Catch the Third-Wave Revolution at Fête Coffee

August 12th, 2011

Fête's inviting lounge area

Once upon a time, Starbucks was revolutionary, but in true New York fashion, the coffeehouse has modernized once again into the independent and artisanal third-wave Fête Coffee. This beautiful little café in the Gramercy Park area is the perfect relaxing hangout, whether you want to bring your laptop and get some work done using their free Wi-Fi or if you want to spend an hour sipping a cappuccino on the couch in their welcoming lounge area. If dining in, they even offer a collection of designer mugs for your use, ranging from cute to gimmicky and created by artists and architects.

Once you’ve picked yourself a mug, bring it up to the counter and order your drink. Unlike chain coffeehouses, Fête takes the time and utmost care to make each cup of coffee and espresso perfectly and with great attention to detail. One of the baristas told me, “We want to get coffee-making down to a science. This is why all of our baristas are specially trained. Third-wave coffee shops like ours emphasize quality.” Not only do they grind the beans for each espresso drink as they are ordered, but they also do the beautiful latte art with steamed milk that one sees in pictures from upscale coffeehouses.

Fête Coffee also provides gourmet breakfast and lunch items, delivered daily from local businesses like Ceci Cela. Pair one of their croissants with a latte, or try one of their fresh tea creations like their Ginger Lemon Iced Tea alongside their fruity frozen yogurt. Definitely the prize item on their menu, the frozen yogurt is blended to order with real fruits of your choice and then topped with whatever crunchy additions you like. It is a must-try!

Located near Baruch, SVA, and the NYU 26th St. dorm, Fête Coffee is the perfect place to spend some time alone to study or hang out with friends over lattes. In fact, the entire lounge room in the back is available to rent out to private parties and events like club meetings, and Fête will even cater a menu to your budget. So skip the pizza party this month and try gathering your club at this spacious and inviting café, where everything is fresh, delicious, and artfully made for you.

Come back each week for new dessert flavors!

-Avia Dell’Oste
@Hunter College

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Grotta Azzurra: A Taste of Capri in Little Italy

August 8th, 2011

The beautiful interior of Grotta Azzurra is just as wonderful as their menu.

Being that my last name ends in a vowel it’s pretty much a given Italian cuisine is something I enjoy immensely. I find that when you eat food representative of your background or even if it’s the primary cuisine you eat at home, you are also critical of said cuisine. I’m always looking for an Italian restaurant that isn’t substandard and successfully fits the criteria I look for. In other words, when I eat Italian food out I want it be just as good as what I happily devour at home. Luckily I found such a place.

Grotta Azzurra resides in Little Italy, a neighborhood with a rich history that attracts both tourists and native New Yorkers because of the many great restaurants crowded on Mulberry Street. Grotta Azzurra has a rich history worth mentioning too.  Grotta Azurra opened its doors in 1908 and was a known favorite of the late great Frank Sinatra.  His music can be heard as well as other famous crooners like Dean Martin throughout the establishment. The restaurant was recently renovated and is simply beautiful. The interior is elegant due to circle pictures of famous Renaissance sculptures decorating the walls. This is all complemented by the colorful marble accented throughout, as well as the checkered floors and intricate tile designs parading around the room. The atmosphere removes you from the stress of the city and allows you to metaphorically wade in the waters of Capri— even if only for a moment.

Grotta Azzurra has more than just a relaxing ambiance, but the establishment is also student savings friendly. The restaurant offers a fabulous and well-worth it lunch special from 11am-4pm during the weekdays, were for only $9.95 you can enjoy a delightful pasta dish and entrée. During my visit to Grotta Azzurra I enjoyed for my pasta dish  rigatoni alla vodka and the sauce was just the perfect blend of tomato, vodka, and cream. I knew even before eating it that it’d be mouth watering good because of the just right pink coloring of the sauce. My sister opted for the penne sorrentina dish, which consisted of a tomato sauce along with mozzarella, basil, and eggplant. She mused that the dish was delicious and even more satisfying because of the tasty eggplant. When finished with our pasta dishes our entrees were served. My sister and I are both fans of chicken parmigiana, so the ultimate test for sure would be to eat just that for the entrée. We both agreed that the chicken was cooked perfectly: it cut easily and was also very light. In addition, potatoes and steamed broccoli were served with the entrée and both were equally satisfying. The added perk to this great meal clearly was the impressive price.

