Ultimate iPhone Campout Guide: NYC Soho

It is "Soho's best-kept secret," the bookstore\cafe's website boldly proclaims -- but don't let that fool you, it's no secret at all. In fact, the large space is the … overt front for a nonprofit HIV\AIDS support organization, Housing Works, the recipient of 100% of the store's profits (mostly from their 45,000 new, used, and rare books and records). Free wifi is accessible throughout the store, including the second floor balcony overlooking Crosby Street. The café in back serves beer and wine in addition to the standard coffee, baked goods, and (sometimes) soups, dished out by bookish volunteers. [link]

This cocktail bar is dressed as a big-up to the storied British officer's club in Burma bearing its name. Their devotion to the drunken British colonial enterprise is … reflected by their mixology: Earl Grey MarTEAni, Gin-Gin Mule, various drinks employing permutations of the word "bitters," and a host of other gin-centric but creative concoctions. The drinks are $12 to $16, but if you scope the "Ethos" section on their website you'll realize that they are the "gatekeepers of classic cocktail culture" and can charge whatever they damn well please. The drinks are superb and well balanced, and after all, it's not so expensive for this city [link]

Within view of the Apple Store entrance, Fanelli's is an old-timey style (as in 1922) pub offering a good beer selection, reasonably priced drinks, and well executed pub … fare. It is an everyman's outpost in the midst of glitzy Soho finery, so check your designer attitude before trying to interact with their typically gruff, non-nonsense staff. The burgers are justly well-regarded (though not in the upper pantheon of New York's burger hierarchy), and the scene is lively and sort of drunk-y throughout the day. [link]

This self-described "garage-garden" is an airy, new eatery not far from the Apple Store offering a solid selection of burgers, sandwiches, salads, dogs, brats, and soups … as well as beer and wine. Prices are a bit deceptive -- don't expect to get a full meal and a drink for less than $12 -- but the ingredients are fresh and carefully prepared, and the beer-garden effect is much appreciated during the warm seasons. A nice change of scenery from the iWant center further down Prince Street, for sure. [link]

This self-described "garage-garden" is an airy, new eatery not far from the Apple Store offering a solid selection of burgers, sandwiches, salads, dogs, brats, and soups … as well as beer and wine. Prices are a bit deceptive -- don't expect to get a full meal and a drink for less than $12 -- but the ingredients are fresh and carefully prepared, and the beer-garden effect is much appreciated during the warm seasons. A nice change of scenery from the iWant center further down Prince Street, for sure. [link]

Discreetly hidden away in an Equinox on low-key Crosby Street, this sandwich chain is a blessing for the well-informed in a neighborhood short on quality, affordable … food. Tom Colicchio's shop is renowned for crafting some of the cities finest 'wiches, including time-honored classics (pastrami and Swiss on rye, BLT) or fancy-pants favorites (grilled fontina, black trumpet mushrooms, and white truffle fondue on pullman white bread). Note that free wifi is also available for patrons. [link]

Over the course of the past several years of furious expansion, Starbucks' up-market image has steadily eroded to the point that these cafés are the public bathroom of … choice for everyone from your mom, to toddlers, to somewhat presentable hobos. At this point, you don't even need to pretend you're going to buy an old scone, though lines may be a problem. [link]

This multilevel Broadway department store sports three public bathrooms for your pee-pee pleasure. Be careful to avoid obnoxious clerks and precious housewares en route … to your desired destination. [link]

This multilevel Broadway department store sports three public bathrooms for your pee-pee pleasure. Be careful to avoid obnoxious clerks and precious housewares en route … to your desired destination. [link]

This predictable chain is immaculately clean, reasonably priced, and reasonably close to Soho. Again, this is kinda Soho but more like Chinatown, but not a bad … location, all things considered. Standard rooms with a double or a queen bed start at $190 and range to about $250 for the "Executive," so you're in the mid- to low-range here. The additional perks of free HBO, wifi, and a fitness center make this seem like quite a bargain, freeing up your cash for lattes, pickpockets, and iPhones. [link]

Affordable accommodations do not come cheap in Manhattan, much less in the swanky Soho area. The wishfully titled "Sohotel" is on the very southeastern most fringe … of the neighborhood, in an area that borders on boutique-y Nolita and bustling Chinatown -- and right in the middle of about two dozen lamp and lighting stores. The walk to Soho, however, is easy and interesting, and the clean, unspectacular rooms are under $200 for a double, with some rooms as low as $164 a night. [link]

This Apple Store is a two-level shrine to sterile, painstakingly branded technology, crawling with hipsters in headphones "testing" their Gmail on Apple's latest … computers (all hooked up to the internet), as well as all manner of Apple gizmos and goodies. There's also a sleek, modern bathroom on the second floor to the side of the video presentation room. [link]