these are a few of my favorite things

it is a fairly common occurrence for friends to call/email me and ask where to eat, where to buy something, where to find something. and i LOVE having the answer. sometimes i have never actually been to the place myself (as with recently directing my sister-in-law to malia mills for "flattering and cool" swimwear).

all of you out there in the blogosphere, feel free to address me similarly. i am a wellspring of such knowledge.

and in keeping with that, here is an abridged list of some of my favorite (nyc) things:

1. tailor: someone recently sent me to felix tailoring on rivington, off ludlow, where i had pants hemmed for $5 a piece. well hemmed, might i add.

2. babka: i bought a chocolate babka at 9th street bakery last week. it was unexpectedly divine, and only $4.

3. coffee: MUD, on 9th street, or from their truck by the astor place uptown 6 train. you can also buy it by the pound for your home use. it is STRONG strong stuff that gives me the shakes and the shits, but i'll drink it anyway.

4. recipe: banana bread from the silver palate cookbook. this is not technically a nyc thing, except that the original silver palate store was in nyc. so. in my old edition of this, the banana bread is not in the index, so it is sort of a hidden treasure. perhaps they corrected it in more recent versions. keep frozen overripe bananas in your freezer, butter in the fridge, and a well-stocked pantry...you're always ready to make yourself some bbread.

5. community service opportunity: ny cares, which accomodates the busy schedules of new yorkers by offering one-at-a-time volunteer opprotunities. a short orientation is required but then you can sign up for projects for the rest of time.

6. bikini waxer: carrie, at oscar bond salon, on wooster. she is sweet, and down-to-earth, and lovely and cool.

7. kitchen supplier: broadway panhandler. around the corner from oscar bond salon, which makes for a great one-two punch. it is so easy to treat yourself there, because everything is so darn affordable. i grin and giggle as i meander through the store.

8. weekday breakfast: pain quotidien, preferably on grand street and mercer. feel like you are in paris. linger over cafe au lait, homemade granola, and the best baguette in the city.

9. shoe repair: jim's, in midtown somewhere. i once had a boot crisis. i was at a fancy benefit that night and asked the ladies at my table for a rec. several called out at once: "jim's!!" i went there and found a line out the door, including a woman from texas in a fur coat, holding armfuls of ferragamo pumps. "i bring them up from texas to jim" she explained. he worked wonders. and was not expensive.