Tag Archives: L’artusi

The Fall 15: A Broad @ Home, 15 Things to do in NYC this Autumn

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Following a fun & successful Summer bucket list, I’ve created a List of 15 Fall Fun activities to try to get to before the weather becomes too cold & the holidays descend upon us…

autumn-nyc

Do

Storm King – this Hudson Valley sculpture landscape, an hour north of the city has been on my radar for years; when better to go & explore than on a crisp Fall day? 

Then She Fell – on the heels of summer’s Sleep No More, this is another immersive, though more curated, theater experience with Lewis Carrol & Alice in Wonderland as the backdrop, limited to 15 people per show 

David Sedaris at Carnegie Hall – my favorite humorist at a space I’ve always wanted to go to sounds like a winning combination to me

Nitehawk Cinema – first run + repetoire movies, a menu designed by Saul Bolton (owner of Saul in Boerum Hill, BK) that you can eat during the movie & cocktails pre & post?  Looks like I need to take that L train to Williamsburg this fall.

Amateur Night at the Apollo – How it is that I didn’t get here in my 10 years living uptown astounds me. 

Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation – Pending Thanksgiving plans, I’m hoping to catch this holiday ritual, held the night before Thanksgiving near the Museum of Natural History

SLT– now that I can finally exercise again, I want to check out Strengthen Lengthen Tone, which has been described as “if cardio, strength training, and pilates had a baby.”  Can’t wait to try it with my favorite yoga instructor, the incredible Goldie Oren http://goldieyoga.org/classes.html

Eat

Annisa – Anita Lo’s classical French restaurant with a slight Asian influence has been on my list of places to try since it re-opened following a kitchen fire in 2009

NoMad – in the theme of checking out what’s in my new neighborhood, I can’t wait to check out Daniel Humm’s restaurant in the lobby of the NoMad Hotel

L’Artusi – this Italian-inspired West Village restaurant is one of two holdovers from the summer list

ABC Cocina – Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s newest, Spanish-inspired, restaurant at the Flatiron interior decor shop.

Taco + Table tennis Mondays at Salvation Taco – Despite its Murray Hill location, I’ve been keen on checking out the April Bloomfield taqueria.  When I found out that every Monday night there is a doubles ping-pong tournament, I was completely sold.  N.B. I just learned out to play ping pong in the past week or so, but that won’t stop me any more than Murray Hill will.

Drink

Dead Rabbit – The other summer holdover…which I will get to eventually.   With 72 cocktails and a list of superlatives and accolades as long as this list, not to mention a dear friend who works there, how can I not?  (Framed alternately, how have I not yet?)

Pearl & Ash – This should probably go in the dinner list, as the food looks as incredible as the wine & cocktail list, but this newly opened restaurant in the bowery is heralded by the New York Times as “the city’s most exciting place to drink wine,” so we’ll keep it on the drink’s list for now.

Hill & Dale – LES cocktails made with care set in old-world décor celebrating analog entertainment

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The End-of-Summer Recap & 15,000 Views!

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For me, the advent of autumn ushers in nostalgia alongside sweater season; perhaps it is a combination of back-to-school (another year older!) + the Jewish holidays (another year over!).  This fall is no different, and with a big birthday looming on the horizon, I could wax poetic for a while.

But I won’t.  Instead, I’ll acknowledge that A Broad Abroad hit 15K viewers last week (!?) and publish the results of my Top 20 NYC Summer Bucket List:

GO & DO

 Sleep No More:  The immersive, highly-interactive theater experience loosely based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in several stories of an old warehouse in West Chelsea theatrically redone as an abandoned hotel, the McKittrick.  Our group of 12, separated from the start, all had intensely different experiences following different actors throughout the evening, which we then recounted over incredible live-music and cocktails at the bar after.  Highly recommended.  Wear sneakers.

Imran Qureshi installation on Met Roofdeck – this large-scale installation consisted, essentially, of red acrylic splattered on the Met Roofdeck to represent recent bombings in Lahore, Pakistan.  Needless to say, I didn’t quite “get” the art part of it.  However the Pakistani cocktails (oxymoron?) were delicious and the views of Central Park and the city skylines as awe-inspiring as ever. Below, Liz with what essentially was a vodka sno-cone.  Yum.

