AWESOME DEAL: 20% Off Sparkly Soul Headbands

One of my favorite things to do is work out, but one of my least favorite things to do is wipe stray hairs out of my sweaty face in downward dog or in 3rd position over the flywheel. To solve this problem, NYC-based Sparkly Soul created the one and only no-slip hairband that has ever stayed in place for me throughout an entire exhale Core Fusion class.

I bought my first several years ago at Pure Barre and have collected several of their fun and sparkly colors ever since. The hairbands come in thin ($15) or thick ($17) varieties and can be found slicking back coifs of fashion-conscious fitness fiends around the city. I can't even tell you how many compliments I get and recommendations I give every time I work out in one.

Good news! Sparkly Soul is offering 20% off all their products through Memorial Day (May 26 at 11:59 pm PST) with code MEMORIALDAY. Also, if you share this sale on social media using the hashtag #sparklysoulheadbands through 11:59 pm PST you will be entered to win 12 headbands of your choice. That's an amazing prize!! Good luck and happy sweating.

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 3 Pairs of Tickets to The Anthem

What do you get when you combine the teachings of Ayn Rand and a synthesizer? Well, a sci-fi musical of course! The new musical The Anthem is based off the capitalist author's novella "Anthem," and tells the story of a revolt of the young against an evil state.

In a world where individuality is illegal, Prometheus abandons everything to confront the State -- controlled by the overlord of evil efficiency, Tiberius. With a forbidden copy of Ayn Rand's ancient tome in hand, 

can Prometheus overthrow the system?

The show opens next week at the Lynn Redgrave Theater at 45 Bleecker. To receive a discount on tickets--$39 from May 20 to May 28 (regularly $60) and $45 from May 30 to July 6 (regularly $64)--click here and use code ANTRRM, call 866.811.4111 and mention code ANTRRM, or show up at the box office at the Lynn Redgrave Theater at 45 Bleecker (box office opens daily 2 hours before performances).

Good news! I'm giving away 3 pairs of tickets to the show! Please use the form below (follow all instructions!) to enter to win by 5/21/14. Best of luck!

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Sip Sake and Browse Japanese Art at Onishi Gallery Tomorrow

Looking for something unique to do tomorrow night? Check out Chelsea's Onishi Gallery (521 West 26th Street) for a one-of-a-kind exhibition on contemporary Japanese arts and crafts.

Onishi Gallery founder, Nana Onishi, will launch the exhibition My Japanese Discoveries: Toyama Prefecture Japan – The Extraordinary Koei Art and Contemporary Design. Artists featured will include:

• Ozawa Komin, a metal artist who is Toyama Prefecture’s sole “Living National Treasure of Japan.” Ozawa is a master of the yakigata casting technique, while blending innovative technology with creative design to push the boundaries of traditional metal casting.
• Hannya Tamotsu, another celebrated metal master, who is the only known artist to have ever made a three-metal cast piece.
• Shakunaga Yukio, a widely-admired ceramic artist, who creates simple forms and exquisitely colored ceramic pieces that have attracted devoted collectors all over the world, including Apple Company’s Steve Jobs.

Food and sake tastings will be served in traditional lacquerware and metalware, courtesy of Union Square Events. The opening reception takes place Friday 5/16 from 6-8 pm, while the gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 am - 6 pm.

Free Fitness and Health Fun This Week at the West Side Y

The 15th annual National Women’s Health Week kicked off on Mother's Day, and the West Side Y (5 West 63rd Street) is celebrating with a week of fun health and fitness related activities that are free and open to the public!

Check out their offerings here for fitness classes such as yoga, pilates, Zumba, boot camp, total body conditioning and more through May 17. They are also hosting multiple workshops for women, including Telling Women’s Stories – a writing workshop for women; a culinary wellness workshop with opportunities to get hands-on in creating healthy and nutrient dense meals; and stress relief workshops. Visitors and members will also enjoy giveaways and free chair massages throughout the week.

Additionally, Komen NYC will be sending the Scan Van to the Y to give free mammograms. Duane Reade and Walgreens will be providing blood pressure screenings throughout the week.

There's A New Donut Shop In Town

You may recall a few weeks ago when we posted about the upcoming opening of a new donut store in town...well, Holey Donuts is officially open an Awesome-approved!

We got a sneak peek of the new West Village location (101 Seventh Avenue South) and met with owner Frank Dilullo to get the inside scoop a few days before the grand opening. Holey Donuts serves a broad selection of fresh made, filled, and decorated donuts that are, get this, low-fat! We learned that while regular donuts can range from 30-50g of fat, the donuts made here have only 2-5g. They also range from between 150-300 calories each. That's a huge difference! Frank told us the method to the madness is top secret, although he did say it was a 22-step process that isn't simply "baking" the donuts because then you "just get bagels." 

