Muchas Gracias, New York

All I can say is "thank you" New York for the delicious and festive Mexican spot I discovered during the last few weeks of 2010. Perfectly situated on a tree lined street in the West Village (and walkable from where I work), Diablo Royale (189 W. 10th Street, http://www.diabloroyale.com/) serves up scrumptous and reasonably priced Mexican dishes with a fantastic atmosphere to boot. Although they don't take reservations, it's relatively easy to walk in on a weekday night to meet a couple of friends for some fajitas and margaritas. The bar scene was equally as hopping and seemed to be a great place to meet up for some much needed post-office hours cocktails. Va ahora! Es magnifico!

Making Don Draper Proud

If you're looking for a unique mid-week scene to try with some friends, I highly recommend Hudson Bar & Books(636 Hudson, www.barandbooks.cz/hudson), a West Village cigar and whisky bar/lounge whose tagline is "The Most Refreshingly Civilized Place to Meet". I found myself there last Wednesday with a group of friends eager to embrace the "When in Rome" mentality. Because we had a larger group we were led to the back lounge area full of leather couches and low cocktail tables -- it was so casually civilized that I was certain Prince Harry or William would walk in at any minute. At HB&B, "doing like the Romans do" means sampling whisky and testing out one of their many cigar offerings. I asked the waitress for an "entry level" whisky to which she returned with a glass of Glenmorangie Original (from Scotland) - I enjoyed it! I took a few puffs of a cigar from the Dominican Republic that I shared with the girls - I didn't enjoy it quite as much, but it was all for the experience. All in all, a great place to try some new things and pretend you're on the cast of Mad Men for a night. Tuesday nights sound ideal - they have select whiskies for $10 and 20% off all tasting flights.


Fun Fact: Following in the footsteps of M&M's and Hershey, Pop-Tart has just opened a brand new Pop-Tart Store in Times Square. Customers will be able to eat PT sushi, order a customized PT or suggest new flavors of PT's to Kellogg. The shop's focus will be a cafe offering about 30 new PT treats. Perhaps the Fluffer Butter - marshmallow spread sandwiched between two Pop-Tarts frosted fudge pastries - will provide a reason to battle those Times Square crowds? Only time will tell...