Brooklyn Magazine Clips by Laura Itzkowitz

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CAFÉ MOTO IS REBORN AS BAR VELO T he n e w c ycl i n g - t he m e d spo t i s a g re e n e r, cleaner v ersion of the Williamsbur g mainstay BY LAURA ITZKOWITZ

P H O T O Chris Trigaux

PHOTOS CHRIS TRIGAUX

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WHEN HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM John McCormick and Vannesa Shanks announced that Williamsburg stalwart Café Moto was closing, its regulars were understandably upset. After all, Moto had been a neighborhood staple since 2002, when it opened under the J/M/Z. At the time, it was one of the few places in the neighborhood where you could go for a good meal, an inviting atmosphere, and live music. In fact, that’s how McCormick and Shanks met. “I used to live two blocks down the street when I moved here in 2008, and this was my local, and look what happened!” Shanks exclaims, glowing, as she cradles their one-year-old daughter in her arms. And though the neighborhood has changed immensely in the past fifteen years, the little flatiron building with the bike hanging outside is still one of the first places you see when you get off the subway at Hewes Street. Though he keeps a low profile, McCormick has become a well-respected pillar of the dining community. He’s had a hand in designing many of Brooklyn’s most beloved bars and restaurants, including Maison Premiere, Five Leaves, and Brasserie Witlof, as well as his own spots, St. Mazie and Bar Velo, the new incarnation of Café Moto. Despite the outcry from longtime patrons, the decision to transform Moto into Velo wasn’t terribly difficult. Cycling is McCormick’s lifelong passion. As a kid he bought his first bike using money he won in an art contest by drawing himself on a bike racing a car. Later, he worked as a bike messenger, and even traveled across Europe on two wheels. For quite a while, he and Shanks had been toying with the idea of opening a cycling-themed bar. So when it came time to renegotiate their lease, they decided to start fresh with a new concept. The space remained closed for three months while they lightened up the interiors and developed a new vegetarian menu and cocktail list. The ceiling went from black to off-white, the walls from mahogany to pale green, the tables from square to round, and the windows from opaque to transparent. They hung blackand-white photos from the 1910s, racing

posters and magazines from the 20s and 30s, and other vintage cycling memorabilia that McCormick has been collecting for over twenty years. They put plants in the window and hung a new, lighter bike outside. The place still has a distinct Prohibition-era vibe, but it’s now “greener and cleaner,” as Shanks put it. They plan to put a bike rack and air pump on the sidewalk in front of Velo, and add a to-go window for coffee, juices, and smoothies. They will also sell vintage jerseys with the Velo logo, bike gear, and musette bags. “We want it to be a real neighborhood go-to spot for whatever you need to nourish yourself and get your bike fixed,” Shanks explains. As longtime vegetarians, they were especially excited to retool the menu. Now, instead of roast chicken and short ribs, you’ll find a black bean Portobello burger with garlic aioli and avocado on a pretzel bun, lentil paté served with cornichons and truffle toast, and fettuccini with slow-roasted tomato sauce, basil oil, and breadcrumbs. “After eating the food, you feel like you wouldn’t miss meat if you could have access to this kind of food all the time,” Shanks says as I take a bite of toast with lentil paté. “What surprises people is that it tastes so good.” Indeed, this isn’t the kind of raw, tasteless vegan FE B RUA RY 2017

food in vogue in the early aughts—it’s comfort food that just happens to be meatless, organic, and healthier than the food you typically eat at restaurants. There are interesting flavors, like a hint of miso in the lentil paté and the vegan nut cheeses made using the same fermentation process employed to make real cheese, but the dishes aren’t overwrought. “We wanted to do something that reflected where we’re going and how we’ve changed,” Shanks says when I ask how they balance the desire for things to stay the same with the need to innovate. “It’s about creating a future now that we have a kid as well. You think about how the future can be—how can you lessen your impact, how can you be healthier, how can you counteract GMOs, and how can you create an environment where you feel good bringing your child to eat.” Their ultimate goal is to make you feel euphoric when you walk out. Even the cocktails were developed using herbs with medicinal properties. Earlier, when I asked McCormick about the building’s history, he told me that it was a pharmacy in the 1920s. Now as Shanks is telling me about the healing properties of the cocktails, I point out the irony and she agrees: “A hundred years later it’s going back to its roots.” ♦ 13

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T H R E E WAY S TO D O A D I G I TA L D E TO X P ut d ow n yo u r ph o n e —t h e f i rst st e p t o re co ve r y i s a d m i t t i n g yo u h a ve a p robl e m

CULTIVATE PLANTS ON A FARM STAY

BY LAURA ITZKOWITZ | ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAIGE VICKERS

I DON’T KNOW about you, but sometime around November 9, I realized my tech addiction was worse than ever. Every morning during the months leading up to the election, the first thing I did upon waking up was pick up my iPhone and scroll through my Facebook feed, click on the New York Times and New Yorker articles lambasting the latest insane thing Donald Trump had done, and find myself spiraling down further and further into the abyss. I was getting distracted during the day, too, compulsively scanning headlines the way you can’t look away from a train wreck. The more I talked to the people around me, the more I realized I wasn’t alone. Studies have shown that smartphone addiction causes distraction, diminishes our memory, and harms our interpersonal relationships. If you’ve been suffering from an overload of information, too, feeling unable to escape, you might be in need of a digital detox. The solution: turn off your laptop, unplug your phone, and reconnect with yourself and your loved ones. Here are three ways to do it.

