Food: ☆☆½
Service: ☆☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Must try: Charred Eggplant
Food: ☆☆½
Service: ☆☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Must try: Charred Eggplant
Food: ☆☆☆½
Service: ☆☆☆½
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Must try: Bruschette, Lasagnette Di Melanzane
Food: ☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆ ½
Cost: $$
Must try: Kuaytiaw Khua Kai
Economy Candy located on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan is a New York institution that has been around since 1937. Owned by Jerry Cohen, this sweet stop is stacked with floor to ceiling racks filled with every imaginable kind of candy.
Food: ☆☆☆½
Service: ☆☆☆½
Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆
Cost: $$$
Must try: PB&J, Rice Crispy Crusted Monkfish
Food: ☆☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$
Good for: kids, foodies, small plates, hip cheap eats
Dishes not to miss: Spicy pork slider with pesto sauce, ice-cream sandwich
Special notes: Cramped quarters/ not good for large groups, long waits unless you go right at opening time, open until 4:00 AM Thursday through Saturday, and until 2:00 AM every other day of the week.
The Meatball Shop on Stanton Street is a shrine dedicated to one of America’s favorite Italian imports – the meatball!
The concept is so simple and the execution so clever – it blows my mind.
Known for the best chocolate chip cookie in town, this cute little Lower East Side coffee haven is definitely worth stopping off at. The cookies are good – but not the best I’ve had. Their stuff is very fresh as all the baking is done on the premises.
Every cup of coffee is brewed fresh and it smells like heaven in here. The founder of The Roasting Plant has developed a unique system to deliver the freshest cup of coffee to every customer.
Here is an excerpt from their website which explains how it works:
“To accomplish this unique innovation, founder Mike Caswell spent six years testing and developing Roasting Plant Javabotô, a patented automation system that ensures maximum freshness and peak flavor. While roasting each type of bean, the system monitors crucial factors such as airflow, temperature, and humidity. Perfectly roasted beans then travel through vacuum tubes, untouched by human hands, until they’re ground and brewed to your specific order.”
Though the space is tiny, they are well equipped with little plug points for customers to sit with their laptops and a cup of coffee to work or play all day! Stop by for sure…if you are ever in the neighborhood!
Food: ☆☆☆ ½
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆☆
Cost: $$
I recommend: Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bacon Custard Sauce
What happens when three ex-Le Cirque pastry chefs put their talents together?
Three words:Dessert Truck Works.
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BaoHaus, is where owner Eddie Huang merges the age old Taiwanese street snack Gua Baowith the all natural, environmentally conscious spirit of today. Read the rest of this entry

As a foodie, I find the Lower East Side so charming. Quaint little food shops and restaurants are popping up all over the place and I for one just love to explore it all.
One of my most interesting recent finds was the Hester Street Fair located at Hester and Essex Street.
The Hester Street Fair is a brand new street fair, which is modeled on the Brooklyn Flea. At this hip little market one can find everything from macarons to men’s shirts!
My ratings for this meal: Food: ☆☆☆ Ambiance: ☆☆☆ Service: ☆☆☆ Price: $$$ I recommend: Tuna Tartare with a Harissa-Sesame Sauce, Cucumbers, Radish and Crispy Rice, Fried Egg Bourguinon, Creamy Polenta
Daniel Boulud’s first expedition downtown has given birth to DBGB Kitchen and Bar, his most informal eatery yet. DBGB’s modern digs pays homage to the neighborhood which used to be New York’s industrial restaurant supply area. Shinny copper pots, wine bottles, glasses and other utilitarian supplies placed on funky industrialized shelves serve as a major part of the decor. Most of the walls are mirrored and have Boulud’s favorite food quotes written on them. Read the rest of this entry
Food: ☆☆
Service: ☆☆
Ambiance: ☆ 1/2
Cost: $
I recommend: Wonton with Spicy Sauce, Sesame Pancake Sandwich.
Strolling around Chinatown one day, my interest was piqued by the hustle bustle at a neat looking dumpling house. That’s how I discovered Vanessa’s Dumpling House on Eldridge Street. Vanessa’s works like a well-oiled machine and is run by an all women crew – love that! Read the rest of this entry
MY RATINGS FOR THIS MEAL
Food: ☆☆☆☆
Service: ☆☆☆
Ambiance: ☆☆
Cost: $$
I recommend: Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwich, Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, Wild Maine Blueberry Pancakes, Fried Green Tomatoes, Cheese Grits.