New York International Beauty School

Located in a busy office building on 8th Ave near 35th Street, this beauty school dishes up the usual services with an international flair. At this school of beauty a wash and blow is $10 and yes B.Y.O.B. of shampoo that is or suffer with the cheap stinky almond stuff. This place is no frill, but I have many a fabulous blowout here and usually tip well as the staff is very nice and the students pride themselves on your satisfaction with their work. This place is not too full of clients like the other beauty school in the area (Empire) so it's more relaxing and they even have magazines you can read during your service. Walk in without appointment Monday through Saturday till 2PM and at night Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for the usual services. I have had cuts and color here with fine results. Cuts run about $15 and single process color around $20.

Nail

Yes, this place is called nail and that's what they do here for $6 bucks again a bargain for Manhattan and this nabe with many former cheap spots renovating and charging upwards of $8 for a mani. Well here you get the bare bones treatment in not the cleanest venue, but still a bargain. A few OPI colors in the selection of lots of Esse colors and a pretty nice result for the price. Oh, and Nail is on Avenue A. between 13th. and 14th. Street.

Mark Garrison Salon

This sleek salon is located in a modern townhouse on East 60th. Street with five floors of salon luxury. The assistant program does both cuts and color. Mark Garrision himself is cutting king to many a celebrity cliente. My friend Andrew is the color guru who will whip your dull locks into color and perhaps highlighted perfection. A consultation begins the process with a look at the old color and decision for a new. Mixing done, color is applied and you sit and read all the latest mags while you wait to be done. After washing out and gloss applied Andrew will do a fabulous blowout of your updated color. Color is $70 for single process and highlights . Now that is high style for a song.

Village Voice Choice Eats/Blog Mention

Please check out the Metromix story on the Village Voice Choice Eats event where Frannyonthego was pictured and quoted. The exact link is www.metromix.com/photogallery/snapshots-choice-eats/3370971/content.

Barbounia

Barbounia is a newish greek, I have wanted to eat a for a few months and it sits in a great spot on the corner of Park Ave. and 20th. Streets. It is a cavernous space punctuated by cream stucco walls and hanging vines. Lots of banguettes at lunch created a comfortable dining space. There is an extensive menu and a $19.99 prix fixe for lunch as well extensive wines by the glass. A borek style bread baked on premises served with mixed olives was a good start. There were a few service faux pas starting with the hostess handing myself and another table the dinner menu. I ordered the special cream of asparagus which arrived with a swirl of creme fraiche and was very well seasoned and tasty. The second appetizer of charred octopus over greens with yukon gold potatoes was very good as well. Lot's of the usual mezzes(greek spreads) are available as well as whole or filleted grilled fish as well as souvlaki and greek pizza. A nice size hearth oven looks like it does baking well. Be forewarned, this is pricey spot. Next, the check arrived with the soup being charged at the dinner rate and took almost fifteen minutes to correct. While waiting, I visited the bathrooms which are pretty gorgeous with blue tiles (communal) and stone sinks that look like something out of Aladdin. Nice, frosted glass doors are cool too.

Gallo Nero Wine Bar and Grill

Little Gallo Nero which translates into black chicken is a new spot off ninth avenue owned by the restauranteur of Il Bastardo in Chelsea. Eating there last night at 6:30(Saturday) the first surprise was that it was empty as the restaurants in the theatre district usually clear out only about 15 minutes before showtime. The fact that not many people know about Gallo Nero will surely change as the Daily News was shooting for a review in the paper this week. Gallo Nero's space boasts warm white stone walls and a ceiling lined with warm wood. It is charming, but most important the food. Rolls baked by Sullivan Street bakery and a chickpea dip begin the meal. A very good choice made by the restaurant as some posher spots offer a lesser quality bread. The menu is divided into small plates all of which are pretty cheap and average about $8 bucks. My friend Karen and I shared three small plates. A salad with green apples and goat cheese with lemon vinagrette and balsamic- we asked for both. That dish was $7. The Japanese egglant parmigiana for $9. was truly delish and like the best eggplant parm with a slight twist in the flavor of the eggplant. Next was the porcini mushroom risotto which was also very nicely done with a stong mushroomy flavor. The dessert of banana mouse surrounded by a banana pulp was yummy. All in all this place truly boasts a bang for the buck.