Showing posts with label Soho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soho. Show all posts

10/20/15

AWESOME ALERT: Free coffee in SoHo from Cafe Bustelo all week!

Need a boost for your week? Café Bustelo is hosting a Pop-Up Café Experience this week and wants to ply you with free coffee :)



Starting today Oct. 20 through Sunday Oct. 25, stop by the SoHo cafe (168 Bowery) for complimentary Café Bustelo ​espresso, ​regular ​and decaf brews, and K-Cup’s served in a lounge with free wifi and phone charging stations. There will also be swag giveaways, live band performances (10/24 @ 2 p.m. Janelle Kroll & 10/25 @ 2 p.m. Jukebox The Ghost), and an i​nteractive photo booth.

Deets:

  • What: Café Bustelo Pop-Up Café Experience
  • When: Tuesday (10/20) – Friday (10/23) 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturday (10/24) & Sunday (10/25) 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
  • Where: 168 Broadway
  • Why: FREE COFFEE!

5/12/15

Recap: Art Strut 2015 Brought Together Soho Galleries and I Won Art!

I don't really need an excuse to wander around SoHo looking at art and drinking wine, but Art Strut 2015 gave me a reason to do just that last week.

Sponsored by lifestyle website Soho Strut, Art Strut reminded me of the once-upon-a-time community event Fashion's Night Out, but swapping fine arts for fashion and in a smaller sect of the city. My friend and I began at LUMAS (362 West Broadway), where we were greeted with refreshingly chilled white wine and a rocking performance by La La Lush. I loved the art at LUMAS because it was seemingly affordable and all pieces required no framing and were ready to hang.

LUMAS Art Gallery
LUMAS Gallery

La La Lush at LUMAS Art Gallery
La La Lush

Next stop was LIK Gallery (419 West Broadway) where we were enthralled with the travel and landscape photography of Peter Lik. I seriously wanted to head straight home, pack my bag, and grab a passport after being inspired by some of Lik's pieces. We also enjoyed the musical stylings of Jana Pelle and sipped on oaky chardonnay.

LIK Gallery SoHo
LIK Gallery

Jana Pelle at LIK Gallery SoHo
Jana Pelle

Stop number three was Martin-Lawrence Galleries (457 West Broadway) where we closed down the show--gallery hopping ended at 8--and listened to Benny Oyama sing some tunes.


Martin Lawrence Galleries
Martin Lawrence Galleries

Benny Oyama at Martin Lawrence Galleries
Benny Oyama

Then it was time to pick up our tickets in the form of limited-edition Moleskine notebooks...don't mind if I do!

Limited-edition Moleskine Art Strut Notebooks
Limited-edition Art Strut Moleskine Notebook

The party continued over at the pop-up gallery featuring local artists Barbara Thomas, Zuzanna Kozlowska, Linda Mason, Zigi Ben Haim and Laura Kaplan and live music by Cat, Cat, Cat, KT Mulholland and Lily Lane. Wine and whiskey was provided by The Handy Liquor Bar (where we also hung out at the after party).

Pop-up Art Gallery

Pop-up Art Gallery

There was also a silent auction benefitting ACE Programs for the Homeless, and I absolutely LOVE silent auctions--something about the rush, winning, and benefitting a good cause I guess.

Silent Auction (I loved the rose!)

I got in a bit of a bidding war over Rüdiger J. Vogel's Jetty, but ended up winning! I can't wait to hang it up at home and have a fun reminder of an "Awesome in New York" night.

Rüdiger J. Vogel's Jetty
Rüdiger J. Vogel's Jetty
I won the silent auction!
I won the silent auction!
Stay tuned for more Soho Strut events--on Thursday, May 14th from 7-9pm, they are hosting 'Cocktails & Conversations' at The Handy Liquor Bar. Tickets are $20 are and include a cocktail.

5/6/15

Skip Around SoHo with Art Strut 2015

Missing some art in your life? The folks at Soho Strut want to change that with some razzle dazzle.


Tomorrow night (5/7) from 6-10pm is the first annual Art Strut. From 6-8pm, over 20 galleries will be open to the public for free, many with live music and wine from The Handy Liquor Bar. Main galleries include AFA, Peter LIK, LUMAS, Martin Lawrence, and Michael Ingbar, but the full list can be found here.


Then the fun begins. From 7-10pm, there will be a pop-up gallery featuring local artists and a silent art auction to benefit ACE Programs for the Homeless. Pick up your ticket at Moleskine (436 West Broadway) or 28 Wooster Street, which includes a commemorative Art Strut notebook!


