HotelChatter

For me, I’m particularly partial to the Crosby Street Hotel’s bathrooms. Though I’ve never actually used one, just having a bidet in my bathroom might be worth a few hundred dollars a night to my bill. And all the rooms at the Crosby Street Hotel have them. The addition of heated towel racks also add to the bathroom’s wonderfulness.

I could spend lots of time in that bathroom, but a man’s gotta eat and that’s the dilemma. Most of my budget would be long gone for the privilege of having a bidet in my bathroom, so I need to find someplace cheap yet substantial to satisfy my hunger.

That I’m in SoHo doesn’t make it easy to solve my dining dilemma, but I have the answer. To do so, you need to walk the half block to Spring Street and then, bypassing the noise emanating from Balthazar and the temptation to enter and risk blowing whatever you have left in your wallet for a drink and a few dozen oysters, you head to Mott Street. Heading south another half block and you have reached your destination: Parisi Bakery (198 Mott Street).

If you arrive at lunch time, be prepared to wait. If you come earlier, buy your sandwich; maybe mortadella, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and olive oil on a fresh baked hero roll, or eggplant parm, or, if you’ve just woken up, the egg and potato. Anything on their bread works, but mortadella is their specialty.

At Parisi’s they also make their own mini-pizzas minus the cheese. They can be eaten cold and might make for a magnificent snack as you sit in your room and take in the view for those aforementioned warehouse-sized windows.

Finally, take along a few loaves to munch on back in your hotel room. Whatever you get will easily sustain you until the time comes for you to stuff your face with the complimentary bites offered to complement the hotel’s afternoon tea.

[Top photo: HotelChatter; Parisi Bakery: Simply Scrumptious Foodie]