I used to live on the corner of E 3rd St and Avenue A, and I loved the neighborhood. This was before this blog existed, but I still was excited about the many food options available to me: Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches, Mama’s, and a 24-hour Key Food, among others. I was not, however, aware of the existence of Perbacco, an Italian restaurant that blends tradition and the avant-garde. Lucky for me my friends Jess & Garrett knew about it, and the three of us met there for dinner last week. Lucky for you also, because their photos came out much better than mine (click the link to their blog if you don’t believe me).

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I don’t know about you but I have a hard time finding places to take family/relatives to. I don’t really go out that much and when/if I do go out I tend to go to places I’ve been to many many times or places near my apartment. The weekend before my older sister was here, my cousin and aunt from Vancouver were in town. I wanted to take them to a place where it felt New York. Of course, in my head, I ran through all the nice restaurants I’ve been to and there aren’t that many. In the end I took them to Prune. I hope they liked it.

So a weekend later, my older sister was in town again for a wedding photo gig. Taking my sister around is a lot easier because I usually just take her to places I wanna go to. Easy! Few weeks ago I was walking around the East Village and finally found Porchetta. Never knew where it was exactly but I’ve been wanting to go. Anyways so I mentioned it to my sister and she said, yeah whatever. She quickly changed her yeah whatever to OOOOOOHHHHH when I showed her the post and photos from A Gluten Free Guide.
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Howard: I last ate at Dirt Candy almost exactly a year ago, shortly after they had opened. I enjoyed my meal quite a bit, particularly the grits. When I expressed interest in going back, Donny surprised me by saying he wanted to go as well. Donny, eater of chicken feet and pig’s tongue, wanted to eat at a vegetarian restaurant? He most certainly did.

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I think Menkui Tei in the East Village deserves more press. They might not have the best ramen in town or have an extensive menu or a drunken happy atmosphere but you know what, does that matter? They do churn out consistently good dishes. I have not had one single bad meal there nor bad experience. A lot of things change in the East Village. Over the 6 years that I’ve been here in NYC I have seen bars come and go, what was once a dominant Japanese dining area is now half Japan town and half Korea town. It’s comforting to know that whenever I go to Menkui Tei, I’ll get a good meal. Though Minca is still my to-go spot for ramen, Menkui Tei is Steph’s, my friend, favorite place for ramen.
My favorite dish to eat from here is the Oyakodon. Chicken and egg cooked in dashi over steamy rice! Add a dash of hot pepper and you’re set. Such a great cold winter night dish.

- Menkui Tei 63 Cooper Sq, New York

Yes I have heard many things about Crif Dogs and all the crazy dogs they have but I have never been. I know! I didn’t even know where it was. Then New York Hot Dog & Coffee came up with this amazing idea for a hot dog. I feel that the hot dog just doesn’t get as much love as the burger. Its sort of rare for people to go out and say “Oh lets go get a hot dog!” There are so many great burgers in the city but only a handful, probably less, of hot dog places. Why???!!
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I was speaking to my sister about her visit to Minneapolis when she mentioned she’d eaten vegetarian pho. I instantly became jealous — how come she could find vegetarian pho in Minnesota, while I live in freakin’ New York City and had never seen such a thing? I googled vegetarian pho in NYC and up came Lan Cafe, a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant located a block away from where I used to live in the East Village (it turns out that Lan Cafe opened after I moved out of that apartment, so I didn’t miss it while I lived there). I made it my mission to visit Lan Cafe as soon as possible.

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