Tickets for the pop-up gallery are $35 and are available here. The live music schedule for the event is as follows:
7-8pm – Cat Cat Cat
8:15-9:15pm – KT Mulholland
9:30-10pm – Lily Lane
I'll be there bopping around. Anyone else planning on joining? Tell me what your favorite galleries are!

9/14/12

Spiffed Up Comfort Food With A Side of Surprise

Walking around the now swankified triangle of Lafayette St, Kenmare St. and Cleveland Place in Soho on a warm but crisp September evening, the dinner choices are endless, especially if you want a restaurant with windows wide open and tables spilling onto the sidewalk. It's cool, yet classy--the place to see and be seen, but also to chill and enjoy quality food. The vibe remains the same however if you walk a few blocks east on Kenmare to the relatively new American joint Ken & Cook.


Helmed by executive chef Richard Diamonte and partner Artan Gjoni (both veterans of Jean Georges’), Ken & Cook offers a simple menu of spiffed up comfort foods with fresh ingredients, all rounded out with a raw bar and a few surprises. Last week I was invited in for dinner with a couple of blogger friends (Laura and David) and we had a great time.

Walking inside, you instantly notice the simple, yet vast bar, lit up from behind and made from what seem to be metal pipes. The ceilings are pressed tin, the walls painted original brick, and the banquettes vintage leather. The dining room isn't large, but big enough, with a few more private booths in the back. The service was wonderful from start to finish. Our waiter kept coming by to check on us and was happy to make recommendations (although he pretty much recommended 85% of the menu).

Although the cocktail menu looked amazing, it was a wine kind of night for me. I ordered the Pino Noir they had by the glass, and it was a great compliment to my meal. For starters, we ordered the beet salad with avocado, radish, and cress ($14), the squid salad with yogurt, mint, and chili ($15), and the beef tartar with egg and toast ($16). The beet salad was the kind of dish which really let the ingredients shine. The beets were well balanced with the different color radishes (that I originally mistook for tomatoes) and I pretty much love anything with avocado. The squid salad was delicious as well and very flavorful. Having never tried beef tartar before, I was a little timid, but it was tasty. I'm sure it was how it was supposed to be, but I couldn't get past the texture, and only had one bite.

Beet Salad

Squid Salad

Beef Tartar

For entrees, I chose from their wide variety of seafood and ordered the Monkfish with Romesco sauce, fennel, and thyme ($26). I love Romesco sauce, but my only criticism of the dish is that it took up most of the plate and looked a little bit like an uncooked pancake. Do people actually eat that much sauce? Otherwise, the fish was wonderful. Perfectly cooked, moist with a crisp shell, and the fennel complemented the other flavors well. I'm not sure what spice was sprinkled around the edge of the plate, but it was tasty also.

Monkfish

Laura ordered the fried chicken ($19), what the owner told us was coming to be know as a cult favorite, and I believe him. Honestly, I kind of wish I'd ordered this, if only for the homemade biscuits and honey. The way to my heart is definitely through a warm buttermilk biscuit. The chicken was no sidekick though. It was super crisp on the outside, but filled with flavor and the chicken meat was super moist.

Fried Chicken

David continued his carnivorous meal with the NY Strip Steak ($39). Served with rosemary and thin cut fries, this was as flavorful a piece of steak as I've ever tasted. It looked a little lonely on the plate and steak can often be cooked poorly at non-steak houses so I was a little weary, but one bite and I knew that someone in the kitchen knew what he/she was doing.

NY Strip Steak

We were all pretty full by this point, but really wanted to sample some of the desserts. We decided upon the Apple Pie ($8) and the Peach Cobbler ($8) both with vanilla ice cream. David commented that he liked how the apples were thin cut in the pie and I have to agree with him--makes it easier to eat. The crust on both (I'm guessing it was made from the same dough) was perfectly buttery an not too sweet. The advantage of the cobbler was that it was in a little metal dish and hence stayed warm longer. However, the apple pie was probably bigger, so depending on what you're going for...or you could always order both.

Apple Pie

Peach Cobbler

The bar scene definitely started to get more crowded when we left around 9:30 (this was on a Wednesday), and a little birdie told me that the new downstairs lounge Lil' Charlies' opened last week for dancing and general debauchery (we snuck a peak of mug shots on the wall and lots of red light beaming up).

Ken & Cook on Urbanspoon

7/18/11

Not Your Typical Deli

Summer is a time for exotic revelry, but every so often I just crave simple comforts. After being invited to the Summer in Soho event at Delicatessen, I knew I was in for a slice of both. 


