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My love of exploring New York\u2019s streets and museums gave me the idea for my company in 1993, when I realized that scavenger hunts would be a great way for other people to discover the quirky, funny or just plain cool places and sights I found. Watson Adventures<\/a><\/strong> has grown into a nationwide company that offers private hunts just about anywhere, while we stage hunts for the public on weekends in New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. But one of my favorite hunt locations remains in New York\u2019s Chinatown and Little Italy, a lively jumble of cultures, with great restaurants and fascinating (but mostly hidden) history. Here\u2019s a \u201cmicro-tour\u201d of the area based on highlights from our hunts.<\/p>\n 1. In 1972 mobster Joey Gallo was rubbed out at Umberto\u2019s restaurant, which once stood on the corner at 129 Mulberry Street<\/strong>. He was shot inside, then staggered outside and died on Hester Street. (As they say, \u201cHe ordered clams and got slugs.\u201d) At the corner, you can still make out the name \u201cUmberto\u2019s\u201d in the pavement, even though the letters have since been filled in with cement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. You get a sense of the neighborhood\u2019s rough-and-tumble past from the tenements along Bayard Street<\/strong>. For example, in 1872 The New York Times<\/em> called 61 Bayard Street <\/strong>\u201ca resort for the vilest type of low people.\u201d Here, a thief shot and killed his lover, \u201ca waitress in a low concert saloon,\u201d because she went out with friends despite his objections. Today the street is lined with great places to eat, particularly at No. 65, the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory<\/a><\/strong>. Legend has it that ice cream was created in China during the Tang Dynasty, and the handmade flavors here are fit for an emperor, especially pumpkin pie, ginger, and Zen butter (peanut butter with toasted sesame seeds).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. Doyers Street\u00a0<\/strong>was known as the \u201cBloody Angle\u201d because of the sharp turn in the road and the numerous shootings that happened there in the 1930s, courtesy of the area\u2019s violent Tong gangs. A former opium den is now the scene of the trendy bar Apotheke<\/a><\/strong>. The drinks are prepared with produce from greenmarkets or from the bar\u2019s own rooftop garden. Try such homespun \u201cremedies\u201d as Pigmy Gimlet and Cherry Licorice (for more on Apotheke, check out tdp’s\u00a0blog<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n Doyers is just off Pell Street, which is now known to the locals as \u201cHair Cutting Street.\u201d Try to count the barber poles that still spin near the intersection of Pell and Doyers. (Warning: You might want to attempt this before cocktail hour.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedowntownproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/CIMG0414_2-300x200.jpg\" "\\"CIMG0414_2\\"")
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