It all starts this Saturday noon, with my craving for some grilled pork Banh-Mi from one of my favorite (not any more) vietnamese sandwich shops Paris Sandwich.

I go into Paris Sandwich at 113 Mott St. (Betn. Hester and Canal) and order a sandwich and other stuff for a takeaway. My total comes to 14$. I give my card to the cashier and she tells me there is a minimum of $15 dollars for using a card. Thats a first for me from this store, which I have been to in the past.

Having a minimum is against the merchant policy laid out by Mastercard and Visa and I tell the cashier the same. She does not understand what I say, so I ask to speak to the manager. She goes to call the manager and comes back and says something to the extent that manager says sorry. I ask to speak to the manager at which time a lady comes out and asks me what the problem is. I tell her that it is unfair of her establishment to have a minimum policy on credit card transactions. While I am telling her this, the real manager, a guy in his early 30’s walks up and tells me to either follow the policy or leave.

Well, I tell him that I am leaving and that it still does not make his policy correct. I also inform him that I will file a complaint with MC and VISA via their online link. And I walk out of the store.

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Our friends out at the L.A. Metblog are always going on and on about their favorite vegan ice cream place, Scoops. Though I’m not vegan, I do enjoy tasty vegan treats and to be honest, was kind of envious that I didn’t have a similar place nearby. Then I heard about Lula’s Sweet Apothecary.

Located in Alphabet City, Lula’s has a whole range of sweet vegan treats to tempt your palate. Ice cream, shakes, floats, flavored sodas, even a New York egg cream (with no actual egg or cream, of course). They also have cookies, cupcakes, and hot cocoa, for those whose sweet tooth isn’t partial to cold. And for those who are gluten intolerant, never fear - they have gluten-free options, too. Which means I can take my vegetarian husband, gluten intolerant brother-in-law, and vegan friends there and everyone’s sweet tooth will be satisfied!

Photographer extraordinaire and Metblogs pal Glen E. Friedman, who is part owner of Lula’s, tell us that if you mention Metblogs/Metroblogs when you order, you get an extra free topping on your sundae. I say try the caramel. Yum.

Lula’s is at 516 E. 6th Street between Avenues A & B. Tell ‘em we sent you!

I went to the Ginger Man last night for a friend’s birthday party. Like other Midtown bars, the place is packed at happy hour. I’m not a huge fan of crowded bars, so that put me off right away. I like a place where I can have a conversation, and the noise from the crowd made that difficult.

After shouting our birthday greetings to our friends, I took a look at the drink menu. It consisted of a huge selection of beers (possibly very good beers), but not much else. Not a lot of wine options or cocktails. Not a big beer drinker, I settled for an expensive vodka tonic and waited a good 15 minutes for the server to bring it over. We managed to carve out a little corner for ourselves in the back section. I ended up waiting even longer for my second drink. After giving up on it arriving, I ordered one at the bar. Then, of course, the server came and I had two vodka tonics.

I’d say the place might have good beer, but it has bad service and a not a great atmosphere. The Ginger Man just isn’t a sweet spot.

Photo from gothamist.com

I’ve been noticing the growing number of fruity ice cream/yogurt shops in the city. They’re everywhere: Pinkberry, Very Berry, Red Mango, etc. In some parts of the city (ie. East Village), they’ve become the new Starbucks with similar establishments on opposite sides of the street, both packed. I know these companies are all competitors, but I’m surprised to find there’s so much room for competition for such a narrow niche. All these places look adorable and have very similar menus. Not that I’m complaining about having ample options to satisfy my sweet tooth in a relatively healthy way, it just seems odd how popular they’ve become in such a short time…

A few days ago, I planned to meet a friend for coffee and we ended up going to Red Mango instead. Maybe ice cream/ yogurt is the new coffee?

Go to Whole Foods, go to Trader Joe’s, go to the farmer’s market, go to one of several delicious vegetarian restaurants in NYC, explore the “Chinese” grocery stores, the Indian grocery stores and anywhere you can get your hands on some delicious veggies.

