The New York International Gift Fair is no CES. But it’s in New York not in Vegas so we visit every year, say Hi to our vendors, and do our quick scouting around the Javits Center. The NYIGF was very quiet today when we arrived around 3pm. We are not sure if it has something to do with the US still in the recession, but it was fairly empty throughout. We managed to picked up a few interesting items which you may be able to soon see at our store and on our website.

A brief sidestep from our usual topics, but I just love Nom Wah Tea Parlor. It’s an easy go-to when I want dim sum without all the great big banquet hall fanfare and yesterday’s feature in Eater is filled with interesting tidbits about the long-standing institution’s checkered past (and I’m not just referring to those comforting red-and-white tablecloths). Turns out that Doyers, the little corner of Chinatown where Nom Wah opened and remains to this day, used to be a hotbed for Chinatown gang violence in the early 1900s – so much so that, in 1994, law enforcement officials named it the bloodiest street intersection in the United States.

Through it all, though, Nom Wah remained, making it arguably the oldest standing restaurant in Chinatown. In my opinion, it’s also one of the best, particularly after its gentle restoration last year by the original owner’s nephew, who lovingly kept its worn-in, classic charm intact while making small  changes to bring it into a new generation – creating Facebook and Twitter pages, for example. Click over to read the entire Eater feature, and don’t miss the charming Nom Wah images from the 1960s drawn by NY Mag founder and graphic design legend Milton Glaser.

We see you, Baohaus.

No surprise that we would admire the look you’ve had going on – you kind of look like us. And I don’t mean that in any Louis/Dane type of way, because God knows it wasn’t an OG move when we went minimal white with sans-serif font in that shade of blue, and we see and appreciate the play on FOB style; just saying that we share a common bond. And it may seem like yesterday’s news since I’ve been enjoying the baos coming out of your LES shop for a long, long time, but it seemed fitting to bring it up now that you’ve opened on 14^th St (congrats!), effectively sandwiching us right in the middle. One might even say that you’ve created an AC Gears Bao.

What you talkin’ a-bao’ed, Willis?

Miansai fish hook bracelets have a rugged, playful look to them that makes me want to hit the beach. Here in NY, you can get them at Saturdays Surf on Crosby, where I recommend stopping in for an espresso while browsing the surf gear and their excellent house line of tees, chinos, oxfords and more.

Dirt Candy, the East Village vegetarian restaurant with an animalistic energy and indie, punk rock ethic, will be putting out a comic book cookbook, to be published by Clarkson Potter in summer 2012.

A few sample panels shown here – check out their freewheeling blog to stay current.

Seen on A Cup of Joe via Smallest Things, these graphics by Vahram Muratyam really cut to the core of some key differences between New York and Paris. Being partial to a black, chunky frame myself, the Godard/Woody design is my favorite – the more things are different, the more perhaps they are the same.

Except for tipping. That’s definitely different.

A recent Q&A with Andy Spade on the WSJ site turned me on to this store – actually, more than a store; a grand concept, but on a small and human scale. Spade had this to say about the venture, which is pioneered by writer Dave Eggers: “He sells things like invisible paint. In Brooklyn, you have to swear in, and say you’re a superhero and will abide by the rules.”

Confused? Go check out the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. webshop, where they stock an array of products that may shed some light. Some are tangible, like a Secret Identity t-shirt emblazoned with the words Strive To Be Boring. Some, like the Invisible Plane, are not. In case you were wondering, The Invisible Plane can be purchased for the tidy sum of four million dollars.

While this all looks very cute, Eggers’ goal may not be immediately clear beyond the simple scope of curating comic book and cartoon-type children’s costumes and novelty knick-knacks. But if you look deeper, you’ll find the interesting tie to 826NYC, the New York chapter of a nationwide, youth-oriented non-profit creative writing program. All money going into the Supply Co. ultimately flows into the writing program.

The storefront, in effect, is the Secret Identity – but not too secret, it turns out. The whole point is to get passersby stopping by the store to pop into the writing center and see the work they’re doing with the kids. True superhero work indeed.