Where to find ... the best street food in New York

The food sold from carts attracts just as much passion from New Yorkers as the stuff their super-chefs serve up. In a tense cook-off at last month's Vendy awards, Sammy's Halal won the top award with his much prized chicken and rice (so spiced it clears nasal passages). Although die-hard street food fans will head for Samiul Haque Noor's cart in Jackson Heights, Queens (on the corner of 73rd and Broadway in tourist nowheresville) to queue around the block for a taste, those in Manhattan can always do the thoroughly un-American, if more convenient thing, of heading to one of the runners-up. Thiru Kumar, 'the Dosa Man', does acclaimed vegan food on the corner of Washington Square Park South and Sullivan Street, while the Vendley brothers do hipster Californian Mexican food at Calexico on the corner of Wooster and Prince Streets in SoHo.

See streetvendor.org

Is it ... more eco-friendly to fly long haul or short?

Mile for mile you do less damage flying long haul than you do on a quick trip to a European city.

According to the Department of Transport, while emissions vary by type of aircraft and whether the flight is full before it takes off, on average a long-haul flight causes 0.011 C02 emissions per passenger kilometre, whereas a short-haul flight causes 0.15 C02 emissions.

And the reason? Most fuel is used on take-off and landing and the larger aircraft used by long-haul passengers will use less fuel per person when in the air.

How to ... apply for a pet passport

First have your dog, cat or ferret microchipped. Then your animal will need to be vaccinated against rabies, which cannot be done until it is three months old. Six months before the date of travel, the animal's blood must be tested at a laboratory (to prove that the rabies vaccination has been successful). At this point a pet passport can be applied for, although one final hoop remains: before travel the animal must be treated for ticks and tapeworm. Only at this point does a place in the hold of an aircraft or a long journey by car or train become a reality for your pet. Consider asking your vet for tranquillisers. The passport entitles your pet to travel to and from around 80 countries, including the whole of the EU, Australia, the US and the Vatican.

For more information visit defra.gov.uk