Especially in NYC, when you hear the word deli, you think of warm pastrami, matzah ball soup and perhaps some Dr. Brown's cream sodas. If you're in the mood for some of that, I'd say hit up Katz's, however, if you'd like a bit more ooh-la-la to your outing, I'd highly recommend Delicatessen on Prince and Lafayette in Nolita. The event I attended featured selected items from the new menu courtesy of Executive Chef Michael Ferraro and Pastry Chef Kate Cowan.

The party was held in both of Delicatessen's private party rooms -- The Courtyard, with it's awesome glass ceiling we watched the sunset through, and The Minibar, a dark cavernous, yet sexy space with, well, a bar. It was in the Minibar I was poured the signature drink of the night. The Tilly as they called it was my kind of summer drink -- muddled strawberry and lime shaken with Satisfaction vodka and pomegranate juice. I loved how the sweetness and tang melded together. And what a pretty color!

The Tilly
Looking up from The Courtyard
View of The Courtyard
The food was WAY better than standard deli fare. My favorites included the Flash Fried Tuna Avocado Rolls, which were just crispy enough for some nice texture but the smoothness of the tuna and avocado still came through, and the Tomato and Mozzarella Salad. The latter was definitely not your go-to caprese, rather the cheese was fried with tempura and the tomatoes were marinated. I could have had an unlimited amount of those puppies. Other delicious bites included the Smoked Chicken Tacos, Pork Mole Tacos and Sweet Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Flash Fried Tuna and Avocado Rolls
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
Sweet Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Smoked Chicken Taco
Dessert was a whole other wonderful experience. Three words: Maple Bacon Beignets. Three more words: Bourbon Creme Anglaise. I seriously could have eaten a whole tray of these, but they were in such high demand that I only managed to snag two. Good thing the two other dessert were just as much fun. I was weary of the Chocolate Layer Cake because they always look so good but taste so dry. This version was super moist and the frosting was not overly sticky sweet. The fresh berries on top were also a nice touch. The other clever dessert was a cheesecake lollipop coated in chocolate - yum!

Maple Bacon Beignets
Chocolate Layer Cakes
Cheesecake Lollipop
Besides bumping into friends, my favorite part of this event was finding out about a cool venue with some very unique food. I will definitely be back for some trendy comfort sometime very soon!

8/12/10

Thirsty anyone?

New York is known for some awesome pieces of public art that can be intriguing, confusing, beautiful and thought-provoking. Who ever thought public art could be both spontaneous and functional? 


I saw this the other day on Spring Street near the intersection of Thompson Street and I just thought I'd share. There was something about the way the water was arching out from the hydrant to the street and the way the light was hitting it that caught me. Anyone ever seen something like this before?

Awesome Reads

Awesome in New York New York restaurants

Awesome Keywords

art gallery art museum Astoria atlantic city awesome alert Awesome Deal awesome giveaway awesome savings bakeries bar bar crawl BBQ beach beauty beer beer event birthday Book Launch brazilian breakfast Broadway Brooklyn Brooklyn Bridge Brunch Bryant Park carnegie hall celebrity spotting Central Park cheap tickets cheese Chelsea Market Chinatown Chinese Food Choice Eats class cocktails coffee columbus circle concert concert in the park contest cookies cooking creativity crunch cuban dance Deals Delicatessen delivery designer clothing dessert. food dinner Dior discount spa treatments discounted tickets doughnuts Downtown drink specials drinks East Village Ebates Entertainment event exercise Facebook giveaway fashion film fitness Flatiron Flushing Meadows-Corona park Food Food event food truck free Free Champagne free coffee Free Concerts free cupcake free dessert free drinks free food free museum admission free stuff Free Ticket free wine French food fundraising gift Gilt City giveaway gourmet food store Grand Central Greek Greenwich Village Groupon Guggenheim Museum half marathon halloween health healthy living helicopter tour hell's kitchen historic site history holiday shopping hot chocolate Italian food jazz jazz club jewelry lincoln center local food Lombardi Long Island City Lower East Side lunch macaron Madison Square Park Manhattan margaritas MCNY memberships Met mexican food MOMA movie premiere ms walk museum music New Year's Eve New York new york botanic garden New York City Food and Wine Festival New York Magazine New York Times New York Wine Expo Nolita NYC Off-Broadway online shopping open bar out of towners outdoors pancakes party photos pizza public art publications Queens restaurant Restaurant Review Restaurant Week Riesling Crawl rooftop roosevelt running sake save money shopping shopping deals skincare social media Social Media Week Soho spirits summer Super Bowl sushi sweetery tapas taxi TDF Terroir The Jewish Museum Theater thrift store Thrillist Times Square travel Twitter giveaway upper east side video views Village Voice volunteer opportunity website West Village williamsburg win wine wine class wine event Yankee Stadium yelp yoga Ziegfeld Theater