Cherry Blossom & Townhouses

The cherry blossom tree contrasts very nicely with the old townhouses in the background. This photo was taken in the East Village near 3rd Avenue and 9th Street.

So how is your week so far?

Motorcycle @ Kiehl's Store

This is one of four or five motorcyckes inside the Kiehl's store in the East Village. Kiehl's is a NYC company that sells really nice hair care and body products.

So do you know how to ride a motorcycle? I don't but I hope to one day.

Cookie & Coffee @ The Mercury Dime

I met up with a friend for coffee at The Mercury Dime cafe in the East Village last week. Since I was early, I ordered the cappuccino first while I waited and read the newspaper, and when she arrived, I ordered a double french pressed coffee. Each order came with this cute little lace cookie. The coffee, unfortunately was not very good even though it was made fresh to order.

The best coffee in NYC, in my humble opinion, are found at La Colombe Cafe in Tribeca, Petal Belle in SoHo because they use the La Colombe brand of coffee, and Aubergine Cafe (in my neighborhood) that uses Irving Farm coffee. Irving Farm has its own cafes in the city but I have not visited one yet.

So what is your favorite brand of coffee or tea?

Monster Alert

Another neighborhood, another mural! This one was taken in the East Village over the weekend. Some of the murals can be quite creative and funny. And this one is definitely one of the better ones.

So are you afraid of monsters? Do you believe in monsters?

Old, New & In-Between

This is the view of the Chrysler Building from downtown East Village. I was standing on 13th Street and the Chrysler Building is on 42nd Street. In the foreground, is an old pre-war apartment building on the left and a new luxury condo on the right.

So do you prefer old or new?

Sunrise Mart Japanese Supermarket

This is the exterior shot of Sunrise Mart, a Japanese supermarket in the East Village. East Village used to be a rough neighborhood but over the last decade, it has become a very hip and trendy outpost of all things Japanese.

So where do you usually get your groceries?

Rickshaw Dumpling Truck

This Rickshaw Dumpling Truck was one of four food vendors I saw around East Village earlier this week. The other trucks included one selling Mister Softee ice cream, the Mud Truck that sells gourmet coffee, and one selling French-style crepes. I have also seen vendors at other times selling Belgian wafflers and gourmet ice creams from a truck around this area. So why are there so many of these vendors here? Well, they primarily serve the college crowd that tends to hang out in the East Village during week days.

So have you or would you eat someone sold from a truck like this?

East Village Lamp Post

This interesting tile work plastered all over the lamp post is one of many such pieces in the East Village. I don't know the exact origin or purpose of the work but it definitely adds character to the neighborhood.

So what character does your neighborhood have?

Update: The artist of this work is Jim Power a.k.a. Mosaic Man.

$1 Menus at East Village

You don't have to go to McDonald's for the $1 menu any more. It seems like a number of restaurants in the East Village (all within half a block of each other) are offering their own version of $1 menus including the $1 falafel sandwich, the $1 pizza slice and the $1 sushi.

So what can you buy for US$1 at where you live?

Daylight Moon

Even though it was only 5:30 PM last week, the moon was already out in full glory. This photo was taken on St. Mark's Place near 3rd Avenue in the East Village.

So how is the weather in your hometown?

East Village Painter

I got off the bus at 3rd Avenue and 8th Street last weekend and saw this guy painting a picture of the Cooper Union Building in the East Village. The painter patiently applied his strokes to the canvas despite the freezing cold temperature and breezy wind outdoors. I snapped a half dozen photos and ran inside a Starbucks to get a warm cup of Caramel Macchiato.

So what do you like to drink when it's cold outside?

Dino Mural

This dino-mural, literally and figuratively speaking, is located on the 3rd to 5th floor of a building on 3rd Avenue between 13th and 14th Street. I don't know the significance of it but it definitely lights up the neighborhood.

So what brightens up your day?

