An Extremely Biased Guide to September in Chelsea

Take the long way home

September is the month to walk when you could absolutely take the train. Leave work, put your phone away for a few blocks, and head west. Chelsea gives you plenty of excuses to keep going: the side streets, the galleries, the High Line, and the river if you are committed.

The point is not really the destination. It is that brief stretch of New York weather where wandering around for no reason feels like a good use of your evening.

If cannabis is part of the walk, keep it simple. Supernaturals Blueberry comes in ten small .25g pre-rolls, an easy format when a full-size joint is more commitment than the plan requires.

Make dinner the plan

Not dinner before the plan. Not dinner followed by three more places because everyone is afraid to go home. Just one good reservation, a long meal, and maybe a walk after.

Chelsea makes this easy. There are enough restaurants within a few blocks that the hardest part is deciding where to go, and September is one of the few months when walking there is actually part of the appeal.

For something easy to portion around a longer evening, the Leilala Watson Blueberry Live Rosin Gummy Bar is divided into 5mg pieces. Take the amount that fits your night, not the other way around.

Use the park while you still can

You do not need a picnic setup. You need decent weather and good tree.

Bring something to read. Pick up food nearby. Find a bench and commit to it. September is when sitting outside in New York stops feeling like an endurance sport and starts feeling like the luxury it was supposed to be.

One important NYC footnote: smoking and vaping are not permitted in NYC Parks. Save the joint for somewhere smoking is allowed, or choose a non-smoked format if the park is part of the plan. The rules on where you can and cannot smoke in NYC are worth knowing before you go.

Do something you did not make a reservation for

Some of the best Chelsea plans require almost no planning. Walk through the galleries. Go to Chelsea Market hungry and figure it out there. Head toward the High Line and decide which direction to go once you are on it. Stop somewhere because it looks good rather than because your phone told you to.

New York can make leisure feel weirdly scheduled. September is a good month to resist that.

Let the night end when it is good

You do not have to keep it going. Sometimes the best version of a night is one good dinner, one long walk, one smoke, and home before the group chat invents another location.

For an easy nightcap, Major Quarter Water comes as two .5g pre-rolls. An easy option when you want to keep things simple.

Or maybe your version of a nightcap calls for something a little more potent. If you know your way around concentrates, Umamii Papaya Live Rosin and a Puffco Proxy make a very good case for staying in.

Our September picks

One last September rule

Do not wait for the perfect plan. The good part is that the neighborhood does not really require one. Walk farther than usual. Eat somewhere good. Sit outside while sitting outside is still pleasant. Go home when you are ready.