i confess, i am not a vegan, and probably could never ever be a vegan unless i had some incredibly deadly allergy that prevented me from eating all those forbidden treats like milk, cheese and eggs. however, if i were, lula’s sweet apothecary is the place i would head every summer afternoon. and clearly, i would not be alone. on the sunday we visited a few weeks ago, we got there bang on at 3 and there was a line out the door, and the business continued with no break for over an hour — there must be huge demand for lula’s treats.

first off, lula’s is just a super sweet old fashioned soda shop — very charming in an old world way with lots of glass jars and seltzer bottles filled with vegan and dairy-free treats like chocolates, cookies, gummy bears and chocolate covered pretzels. the cozy interior has a few stools and even a small counter which is great for some serious people watching as lula’s seems to attract people from around the city. the vegan twist is quite the draw. on top of that the owners, who are often at lula’s, are extremely nice offering up tons of tastes and endless patience.

and while the ice cream there is just not for me (i tried really though it’s possible that maybe i just didn’t try the right flavors like the peanut butter fudge or the right bases as maybe coconut milk would have been better), our enthusiastic friend who discovered lula’s a few months ago is completely addicted. she has been making repeat trips, and even k who i could have sworn would have noticed the difference from regular ice cream was ecstatic with her mint chip cone. and there are many others who find lula’s vegan ice cream absolutely delicious.

lula’s ice creams are made with soy milk as well as coconut and different nut milks like cashew and sweetened with maple syrup or organic cane juice. in addition to a rotating roster of ice cream flavors like root beer, carrot cake, pina colada, cake batter and coconut fudge, lula’s also offers up shakes, floats, egg creams,hot fudge sundaes complete with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate sprinkles. so maybe this spot is not for me, but i can think of quite a few rellies and friends who i would definitely bring over to the east village for some of the best non milk ice cream around. lula’s sweet apothecary, 516 east 6th street between avenues a and b, manhattan, new york, 646.912.4549. note that they don’t open till 3 p.m. and are closed on mondays.

as i have mentioned before, although j does like to have nice clothing and to look smart, he is is not really the best clothing shopper. he has a super hard time deciding what he likes, and then that makes deciding what to buy even harder if not possible. as a result many months and really years can go by without a wardrobe upgrade other than the few random pieces he gets here and there (and i do like to indulge him in the occasional seize sur vingt off the rack shirts). given that i don’t think he and i had gone on a summer shopping spree since pre k (that is at least six years ago), it was about time that we upgraded j’s shrunken, holey shirts and way too old and ratty shorts.

so this spring, after i finally was able to check save khaki out in their quaint, comfortable shop in the lower east side, i thought this was place was perfect for a solo shopping expedition. i could just send j unaccompanied because everything is so basic and pared down but still stylish and looks good. focusing on cotton goods, save khaki only has a few styles of short sleeve shirts, one more long sleeve style of shirt and then just a few pair of shorts. and while they have a few other items like hoodies, swimsuits and boxers, i thought that wouldn’t distract j from his mission. i also really loved save khaki’s different fabrics and the simplicity of the styles. the all cotton shirts were incredibly soft and silky and the shorts had a brushed cotton look that i assumed would look great on him, and they had some fun colors — nothing wild mind you — but some turquoises and orange. and it didn’t hurt that some the new brand (started in 2006) has obviously gotten a lot of play being carried at such hot spots as barneys and even featured in gq as one of the year’s best new menswear american designers.

so of course i was a little too optimistic. j returned from his save khaki journey with not a thing. discouraged by the muted tones (he does love crazy colors), he had failed to try on anything. fortunately, a few weeks ago we were able to go back together so that i could show him what he had missed. with just a little bit of prodding, he made his way to the dressing room, and we left with a new summer wardrobe which even included a frayed pair of shorts — shocking. this boy is now one happy clam. he loves the save khaki short sleeve shirts (so luxurious, so cool looking and so not fussy) and the shorts look great. and i have even gotten him to get rid of a few of the old pairs which is a minor miracle.

