Celeb-Rated: Sia
By Matthew Allard, Citysearch Editor
Australian native Sia may not look familiar, but she sounds it. Fans of HBO's "Six Feet Under" will recall how her epic track "Breathe Me" closed the show. Aficionados, however, have been keeping tabs on this quirky lil' lady since her stint with down-tempo duo Zero 7. Her winter 2008 solo release, "Some People Have Real Problems," proves her dreamy voice is only getting better. And now you can follow her around NYC.
-
Wild Ginger Vegetarian Cafe
380 Broome St, New York, NY
"This vegetarian restaurant has the most phenomenal veggie dumplings. So so so delicious in fact, that as a table of four, we have been known to polish off 60 or so. The mango salad is my other favorite, and the pineapple and avocado fried rice comes brown with Goji berries in it. This is a healthy sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of Soho, nestled between Little Italy and Chinatown. You can get your laundry done next door and it will come back to you folded so pretty. Two birds, one stone. Both cheap." -
145 Grand Street Qi Gong Tui-Na
145 Grand St, New York, NY
"Down some crummy carpeted stairs is a room filled with massage tables, maybe 14 of them. Go ask for Peter or May (if you like it strong). They are like doctors; in fact, they ARE doctors. You will take your shoes off, and lie down face first; they will put a large thin towel over you and massage the heck out of your tired limbs. I want to marry Peter; or May, if he is taken." -
Cafe Gitane
242 Mott St, New York, NY
"This is my favorite place to watch people in New York. The beautiful people--they work here, they eat here, they walk past here. Good luck trying to get in and out without hearing a gazillion Australian accents, too. Just remember us Aussies are easy. IT'S TRUE. So, sleazoids, listen up, this is where it's at. Really though, the avocado on toast should win some sort of award, and the soy mocha latte is amazing. You add your own sugar, if you want it. (This I like because I am trying to be a thin pop star, OK?)" -
Metropolitan
559 Lorimer St, Brooklyn, NY
"Gays gays gays. The cutest gays in the world. Because I love gays and am part gay, this is where I like to dance. Well, OK--there is no dance floor. But it's true, the courtyard out the back is filled with incredibly stylish boys and girls, and the music is fun fun fun 80's and 90's stuff. Tip well; the staff are nice. Oh, and gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, straight or poor--there is no cover charge and they have a no meanness at the door policy so anyone can go! It's enough to make me want to make some gay stereotype joke! …Insert gay stereotype joke."
-
Malo
4326 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
"Beef and pickle tacos, beef and pickle tacos, beef and pickle tacos. I went all Elvis on these things and put on 10 pounds after discovering them. I was a vegetarian 'til I tasted one, and I have since had to revert to vegetarianism for health reasons. Those health reasons being that if I wasn't [a vegetarian], all I would eat would be these beef and pickle tacos. All day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh, and the tequila selection is dangerous here. Achtung, baby." -
Millie's
3524 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
"It's not bad--the food, it's good. But that's not why I go there. I go there because the clientele is hot. Hot dawg. Cute hipsters in their cute things being cute. Once, I complimented a really handsome chap there on his sunglasses and he took them off and gave them to me. I secretly paid for his breakfast. You'll know him if you see him--startling blue eyes and a beautiful sort of kind of mutt sheepdog. And nice! So, what I'm saying is: nice and cute people go here. I like the spinach and sun-dried tomato scramble. (Substitute potatoes for fruit, but that's just me.)" -
Elite Cafe
2049 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA
Yum yum pig's bum. They are always so nice to us here. Bit pricier than the rest of my picks, but extremely fresh and rare ingredients [cost more]. The food is delicious and the winelist is amazing. The service is impeccable, and you'll feel like royalty when you leave. Ask for a booth--it's more fun! You can makeout in there. And who DOESN'T want to make out? I mean, wanna make out?" -
Craigie Street Bistrot
5 Craigie Cir, Cambridge, MA
"Tony makes personalized degustation menus for us when we are in town. In return, I tease him about chef stereotypes and try to get him to my shows for a shout-out. He does some of the most inventive flavor pairings I've experienced in the U.S., and he gets it right. Also, if you like the surreal, there is nothing quite like a table of eight being suddenly engulfed by five staff members setting food down simultaneously. Get it while it's hot. Yumalumma."
