Pho Bang

At 157 Mott Street, between Broome and Grand Streets in Chinatown, Pho Bang does not at first blow one's mind with its banal facade. Inside it looks normal as hell. But check it out: the prices, as Crazy Eddie Antar used to say, are innsannne. We ate the hot pho soup, a soothing Vietnames beef broth packed with rices noodles, bean sprouts, basil leaves, brisket and thin slices of steak for an absurd $4.99. Yes, it more than filled our capacious tummy.

All hail JuliusC!

It is not often one sees a street band that's got chops and charisma.
Almost never. But yesterday, after getting our head shaved at Astor Place, we heard the thunderous drone of Julius C making noise to an dancing crowd at the corner of Broadway and Waverly Place. The singer, whatever his name, still has the teenage enthusiasm to put his band over the top. The girl--appriately weird. Best of all was the Keith-Moonish drummer, a driving, sexy force of nature.

Chinatown's Doyers Street

Here is Mr. Foon of the Sun Wah Barbershop, who cut my hair (not the world's hardest job) for $12 ($3 tip), and did so not cheefully, yet perfectly and swiftly. At this corner of Chinatown (Pell and Doyers) I counted six barshops. Not sure how they make a living. Another odd thing--no cars. Live a movie set.

And close by I found this exuberant graffito:
Shit like that makes life worthwhile. Know what I mean? And then to the Doyers Vietnamese Restaurant, 11 Doyers Street, an under-street level enclave that features summer rolls with shrimp, grilled beef papaya salad, steamed rice cakes, and crepes with shrimp and pork. Also entrees of chicken with lemon grass and fried squid with salt and pepper. Eel with lemon grass, caramel pork with black pepper, watercress with garlic sauce hi-lighted the meal. Our bill? $15.

Balthazar

Balthazar is not cheap, but it is worth a visit. We had steak au poivre, an exruciatingly pleasurable meal, and squid appetizer. But the food is not the only reason one goes to Balthazar. The decor, including the altitudinous ceilings and back-soothing banquettes, transport you to 19th century Paris (as opposed to the real 19th century Paris). Even the bathrooms are cool. Best of all, as we sat in the warm, soft-lit, food-fragranced glow inside, outside it was pouring.

The cold room at Fairway

With June a week away, we must search desperately, at summer's brutal height, for relief.
Best place for relief: the spectacularly cooled (around 40 degrees) Cold Room at the Fairway supermarket at 12th Avenue by 129th Street. This is a 10,000 foot room where meat, fish, dariy products, and fresh pasta are are kept. A godsend to those without AC. Better yet, it's right across the street from Dinosaur BBQ, the best in the city.

Zabar's

Last summer, scientists for the CDC in Atlanta discovered that fat people are healthier than skinny people. More reason to visit Zabar's on the Upper West Side (80th and Broadway). It's got a huge bread section, cheese section, fish and meats section, and a coffee corner with freshly ground beans (I'd avoid, however, the video of Mr. Zabar demonstrating his coffee-tasting prowess. It's the height of disgustoid).

The Westin Hotel at Times Square

Upon its completion in 2002, the Westin Times Square Hotel was slammed by the poobahs of modern design. In the New Yorker, renowned architect critic Paul Goldberger claimed the Westin was "both shrill and banal, less a piece of architecture than a developer's box in drag."

I don't care. I love the building. To me, the Westin is proof that Times Square still oozes sleaze; that it is still perilous and intriguing; that one's heart stills races as soon as one emerges from the bus station to the intersection of 42nd Street and 8th Avenue.
Want to see the Westin, as well as the rest of the city's dazzling architecture? Take a Marisa Tour.