Doughnut Plant

If I could define my hopeful perception of Heaven in two words, they would be "Doughnut Plant." The first time I was lucky enough to try this place, Roland had so graciously brought a ton of different ones into work one afternoon. After eating and thoroughly enjoying the selections, I knew we had to venture to Doughnut Plant and try more. And boy did we.

Conveniently located near the LES, this place offers a variety of standard doughnuts including regular glazed and jelly filled, but they also offer something more for those looking to have something special in their maefs. Their Tres Leche doughnut is just like its name - a perfect mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream. Although a cake doughnut, it is in no way dry, and is very rich and has cream in the middle. Another famous one is their creme brulee yeast doughnut, completely sweet and perfect. And of course, my absolute all time favorite of any doughnut ever, their Blackout - a chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate cream in the middle oozing out into my mouth. They also have specials of the day, but they always seem to run out before you get a chance to try them.

The small, cute building gets rather full fast of hungry customers, so it's a good suggestion to get your doughnuts and run. We got a LOT on our visit, making sure to savor every bite. The pudgy guy behind the counter was ranting and raving over the Carrot Cake doughnut he was shoving in his mouth, so I might have to try that next time.

Yes, it's that good. - Jennifer

Oh man, I love this place. Their doughnuts are just so... good. Jennifer once brought me a Tres Leche donut, and it was all over after that. I had to have more.

To this day, the Tres Leche is probably my favorite donut pretty much ever. I'm not a huge donut eater, and I notoriously go for the glazed, but I think the general rule at Doughnut Plant is to go for the cake varieties. Although nothing I've tried has ever led to me regretting trying it. The Tres Leche is a nice consistency, not as heavy as you'd think, and lightly sweet with a bit of cream in the middle. I've also tried their seasonal strawberry yeast and cake donut-- both delicious, but not quite strawberry-y enough-- and the coconut creme yeast donut, which has a cream filling and coconut on the outside. Their iced chai tea is also good, but a little too sweet (especially when you're eating donuts).

If you haven't been, you have to go. Yes, I love my sweets, but I've never been donut-crazy, and I'm close to needing an intervention because of this place. Glad I don't work/live nearby, for my arteries' sake. -Laurel

Address: 379 Grand St, near Marcy Ave

Website: http://www.doughnutplant.com/

Payment: cash only

Delivery: no

Open Late: no, 'til whenever they sell out, between 5-7

Large Group Friendly: no

Bar/Happy Hour: no

Fat Hippo

Fat Hippo is a recent comfort food-focused opening in the Lower East Side that has garnered a fair amount of buzz. I heard about the place from Matt, and upon inspecting the menu, a consensus was made that we needed to try this place out. We made a reservation (rumor was that it was often crowded), and gathered five peeps to fill out the minimum needed to keep said reservation. And then we ate.. a lot.

The space is smallish with low lighting, modern booth seating, and a bar along one wall. The bar is currently full of glasses, since they are awaiting a liquor license and are BYOB. Luckily there's a convenience store across the street (although I think the guy working there literally makes up the prices on the spot judging by what size bill you pull out of your wallet), and they will happily supply the glasses and chill your remaining drinks until you're ready for them.

We decided to order two of the chocolate and chili ribs appetizers ($8) and a side of mac 'n cheese ($4) to share. The picture above looks a little sad because we devoured half of everything before we remembered to snap one. The ribs were tender and had a great taste from the glaze. We all ended up wanting more, but my only issue was the small portion (2 big ribs) and I could have used a bit more kick. The mac 'n cheese was some of the best I've had in a while-- cheesy, creamy, well-cooked pasta, with crusty Parmesan on top. I'm going back for this if nothing else.

I ordered the Grilled Marinated Pork Chop (above, $13), bone-in and cooked to order, with pulled-pork stuffing and brussel sprouts with bacon and maple-jalapeno mustard sauce. See what a healthy meal this is shaping up to be? I'm eating greens. Anyway, the pork chop was delicious. Flavorful and tender, and a large serving even with the big bone. The stuffing was slightly sweet and tender, and a great pairing with the pork. The brussel sprouts were perfectly cooked, but the sauce was a bit strong and acidic, competing with other flavors on the plate.

