The furniture at this lovely Avenue A coffee shop is from an old school house, and you'll feel super comfortable, slipping in to one of the mismatched chairs. The food is good and cheap–pasta, sandwiches, quiche, and lots of pastries. [more...]

Lab-coat glad staff serve up twelve ever-changing flavors of delectable gelato at this Lower East Side spot. The small batches are prepared using top ingredients, so you *almost* feel like you're in Italy.

95 Orchard St between [more...]

We love the staff at both JackRabbit's shops, where you'll find a great assortment of athletic gear–swimsuits, running shoes, bike shorts, and yoga mats are all available. The knowledgeable employees are happy to help, and aim to [more...]

Dana Foley adds lace and bows to t-shirts at this LES vintage shop, where you'll also find a huge selection of boots, shoes, purses, and blouses. We love the fun, sexy party dresses and the vintage jeans, including de rigueur [more...]

Nestled between the fratty NYU bars, this little hole-in-the wall serves up delicious crepes like pepperoni, brie, and garlic, egg and cheese, and the beloved Nutella, with fruit, whipped cream, nuts, or anything else you can dream [more...]

It's a good thing this delicious sweet-spot isn't any closer to us or we'd certainly be ten pounds heavier. The tiny 1st Avenue shop wisely gave out free samples the first few days they were open, luring in a number of customers, [more...]

Though this bookstore's canvas totes have become nearly as ubiquitous as Uggs, the Strand is still the spot for those seeking an enormous selection of discounted used and new books as well as rare and collectible reads. A [more...]

100% of the profits from this lovely and altruistic bookstore and cafe go to Housing Works, a non-profit that provides services like job training, health care, and other services for homeless New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS. Rare books mingle [more...]

When some of us were young undergraduates, we virtually subsisted off of these delicious crepes. Two of our favorite savory crepes are the Roman Holiday–grilled chicken breast, pesto-ricotta cheese spread and sundried tomato–and the [more...]

This neighborhood yarn shop givers lower Avenue A residents a cute spot to work on their purling. They offer specific classes for knitting hats, mittens, socks and sweaters, as well as general knitting workshops for all levels. [more...]

This Soho shop provides chic downtown knitters with a place to chit-chat, perfect their knitting skills, and peruse a lovely selection of eye-catching yarn from brands like the Sheep Shop Yarn Company and Lobster Pot Yarns. For those [more...]

From the second floor of this Village shop, knitters of all skill levels can knit, purl, and rib their way to hats, sweaters and more. A number of different yarn brands are available, including Blue Sky Alpaca–offering hand-dyed [more...]

Learn to knit, perfect your skills, or just head to this cozy East Village spot to browse their wide selection of soft, colorful yarn or grab a coffee or tea at the cafe. Knit New York offers beginner, intermediate and advanced knitting [more...]

Itzocan Cafe and its larger UES offshoot, Itzocan Bistro are always filled with regulars, who toss back the Chile Relleno, entrees like Braised Flank Steak in Burgundy Chile Pasilla with Semolina Epazote dumplings, and the [more...]

This trendy West Village restaurant's flickering candles and spacious back dining room provide a romantic setting for that potentially awkward first date.

The Tuna Tatake Salad–chili-crusted ahi tuna grilled rare and served [more...]

Still relatively inexpensive for this trendy neighb, LES mexican-spot El Maguey Y La Tuna is one of our top picks. We got the Homemade Mexican Sausage burrito–rice, beans, guacamole, Pico De Gallo, & sour cream–on a whole wheat [more...]

Downtown east-siders swear by this tiny hole-in-the-wall, which serves up delicious, cheap Mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vegetarians get their fair share of goods; the Veggie Breakfast Burrito–eggs, spinach, green [more...]

The waitstaff at both branches of this Mexican restaurant are attentive and ready to offer suggestions, should you be overwhelmed by the large, mouth-watering menu. We love the roasted pineapple/chile rubbed pork quesadillas, the spicy [more...]

This Village yoga spot offers drop-off classes for kids 3-13 and Parent/Baby/Todder classes for the younger set. The center aims to help kids' developing minds and bodies become stronger and more flexible. Pre-and-Postnatal classes, [more...]

Though the free outdoor pool can be super crowded during the summer, swimmers have much better luck indoors during the fall, winter and spring. Membership for the indoor pool is $75/year for adults, $10 for seniors, and free for kids [more...]