GO ON A YOGA RETREAT If you practice yoga regularly, you’ve undoubtedly reaped the benefits that just an hour of vinyasa can bestow. Besides improving your circulation, posture, flexibility, and muscle strength, practicing yoga forces you to stay present in the moment, helps you focus, and boosts serotonin levels, making you happier. Now imagine taking that hour-long practice and extending it. Many yoga studios organize retreats as close as the Catskills and as far away as India. Goodyoga, which has locations in Greenpoint and Bushwick, organizes retreats over Valentine’s Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July week, and Labor Day weekend. They also arrange tailored trips accompanied by teachers—options include Kumamoto, Japan and Mysore, India in March, Iceland and Italy in September, and Taiwan anytime. For a more intense digital detox, sign up for a completely silent and tech-free retreat in the Catskills with Yoga to the People—no phones, no texting, no Internet. Upcoming retreats are planned for May 19-21 and November 10-12. Namaste. Goodyoga.com; from $150 per night and yogatothepeople.com; $575 for the weekend.

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HOLE UP IN A CABIN IN THE WOODS Shinrin-yoku—the Japanese concept of forest bathing—has been proven to lower stress, boost the immune system, and promote psychological wellbeing. The benefits come from simply being surrounded by trees in a forest, regardless of physical activity. The founders of Getaway House have seized on this concept, building a series of tiny cabins nestled in the woods. Created in Boston by a group of Harvard grad students, the startup now has seven micro-houses in and around New York City and Boston, where you can go to escape the stresses of daily life, make s’mores by a campfire, and gaze up at the stars. They keep the exact location a secret until you’re ready to go so you won’t be tempted to Yelp nearby beacons of civilization, since the whole point is to be in the woods. There’s even a lockbox for your cell phone. If that isn’t enough to curb your phone addiction, plan a visit to Timberlock on the shores of picturesque Indian Lake in the Adirondacks when it reopens in June. There’s no cell service and no electricity in the cabins. Their packing check-list includes comfortable hiking shoes, binoculars, field guides, bug repellant, and liquor—just the essentials. Getaway.house; from $99 per night and timberlock.com; from $166 per night.

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Are you a member of a CSA? Ever fantasized about giving up city life, sowing the seeds for your own veggies, and raising livestock? Then a farm stay in the Hudson Valley might be right for you. At Kinderhook Farm in Ghent, which supplies meat to Marlow & Daughters, Reynard, the Meathook, and the Park Slope Food Coop, you can get a taste of the bucolic life, even if it’s just for a weekend. Owners Steve and Renee Iacone fixed up an old red barn on the property and now rent it out to guests from May through October. It’s equipped with towels, linens, and all the kitchen supplies you’ll need to cook up a meal using the fresh produce you’ve harvested in their vegetable garden. There’s no TV and no WiFi. Spend the days getting your hands dirty, learning about sustainable agriculture, and you won’t even notice that you haven’t looked at your email all day. Kinderhookfarmstay.com; from $300 per night with a twonight minimum. ♦

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CHEF SELECTS M A M A N ’ S M AT C H A WA F F L E S Ingredients WAFFLE DOUGH (for 24 waffles) 2 cups of flour ¼ cup of yeast ¼ cup of sugar 2 eggs 2 cups of milk ¼ cup of melted butter 1 pinch of salt 2 tablespoons matcha powder (we like PANATEA)

DIGITAL 3D MODELING

AND 35 OTHER COURSES

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN CONTINUING EDUCATION COOPER.EDU

TOPPING FOR EACH WAFFLE 1 cup pineapple, cut into small pieces 2 tablespoons ricotta Maple syrup to taste

THE COOPER UNION

Directions

UP YOUR BRUNCH ANTE WITH MAMAN’S M A T C H A WA F F L E S BY LAURA ITZKOWITZ | PHOTOS JANE BRUCE

WHEN BENJAMIN SORMONTE, Elisa Marshall, and Armand Arnal opened the third New York location of Maman in Greenpoint last summer, they quickly saw how much the café’s rustic-chic style and Frenchinflected food resonated with Brooklynites. I, for one, was happy to welcome the cozy café with its free wifi, wholesome sandwiches and salads, pretzel chocolate chip cookies, and other hard-to-resist pastries. Oh, and matcha lattes. Finally, Greenpoint has a café that serves matcha lattes! But that’s not the only place on the menu where you’ll find the Japanese green tea everyone seems to be going crazy for. When Maman started serving weekend brunch upstairs, I was pleasantly surprised 18

In a large bowl, mix the flour and yeast. Add the eggs and mix together. Pour the milk in slowly. Add the melted butter, sugar, salt, and matcha. Mix everything together thoroughly. Let the dough rest for an hour. Make the waffles using a traditional waffle machine. Cut one waffle into 2 pieces (diagonally) and put waffle in the middle of a medium plate. Scoop 2 tablespoons of ricotta (as you would spoon ice cream) and place at each extremity. Roast the pineapple in sugar and honey. Put 1/2 cup of honey and 4 tablespoons of sugar in a frying pan. When it starts browning, add the pineapple pieces and sauté. Spoon 1/3 cup of roasted pineapples over the waffles and ricotta. Drizzle maple syrup on top.

