Sandy Restaurant

Six Buck Bargain

by Craig Nelson

Have you heard the news? This nagging recession isn't going away anytime soon like we all hoped. So unless you're a banker or oil executive, you're probably on the look out for cheap eats in New York. And if you happen to work for an indie travel publisher, then this means you need to find really really really cheap eats. Up in East Harlem is one of our long time go-to spots for a hearty lunch. Each day brings a different line up of $6 specials like a chicken leg or oxtail stew with a heaping pi ... Continue

Emily Happy

Happy Happy Joy Joy

by Ilona Virostek

Emily Happy will not transport you to a "glad rags" shop near circa-1967 Kings Road, London. Nor will it transport you to a "gothic Lolita" shop near circa-now Harajuku Station, Tokyo. It's not a sweet little doll store where little girls can choose a dolly and a little pink stroller. It has nothing to do with Hello Kitty. It's not a just-so hipster-run craft store full of owls and lace. Nor a rainbow-coated sweet shop full of taffy and pastel marshmallows. It's none of these t ... Continue

Petrossian Boutique

High Class Cookie

by Layne Mosler

There are foods that soothe from the moment they make it into your mouth, and chocolate chip cookies are among them. Especially when they come from this high-end Parisian-Armenian food boutique, which happens to be two blocks from the Wellington Hotel taxi stand on 7th Avenue. Skip the $500 tins of caviar and the salmon from Scotland. If you're suffering from any type of Gotham-related trauma, this $3 puck of chocolate and pecans will cheer you up. It will also leave a buttery gloss on your lips ... Continue

Amma

Midtown Dinner

by Rob Tallia

When you get to a certain age, you will need to find a restaurant in Midtown other than Burger Joint. So far I've only found a few places that (a) have seriously good food; (b) you can get into; and (c) don't have a completely execrable clientele. Answer: Amma, a small but posh upscale Indian in East Midtown that doesn't disappoint. Even better--we got in for Restaurant Week (going through July 25, it's two weeks long now), so we had a fab ... Continue

Black Gold

Worth Its Weight

by Rob Tallia

Even though I don't drink coffee, I know a cool coffee shop when I see one. Especially when it's filled with records, a smattering of strange antiques, and the barista opens up a tin of baked goods to hand out, just for fun. It seems that for every new Starbucks, two indies open up, and we thank the God of Coffee for such a pattern. Plus, I believe Black Gold might be the first place in BoCoCa to actually sell music, in any form--astounding. As of this moment, they're opening at 10 am (a tad lat ... Continue

Zebulon

Brooklyn Cool: No Cover

by Sarah Enelow

Williamsburg is crawling with mediocre bars and music venues, but Zebulon smoothly rises above the din. Run by the same people responsible for the lovely East Village bistro Casimir, Zebulon is an ideal spot to chill out with a cocktail or a small bite to eat. It has a natural, cozy French vibe with great décor and video art in the background; note the huge window opening onto Wythe for guaranteed fresh air and people watching. Zebul ... Continue

Dress Shoppe

East Meets West

by Ilona Virostek

"Welcome to my mess," offers Dress Shoppe owner Purushottam Goyal when customers walk through the door. And what a mess it is: The interior is a full-on visual explosion, a mashup of the expected and the inexplicable, a perfect blending of the respective essences of India and the East Village. Here you will find Hindu and Buddhist religious statuettes sharing shelf space with secondhand Barbie and baby dolls and a life-size porcelain cat. Garlands of flowers and mirrors and other ornaments ... Continue

a.o.c. bistro

Dreaming in French

by Rob Tallia

Park Slope, restaurant-wise (and almost everything other-wise), is now an embarrassment of riches. Not one, not two, but three wonderful French options on, like, a six-block stretch of Fifth Avenue: Belleville, Moutarde, and now the Brooklyn outpost of AOC Bistro (whose other location, on Bleecker and Grove, is one of my favorite Village spac ... Continue