Overall the food was very good and ultimately satisfying, and the service was attentive. They did awkwardly ask us to finish our drinks at the bar after we ate in order to free the table for another reservation, and then didn't seat anyone there for the rest of the time we were there. There was also really no good place to stand since the bar was crowded, so it was awkwardtown for a while before we left. That, and a lady got very sick outside of the bathroom I was in and an ambulance was called. But that is not a story for a food blog.

Fat Hippo is worth a try if you're in the mood for some semi-fancy comfort food in the LES for decent prices. Get in while they're still BYOB and save even more! -Laurel

As Laurel said, Matt recommended this place, and I was perfectly enthused to try it. When I called to make the reservation, they were very nice, explaining the perfect times to come (during the week, or if you choose the weekend try and come at 7pm or 10pm, if you can't get a reservation, as they only take them for parties of 5 or larger). The food is Southern comfort mixed with a splash of class. Not to say that Southerner's don't have class, but Southern food can be a bit...messy.

Case in point: the chili and chocolate prime ribs. They were absolutely delicious, but considering I didn't remember to take a picture until after I had already dug my grubby hands into them, I had to hold my camera with my pinkies and take the picture with my ring finger. This proved to be difficult, and made the picture look pathetic. However, trust me, the food is not pathetic. Upon the first bite, the mixture of the sweet and spicy hit my tongue with a surprise. The meat wasn't falling off the bone as I like, but it was still tender and juicy. The pickled watermelon, carrots and slaw on the side were a nice balance, although I wasn't a fan of them alone. The macaroni and cheese was some of the best I've had in a while. The cheese smooth, yet a little crusty on top, and the pasta was cooked to perfection. The waitress recommended it, and it was a great recommendation.

Something the waitress didn't recommend was the meatloaf (not to say that she point blank said, "Do not get this," but she didn't mention it when we asked for her favorites.) However, the Turkey Meatloaf with Taramind Ketchup and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole ($12) sounded like exactly what I wanted that night. After trying everyone else's food - Laurel and Lauren's porkchop, Stan's fries from his burger entree and Matt's chicken (below), I have to say I made the wrong choice. The meatloaf was good, not great, but good. It was exactly what you would expect from meatloaf - tender, juicy and not overly flavorful. The mashed potatoes and green bean casserole were very tasty - exactly as your mother would make them.

However, Laurel's pork was oh-so-tender, and the piece of chicken I tried from Matt's plate made me die and go to heaven. He ordered the Trailer Park Chicken Sampler ($15). This included beer can roasted chicken breast, southern fried drumstick, smoked thigh meat, sautéed collard greens, raisin sauce and corn bread. A lot, right? I believe I only tried the beer can roasted chicken breast, but it was enough to make me want all of it. The only reason I didn't order it was because it seemed like a lot of meat. Bad decision.

One thing that none of us tried and I wish I had been in the mood for, was the Burger Fondue. Even though the restaurant has only been open for a short while, they are already famous for it. I'll be back, definitely. - Jennifer

Address: 71 Clinton Street (at Rivington)

Website:http://www.yelp.com/biz/fat-hippo-new-york

Payment: cash only

Delivery: no

Open Late: yes

Large Group Friendly: Not really, but they do take reservations of 5 or more if you plan ahead

Bar/Happy Hour: Coming Soon! (BYOB)

Neighburrito

We found this place nestled between Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop and Welcome to the Johnson's (world's darkest bar) when we finally stumbled out of the bar starving last week and saw that our fave sandwich shop was closed.

I was most excited by the fajita quesadilla (aka fajita-dilla, $6.50), and even more so by the fact that you could get spiced steak for the same price as chicken or any other meat. And it was greasy and pretty unhealthy looking and tasting, but everything was fresh and I'm going to pretend that means it's healthy. Also, the tortillas and chips are seem homemade (clarification: they aren't :) ), and you get your choice of mild, medium or hot salsa. The mild is simply pico de gallo without the spicyness, and then it slowly gets hotter from there. I actually dig that, because most of the time mild means it burns my tongue. But if you want more flava, go a little hotter.

