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.
Fitcation
Wishing to dive deeper into the cult of Equinox since joining the club about a year ago, I checked into the ultra-lux Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards for a weekend spent pumping iron at the gym, dining at Electric Lemon, drinking at the outdoor terrace, practicing yoga on the rooftop, sunbathing at the pool with views of the Vessel, and indulging in a customized Biologique Recherche facial at the fabulous spa.
The experience was pure luxury. It’s a glittering enclave that operates on a logic all its own, independent from the rest of the city, like Monaco. I didn’t know if I was in New York in August or Miami in February. All I know is I have fully bought into a 360 Equinox integrated lifestyle.
Theater
John Proctor is the Villain (through September 7) – A feminist reappraisal of The Crucible by way of high school girls—and, oh mah gah, y’all, it’s set in small town North Georgia and I went to high school in small town North Georgia! Sensational, hysterical, moving. It made me want to be a girl again and also reminded me that deep down inside I still am.
Death Becomes Her – high camp musical comedy with big laughs and a talented cast led by Destiny’s Child Michelle Williams based on the 1990s cult classic movie starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn
Buena Vista Social Club – a joyful, uplifting Tony Award-winning musical inspired by the reunion of Cuban musicians whose art was almost lost to the chaos of the Cuban Revolution
Restaurants
The View – Danny Meyer kinda revamped the rotating restaurant crowning the 48th floor of the Marriott Marquis in the heart of the theater district. I like how it still feels lost to time, like they just dusted the place off and got the wheel spinning again. Service was great, a live pianist playing show tunes and jaunty arrangements of pop songs was entertaining, and the classic menu delivers with items like shrimp cocktail, martinis, steaks and New York cheesecake. I mean, who wouldn’t want to take a spin around Manhattan before catching a show?
Sant Ambroeus – a nice terrace in Soho to catch up with old friends over spritzes and cacio e pepe… and maybe even a frangiacorta
Santo Taco – for when you’re in Soho, but would rather pretend you’re in Mexico City and can’t get a reservation at Pujol, so you opt for street tacos by a former associate… and you’re not going downstairs to La Esquina, at least not tonight
Bars
Smith & Mills – my favorite little pre-/post-Grand Banks cocktail bar on N. Moore St. in Tribeca. Barely a block from the Hudson, it makes you feel like you’re inside a shipbuilder’s workshop.
The Mulberry – semi-lowkey, yet fun subterranean club/lounge in Soho w friendly door
Macao – less lowkey, usually fun subterranean club/lounge in Tribeca w friendly door
Soho House – for a swift glass of crémant before dinner at Pastis
Dick & Jane’s – Fort Greene martini nightcap
The Rum House – ideal post-Buena Vista Social Club nightcap in Times Square
UWS Special
Café Luxembourg – The Odeon’s uptown sister, a classic French bistro cut from the same cloth and longtime neighborhood fixture, where you may or may not be confidently hit on by men who are older than your father whilst minding your own business, sipping a crémant, at the zinc bar
One Bite – perfectly scrumptious, well-orchestrated, reasonably priced omakase in a pleasantly intimate, minimalist setting
Pier I Café – for rosé and guac at sunset overlooking the Hudson in Riverside Park
Goods for the Study – a menagerie of stationery, notebooks, cards, pens (including the short, chubby Kawecos I <3) and other adorable knick-knacks by McNally Jackson Books; add’l locations in W. Village & Nolita