to discover that they’ve taken matcha to the next level—mixing it into their waffle batter. The result is emblematic of their approach to cuisine. “At the end of the day we felt it was—I don’t like the word fusion—but a great intersection of the culture we grew up in and the culture we live in now,” says Sormonte, who hails from the French city of Montpellier. On weekends when the temperature hovers below freezing, it’s the perfect excuse to stay snuggled up at home and make a scrumptious brunch. Order the matcha powder from Panatea—the Maman team’s favorite brand—or buy it at Whole Foods. If you don’t have a waffle iron, you can use the batter to make pancakes. ♦

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Your Next Great Weekend Getaway: Scribner ’s Catsk ill Lodge A team of hoteliers, designers, and restaurateurs refashions a 1960s motor lodge with a homegrown Brooklyn vibe. BY / L AURA ITZKOWITZ PHOTOS / JANE BRUCE

WHEN I WAS in high school, my uncle organized a family reunion for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary at the Nevele in the Catskills. It was one of the last of the old Borscht Belt resorts to survive after Grossinger’s—the place that inspired Dirty Dancing—was long abandoned and left to decay. (The Nevele closed in 2009.) Though I was far less traveled than I am now, I remember finding the place utterly and hopelessly dated. Mostly I remember mossy old carpets and the odd feeling of being stuck in a time warp. It seemed like we were the only guests at the massive resort. Scribner’s Catskill Lodge was in a similarly dreary state when owners Glennon Travis—a veteran of the hospitality industry who most recently managed Soho House—and Marc Chodock—a management consultant—got their hands on it. Originally built in 1966 by an eccentric painter from Brooklyn, the property (then known as Scribner’s Hollow Motor Lodge) was neglected by subsequent generations. “Everything was salmon brown and mustard yellow. The last time they changed the 64

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carpets was in the 1980s,” Travis told me when I made the trek up to Hunter for a preview of the new Scribner’s. “It was a weird place to begin with and then stuck in time. And that’s what we loved about it. It needed a breath of fresh life.” We were sitting in one of the renovated rooms, which—though incomplete— showed the place’s incredible potential. Before Travis arrived, the hotel’s creative director Sarah Simon picked me up from the Hudson train station in an old red Jeep, drove me up the mountain past Kaaterskill Falls, and gave me a tour of the property. I was one of the first journalists to get a preview, and just a few weeks away from the opening date, their excitement for the project was palpable. Two-and-a-half years in the making, Scribner’s was born out of Travis and Chodock’s desire to escape the city with its oppressively crowded subways and scene-y nightlife. Travis, who until recently lived in DUMBO with his wife and three-year-old son, recalled, “I just had this moment on the rooftop at Soho House two summers ago where the place was going off and it was packed with models and celebrities and everyone was drowning themselves with rosé. When I was 25, I would kill to be a part of that, and at the age of 35, I was like, I just don’t care about this anymore.” He and Chodock felt the Catskills, with their fresh air and beautiful scenery, were calling. Other places where New Yorkers often go on the weekends, like the Hamptons and Jersey Shore, just didn’t speak to them the same way the Catskills did. They began searching for a hotel to buy and eventually found Scribner’s, with its postmodern A-frame architecture built right into the side of a mountain. They teamed up with DUMBO-based Studio Tack, a small design and development group run by three Columbia GSAPP grads and the former brand director at Ace Hotels, and the guys behind Greenpoint restaurant Esme, who consulted on food and beverage development. Inspired by Alpine mountain lodges, Studio Tack came up with a bright, airy design layered with an eclectic mix of colors and textures—brick, stone, wood, Indian dhurries, Oriental rugs, Frette linens, and custom leather chairs by Sunset Park-based design workshop Spacio Terreno. White-washed rooms 65

display photos by Emily Johnston, who splits her time between Brooklyn and the Catskills, and hand-loomed fiber art by the Catskill Kiwi. Each of the 38 rooms has its own character—some have gas stoves, sunken seating areas, or lofted bed nooks. Most have their own balcony complete with a modern interpretation of the Adirondack chair, ideal for taking in the sweeping views of the landscape. The overall vibe is a cozy country escape with the cool, laid-back style you find at your most grown-up friend’s apartment. Plus, Scribner’s aims to encourage a social atmosphere with inviting communal spaces, from the library with its fireplace to the Whiskey Lounge and Prospect restaurant. “It’s a place where the fashion crowd from New York City can come up and let their beard grow and their hair down and eat BBQ with their hands,” Travis mused. “We’re hoping that people will embrace that and escape from the city for a little bit.” About 100 miles northwest of New York City, the Catskills are conveniently close but a bit of an unknown. Bordered by the Hudson River on the east, the massive region encompasses nearly 6,000 square miles. And unlike in Hudson—a very walkable city easily accessible by Amtrak—you need a car to explore the Catskills. As an escape from the city, it’s not exactly a new destination. Well-to-do New Yorkers used to travel up the river by steamboat in the 1800s to get away from the city and enjoy the scenery. Scribner’s is actually on the site of one of the grand old Gilded Age hotels, known at the time as the Catskill Prospect House. In its heyday, it could sleep 200. The area began to suffer when steamboat travel went out of fashion in the 1900s, but enjoyed a new wave of interest starting in the 1920s when

