Bowery Bar   Florent    Waterloo
Bar Pitti    Torch    Bodega    Orchard Bar Coup
Junno    Orchard Bar    The Room    Oznot's
Zara    Warehouse    Paramount    Chealsea Inn
EATS AND DRINKS
BOWERY BAR(aka B-BAR)
358 BOWERY
(212)475-2220
Food has improved recently and is fairly priced, by New York’s standards. Go with a pasta special…usually hovering around 14 bucks…or the chicken which is delish. You get a lot of entertainment here for your buck. See COCKTAILS
FLORENT
69 Gansevoort St.
212-989-5779
MEAT MARKET
Fab French fare at diner prices…great late night dining, too. Chic even at "normal" hours. See LATE EATS
LE ZOO
314 w. 11TH St.(@Greenwich St.)
212-620-0393
West Village
This adorable little French Bistro is almost as adorable as the French boys who own it. Food is consistent and without pretense. The spot has major charm, the exposed brick, the tiny tables, and the service is sweet. Brunch is the best deal in town. No hard liquor, but no one seems to miss it. Same owners as Waterloo.
WATERLOO
685 Washington St.(@Charles)
212-352-1119
West Village
Sister restaurant to Le Zoo, this is the best place in town to order up steamed mussels and a true Belgian beer. The design is fab and the patrons are the gorgeous, uber-cool international set. You’re bound to spot at least two Ducati’s parked in front of those great garage doors. Laid back atmosphere and casually dressed crowd is secretly scanning the room and checking each others' leather pants out.
BAR PITTI
268 6TH Ave (@Bleeker St.)
212-982-3300
Greenwich Village
The sister restaurant to Da Silvano, this casual alternative has a great vibe. Ideal for sidewalk dining in warmer months. But the food is for real! This is Italian chic at its best, baby. The warm bean salad is must. If they have Linguini Alle Vongole(clams) you will be transported to Heaven. And the crowd is ultrahip…stylists, artists, photographers…It’s the epitome of understated cool. Tip:Upon arrival give your name to the semi unfriendly looking Italian guy (who is actually very nice). He will not write it down, so do not wander or you might lose your table.
TORCH
137 Ludlow St.
212-228-5151
Lower East Side
This new addition to the uber-hip lower east side brings a bit of civility to the hood. Sip your martini in a deep booth while listening to the bitter-sweet sounds of nightly blues singer, who really looks the part. The kitchen is open til 1a.m. weekdays and 3a.m. on weekends. The food is French with a South American fusion, and it tastes as good as it looks.
BODEGA
136 W. Broadway (between Duane and Thompson Sts.)
TriBeCa
212-285-1155
Opened by the former chef of Odeon (who know heads up Independent right down the street-Traitor!), this place is great for a Mexican influenced moment. The on premise chef Lorraine Wuillamey makes a mean entrée of salmon cakes with a fab corn relish, and for $9.50! Not bad. Daily specials are always good, and great place to grab a lunchtime wrap to go.
DRINKS:
COUP
509 East 6th St. (1st and A)
979.2815
Who knew you could find a little slice of L.A. right in the heart of the east village? This bi-level eatery offers slick, clean design (brought to you by Parsons Fernandez Casteliero) and views of a tranquil rock garden patio. Enter into this design oasis through its windowless fiberglass storefront and beeline right to the black rubber bar where you can cocktail with the Lenny Kravitz-esque looking crowd. But style does not reign over substance at Coup. Owner Ismael Alba offers up fabulous fare at very fair prices…Let Irene or Natasha show you to your table where the minimalistic, yet avant-garde presentation of bread basket awaits you. Grab a warm piece of peasant loaf and order up a nibbley or two… Start with the Squid Trio With Dippings ($7 and p.s…the citrus sauce rocks) or the gorgeous Grilled Fennel Salad ($6). Enter into the agreeable arena of entrees with the Salmon and Tumeric Lentils ($17) with the most fabulous yogurt, cucumber and grape compote ever…If fish is not your dish, then the Apple Glazed Grilled Pork Chop, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Currants ($17) ought to do you just fine. And if it’s meat you can’t eat… the Wild Mushroom Risotto will satisfy the ‘vegan’ in all of us. On the wine front, go with the Clos Du Val, for thirty bucks, it can’t be beat. The good news? Come summertime, that fiberglass front will pivot open and Coup will spill onto the street. The bad news? Everyone will know.
