Lest you think that New York's "Best of New York" issue is worthy of your attention for its cover(s) alone, we thought we'd highlight some of the magazine's design-related picks (that said, it's also worth picking up a hard copy, as the "Best of" feature is strewn with some excellent photos by Jamie Chung, including the above one of a pair of chocolate-dipped spectacles). But onto the best of the Big Apple...

In the "home and help" section, the magazine chooses chairs for design obsessives ranging from "the modernist" (CB2's Hippie Arm Chair) and "the chic parent" (Lisa Albin's Mod Rocker for kids) to "the classicist" (the cane-seated Carimate designed by Vico Magistretti) and "the innkeeper" (Anthropologie's painted wood Madeline chair). Some retail newcomers are singled out as worthy destinations for those shopping for contemporary home furnishings (Soha Style in Harlem), mid-century modern wares (Brooklyn's GalleryQB), and lighting (the new Tom Dixon shop-in-shop at ABC Carpet & Home). Taking home the honors for Best Shoestring Architect is Thread Collective, the "five-member architecture-and-design collective that specializes in stretching puny spaces on the cheap," while Creative Signs and Awnings is your best Gotham source for Oddball Decor (it's where Bruce Nauman gets his neon signs made).

Best Room in a Major Museum goes to MoMA's Jackson Pollock gallery, while the Best Alernative Art Space honor is bestowed upon Participant Inc. Perhaps most exciting is the designation of gallerist and UnBeige founder Jen Bekman's art-for-everyone portal, 20x200.com, as Best Starter Art Collection. She describes the site, which offers limited edition artworks at prices ranging from $20 to $2,000, as "a gateway drug to the art world."