it became known as the Borscht Belt for the many summer resorts and bungalow colonies that catered to New York Jews—including my grandparents—who found leisure and refuge there at a time when they were often discriminated against. “When we went there it was alive, it was active, and all the hotels were bustling,” my grandmother recounted. A lot of comedians, actors, and singers got their start at the resorts, which organized entertainment for the guests. There was a very social element to these places. “You actually made friends, and if they lived near you, you saw them again,” my grandmother remembered. “We used to take pails or buckets into the woods and pick berries and come back with buckets of blueberries or strawberries or blackberries and make our own pies.” They used to go into town for ice cream sodas, to shop, or go to the movies—small town pleasures you can still partake in today. In the late 60s and 70s, many of the old Borscht Belt resorts went out of business, leading to an economic decline. Lots of them— including Grossinger’s—were left to rot and have since become a curiosity for urban explorers, who break in to photograph the ruins. Like the old resorts, Scribner’s aims to be a destination in and of itself, with a host of activities on the property, and an adventure concierge (formerly concierge at the Standard High Line), who can guide guests to the best hikes, farms, breweries, distilleries, and other things to do in the area. “We are trying to be a full service resort, so we’ll have fitness on property, we’ll have music, local DJs, we’re talking about doing a vinyl-only night,” Simon explained. “We’re also going to be doing cider tasting and I’m hoping soap making and candle making.” And just like my grandmother used to go into the woods to pick berries,

S PA C I O T E R R E N O Run by husband-and-wife team Patricio Andrade and Isabel Becerra de Andrade, who both studied at Pratt, Spacio Terreno is responsible for the modern-rustic seating in Scribner’s. Inspired by South American silhouettes, minimal design, and heirloom furniture, they designed and prototyped the Fumador chairs and ottomans in their Sunset Park studio and had them handcrafted in Ecuador. The leather is vegetable tanned and attached to a frame of solid Seique wood grown in the Amazon. The family that does the leather cutting is a group of fifth generation saddle-makers. “It opened up a new industry for them, which is great,” Patricio said. “It worked out for everybody.” The made-to-order chairs, ottomans, and other home design items are available on their website, spacioterreno.com.

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ESME

When she’s not traveling the world, photographer Emily Johnston splits her time between the East Village and the Catskills, where she shot a series of images that hang in Scribner’s rooms and public spaces. “When we connected they didn’t know I lived up here part time, so we were all quite excited when I was able to share a collection of images that I had been photographing in the area,” she said. Her striking photos of the trees and mountains bring the verdant landscapes to life, forming the perfect compliment to the hotel’s design. Most of her work belongs to private collections, though she’s currently working on a book of photographs and drawings set to be announced in 2018.

“It’s so weird talking about it, but the original Michelin star program was about how many stars is worth it to drive to the location,” Travis said. “And this food is gonna attract a lot of people to drive here.” With this idea of a destination restaurant in mind, Travis and Chodock consulted with Matthew Ricke and chef Adam Volk, two of the three partners at Esme, a neighborhood bistro in Greenpoint that serves creative riffs on American classics. The team devised an Alpine-inspired food and beverage program that takes advantage of local farms, breweries, and distilleries. Now that Prospect is up and running, chef Joseph Buenconsejo has taken the helm in the kitchen.

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S T U D I O TA C K A small design and branding firm based in DUMBO, Studio Tack is making its mark on the hospitality industry, and collaborating with local artisans is a key part of their modus operandi. Their work is turning heads from Barcelona, where they designed the über-cool Casa Bonay, to South Lake Tahoe, where they created the Coachman. “They’ve carved out a niche in the design world focusing on renovations of mid-century hotels that have tons of character, but may have suffered from neglect,” Travis and Chodock agreed. “We love what they did at the Coachman in Lake Tahoe. Plus they’re a great group of people to work with.” Brentwood—the first hotel they designed, own, and operate—is now taking reservations for stays in Saratoga Springs.

guests at Scribner’s can go foraging with the chef, Joseph Buenconsejo, the former executive chef at Wassail on the Lower East Side. His menu for Prospect emphasizes sharing, with small plates and family-style dishes like a whole roasted chicken, grain risotto, and pork jowl schnitzel. To pair with the food, bar manager Michael King has scouted out the best craft beers from New York state, curated an approachable wine list, and developed cocktails using spirits from craft distilleries like Hudson Valley Distillery and Union Grove Distillery. He’ll teach guests to make craft cocktails with local maple syrup and other seasonal ingredients.

Sitting in the unfinished room, Travis reflected on the area’s revitalization, affirming that it’s being led by people from Brooklyn—mostly in the hospitality industry. “It’s that Brooklyn vibe of authenticity, craftsmanship, and the kind of rejection of big box hotels, big box restaurants.” He hopes Scribner’s will be an escape for the young, creative people from New York who can’t necessarily take a two-week vacation, but want to get out of the city on the weekends. “You hop on the thruway or Amtrak and two hours from midtown Manhattan you feel like you’re a million miles away, looking out over these dramatic peaks, seeing the trees change color, in the wintertime you

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MORE PLACES TO S T AY I N T H E C A T S K I L L S Husband-and-wife team Sims and Kristin Foster own and operate a trio of inns and have made it their mission to revitalize the Catskills. Nestled at the base of Shandalee Mountain, The Arnold House offers great design and a convivial atmosphere, with meals in the tavern and bonfires outside. Their 9-room North Branch Inn in Sullivan County has a restored turn-of-the-century bowling alley and a movie screening room with red velvet chairs from Rockefeller Center. Their newest hotel, 9 River Road, has just eight rooms in a former furniture store built in 1884.

