Cristina.

curried gnocchi, masala french toast, pakora pancakes - welcome to indian fusion. Treat does it surprisingly well, though they tend to run out of stuff early on - I went for brunch once and they had run out of daal by noon. what's that about, shouldn't it be in a giant cauldron in the back. regardless, it's worth checking out, esp for the byob policy.

PS1 is an extension of MOMA, and worth the trek for the art alone. However, in the summer, one of the biggest weekly parties in NYC happens in their courtyard. Seriously, pretty much every hipster between the age of 23 and 35 can be found at Warmup, the saturday afternoon party featuring booze, DJ's, live music and lounging. it's the best summer people-watching in NYC and I highly recommend going at least once.

What's not to love about Water Taxi Beach? sand, music, beer, and a tiki feel, and all the while you are staring at the stunning NYC skyline. but like every good NYC bar, Water Taxi Beach was bad-ass until everyone from New Jersey wised up and started hanging out there. it's still salvageable though - it's great on weeknights when the vibe is fairly chill and you can catch a beautiful sunset over NYC, and it's fantastic on weekend afternoons when you can laze around and play beach volleyball. or even Friday nights, when people in NJ are too tired to go into the city. but otherwise I wouldn't bother.

I love Communitea for how neighborhood-y it is. everyone is a legit local because let's face it, what person from Manhattan or even Brooklyn would go into Long Island City for fun? so there's none of that Manhattanite-in-Williamsburg feel. and the free wifi ensures that this place is always packed with freelancers.

Corner Bistro just feels like an institution - aging wood, aging bartenders, and a kind of mustiness in the air that you won't find anywhere in williamsburg. The burgers are scandalously juicy and thick, and since everyone in town wants to eat here, you can be assured of at least a 30-40 min wait. Luckily, they have McSorley's on tap, for about $2.50 a pint.

I'll pretty much eat indian anytime, anywhere, but my one gripe with it is that it's so heavy that I usually have to take a nap afterward. which, on a saturday night, isn't a good thing. but Lassi has changed all that. the heaviness is gone, and though I often crave the muddled spiciness of traditional Indian, the spiciness here is brighter and more distinct, kind of like thai food. and I dig that. the lassis are obviously a must-try, but so are the parathas and the shahi chicken. there's only like 5 stools inside, but that's okay - you can just eat while you're walking to the bar.

In a neighborhood full of places my broke-ass can't afford to eat at, Westville is an oasis. The traditional American fare is sort of reminiscent of what you'd expect in a beach town (though probably more Rehobeth Beach than East Hampton) - lots of fresh meats, seasonal offerings, and a mind-boggling array of sides. It's a little cramped and you'll be waiting for a table, but it is definitely one of the most reasonably-priced places to eat in the west village.

Cav is a relative newcomer to the evergrowing mix of modern restaurants and bars in Manila, and it's a welcome one. Run by Aussie expats, the wine here is actually good (since bad wine tends to be the norm throughout SE asia), and is served through the Philippines' first ever prepaid wine dispenser. You buy a prepaid card, stick it into the machine, and voila! 25ml of wine. or more, depending on whether you're tasting or drinking. the counters full of wine are all tempting and seriously, it is a genius concept that leaves me broke and drunk every time. food is pretty good too.

it's always nice to come here every few years and totally restock my shoes and accessories - seriously, you can find knockoffs of pretty much everything, and even some real stuff that has slight flaws (since all of it is made in the philippines anyway). and sure copyright infringement is wrong, but if you are willing to risk getting caught at customs, there are loads of people selling fake DVD's for way cheaper than what you'd find in thailand. don't forget to bargain hard though - $20 for shoes may seem cheap, but you can probably get them for $10.

halo-halo is pretty much the national dessert of the Philippines, and it literally means 'mix, mix'. there's always shaved ice, ice cream and milk, but after that it's all up in the air. anything from jackfruit to to purple yams to mung beans can be in it. for this reason, I've always been super wary of halo-halo and haven't always liked it, but Razon's has changed all that. there's only 3 ingredients in their halo-halo - leche flan, sweetened bananas, and young coconut. and holy shit, it's awesome. I highly, highly recommend.

the Philippines isn't all relaxed, gorgeous islands - a culture that loves to party has spawned a generation of kids that want to dress up and go clubbing all the time. and thus you have Embassy - socialites, Filipino celebrities, expats, foreigners playing basketball in Manila, Entourage-wannabes, it's all here, looking uber dressed up and gorgeous. there are two huge rooms, one spinning hip hop and the other playing techno, and they're packed with people. if you can, it's worth it to pay off the bouncer for VIP access just to get some space. definitely a fun night out, though I doubt I could ever stand to be a regular here.