After this enjoyable meal experince at Grotta Azzurra, I will be sure to visit again to try other pasta and entrée combinations offered as part of the lunch special.

Anjelica LaFurno (Baruch College)

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Spotlight: Muscle Maker Grill

August 8th, 2011

Owner Christopher Almazan

I admit, I was a little wary walking into Muscle Maker Grill. The name on its own certainly stakes out its market, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. What I found, though, was a very friendly, casual place. Walking in, we were immediately greeted warmly, and offered paper menus. The room is definitely casual, with a brick wall on one side reminiscent of a pizza parlor, as well as tables and booths—it’s somewhere in between a casual restaurant and a nice fast food place.

As you can imagine by the name, Muscle Maker Grill prides itself on healthy food that’s good for your body, and on being a restaurant and a resource that helps people manage their health. In fact, Christopher Almazan, owner/operator of the Chelsea location, was a personal trainer for several years. He emphasized the importance of having employees that were knowledgeable about the body and health as well as friendly and welcoming. They consider themselves warmer and more hands-on than a chain restaurant (although Muscle Maker Grill is technically a franchise).

The Arizona, their most popular entree

What Muscle Maker Grill does well, though, is to make sure their meals are healthy without sacrificing taste. The menu offers several different options, from “Power pastas” to “Guiltless entrees,” and even low carb options and salads. I went with my mother and sister, and we ordered the Arizona, the Cajun Chicken and Penne, and the Mardi Gras Cajun Grilled Chicken Salad, respectively. The Arizona is their most popular entrée, consisting of grilled chicken and turkey bacon over brown rice with their signature sauce. The flavors of the sauce and chicken went together remarkably well, and the sauce was even zero-carb! The Cajun chicken and penne was seasoned with a red wine and brown sauce that was also flavorful and filling; even the salad on its own was filling enough to satisfy hunger! This is no skimpy dieting salad. On top of the grilled chicken, it came with turkey bacon, tomatoes, and onions.

Afterwards, we were offered dessert—which might seem contradictory to the whole health-food theme. However, the cheesecake was sugar-less, and there were protein cookies as well. We tried the protein cookies, and they didn’t taste at all like a health food substitute for dessert– they were tasty and just moist enough. The peanut butter cookie was my favorite.

Muscle Maker Grill is certainly something of a niche restaurant. It’s one hundred percent focused on health (the TV in the corner was even playing exercise videos the day I went), so it’s definitely the place for any health enthusiasts. It’s also a great healthy option for college students, though, particularly those tired of instant ramen who want food that’s good for them. Everything at Muscle Maker Grill can be eaten without worrying about carb intake, and the menu even has nutrition information for each of the dishes. Muscle Maker Grill even offers takeout, making it a great option anytime!

Anais DiCroce (American University)

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The Non-Tourist

July 25th, 2011

Last Friday I walked into my apartment after seeing Larry Crowne and lo and behold, my boyfriend was nonchalantly sitting in my living room, chatting with my parents. Not for a moment this summer did I expect to find him at my house, especially when he lives 1,300 miles away in Minnesota. As it turns out, he has been secretly planning behind my back with both my family and my friends to stay here for two weeks, from July 1st to the 15th.

