Tag Archives: New York
Inside Superdive
If your idea of a good time in college was smoking clove cigarettes and discussing art films, you can stop reading here. If you got your kicks playing quarters, doing keg stands, and drawing on your passed-out roommate’s forehead with indelible marker, however, then your version of heaven has just landed in the East Village.
A play-by-play account of 30 minutes inside Superdive.
The Standard Grill
Now that the High Line has opened to the public, the Meatpacking District feels newly revitalized. Can it also be an exciting dining destination again, as it once was before all the restaurants here turned to lowest-common-denominator cuisine: steak, potent cocktails, and faux exotic Asian food? The just-opened Standard Grill may be guilty of trying to be all things to all people – bankers, tourists, 20-something hipsters, and clannish food bloggers – but it could also put the MePa back on the map as a place to eat, not just see and be seen.
Posted in American, food, Meatpacking District, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged duck, New York
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Flowers and Floral Fashion on the High Line
If the weather is going to behave like England’s, the logic seems to be: dress the part. This past Sunday on the High Line, the rain held off for a few hours, and many strolled the length of the new park in Wellies, floral dresses, and interesting hats. Among the native wildflowers on the High Line, English country eccentric was the look of the day.
Sake Bar Hagi
There’s a traditional red paper lantern at the door, stairs leading down off a random Midtown street, and the words “sake bar” inscribed on the wooden door jamb. Otherwise, there’s nothing that would alert you to this cult favorite izakaya place in Times Square. But look two doors left of the Hawaiian Tropic Zone and you’ll find Sake Bar Hagi, a draw for New Yorkers and Japanese tourists alike. The menu outside may not look particularly tempting, unless calves liver sashimi or broiled dried skate fin is your thing, but add your name and cell phone number to the list downstairs and in a half hour to an hour you will be inside, well on your way to figuring out the appeal of this place. (more…)
Posted in food, Japanese, Midtown West, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged beef, beer, duck, New York, Sake Bar Hagi
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Street Chic (and Red Carpet): 2009 CFDA Awards
When the fashion world brings a Hollywood date to an awards ceremony, the glamour quotient is extreme. This was black tie dressing at its best and most tricky, since the skies alternately threatened rain or just plain mugginess. But both the male and female guests pulled it off with aplomb, playing with hemlines (of both trousers and dresses) and reinterpreting what “black tie” means for 2009.
The “muse” theme of this year’s CFDA Awards (Council of Fashion Designers of America) encouraged designers to bring someone who inspires them as a date. You could almost imagine them designing clothes with a specific beautiful woman in mind.
It also meant that the women were accompanied by designers for this fashion event, not their husbands/significant others, who stayed at home. Everybody wins! (more…)
Posted in fashion
Tagged Anna Wintour, CFDA Awards, CFDA Awards 2009, Joe Zee, Mickey Boardman, Molly Sims, New York, Padma Lakshmi, red carpet, street chic, streetchic, Virginia Smith
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Superdive
Wanted: Information leading to the apprehension of Superdive, a new bar on Avenue A
A source informs us that this dark space filled with bar stools opens late night as a BYOB bar. The space is said to contain a piano, and said piano can be played by patrons. The owners are unknown, as are the origins of this bar.
The suspect is believed to be less than a week old. The windows were dark when we last saw it, but it can be identified by the address, 200 Avenue A at 12th Street, New York, NY, a “Superdive” sign taped on the window, and a very large “Superdive” sign sitting on the bar inside. (more…)
Best NYC Outdoor Dining: An Opinionated Guide
Someday, someday, New Yorkers can hope to dine outdoors, right? When summer weather finally sticks around, arm yourself with this neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to over 30 of the best places to eat outdoors in the city. Not all of these places are new and cool, and food is not always the main draw. But from sidewalk to garden to rooftop dining, they all offer great atmosphere and spur-of-the-moment accessibility, so you can catch the nice weather while it lasts.
Posted in food, Meatpacking District, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged Bobo, Brooklyn, Fette Sau, Frederick's Downtown, Gemma, Morandi, New York, Vutera
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DBGB Kitchen & Bar
When you think of tenacity and Daniel Boulud, maybe you think of the effort it takes to keep up four-star restaurant Daniel, launch Bar Boulud, or generally run a multi-national food empire. But no: the Boulud project that seems to have required the most effort in recent years is opening a restaurant on the Bowery. After being denied a liquor license in 2006 by Community Board 2 for a spot on the Bowery and 4th – bafflingly, because they thought a Boulud place would be some kind of nightclub – Boulud went back to bat for a space on Bowery between Bleecker and Houston and finally won in 2007. (Lord knows we wouldn’t want to attract the wrong element to the Bowery.)
