At 9:00 on Saturday morning, I woke up in a foggy haze, and pulled up the blinds covering my bay window. After spending a few disorienting moments staring at the soft flurries swirling over Broadway, my mind conjured up a single word (well, not a single word. My first thought was actually, I have to wear my Halloween costume tonight and I’m going to freeeeeze!)… but then the only word that then made it okay that it was snowing and freezing in October: pie.
I called up my fellow foodie/best friend, Kinno Norojono, and we embarked on a trek to the Upper East Side, to Two Little Red Hens.
Two Little Red Hens is a charming gourmet bakery. The country-home design accents (the floral provincial curtains, the wooden tables) are charming. The hand-written labels for every item in the glass display cases are charming—as are the tall glass cookie jars lining the counter. The adorable British family sitting next to us enjoying their classic New York cheesecake slices and triple berry muffins was charming. The staff, making suggestions and funny observations, was charming. The Disney soundtrack playing over their speakers was charming.
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No Comments | Posted on October 31, 2011 | Categories: From the Blog, Upper East Side
tags: charming, Christina Vlahos, cozy places, Pie, snow
Nestled in a quiet brick building on 53rd Street between 8th and 9th, sits first-rate salon. For the fashion savvy, Timothy John’s Salon is a necessary stop for the latest in hair styles. On a rainy autumn afternoon, Inside New York stepped into the bustling salon. Inside, clients of all ages were being combed, coifed, and Keratin-ed by John and his four expert stylists who have been trained by Redkin Academy, as well as under John for several years. Tory Burch platforms, Haviana flip flops, and Converse high tops were visible under client’s black robes, proving the diversity of styles that Timothy John’s clients adhere to. From those who can afford a much pricier ‘do to those who save up for expert styling at Timothy John’s, the comfortable and trendy salon caters to all.
John opened this salon ten years ago and has since called actors and celebrities like Sean Hayes and Carey Mulligan his clients. He serves the local acting community and helps make locals look great for headshots and auditions. John has also worked for various television, film, and Broadway productions, including Robert DeNiro’s The Good Shepard. Despite his wonderfully high level of accomplishments, his salon is unassuming. With hardwood floors and exposed bricks, the ambiance is warm and welcoming. Stylists chat with new and old clients alike. Several women and men came through for their regular cut and gossip session. “I have so much to tell you,” loyal ladies exclaimed as they hugged their stylists and sat down to be pampered and chatted.
John explains, “It’s a comfortable salon where people can come in, see a smile, and get an excellent service done. It has a homey feel! Midwestern feel.” Inside New York certainly felt right at home in the afternoon we dared to change our cuts and colors!
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6 Comments | Posted on October 31, 2011 | Categories: Editor's Pick, From the Blog, Midtown West, Native's Pick, Sponsored Post
tags: Fabulous, fashion, Hair, On a budget, Syle
c/o Madame Tussaud's
I decided that this year it was time for me to face my fears and go to a haunted house this Halloween. After all, they can’t be that bad, right? So I picked Madame Tussaud’s After Dark, where, for eight nights only, the famous wax museum turns into a chilling, scary haunted museum.
When I got there, I was lulled into a false sense of security by the lines: with so many people, I figured it couldn’t be too bad. Couldn’t I just hide in the crowd and hope that the monsters pick on someone else? Well… no. That wouldn’t be any fun.
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No Comments | Posted on October 29, 2011 | Categories: Attractions, From the Blog, Manhattan, Midtown West
tags: halloween, haunted houses, Madame Tussaud's, Madame Tussaud's After Dark, Monsters, scary things, Simone Marie Martelle
Spices and Tease (I love a shop with a pun in the title) originally started as a “small spice business” in Naples in 1933. In 2003, cousins Bruno and Francois brought their century-old business of selling natural, organic spices and teas to the States. Spices and Tease has now become quite a large spice and tea business in New York, and everyone should be very happy that it has.
When you enter the shop, there are rows of boxes on the left containing a multi-coloured panoply of powders and leaves. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and worn out old boxes the atmosphere create a cross between eastern bazaar and high class Parisian Salon de thé. The French connection does not stop there. The owners have a connection with a French baker in Brooklyn who supplies them with spongy, buttery croissants and pains au chocolat, which taste like they were made in a small village in the Dordogne rather than the heart of Brooklyn. It is for this reason that they do, in fact, serve coffee. I was disappointed that they succumbed to the pressure but when people came in to order a croissant holding a Starbucks cup it was the least they could do. At least fewer people will suffer the undrinkable muddy water that Starbucks calls coffee.
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2 Comments | Posted on October 29, 2011 | Categories: Dining, From the Blog, Manhattan, Native's Pick, Upper West Side
tags: French, puns, Raphael Cormack, Spices and Tease, tea shops
Condola Rashad, Rosie Benton, Reuben Santiago, Alicia Keys, Lydia Diamond, Kenny Leon, Tracie Thoms, Dule Hill and Mehki Phiefer
Stick Fly, written by Lydia R. Diamond (Voyeurs de Venus, The Gift Horse), directed by Tony-nominated director Kenny Leon (Fences, Mountaintop) and produced by Grammy-winner Alicia Keys, began rehearsals on October 17th.