So now, when I’m not blogging for the Campus Clipper, I’ve had the pleasure of showing off my hometown to a guy who’s never visited the big apple.

http://extra.world66.com/node/1557

So far I’ve taken him to his first New York Broadway musical, the South Street Seaport, fancy restaurants, the July 4th fireworks, and the like. But by the time he leaves, I really hope that he’ll have gotten to see more than just the average tourist traps. Of course, going to the MoMA and the Empire State Building are a must, but I also want to take him to all my favorite stores, restaurants, and parks where my friends and I would visit on a regular day, such as the Strand bookstore, Washington Square Park, and Eileen’s Cheesecake, and Insomnia Cookies.

Although the tourist attractions are what everyone thinks traveling to New York is about, I’ve found over the past few days that it’s much harder to keep someone entertained than I thought. And I don’t blame them. Finding the Statue of Liberty overly exciting is difficult when I’ve lived in New York City for 19 years, but as it turns out, the Statue of Liberty isn’t that enthralling to most of the jaded teenagers of America.

So sometimes a night in just hanging out with friends is really all a tourist might be looking for—a chance to experience the ‘real’ New York teenager’s life. So when I’m all done showing him the glitz of Times Square, chilling at home playing Risk is still fun.

Some of my other places around the city that I want to take him to are Chinatown and the Piers along the East and West sides of Manhattan (if only I wasn’t on crutches so that we could ride bicycles around the city!).

Since we’re both students, we’ve been having a blast rocking the student discounts Campus Clipper offers us, such as the discounts at the Village Party Store, where we’ve purchased sheets of temporary dinosaur tattoos and have decorated ourselves to the point of hilarity.

 

/elizabeth Kaleko, Tufts University

 

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There’s a New Burger Joint in Town

July 18th, 2011

Over the last few years, one of the biggest trends in New York City eating has been the proliferation of restaurants that specialize in providing you with very tasty hamburgers. From Shake Shack (the way uptown one on 86th St.) to Goodburger (the way downtown one by Wall St.) to countless smaller places, burgers have come to mean far more than just a Big Mac or a soggy diner burger. The proprietors of this new generation of burger places don’t just want to feed you, or even just to feed you well––they want to show you that a hamburger can be a delicacy, even if it only costs seven (or ten or twelve) dollars and takes five minutes to prepare. To the many devotees of these tasty burgers, I’d like to introduce a new contender: Burger House, on Broadway between 11th St. and 12th St. 

Burger House opened its doors earlier this summer, and has been gaining in popularity among locals and the summertime students of nearby NYU and the New School ever since. It offers a unique take on the gourmet-yet-inexpensive burger craze, billing itself as a “zen grill.” But don’t worry: there are no gimmicks or overdone ambiance, just a wide selection of burgers and sandwiches and some crispy french fries. When it comes to decoration, Burger House keeps it simple, but the food shows no lack of imagination. As you can quickly tell from one of their sidewalk demonstrations, the chefs at Burger House take their work very, very seriously, and their creations are more than just another tasty burger or sandwich.

There is a breadth to the menu at Burger House that is almost startling, with a half dozen kinds of meat (or veggie) available on a burger. While many burger places might offer ten different burgers in the menu, usually the only thing separating the choices is toppings. But at Burger House, you can get bulgogi beef or shrimp meat on your bun, making their menu many times more complex and intriguing than that of the typical burger joint. There are also eleven sandwiches on offer, with just as many choices of filling as the burgers.

the savory, melty, tasty Kalbi Cheese Burger

But it’s not just the abundance of choice that makes Burger House special; the care and attention to detail paid on each dish is exceptional, and the burgers are also exceptionally tasty. The Kalbi Cheese Burger is especially delicious––its rib meat is sweet and savory and will melt in your mouth. The bulgogi beef is juicy and nicely textured, and not to be found at just any burger joint. And of course, for a burger place to be any good, the fries have got to be enjoyable, and I’m happy to report that those at Burger House make the grade: they’re freshly crispy, with a little crunch on the outside, and have some seasoning that gives them a nice flavor without overpowering the extra flavorful burgers.

