Now in its tenth year, the Division Street restaurant has proven its staying power in a city of amazing eateries. Bacaro’s wine bar and small plates (“cichetti”) are modeled after the “bacaros” of Venice—workingmen’s pubs that serve snacks and small glasses of wine.

Cute and eclectic, The HiHi Room serves a variety of comfort foods with vegetarian options in a chill atmosphere on a bustling street in Brooklyn. 

Offering 20% off on current “indie bestsellers” (and 10% off picks from their well-read staff), you can still get a good deal while supporting one of the city’s last independent bookstores. They also carry an impressive selection of magazines and literary journals that you can flip through in their café. McNally’s event calendar is packed with appearances and readings by authors like Zadie Smith and Chris Kraus, but they're perhaps best known for their in-store printing press and self-publishing services.

One of the only things I enjoy about taking the subway these days is seeing the defaced ads on the L train. Whether it's random chance, high schoolers or street artists the result is always good.

Like Barbapapa’s house with a beautiful garden.