while i don’t think the fit at save khakiis for everyone (and j hasn’t tried their signature slim fit khakis yet) - at the shop i noticed another more hunky guy’s shirts seemed a little too tight — i know that for j’s skinny upper body build that i cannot wait for save khaki’s fall collection of cashmere sweaters and lightweight jackets. i think we may have finally found our “go to” menswear casual shop. save khaki, 327 lafayette street at bleeker street, 212.925.0134; and 254 broome street at orchard street, 212.614.7283, manhattan, new york.

despite my pretty heavy duty chocolate obsession, it took me quite a while to track down bespoke chocolates, a shop with hand crafted artisan chocolates which opened up this winter in the east village.

run by impressively young (at least by my standards as she just turned 29) chocolatier rachel zoe insler, bespoke chocolates seeks to match chocolates from around the world with the local flavors that are being used. so, for example, the luscious milk chocolate truffle uses a 40% cocoa from a french chocolate source, and the rosemary vanilla is comprised of dark 72% (note the exact percentage) of venezuelan chocolate. now i would have no idea how to figure these things out but i sure am glad that bespoke’s chocolatier uses her vast scientific skills (she is a former neuroscientist) to get these formulas just right.

bespoke chocolates’ signature chocolate is the dark chocolate covered sea salted caramel coated in pretzels. this one bite oozy wonder reminded me of a much richer version of general greene’s salted caramel ice cream with fresh pretzels, which was good, but the chocolate version was much much better. and while bespoke chocolates’ name suggests that it might be possible to get a chocolate made to order while you are in the store — that is not really possible unless you want to camp out for a few days . with a little notice, the shop can definitely develop your own signature treat.

while j and i chowed down our bespoke chocolates all in one night, and they were definitely good. maybe not better than kee’s chocolates, which are a little finer, a little fancier, a little bigger, but still very very good.

my number one favorite at bespoke was the strawberry balsamic truffle which i thought there was no way i would like. it just looked a little too fussy, and i didn’t like it’s powder coating, and i generally only like strawberries on their own, in ice cream or with sour cream and brown sugar but not in chocolate treats. so i was definitely surprised. this little ball (pictured above) was super, and even though they are not cheap (at $2.25 each) i think i might need to indulge every once and a while. bespoke chocolates, 6 extra place off of 1st street between the bowery and 2nd avenue, manhattan, new york, 212.260.7103.

given my love of the sandwiches produced at porcetta, i was pretty darn excited to try out newly opened veloce pizzeriasince porcetta’s owner sara jenkins is half the creative team behind this sicilian pizza venture (the other owner come from the bar veloce mini chain which i’ve never tried). and since j has no problem trying out every single pizza spot in new york, it was easy to convince him to come along to veloce pizzeria this past saturday night before seeing this really great little autobiographical musical everyday rapture sung by its author sherie rene scott (and now i really want to know more about mennonites, and their shunning practices).

the big thing at veloce pizzeria is this is all sicilian or square slices. with a limited menu, veloce had five primary pizzas to choose from and two specials. we ended up with their sicilian classic called the sfincione with tomato sauce, anchovies, onions, caviocavallo and toasted bread crumbs as well as the special with capicola, fontina and red onion. the special hit the spot. the slices had a really lovely crust which was soft and airy and yet had just the right amount of chew to it, and then the toppings were also delicious with the onion super soft yet barely caramelized and the pork had a little kick to it. although the dough on the classic was equally good, neither j nor i were too thrilled with the flavors, but i am guessing that had more to do with our unsophisticated tastes than the veloce’s pizza itself. i am sure a fish loving person would love it.

in terms of how veloce’s ranks in the new york pizza world, looking first at only the sicilian slices i have tried, i thought veloce’s were much better than what’s available at adrienne’s pizza bar, and personally (though this may be considered heresy for those diehard classic pizza lovers) i thought the pies soared over l&b spumoni gardens (but they cannot beat that place for atmosphere). i don’t think veloce’s slices topped the perfection often achieved at di fara’s, but in some ways the pizza at veloce is so much fancier that maybe they cannot be compared. and i won’t even begin to try to contrast it with other pizza hot shots (with regular pies) out there like franny’s, co., lucali’s, etc….

