New York

People give me a funny look when I say I live in Windsor Terrace. The most frequent question I get (after, “Don’t you mean South Slope?”) is, “Why?” The answer: it’s nice. And cheap. There’s not much to speak of in terms of nightlife, aside from a couple of local bars. There are a few restaurants, though none of them are highly recommendable. But, fear not, for there is the United Meat Market. Next time you read in some cookbook or another “Get to know your local butcher,” don’t feel frightened or weirded out. Go to United. They have everything you’d want: prepared foods, deli meats, good cuts of beef and pork and lamb—they even have fresh fish. If you don’t see what you want, they’re happy to take orders. But the main reason why this place should be on your list of places to visit is that someone there is a magician, and instead of employing these magical abilities to cure sickly children or conjure bread from stones, they are used to turn ground lamb into the best damn lamb sausage I’ve ever tasted. And if that’s not enough, the butchers are very nice. And it’s cheap.

Photo:  Sho Spaeth