A million reasons to love lawrenceville

A few months after James and I opened Dozen Bake Shop in Lawrenceville, we sold our house in Regent Square and moved just a few blocks down from Piccolo Forno on 38th St. Because we started looking for the house in the winter, we didn't really have a good sense of what life would be like on our block or really even what Lower Lawrenceville would become in what has been just a little over a year.

This morning, as I ate my roasted veggie omelette at Coca Cafe, I was thinking about how great it is to live in a neighborhood with so many great destinations well within walking distance. I think Lower Lawrenceville is one of those unusual places with small number of really great businesses. I think that when you look at the food and retail offerings, all of the businesses are really great at what they do.

Shelly at Elements has a really great eye for vintage wares of all scale as well as other locally made art and art objects; Kristen at Obannon has unique, one of a kind area rugs and you'd be surprised at how affordable some of them are; Divertido is a great place for fun but never tacky, unique gifts and wares - something for everyone and great for the people who have everything; Pavement, Accezzorize and Sugar have great local and unique fashion and accessories. Equita has a wonderful store and matching online presence if you want to make sure your purchases are ethically sourced and produced!

And what I find most exciting is the changing food scene in our neighborhood. In the past few months, Tamari has opened its doors to rave reviews (their sushi is great!) and Round Corner Cantina has great cocktails as well as the best tacos I've had since moving here from Chicago over three years ago. Espresso A Mano has great coffee and lattes (I haven't had their cappuccino lately, but Matt knows what he's doing, so they're great, no doubt!), and of course Piccolo Forno is a great spot when you want fresh, quality Italian food. Oh, and I may be a little biased but I think you'll still find the best desserts in town at Dozen.

What I think is so amazing is that all of these places are a five minute walk from my front door. It no mere coincidence that so many great businesses have opened up near each other, nor is it any surprise to me to see our neighborhood bustling at 9 pm on a week night. Somehow I don't think I'm the only person who thinks that Lower Lawrenceville has something great to offer everyone.

I really didn't start writing this blog post as a promotion for the neighborhood. What you're seeing here is gush of someone in love with what's right outside his door step. And there's more here, too, including Jeffrey Smith Studio (where James gets his hair cut... I'm a little thin on top), Allison McGeary Creative (event design), Greybox Theatre (a really neat black-box style theater and event venue), Nancy Mosser Casting (who is casting extras right now for the new Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal movie), Artemis (which is the first and last place you should look if you want to renovate or update your home in an eco-friendly manner), BE Galleries (have you been inside? you need to go check it out!), Radha for everything from yoga to horoscopes, Frankie's (just walk by some day around lunch time for a whiff of their grilled onions), Asian Influences (fine art, furniture and antiques) and T's Upholstery (a great selection of fabrics as well as wonderful re-upholstering).

If you've never visited our neighborhood, come check it out. If you've missed one of the spots on my long list, please come back. This is a great neighborhood - one with a rare collection of locally owned businesses that really know what they're doing - and worth the time. It's one of my favorite reasons for living here.