Spring 2006 | Matarazzo's Manhattan

Heather Matarazzo has a new girlfriend. The 23-year-old Long Island native?best known for her role as Dawn Weiner in the indie hit Welcome to the Dollhouse (filmed when she was 11) and for playing opposite Julie Andrews in a pair of Princess Diaries movies?came out in summer 2004, declaring in the pages of the New York Daily News that she was ?crazy madly in love? with a woman. But Matarazzo and her girlfriend broke up in August. ?It?s totally the best thing that?s ever happened to me,? she says. Indeed, Matarazzo is equally passionate about her latest object of affection. ?I?ll always be a hopeless romantic,? she chirps, ?and it?s like right now my girlfriend is Manhattan.? (Don?t worry, they?re not exclusive, so you can safely plan that romantic getaway to New York.)

HEATHER?S MANHATTAN MUSTS

Some enchanted eatery:Alice?s Teacup (102 W. 73rd St., 212-799-3006). ?It?s a place you go to with friends. The theme is Alice in Wonderland. They have fairies everywhere. When you walk in, they fairy-dust you?they just sprinkle you with glitter. They have crumpets and scones, little sandwiches, hearty soup with good, strong, solid bread. And don?t forget the red-velvet cupcakes! They also have amazing tea?a crazy, insane selection of tea. I recommend the morning song tea.?

Lesbian hangout:The Chick Inn (420 Hudson St., 212-675-0810). ?One of my favorite places to go and write?especially in the spring and summer, because it?s one of the only places where you?re still allowed to sit outside and smoke. It?s owned by the same woman who owns Henrietta Hudson, which is a lesbian bar. And they have the most amazing homemade apple pie. Whenever I go there I always get a cup of coffee, and they give you large, huge cups of coffee.?

Place to belt:Marie?s Crisis (9 Grove St., 212-243-9323). ?It?s a gay piano bar where they sing show tunes. If you?re a big fucking theater queen?you know, from Ohio or something?and you just want to be with other theater queens in New York singing show tunes, Marie?s Crisis is the place to go. It?s fabulous. There?s not even a stage; you just stand beside the piano and sing.? Her favorite songs: ?So in Love? by Cole Porter and ?The Man That Got Away? by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin.

Performer extraordinaire: Candice Kane at the Viceroy (160 Eighth Ave., 212-633-8484). ?Candice Kane is an absolute sweetheart, such a doll. She goes outside and dances, does splits, and sings in the middle of the street! And if she sees a cop car coming, she just stops, puts her head down, and walks back inside. She?s so fierce. It?s a quintessential New York experience...amazing.?

Art with legs:Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Ave., 212-689-6337). ?We have so many great museums, even the Museum of Sex. It?s pretty new. They have pinup girls, and it?s not distasteful. It?s really classy. They have Betty Page and all this really great stuff. It?s fabulous.?

Superlative street:Park Avenue. ?I think Park Avenue is the most gorgeous avenue in the world! Most people say Fifth Avenue, but for me Park Avenue?being able to look all the way down. It?s so pretty, especially in the springtime, because the flowers are starting to bloom.?

Superlative streak: ?There?s a man that jogs up Second Avenue right in my neighborhood; he jogs up and down the upper east side in lingerie on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Even in the winter. I just saw him the other day?it was like 20 degrees outside?and he was in lingerie and like skin-tone tights. You just get used to it.?

Post-theater engagement:Caf? Un Deux Trois (123 W. 44th St., 212-354-4148). ?I used to go there when I was doing The Women. It?s cozy, it?s nice, and it?s where a lot of the theater people go after shows. So if you?re looking to give a nice compliment to a performer, go to Caf? Un Deux Trois after a show.?

Read the complete interview with Heather Matarazzo in the Spring issue of The Out Traveler.