The next time I went I built my own neighburrito, with chicken, soy cheese, black beans and rice. This one didn't have as much flavor, even with the medium salsa, but it was still good. The next time I had it was today, when it was delivered to my office. I'd like to pretend like I got something other than the spiced steak fajita-dilla, but 1) I LOVE steak, and 2) there isn't really a two. I just love steak.

Meanwhile...there are also lots of vegetarian and vegan options for those with special diets, whether chosen or otherwise. -Jennifer

Neighburrito is a tiny spot in the Lower East Side near some of my favorite places, including Sugar Sweet Sunshine, so it was only a matter of time before we discovered it. The spot largely serves as a take-out and delivery spot, but there is a saw-horse like counter dissecting the restaurant with a few stools for those who choose to stay. Food is made when you order it, so they aren't the speediest.. or the slowest, either.

Their menu offers various signature burritos (including a "breakfast" burrito, served all day, that included eggs and chorizo that I need to try), quesadillas, tacos, and make-your-own options. The meat options include carnitas, steak, chicken, and marinated tofu.

I also ordered a fajita-dilla with steak during our first visit, and it was pretty delicious. It was a good portion, sliced into four piecesand contained peppers, onions, cheese and steak. The steak was cooked just so and pretty generous. On my next visit, I ordered a fajita burrito, which contained black beans, cheese, peppers, onions, corn salsa and steak. It also came with sour cream and salsa, as well as chips. This was a pretty big burrito, big enough that I couldn't eat my chips, but mine also wasn't as good as the quesadilla. It lacked a little.. something, and the steak wasn't as good this time. Still a pretty tasty burrito.

All-in-all, I like Neighburrito. They use fresh ingredients and make things to order, and have lots of options. The prices are also good, and they're open late. I'd recommend for take-out or late night nosh. -Laurel

Address: 127 Rivington Street (btwn Essex and Norfolk)

Website: http://www.neighburrito.com/

Payment: Cash, Cards

Take Out: Yeppers

Delivery: Pretty big delivery area

Open Late: Sunday-Wednesday, open til Midnite, Thursday-Saturday, open til 2am

Bar/Happy Hour: Nope, but there are horchatas!

Babycakes

Pursuing my goal to eat every cupcake worth eating, I came upon Babycakes after having dinner in Chinatown and heading to the LES. I had heard of the place, and knew they offered vegan cupcakes, allergy-friendly treats, and made use of agave syrup in place of refined sugars. I wanted to try it out and see if these good ideas actually equaled a tasty cupcake.

So, here I was, drawn into the snug bakery by a carefully flickering sign. Amy and I stared into the case of the bakery contemplating our options. The offered a good handful of pretty standard options, most available gluten-free or regular. We settled on a regular lemon, and upon receiving it squeezed into the corner and sat on the windowsill. The kitchen is open and the space features brick-a-brack as well as a few things for buying, including bottles of agave syrup. The service was friendly and they dolled out cupcakes to a steady stream of customers passing in and out of the small storefront.

The icing was creamy and lemony--not too tart, not sugary or too sweet, and not piled high. The cake was the most interesting. It was moist and has a great texture, along with an interesting taste. It was more carrot cake-like than anything, minus the carrot, and also not too sweet. Since Babycakes does not use dairy/butter, they use ingredients like sweet potato and pear instead. The taste of these ingredients can't really be picked out when eating a cupcake, but they do have a lightly spiced, different kind of flavor.

Overall Amy and I definitely approved, and felt okay with ourselves after eating it. With organic ingredients and dairy/egg/refined sugar-free, that sneaky guilt feeling is largely absent. Because of these features, however, the prices are a fairly high, with regular-sized cupcakes at $3.00 and up. To sum up, this is an excellent option for vegans, allergy sufferers, diabetics, or just cupcakes lovers looking for something new. -Laurel





Address: 248 Broome St (b/t Orchard and Ludlow)

Website: http://www.babycakesnyc.com

Payment: Cash, Cards

Take Out: Yes

Open Late: 11 pm on weekends

Delivery: Yes

Large Group Friendly: No

Bar/Happy Hour: No

Rush Hour

We stumbled upon Rush Hour (no, we weren't drunk) while looking for some semi-cheap eats in the LES. We had seen this place before, Creperie being right across the street, but had never tried it out.

