I've been coming to Blue Ribbon for many years, primarily for lunch, go simple with the house salad or all in with the Omakase

Strand is a castle of books. It claims 2.5 million new and used books, across 18 miles of shelves, cared for by 200 employees—so set aside a couple of hours. Plenty of art books and good prices. Get your healthy huff of that old book smell.

This is another neighborhood favorite, especially for Sunday brunch which is consistently great.

Part of the Marlow restaurant group, Diner is one of the more casual / rustic options. The menu changes daily and is written out (most likely upside down by the wait staff) on your table or the back of a receipt. The only constant item is the burger, which to be honest, is one of the best in the neighborhood. If they have a breakfast sandwich for brunch, get that. The fried chicken sandwich (with dark meat) is also a favorite. They make scrambled egg dishes better than most. Dinner is solid all around (they crush a steak for two). Homemade ketchup and dijon mustard are on every table, so regardless of what you get, these two condiments are worth the visit. 

The Sill is one of our favorite places to shop for plants in all of New York City, offering amazing customer service and a busy calendar of events in their tiny shop on Hester Street to help you learn exactly how to keep that fiddle leaf fig or pothos alive.