The reputation of Mission Chinese Food is for being cool, weird, and extremely eccentric, which tends to mean that you either love it or hate it (an assessment that is at least somewhat correlated to your personal tolerance for spice).

The print graphic designer´s heaven. All sorts, sizes and weights of paper, shaped in forms i have not seen before (jup you don´t get that in Austria). Packaging material, adhesive letters and everything else you just want to have. Find all sorts of pens and versions of Moleskines. If you like childrens books and/or illustration, also check out the great store on the other side of the street (Cupcake Café).

One of the last untapped areas of downtown Manhattan. Hand pulled noodles, cheap eats, and a concentrated area of families make this an often interesting place to explore.

Been going here a long time. Solid Italian spot with freshly made pasta. Get the cavatelli with Sausage.

Within an couple hours' drive of NYC, you can find lots of sleepy seaside towns. Not only can you get your soft ice cream and salt water taffy on, but you can still spot cool, hand-lettered signs and other relics of a past generation's amusements.