Essex - Lower East Side

I hear a lot of mixed reviews on Essex and I have come to the conclusion on how you can really enjoy Essex and not end up being a hater. Step One: do not go to Essex on a weekend for brunch with you and a mob of your hungover friends. Just don't do it. You're going to end up waiting for an hour or more to be seated and the seating there isn't adequate for large groups of 4 or more.

Step Two: Yes, you get 3 cocktails with your brunch and that's awesome, but you have to understand that everyone else recognizes that too so DO NOT go with a huge group of people. Step Three: Go with one other person. Go on a date, a man-date, a blind date, a gay date--whatever; you'll get seated fast and I'd even go one step further and ask for a table on the balcony so you get seated faster and you get to enjoy your meal high up in a quiet area away from the sneering groups of hungover people waiting to be seated who probably hate you.

On to the food. For $18 you get a meal and 3 cocktails, it's a good deal. We got "The Southern" with eggs, sausage patties and biscuits with gravy and the ribeye steak and eggs. Overall, the food was decent, but not spectacular, but certainly worth $18 with drinks in tow--3 drinks alone will cost more than that at most bars in Manhattan. My eggs were slightly overcooked, but I don't blame the cook here since the kitchen is probably a madhouse here during brunch and the steak was actually pretty good and not super well done and dried out like most places--even pinkness and cooked to order. The biscuits and gravy were actually the highlight--the sausage gravy made everything delicious.

Beware: the screwdrivers here kill me--I switched to mimosas after one screwdriver foreshadowed my doom before my day had even started. Maybe it's just me though--vodka destroys me. A fun spot all around if you can get past the annoying techno music (hence why you should opt for the balcony seating).

120 Essex St., New York, NY 10002, 212 533 9616, www.essexnyc.com

BiBimBar - East Village (Behind Setagaya)

BIBIMBAP. It's Korean, it's tasty, it's fun to say. Some folks in the East Village decided to open a no-brainer bar and bibimbap joint--filling cheap eats and beer. I like the idea and the place has a very nice interior and doesn't seem to get that crowded so you can have a conversation with your drinking/eating buds. It's slightly hidden, you have to walk past Setagaya and to the back to get to BiBimBar--it's really not that confusing, but the two places are NOT affiliated in anyway.

Most of the bibimbap run for around $10 and you get a lot of food as bibimbap is generally very filling and easy to make. If you opt for the stone bowl to keep your bibimbap hot and crispy then you'll end up paying a few extra dollars--though it is worth it in my opinion so you can get the crunchy bits of rice at the bottom. Beer isn't the cheapest here, but you can expect about average prices. OB beer is your best bet here, you can get a huge bottle for pretty cheap and it's Korean so you can keep face.

It's hard to mess up bibimbap and BibimBar doesn't fail to make a decent bowl. You can choose from vegetarian, pork, beef and seafood and they all come with a slew of veggies, hot sauce, fried eggs and more. I love it and it's probably more healthy than your average bar food of nachos and hot wings. Definitely worth a try, especially if your looking to try something new. The staff was very nice and attentive, a clean place too--not divey at all.

141 1st. Ave., New York, NY 10003, 212 529 2746, yelp page

The Friendly Toast - Cambridge

I've been to the Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, NH, so when I was in Boston last weekend and my pals told me they opened one in Kendall Square in Cambridge I was stoked to go and check it out. After a classic good time in Allston with some friends in the nieghborhood behind Jackson Mann we needed a hearty breakfast to re-carb and rejuvenate our tired bodies.

This is what I'm talking about--big portions here, a huge breakfast burrito with a pile of home fries next to it and a tall strawberry kiwi smoothie to wash it down (the other dudes were drinking bloody marys and mimosas). This burrito was thick and unforgiving--just the way I like it. Filled with scrambled eggs, black beans, salsa, avocado-lime sauce, cheddar and cilantro spread with sour cream and mango sour cream on the side. Let me emphasize how massive this burrito was. Damn. It was just the right thing for a empty and overly acidic-feeling tummy after a night of drinking--instantly brings satisfaction to the most empty of stomachs.