see the snow, and in the springtime you see all the animals. You’re totally transported. It’s a different world out here. But you can still pop back Monday morning and be behind your desk by 9 am.” After the tour, I got a glimpse at the area’s renaissance in nearby Tannersville when Simon and I stopped for lunch at Mama’s Boy Burgers, a cute retro burger and ice cream stand that serves local grass-fed beef from a farm a mile-and-a-half away and ice cream made in the Hudson Valley. She told me the owner was working on a pizza place nearby thanks to assistance from the Hunter Foundation, a non-profit aimed at promoting economic development and

tourism in the area. Downtown Tannersville still looks much the same as it did in the 50s when my grandmother used to visit the Catskills. The day I was there, the main street was blocked off for a classic car show and Hunter Mountain was hosting Oktoberfest. There are also several other inns and restaurants in the area, including the Arnold House and the remodeled Phoenicia Diner. People coming to experience the region’s natural beauty and hike around the waterfalls will find plenty to do. As Sarah drove me back down the mountain, I made a mental list of all the things I still need to go back for, and explore on subsequent trips. ♦

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R I S O T T O MIL A NE S E by Andrew Tarlow

P H O T O Michael G raydon and Nikole Herriott

Ingredients

W H AT T O M A K E O N NEW YEAR’S EVE: A N D R E W TA R L O W ’ S RISOTTO MILANESE BY / LAURA ITZKOWITZ PHOTOS AND ST YLING / LIZ CL AYM AN

ANDREW TARLOW’S NEW cookbook, Dinner at the Long Table, opens with a sort of poem, the first two lines of which are “read / don’t follow recipes.” I found this somewhat ironic as I prepared his version of Risotto Milanese, a dish I’ve made many times without a recipe. In the introduction, Tarlow’s wife Kate Huling writes that he and his business partner “opened Diner because they wanted a place to eat and hang out, not because they wanted to own a restaurant.” Fittingly, the book is more of a guide for home cooks preparing casual gettogethers and holiday parties for friends and family than a restaurateur’s foolproof manual. In that spirit, we wanted to feature a recipe from the

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1 white onion, diced Large pinch of saffron 7 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 cups Arborio rice 1 ⁄2 cup white wine 8 cups brodo 1 ⁄2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Braised Beef Shank Freshly ground pepper Directions In a large saucepan over medium heat, gently cook the onion and saffron in 4 tablespoons of butter until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook until you hear crackling sounds from the rice. Deglaze the pan by adding the wine and scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add 1 cup of the brodo and simmer the risotto gently until all of the brodo has been absorbed. Add another

cup, continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the brodo is absorbed. Gentle cooking is more important than constant simmering. In total, the rice should absorb around 8 cups of brodo, this will take 20 to 25 minutes. “the rice should be tender but still have a bit of chew to it. Cut the heat and let the risotto rest for a minute or two. A literal minute or two. Fold the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and the Parmigiano-Reggiano into the rice. Taste and adjust the seasoning. To serve, pour the risotto onto a platter and spoon the braised beef shank over it. Finish with black pepper.

final chapter, entitled “The Night Before A New Year,” in which Tarlow sketches out a menu for an elaborate Italian-inspired feast. If you’re planning to host a holiday dinner party, this is a good place to start. Risotto Milanese is one of my favorite recipes to prepare for guests because—truth be told—it seems a lot more difficult than it really is. Tarlow’s version uses butter instead of olive oil, but you can use either or both. I cheated and used a bouillon cube instead of homemade broth, and I served it without the beef shank. No one complained. So, don’t follow this recipe to a T. Let it inspire you to make risotto your way. I think Tarlow would approve. ♦

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W ELCO M E HOME Me e t t h e d e s i g n e rs be h i n d B rook ly n’s m ost bel o ve d ba rs a n d re st a u ra nt s . BY / LAURA ITZKOWITZ

of gorgeous yet unpretentious spaces people want to spend time in, and they have the accolades to prove it. Tørst was named best designed bar in North and South America in the 2014 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards. Eater called Alameda one of the five best-designed restaurants in New York. Dwell named Cherry Izakaya one of the ten best-designed restaurants in America. As a longtime admirer of their work, I would add that they are one of the most talented design studios in New York.

P H O T O S xxxxxx courtesy xxxxx of HOME ST UDIOS

ON A RECENT Sunday evening I found myself perched at the marble bar in Tørst, sipping a delicate stout infused with Guatamalan coffee and chatting with a friend who recently moved to Greenpoint. It was her first time at the craft beer haven and she was admiring the way the marble harmoniously works with the reclaimed wood arranged in a herringbone pattern in various shades of brown. I pointed out the twenty-one taps that progress from light to dark and observed the way the tattooed bartender smoothly removed a stemmed glass from the hanging rack illuminated by soft, glowing light. These are the kinds of details that Evan and Oliver Haslegrave carefully plan out when designing their spaces. And while you might not know their names, you undoubtedly know their work. The Brooklyn-based brothers are behind some of the borough’s most beautiful bars and restaurants. Tørst, Alameda, Ramona, Manhattan Inn, Paulie Gee’s, Donna, Sisters, Barano— the list goes on and on—not to mention cult favorites in Manhattan like the Wayland in Alphabet City and Rebelle on the Bowery. Though each place has its own distinct personality, they share the same polished, yet warm aesthetic. Among design aficionados, hOmE has become known for its holistic, handson approach that results in the kind

