Downtown Sublime, Uptown Funk
Amy Sherald at The Whitney, wharf rats at South Street Seaport, Casa Magazines, José Andrés's Oyamel, Rosella, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends & More!
This is Best of New York, a monthly recap of the city’s very best restaurants, bars, arts, culture, shopping, etc. etc. It’s not necessarily the latest, greatest, newest, hottest (but those spots find their way in, too); it’s simply the places that made the city sing every month that I think you might like, too.
Amy Sherald, the artist behind First Lady Michelle Obama’s gorgeous official portrait has a show at The Whitney (through August 10) and its title, “American Sublime,” goes a long way in describing the feeling of being in the galleries surrounded by her large scale portraits. She paints Black subjects in an intentional greyscale set against flat pastel backdrops and the painting’s titles are often as evocative as the art itself (for instance: Listen, you a wonder. You a city of a woman. You got a geography of your own, borrowed from a Lucille Clifton poem). It was fascinating to learn about her process and the intention behind her portraiture and the show was more moving than I expected.
A favorite piece was Ecclesia (The Meeting of Inheritance and Horizons), a triptych of subjects standing inside beach cabanas topped with weather vanes featuring sea creatures, gazing longingly out at… well, you decide… to me, it felt like they embodied every desire imaginable. Sherald has suggested windows into the soul and said, “In my mind, they’re over water and maybe they’re looking out to the ancestors.”
After winding around the museum, onsite Frenchette Bakery inside the airy ground floor dining room is a nice place to revive with a glass of wine and a sandwich or, of course, Pastis is right around the corner.
One Sentence Review …
On the Calculation of Volume I – It doesn’t really go anywhere.
… & Other Letters
Despite my cheeky one sentence review above, I was on a mission to pick up Book II of On the Calculation of Volume, a seven-part series by Danish author Solvej Balle in which her protagonist is stuck in a Groundhog’s Day-like time loop, experiencing the same day over and over. The volumes are slim (about 180 pages each) and the first two are currently the only available in English translation.
The first book spans a year of the protagonist stuck in the same day, mostly from her farmhouse in the French countryside where she eventually hides from her husband because it’s too taxing to explain her situation to him over and over again. It ends with her in Paris, hoping to break on through to the other side, which, of course, she doesn’t. In Book II, I’d like to see her get a little more creative with how she spends her time, but I don’t exactly have high hopes. We shall see.
The premise appeals to me because I think that’s what solo travel can feel like, going through the world anonymously and interacting with strangers with little consequence. To me, it’s a fantasy of total freedom, albeit a bit dystopian.
Anyway, I found my copy at the charming Three Lives & Company bookstore in the West Village where I also picked up Grief Lessons, a trio of Euripides’s tragedies translated by Anne Carson because, well, I love both of them, and lately I’ve been thinking about how the best art must grapple with tragedy, so who better to learn a thing or two from.
I was also on a mission to grab the latest Paris Review for some personal research and I stumbled upon Casa Magazines for the first time. Situated on a leafy corner of Eighth Avenue, the space looks like a bodega except the shelves are filled with magazines, from glossy fashion periodicals to obscure literary journals. The shopkeeper is something of a local celebrity and when I walked in, he was on the phone with a client from LA who calls every week to get the scoop on his latest inventory.
I browsed around a bit and found my Paris Review and then asked him if they carried Drift, the magazine dedicated to global coffee culture whose latest issue on Miami features my essay “It’s Not Love, It’s Just Coffee.” He knew exactly what I was talking about, sifted through the shelves and found a few copies. When I told him I had a piece in it, he was sweet and congratulated me. It’s always gratifying to see your work in print, especially in a cool shop in such great company. Casa also run a sweet little coffee shop around the corner where you can relax and peruse your latest finds.
‘A Simple Sailor’
A confluence of desires drew me to the South Street Seaport on Memorial Day: a new Moby-Dick-inspired cocktail bar, Quick Eternity (closed Mondays, I would soon learn; I’ll be back—those obsessed by the white whale are not so easily deterred); it was the end of Fleet Week and I love seeing the sailors in their dress whites; and I was deeply curious about the Mexican Navy tall ship that careened into the Brooklyn Bridge a week earlier, now rafted at Pier 36.
With Quick Eternity closed, rather than chock it up to a fool-hardy voyage, I was in the mood to wharf rat around, so I made my way to the north side of Pier 17 and lounged in the sun with the Paris Review, waiting for a friend to join me. We grabbed rosé to go from Malibu Farms and noticed a big, beautiful tall ship maneuvering in the harbor to raft up at the end of the pier.
It was the Clipper City, a 158-foot steel hull, double-masted schooner, originally a cargo ship, dating back to before the Civil War. Today, it runs passenger sails out to the harbor and the Statue of Liberty. We decided to hop aboard five minutes before its scheduled golden hour sail with a live jazz band and full bar; utterly glorious. We found a spot on the forward deck because, as “simple sailors,” Ishmael and I both know that’s where to lap up the freshest head winds.