But it’s clear from the outset: This ain’t no Mars Bar. (more…)
Posted in Austrian, food, French, New York restaurants, Noho, restaurants
Tagged Bar Boulud, beer, Daniel Boulud, New York, seafood
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Tia Pol
Just when you think the city may have tired of small plates or Spanish food, you go to a place like Tia Pol, established in 2004, and find it’s still mobbed. What is it about this formula that keeps bringing New Yorkers through the door? For one thing, Tia Pol is fun and lively, loud but not too loud, with good music and even better service. That plus well-executed food means it has a certain x-factor that makes it worth recommending.
Posted in Chelsea, food, New York restaurants, restaurants, Spanish
Tagged New York, tapas
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This Weekend in Food: Bite of BoCoCa and Hapa Kitchen BBQ at Brooklyn Yard
Don’t just read about all the gourmet fare coming out of Brooklyn, taste it yourself this Saturday, with two – count ’em, two – food fests that promise to deliver great food at even better prices.
Lunch: Bite of BoCoCa
More than 20 Court Street and Smith Street restaurants, gourmet stores, and bakeries are taking over the Transit Garden at Smith Street and 2nd Place this Saturday from 1pm-6pm for Bite of BoCoCa. Your $10 for five tastings or $20 for 12 tastings will benefit the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation (SBLDC), which keeps up the pretty gardens in the nabe. (more…)
Locanda Verde
It seems less surprising that Robert De Niro’s restaurant Ago failed in New York than it ever landed here at all. It had all the elements in place for universal loathing by the New York food world: unreasonably high prices, celeb-focused culture, uncaring servers, and worst of all, bad food. That may fly in LA and Miami, but in this city of 18,696 restaurants, we have better options. And P.S., no more expense accounts.
Kudos to De Niro, though, who was not afraid to make a total 180 and take this once awkward, lame-but-trying-to-be-cool spot into a restaurant that really dazzles. The makeover, by Ken Friedman and Meyer Davis, plays up the beauty of the existing dark wood and leaded glass windows but ditches the white tablecloths in favor of a more down-to-earth approach. The lamps are now (unexpectedly flattering) industrial kitchen lights, lit low and hanging closer to the tables for a feeling of intimacy in the high-ceilinged space. The tables are plain wood, and the chairs, once oversized Italian-granny-style furniture, are now blissfully unnoticeable. But the biggest turnaround is in food and service. (more…)
Posted in food, Italian, New York restaurants, restaurants, Tribeca
Tagged Andrew Carmellini, New York
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Meatpacking District, 1pm on a Tuesday
Yesterday’s weather made for tricky dressing: the sunshine was brilliant, but it was quite cool in the shade. In the Meatpacking District, women wore white jeans, boots with skirts, leggings, and scarves to warm up summer clothing. Men ran the gamut in everything from shorts to tailored suits. Neutrals look nice, but bursts of color are popping up everywhere.
Posted in fashion, Meatpacking District, New York restaurants
Tagged New York, street chic, streetchic
2 Comments
‘inoteca Liquori
CLOSED
It’s not easy to get friends to go out to dinner these days. Even if everyone were feeling flush, the tricks that restaurants have pulled over the past seven or so years – for instance, racking up tabs with numerous $3 dishes of olives or $4 bread – have scared off many of us. On the other hand, small plates are good for commitment-phobes, and if there’s anything people are unwilling to commit to now, it’s spending money. So a group of us ended up at the bar at ‘inoteca Liquori the other night, the revamped uptown outpost of the LES ‘inoteca. Like Kefi and many other inexpensive-but-still-gourmet-feeling places, ‘inoteca is currently undergoing a surge of popularity.
Though the majority of the space is given over to dining, the “liquori” aspect of this new ‘inoteca shouldn’t be overlooked: the bar is turning out excellent cocktails. The extensive drinks menu features six pages of cocktails, many of them seasonal, and over two dozen wines by the glass. (more…)
Outside Barneys, Lunchtime
Anna Wintour may be joining forces with Michael Bloomberg to create a customer initiative for New York, but the well-dressed crowd outside Barneys on Madison Avenue the other day suggested that some people are still shopping – or at least still looking good.
Posted in fashion
Tagged Barneys, Madison Avenue, Michael Kors, New York, street chic, streetchic
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Vutera
CLOSED
With all the secret, annoying, members-only nightspots opening recently, it’s a relief to find a place that’s hidden without being trendy or pretentious. Welcome to Vutera, the little spot in Williamsburg that opened beneath Rose Live Music. Owners Carlo and Gina Vutera managed to carve a romantic, candlelit space out of an unsuspecting basement beneath the bar, and the result is a very appealing mix of rustic decor and sophisticated food.
D. and I started with the chilled asparagus soup with herbed goat cheese ($7) and the Spanish mackerel escabeche ($10). Vutera’s escabeche was surprisingly breaded and lightly fried before being chilled and marinated – which actually added a slight edge of toasty flavor to the final product. Though the name of the restaurant says “Italian,” it was hard to pin a nationality on this dish. (more…)