The menu includes soup, salads, sandwiches, fries, and most of all burgers. The restaurant includes a skinny counter with a few stools in the front, and a small (and I mean small) seating area in the back with a couple of small tables and stools. Most order out, we ordered in. I got a turkey burger with cheese and an order of onion rings, which was about $9. A little steep for "fast food," but the burger itself was huge, the bun was brioche, and the turkey was juicy-- very tasty all-in-all. The onion rings were minced and shaped into a ring, which was a downside, but fried fresh and crunchy.

The food was made-to-order and the service was friendly. I would definitely suggest this place for take-out or delivery if you're in the mood for this type of fare, or as a drunken pit stop after some late night bar hopping. -Laurel


This place has to get a lot of business - it's in the middle of one of the best parts of town to get cheap drinks, and it's super delicious. However, in their attempts to be witty, this place fails miserably, because every other word is spelled incorrectly, and all of their sentences are grammatically incorrect. This doesn't necessarily affect business, per se, and it did entertain me a great deal, but for some reason it always bothers me when businesses can't spell.

The night before, I had had dreams of eating hamburgers, and they were probably the best I'd ever had. I woke up craving them, so I was unbelievably excited to find Rush Hour while we were walking around the LES (and also because I had pain in my ankle and thigh because I had just fallen in a hole that was plugged with an upside down traffic cone, which made a...hole). All in all, his place really hit the spot. Laurel's right though, it is pretty tiny, and the stools are pretty much the same height as the table, so it makes it hard to eat properly.

Foodwise, I also got a turkey burger and onion rings, but I added a lemonade. It was fresh squeezed and had just the right amount of sugar, a perfect combination for a greasy meal, but about 20 minutes later I was about to fall over again...from pain. Make sure you take some tums beforehand, or at least 3 drinks. -Jennifer

Address: 134 Ludlow St, near Rivington St

Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rush-hour-new-york-2

Payment: Cash, Cards

Take Out: Yes

Open Late: Yes! 2am weekdays, 4am on weekends

Delivery: Yes

Large Group Friendly: No

Bar/Happy Hour: No

Essex Restaurant

There's some things I've been missing since I moved up north. Sausage gravy and biscuits are definitely one of them. So when we were informed of the Essex Restaurant, I was elated. Not only was there "The Southern" which consisted of a bowl filled with eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, but Laurel and I decided to split that and pancakes with chocolate chips and bananas. If you see the picture below and above, you should know that even though we split it, we almost fell over from the intense amount of food in our stomachs.

Top that off with up to three alcohol drinks, coffee or tea, and bread, and you've got one of the most delicious and filling meals I've ever had in New York. I suggest it a million times over you make a reservation, as they do get extremely busy. We accidentally made one for the wrong Saturday, but they were sweet enough to let us in on that particular Saturday and didn't try to rush us out.

And once again, in my unbelievable ability to attract gay men and men who want to make comments on my food...A group of gay men leaned over to check out my chocolate chip pancakes and I convinced them to buy some. I really have a pure love for this place. GO! - Jennifer

This is the kind of thing I think of when I think fondly of brunch. Yummy food that lovingly merges breakfast and lunch, a semi-classy atmosphere, and orange juice with alcohol in it. We decided to go here to discuss some book-reading with Davis and Amanda (kudos to them for picking the place), and we definitely enjoyed ourselves.

The brunch menu has a nice variety of favorites with fancy touches. We were all happy to eat actual BISCUITS with gravy that, by they way, tasted super great. Jennifer and I practically licked the plate after we ate "The Southern." The pancakes were super fluffy and sweet almost like cake and came with fresh fruit. Davis ordered the "Deep South," which was The Southern with a country-fried steak. Amanda got the French toast with bananas foster sauce. Both were heartily approved.

I think we will be going back to this place, whether we have a book to discuss or not, and you should give it a try as well. -Laurel

Address: 120 Essex St (Essex & Rivington)

Website: http://www.essexnyc.com

Payment: Cash, Cards (**cash only at brunch)

Take Out: ?

