Tag Archives: New York
Lower Fifth Avenue, Spring
Classic American sportswear is going strong for spring, a more traditional look after the boho styles of past seasons. Lest you get too preppy, though, remember that New York minimalism almost always circles back to black.
Rolled trousers like these lighten up an all-black look in warm weather. (more…)
Brooklyn Larder
Whenever a magazine publishes a guide like “The Best Unsung Food Shops,” as Time Out NY did recently, it begs the question of what other gems have been left out of the collective New York food consciousness. Brooklyn Larder, on the border of Park Slope and Prospect Heights, is one of the few specialty food shops in New York that succeeds with flying colors in several categories and across several cultures.
The cheese counter is tightly edited and wonderfully curated, with several interesting cheeses available every day as samples. We picked up a wedge of Irish Gubbeen cow’s milk cheese (first sampled at a Joy of Cheese tasting) and a rare American sheep’s milk “Magic Mountain” cheese from Woodcock Farm, VT. (more…)
Lunch: Bark Hot Dogs
Hot dogs may be one of the most basic New York foods: a tube of beef or pork, a squishy bun, and some mustard, ketchup and relish. Simple, right? Wrong. Hot dogs just got a whole lot more gourmet at Bark Hot Dogs in Park Slope.
There are 10 different kinds of hot dog on the menu at this airy, industrial space with communal tables and high school science lab stools. But Bark’s are a different kind of mystery meat from your traditional dirty water dog. Commissioned from Hartmann’s Old World Sausage in Rochester, the recipe is a private label affair, with the exact mix of ingredients kept secret. But the mix of pork and beef with garlic and spices served as an excellent canvas for the creations that followed. (more…)
Posted in American, food, New York restaurants, Prospect Heights, restaurants
Tagged beef, beer, Brooklyn, hot dogs, lunch, New York
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Pulino’s
CLOSED
What are you willing to do for pizza? Travel far and wide for the perfect slice? Line up in the rain on 14th Street? How about wait two and a half hours in platform heels, with only the air-kissing at the door and jockeying for position at the crowded bar to entertain you? If you’re willing to do the latter, then we’ve got the place for you.
It’s not really Keith McNally’s fault that his new pizza place Pulino’s is so insanely popular – he’s a popular guy. And we found out belatedly that Pulino’s does take reservations. Make them, and do not attempt to just show up on a Thursday, even if you put your name in before 7pm as we did. Glad-handers and downtown scenesters with reservations will just pass you by. At least the guys at the door, familiar faces from McNally’s other endeavors, will treat you kindly, and the restrictions they mete out – no one can wait at the bar, because there’s literally no more room in there – are meted out democratically. (more…)
Hecho en Dumbo
If you’re opening a Mexican restaurant in New York, do you set out to please the general Tex Mex diner who expects chips and salsa to land on the table at the beginning of every meal? Or do you go the authentic route and offer things like cactus and rajas?
Hecho en Dumbo, which just arrived on the Bowery in the old Marion’s space, toes the line between the two schools of Mexican food, offering amazingly good, deeply spicy, traditional Yucatan cuisine—but also a number of fun cocktails and some tortilla chips for the type of person who says “Let’s go out for margs!” When “authentic” can mean not just “truly Mexican” but true to anyplace that has adopted Mexican food (like those Mission-style burritos at Dos Toros), this approach seems like the best route to success for a new style of Mexican restaurant. (more…)
Posted in food, Mexican, New York restaurants, Noho, restaurants
Tagged bars, beer, New York
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In the Trenches
Apparently a memo went around the office buildings surrounding Bryant Park on this beautiful spring day: wear a trench coat! Women and men opted for trenches in all colors, though khaki is the reigning neutral for spring so far.
A classic belted trench worn with peep-toe stilettos and black tights. (more…)
Weather Up
If you’re in the neighborhood for The Vanderbilt, it would be a tragic mistake to leave without visiting Weather Up just down the block. Beyond a nondescript white-tiled exterior lies a den for classic cocktails made with small-label bitters, homemade syrups and specialty liquor. Nearly forgotten drinks like the Brandy Alexander find a home at this bar, which has been one of the driving forces behind the pre-Prohibition cocktail trend.
The Bourbon Highball ($9), mixed with lemon, simple syrup and soda, came garnished with candied ginger and had a distinct gingery flavor that tasted just like the sharp spiciness in a can of Vernor’s. (more…)
The Vanderbilt
In its Prospect Heights neighborhood, the Vanderbilt is known as “the expensive place.” Mobbed at first and then dismissed for its small portions at higher-than-usual price tags, the Vanderbilt is quieter now. You can actually see the reclaimed wood in the industrial but rustic front room when it’s not jam packed with people, and when you order one of the excellent cocktails at the marble-topped bar, you can hear yourself speak. You can even walk in and get a table. And if you’re from Manhattan, land of the $15 glass of wine, $15 for thick, peppery slabs of hamachi crudo by Brooklyn’s Michelin-starred chef Saul Bolton will seem like a bargain.