Out of dozens of downtown burger places, there may be a new favorite to be found on Broadway behind an unassuming storefront and a simple name. Time will tell whether Burger House can build a big, dedicated fan base and prove itself to be the equal of the other popular burger joints in the area, but whether it becomes a landmark like Shake Shack or not, it has already contributed to the burger culture with a unique menu and some high quality food. If you’re interested in a burger unlike any you’ve ever had, I suggest you check it out.

[For the menu and more, visit the official website at http://www.burgerhousenyc.com/]

—Aaron Brown

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Until The Very End

July 18th, 2011

The beginning of a great legacy.

I can still remember my first experience with Harry Potter. The year was 2001 and I was seeing a movie whose title and content I have no memory of with my younger sisters and Dad at a local movie theater. But what I do remember seeing was the trailer for the upcoming release of the first Harry Potter film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The glow of November on the screen till this very day is still present in my mind. I was captivated and that following November I saw the film and so began my love for both Harry Potter books and films. I often find that I associate Harry Potter with my childhood, and I certainly believe it is representative of my generation. People my age all over the world essentially grew up with Harry Potter and this is why the release of the second and last installment of the final film this past week is considered widely a bittersweet moment.

Without a doubt, I felt it was absolutely necessary to view a midnight showing of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 this past Thursday for its U.S. premiere at the same theater I saw the first. I brought along my younger sister who was equally excited and completely aware of the likely possibility I would embarrass her by tearing up, which I did. My local theater was overrun by avid Harry Potter fans some dressed in Gryffindor uniforms and many foreheads were marked by a lightning bolt scar.  Luckily my sister and I were spotted by a group of High School friends and acquaintances that allowed us to join them on line and then began the nostalgia. The overall consensus amongst the group was the feeling that their childhood was coming to an end. In simple words: the idea of not being a kid anymore makes me sad. However, I’m happy that my transition to imminent adulthood has become jarringly clear because of a franchise that I’ll always love.

I had no qualms whatsoever with the film. It truly is an achingly beautiful adaptation of the final moments configured by JK Rowling.  Also, the epilogue perfectly captured the bittersweet feeling shared by fans worldwide. It was just a perfect balance of melancholy and sheer optimism. Proof of this is the combined mix of smiles and tears I experienced when watching the films end. And for the sake of my own street cred, let it be known the theater was chock full of young adults, both male and female, tearing up because of the films content and its projection, but also because of it’s beautiful parallel to the life of a growing individual. It really is the end of an era, a great one at that. But at the same time, the Harry Potter franchise is certainly forever because its legacy is so great. I’m sure many fans my age anticipate a future where they could share the magical world of Harry Potter with their own children. Similar to the way many of us have shared the bewitching experience with our parents.

My mom mentioned looking forward to owning all of the films on DVD because it’d be both incredibly nostalgic and fun to watch all of them in a row. I personally cannot wait for such a time too! Luckily this can be the case too for students who are conscious of student discounts.  I suggest checking out DVD Funhouse, they have a discount were you can purchase five DVDs for only ten dollars! This means you can invest in buying five of the films for a Harry Potter movie night.

Harry Potter will always serve as a reminder of the curious kid that still exists within me. In many ways the Harry potter experience has preserved my nine-year-old self in both memory and continued spirit. I know I’ll always be in awe of the magical world I watched on screen and read about. I’m sure until the very end.

Anjelica LaFurno (Baruch College)

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Wild Ginger: Pan-Asian Vegan Cuisine

July 15th, 2011

If you've never tried tempeh, this is the place to start loving it. Photo © Veganfriendly.com

For years, Wild Ginger in Soho was one of my favorite places to go for a vegetarian dinner even before I was vegan. Inside, the dining room is incredibly small, but unlike most other Manhattan restaurants, the management doesn’t pack the place with as many tables as possible and make all the customers bump elbows with the blind dates next to them. If there’s anything that I dislike the most when I’m eating out, it’s having to listen to people being so awkward with each other that it makes me feel nervous for them. In contrast, Wild Ginger’s tastefully arranged tables with plenty of space between them in addition to a dark and earthy décor make the place feel cozy instead of bustlingly busy.