Holey Donuts is also different because they have nothing on display (meaning, no waste) and your donuts are made right in front of you (Chipotle style!). You can choose between a traditional frosted donut ($3.85) or filled ($3.95), and a myriad of different toppings. I tried the coconut cream filled (definitely one of my favorites!) and chocolate glazed. They also gave me a half dozen to take back to my office, which everyone seemed to appreciate.

While the texture is not going to be exactly like the donuts you are used to, they are still mighty tasty and the fillings make all the difference. Frank was insistent I take a bite of my donut right away since they are so much better warm. These aren't meant for sitting around the office kitchen all day people! Get 'em while they're hot!

Holey Donuts also serves cinnamon buns and mini cinnamon buns made out of the same dough, so you get the same low-fat, low-cal benefits if you're craving a morning bun over a donut!

Lastly, Holey Donuts carries a line of non-GMO, kosher, vegan, and gluten-free juices from the Miami-based RAAW juice company and Novus teas (I highly recommend the Wild Encounter flavor!).

Be sure to bring your credit/debit cards with you to Holey Donuts, because they are a cashless establishment. I've started to see this more and more, and I think it's a great idea, lowering risk and increasing hygiene (do you have any idea how many strains of bacteria live on a dollar bill?). Better not to think about it and just munch on a coconut cream.

Who Says Meatpacking is Just for Clubbing? Free Fitness Classes All Summer!

Anyone up for some free exercise classes? Join the Meatpacking District Improvement Association, Exhale, Chelsea Piers, Asics, and Lululemon for Classes on the Cobbles starting Thursday May 22.  

Classes range from yoga to Krav Maga and stretching to Zumba, and all take place "on the cobbles" of Gansevoort Plaza. Mats will be provided and classes are all 40 minutes long. To reserve your spot, click here. Happy sweating!

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Carnegie Hall Bluegrass Concert

When you think of Carnegie Hall, what kind of music do you think of? Classical? Opera? Bluegrass? Well even if the latter didn't pop into your head, it's certainly about to.

On Sunday June 8, Grammy-Nominated Country Music Artists Dailey and Vincent will be joined by a 200 voice choir for an exhilarating performance of The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass by Carol Barnett, a thrilling work combining the solemnity of a classical choir-based Mass with the distinctly American sound of banjo, mandolin, and fiddle. Dailey and Vincent will also perform a set of their own material from across their vast repertoire while the New York Premiere of John Purifoy’s The Chronicles of Blue and Gray will round out the program.

Tickets start at just $20 and are available via www.carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800, and the Carnegie Hall Box office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.

Good news! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to the show. Be sure to use the form below to enter (following all instructions!) by Friday May 16. A winner will be announced next week. Good luck!

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Finding Heaven in Hell's Kitchen With Sugartooth Tours

Here at Awesome in New York, we love a good tour, especially when there is food involved. The city has so much to see (and eat!), that to spend an afternoon running around eating every 15-20 minutes is a totally acceptable (and encouraged!) thing to do as far as we're concerned. If you're up for skipping savory food altogether and going straight for dessert, we suggest Sugartooth Tours for a fabulous sugar-high of an adventure.

Sugartooth Tours specializes in walking dessert food tours, combining culinary and cultural history with the best desserts in New York City. Tour guides showcase the city's best hidden bakeries and off-the-beaten-path gems where the locals go. Tours run year round with many special seasonal tours, including private tours and special events.

The fine folks at Sugartooth invited my mom and me to their signature "Heaven in Hell's Kitchen" tour a few Saturday's ago, and though I used to work in the neighborhood and visit it quite often, I had only been to 2 of the 6 stops we made. Yay for trying new things!

Our first stop was SoHo transplant Kee's Chocolates (315 W 39th Street). A tiny storefront offering high-quality, hand-made chocolates, Kee's was featured on the Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" for their Creme Brulee Bon Bon ($2.70). Naturally, that was the one I had to try. Our bubbly tour guide Nathalie, encouraged me to eat it in one bite, which I was a bit apprehensive about because it was rather large, but I was so glad I did since it's pure liquid on the inside. This was truly a chocolate experience! Other exotic flavors on the menu include Earl Grey, fennel, honey kumquat, and yuzu.