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On a recent visit to their new studio in Greenpoint’s Pencil Factory, Oliver shared some insights on the firm’s growth. When he and his brother founded hOmE in 2009, it was just the two of them working out of their apartment/studio designing one place at a time. Today they have twelve employees and work on six to eight projects at a time with clients who come to them for the end-to-end process that sets them apart. “We have a pretty holistic process,” Oliver explained. “We do the mood board, the floor plans, the ID set, the renders, and a lot of the custom fabrication in house, and we do all of our own sourcing.” This tends to make the design process go very smoothly, since they can easily tweak details that need to be changed. “The client has to approve everything, so we don’t stop designing until they get what they want,” Oliver added. Albert di Meglio, chef/partner of the recently opened Italian restaurant Barano (across the street from another hOmE-designed spot, Donna), confirmed what a pleasure it was to work with them. “It goes without out saying that hOmE has exquisite taste when it comes to utilizing unconventional design, material, and feel to create a classic dining room experience. However, what truly separates them is an understanding of how to take full advantage of a space. Their vision with regards to floor plan and guest experience were a massive help during Barano’s upstart.”

The firm’s hard work is clearly paying off, as they’ve been commissioned for several high-profile restaurants. They recently completed celebrity chef Curtis Stone’s new restaurant Gwen in L.A.—an Art Deco-inspired stunner with custom lighting and seating they created in collaboration with the Nicaraguabased Maderas Collective. In New Orleans, they designed the Ace Hotel’s new restaurant Seaworthy, an oyster bar in a 19th-century building with a romantic, turn-of-the-century vibe. They’re currently finishing a soon-to-open restaurant in Fort Greene to be helmed by Norberto Piattoni, a protégé of famed Argetinian chef, Francis Mallmann. Oliver told me they hope to design a hotel, and though most of their work is done in the hospitality sphere, they are getting more inquiries about residential and retail projects. They are also developing a line of furniture, lighting, and objects that they plan to sell in stores. “There’s a lot of things, like coffee tables, that aren’t required in a bar or restaurant, and a lot of materials or ideas that don’t necessarily work as well in those environments as they do in a residential or retail space,” he explained, adding that he likes the idea of creating a product people can have in their homes as another way to have a connection with fellow Brooklynites. He and his brother have lived in Brooklyn for fifteen years and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon—they love it here too much. “We always wonder if we can make it that much better, but it’s great to see a place open and take on a life,” he says, referring to the bars and restaurants they designed in Greenpoint and beyond. “And go back years later and talk to the owner. It’s like a little community.” ♦

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CHEF SELECTS F UNF E T T I C A K E 2 3 1 5 2 4½ 2 1 2½ 1 1 ½

H AV E Y O U R F U N F E T T I C A K E A N D E AT I T T O O BY / LAURA ITZKOWITTZ PHOTOS / JANE BRUCE SINCE THE UPSCALE diner Hail Mary opened on Greenpoint Avenue in May, its funfetti cake has become the single most ordered item on the menu. “Every table gets one, sometimes more than one, and a lot of people come just for cake,” said Sohla El-Waylly, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Ham. It’s no wonder—the three-tiered masterpiece is like a Proustian madeleine for those of us who grew up eating the sprinkle-filled cakes on our birthday. “When I was little—I don’t remember this, but everyone told me about this—there was a year in my life when I made box mix everyday and I would sing happy birthday to myself and 18

blow out the candles,” Sohla said. “It’s one of those things that everyone brings up when they see me and they make fun of me and ask, are you still making birthday cake everyday? And it’s funny because now I am!” Needless to say, whenever people come into the restaurant for a birthday, they make a really big deal of it. Hail Mary’s interpretation of the classic is a vanilla cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting and handmade rosewater sprinkles. It has more sugar than flour, so the key to getting the right texture is to mix it a lot more than you would mix a normal cake. And don’t add too many sprinkles to the batter—they can affect the acidity level. Now go forth and bake! ♦

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Sticks softened butter c sugar T salt whole eggs egg yolks c flour T baking powder t baking powder c buttermilk T vanilla extract T birthday cake extract c store bought sprinkles

Cream together butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, creaming for two minutes after each egg. Combine together the flour and baking powder and set aside. Combine together the buttermilk and extracts and set aside. Add half the flour mixture to the creamed butter and eggs and mix for one minute. Slowly add half the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk. Finish the batter by stirring in the sprinkles. Divide the batter evenly between three 8-inch pans, which have been lined with parchment and butter. Tap the pans firmly against the table to get rid of any large air bubbles. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or until the center of the cake bounces back when pressed firmly. (We bake our cakes in a Combi oven with a little steam to keep the cakes extra moist, you can mimic this in a home oven by placing a pan of boiling water on the shelf below the cakes when baking.)

