What women in their 20′s want

Remember when you had a t-shirt that said “Team Aniston” or “Team Jolie”? Imagine one with a corn on the cob sketch and printed on the bottom “Team Habana” or “Team Esquina.” Which one would you buy? I know; it’s a really hard question, but one I was set on solving. Having resided in Nolita for the past five years, I’ll give it to Cafe Habana for being the neighborhood corn making veteran. But this is New York! And what are we if not competitive. So along came La Esquina and their hoity toity downstairs and Yukons parked outside and yadda yadda and John Mayer looking all fine.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to warm up to the idea of friendly on top, snobby on bottom. (And being a neighborhood regular, I never even experienced the snobby on bottom first hand. Thus, it took me a bit to warm up to “Skeener,” as my brother calls it. But once I did, I realized there are some wonderful palate pleasers Skeener does that Habana does not. For instance the soup and the chicken tacos with cabbage. On the other hand, no one rivals Habana’s mole or the rice and beans or the Cuban pork sandwich.

Ah, such the dilemma. Well, fortunately there is enough difference – after all, Habana is Cuban – that one isn’t forced to make a decision unless, you want corn. If you have never had the corn, then honestly, you are not a New Yorker or you’ve had braces since moving to Gotham. It is buttery, spicy, limey deliciousness dipped in Mexican cotija cheese. So here it goes, the face off, the battle, the true but biased, somewhat honest testament to years of research on who has the best Mexican corn.

Personally, I like when the corn is a little charred on the outside, and sometimes Cafe Habana doesn’t really get enough char action for me. Buuuut… the guy who makes it and has that big barrel of corn and just keeps grilling it and grilling it all day long is just so sweet. I don’t think they sell as much corn at Skeener, but it could also be because the order comes with just one corn, not two. At Cafe Habana there are two corns per order, which is an advantage unless you’re ordering by yourself because you will eat both. Don’t let the word corn fool you. It may be a vegetable, but Mexican corn is no health food.

Delivery: Cafe Habana wins hands down. I think the foil paper La Esquina wraps their corn in keeps the heat in too much making the kernels a bit mushy. I live super close to La Esquina, so if it gets mushy in the block and half to my apartment I can’t imagine living on Houston and Mott.

But when someone asks me which I prefer, right off the top of my head I say La Esquina. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it is always perfectly charred…? Or maybe because it’s closer to me. If Cafe Habana could consistently char their corn properly every single time, then maybe… Ah, hell. It’s a tie.

Bring floss.

Cafe Habana  17 Prince Street @ Elizabeth; 212-625-2001 

La Esquina 106 Kenmare @ Lafayette St; 212-613-7100

Emma Dinzebach     

“Mood-lifting war paint,” is what Elle’s April Long called women’s desire to sport bright lipsticks. In addition to making us feel sexy, firey and all around naughty, the bright red lips covering the mouths of women from Manhattan to Mobile are our reaction to a boring summer and a still drab economy. That splash of color may be the perfect remedy turning us from bored to cocksure in a matter of moments.  I may not have a job, but I have enough self-esteem, control and power to look myself in thine eyes and color my purty pout red.

In fact, Estee Lauder Chairman, Leonard Lauder noticed a spike in red lipsticks sales during the post-9/11 economic downturn and the same holds true today, proving once again, that fashion and beauty trends are rooted in psychological substratum. Some old urban myth falsely led us to believe that only certain skin tones could wear red lipstick. Bollocks!  But before you go running to Sephora, be sure the hue you choose is truly the hue for you. In searching for the perfect fall now pick-me-up, matching your skins undertone with that of the lipstick is key. Your skin’s undertone is either pink or yellow. (Traditionally called cool or warm, respectively.) If your skin is fair – especially if it’s rivaling Snow White – then your undertone is likely pink or cool. This includes violet, blue, green and blue-red undertones. Reds with a blue base best compliment pink undertones. Plum, purply reds will look smashing. If your skin’s undertone is yellow – this includes olive, tan and gold tones – choose reds with a golden base. Orangey-red lipsticks and the ubiquitous corals from the beginning of summer will compliment you best.

Because red lipstick tends to bleed, most make up artists recommend wearing lip liner. Just be sure to check on them or risk walking around with a candy-colored ring around your kissers. And yes, red can transition from day to evening as easily as your white pants and little black dress. Even typically light-lipped ladies are sporting the red pout. Even better – pair the red lipstick look with the menswear trend (the shoes, the military blazers, the still here boyfriend sweater). It adds a sexy somethin’ somethin’ to an adroygynous look. I mean, if the eternally bohemian Sienna Miller can rock it, so can you my friend. So can you.

We can’t outright recommend colors for every skin tone, but MAC has an overwhelming amount of reds to choose from and make up experts to assist. They have the lip lining thing, which can admittedly be frightening, down to a near science.  Chanel Rouge Allure looks like fire but feels like butter. For the budget conscious or those with commitment issues regarding reds, try Revlon Fire and Ice. Once you color your kissers, the world is your playground. Have fun.

Emma Dinzebach

Swamping curtains in my quest to dirt-proof my apartment

Having read the New York Times article “Soil in the City” on the current state of the city’s dirt factor, I quickly decided to chuck my haven’t-been-washed-since-I-bought-them curtains for the sake of my allergies. Seeing that $400 to shampoo my sofa, chairs, and rugs is something I have in my “probably should but won’t” to-do list, I decided to go the cheaper route and give another soot proofing technique some thought. I decided to take some advice on switching out your dusty, old curtains from interior designer Jayne Michaels who has to contend with dirt wafting into her East 57^th Street apartment. It’s so bad that her bath water turned black the last time she had to rinse and soak her curtains.

Naturally I first headed over to IKEA and spotted these sheer panel curtains in a muted black and white bamboo print (Anno Unni, $29.99) in polyester.

Michaels mentioned that she swapped linen drapes for ones made of “wash and wear” polyester but seeing as finding cute polyester curtains was a rare feat I also looked at some cotton ones. For $20, I spotted these two pretty blossom prints at Urban Outfitters.

The Blossom Tree curtains sported larger burgundy, pink, and green blooms whilst the semi-sheer Asian Blossom curtains were in a tiny pink and lavender print against a turquoise background.

Though for a bit more you can get the graphic Botanist curtain peppered with lemon, lime, and cherry swirls of blooms and leaves ($48). Just know, whatever you pick… your sinuses will thank you.

-Wendy