Stop #2 was a place I must have walked by several times before but had never been in. The Cupcake Cafe (545 9th Avenue) has been serving their namesake desserts since before they were trendy (since 1988 people!). Home of the "original buttercream," all cupcakes are decorated with beautiful flowers that almost look too good to eat. But eat we did! I had almond cake with peanut butter frosting while my mom sampled the coconut ($3 for small and $5 for large). The texture of the buttercream was noticeably smoother than any I had ever had before and I would definitely recommend you check out this cute, plant-clad cafe ASAP!

Next stop was a place I know well from my days working in the neighborhood. The Little Pie Company (424 W 43rd Street) is a New York City institution in my book and you haven't had pie until you've tried their sour cream apple walnut fresh out of the oven. My mom was in luck, because that was exactly what we sampled! What I love about this place is that in addition to selling standard size pies and other delectables, they are known for their little 5" pies ($8), which can still serve multiple people, or not, we won't tell.

Poseidon Greek Bakery (629 9th Avenue) was stop number 4. Nathalie gave us a bit of history on the food of 9th Avenue and explained that the family-run bakery is one of the last hold-outs from a simpler time when pushcarts ruled the area and Times Square was, let's just say, a little less Disney. Poseidon is known for rolling their own filo dough, a very laborious process, and specializes in several different kinds of baklava. We tried a log-shaped variety which was the perfect model of what the honey, nutty pastry should be.

Walking into stop #5, I was a bit sad because the space occupied by Schmackary's (362 W 45th Street) used to be inhabited by this kick-ass Soul Food spot that I liked to frequent when I worked in the area. However, after one bite of a sweet corn Schmackary's cookie with cranberries and pecans ($2.75 each), I was most assuredly not sad anymore. My mom tried the rocky road and OMG was that amazing as well. I want to go back and EAT ALL THE FLAVORS. The friendly staff made my afternoon all that much better when they served us each a little glass of milk to wash everything down with. This may have been my favorite stop on the tour.

Mom and Me at Schmackary's

Originally, our last stop was supposed to be Donna Bell's Bake Shop (301 West 49th Street), but since they were closed for store repairs, we ventured over to another of my Hell's Kitchen favorites, Amy's Bread (672 9th Avenue). My favorite thing to get there is their turkey cranberry sandwich on raisin semolina bread, but their cupcakes are a close second. We had their chocolate challah, which was sad to say, just ok. Maybe I had already passed my sugar saturation barrier for the day, but I don't think I would order that again. Their cheesy bread sticks...that's another story :)

All tours run about 2 hours and cost $50 per person, although several other members of our tour said they got deals on How About We Couples or Groupon, so be sure to keep your eyes peels for deals. Sugartooth Tours also offers a "Sweeter than Sugar" Chelsea dessert tour (Sunday's at 4), a "Village to Village" cupcake tour (select Fridays at 2 and Saturdays at 4), and they will be debuting an ice cream tour soon! I would recommend the tour for anyone, local or tourist because a) you eat A LOT and b) I learned a lot of good history nuggets that I can now impress all my friend's with! (Did you know the founder of Amy's Bread moved all her baking operations to LIC and is now calling that area the "flour district"?)

Happy Moscato Day!

Burgers may have claimed the whole month, but today is all about Moscato, the sweet and flavorful wine we all love with a little dessert (or all on its own!).

To kick off the celebration, Gallo Family Vineyards sent me a bottle of their red Moscato, which was very exciting to me as I didn't even realize it came in any varietal besides white! It was a refreshing, easy-to-drink wine that would definitely go very well with some ice cream or cheesecake--nothing too fancy because sometimes you don't want to do any thinking when you're drinking. Am I right?

Follow Gallow Family Vineyards (@GalloFamily) on Twitter today at 7pm EST and use the hashtag #moscatoday to join the party! You can also "Moscato-fy" yourself with a quiz to determine which Moscato best fits your personality. Happy Moscato Day!

AWESOME ALERT: Free Burger at The Ainsworth

Adding to our National Burger Month coverage...who wants a free one? The Ainsworth NYC is promoting their new steak and burger menu with a Facebook quiz that will determine your perfect patty and bun match. Best part is, after you take the quiz they send you a coupon for a free burger. It's that easy!

I got the turkey burger, yum!

To grab your own, click here and fill out the quiz. Then share with your friends and prepare for a burger feast on the house! Just make sure to claim your burger by June 1.

Welcoming Astoria's Newest Flea

The Astoria Flea and Food Market opens today at Kaufman Astoria Studios from 10am-6pm! Affiliated with the well known (and Awesome in New York approved!) LIC Flea, this aggregation of artisanal soda syrup makers, vintage jewelry purveyors, and samosa fry-ers (just to name a few) is sure to please.

