Recommendations

A boutique specializing in reasonably priced, unique dishes.

Guide: SoHo Mom (Grace)
Location: Union Square

Strengths

• I like a store that does one thing, and does It well. For Fishs Eddy, named after a small flyfishing town in the Catskills, that thing is dishes (well, dishes, glasses and flatware - but they're still pretty focused).
• Their prices are excellent, and they have some unusual dishes you won't find at Crate & Barrel, including new dishes, unused vintage dishes from ocean liners and restaurants, and new dishes designed as replicas of vintage dishes.
• Their merchandise includes Cynthia Rowley's "dirty dishes" with nudes, Pantone's colorful lines, based on plates sold to country clubs and hotels in the 1940s and 1950s, and classic "blue star" plates.

Shortcomings

• Some of their products are a bit tacky, but to each their own.

Insider tips

• I love the oversized café au lait mugs, for huge cups of coffee or tea you can nurse all morning on a cold day.

Anecdotes

• I stayed with friends in upstate NY recently, and instead of bringing the usual wine, flowers or blueberry pie as a gift, I brought "Heroes of the Torah" glasses. The hosts are two boys who love schmaltzy Jewish humor and, they were over the moon about the glasses.