This is our fourth or fifth trip to NYC. We've done all the mustsees and must shopping. Now we are interested in those unique hole-in-the-wall shops. Any suggestions?

Hundreds and hundreds of them...what neighborhood, shopping for what items, price ranges, etc. Details, please.

Hey Becky:

As you might realize, New York is the best city in the world for interesting stores. One of my favorites (and it may not be your thing at all) is Flight 001. Basically, it's a hip/retro looking store with all sorts of unique travel-related articles. (http://www.flight001.com) It's at 96 Greenwich near 12th St.

You might want to stroll down St. Marks Place (replaces 8th St) from, say, 3rd Ave east towards Ave A. Lots of unique stores.

If you've got time, you might check out Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Just take the L train one stop out of Manhattan to Bedford Street. Right as you get out of the train, you're in the heart of the "hip" retail strip.

Another of my favorite Brooklyn neighborhoods for unique stores is Carroll Gardens. Take the F train to either Bergen or Carroll Streets. Most of the stuff is located on Smith Street (the street the subways runs under) between these two stops.

What kind of things are you interested in? Books? Clothes? "Hip" stores? Low-end? High-end? The more information you provide, the more the wonderful New Yorkers can help you ;-)

Thanks for that info! We like hip, retro/vintage, low-end. Clothes, home decor, misc. stuff. We are actually staying in Brooklyn Heights so we might swing down for those in Brooklyn. We tromp all over the city, so anything works. Thanks!

Religous Sex on St. Mark's Pl.

Walk these blocks:

7th Street from 3rd Avenue over to Avenue A. Walk up one block, and do 8th St (St Marks Place) from Avenue A back to 3rd Avenue. Then do 9th Street from -- well, really from 2nd Avenue to Avenue A.

Be sure to visit Love Saves the Day on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street. The Japanese restaurant near it is good for cheap Japanese (right next to it, I think).

Stop at Veselka, 9th St/2nd Avenue, for something to eat.

Also, walk the length of Elizabeth Street, these shops are newer many of them, quit tiny and wonderful. Combine this walk with Chinatown.

I am amazed that you have managed to see everything in NYC in 4/5 vacations. I have lived here all my life and still find new and exciting things on a daily basis. Please tell me how you managed, I am not being sarcastic I am deadly honest. Did you foillow a plan or have something mapped out ?

Speaking as someone who's been to New York a number of times, I'm also a bit shocked that someone can have seen everything in 4-5 trips. I've been there maybe a dozen times and I feel I've barely scratched the surface.

However, maybe what Becky meant was that she's seen all the "typical" tourist stuff and is looking for stuff that the guidebooks don't talk about. I can totally understand that. It only takes a couple of trips to see Times Square, Empire State Building, Fifth Ave, etc.

That having been said, here's another area I'd recommend: the Lower East Side. Walk along Houston from Bowery east and the sidestreets to the south (Orchard, Ludlow, Clinton). They are not all filled but stores, but they are very interesting. Go as far south as Grand and then head back north along another one of the sidestreets. Also, PLEASE go to Kossar's Bialys on Grand at Essex and have a Bialy. They are like, flatter, chewier bagels with no hole, but a hint of onion. More like soft pizza dough. Eat them as you walk, they are wonderful.