Poor Dorothy once lamented: There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! However, after sampling a savory carrot muffin at the fab organic bakery, Babycakes, and then enjoying a sumptuous late breakfast at nearby Brown, I think Dorothy would think twice before clinking those ruby shoes. Brown, an all-organic cafe, is reminiscent of outdoor Parisian sidewalk cafes - no pesky waiters turning tables and food that is fresh, delicious and simply made. Brown doesn’t try so hard to be inviting and “natural”, it achieves it with ease by evoking a decor with savoir fare touches; from its cafeteria-style hardwood tables and benches, to potted blooming orchids, the Hester Street eatery is a space decked in sunlight run by a staff who is courteous, friendly and fast.

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Famished Girl | Email | Print | //

Walking through Soho is a perpetual blur of upscale shops featuring the most prominent designers opening up their expansive showrooms to the public. From Jonathan Adler to Rachel Ashwell, from sparse modernism to Shabby Chic, from antiques to Eames, you’ll find a little something for your home palate. Yet, meticulously decorated showrooms exuding too many options with tastes too defined, often gives me vertigo for I’ve never quite ascribed to one particular aesthetic for my home. I have some Shabby Chic, some splashes of vibrant color, some mahogany, a little sprinkling around the living space. So it was serendipitous to find Clio, a tucked away jewel of a shop on quiet Thompson Street, which offers up a stylish and eclectic mix of tabletop items and home furnishings from Brooklyn to Tokyo. Inside, it’s obvious that owners, (and former marketing and PR execs) Michelle and Daniel Lehman, have my artistic eye in mind. Farmhouse tables display colorful soup bowls with Asian design, French country style cheese sets, glass vases that could have been smuggled out of 19th Century barnhouses - all products marked by impeccable taste, panache, and enduring quality. A home decor of sampling and dipping - I couldn’t help myself around the Marseilles cheese plates and dinner napkins with a hint of Kyoto flavor.

And with a small, inviting space, you don’t get the factory feel, rather you feel as if you’ve stumbled into someone’s warm home (complete with exposed brick walls and wood floors) filled to the brim with exquisite treasures. And did I neglect to mention that Clio offers a bridal and gift registry — think birthday, anniversary, new home or any other special occasion. And with easy, convenient online shopping, how could you resist the coolest store on the block?

Clio
92 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012
212-966-8991
Subway: A/C/E to Spring, N/R to Prince

Shop Girl | Email | Print | //

Don’t let the Saturday Night Live retro-style floor throw you, for there’s nothing polyester kitsch about Gavin Brown’s gallery space cum bar. Deconstructed, minimalist decor (think tiny art deco stools, mirrored walls) and a steady stream of potent cocktails draws the most stylish of the art world and those in the know about a spot so reclusive, it rightly earns its name - you very well would pass this speak-easy type bar by. But if you’re set to buckle down for a dirty martini while listening to some serious beats, and want to avoid the frenetic and uber trendy Meat Packing bars, then sneak into Passerby.

But leave the Jessica Simpson inspired cowboy boots at home, ladies, because patrons could care less whether you don Pucci or vintage threads.

And in a city whose nightlife barely starts at midnight, expect this happening spot to reach its optimum stride in the wee morning hours, where the doors close and the fun really begins.

TIP: Warning: Passerby is small, but well worth the visit; ideal if you’re with a friend or date. If you’re carting crew, arrive early to secure one of the highly coveted tables.

Passerby
436 W 15th St btwn 9/10th Avenue
New York City
212-206-6847
Subway: A/C/E to 14th St; L to Eighth Ave

Scene Girl | Email | Print | //

Run away from the overcrowded bars replete with cheap cocktails, shouting hipsters and faux scenesters so glued to the bar you can’t wiggle in, to The Other Room, the West Village’s answer to folks seeking a chill post-dinner spot, or a sanctuary for those that just want to relax with a cold glass of imported beer or a Chilean merlot and good conversation. Inside, haunt one of the tables for two or acquire the entire back couch area while rocking out to the Gorillaz in this fab candlelit beer and wine bar that is high on sophistication.

If you loathe the kind of bar where your conversations amount to shouting matches to be heard, or people barking into their cellular phones, or you wince after your first sip of horrid, horrid wine, not only will you relish the toned down atmosphere filled with a nice mix of artists and corporate types, you’ll enjoy the vast selection of reds, whites (Italians, Californians, S. African, New Zealand are but some of the regions represented) but a fine list of beers on tap. And do sample the four other spots dotted about the city (as well as one in South Beach!) to savor the ambience.

An outside bench is divine for smokers or a crew seeking to enjoy warm summer nights, lamenting about fall and the inevitable chill it brings.

The Other Room
143 Perry Street (& Washington)
New York
212-645-9753
Subway: A/C/E to 14th Street

Scene Girl | Email | Print | //