Personally, I think their appetizers are the best items on the menu, and they host a great variety of dumplings, including shumai and samosas. I’m also a big fan of tempeh, and Wild Ginger cooks their Satay Tempeh well and doesn’t over-sauce it. As for a main course, one can enjoy their hot or cold Asian noodles, in soup or dry, without having to worry about weird ingredients like fish sauce or meat extracts that traditional Asian restaurants may use. They also have soy protein prepared in many different styles, so whether you like it sweet and sour or black peppered, there are plenty of options for a filling mock-meat meal.

When I go, I like to customize my dinner by getting a couple appetizers and one of their salads, which are generously portioned and beautifully served with unique mixtures of ingredients. Try the Watercress Salad with avocado, beets, alfalfa sprouts, and a sesame sauce for healthy filler before you decide on which amazing dessert to order. My favorite is the Vegan Cheesecake despite how small of a portion I get because it has such a great texture without being too heavy. If I’m splitting with someone, the Peanut Butter Bomb is rich, chocolate-peanut buttery, and huge. You can even ask for a scoop of vegan ice cream on the side. The waiters are always super nice and never keep me waiting for very long no matter how packed it is. Even if I’m just getting takeout, they won’t hesitate to bring me a cup of tea when I ask (and sometimes even if I don’t).

Though the prices might be a bit steep for an everyday lunch, they offer a 15% off coupon with student ID through the Campus Clipper. Wild Ginger in Soho is conveniently located a couple blocks away from NYU’s Broome Street dorm and is a short walk from Lafayette. Take advantage of the student savings with the coupon below, and enjoy a great vegan/vegetarian meal for less at Wild Ginger!

-Avia Dell’Oste
@Hunter College

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onValues: Religious Resources on Campus

July 14th, 2011

I have been inside my university’s chapel three times: once for opening exercises freshman year, once for a chapel choir concert (and I had a massive crush on someone in chapel choir), and once for a senior thesis performance of a passion play that my friend was stage managing.  It’s a beautiful building, all gray sandstone on the outside and dark wood pews inside.  Alumni get married there every weekend in the spring.  I pass by it almost every day on my way from the library to the late night café that serves free cookies (which is right under the Office of Religious Life).

I was not raised in a religious household, and I’m still very nonreligious in college.  But religion happens to be a large part in the lives of some of my friends, and contrary to conventional thought, college is not quite a Bastion of Sin and Depravity.  I’m not lying and saying that college is a tame, sleepy educational institution.  But faith does have a place in a college campus.

The physically imposing presence of a university chapel aside, there are plenty of places on a campus to find people of your own faith—often through student-run groups.  On my campus, there are several Christian groups of varying involvement and denominations, for those whose other extracurriculars might take precedent (or might not).  Mission trips over breaks are planned for several, while others just involve a weekly Saturday night dinner.  We have a Center for Jewish Life that serves kosher food every day—it’s available to the entire student body, as well, and the building itself offers great study rooms (and it has a printer, too, so I can print out my labs on my way to class after lunch).  The CJL also holds a range of services for various movements (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform are the main three denominations), and it often presents its own cultural events to accommodate certain restrictions.  For example, there is a yearly CJL-produced play (the play does not have to be about anything Jewish) that does not perform on Shabbat, unlike most of the other theatrical productions on campus.

Furthermore, the university administration isn’t the only source of religious needs for students.  There are many student groups on campus who offer support and resources in varying capacities, again depending on your personal commitment.  On my campus, there are several Hindu and Muslim groups, some which provide services and some which simply provide a social group for its students on religious customs (such as navigating the dining hall offerings or leaving bags of treats outside its members’ dorm rooms on holidays).