in addition to pizza, veloce pizzeria offered a few appetizers. at the recommendation of our extremely attentive and energetic waiter, we got the crisp, fresh and crackling calamari served with arugula and lemon and it was good. other appetizers included frito misto as well as potato fritters served with prosciutto di parma, grana padano and mint. for dessert, we got the gelato. i liked the concept — serving two flavors already frozen together sliced as if they had been cut from a pound cake — but the flavors we had were unimpressive — way too many nuts in the hazelnut chocolate and a very weak, watery tasting sour cream. maybe i’ve been making too much really rich, flavorful ice cream at home lately from david leibovitz’s book the perfect scoop (most recent effort was the strawberry-sour cream ice cream with lots of crème fraiche).

although veloce pizzeria had really nice wood plank floors and the room was generally attractive with stereotypical red checked table cloths and some huge flat screen t.v.s playing black and white movies, there were some oddities. the tables were extremely tightly packed and the overhead flourescent bulbs were wrapped in some kind of wire mesh (maybe just a cheap way to make it look better?). the extra bonus was the wallpaper lining the top of the walls which was done in gold and red with pictures of zebras, giraffes and camels — not quite sure the connection to sicilian pizza but the animals were cute. i think we might have to go back to find out. veloce pizzeria, 103 1st avenue between 6th and 7th streets, manhattan, new york, 212.777.6677.

sometimes we’re in the mood for a classic, perfectly prepared brunch, and when we’re in that mindset the place we really want to go is prune. so many restaurants treat brunch as a second class citizen — the eggs are either too runny or too hard, the hollandaise sauce is thick and goopy, and the accompanying starch is cold — or they treat brunch as this over the top expensive elaborate experience like five points or telepan(while good, just too much fanciness for a sunday morning).

fortunately, whenever we can manage to make it to prune and deal with the lines (and there are always lines), we are happy clams. now that s. is just a wee bit bigger and his naps come later in the day, we have begun to be able to visit prune once again (there was about a two year hiatus). our approach is to arrive around 9:30 while we wait for the doors to open bang on at 10. to make the wait a little easier, there is a playground across the street — a bit grungy but somewhere for k and s to run around before being squeezed into prune’s super adorable but super tiny space. and for those without time constraints or little ones, brunch is served till 3:30 so sleeping in is definitely possible.

on our most recent prune visit, the classic eggs benedict was served with perfectly poached eggs covered in a light and tangy hollandaise sauce accompanied by crisp potato rosti (we did notice that they have cut the size of that rosti in 1/2, but the dish is still plenty filling). j got his constant of soft scrambled eggs (they seem to do them perfectly wet the way he likes them) served with bacon, another rosti and an english muffin. we also figured we’d pig out and try something new for us (not for prune) — the most delicious airy ricotta served with raspberries, dried figs, toasted pine nuts and honey. k and s split the dutch style pancake though they seemed to prefer the merveilles, little fried bits of dough kind of like a beignet served with the ricotta. and then, for the perfect send off, the bill comes with some excellent scotty dog licorice from economy candy.

prune’s brunch menu includes many other tasty items including what they call the youth hostel breakfast with fish pastes, liver wursts, lanjaegers and grainy breads, a rich and satisfying spaghetti a la carbonara, a smoked fish plate from russ & daughters with salmon, sturgeon and sable. to make the morning more festive, they offer more than ten kinds of freshly made bloody marys. since our last visit, prune has also happily upgraded their coffee and glassware. in addition to brunch, during the week prune has a lunch menu that i have been eager to try (the burger is supposed to be very tasty) as well as a consistently good dinner menu foucusing on whatever is freshest in the market. prune, 54 east 1st street between 2nd and 1st avenues, manhattan, new york, 212.677.6221.

i have been coming to the city bakery ever since i moved to new york when they had this teeny tiny depressing little spot on 17th street that was always chock full of people and incredible treats. they have since moved to 18th street into a much bigger and more pleasant space but with all the same great food and more. and even though it was a little crazy, since i didn’t live anywhere nearby, back in 2001 i moved my office further downtown. i did not do this because i realized how close we would be to the wonderful madison square park (though i later totally appreciated the side perk of those early no-line shake shack days), but mostly so i could hop on down to the city bakery whenever i was in the mood, which of course was all the time. my favorite treats include their dense peanut butter mound cookies and the small flaky sugar cookies, and every now and then i would indulge in their now famous pretzel croissant. in the summer time, i am especially fond of their really tangy, gazpacho (i cannot get enough of those cornbread croutons), and all the great offerings in their appealing salad bar made with goodies from the union square greenmarket.

