My favorite Japanese restaurant in NY...Small and cozy place, the staff is great, the food always simple and delicious, the uni shots are addictive and the sake perfect.

As Jim Jarmusch put it in the documentary Blank City, the address is roughly between Bowery, Avenue B, 14th Street and Houston. This area of the city is steeped in art, film, and music history; so many hugely influential artists, film makers, and musicians still live and work here. For such a small area, I think it's had more concentrated influence on contemporary art and culture than anywhere else.

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 Performing Garage is an Off-Off-Broadway theater in SoHo, New York City. Established in 1968, it is the permanent home of the experimental theater company originally named The Performance Group that morphed in 1980 into The Wooster Group, and their primary performance venue.

This burlesque club contains a stripper pole, but is hardly worth it unless you know someone who will hook up drinks.