Afterwards, we hopped aboard a ferry and sped up the East River where we caught a glimpse of Mexico’s ARM Cuauhtémoc with her broken masts and shredded sails—a tragedy that makes me so sad. I’ll spare you my lapsed self-described waterman’s inexpert theories for now and simply say it’s an accident that never should have happened; not now or ever. We got off the ferry in Greenpoint for pizza at Paulie Gee’s and a nightcap at Achilles Heel.
Spanish Mexican
José Andrés recently transformed one of his Spanish tapas restaurants at Little Spain in Hudson Yards into delightful Mexican concept, Oyamel. I met friends visiting from Miami and we lapped up aguachile de camaron, guacamole, chilaquiles, quesadilla de hongos and albondigas, plus, my favorite, José’s signature salt air margarita. All delicious and a solid addition to Andrés’s Hudson Yards funhouse.
More Booze
If you happen to strike out due east from Oyamel and find yourself craving another salt air margarita by the time you reach Sixth Avenue, pop into The Ritz-Carlton Nomad and make a beeline to convivial and stylish Bazaar Bar on the ground floor for a pomegranate-hibiscus variety, as I did.
Nearby at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, Portrait Bar is a plush, moody den to sip big fancy cocktails by Darryl Chan down the hall from Café Carmellini.
Employees Only – still fun
American Sushi
I finally know why everyone is obsessed with Rosella and can now count myself among them. A funky American sushi den with an ethos of sustainability, sourcing fish locally and ingredients seasonally, it opened in the East Village a few years ago to much fanfare. I was completely won over by the outrageously fresh, flavorful and creative dishes; smart and sweet hospitality; fun vibes and good music (hip hop, house at just the right decibel for dinner)—and it’s a solid value.
You can order a la carte or the sushi chef will put together a custom omakase, which is what we opted for. Some highlights: Maine lobster ceviche with mango, Santa Barbara uni toast drizzled with maple syrup and a whole host of nigiri and rolls made with New York smoked steelhead, South Carolina shrimp, North Carolina blue fin, etc. The desserts were also mind-blowing (made all the more delightful by the surprise factor of our chef’s picks, so I’ll spare you the details). It’s one of the best NYC meals I’ve had in recent memory. I’m ready to become a regular and annoy the waitress with more questions about the Brooklyn sake distilleries on the wine list and flirt with all the cute sushi chefs.
Uptown Funk
On a recent Saturday night, I stumbled into Amarena, a stylish Italian restaurant tucked into a townhouse on a charming Upper East Side street. It opened last February and was filled with well-heeled couples from the neighborhood and I found a spot at the bar. The menu spans antipasti, pizza, pasta and secondi with an emphasis on Roman and coastal cuisine. I opted for the halibut over a sweet sunchoke puree with a Castelvatrano olive salsa verde; it was excellent. I started with the candy-like zucchini blossoms stuffed with gorgonzola and drizzled with Calabrian chili honey and paired it with a Capri martini, which basically tasted like a caprese sandwich thanks to the basil oil.
Sondheim Freaks
I grabbed my theater buddy and headed to Broadway for Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends (through June 29), a musical revue led by Broadway legend Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, the voice of Princess Jasmine) and what a treat it was. To have the best of Sondheim’s songbook wash over you in a single evening was almost too much to take: Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Gypsy, Merrily We Roll Along. I’m a Company freak and it delivered all the big numbers, including a riotous rendition of “Ladies Who Lunch” by Beth Leavel. You had the feeling that every other person in the audience was in a high school production of Into the Woods; a very special kind of collective effervescence and celebration of this singular figure in American theater.
We grabbed pre-theater dinner across the street at Glass House Tavern (a Matthew Broderick Broadway dining pick) where I enjoyed an exceptional lamb ragout pappardelle.
In Salad Restaurant News…
Okay, Le Botaniste is the kind of salad restaurant I need in my life: fast-casual, plant-based with hearty bowls and salads made with super fresh, wholesome ingredients. There are a few locations around town (I was initiated in Soho) and I always forget that there’s one in my neighborhood near Lincoln Center. The dining room feels like a Parisian apothecary and it’s a pleasant place to dine in.
I recently popped in for lunch and ordered their seasonal Tutti Veggie Salad made with roasted vegetables, white beans, turmeric lemon hummus, red sauerkraut and green peas with a lemon harissa dressing. It was so good, I immediately ordered their Asian Noodle Salad to go for dinner, realizing I had nothing in the house and was flying out of town the next morning. They also serve organic wine, lattes and other elixirs—gotta get an elixir!
At Letters & Leisure, I want to build a community of intrepid travelers and leisure lovers, so tell me:
What (performing or visual) arts show are you dying to see? Helen Frankenthaler at the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao (through Sept. 28)
What’s the next trip on your calendar? Palm Beach, again
What are you reading right now? Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Let’s chat in the comments below or reply directly to this email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Show: Superfine at the Met’s Costume Institute, Sargent & Paris to see Madame X
Trip: NY & London
Book: Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi
😘