Walking around Paris, you won’t pass a corner without seeing someone toting a fresh baguette. Delicious for every meal, including breakfast or dessert (chocolate and brie sandwich, anyone?), baguettes are a staple in France, and therefore they know how to do it right. Now, we can finally get a real French Baguette Monge ($2.75) right on the Upper East Side, at Maison Kayser!
Mellow Pages is the bookworm-friendly brainchild of Matt Nelson and Jacob Perkins. The $20 membership fee allows you to check out books, magazines, and literary magazines from their collection and keep them as long as you like. You can score a free membership by donating 5 books from their wishlist or 10 books not on the list.
Taro's Origami Studio is a magical place. Taro's offers drop-in visits and "try out corners" for those intrigued by this curious workshop, as well as classes, summer camp, and party space rentals. Kids (and adults) of all ages can scan a wall full of colored paper and learn how to fold from personal tablets installed with software that demonstrates step-by-step folding techniques. After you choose what you want to make and learn how to fold it, you can decorate your origami creation with stickers, stamps, and markers.
$10 for 30 minutes and unlimited paper.
He's a born-and-raised New Yorker who now works at CityMaps, which is set to release its new App in March that will provide users with a visual map of the city that links each and every storefront to social content on the web. Meet his favorite sandwich at No. 7 Sub: The Godfather Part II. Why is it his favorite? “It has three types of meats in it, but I think the chorizo is what gets me. The addition of the Thai Basil is what makes it fantastic.”
Come Spring, the Rouge Tomate Cart at 64th & 5th Ave in Central Park will reopen, serving up some of the best and highest quality food cart food EVER. Lunch break picnic, anyone?
FIT grad and designer Juliette Longuet just opened her first boutique in a two-story Upper East Side townhouse this past fall, and you’ll be glad she did. Made in the Garment District with French and Italian fabrics, her stylish Parisian-chic clothes are on point this season with reversible fur vests and mesh-panel tops--now on sale!
The French Institute Alliance Francaise’s Cinéma Tuesdays are your weekly escape into the best of French film today. This month, FIAF features the genius of acclaimed director Leos Carax, and on February 26th at 7pm, Carax presents his film “Holy Motors” starring Eva Mendes. After the screening, the director will participate in a Q&A session moderated by New York Times film critic Richard Brody.
Tickets are $10.
Finally, beer gets the respect it deserves at this beer shop, which is on par with a wine shop rather than a your corner bodega. Good Beer specializes in draft and bottled craft beers from independent, micro, and nano brewers across the country, as well as a select few European brews. You can get a pint ($6) or tasting flight (four 4.5 oz pours, $8) in-house, as well as some tasty organic, local, or heritage cheeses, kielbasas, and hotdogs.
Take Root may be the highest-concentrated dose of Brooklyn you can fit into one space. This restaurant serves seasonal, hand-crafted, local food, and...wait for it...yoga classes. Yep, this is two of the best Brooklyn cliches in one. Come for one of many different styles of yoga workshops during the week and stay for dinner, and on weekend nights experience the tasting table dinners.
Are you getting tired of making the same meals over and over again? Even more so--are you getting tired of eating them? It might be time to check out Kitchen Arts & Letters for some culinary inspiration.
Why not stare at paintings of iPhones? In his new exhibition Paris France, Paris Texas, Paris Hilton, painter Derek Boshier explores Pop Art in the digital age. Check out the opening this Thursday, February 28th from 6-8pm.
In a decaying 200-year-old upstate farmhouse this Icelandic artist assembled a group of 9 musicians to collaborate on an emotional and moving piece of music based on ABBA’s last album, The Visitors. Each musician is shot in one room and shown on a different screens in the gallery, but the piece is held together by the soundtrack. It’s a highly-styled video performance piece that runs the emotional gamut from melancholy to joy. I stayed for the full 53 minutes and left with a feeling of pure pleasure, an exhilarating sensation that most theater, art or performance rarely achieves.
Through March 16
It may be time for a new Wednesday night tradition to liven up your week. Shaken & Stirred is a burlesque dance extravaganza hosted by the famously vivacious Miss Runaround Sue, and with DJ Jess spinning new wave, disco, and rock n' roll. And the shows are free, so your money goes towards more drinks (on top of the free shots that are doled out after select sets).
This is the blockbuster retrospective in the biggest blue chip gallery on the block. Jean-Michel Basquiat was 28 when he died but he produced a massive body of work. Did it live up to the hype over the last 30 years? The answer is a resounding YES, as this show demonstrates. The colors, the primitive use of graffiti, the images that reference Charlie Parker, Cassius Clay, Sugar Ray Robinson, all look just as fresh as they did when they first started making waves, and seeing this many pieces in one show is a real treat. The work is acerbic, witty, angry and ultimately beautiful. Warning: Thursday nights are packed. Last week the line snaked half way up the block.
Through April 6
Cozy's Cuts for Kids is not only the most fun hair salon around, it also offers a Braid Bar. Kids can flip through a look book of different braided dos, and pick a style to match the newest runway trends ($15 & up).
Nothing like showing up to work or a party in rubber rainboots, right? Galo Shoes to the rescue, with these practical classic styles made from microfiber & vinylized cotton that are--yep--weatherproof. Lots of styles, eco-friendly, and prices start at around $200.
Empire Mayonnaise is--get this--a store that only sells mayonnaise. Exotically flavored artisanal mayonnaise, mind you, but mayonnaise nonetheless. The NYC Mix includes the original three flavors from when they first opened in 2011: Smoked Paprika, Black Garlic, and Lime Pickle ($20 for three 4oz jars). Their recommendation: mix them all up for the ultimate french fry dipping sauce.
May we suggest happy hour at Phoenix Park for a beer and some perfectly-charred sliders? You know you want to.
So often drip coffee is watery and burnt, and you're better off shelling out for an Americano. But Mud delivers in the drip department, and I do mean delivers--their Mudtruck makes it possible to grab an outstanding cuppa mud on the go.
If you’ve seen Kanye West’s “Power” video, you’ll recognize Brambilla’s touch. If you haven't, get ready for a spectacular visual treat. As soon as you put on the 3D glasses, you’ll feel like you fell down the rabbit hole. Assembled from hundreds of film clips, Creation [megaplex] is a swirling spiral that somehow encompasses the creation of the universe, the big bang, the id of every Hollywood animator, plus cameos from Julie Andrews, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey. Impossible to explain but compelling to watch. And don’t worry: If the words “video installation” scare you, rest assured there’s nothing pretentious about Creation. It’s beautiful fun that leaves you scratching your head, asking, “How’d he do that?”
Through Feb 23