My high school history teacher once described colleges as the Bastion of Liberalism and Secular Thought.  And while there is certainly a lot of freedom and hedonism, if you’re looking for people who share your faith, to whatever degree—you’ll find them.  There’s often a large activities fair at the beginning of the school year where you can add your name to a group’s mailing list, but if you don’t sign up in September, it’s not a big deal—groups will publicize their activities throughout the year, and it only takes a minute to show up and talk to the people already involved about involving yourself.

Naturally, most of these groups will throw study breaks and other large free food events (free food in college is always dependable).  When you become involved in them, it’s probably good to scope out a food venue that gives student discounts or bulk discounts.  Fuji Sushi, for example, has this great deal for 20% off catering college events.  And college students, of whatever faith, love sushi.

 

x

Robin Yang (Princeton Univeristy)

I tweet while I’m at work.  I’ve yet to master the hashtag.
My blog of hedonism and liberalism and other college mainstays.

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Saving on Sushi on St. Mark’s Place

July 11th, 2011

In the bustling crowd of downtown cuisine, one of the best and most ubiquitous options is sushi. Although all of New York’s Japanese places could never match the dizzying number of Chinese restaurants, there are sushi spots all over the city, and in certain areas, like around St. Mark’s, they are almost as densely packed as Chinese places are everywhere, which is ideal for the young and cash-strapped, in search of student savings, since competition (as any econ major could tell you) drives prices down. It also offers you, the customer, a choice of about a dozen different sushi joints on the three blocks of St. Mark’s Place.

the undeniable Godzilla roll from May's

Everyone loves sushi: it’s prepared quickly, fun to order, fun to eat, and can be affordable on almost any budget. Restauranteurs can dream up all kinds of mind-blowing decoration and ambiance, but there’s really nothing like walking into a sushi place (any sushi place) and seeing a grim-faced chef roll up and chop up sushi rolls at lightning, finger-endangering speed. It’s the Japanese food equivalent of watching a fat Italian man spin pizza dough in the air, but it’s way better, since there’s very sharp knives involved. How could anyone manage not to enjoy such appealing food? I know that some people have a problem with the whole raw-fish-and-seaweed side of sushi, but I’d say that anyone over age twelve that can’t get past a little seaweed is making a grave mistake by missing out.

With so many choices, it can be difficult to decide which sushi spot to go to. Here are a few of the St. Mark’s sushi stops:

—Yoshi Sushi is located at the east end of St. Mark’s, right across from Tompkins Sq. Park, and is a great option for their student discounts. It’s a smallish place, but they have great deals (like a big bento box for $5.95) and a great location, and they deliver! But most importantly, the sushi is high-quality. I’m not an expert, but I know that their BBQ beef mango roll is both original and delicious.

—Kenka, right on the busiest block of St. Mark’s, between Second and Third Ave, offers a ton of menu choices in addition to sushi, including some more unusual options, like tongue, liver, and other animal parts that are generally not found on sushi menus. They have so many dishes that the menu is huge and heavy in your hands, and can provide more than a little light reading. The place’s popularity might actually make it a little less enticing: there’s usually a wait, it’s very loud inside, and it’s not that cheap, as far as sushi spots go. But the food is great, and pitchers of Japanese beer are only eight dollars. If you can handle the wait and the noise, Kenka’s definitely worth it—and you get free cotton candy after your meal!

— May’s Ku E Ban is on Second Ave, right next to Pommes Frites, and could be indispensable to a sushi-loving student. When you really need a roll or two, but you really can’t afford to spend much on it, May’s is there for you: they have an amazing deal, available all the time, that offers half price on sushi as long as you spend over eight dollars. I don’t think I need to emphasize how awesome this deal is. There aren’t many places at all where you can get a ton of good sushi for the price of all of the change lying around your room. May’s doesn’t have the cool atmosphere of Kenka, or the innovative dishes of Yoshi, but it does have an ample supply of cheap sushi.

