Considering the economy, this might not be the season for lots of leisure, but summer in the city's not such a bad thing. You can still delight in lobster rolls and hot dogs and ice cream on sweltering days. Here are my five favorites for each of these three classic summertime eats:

HOT DOGS

Nathan's, 1310 Surf Ave., at Stillwell Ave., Coney Island, or Citi Field
No other hot dog defines New York like 90-year-old Nathan's does.

Katz's Delicatessen, 205 E. Houston St., at Ludlow St.
The secret to Katz's killer hot dogs is that they're thrown on the grill, thus the crusty casing.

Gray's Papaya, 2090 Broadway, at 72nd St.
Perfect package - a snappy hot dog with spicy mustard and Gray's signature papaya drink.

Shake Shack, Madison Ave. at 23rd St.
If you're craving a Chicago-style dog, Shake Shack's got the best. It comes topped with peppers, relish and pickles in a poppy-seed bun.

Dogmatic, 26 E. 17th St., near Broadway
This avant-garde hot-dog stand serves everything from lamb to pork to chicken sausages in hollowed-out baguettes.

LOBSTER ROLLS

Pearl Oyster Bar, 18 Cornelia St., near Bleecker St.
The best lobster roll in the city - a ton of lobster meat tucked into a warm, buttery bun.

Mermaid Inn, 568 Amsterdam Ave., between 87th and 88th Sts.
Technically, not a lobster roll, but who's complaining? Mermaid uses a brioche burger bun to hold a mix of lobster, mayonnaise, celery and a kick of cayenne pepper.

Ditch Plains, 29 Bedford St., at Downing St.
What distinguishes Ditch Plains' roll from the rest is the vibrant seasoning - roasted garlic, scallions, tarragon and
Dijon mustard.

Grand Central Oyster Bar, Grand Central Terminal
Their lobster roll is all lobster, flavored with nothing more than a little mayo.

Ed's Lobster Bar, 222 Lafayette St., near Spring St.
The keys here are the subtle salt crunch, splash of lemon, homemade pickles and  side of fabulous fries.

ICE CREAM

Mister Softee, corner of 57th St. and Eighth Ave. or other trucks all around town.
My heart still races when I see a Mister Softee truck or I hear the theme music.

Blue Marble Ice Cream, 420 Atlantic Ave., between  Bond and Nevins Sts., Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
This ice-cream parlor makes wonderful, organic ice creams, serving them in bio­degradable cups. My favorite flavor is the sweet-scented pistachio almond with roasted nuts.

Cones, 227 Bleecker St., near Morton St.
The sweet corn ice cream, studded with corn kernels, is perfect for summer.

Grom, 2165 Broadway, near 76th St.
This gelateria imports all of its ingredients straight from Italy. Nearly every flavor is phenomenal, but the torroncino, a snow-white gelato with chewy bits of hazelnut nougat, makes you feel like you're on vacation in Rome.

Ronnybrook, 75 Ninth Ave., at 16th St. (Chelsea Market)
The chocolate raspberry flavor here is so rich, it tastes like an expensive, frozen truffle.

Ingredients:

*1 oz. shochu
*1 oz. vodka
*5 sliced cucumbers
*2 shiso or mint leaves.

Procedure:

1) Combine shochu and vodka.
2) Add muddled cucumber and shiso.
3) Serve in a highball glass on the rocks with a sugar and chili powder rim.

Address: 88 10th Ave. (btwn. 15th & 16th Sts.)
Phone: (212) 989-8883

If you need a little inspiration, just look at Gina DePalma.   She's battling ovarian cancer, launched a cancer foundation, won a James Beard Award, and writing a second cookbook.  She's also the pastry chef at Babbo.  Not bad at all.  

It was a long road up.  DePalma's first job was as the cook, the only cook, in the kitchen of a small town cafe in Northern Virginia.  After years working in the restaurants, she earned a culinary arts degree from the Peter Kump cooking school.  She was literally forced into pastry by a teacher who sent her for an externship in at Chanterelle.  From there, she went to Gramercy Tavern to work under Claudia Fleming   At Gramercy, DePalma cultivated her simple, ingredient-driven style before moving on to become the pastry chef at The Cub Room, then onto Babbo.