It was a little heavy on the eggs and I would have loved if they opted for some bacon or breakfast sausage instead to ease up on the egginess--I had to load up on the sour cream to balance out the eggs because of it. Not a huge hassle, but the egg flavor gets monotonous if you don't have something to take the bland out of it--maybe if they added more avocado-lime? Maybe. Very solid, very filling burrito though--lovely. The home fries were decent, thick and well-cooked: a little crispy, but still tender. I like my home fries seasoned and with onions and peppers, but these were good on the regular.

Smoothie was very tall and fresh and I like that the price is the same regardless of how many types of fruits you choose to get in it. The burrito plate was $10 and the smoothie was $5 so not too bad for a giant-sized meal. Friendly toast has my stamp of approval. The place is huge too so you generally won't have to wait long for a table even at noon on a weekend--good deal.

One Kendal Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617 621 1200, www.thefriendlytoast.net

Doughnut Plant - Lower East Side

I can write as many words as I want, but nothing will lure you to Doughnut Plant better than taking stroll by the store on any morning--the smell will yank you in whether you like it or not. Fresh, warm, sweet-smelling donuts have never smelled so good. These aren't your basic glazed donuts or frosted donuts either, there are some off-the-wall flavors like tres leches, carrot, peanut glaze, vanilla bean, apple cinnamon, pumpkin and a slew of others that are all equally tasty.

I've never been a big fan of sweets and desserts, but I am always interested in tasting them in search for a pleasant surprise. This certainly was one of those surprises. The apple cinnamon donut I had here was perfect for me. Not overly sweet and rich, warm, a subdued sweetness that focused more on the cinnamon apple flavor without being overwhelming. It was especially great as it matched the Autumn morning. The next time I come here I will definitely be trying the coconut glazed donut.

These aren't your off-the-shelf gross donuts with preservatives and weird fats that make you feel ill after eating just one either--on the contrary, I felt refreshed and unburdened by Doughnut Plant's masterpiece donuts. They boast no trans fats, preservatives, artificial flavorings or eggs in their donuts. You will not be disappointed by Doughnut Plant.

379 Grand St., New York, NY 10002, 212 505 3700, www.doughnutplant.com

Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop - Lower East Side

There's a lot of hype surrounding Tiny's. Most of the rave reviews mention delicious, large, sandwiches for super cheap--I'd hate to say that's not the complete truth, but that it's still a decent place. First off, it's a pretty cool storefront if you want a cool joint to eat at in LES--perhaps if you want to eat and talk with a few friends for lunch. I think a lot of the overly-hyped reviews are products of the atmosphere and location: it's a pretty cool place and cheap for the neighborhood it's in, however I put things more in perspective or at least try to.

First the quality of the sandwich was not exceptional, it was very basic and none of the ingredients stood out in terms of quality either. The roast beef sandwich was rather on the small side and came with melted Swiss and small, almost diced,  red peppers, with a proportionally generous amount of roast beef. The sandwich was tasty, hot, and savory. The melted cheese and juicy roast beef was nice as always. The peppers were negligible and it costs extra for mushrooms, which is pretty disappointing for an $8 sandwich of this size. The size of the sandwich was more on the tiny side than the self-proclaimed giant side and for $8 I was expecting something heftier. And for such a small sandwich it took them a while to prepare I'd say around 10 minutes of wait time.

For the same price point or less I would prefer Parisi Bakery or a Banh Mi--both of these places would yield more food for the same or less amount of money (a lot less at Banh Mi). I would say Parisi and Alidoro far outshine Tiny's in terms of sandwich specialty places. All in all, I'd say Tiny's is only a couple notches ahead of corner deli sandwiches and even then I've had some really good corner deli sandwiches (don't discount those guys!). Tiny's is a par on the course so go ahead and try it out. The main difference between Tiny's and places like Parisi and Alidoro is that Tiny's it cool, it's a trendy place with cool decor--places like Alidoro and Parisi are all about the food--you can tell these guys have been making sandwiches all their life--hell, it is their life; at Tiny's it's just their day job or part time gig.

129 Rivington St., New York, NY 10002, 212 982 1690, www.tinysgiant.com