Open Late: 1 on the weekends

Delivery: no

Large Group Friendly: yes, and they take reservations.

Bar/Happy Hour: yes bar, happy hour Tues-Thurs 6-9pm

Dumpling House

Obviously we like dumplings. But when you want something comforting for cheap, dumplings really are the way to go. Dumpling House takes cheap eats to a whole other level.

It's a little hard to find if you don't know where to look.. it isn't labeled. The walls are largely bare and undecorated--let's just say you are not paying for ambiance here. But those savings are actually passed on to you. I don't think there is an item on the menu over $3. For example, we got 3 orders of fried pork and chive dumplings (4 in an order), which were $1 each, two small soups and a bottled water, and we paid $6.50 total. We had more than enough food. I don't think I've ever paid that little for that much food in NYC.

And the food was, for the most part, less scary than might be expected. The dumplings were tasty. A little greasy and doughy, but satisfying. And my soup wasn't bad, either. They offer a wide menu and you can even buy their dumplings frozen. The service not especially friendly but definitely efficient. Be aware that there was no plain soy sauce to be found, only a mix with vinegar. So bring your own if that's what you require.

So if you need to eat cheap, fast, and don't require frills, go here and eat your weight for just a few bucks. -Laurel

For someone who loves good food and likes to dine out, I can eat pretty disgustingly. This day, in particular, I had a diner breakfast from Everest Diner, a two cheeseburger lunch from McDonalds (I know - it's disgusting, for real), and the cheapest dumplings I have ever put in my mouth.

Packed with grease, pork, and scallions - these cheap, cheap, cheap little treasures were probably the worst idea I could have done for how much horrid food I had eaten that day. Speaking of which, I have tried my best, since then, to eat as healthily as possible.

Either way - they're definitely worth the buck I paid for them, and probably more. They were filling and quite good, even if they made me a little gassy (did I just admit that?). Wasn't a big fan of the wonton soup...soup part. It tastes like seaweed. Ewww. - Jennifer

Address: 118 Eldridge St (near Broome St)

Website: n/a (http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/Dumpling-House/)

Payment: cash only

Take Out: yes

Open Late: not really- 9:30 daily

Delivery: ]

Large Group Friendly: not overly--they're usually pretty busy

Bar/Happy Hour: no alcohol

Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop

Either there was a dude named Tiny who owns a Giant Sandwich Shop, or this was the best oxymoron they could come up with. In my head, I pictured a door shoved between two large buildings and a sliver of an alleyway as a restaurant, completely overcome by huge pieces of meat, lettuce, tomatoes, bread - you know, sandwich stuff. What I got, however, was a pretty normal looking place, with adequate seating, and average sized sandwiches. Guess "Average's Normal Sandwich Shop" was taken.

However, I must say that in this overly hipster cafe, the taste certainly made up for the size. My vegetarian meatball sub was a little on the dry side, but very delicious (oddly enough, they didn't have a meat substitute). It was also cheap ($4.50 for the small size), and came with chips - although I was grossly disappointed by the number of chips. The chips you see in the picture above are untouched. I really think Laurel and I got 7 1/2 chips a piece.

Either way, this sandwich shop was well worth it, and the perfect place to sit down and have a long talk about the subtlety of Arcade Fire and write mean poems about your ex-girlfriend in the corner. Laurel and I, however, talked about the presidential campaign and Javier Bardem. Yes, I suppose we're still too indie for words. - Jennifer



According to something I read someplace or another, the restaurant used to be in a "tiny" location, but they moved and therefore the name is now stupid. Maybe not stupid, but their website sure is stupid looking.

I have to say I do like the space, though-- several small tables with window seats and a relaxed atmosphere. It would be a nice place just to relax when you and they are not busy. The menu has a good amount of hot and cold sandwich options, including make-your-own, and salads. I had a hot roast beef with sauteed onions, provolone and roasted red peppers. It was tasty--the roast beef was tender, and I would probably eat it again--but it needed a little kick. Maybe some spicy mustard? Just my two cents.

