If you’ve lived in New York for at least twenty years, Babbo probably has a place in your heart. I know that it does in mine, as a restaurant that represented everything cool about New York. After all, what was better than walking into Babbo in the early aughts with AC/DC blasting on the speaker system and Bono eating a plate of pasta in the front bar? The answer is nothing, and that was just Babbo NYC on any given…
Enter Spa de La Mer through the Baccarat Hotel New York doors on West 53rd Street. You’ll pass a live flame kept burning in homage to the French glassmakers, whose furnaces gave Baccarat its name centuries ago. Then, you’ll descend to a subterranean sanctuary that feels entirely removed from Midtown. It’s like a European seaside grotto sealed off from the city. This is the world’s only full-service Spa de La Mer, and it has introduced a treatment unlike anything else…
There’s nothing quite like kicking it old school in New York. These six spots aren’t trying to be the next big thing. Instead, they already won, decades ago, and they’re still winning. Here’s where to catch a jazz set, take in a mural, or simply slow down in a room built long before anyone cared about turnover. The Experience: A Night of Jazz at Bemelmans Photo courtesy of Bemelmans Bar. The Neighborhood: Upper East Side Bemelmans Bar has been the…
I don’t remember a world without handrolls, and thank goodness — now I don’t have to. The East Village has never lacked handroll bars, but Nori Shinn arrived this spring with a compelling pedigree. Nori Shinn is from the same team behind Thirteen Water and Shinn East, two of the neighborhood’s most reliable under-$100 omakase spots. It’s walk-in only, no tipping, and handrolls made to order at a center bar. I went in expecting a quick, casual bite. What I…
Some things come full circle, and not just the team that is behind the Esmero popup by the Alinea team in Chicago. In lieu of hosting Esmero in their compound in the West Loop, Alinea chose one of the most iconic spots in Chicago. There is exactly one address in Chicago dining that comes loaded with this much history — and that’s 816 W. Armitage Avenue. Real foodies know Chef Charlie Trotter, the OG of Michelin celebrity chefs before it…
There are some places that are effortlessly and unapologetically themselves. That is certainly the case with Keepers, the new West Village pizza and Negroni tavern. After all, when you serve your food on paper plates and kitsch is the theme of your decor, you have to have a certain confidence. In New York City, you also need to back that up with what’s in the kitchen if you have a shot at making the sky-high rents in the West Village…
There are dog-friendly hotels, and then there are hotels where your dog may have a better vacation than you will. A bowl in the room and access to the service elevator no longer cut it. The best properties offer canine room-service menus, massages, custom accessories and, in at least one case, an actual dog butler. From urban hotspots to sprawling ranches, these hotels understand a simple truth: dogs aren’t accessories to a family vacation. They’re guests. And like any discerning…
Every August, celebrity hotel choices during the US Open become almost as fascinating as what happens on the courts. The tournament descends on the city like a second Fashion Week (which, not coincidentally, overlaps with it). And for two weeks, the question isn’t just who’s winning on the courts at Flushing Meadows. It’s who’s sitting in the box seats and who’s in the hotel lobby. The tournament itself draws the kind of crowd that defies easy categorization. Tennis, with its…
There are few things rarer than an empty New York City, but stick around in August, and you have the whole place to yourself. The trains are empty, the sidewalks are yours, and some would say, it is the greatest place on earth when everyone else has fled. So, skip the Jitney or a last-minute Eurotrip. Instead, wander aimlessly (or with purpose) one pint at a time. We’ve mapped out eight of the city’s finest pubs, from a Financial District…
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For those queueing in line at Myka or Birdie’s, frozen yogurt seems like the newest trend. But we remember the days when TCBY was all the rage. In fact, we think they need to make a comeback. In the meantime, these are the spots for Froyo in NYC. Photo courtesy of Myka The Froyo: Myka The Yogurt: Original Greek frozen yogurt made from a blend of Greek yogurt and goat’s…