The market will be held every Sunday for 8 weeks on the recently enclosed Kaufman Astoria Studios back-lot. Check it out and report back your favorite finds!

Brunch With the Stars at Gallow Green

So many of my favorite things are coming together for brunch tomorrow: 1) BRUNCH! 2) Bryan Greenberg (I'm still reeling over the cancellation of How to Make it in America) 3) Emmanuelle Chriqui 4) Gallow Green, and 5) raising money for charity!

Join Microsoft, Bryan Greenberg, and The Olevolos Project tomorrow 5/3 for brunch at Gallow Green (530 W 27th St) at the McKittrick Hotel (Home of Sleep No More) from 12:30-4pm and help them raise money to support the educational and affiliated needs of disadvantaged and orphaned students from the Olevolos Village of Tanzania. Founded in 2007, The Olevolos Project continues to nurture a passion for learning and helps develop young village leaders through formal schooling, tutoring programs, and extracurricular activities. 

The star-studded host committee includes Alex Gannes, Alexis Nataf, Ambyr Childers, Andrea Szempruch, Delroy Lindo, Dory Gannes, Eddie K Thomas, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Geoff Stults, Hilarie Burton, Hill Harper, James Lafferty, Jamie Chung, Jamie Hector, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jonathan Azu, Justin Danko, Kelly Brady, Margo Gannes, Matt Levine, and Victor Rasuk.

DJ favorites Mel DeBarge and JUS SKE will be spinning the tunes throughout the brunch on the rooftop. The event will feature raffle prizes and a silent auction; all proceeds from which will be donated to The Olevolos Project.

Tickets for the Brunch Party are $150 per person (includes buffet brunch, unlimited cocktails and a gift bag) and VIP tables can be reserved for $2000.

Rioja, Rioja, Rioja!

If mint juleps and margaritas aren't your thing this weekend, might we suggest some wine? Rioja to be exact. Spain's most renowned wine region is putting on a party tomorrow and you're invited!

The inaugural Rioja Wine and Tapas Festival will be held in Brooklyn at the newly opened, award-winning Weylin B. Seymour’s (formally the Williamsburgh Savings Bank) at 175 Broadway, Brooklyn, tomorrow, 5/3 from 1-6pm.

Tickets are $55, with proceeds benefiting culinary scholarships at the James Beard Foundation, and include more than 200 tastings of wines from the entire region. Over 40 top Rioja winemakers and representatives will be on hand to speak about the wines, while 25 notable US chefs, from New York restaurants and beyond, will create their interpretations of Rioja-inspired tapas. You can visit the Paella Garden, sample delicious hams at the jamón bar and savor some of Spain’s best cheeses in the cheese cave. As a plus, all ticket buyers will be entered to win a 126-bottle cellar. Ole!

Since tickets are officially sold-out, click here to sign up to volunteer and maybe they'll let you take a few sips and nibbles here and there (and after your shift!).

Burger Bonanza

Happy May! Welcome to National Hamburger Month! To celebrate, Burger Maker is sponsoring NY Burger Week with some patty-melting events you're not going to want to miss.

Here's a sampling of some of our favorites, but to see the full list, go here:

• May 1: Eastern Meets Western Burger Collaboration at The Black Shack (320 Lexington Ave; 6:30 and 8pm seatings) includes 1 Black Shack and 1 Ramen Burger, 1 boozy milk shake and 1 Asian-American style side item; $45 for 2
• May 2: NY Burger Feast at Hudson Common (356 West 58th Street; 6:30-9:30 pm) includes samples from several breweries and burger restaurants; $65 or $75 for VIP, which gets you extra beer samples and early entry
• May 4: Boozed Up Burgers with Tequila and Whiskey Tasting at Rare Bar and Grill (303 Lexington Ave; 1 and 2:30 pm seatings) includes a trio of mini burgers, expert lead small batch tasting featuring Lunazul Tequila & Elijah Craig 12 year Bourbon, and 1 side of sweet potato chips with honey drizzle all for $23
• May 7: 10th Anniversary Screening of Hamburger America Hosted by George Motz at Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street; 6pm) includes a pre- and post-party, screening of the movie, tasting of 3 movies in the film and a Q&A with George for $45

Tickets for all events listed here and more can be purchased here. Hurry up! Tickets are selling like hamburger buns!

In other burger news, we've received news that Del Frisco's Grille (50 Rockefeller Plaza) is debuting their Manhattan Mushroom Melt today in honor of National Burger Month. Doesn't this puppy look like something you'd like to sink your teeth into?