Ten years in the same kitchen is a long time for a chef.   And after seven nominations, her eleven-year run with Babbo has finally won her a James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef.  She is working on a follow-up cookbook to Dolce Italiano and her newfound organization, the Cowgirl Cure Foundation, which fights ovarian cancer.  DePalma is publicly battling her cancer and determined to succeed.  Despite her illness, she manages to oversee Babbo's dessert menu, where she makes a chocolate hazelnut cake with orange sauce and a hazelnut gelato. 

Single/Married/Divorced?
Single

What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was in college, I thought I wanted to become a lawyer, but that was mostly because I watched a lot of L.A. Law and was attracted by all of those pastel power suits with shoulder pads.

You grew up in an Italian household transplanted to Virginia.   What are some childhood memories of Italian desserts that you make professionally today?
We didn’t have a lot of desserts when I was growing up, but what stuck was my love of fruit.  For me, it is a struggle not to make a dessert that is centered around fruit.  That is a direct result of our Italian tendency to end a meal with a big platter of fresh fruit.  Even my chocolate desserts tend to feature fruit, even if it just a hint of orange zest.

What was your first job in food?  What did you learn? My first food job was as a cook in a small-town café.  I did lunch shifts and I also did Sunday brunch, and the owner passed on her secret to making great hollandaise sauce, and really great omelets.  I still love cooking both of those things.  I also learned how important timing is in cooking, especially when it is just you, a dishwasher and full rail of incoming orders!

You began your culinary career working on the savory side of the kitchen – what got you interested in pastry?
I didn’t get interested in pastry, I was sent to pastry!  I kind of did things backwards.  I went to culinary school years after I had been cooking, or mainly messing around, in savory kitchens. After completing cooking school at the then Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education) my culinary instructor sent me to Chanterelle for an externship in pastry.  She had a hunch that I might fall into it, but at the very least, she wanted me to experience life in a pastry kitchen so I would become a better cook, well-rounded, and exposed to all facets of the kitchen.  I loved my time there; it was magical for so many reasons, but mostly because of the people I was exposed to:  Karen and David Waltuck, and Lisa Hershey, who was the pastry chef there at the time. 

After my time there, I started looking for a job, and there weren’t that many around back in 1994!  Cooking in a restaurant kitchen was an unusual choice, and there weren’t as many great restaurants open in New York.  It was a very competitive scene if you wanted to find work in a top-notch place with a great chef. 

It was a plus to have four solid months of pastry experience behind me, so I went with what I had.  One thing led to another, and soon I was working full time in pastry, in the great kitchen of Gramercy Tavern.

What is it about pastry that inspires you? 
I think pastry takes great patience and a very particular skill set, but at the same time there is room for you to find your niche, to discover where you fit into the pantheon, so to speak. There are so many styles and facets of pastry these days.  In many ways, I am inspired by all that is around me that is different from what I do.  I think it is cool that we can all coexist.

Was it a long road or did things fall into pass for you quickly as a pastry chef?
Pretty quickly.  Probably because the New York restaurant scene exploded in the late 90’s and it was easy to ride that wave.

What was it like to finally be named Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation?

After seven nominations, it felt great, definitely sweet if you pardon the pun.  I felt like I got a big hug from the industry, which is nice.  It is a tremendous honor, and I am unbelievably proud to be a part of the history of the Beard Awards.  

You’ve been fighting ovarian cancer for a year now.  What has that been like for you and how do you keep your strength up in the kitchen?

Well, I was only diagnosed a year ago – the one-year anniversary of my surgery was just in early June.  In a way, it is still very new to me, to have this disease, and to have it hanging over my head.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.  I’m still in treatment, and I has required a complete adjustment of nearly everything about my life.  Taking care of myself is my number one priority, over anything that happens in the kitchen.  Period.  And from now on.  It brings a great perspective with it, this disease.  My career is important, but my health is everything.  I have to see it that way, and everyone around me has to make that mental adjustment as well.

