Category Archives: shopping

[Photo via Things I Like To Look At] It’s been a while since I’ve been able to have a real vacation in NYC, so I was extra stoked to relax and explore the city this time around. I had big plans (So sorry, Willem de Kooning, the Cloisters, and Warby Parker; next time, I promise), none of which were actualized. Basically, all I did was eat.

Fornino’s (Williamsburg): I had my stomach set on Patsy’s, the venerable pizza institution in East Harlem, but they were closed for renovations. We considered other options (Roberta’s, Totonno’s, Motorino), but ended up at a new place on Bedford, a Slice favorite. We shared five or six pies, but the best was the funghi misti, which was covered with a slick of black truffle oil. Also great bookends to the meal: fizzy Lambrusco and the affogato.

Zebulon (Williamsburg): Brooklyn beers, cheap whiskey, and music by my friends Steve Gunn, John Trucsinski, and Metal Mountains. A friendly standby.

Bianca (NoHo): I first read about Bianca on A Clapping Ritual. Really beautiful Italian food at unbelievably cheap prices (almost everything is less than $10!). They don’t take reservations, but you can wait at the bar next door, and the host will personally fetch you himself when your table is ready. I was impressed by the velvety bolognese, which was served over ribbons of delicate house-made tagliatelle. (Don’t forget the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo!) I was also blown away by the Ciambella con Marscapone, a coarse, lemony Romagna-style cake draped with a creamy sauce. Gotta learn how to make that.

Country Hill BBQ (Chelsea): My friend Evan, who is one of my NYC restaurant gurus, took me to this Texas-style restaurant, which serves meat like brisket and roast chicken by weight (their slogan is “cooked low and slow”). All hail the $34 beef short rib.

Walden (Williamsburg): Creamy chicken liver pate, bone marrow, braised chicken legs, duck confit over grilled radicchio, pork belly, pickled golden beets, a barnyard-y, juicy Gamay — we tried it all. Plus, festive champagne cocktails on the house. Nice.

Ontario Bar (Williamsburg): Air hockey and cheap beers!

Hungarian Pastry Shop (Morningside Heights): WHY can’t we have a place like this in Montreal? Everything about this cafe was perfect, right down to the classic movie-ready UWS setting.

Mermaid Inn (Upper West Side): $1 happy hour oysters and $7 chardonnay. Honestly, can you imagine a better way to spend an hour and $20?

Other places that were on the itinerary but will have to wait until next time — Prune (we naively walked in without a reservation and were promised a table at around 10:45pm); Dirt Candy (inexplicably closed); Vinegar Hill and Pies and Thighs (next time, I promise!). Next time, New York! In the meantime, I heart you. Forever.