So the next time you’re trying to decide from the billions of food choices downtown, and feel like a little sushi, take a stroll down St. Mark’s, and find one of these places between the bars, thrift stores, and head shops that fill out the street. Or try one of the sushi places that I’ve never tried before. Whatever kind of sushi spot you prefer, there’s probably one to be found. Comment, and tell us about the other sushi places in the area!

—Aaron Brown

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Bookworm Agenda

July 11th, 2011

Check out Alabaster Bookshop for cheap books and browsing fun.

I’ve always been a bookworm. As a kid, I’d stay up way past by bedtime devouring a book page by page. My favorite part of the school day in my Elementary years was story time and any independent reading assignments were seen as a sort of academic blessing. Because I’m an avid reader it’s not much of a surprise that I truly enjoy browsing and buying books from bookstores, or even just raiding the shelves of my local library. I feel that choosing a book for yourself is very much a part of the fun and experience of reading, also I find books are one of the nicest gifts to give or receive. Another thing, I really love the feel of the pages against my fingers when flipping a page and even the smell of pages, yet in today’s world more and more I notice that Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook are replacing the tangible beauty of the book. Friends and family question me as to why I don’t invest in an electronic reader when I love to read as much as I do and here’s why: I love books just as much as I do reading them.

I feel that books and reading are essentially one and electronic readers cheapen the experience of reading. I enjoy judging a book by its cover, reading the blurb, and searching for a book in the aisles of a bookstore, or on the streets of Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I like penning my name behind the front cover of a book after having finished reading one. I’m completely aware of the perks of having an electronic reader and I also like the idea that it’s an eco friendly device, but the core of my opinion is that as electronic readers gain popularity my childhood obsession is becoming a thing of the past! And I don’t like it one bit.

The only thing I can do is continuing to buy books used and new from bookstores as a way of pledging my allegiance to books in print form. I don’t even like buying books online because it’s just not as fun. A few bookstores I’m particularly fond of are: Alabaster Bookshop, McNally Jackson Books, Strand Bookstore, Cobble Hill Community Bookstore, and Bookcourt. Alabaster Bookshop is located on 4th Ave. between 12th and 13th Street just around the block from the famous Strand Bookstore. Alabaster is the place to go when in need of a used book at a cheap price. Not only that but the small store has an extensive selection of fiction as well as books sold for  a mere 2 dollars on the outside.  Alabaster is old school and sans database so searching for a book here is more of an adventure, and you’re more likely to unexpectedly find a book of interest. Strand is 18 miles worth of books and is well known for their staff picks as well as their Strand 80, which is a pick of 80 of the most popular books amongst Strand customers. Cool fact: Patty Smith worked at Strand during her early years and beginnings in New York. It’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll find just what you’re looking for because Strand is colossal and filled to the brim with books. It’s basically a nerdy paradise.

McNally Jackson Books interestingly categorizes their books by nation and they also have a great in-house café too. If you’re looking for that Dostoevsky head to McNally Jackson’s Russian literature section or if you feel like dissecting some short stories by Flannery O’Connor browse their American literature section with a cup of Joe. Cobble Hill Community Bookstore is probably my favorite of all because it’s everything that a bookstore should be. It’s a neighborhood staple and also wonderfully unorganized; you can find such treasures in mountains of books piled on top of one another. It is very charming and the prices are great too. Just a block or two from the Cobble Hill Community Bookstore is Bookcourt, which is quite the opposite of its neighbor. It’s two floors of hyper-organized, well-cultivated book sections. They also have in-house events and shoot out weekly emails with announcement and specials, which is incredibly convenient.

Because I’m a starving college student, student discounts are always of the utmost importance to me when splurging on items outside of necessities. Luckily  Namaste Bookshop provides student savings and I’ll be sure to check out this bookshop specializing in Eastern philosophy and health books. You can also buy yoga related items as well as oils/incense at this relaxing spot. If you’re a fan of books then show your support and buy a book or two from one or more of the bookstores mentioned!

Anjelica LaFurno (Baruch College)

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