Jack’s World

“Wait, there’s more?!?” is a common refrain heard at Jack’s, the mother of all dollar stores. The three-story beast is impossible to miss: It’s just down the block from Penn Station and lit up like the Vegas strip. Within its walls are cut-rate versions of anything your thrifty heart may desire, from eyelash curlers (99¢) and glow-in-the-dark necklaces (99¢) to oil pastel sets ($3.99) and colorful Ecobulbs ($4.99). The socks and hosiery selection—loaded with on-trend argyle and lace varieties—rivals that of any St. Marks vendor. One flight up, the second level is jammed with Ikea-priced housewares (we especially like the bamboo bathroom set, $2.99–$7.99), holiday-themed pet costumes, art supplies and bargain DVDs (Pineapple Express, Superbad, etc.). The third floor, meanwhile, houses a nonsensical mishmash of seemingly everything else, which means wine-flavored salami ($3.99),  24-ounce bottles of hand lotion ($4.99) and cordless crêpe makers ($39.99). Our favorite find of all, however, was the green-lidded Sysco knockoff of James Burgess’s “I Am Not a Paper Cup” porcelain mug with a silicone lid ($1.99)—nearly $18 cheaper here than you’d pay at the MoMA Design Store for virtually the same thing.