. . .judging by the looks of this place. hip, international crowd, dimly lit, world music of some sort, and just enough attitude to keep you on your toes. the food is terrific and so is the people-watching. I wouldn't recommend going here if you're having a bad hair day or feeling fat.

kudos to Moby - he managed to open a relaxing, zen teahouse in the middle of the lower east. well, at least when it's not fucking crowded. the tea is good, and the vegetarian/vegan food is decent if a bit overpriced.

everyone and their mom was coming here even before Sex and the City made it popular with midwestern tourists. everything will satisfy your sugar craving, though I'm annoyed that their cupcakes are more expensive than other bakeries in the city. I get around this frustration by ordering the banana pudding, which is awesome. there is no seating in the W. Village location, though they've expanded to 2 more locations uptown that are a little bigger.

if you thought that pretending to work hard on your laptop and ignoring everyone around you while discreetly checking them out when they're not looking was only an american pastime, think again. Sankt Oberholz seemingly attracts every hip, young, wirelessly connected freelancer in the city. this is a fun place to "work" or catch an afternoon snack.

holy shit, I can't believe how dope this bar is. you pay 1,50euro to get in, drink as much wine and eat as much food as you like, then pay what you feel is appropriate on your way out. it is all dependent on customers being fair, otherwise they'd go out of business, but you still get a pretty good deal out of it. yet another example of german ingenuity.

it's rare when guidebooks point you to the popular local joints, even rarer when tourists invade and they still stay local. La Carboneria is a case in point - sure you'll see a bunch of Americans on their semester abroad, waiting for the flamenco show to begin. but you'll also see locals busting out their own flamenco moves spontaneously. this place is a riot, you really have to see it to believe it.

Casa Leopoldo is a Barcelona institution serving up great regional fare (read: seafood). It's tasty, but a little pricey - lunch is somewhat cheaper, but either way you'll be splurging if you're on a backpacker budget.

you're probably wondering why you'd bother having Georgian food when Turkish food is pretty awesome as is. well, the Caucuses almost universally have shitty food, but Georgian is the one shining stand-out - since you're not going to find much Georgian in the U.S., might as well try it when you can, right? and this place doesn't disappoint. not to mention the fact that you are eating in an old British jail. that in itself is kind of cool.

if you're into views, this is the place for you. Leb-i Derya is on top of a hill, and from the bar you can check out Aya Sofia and Topkapi Palace. all while drinking a beer! there's an open terrace where you can further linger, and if it's too cold outside, well the interior isn't too bad to look at either.

I stumbled onto this place randomly one day, and when I got back to the U.S., a friend who had lived in Sevilla for a year told me that I had randomly found her favorite tapas bar in all of Sevilla. seriously, this place can do no wrong. I came here twice a day until I had tried pretty much everything on the menu, and it's all good.

If you can believe it, the hottest club in Portugal, if not the entire Iberian peninsula, is co-owned by John Malkovich. who would have thought? Lux is pretty far from bars in Bairro Alto where you'll likely be pre-gaming, but it accessible by subway and definitely worth the trek. Two cavernous floors filled with Lisbon's young and beautiful are reason enough, but the music here is legitimately good. Usually there's some sort of techno or electro on the ground floor, and hip-hop on the 2nd. Don't bother getting here before 3am, and make sure you've cleaned up a little - 12 euro cover charge doesn't exactly dig your khaki shorts and flip flops.

There are a number of reasons to appreciate Rebar:
1) all that fucking space. c'mon Manhattan, get it together.
2) they could have slacked off on the food since no one has high expectations for bar food, but their food is super tasty
3) local art on the walls
4) the guy who runs it is really nice. way nicer than he has to be.

this place is a DC institution, and you can see people lining up a 1/2 hour before the restaurant actually opens. really, unless you get in the first seating, you're looking at about a 30-45 min. wait for gigantor portions of food that is pretty good, but won't blow your mind, esp considering you can find good Italian anywhere without the hassle of a wait. nevertheless, it's one of my favorite home-y, comfort-y places to go in DC, and judging by how many tables turn over in a night, I'm not alone.

God do I love this place. Aside from the fact that it's a cute cafe with food, wifi, blah blah blah, there's an attached bookstore with a badass selection of books on activism, culture, politics, etc. so you can read *and* discuss, all in the same space. there's also weekly open mics, poetry events, and documentary screenings so you can keep up with what's hot locally. it's always bustling, but worth the wait to support such great initiatives.