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.

German Expressionism makes me giddy. All my favorites are here at any given time - George Grosz, Otto Dix, Egon Schiele, Gustave Klimt - and the building was designed Carrére and Hastings, the same architects that designed the New York Public Library.

Prints, artist editions and various printed ephemera to buy and to look at. A wonderful place.

Yossi Milo is, in my opinion, the most dynamic and eclectic of the photography galleries in NYC. From portaiture to architecture to experimental digital sculptural giant animals to street photography, they show an endlessly exciting range of work. Some of my favorite recent shows include Simen Johan's mythical beasts, Ezra Stoller's architectural photographs of the TWA terminal, and Sze Tsung Leong's huge cityscapes.

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.