 You've started your own foundation, the Cowgirl Cure Foundation, which has proved to be extremely successful in spreading awareness about ovarian cancer.  What will you be planning to fight for a cure?
 I’ve been dealing with my cancer in part by trying to draw attention to it.  I’m not shy about it – ovarian cancer is a real risk for all women, and no one is sounding the alarm loud enough, I think. So I’ll take that on, if I can.  The Cowgirl Cure Foundation is an itty bitty baby right now, and I hope to grow it into a real force ovarian cancer – to help raise money for research efforts and bring a greater degree of public awareness.   We’ve had one impromptu fundraiser, which has been my jump start.  Establishing a non-profit is a huge project, and one that I want to do right, so I’m carefully trying to lay the groundwork right now.  It is a big task I’m facing, for sure.

You worked with Claudia Fleming at Gramercy Tavern.  What were the most important lessons you learned from her and working there?...

• Cuisine: Mexican
• Vibe: Laid-back chic
• Occasion: Group dinner, communal dining, neighborhood bites
• Don't Miss: Tacos de suadero, enchiladas de mole, churros
• Price: Appetizers, $8; entrées, $14; desserts, $4.50
• Reservations: Accepted only for six or more
• Phone: (718) 782-8171
• Location: 372 Graham Ave., between Skillman Ave. and Conselyea St., Brooklyn

I love meat, but even carnivores get tired of meat once in a while.  Luckily, there’s a new generation of talented chefs coming up with things much more exciting than tofurkey legs and seitan sausages.  Whether you're craving Italian, Venezuelan or dessert, we've hunted down the best vegetarian spots, dishes and vegan desserts in the city.

Rockaway Taco
Beach 96th St. & Rockaway Beach Blvd.
(347) 213-7466
www.rockawaytaco.com
After hearing the surfers rave that the Rockaways are the new Ditch Plains, we took the A train out there and found this vegan-run taco stand.  They’ve got fish tacos, plantains and even breakfast, but it’s the tofu tacos that stand out.  Served with the traditional sliced cabbage, cilantro, lime, guacamole and homemade salsa, this is your best (and one of your only) vegetarian option in the Rockaways.

Caracas
93 ½ E. Seventh St., btwn. First Ave. & Avenue A
(212) 529-2314
www.caracasarepabar.com
This isn't a vegetarian restaurant.  It's an amazing Venezuelan spot that's very vegetarian and even vegan-friendly.  They're happy to substitute any meat for tofu and skip the cheese on all of their wonderful arepas.  Our favorites are the plantain, black bean and tofu combo and plantain and avocado.   Make sure to add the yellow pepper sauce for a spicy kick.

Kyotofu

705 Ninth Ave., nr. 48th St.

(212)974-6012

If you walked in off the street, you'd never know all their wonderful desserts are dairy free.  There's tons of imagination in the kitchen here, but nothing outshines the soft-serve.  Flavors rotate on a weekly basis, but you can count on chocolate soy bean.  The rest alternate between sesame, coconut, or soymilk.  Our advice, get a twist of two ice creams topped with matcha mochi balls.

Otto
One Fifth Ave, at Eighth St.
(212) 995-9559
www.ottopizzeria.com
When you think Mario Batali, you usually think beef cheeks, lardo and prosciutto.  But even non-meat eaters have tasty options at Otto, thanks to the rotating bruschetta menu.  Every day of the week, there's different toppings --  Monday is eggplant, Tuesday chili and mint, Wednesday white bean and balsamic.  My favorite is Thursday,  a classic Italian combination of peppers and onions.

Kate's Joint
58 Avenue B, btwn. E. Fourth St. & E. Fifth St.
(212) 777-7059
This comfort food mecca serves the best vegan pancakes in town.  You hardly notice the difference.  Yes, really.  Top your multigrain stack with caramelized apples, bananas, or walnuts.  Though we generally cringe at imitation meats, even we fall for Kate's crispy buffalo wings made with deep-fried tofu.