The sign at the corner of Clinton and Rivington -- "Alias Restaurant" -- looks like it's been around longer than the two-year-old establishment it draws you to -- because it has. The current occupant, Alias, liked the sign so much it kept the name of the previous tenant, a onetime bodega that in later years also sold prepared food. (That enterprise may in turn have been a mistranscription of yet another previous tenant, someone named Elias. Oops.)

Today, Alias offers a changing roster of victuals ranging from "little," "medium," and "bigger" plates to complete entrées, with no single item on the menu above $19 and many $10 or less. The restaurant, which gets much of its produce and meat from greenmarkets and small farms, also features a family-style supper from 5 to 9 p.m. every Sunday.

Alias is "just basically an American restaurant," says maitre d' Warren Fraser. "You could probably make everything on the menu yourself," he jokes, "but maybe don't have the time." Fraser says the growing restaurant scene on Clinton Street is a good thing. He won't venture an opinion on gentrification, but notes that the area does offer a choice of dining experiences ranging from haute cuisine to casual cafés. "It's good to keep the local feel," he says, "but it's also good to get [new] people down here wandering around."

Alias, 76 Clinton Street, (212) 505-5011

Best place to bundle up

In light of the subfreezing weather that New Yorkers have "enjoyed" in recent days and weeks, many may be reevaluating the sufficiency of their winter gear. If you're in the market for something warmer, the Orchard Street Bargain District is the place for you.

Running several blocks south from Houston Street, Orchard Street offers store after store with a wide range of clothing, housewares, gifts, and other goods for every budget. These days, coats, scarfs, hats, and gloves are featured prominently -- but you can also buy T-shirts, suits, and lingerie, as well as jewelry and other accessories. The varied service providers include hair and nail salons, expert tailors, and many others. And on Sundays, come rain or shine (or bitter cold), the stretch between Houston and Delancey closes to automobile traffic as the area turns into a three-block pedestrian mall.

Many Lower East Side businesses, on Orchard Streetand throughout the neighborhood, honor the "Go East!" shopping and dining discount card. For more information, click here.

Step into Streit's at 150 Rivington, perhaps to buy some kishka or stuffing mix, and you'll smell something delicious right away -- fresh matzoh coming off the assembly line. The company manufactures all of its matzoh and matzoh products right here, and you can literally stand there and watch the unleavened wafers coming off the production line as workers put them into boxes.

According to Alan Adler, Streit's was founded by his great-grandfather in 1925, and now occupies four buildings along Rivington Street. The matzoh ovens date back to at least the 1960s, he says, and maybe a couple decades more.

A lawyer who rejoined the family business eight years ago, Adler is amazed by recent changes to the neighborhood. Recalling when he visited the factory as a child, he said, "My mother was afraid to let me walk around the corner to Clinton Street." To instead see the newer restaurants nearby, he says, is "amazing."

As amazing as matzoh, fresh from the oven? Ask nicely for a taste, and you can decide for yourself.

Streit's, 150 Rivington Street, (212) 475-7000, www.streitsmatzos.com

Less than six months old, Café Luise is open seven days a week for lunch, brunch, and dinner -- and the warm and modern restaurant at the corner of Rivington and Norfolk is slowly building a following for its menu of pressed sandwiches, salads, entrées like roasted chicken and braised oxtail, and weekend exotics like pancake napolean and barbecue shrimp and grits.

Jason Jewett, one of the restaurant's three co-owners, praises his mostly local clientele, which mirrors what he calls "a very ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhood." He and his colleagues try to know repeat customers by name and place a premium on "being responsive to what the [patrons] have said." (One example, he said, is that the restaurant now serves a slightly thicker cut of French fry than when it first opened.) Mindful of the client base, they also "definitely want to keep prices low," so nothing on the menu tops $12.95.

Café Luise has applied for a liquor license, but it hasn't come through yet. For now, Jewett says, they send patrons in search of a pre-dinner cocktail right across the street to Schiller's Liquor Bar, and happy take spillover diners from that emerging hot spot in turn.

Café Luise , 129 Rivington Street, (212) 673-5820
Schiller's Liquor Bar , 131 Rivington, (212) 260-4555

It was just a matter of time, one supposes, until an upscale coffee shop found its way to the Lower East Side. It was a conscious choice, however, for the proprietors of Alchemy 106 to supplement their coffee with a couple dozen high-end computers, allowing dedicated "gamers" to play popular video games like Halo and Madden 2004 football. Manager Jay Gress says the store, which opened in early October, draws folks from around the city and even a few from the suburbs.

But why stay at home when you can visit this sleek shop that has dedicated its upper level to the growing gaming community. Gamers can rent popular games and computer consoles for $8 an hour; for $20 you get three hours, plus a free coffee drink -- and if the place isn't crowded you can stay even longer at no additional charge. And for non-gamers, Alchemy also rents computer terminals with regular Internet access.

Gress embodies an arguably unusual combination of video-game maven and coffee connoiseur. The store, he says, has "the best coffee you'll get. Every bean is identical." And he's prepared to go to great lengths for customers: "Anything you're looking for, I can get. If you like apple-blueberry coffee, I can get it in a week."

It's unclear whether apple-blueberry coffee is an actual coffee product for sale or merely a hypothetical blend. But in either event -- great coffee and tea, pastry from Sage bakery, sandwiches from Zabar's, and NBA 2K4 on a giant screen is worth a visit.

Alchemy 106 , 106 Delancey Street, (212) 358-8574

The 15,000 square feet of the indoor Essex Street Market comprise a panoply of food purveyors along with (among other businesses) a tailor, a barber, a television repair shop, and the full-service Essex restaurant. Visitors can find popular Latin American brands like Goya and La Fé; buy baked goods, spices, candy, and nuts; enjoy fresh-squeezed juices, and stock up on various cuts of meat, a variety of fish and poultry, and a wide range of fruits and vegetables.

Essex Street Market , 120 Essex Street, (212) 388-0449

Most likely to cause a double take

As the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch -- but the Lower East Side Business Improvement District offers the next best thing: free parking. This lot on Broome Street between Norfolk and Suffolk (look for the big sign on Delancey) provides what is an extraordinarily unusual amenity in New York City. Whether grabbing a bite or shopping for bargains, lucky drivers can take advantage of this attended facility for four hours on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., weekends from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Parking lot is located on Broome Street between Norfolk and Suffolk. For more information, call the Lower East Side Visitor Center at (212) 226-9010.