HOME- M A DE S P R INK L E S 4 2 1 2 1

c powdered sugar egg whites t vanilla T rose water t salt

Mix everything together until smooth. Divide icing into several bowls and add desired food coloring to each bowl. Put tinted icing into a pastry bag and snip off a tiny corner to get desired sprinkle width.Pipe icing onto a parchment lined sheet tray in short lines about one inch long. Leave overnight to dry. Once dry gently lift sprinkles off parchment using an offset spatula or thin knife.

S A LT E D C A R A ME L BU T T E RC R E A M FOR THE CARAMEL

1¼ ¼ ½ 2 1

c sugar c water c cream T salt vanilla bean

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat without stirring with a lid until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove the lid and increase the heat to high. Split and scrape the vanilla bean and add the seeds and pod to the caramel. Continue cooking on high until almost burnt. When the sugar is smoking and almost black, deglaze with the cream. Be careful, because it will sputter and spit. (This is why it’s important to always use a larger pot than you think) Finish with the salt and set aside. FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

6 1 ¼ 1½

whole eggs c sugar c water softened butter

Whip the eggs on high in a stand mixer. While eggs are whipping, combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook until it reaches 235 F. The eggs should triple in volume. Slowly pour the hot sugar into the whipped eggs. Continue whipping until the base of the mixing bowl is no longer warm. This can take up to 30 minutes. Once the bowl is cool to the touch, add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time. (The butter must be perfectly soft, we usually pull it out of the fridge the night before, and it’s perfect in the morning) After all the butter is added, the eggs will lose a lot of volume, but if you continue mixing you will regain some of that volume. Finish by whipping in the cooled caramel.

WO R DS L AU RA ITZKOWITZ PH OTOS MAGGIE SHAN N O N

M aste r of A bstra c ti o n Cuban-American artist José Parlá is conquering the art world one brushstroke at a time JOSÉ PARLÁ LIKES to wander around unfamiliar cities at 3 or 4am and take photos. “At that hour you see things that you know people in bed won’t be seeing,” he tells me. “It’s not necessarily about what’s trendy in the street scene, but just what is happening in the world outside.” Fans of Parlá’s work know that the Brooklyn-based artist is constantly reinterpreting the urban landscape with all its noise, energy, movement, and rhythm. Ever since the eighties, when he used to write on walls in Miami (he doesn’t like the term graffiti), he has incorporated calligraphy, lettering, and lines into his work. “I would say that

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my life has been anything but quiet,” he tells me. “I’ve always been out there, seeing things, being part of stuff, and I like that kind of lifestyle.” Though he has been rooted here in Brooklyn for almost twenty years, he’s constantly on the go and his travels inform much of his work. Sitting on the mezzanine level of his Gowanus studio, I feel lucky to have gotten this appointment, knowing that in the next few weeks he will be traveling to Philadelphia, Miami, and San Francisco, where he’ll attend the opening of SF MoMA. After that, he’ll go to Istanbul, then Tokyo, where he has a solo show opening in September.

“ I WA N T P E O P L E TO S E E T H E A B S T R AC T I O N A N D

I’ve been following Parlá’s career for several years now, but I’d be hard pressed to pinpoint his status in the art world, which seems fitting because he’s not much of a fan of labels. I can tell you that the Miami-born artist has earned a rightful place on the international stage with his large-scale abstract paintings and murals, several of which grace important buildings around the city. Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve probably seen his work— the monumental murals inside the Barclays Center, BAM, and the World Trade Center are just a few of his prestigious commissions. He has collaborated with French artist JR on the Wrinkles of the City project, which plastered enormous photographs of seniors onto the sides of buildings in Havana and incorporated his signature calligraphy-inspired paint strokes. He participated in the Havana Biennial last year with fellow Brooklyn-based artist Duke Riley. His painted sculptures are now part of the Havana Fine Arts Museum and his exhibitions have traveled to museums and galleries in Atlanta, London, Tokyo, Istanbul, and beyond. He’s currently working with the nonprofit RxArt to create a mural for Incarnation Children’s Center in Washington Heights and collaborating with Snøhetta on a piece for the Far Rockaway Public Library. Last September I attended the opening of his impressive solo show that took over Bryce Wolkowitz and Mary Boone—two expansive galleries in Chelsea. The opening was packed with people who had come to admire Parlá’s vibrant

paintings and sculptures. Glance at one of his pieces and the first things you’ll notice are the colors and lines. Move your eyes across the tableau and you might see a word or a torn poster from the street. Get up close and you’ll appreciate the layers of texture in the dry, cracking paint juxtaposed with smooth brush strokes. As is the case with any good abstract art, you have to work hard to find its meaning. “What I feel like I’m translating is the soul of the place because abstraction doesn’t come from thin air or nothing; I think it comes from everything. And when you put everything together it becomes a kind of chaos and I’m trying to translate that city din or that chaos that comes from absorbing all of it.” His vibrant paintings and murals have garnered many fans, both in and outside the art world. “Most people know José’s work through his public projects, so we were eager to show the breadth of his distinct visual language by doing this two-gallery show with Bryce Wolkowitz,” Ron Warren, director and partner at Mary Boone Gallery told me. Later, I caught up with Wolkowitz, Parlá’s exclusive gallerist in New York for the past eight years, who put it quite succinctly, “José is unquestionably among the bright stars working in abstraction today.” But Parlá wouldn’t tell you that— he’s far too modest. I ask the artist how he approaches a big commission like the Barclays Center or the World Trade Center and he tells me that