Otafuku NYC

This is the front entrance to a tiny (and I mean TINY) Japanese take-out restaurant called Otafuku in the East Village. There are only three items on the menu: okonomiyaki (Japanese style savory pancake), takoyaki (octopus balls) and yakisoba (stir-fried noodles). Customers can mix and match any combination of two of the above items for less than $5. Now, that's cheap eats.

So have you eaten octopus before?

Old & New in East Village

This is the skyline of East Village on Lafayette Street, just south of 8th Street. The blue glass building on the left is a new $5 - $12 million condo/coop building that sits on leased land. This is an interesting concept in residential real estate because the building does not own the land it sits on. At some point (way in the future), the lease on the land will expire and a new contract will have to be drawn up. How will that affect the prices of the apartments? Only the future can tell.

So how was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Vespa Lock

I was walking down Lafayette Street in the East Village when I saw this interesting lock mechanism on the Vespa's handle. Vespas have always fascinated me and I have professed on this blog my fantasy of owning one one day and cruising down the street (of the Amalfi Coast in Italy, perhaps) on it. Hopefully, my dream will come true soon.

In the photo, you can see my reflection on the back of the mirror. I have just bought a copy of the September 2008 issue of Vanity Fair with Carla Bruni-Sakorzy on the cover and was trying to juggle between holding the camera and the magazine while taking this photo.

So what magazine have your read lately? Do you have a favorite?

Urban Valley

This urban valley was actually 7th Street between Broadway and Lafayette Avenue in the East Village. The sun was setting and it created a beautiful silhouette of buildings against the golden sky.

So where and what were you doing at 6 PM yesterday evening?

Supermarket Mural

I saw this interesting mural on the side of a small supermarket on 16th Street between Park and 3rd Avenue a couple weeks ago. I thought it was interesting and especially appropriate since New York City is considering a proposal to increase the number of licences for fresh fruits and vegetable vendors in the city in an effort to combat the epidemic of obesity among inner city residents.

In addition, a University of Washington study reported in the New York Times found that a 2,000-calorie diet costs $3.52/day if it consisted of only junk food, while a similar caloric diet of fresh vegetables and fruits costs $36.32 a day, which is 10 times as expensive.

So are you eating your vegetables and fresh fruits?

7th Street & Lafayette Street

This is a Saturday night scene on the corner of 7th Street and Lafayette in the East Village. Notice the yellow taxi parked at the bottom left of the photo and another on the adjacent street before the traffic light junction. According to the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC), there are over 13,000 yellow taxicabs in New York City. The cost of a taxi ride starts at $2.50 upon entry and $0.40 for every 1/5 of a mile of travel or 60 seconds of sitting in traffic congestions. A quick ride uptown from lower Manhattan can easily cost $12 to $20 (before tips) depending on the time of the day and traffic on the street.

I, myself, rarely use the taxi service because I have an unlimited use subway pass ($81/month) and the subway trains run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The few times I've taken a taxicab are when I was heading to the airport or to any place that is not near a subway station.

A frequent question I get from out-of-towners is, "Won't it be faster to take the taxi?" and the answer is almost always NO. Because of the density of automobile traffic in NYC, it is usually faster to get around the city via the subway.

So have to taken a subway recently? What do you think of it?

Surfing in the Wind

I saw this cute dog enjoying the breeze (actually it was more like a gust of wind) during his walk in the city a couple weeks ago. He looked like he was really enjoying the wind in his face but it was actually very cold. So maybe he was closing his eyes to avoid from cold.

What do you think? Was he cold or was he enjoying the breeze?

The Mud Truck

The Mud Truck is an interesting twist to the regular lunch truck that we normally find parked outside construction sites. This truck, parked outside the Astor Place (4th Avenue & 8th Street) subway station, targets mainly the subway riders and the already over-caffeinated New Yorkers on the street. I'm one of those over-caffeinated New Yorkers who drink three to four cups of coffee a day, especially when I'm on vacation or cafe-hopping in the city on weekends.

So how much coffee do you drink a day? And what kind of coffee do you like best?