Allen St, Lower East Side

Allen Street is the extension of 1st Avenue south of Houston. It's pretty much the LES 1st Avenue which confuses a lot of people who don't know the city. The Lower East Side doesn't really have any number streets so I even still get turned around when I'm there. Allen is pretty much a busy avenue so I wouldn't recommend living on it. But, there are some fun things to do on this road. I mean, it is the Lower East Side, afterall, so there are hipster shops and bars and, well, hipsters everywhere.
Right at the corner of Allen and Houston, there is this weird not quite a park not quite a sidewalk divide in the street. Apparently, it was constructed in the 30's to make the shady area seem more neighborhoody in the vein of Park Avenue. It only succeeded in making the street kind of an annoyance to cross but I guess that's a cool bit of history. The west side of the street houses a Spanish restaurant called Oliva that is pretty good and has a bustley energy although it's not my favorite place in the neighborhood.
The corner of Allen and Stanton holds two really fun places: Rockwood Music and Epstein's Bar. I've seen a lot of great bands at Rockwood and the venue is really small which makes a good show even better. Epsteins bar is full of young people on the weekends so it is often packed with annoyance. But, relatively early on a weekday, the place is really cool and it's small which I like.
The corner of Allen and Rivington has two places next door to each other that crack me up. There is a leather goods store directly next to a vegan store. This, to me, is the perfect hipster platform: make up your mind guys! The next block has some really cool buildings from the early 1900's. The one that is now a Chinese congregation used to be one of the most popular bathhouses in the city. I can't imagine how disgusting that place must have been considering that back then this was the site of the most disturbing ghetto in the country.
Allen and Delancey holds two really famous Asian eateries that are always recommended to tourists. Congee Village is really authentic so if you're expecting Kung Pao Chicken you will be sorely disappointed. But, if you're feeling frisky, this is worth a try. It also, weirdly, has one of the more fun Karaoke situations I've ever experienced. Directly across the street is a Fried Dumpling place that is quite good and dirt cheap. I mean, dirt cheap.
South of Delancey, you're getting into Chinatown. Honestly, people love Chinatown but I never really go there. It's dirty, crowded and stinky so I don't think there's much to write home about in the area. Oh, but 70 Allen is where Billy the Kid was born. His actual last name is McCarty, not Bonney, which is kinda weird. Why take on an alias when you already have an alias?
All in all, Allen is too big of a thoroughfare to really have a lot of commerce, but there are a couple of places worth stopping. And, that street is one of the biggest in the LES / Chinatown area so you really can't avoid using it all the time.

On weekend nights in summertime you can see hordes of young girls in their little black dinner dresses crossing Allen Street at Houston, accompanied by boyfriends and headed to any number of hot-spots, for a night out in either the Lower East Side, the East Village, or SoHo, etc. Allen Street is a big neighborhood divider that sees a decent amount of traffic. It is currently a hopping and happening place, most especially on the east side of the street, with new upscale bars and clubs like Pala and Sugar. The vegan Tiengarden is a nice little place where you can eat and pick at your laptop in the afternoons, and there are some small up and coming clothing shops like Reed Space and Prohibit. It's a street that definitely shows what the rest of the Lower East Side is in the process of becoming: up, up, upscale and counting. Quite a contrast to all this recent money-development, Bluestockings is still there after all this time: a radical bookstore, fair trade cafe, and activist center, where you can find some very, very alternative texts, plus a collection of self-printed or otherwise underground zines. For a radical activist's hangout, it is decidedly an inviting place to have a cup of coffee and read. Further on, Allen Street sees a transition into Chinatown, with great Chinese restaurants on both sides of the street.

Allen Street serves as a bit of a cut off point between neighborhoods but the L.E.S still claims it. Allen St offers great bars and eateries all along the strip. Sorellla offers contemporary Italian while Tiengarden offers great vegan finds. For night time fun People Lounge is a real interesting nook to explore.

Allen Street is a sort of divider between neighborhoods - between the Lower East Side and nearby SoHo. It has a selection of bars you can go to if you venture outside of either neighborhood, and a pretty cool vegan restaurant, Tiengarden. Lately the area has gotten pretty vegan-friendly, compared to other neighborhoods anyway. Stroll south on Allen Street and you’ll find yourself in Chinatown, with no shortage of little restaurants of the Chinese variety.