JUNNO
64 Downing St. (Bedford and 7th Ave South)
627-7995
This intimate Nouvelle Japanese, thirty some-odd-seat eatery definitely caters to the hip, city set…Drop by the sexy blue bar and have bartender/cutie Clem get you going with his own advent: The Mademoiselle…slightly sweeter than a Cosmo, perfected for an editor of a magazine of the same name. Let the drink dull the pain as you endure the inevitable wait for your table (no reservations, sorry). Then lift off to Euphoria as you nosh on an order of the most perfect bar food ever invented: Edamame ($2), steamed, salted soybeans that pop out of the shell and melt in your mouth! Could live on these alone. Time to hit your table where you must immediately hit up your waitress for the Ravioli of Sweet Shrimp with Mustard Miso Sauce ($6), an unbelievable delectable sauce surrounds the most perfectly prepared dumplings. The Sake list is extensive in price (high to low) as well as quality (fair to excellent). Ask owners/partners Junno or Jean Shim for a recommendation or two. They seem to always be on hand, anticipating your every need. The rolls are traditional ($5-$6), no big whoop, yet satisfactory to say the least. Entrees consist of mostly traditional dishes as well, with slightly sexier art direction…Grilled marinated Short Ribs with Sesame and Scallion Salad ($14) sounded better than it was, and the Bouillabaisse of Red Snapper and Shellfish with Chrysanthemum and Watercress ($12) gets an A for effort. If the entrees are slightly disappointing, no one seems to notice as the uber-cool gen-exers watch the likes of Michael Stipe performing aromatherapy on himself at the corner table.
ORCHARD BAR
200 Orchard St.
212-673-5350
Lower East Side
This is the new hip part of town…And this is the most upscale of the venues. Cool professional patrons who like to pretend they’re still struggling chat casually. The drinks are stiff and reasonable and the place is reasonably chic without much pretense. The somewhat cramped corners make for easy conversation. And the back area is nice for a small group’s gathering. Décor works in that kind of neo-pan-Asian type of way.
THE ROOM
Sullivan St.
SoHo
It’s a bar and lounge that serves wine, beer, champagne and port to the low-key SoHo set. Lots of singles everywhere you look, but you won’t feel dated if you're over thirty. The room is actually two rooms with lots of exposed brick and quirky metal objects.
OZNOT’S DISH
Located in ultra cheap Williamsburg, you can’t beat Oznot’s for the scene, the food or the price. The place is hipper than most spots in Manhattan put together, as it is the restaurant of choice for the designers and artists of tomorrow. The wine list is extensive and the staff know what they’re talking about. The fare is nouvelle Mediterranean, with traditional accents of cous cous, yogurt and hummus sprinkled throughout about. For the cutting edge only! Debbie lives for Oznot’s!!
SHOPPING
LOWER EAST SIDE - EDGY DESIGNERS
ZARA
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
You could probably get an entire season’s worth of a wardrobe here for under a thousand bucks. Zara does the most adorable knocking off of the season’s hottest trends from evening to ready to wear. And the quality is surprisingly good for the price! But go early on in the season as Zara is no longer a secret! Sizes will go and you’ll go nuts when you see that fab pink dress is only one left....and it’s a size 12!
WAREHOUSE
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Similar to Zara...Caters a little less to the "rich Russian set" and more to the wannabe/edgy girl about town. Lots looks like Prada and Dolce. Just don’t buy anything with the Warehouse logo (that’s right, back away from the messenger bag!) or you’ll look totally tired!
HOTELS
PARAMOUNT
235 WEST 46TH ST
(212)764-5500
Another Schrager venue, but higher concept. Let’s make a totally chic, totally cheap hotel right in the heart of Manhattan (hey, poor people want to be trendy, too!). The rooms are tiny, but quite glamorous just the same with high design pieces that help you forget that the closet’s the size of a pea (where to put the Monolo’s, Darling?). The lobby brings out the fierceness in us all and the bar, The Whiskey (owned by Cindy’s hubby, Randy-Dandy Gerber) pulls in a hot single crowd. Not a bad deal for a hundred and change a night.
CHELSEA INN
46 WEST 17TH STREET
(212)645-8989
Looking to tap into the gay scene? Then Chelsea in is your place. Super-friendly (even hetero friendly) staff have that Newhart hospitality thang going on. Quaint, charming brownstone feels like a home away from home. And the restaurant is excellent and very well known. Very reasonable, very tidy, very clean, and fab location for all.






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