Hot spot

The East Village is getting more than its share of attention from The Times these days, with a walk down Avenue M(emory) last week, and this week, by all means, come for the weekend!

I don't know about you, but I like my tourists in Soho, where I can see them, and still get away when I need to. And the piece starts with the latest upstart hotel, followed by ... a /rubber stamp store/?!

Whom, exactly, are we encouraging to visit our fair city, scrapbookers from the flyover states? In their matching holiday sweaters and Crocs? We have escalators in our subways here, people, don't even think about wearing those atrocious tupperware-containers-as-footwear!

Perhaps the mention of the Russian steam baths will put them off. (I'm torn on this one, because their location was incorrect in the last article I read on the subject, but I don't really want hordes of people on my very block ...). Or perhaps Japanese tourists will think it's the Americanized version of an onsen ... hmmm. Now even more torn. (I have it on good authority from a native New Yorker that the Russian baths are fantastic, btw.)

They only outed a few of my fav restaurants, and I'm traveling so much this month and next that things will probably have settled down by the time I get back. Still, le sigh.*

*Thx again, Blue Fairy - what a perfect phrase!