Summer Lovin!

THIS looks amazing! See you there ;)

6 and B, How I love thee

It's a gorgeous day and I'd like to honor my favorite community garden in all of NYC, 6 and B!
Located on avenue B and 6th street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It's a little fairy village with tumbling plants cascading over the narrow paths winding around the garden. Tiny little hideouts, a gazebo and one amazing sculpture of wood reaching 60 feet in the sky (though the hanging stuffed animals creep me out it's very whimsical in a return to childhood sort of way).

The garden is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-6 (and during other events) and boasts a wide array of free events ranging from sunrise yoga on Mondays at 7am to movie nights and artist photo showings in the summers. They also have a lot of events for kids, craft days, poetry workshops and book readings. Basically, it's a bit of heaven.

Cheap Date edition (Grab sunday brunch at Atlas on 2nd Avenue between 4th and 5th. For $5.50 you can make your own delicious omelet (I recommend feta cheese, sweet onions and mushrooms) with a bagel AND a side salad. Plus, they have outdoor seats on the east village sidewalk. Amazing!

BURGER MANIA! (part 2)

For an early morning post it's quite remarkable that I am still craving a burger after describing last nights wonders but here it is. Burger post number two brings us to Corner Bistro a West Village institution on West 4th and Jane since before SJP moved into the hood. Expect crazy lines here as well and a sometimes demanding waiter but the burgers are mmm mm worth it and amazingly good. Greasy, hearty, with lots of crunchy little fries, plus 2 50 drinks and a full full bar make this place provide an extra kick in my step when I'm in need of oh so good oh so bad food. Check it out on a weekday afternoon and miss the long wait which I've encountered even on Wednesday nights (though nothing beats the hour plus long wait we encountered on a friday!) Come to think of it, anyone else think these burger places are so good because you spend so long waiting for one that a beat up slab of ANYTHING would be heaven? Nahhhh.....


CHEAP DATE: Take him/her to magnolia's bakery about five minutes away on Bleecker and 11th. Another village institution (though SJP might have helped this one) you'll think the people in line (again, avoid late nights) are crazy! Until you have a chocolate chocolate masterpiece that is.

BURGER MANIA! (part one)

I, for one, am on the quest for the perfect burger. The kind that crunches when you take that first bite but melts in your mouth as you sink in to the delicious meat. Well, burgers just don't come cheap in this city and I've learned to deal with it (anyone finding something remotely decent under 5 wins a prize) BUT you've got to try out the ridiculous burger place at Le Parker Meridien. Enter the hotel on 57th between 6th and 7th aves and you find yourself in a gorgeous marble hall decked with sky high mirrors. Take a discreet right as you enter and find yourself inching towards velvet drapes concealing what appears to be a narrow hallway. Turn down the dark passage and see a single neon blinking burger and then, my friends, you have entered heaven and by heaven I mean a little dive joint jam packed with food, fries and a small but select group of new yorkers who know the secret. Cheeseburgers (with all the fixins!) cost you seven bucks, they're not huge but grab some fries and a lemonade and you're still under 12. Be sure to know what you want by the time you get to the counter, however, because it's kind of a soup nazi experience which must be seen to be believed. These mouthfuls of delight soak the brown paper bag in grease and you basically have to risk death to find a spot, not to mention a wait in lines but let's face it, it's these experiences we THRIVE for in this city. So live it up loves, it's mm mmm good.

(CHEAP DATE EDITION: Grab student tickets to a nearby show and call it a night!)

Cheap Date! (Cocoa and Piers edition!)

In light of my friends recent non-relationship, I would like to start a series of quick cheap dates that you, my lovely readers, can partake in. Today is an ode to the Piers on the Hudson, starting down by Wall street and stretching up until 20th or so, these piers are incredible places to walk, people watch, dog watch, and overall enjoy a fantastic day! Over the summer these piers host a number of events like fishing, movies and dancing but everyday they are a great place to chill and get to know that special someone. (or cartwheel on the impeccable lawns and turf fields, your choice).

Before heading out to these oasis' of delight pick up some hot chocolate at the incredible 11th street cafe between Greenwich and Washington streets just a block and a half from the piers themselves. (cross over on 11th street) (You know it's good when they don't even have a website). Honestly, the hot chocolate here is so good I literally stopped mid step every time I took a sip. Though the counter people can sometimes be pretentious (it is the west village after all) the hot cocoa is beyond incredible, ask for it with whipped cream and a little caramel drizzle and it's to die for. The iced coffee is incredible as well, full and actually tasting of coffee you feel you're sucking straight from the beans. Live, love and enjoy.