Don’t kill an animal for your dinner tonight. Or lunch if you haven’t had it yet. It’s your one day chance to be a vegetarian. Relish in saving a life, being green, healthy, and fantastically sexy - all in one!

Why? To celebrate World Vegetarian Day!

Photos from Wikipages.com

Last night, I checked out a dinner spot that I’d heard a lot about: Otto. Located in the West Village, this Mario Batali restaurant serves up a variety of appetizers, pizzas, and pastas with a killer wine list. Unlike Batali’s Babbo (which I went to once and can’t afford again anytime soon), the dishes are very reasonably priced - $9 for a pasta dish, $12 - $15 for a pizza.

We were glad we’d made a reservation, since the place was pretty packed. There’s a wine bar in the front, with more seating options in the back. We were politely greeted by a red-haired waiter who aptly looked like Mario himself.  We started off the meal with a drink, possibly the most expensive glass of wine I’ve ever had (all wines by the glass were $12-$15, despite the reasonable food prices). But it was a bit more than a glass and super tasty. (more…)

There's me with my Raspberry Dark Chocolate

A brand new store has opened up on the Lower East Side’s expanding alternative to simply coffee shops. Chocolate Bar offers dark, milk, and all sorts of varieties of chocolates. With an emphasis on delicious coffee-infused drinks - one named “the buzzed” which I refused because it is hot chocolate with espresso - the place is open-like and has really freaking good chocolate and even chocolate infused teas!!! Make sure you smell one.

Chocolate Bar is located at 127 E. 7th street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Come by and have yourself a treat. They also sell Fedoras! How freaking cool. There’s a nice vibe. I’m definitely going to come back often.

Photo from numero28.com

I was meeting a friend for lunch today and felt like some good comfort food. My coworker suggested Pizzeria Numero 28, describing it as the best pizza in the city.

We walked through a drizzly rain in the West Village to get to the restaurant. With the wet weather, we opted for one of their indoor tables (we had our pick). The prices weren’t that great for even their smallest pizza (around $15), so we decided to split a 14 inch Buffalo mozzarrella, tomato, basil pie.  The pizza didn’t take long to arrive and it was delicious. Fresh and perfect with awesome crust. We could have easily split a larger pie, since I devoured my half so quickly.

I’m not sure that it really was the best pizza in the city (there’s a lot of ridiculously good pizza places), but I would say it’s up there. Definitely a good lunch for a rainy Friday.

OK so the pompous title got you to read eh !

Well this post is about one of my favorite lunch options and which I invariably partake one day of the week. These are the halal carts all over the city but especially out in force in my neck of the woods around 6th Avenue and 19th street.

If you stand at this location you can see 4-5 carts within a 100m radius.

What really surprises me is the price of the food. It has been the same for over two years. Anywhere between 4 and 5 bucks will get you a huge portion of Chicken/Lamb/Falafel over rice with lettuce and tomato.

It has not mattered that in the same time frame the price of gas has gone up more than 60% (or  more).

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After a rather stressful week, I was happy to join my friends for happy hour tonight at the Stonewall Inn. Conveniently located in the West Village where I work, this bar is the historic site of the famous Stonewall riots - often cited as the first step towards gay rights.

On June 28, 1969, police entered the Stonewall Inn - supposedly there to make sure they were following alcohol control laws. They began making homophobic remarks and lining the patrons up outside of the bar (something that had happened frequently at that establishment), but this time the people resisted. Spontaneous riots erupted where bystanders joined in and shouted “Gay Power!”. The event sparked several gay activist groups and marked the early steps towards gay rights.

And now it’s a popular gay bar to go to for happy hour. The bar includes a historic vibe, gorgeous chandeliers, karaoke, and 2 for one drinks. Drinking my free drink and singing along to “Colors of the Wind” proved a good way to de-stress on a Friday.