Forgot your Valentine?

Its not too late! Take her on a romantic date to the heart of New York City.

Rockefeller Center , only two blocks away from Times Square, is one of the liveliest places in the city of blinding lights. It is the center of the business (diamond and jewelry market), tourism, and shopping.

For you youngsters, there are things you can do here that will blow your special lady away. First, go to Rockefeller Center and go down the grand stairs. To your right will be a small door. Enter it, spend about $15 dollars, and take your lady ice skating in New York City. The rink at Rockefeller at night is beautiful and a perfect place to show your significant other, what she means to you.

For the mature crowd, if you have an extra buck to spend, take her to heaven up to the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Cipriani's Rainbow Room is a high class venue with a grill for gourmet food, a bar for exotic drinks, and a view for only the exclusive. If you're a dancer, show it off on the Rainbow Room's jazz floor.

Just remember one thing if you are trying to redeem forgetting St. Valentine's Day: Fill your wallet and dress to impress

- Shrenil S. Bhansali

Mac-DO-A-LOT-gal Street

MacDougal Street is in New York's famous Greenwich Village also called the West Village. It is located between West 3rd and Bleecker Street. The place has been linked to bohemianism for most of the last century, and will surely continue to be one of New York's cultural hotspots.

NYU students especially enjoy this night time get away as it has all types of things to do.

If you're in the mood for some tasty food, this is the place to go! Here, you can find the best falafel in New York City, and arguably the country at a small joint established in 1971 called Mamoun's. For just $2, you can get a falafel that will fill your stomach up, and still keep you asking for more. Just be careful of their firey, blazing, spicy hot sauce. One dab of this sauce on your tongue, and you will surely be running to the nearest watering hole to put out the inferno in your mouth.

Just down the street from Mamoun's is India's favorite street food brought to the streets of Manhattan. Kati Roll is a food haven where you can get your paneer, aloo (potato), chicken, or lamb rolled up in a traditional Malaysian Parata (bread) pickled with peppers and onions. All of the food options are grilled on an open flame while the bread is cooked in a traditional tandoor.

Other food places to check out are Hummus Place, Ben's Pizza, Meskerem's Ethiopian, Indian Bread Company, Olive Tree Cafe, and Cafe Dante.

If you're not that hungry, there are tons of other things you can do on this legendary street. If you're in the mood for a good laugh, get yourself down into the Comedy Cellar. There are three shows every Friday and four shows every Saturday. Sunday through Thursday, there are two shows each day. What makes the place even better is that you can reserve a table online at anytime before the show. The place has had incredible lineups including: Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Dave Attell, Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, and many more.

Finally, once you're done laughing. You can mosey to one of the many ice cream and dessert shops, or be a little more adventurous and go to Luxor Cafe. Luxor Cafe is a Hookah bar where arabic music is played, bellydancers perform, and shisha is served.

Please go out and experiance one of New York's most cost effective hot zones with a crowd that drastically changes with each venue.

For those of you experts on MacDougal Street, tell us your opinions here!

- Shrenil S. Bhansali

Kobe's Demolition in Gotham City

Kobe Bryant walked into Madison Square Garden this past Monday and told Gotham City why he is going to win MVP this season.

Bryant broke the all time Madison Square Garden record of most points scored in a single game by a player. His 61 points beat legends like Michael Jordan and Bernard King. This was Bryants 5th career 60 point game and his 5th 40 point game in the Garden. The score of the game in the end was 126 - 117 L.A. Andrew Bynum, center for the Lakers, got injured just before this game and is expected to be out 8 to 12 weeks. Kobe's performance demonstrated that he alone can get the job done and that Bynum's injury will not hurt the progress of this franchise.

However Knick fans, this is not something to worry too much about. The Knicks played extremely well. Al Harrington had 24 points, David Lee grabbed 12 rebounds, and point guard Chris Duhan dished 9 assists. The turning point of the game, was in the third quarter when the Knicks went on a 10 - 4 run to make it a two point game. The play of the game was Quentin Richardson's two-handed cross court pass to Jared Jefferies for the Allie-oop.

David Lee explained how, "it was very obvious to all of us by the middle of the first quarter that he [Kobe Bryant] wasn't in a distributing type of mode or in a getting 10 rebounds type of mode, that he was going to try to score the basketball tonight."

The Knicks are currently 21 - 27 and stand at 10th place in the Eastern Conference. They are two games behind the 8th seed and playoff spot. If the Knicks continue to play with an up tempo speed and do not turn the ball over, they will be sure to advance and see the playoffs after five years of no postseason.

- Shrenil S. Bhansali