Our meals featured in the pictures above are the "small size," which was reasonable at $5 and would be a good sized lunch, or if you were like us and ate dinner followed by a bakery stop. They also offer larger sizes for most of their sandwiches, and lots of vegetarian options. All-in-all, a good place to relax with a sandwich and talk about The New Yorker. Yeah, we did that. Maybe NY is making us smarter. -Laurel



Address: 129 Rivington (near Norfolk)

Website: http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/

Payment: cash only

Take Out: yes

Open Late: 10pm daily

Delivery: nope

Large Group Friendly: on a weeknight- maybe. a fair amount of seating is available.

Bar/Happy Hour: nope, but you can get some local sodas.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery

I love bakeries and I love desserts. Seeing the name Sugar Sweet Sunshine alone made me salivate.

And I wasn't disappointed-- the small, homey space (much of the furniture came from the owners' former apartments) is welcoming and filled with different sweets. There are lots of cupcakes to be had with different flavor combos, but I settled on a "Bob"- yellow cake with chocolate-almond buttercream. Besides cupcakes, which, by the way, cost $1.50 (it's typical to pay $4 for a similar cupcake in the city, which is nuts to me), they offer options like brownies, cookies and cheesecake.

They also offer banana pudding, which I tried first. A small the size of a to-go coffee cup, it's enough for two people and costs $4.00. It was sweet, creamy and delicious. The cupcake was also very good, especially for the price. The cake was moist, which can be hard to find with cupcakes, and the frosting was flavorful. I will be back to this place. -Laurel

Cupcakes are probably the best thing God ever invented. Granted, you could probably argue that cakes are complete equals, as they are, in fact, the exact same thing, but I would disagree. Cupcakes don't judge you for getting too big of a slice, or for not being able to eat all of it and having to throw out the stale bits. Cupcakes are also portable, cheap and you can get a wide variety. In fact, I believe I only know one person who doesn't like cupcakes. In fact, he doesn't even like doughnuts. He is a crazy person, and his name is Matt Sullivan. We don't hang out anymore (mainly because I live here, but you get the point).

While Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery sounds like the makings of a terrible MTV show, it's actually one of the cheapest and tastiest bakeries we've found. Don't get me wrong - Crumbs is da bomb, but it's way expensive. My cupcake was a Sexy Red Velvet. It was hot and tempting and came...nevermind. It was moist and definitely not stale, but there was one problem - the icing was definitely butter cream, not cream cheese, which means I really just ate a vanilla cupcake with butter cream frosting. I also got a Black & White, but I gave it to Brett (I accidentally smashed it on the way home, and I didn't want it). I guess we could ask him if he liked it, but he would only try to compare it to the cinnamon twists at Taco Bell.

Oh, and the best part - there was this overly muscular guy in a white wife-beater behind the counter. I'm going to go ahead and say he's gay, but I have no backing evidence other than his rippling muscles and the fact that he works in a bakery. Also, the fact that I'm a judgmental asshole. Worth a peek if nothing else. Love always - Jennifer

Address: 126 Rivington (b/t Essex and Norfolk)

Website: http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com

Payment: cash, credit

Take Out: yes

Open Late: kinda... 11pm on weekends

Delivery: yes, through another service

Large Group Friendly: not really- depends on how busy they are. comfy looking couches though.

Bar/Happy Hour: nope, just coffee and such.

El Nuevo Amanecer

This may sound weird from people who don't live in Tennessee, but I miss authentic Mexican food. I'm dying (literally) without my chimichangas, burritos, refried beans, and most importantly, 2 for 1 margaritas. Laurel and I have been searching and searching for a good Mexican restaurant in New York, especially with a good drink special.

Laurel found this place - El Nuevo Amancer - a place that seemed very authentic and therefore - delicious. Inside is decorated like any sports bar, but instead of soccer on the screens (okay, I'm not trying to stereotype, but in every Mexican restaurant I've ever been in, that's all that plays) there was basketball. However, it was so dark, I could barely see a thing - hence the pictures turning out so bad.