Developed last year as a co-production between Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company and the Arena Stage (Washington DC), and winner of the Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best Play, Stick Fly has performed at the Congo Square Theatre (Chicago), the McCarter Theatre and the Matrix Theatre (LA) before making its Broadway premiere.
Last Thursday, the cast and creative team took a break from their busy rehearsal schedule for a meet-and-greet with the press to tell us a little bit more about this exciting new play coming to Broadway this holiday season.
Lydia Diamond, Alicia Keys, Kenny Leon
“I can afford to say ‘no’ sometimes now,” says director Kenny Leon, “but this is just one of those plays I had to yes to!” Set over a weekend at the LeVays’ Martha’s Vineyard Home, the fragile balance of the family is upset when the two adult sons independently choose to bring home their girlfriends to meet the parents. He adds, “It is a play about the revealing of family secrets”, and continues Lydia Diamond, it is “about the relationships in a contemporary African American family.”
“This is the first piece that I am doing that is dealing so much with family issues, but also that’s dealing with self-identity and the journey of trying to find yourself” says actor Dulé Hill, known for such TV roles as ‘Gus’ on USA’s Psych and ‘Charlie Young’ in The West Wing. Dulé Hill is playing ‘Kent “Spoon” Le Vay’ in Stick Fly, the youngest writer son in his family of doctors, who, in Dulé’s words, is “just trying to get respect and acknowledgment from someone that refuses to give it to him.”
Dule Hill
Tony Award-winning actor Reuben Santiago-Hudson (Seven Guitars, Castle), who plays neurosurgeon and father Joe LeVay, adds “Lydia Diamond is an amazing writer and my character has integrity. You see, if I can’t feel my character, if I don’t get a tingle in my stomach when I play him and say his words with conviction, then I don’t need to do the role. The things I say in this play, I stand on.”
“Lydia manages to address the contemporary problems of race in our society in a funny way, but in a way that still makes you think about the issues”, says Rosie Benton, who plays Kimber, the white girlfriend of ‘Flip’ (Mekhi Phiefer). “For example, Flip calls my character, Kimber, Italian instead of white, because there is some gradation in the racial structure that makes being Italian more palatable for his family to deal with.” She continues, “the first love of my life was an inter-racial relationship. You do get looks, even if people don’t mean to, they still double take. And I think that’s where we are in our society: where people still double-take. That tiny second of double-take is where this play lives. It’s that little moment where you wonder – why am I aware of this? Is it important to be aware of racial dynamics or is it important to pretend they aren’t there?”
Rosie Benton
However, the cast was quick to re-iterate that this is not just a play about race, but instead a play that speaks to the inner dynamics of all families. Mekhi Phifer (E.R.), currently making his Broadway debut in Stick Fly in the role of the elder son and plastic surgeon Flip, argues that Stick Fly “could be about any family” and Condola Rashad (Ruined) elaborates: “I hope that the viewer walks away with the realization that, no matter what race, class, culture or gender, when it comes to family, it’s universal. I think that audiences will definitely recognize somebody from their own family in this play and go ‘Oh, I know that one!’” Dulé Hill adds “Lydia Diamond has done a great job in telling the story of a family by dealing with what’s not being said, and that, that is what family dysfunction is: the unspoken things that pile up. She’s done a great job of taping into that”.
Previews will begin November 18th and Stick Fly will open on December 8th at the Cort Theatre on 48th st. Tickets are available at the box office and on telecharge.com.
-Simone Marie Martelle
4 Comments | Posted on October 29, 2011 | Categories: From the Blog
tags: Alicia Keys, Simone Marie Martelle, theater
On this day in 1886, the statue called “Liberty Enlightening the World”, or as we know it today, the Statue of Liberty, was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland. This gift from France was an expression of goodwill, in recognition of their participation in the American Revolution. The Statue of Liberty was sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, although the base for the statue was provided by the United States. When Lady Liberty was finally completed in 1885, she was brought over on ships and reassembled at her place in New York Harbor, where the dedication ceremony took place, witnessed by thousands, on a foggy autumn day. On October 29, 2011, the Statue’s interior will be closed for a year for renovations, but Liberty Island will remain open to visitors.
-Christina Vlahos
2 Comments | Posted on October 28, 2011 | Categories: From the Blog
tags: Christina Vlahos, Statue of Liberty, today in new york history
“Big hair means big brains.”
- Broadway btw 12oth and 121st st
1 Comment | Posted on October 27, 2011 | Categories: From the Blog, Only in New York
tags: big hair, good advice, overheard in New York
Dress your pup up on Sunday!
Thursday, October 27
Bugs and Brews
From the event website: “Thrill the kid in you with spooky fun in the Adventure Garden while treating your adult side to bubbling artisanal beers and insect delicacies–if you dare! Insect expert David Gracer be on hand to talk about the art and nutrition of eating bugs around the world, share insect-eating stories and host a Q&A.”
