Cold turkey commute. Don’t even think about lighting up while waiting for your Metro-North train. Doing so could get you kicked off the platform, up to $50 in fines or a trip to jail.

The MTA‘s new ban on outdoor smoking starts today, following a months-long grace period the agency gave smokers to get used to the idea. The ban, which had a soft launch in November, prohibits smoking on Metro-North and Long Island Railroad outdoor platforms, as well as ticketing and boarding areas.

The ban does not apply to Metro-North stations in Connecticut.

Violators have gotten away with just warnings since November. But after several months of  leafleting, signs, announcements and electronic alerts, the MTA now expects passengers to play by the rules.

You may recall our conflicted feelings about the new M-8 rail cars on the Metro-North Red Line.

Your chances of riding a cleaner, more comfortable | more sterile, computer-voice   train between Connecticut and Grand Central just increased. Metro-North and the State of Connecticut added more new cars to the New Haven Line.

As of Monday, 78 new cars are operating on the line — enough to cover about 24% of regular weekday rides.  The new M-8 railcars will cover an even higher percent of weekend travelers.

It will be years, though, before the entire existing fleet is replaced.  There are a total of 380 new cars on order. More sticky floors to enjoy for years to come.

Some people in Larchmont brag about living in a village with two independent bookstores. But there’s another one down the road you should know about. Another that understands that when buying (not to mention the increasingly rare art of browsing) for books can mean sifting through tightly packed shelves, reading the back of book jackets and getting lost among stacks of everything from big, fat reference books to romantic trash? Hats off to Diane’s Books in Greenwich for preserving the experience of serendipitously finding something new to read.

Passionately owned by Diane Garrett, who boasts stocking four-times more books than the average superstore, Diane’s Books is everything on-line shopping is not: intimate, informative and interesting, complete with book-loving staff to help you wade through the store’s vast collections (or leave you alone if that’s what you’re looking for). Coined “A Family Bookstore,” Diane’s has scores of options for its youngest customers on up.  In this day of e-buying — let alone e-reading — Diane’s Books’ ability to be going strong 22 years after opening its doors speaks volumes. Thousands of them.

Skate sharpening at Blue Line

Need your skates sharpened? Or just want to come in, sit down on one of the chairs from an old stadium, and reminisce about that championship hockey game back in 1983?

Either way, this is your place. LAX players, too, find Blue Line Sports on Halstead Avenue in Harrison a great resource, focusing on those two sports and old fashioned service.

The store may seem small, compared to an all-sports warehouse store, but Blue Line is actually one of the largest suppliers of hockey gear in Westchester and Connecticut, and works with most of the youth organizations.

There’s a second location at the Darien, CT. ice rink, so if the Harrison store doesn’t have what you need, they’ll have it delivered to you.

Less than half mile over the Port Chester border, there are a whole lot of burgers being flipped – just the way they should be.

In fact, Burgers, Shakes & Fries in Byram – a Connecticut neighborhood once known as East Port Chester – has so remarkably refined the American classic that the eatery is cranking out up to 300 burgers a day. “That’s what we do,” says owner Kory Wollins.

Carnivorous or not, you can’t help but love the simplicity of this place, which captures everything burgers, shakes and fries (and onion rings too…) are about. The shop doesn’t have a whole lot more then a grill, the fixings, stuff to make fabulous shakes and about dozen stools lining a bar to eat on.

Four years old, Burgers, Shakes & Fries is reaping the rewards of being oh so good.  Wollins has opened a second shop in Darien. As he says, “Everyone likes a burger.”