Deals in Keansburg

The dim sum lunch, or yum cha (literally “drink tea”), is the Cantonese answer to Spanish tapas. It is as much a tradition in New York City's Chinatown as weekend brunch on The Lower East Side. The bustling scene is all too familiar: packed tables, servers pushing metal carts while hawking their selections, the din of impatient, hungry diners. They wait for shrimp dumplings, steamed pork spareribs, roast pork buns, pork and shrimp shu mai -- the seemingly endless variety goes on and on. But for vegetarians, the choices can be few. When it comes to dim sum, seafood and meat dominate the menu. New York vegetarians need not despair, because there are two very appetizing dim sum havens for non-meat eaters, and they’re right in Chinatown. Buddha Bodai on Mott Street serves a completely vegetarian and kosher menu of dim sum favorites, ranging from shrimp dumplings to beef rice rolls. The restaurant is usually packed on weekday lunch hours with City Hall municipal types, while the weekend clientele consists of tourists, locals and the environmentally conscientious. An all-day menu of vegetarian iterations of Chinese standards is also on offer, with creative takes on dishes like roast pork and sesame chicken. Using seitan, tofu and yam starch (among other vegetarian and kosher-friendly ingredients) as substitutes, many of these plates will fool even the committed carnivore in appearance and flavor. The line outside the door on Sunday afternoons may be the best way to spot Vegetarian Dim Sum House on Pell Street. Crowds tend to gather on weekends, anxious for healthy vegetarian takes on traditional dim sum dishes. The array of vegetarian dumplings -- pan fried, watercress, snow pea leaf, monk dumplings -- draw in voracious vegetarians who want the variety of a full-scale dim sum restaurant without sacrificing their principles or lifestyle choices. The menu is comprehensive, full of inventive vegetarian fare using Eastern and Western-style vegetables, not to mention an exhaustive list of diced, sliced or sautéed mushroom dishes. At Vegetarian Dim Sum House, there’s no need to solely imitate meat dishes. Here, vegetables are allowed to take center stage.

As summer weather starts its slow fade to fall, it’s time to pack in the most open-air fun as possible. This week’s list of things to do has plenty of outdoor activities to fill the shortening days, from a concert in Hudson River Park to Manhattan’s first-ever Smorgasburg. Enjoy yourself, and as always, check Groupon for more great things to do in New York City. Lit Crawl Manhattan East Village | Saturday, September 13 This three-hour event puts a literary spin on a bar crawl as participants follow their maps to readings and book-themed activities at 25 East Village watering holes. Compete in rounds of “literary Taboo” at Solas, or take in a performance by Farrar, Straus and Giroux house band the Savage Detectives at Leftfield. See the full schedule of events here. (Multiple venues; 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; free) Lorde & Majical Cloudz Midtown | Sunday, September 14 Gothy pop wunderkind Lorde claims she’s no royal—but her fans may beg to differ. This Sunday, the 17-year-old New Zealand native holds court at JBL Live at Pier 97, where she’ll set heads bobbing to chart-topping hits like “Tennis Court” and “Team.” Majical Cloudz’s wistful, electronica-tinged indie pop kicks things off. (Hudson River Park at W. 58th St.; 6 p.m.; $74; get tickets here) AHOYsters Tribeca | Tuesday, September 16 At this punning New York Oyster Week event, the crew of the F/V Sherman Zwicker invites landlubbers aboard their historic schooner for a shellfish-centric feast. Docked at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25, the Zwicker features more luxurious accommodations than the oyster boats of yore: guests pull up chairs to white-clothed tables at Grand Banks, the vessel’s onboard oyster bar. (N. Moore St. at West St.; 6 p.m.; free) Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man Hell’s Kitchen | Through Sunday, September 28 This live-action rom-com starts with a meet-cute between shy college student Robyn and brash advice-giver Dan, the gay male author of the book Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man. As Dan helps Robyn loosen up in front of her crush, Stefan the stagehand, audiences get in on the naughty fun: bachelorettes who purchase a party package even get to join the characters onstage. (777 8th Ave.; tickets $55–$66.50 through GrouponLive) Smorgasburg at Central Park Central Park | Friday, September 19 For those tired of trekking to Brooklyn, Smorgasburg has granted you a reprieve. This Friday, the foodie festival brings 30 of its top vendors to Central Park SummerStage for its first-ever outing in Manhattan. Chow down on treats from ‘burg stalwarts like Blue Marble Ice Cream, Ramen Burger, and Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque, or newcomers like Dan & John’s Wings or tostada-slingers El Super. (72nd St. and 5th Ave.; 5–9 p.m.; free) Photo credits: Ky Huynh (Lit Crawl), Annette Geneva (Lorde). 

You can’t rush perfection, but you can wash it down correctly. The DeMarco family explains why you won’t mind waiting for a slice at Di Fara Pizza and what you should bring to drink. Worth the Wait Dom DeMarco isn’t big on advertising. Probably because he doesn’t need it. Dom—owner, founder, and sole chef at Di Fara Pizza—knows he’ll have a crowd to feed no matter what. The masses waiting in line outside Di Fara’s modest storefront, next door to a 99-cent shop in Brooklyn, are evidence of that. So is the fact that they’re waiting for the chance to hand over $5 for a piece of pizza. Five bucks might seem a bit much for a single slice, but these devotees clearly don’t mind. Even Mayor Bloomberg weighed in on the discussion. “If you’ve ever had a really great slice of pizza,” he told the New York Times, “you know there are worse deals.” But the food at Di Fara doesn’t really need mayoral endorsements. Margaret DeMarco, Di Fara’s manager and Dom’s daughter, explained why the pies are their own best advertisement: “[The] pizzas are made with two cheeses and fresh, snipped basil and a drizzle of olive oil. The square is a slightly thicker crust, twice-baked, made with a richer sauce, and is a much heartier choice. The round is quite delicate in texture. We're famous for both." Margaret has worked alongside her father for more than 20 years now, and like the rest of her six siblings, she has, not surprisingly, developed cooking skills that she calls a “special art.” But dad is still in charge of all the cooking, and will be “as long as he has the strength and the desire.” He was born in Italy’s Provincia di Caserta, and he uses all imported ingredients for his pies—from the buffalo mozzarella cheese brought from Italy to the basil from Israel. While You Wait (and While You Eat): Take Advantage of Di Fara’s BYOB Option You won’t see mention of it on Di Fara’s website, but the pizzeria is also BYOB. In 2011, the Village Voice named Di Fara one of its 10 Best BYOB Restaurants in the city, encouraging guests to “uncork your best bottle of red and indulge in a marriage of gastronomic perfection." Margaret said that since the Village Voice article, they’ve noticed a lot of customers opting to bring along something to drink in the evenings. “Wine is usually the choice for most, but beer is also brought in,” she said. Margaret’s most important pairing recommendation for those settling in at one of the eatery’s coveted 19 seats? Try a slice of both the round pie and the square pie for the sake of comparison. After that wait, you’ve probably earned it. What Booze to Bring Serious Eats says: Czech Krušovice beer “Krušovice, with its sweet, almost caramel flavor, is a dark (basically black) beer, that's hardly found in the States … A cold Krušovice with a hot, olive oily, basily Di Fara's slice, is my idea of each food group at its best,” said writer Erin Zimmer, who suggests picking it up at Associated Supermarket directly across the street. Gothamist says: Italian red wines “Bring a bottle of chianti or a barbera.”