recently i visited the city bakery’s sister sustainable project, the birdbath neighborhood green bakery in the west village (there is also one in the east village), where they try to be as green as one can possibly be. while birdbath had some of the core treats i come to look for at city bakery, the selection was limited and probably appeals more to vegans than the rest of us. a few years ago, the city bakery also opened up a shop in los angeles which i have yet to try but i am sure would be a destination when we head west next which hopefully will be soon. the city bakery, 3 west 18th street between 5th and 6th avenues, manhattan, 212.366.1414. birdbath neighborhood green bakery, 7th avenue south at charles street and 223 first avenue near 14th street, manhattan.

hard as it is to believe, j and i have been diehard momofuku noodle bar fans since it opened. i had those ramen cravings throughout both pregnancies, and we made our way there every couple of months for several despite our being way out of the typical age range for those early days of david chang — before he got so famous. so of course we had to check out the momofuku bakery & milk bar on our recent east village weekend. while we were both underwhelmed by the pastry treats we tried (i had the crack pie and j had a banana cookie) we were as always overwhelmed with the all mighty pork bun that we had as our savory treat. this one was a doubly delicious because it came with a very gooey tasty egg. while we cannot always handle the musical selections, we will continue to be big momofuku fans (we are eternally hopeful that someday in our future we will be able to visit the very challenging to get into momofuku ko), and we will come back this summer to check out the cereal-flavored soft serve ice cream. momofuku bakery & milk bar, 207 2nd avenue with the entrance on 13th street, manhattan, new york.

for our 10th anniversary weekend, we definitely indulged and spent two nights at the cooper square hotel (which i highly recommend for anyone wanting to pretend to be an east village hipster) and had a great time hanging out, eating everywhere and just trying to figure out what to do with all our spare time without missing the kiddies too much. on our first night after a very disappointing korean dinner, we ran into our old friend chikalicious dessert bar which i am sure we have not been to since it first opened in 2003, and i think it was the first of what has now become a dessert bar trend with p*ong, luxee, kyotofu and i’m sure others. now despite being an international tourist destination, the food and service at chikalicious were really great and i plan to come back again and again. we were lucky in that there was only a minimal wait, and the staff was really just phenomenal — friendly, helpful, knowledgable and efficient in just the right way. after a delicious amuse bouche of brown sugar panna cotta with star anise sorbet, i was then very suprised by how much i loved my non-chocolate dessert of mascarpone parfait in cara cara orange and black tapioca pearls with poppy seed lace crisp. j couldn’t help himself from his banana craze and got the hot chocolate soup with roasted banana ice cream and cacao bean wafer (good but not as good as mine). i had been very tempted to try the warm chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce, one of their standards, but was glad to have gotten the extra push to try something a little out of my comfort zone. the owners have opened a sister bakery across the street serving puddings, cupcakes and soft serve ice cream among other items — we’ll have to check it out. chikalicious dessert bar, 203 east 10th street between 2nd and 1st avenues, manhattan, 212.475.0929. chickalicious dessert club, 204 East 10th Street, manhattan, 212.475.0929.

although i realize it’s turning out to be a sandwich-heavy week, i couldn’t resist highlighting another masterful creation that has been been everywhere of late (here and here and here). porchetta is a great destination for some super tasty piggy. a tiny spot with only 6 stools, the very limited menu of mostly porchetta sandwich, porchetta plate and crispy potatos with more porchetta met all my expectations of a satisfying rich and crispy meal. the oven roasted pork was succulent and well seasoned with rosemary, fennel pollen, thyme and sage and of course some salt and pepper and had developed a deliciously crackling skin and was then stuffed into a sullivan street bakery ciabatta. to top off this hearty snack, and to ensure you don’t fall into a coma afterwards, be sure to stop by abraço for an incredible coffee (meets all my standards) and suprisingly delicious treats like cured olive cookies (this is definitely not a sit-down spot so be prepared to hang with the hipsters near the door). porchetta, 110 east 7th street between avenue a and 1st avenue, 212.771.2151. abraço, 86 east 7th street between 1st and 2nd avenues, 212.388.9731, both in manhattan, new york.