Met Roofdeck

Liz & a vodka sno-cone

Moma – Rain Room – “A field of falling water that pauses wherever a human body is detected, Rain Room offers visitors the experience of controlling the rain.” (MoMA website).  And yes, we waited for hours for this.  Totally awesome, totally worth it.

MoMA Rain Room

Punk Costume Exhibit @ The Met – An interesting look at the history of “Punk” through fashion, both high and low-brow. 20 minutes start to finish, making it my kind of museum exhibit

EAT

DiFaras – On an unsuspecting corner in the ultra-orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, Brooklyn, is what The New York Times, Anthony Bourdain, Zagat, and Frommers call “the best pizza” in NYC.  Each pie is handmade by the 78 year old owner, Domenico DeMarco.  It can be a 1-2 hour wait from the time you put in your order with his daughter (more if he takes a nap!), which makes for great people-watching as your explore the neighborhood.  The entire place smells of fresh basil and the pizza is worth.the.wait.  Tip: Go early, not hungry.

DiFara’s pizza

Hester Nights @ the Eventi Hotel – this weekly summer gathering of artisinal food vendors in the  former food wasteland surrounding Penn Station is a welcome change of pace.  Live music, streaming movies, and several great options including Portuguese pao de queijo, asian dumplings, inventive tacos, and Filipino desserts.  Every Thursdays, Summertime only.

Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel

Cronuts @ Dominique Ansel Bakery – Is any explanation needed for this one?  Worth.the.wait. YUM.   Tip:  Also get the incredible DKA pastry and enjoy breakfast in the garden in the back of the bakery.

“coconut cream filling with a little lime, cinnamon sugar, and coconut frosting with toasted coconut.”

ABC Kitchen – your standard farm-to-table concept executed perfectly.  Nothing not to love.

Smorgasburg – More options to choose from than room in my stomach, which only means that I’ll need to go back.  The DUMBO market had the added benefit of sitting outside by the carousel and enjoying the view of the water and the bridge.



DRINK

Select summer fridays @ Le Bain – a great way to kick off the weekend on a roof bar (on top of the Standard hotel) that looks out onto the Hudon & lower Manhattan.  Kick back on a lawn chair in astroturf and enjoy the DJ and the people watching.  One caveat: drinks were slowwww to arrive.   

La Birreria roof deck @ Eataly – cold beer, hot day – need I say more?  This roof deck on top of Flatiron’s Eataly would’ve been better had it not been the middle of the July heatwave (no fault of it’s own), but the house beers were excellent and the staff jovial (or was it heat-stroked delirium?).  Tip:  Come early to beat the throngs of after-work drinkers.

Gallow Green roof bar @ the Mckittrick hotel – far and away one of the most enchanting places in NYC, this rooftop bar (with live gypsy-jazz-esque music on the weekends) serves up incredible cocktails in a transportive atmosphere with a speakeasy feel.  So wonderful, I went back again and again and again all summer.  Perfect for a date.  Tip:  make a reservation online ahead of time.

TOTAL:  12 of the 20 places on the wish list (see the entire list here)

Now…to write a Fall To-Do List?  What should be on it?  

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Abroad @ Home – My Top 20 List for NYC this Summer

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Summer in the City + List making.  Could there be a better combination for a type-A adventurer like me?

The inspiration for this comes from one of my best friends who publishes an annual list of the 100 things he’d like to do in NYC each summer  (Follow his adventures  here).   Given that the recovery from spinal surgery  will somewhat truncate my summer in the city, 100 items seemed too ambitious, so I decided on a Top 20.

Shakespeare in the Park (photo credit: NYHabitat)

In no particular order:

Do
Governor’s Island (did summer 2014)
Brooklyn Flea

Moondance at Hudson River Park

MoMA PS1: Warm Up
MoMA – Rain Room
The Met – Punk Costume Exhibit
Sleep No More
Imran Qureshi installation on Met Roofdeck

X Shakespeare in the Park X

Eat
L’artusi

Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel

DiFara’s 

Cronuts @ Dominique Ansel Bakery

ABC Kitchen
Smorgasburg

Drink
Select Summer Fridays at Le Bain
Gallow Green Roofbar at the McKittrick Hotel
La Birreria Roof Bar at Eataly

The Dead Rabbit

Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club

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