New York Botanical Garden. 2900 Southern Boulevard. (718) 817-8700. 7PM-9PM. 2/5 to Allerton Ave. Non-member: $30; Member: $20. 21+.
Friday, October 28
Halloween Pub Crawl NYC
This massively ginormous Halloween Pub crawl offers 2 for 1 drinks and $2 draft.
Oct 28 5pm–4am, Oct 29 noon–4am, Oct 31 4pm–4am; $10–$40.
Halloween is Happening at Trinity Church- FREE
First enjoy music, dancing and cocktails in the churchyard. Then, step into the church for a screening of Metropolis, with live organ accompaniment by Peter Krasinki
4–10pm, (cocktails 4-7, film 7-10) Trinity Church Wall Street, 89 Broadway at Wall St. 212-602-0800, subway: 4.5.2.3 to Wall St, 1. R to Rector St, J.Z to Broad St.
Procession of the Ghouls
The original Phantom of the Opera is playing at St. John’s Cathedral, accompanied by organ music. If that’s not creepy enough, the site warns that visitors should brace themselves for “ghoulish tricks.”
7 pm and 10 pm. St. John’s Cathedral, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue. Subway: 1 to 110th st and Broadway. Tickets: $20.
Saturday, October 29
Central Park Pumpkin Festival
If you’re looking for family-friendly Halloween fun, Central Park is hosting an entire day of celebrations! Events include a haunted house, a pumpkin patch, arts and crafts, pumpkin decorating, and even a giant pumpkin!
Central Park Bandshell. Enter at 72nd St 11AM-3PM. 6 to 68th St. FREE!
Day of the Dead Downtown – FREE!
The National Museum of the American Indian presents a fun-filled day of workshops and performances for Dia de los Muertos!
12-5pm, One Bowling Green, 1 to South Ferry, 4, 5 to Bowling Green
The End of the World Zombie Attack
Come dance like it’s your last night on earth! With DJ Klever , Nick Catchdubs, and Jubilee. At the bar: zombie death punch, and afterlife ecstasy juice.
9:00pm – until we all die, $10 adv, $15 at door (ticketfly.com) 21+,
Brooklyn Masonic Temple 317 Claremont Ave, Brooklyn NY, Subway: A.C to Euclid Avenue
Sunday, October 30
District Dog Halloween Parade – FREE
Cute pets in costumes! There will also be dogs up for adoption, so you might even be able to take a cute costumed dog home with with you.
2-5 pm, Monsignor McGolrick Park, between Driggs and Nassau Aves and Monitor and Russell Sts, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 718-290-7434. Subway: L to Graham Ave, G to Nassau Ave
PhantasmaGorey 2011: An Edward Gorey Halloween Brunch Spectacular: From the event website: “This Halloween Eve, Dances of Vice returns with another dazzling all-star cast in an ominous Edward Gorey Brunch Spectacular that promises to be most elegantly deranged.”
The Highline Ballroom. 431 W 16th St. (212) 414-5994. A/C/E/L to 14th St. $20 advance tickets, $25 at the door, $30 reserved VIP.
1 Comment | Posted on October 27, 2011 | Categories: From the Blog, Nightlife, Weekend Forecast
tags: halloween, parties, Pumpkins, puppies, zombies
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Most of us have our complaints about the subway system, but have you ever stopped to think about where we would be withoutit? Luckily, today in 1904, the first official New York City subway line was opened to the public. Originally managed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the first subway line ran from City Hall to 145 Street and Broadway through 28 stations in Manhattan. Service for the Bronx arrived a year later while service came to Brooklyn in 1908 and to Queens in 1915. Now, under the Metropolitan Transport Authority’s management, the subway has extended to 26 lines running through 468 stations and is one of the few public transportation systems in the world to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
—Kimberly Hernandez
No Comments | Posted on October 27, 2011 | Categories: From the Blog, History
tags: Kimberly Hernandez, MTA, reasons to be grateful, Subway, today in ny history
My love for Johnny Depp is rooted in more than his exquisitely crafted cheekbones, the fact that he looks better than I do in eyeliner, or that he once proclaimed he would do anything Tim Burton asked him to, including having sex with an aardvark. No, my feelings for Johnny began when I first witnessed his swashbuckling glory in Pirates of the Caribbean and grew after watching him perform magic tricks in Benny and Joon, transport cocaine in Blow, and make candy in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When I heard that J. Depp himself was going to be participating in a panel discussion and screening of his latest movie, The Rum Diary at the Miller Theatre (which is visible from my dorm room window at Columbia University), I knew it was fate that I would see my dark prince in the flesh.
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2 Comments | Posted on October 26, 2011 | Categories: Entertainment, Event-Related, From the Blog
tags: aardvark sex, Hunter S Thompson, J Depp is totes a dark prince, Johnny Depp, Luna Adler, Miller Thearer, panels, The Rum Diary
