Volume 21, May ‘05 Tara, 16 buzzSpotter Princeton is best known for the university that shares its name. In fact, when people I meet who do not know New Jersey well find out that I am from Princeton, they automatically assume that I attend the university. Although Princeton University is a large part of the town in sheer size, the town itself is littered with funky and preppy shops, pizza places, restaurants, and best of all, five ice cream parlors. Princeton has a lot to offer the eager shopper. We have your typical chain stores, J.Crew, Chicos, Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Talbots (blech!), Gap, Aerosols, and Coach, but Princeton is also filled with many hidden treasures. My personal favorite store is Zoë. Zoë and Zoë Shoes combined just last winter and moved into a larger space where they sell all the best designer shoes, clothes, swimwear, jeans, and handbags. They have Gucci, Prada, Seven, Rock and Republic (a favorite of mine for their extra long jeans… great for long-legged girls like me!), Citizens of Humanity, Juicy, Marc Jacobs, Lacoste, and many more. It is a great place to find something formal, or just a fun new outfit, but be careful, Mom and Dad might not love the bill as much as you love the clothes. Rouge is another fun store, located on Witherspoon Street. It sells the basics in lingerie and makeup, as well as the occasional shirt or skirt. They have lots of makeup and really delicious lip glosses. Honey West Boutique, pictured on the right, is a new store on Palmer Square. Its philosophy is simple: to support smaller, up-and-coming designers from New York and the West Coast, and to give them a receptive group of shoppers seeking something trendy and different. This is exactly what Princeton provides. Another one of my favorites is a tiny jewelry shop called Shop the World at the Salty Dog. It is located off of Witherspoon Street in a remote location, but is worth the hunt. They sell lots of jewelry, gloves, scarves, and gifts from Tibet and other countries. Their selection is extremely inexpensive, and I find that their classic wool gloves and unique stud earrings make great gifts for lots of friends at Christmas time. It is also nice that it is a free trade shop and most of the proceeds go to support people in the countries where all of their merchandise is made. Like the Salty Dog, Small World Coffee is unique to Princeton. It beats Starbucks by a long shot. They were begged to become a chain but resisted, making it an even cooler place. Small World is a great place to grab a cup of anything you desire in terms of coffee, and is also a favorite because they have live music on the weekends at night. On one wall of the shop you can find pictures from all over the world of loyal Small World customers in their Small World tee shirts, my favorite of which has the logo printed above. Other than Small World, there are lots of delicious places to grab a bite to eat, both fancy and casual, expensive and inexpensive. The best place for pasta is Teresa Cafe, but the lines are always at least half an hour long for dinner, especially on weekends. My dish of choice is the sun-dried tomato ravioli, which I had my first time there, and never settled for anything less. J.B. Winberries Bar is located right under J.Crew, a convenient location for a place with great burgers and pub food. For sushi and Japanese food, Ichiban is the place to go. It is relatively new and has the most delicious sushi outside of Ruby Foos. Triumph Brewery is the best place for a more formal dinner. They have excellent beer (so I’ve been told), because they brew it right in the restaurant. The best thing on the menu is by far the fried pizza appetizer, which I highly recommend. For a quick bite of good, cheap food, head down to the spot where most of the university kids grab their meals off campus. All in a row, there’s Hoagie Haven, Old World Pizza, and George’s Ribs and Roasters. I would recommend cheese fries and chicken cheese steaks, and the Old World thin crust, brick oven pizza. Best of all, Princeton is a small town filled with lots of ice cream lovers. We have Halo Pub, The Bent Spoon, Ricky’s Candy Cones and Chaos, and the classic Thomas Sweets. Halo Pub is a classic ice cream shop located by Zoë and Ichiban, a great place for an afternoon treat or dessert after dinner. Ricky’s is the newest of the ice cream shops, and is tailored more towards the younger crowd. Its neon green walls and dinosaur logo, as well as the wall-to-wall candy displays are enticing to little kids, as well as sugar lovers like my friends and I. The Bent Spoon is a small place that offers all natural, homemade, organic sorbets and ice creams, as well as mini cupcakes, and my favorite, banana whips. A banana whip is simply a frozen banana put through a food processor, which turns it into an ice cream like consistency. Just a banana, nothing else added, and pure bliss. Thomas Sweets is the best known ice cream shop, home to the world famous “Blend-Ins”. They brag about past customers including Albert Einstein, and other Princeton professors, graduates, and students. As my Dad puts it, you just can’t beat Thomas Sweets. Another cool thing about Thomas Sweets is the outdoor cinema they have next to the store, on the lawn during the summer. All in all, Princeton is far more than a college town. We have great shopping, and even better food. While we are not shopping or eating, we go to the movies, to parties at friend’s houses, or take a short train ride into New York City for a little adventure. // archive // sign up! ^^