they wouldn’t like it. “They wouldn’t even take samples,” Capobianco said. But after inducing the locals to try the tasty treats, they’ve developed a regular clientele.

Dishes range from simple to eclectic; sweet treats such as chocolate chip cookies, doughnuts and muffins, and cakes of all varieties as well as various mousses have become best sellers. Chocolate cake is the most popular dish. Capobianco’s favorite is the tofu-based ginger-vanilla ice cream.

“Baking is a science—everything has to be precise. You mess up one thing, no matter how minuscule it is, and the whole recipe can get messed up,” she said.

For more information, visit VeganDivasNYC.com.