The problem seems to be one of clarification: the Vanderbilt was probably never meant to be cheap. It brings Saul’s artisanal, global cuisine from the more formal restaurant on Smith Street to a wider audience via a small plates menu that touches down everywhere from Japan to Germany. Could you go down the street and get bigger portions for less? Yes. If your idea of fancy food involves Hollandaise sauce, then by all means keep walking. But if you want a kitchen that can do artisanal food very well, you’re in the right place. (more…)
Posted in American, Austrian, food, New York restaurants, Prospect Heights, restaurants
Tagged bars, Brooklyn, duck, New York
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Almond
Tell someone the address of Almond restaurant, and they’re liable to say: “Wasn’t that Borough/Rocco’s/Caviar and Banana/Commune?” The answer is yes, yes, yes and yes. Walking into the space may also make you experience déjà vu all over again, because interior has many of the same elements of its predecessor Borough – the same tables and chairs, the same posh billiards room in back, the same rough-hewn wood lining the walls, the same popular bar scene – with a prettified face lift of coral wallpaper and gilt-framed mirrors.
Before you consider the place doomed, know that while this is still El Chod’s space, the owners of the very successful Almond restaurant from the Hamptons are much of the time, making sure things run smoothly. The crowd has gotten a polish too. Gone are those grubby locavores that patronized Borough, now the crowd includes stick-thin women in wrap dresses and big jewelry, men with winter tans and cashmere V-necks. (“They’re not on our team, ladies,” our waitress whispered.) Chelsea Clinton dined there on a recent night. Celebrities, gays, emaciated women, face lifts: Almond is a Hamptons away from the Hamptons, and I mean that in the best possible way. (more…)
Posted in American, Flatiron District, food, French, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged bars, duck, New York
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Oscar de la Renta
Though the plot lines of the show may be a little over-the-top, the tony, polished and sophisticated New York world of Gossip Girl does in fact exist. If you ever need proof, you need only go to an Oscar de la Renta show.
Models after the show. The models’ glam hair and the retro preppy looks on some of the younger guests reminded me of that seminal movie about the Upper East Side in the ’80s, Metropolitan. (more…)
Posted in fashion
Tagged Anna Dello Russo, Anna Wintour, fashion week, FW2010, Glenda Bailey, Hanneli, Hanneli Mustaparta, Jamee, Jamee Gregory, New York, Oscar de la Renta, street chic
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Rodarte
It’s called Rodar-TAY, darling. A select few braved the frosty atmosphere for the Rodarte show and arrived wearing some lovely, warm clothes for the occasion.
Sometimes, all it takes is a coat in just the right color, like the peachy nude of this overcoat, paired here with a fur hat and beige scarf. (more…)
Diane von Furstenberg
An American fashion maven and one of the originators of New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park, Diane von Furstenberg always draws a celebrity-laden and appreciative crowd to her shows. Guests arrived suitably glammed up for the occasion.
A white lace dress brings in the spring, but the black biker jacket and tights make this a great transitional look for the end (thank God) of winter. (more…)
Posted in fashion
Tagged Anna Wintour, Bee Shaffer, Brad Goreski, Bryanboy, Diane von Furstenberg, Elle, fashion week, FW2010, Glenda Bailey, Harper's Bazaar, Mickey Boardman, Molly Sims, New York, street chic, Vogue
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Alexander Wang
A huge amount of buzz surrounded Saturday’s show by Alexander Wang, the fashion darling who’s built a multimillion-dollar clothing and accessories empire by the age of 25. A crowd of key fashion players came to the show, though the collection itself was disappointing compared to Wang’s previous seasons. The fabulous clothes on all the guests, however, were inspiration enough.
Sarah Rutson of Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford in a fur-trimmed white parka, Current Elliott pants, and Manolo Blahnik hightop heels (more…)
Posted in fashion
Tagged Alexander Wang, Anna Wintour, Beth Ostrosky, fashion week, FW2010, Lynn Yaeger, New York, Sarah Rutson, street chic, Tavi Gevinson, Virginia Smith, Vogue
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Ohne Titel
Ohne Titel, an indie label started by two Lagerfeld alums, is one to watch. The crowd at the show was much like the fabulous fall collection itself: chic but relaxed.
A black watch cap and wedge heels are winter standards this year. (more…)
Posted in fashion
Tagged Anna Dello Russo, Carine Roitfeld, Cecilia Dean, fashion week, FW2010, Marylou Luther, Meredith Melling Burke, New York, street chic
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Christian Siriano
Outrageous fashion was the norm on several guests outside the Christian Siriano Fall Winter 2010 show on Friday. Fans and friends of the designer arrived at the backstage entrance in Bryant Park looking for celebrities – including a glimpse of Siriano himself.
Two gender-bending ’80s punk looks with a little Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson thrown in for good measure. (more…)
Posted in fashion
Tagged christian siriano, fashion week, february 2010, FW2010, New York, street chic
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