Our food came fast. I, of course, got a chicken chimichanga ($9). It had absolutely no vegetables, which I like a lot, but it did come with a little something extra - bones. Perhaps that was a little more authentic than I could have hoped for. Either way, it was still good, but I couldn't eat the rest of it after finding that little gem. Also disappointing were the beans. I love refried beans, and these were neither fried nor refried (think Mitch Hedberg). Either way, I don't think I could eat their chicken chimichangas again, but I would be willing to try out a vegetarian option. Oh, and the drinks? We didn't end up getting any. We were saving room for crepes (see below). - Jennifer

I have indeed been craving good Mexican food. So much so that every time I go home I eat as much of it as humanly possible. And then I miss it again.

To be in Manhattan this place wasn't too bad, but we did both get a bit of chicken bone in our chicken dishes, which is just unpleasant to bite into. Oh, and the salsa was HOT. And I am not talking spicy, I am talking temperature. Confused? You bet I was. I will say the chicken itself was well-cooked and had good flavor. The refried beans were a little odd, but every time I have tried refried beans in the Northeast/NY they have been weird. It's a fairly big deal that they had them at all. The rice was good, but pretty plain.

I hear they have good margaritas, but we unfortunately did not partake. It is incredibly dark in that place-- I had a little trouble seeing my food.. or the menu.. or Jennifer. The service was nothing special, either. If you are desperate for something resembling Mexican, it's worth a try. Otherwise, for those of you who know better, you may want to wait until you get home. I'll keep searching in the meantime. -Laurel

Address: 117 Stanton St (@ Essex Street)

Website: n/a (http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-nuevo-amanecer-restaurant-new-york)

Payment: credit, cash

Take Out: yes

Open Late: ?

Delivery: yes, and catering

Large Group Friendly: Yes

Bar/Happy Hour: colorful bar, happy hour I'm sure

Creperie

I have a bit of a thing for crepes. While living in Boston I frequented a small place called Paris Creperie that was, well, delicious. So I've been wishing for a replacement.. and I've almost found one.

The smell emanating from outside Creperie is enough to attract you into this place. The teeny-tiny spot in the Lower East Side offers dozens of varieties of sweet and savory crepes with just a few seats. The menu includes fillings like sautéed mushrooms, ham, several cheeses, fruits and nutella. You can choose from the standard match-up of fillings from the menu or make your own. The prices stay in the reasonable range- $7 to $10.

I had a ham and cheese, which was a little overloaded with cheese but otherwise pretty tasty. The crepe itself was a nice thickness (pretty thin), but I do like mine a little crispier, and the crepe itself was a little sweet--which doesn't really lend itself to savory fillings. It was still good enough to draw me in for round 2-- a nutella and strawberry-filled crepe. I will say that their crepes are excellent vehicles for sweet tastiness, and I'd be down for going back to test some other varieties. Try it out if you're in the area--it's the perfect stop for a late-night sweet attack. -Laurel

I've never really had crepes before, but this was a fantastic first experience. I was feeling a little overloaded with heavy foods when we went, so instead of getting a "Savory" crepe with meat in it, I opted for the Pear, Walnut and Brie crepe. Let's just say - it was absolutely yummy. I did, however, have the same problem as Laurel; there was quite a bit of cheese inside.

The place is tiny, so I don't suggest taking a lot of people. We were being rather loud in the little space talking about "Project Runway" and "Make Me a Supermodel," and I kept noticing the cook cracking up at us. However, considering Creperie is in the middle of the Lower East Side, I don't necessarily suggest taking it out on the street with you either. No offense, LES, but you're a little dirty.

Even after my experience, I still wasn't sure about my feelings towards crepes, but when we decided to go back a few days later to get a "Sweet" one, I was sold. To be honest, gooey nutella with strawberries on anything would probably sell me, but inside a crepe, it was amazing.

Oh, and if you're ever feeling homeless, they make a new one every day to put on the plate outside, so you might want to stop by for some free food. - Jennifer

Address: 135 Ludlow St, b/t Rivingston and Stanton

Website: n/a (http://www.yelp.com/biz/creperie-new-york)

Payment: cash only

Take Out: yes

Open Late: yes! until 2 weekdays, 4 AM weekends

Delivery: yes, limited

Large Group Friendly: big no

Bar/Happy Hour: no