Manhattan's Chinatown is my second favorite neighborhood next to Fort Greene. It's full of people, odors, bars, clubs, cafes, and restaurants. There's always something going on here.

The oldest still-operating restaurant in New York City, still in the family of the original founders. At Christmastime, it's decorated to the nines. Go with a big group: portions are large and the wine flows liberally. Look for the little buttons on the walls: in the old days, the mafia would hang out in the back room, and if diners saw the cops come in, they'd press the buttons so the mafia guys could run out the back.

In 1994 Megan Kinney opened her first MEG shop in NYC’s East Village. Her locally manufactured, independently-owned fashion label is designed and operated exclusively by women, and sales often go to support causes that affect the lives of women and girls here at home and also abroad. The shop on N 6th Street in Williamsburg, also serves as Meg’s design studio, so patterns for future garments hang along side current collections—giving the space the warmth and appeal of an artists’ workshop. And it’s not uncommon to discover Meg, a ray of Brooklyn-sunshine, herself working away or chatting with her adoring customers. MEG’s enthusiastic staff will always go to great lengths to make you feel like you’re buying a custom garment. Their trained eyes make certain that every seam sits in just the right place or off to their tailor it goes—and POOF! suddenly you have a little taste of local couture in your closet.

I have been getting burgers here since I first moved to NYC. I think it is 1000 years old or something like that. Only two types of burgers, with or without bacon. I like easy decisions and this place is full of them. There is usually a line to be seated, but it always seems to go fast with $2.50 mugs of McSorley's. It's also at this strange vortex in the west village where 4th street and 12th street cross. Maybe that's why the line never takes too long and everything is so cheap.

The best, coziest place for a burger!