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LET IT BE THEIR OW N A B S T R AC T I O N . S O I T ’ S N OT J UST M E TELLI NG T H E M A S TO RY, when he was working on his Diary of Brooklyn mural in the latter, he was inspired by James Agee’s book Brooklyn Is. “I like that book because although it was written in the thirties, you read it and Brooklyn hasn’t changed that much,” he says, explaining that the arrival of people from other cities and countries keeps the borough vibrant today, just as waves of immigrants shaped its history. Striving to reflect Brooklyn’s past and present, he wove in song lyrics and shout-outs to artists and musicians that have been instrumental in the borough’s growth. “It’s not legible, but it’s in there,” he tells me. “And the abstraction is important because in a lot of my work I want people to see the abstraction and let it be their own abstraction. So it’s not just me telling them a story, it’s also them seeing themselves as part of the story. That’s always something that I’m striving to do.” Snøhetta—the acclaimed architecture firm that recently made headlines for the SF MoMA expansion—designed Parlá’s enormous, light-filled studio, which is a testament to his ambition and creative thinking. He wanted an environment he could transform from an atelier to an event space for hosting non-profit functions, teaching classes,

IT’S ALSO THEM S E E I N G T H E M S E LV E S A S PA RT O F T H E S TO RY.”

and mentoring art students, so Snøhetta installed moving walls done up in three shades of grey, except for the white arena in the center, which is where Parlá paints. He uses the mezzanine overlooking the arena to think and conceptualize new pieces. He acquired the studio in 2013, but has been living in Brooklyn since the late nineties. Growing up in Miami—the sixth borough, as he calls it—Parlá always felt drawn to New York with its dynamic mix of subcultures. He lived in the Bronx for a couple of years before moving into a derelict building in Fort Greene with some artist friends. Back then, the art scene was concentrated around the Lower East Side and Soho, though many artists lived in Brooklyn. “I do see myself as an international artist but I also see myself as a Brooklyn-based artist and there’s a certain vibe that comes out of Brooklyn that I think I’ve helped build and promote and be a part of,” he says, though he is quick to point out that he considers himself an all-borough person and won’t hesitate to go to Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx to support friends and organizations like the arts nonprofit No Longer Empty. I find myself thinking that if there is such a thing as a “Brooklyn artist,” Parlá is the epitome—not just for his success, but also for his generosity of spirit and engagement with the community. I can’t wait to see what he does next. ♦

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W EEK EN D GETAWAY S TO GET YOU R SU M M ER IN GE A R

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hen it comes to summer travel— or any travel, really—we’re big proponents of the weekend trip. Sometimes a brief change of scenery is all you need to hit reset, clear your mind, and refresh your body after a long week. Luckily, there are plenty of fantastic destinations just a quick train or car ride away. Whether or not you get summer Fridays, it’s easy to make the most of your weekends with a little planning and preparation. Whether you want to eat well, shop at one-of-a-kind boutiques, sip wine on a vineyard, explore the outside, or delve into local history, you’ll find the right experience

BY Laura Itzkowitz

PHOTOS Jane Bruce and Nicole Fara Silver

for you in one (or all!) of these five great escapes.

F O R T I M E T R AV E L I N G : New port, R hode Island IF YOUR SUMMERTIME fantasies involve sailing, clinking champagne flutes, and getting a taste of the Gilded Age life, a weekend in Newport is the trip for you. This idyllic New England town was the summer escape for late 19th- and early 20thcentury America’s wealthiest tycoons. Plan ahead and book a room at the Chanler at Cliff Walk, a twenty-room luxury boutique hotel in a turn-ofthe-century mansion. It’s right

on the famed Cliff Walk, a very Instagrammable 3.5mile trail overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel’s Spiced Pear restaurant offers fine dining—lobster with truffles! seasonal soufflés!— in a refined ambiance with nice views. When in Newport, there are two things you must do: cruise around on a boat and visit the mansions. Reserve a spot on the Rum Rummer II, a restored Prohibitionera rum-smuggling boat, or on sailing yacht the

Madeleine. Of the many mansions, the best ones to visit are the Breakers and Rosecliff. The former is the grandest of them all, built by Richard Morris Hunt for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, whose family made a fortune building railroads. The latter is smaller but extremely beautiful, and served (along with another Newport mansion, the spectacular Marble House) as one of the backdrops in the 1974 Robert Redfordstarring Great Gatsby

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adaptation. (That being said, Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence—or the 1993 Martin Scorcese film—is a better look at the era that built these great houses.) Around the wharf you’ll find plenty of boutiques selling preppy clothes, high-end bath products, gifts, and souvenirs. Enjoy a drink or meal at the 17th-century White Horse Tavern, a former haunt of pirates, sailors, colonists, British soldiers, and founding fathers. 77

FOR OENOPHILES: L o n g I s l a n d ’s N o r t h Fo r k FORGET THE HAMPTONS— the North Fork offers natural beauty, a fresh sea air, and a relaxed pace without the crowds or hectic social scene. Long Island Wine Country has around 50 wineries—plus enough organic farms, cheese mongers, markets, and restaurants to keep you satisfied. Start in Greenport— nearly at the eastern tip— and visit Kontokosta Winery. Brothers Michael and

Constantine Kontokosta built the eco-conscious winery using recycled materials and reclaimed wood. Stay in the bright, airy tasting room or go outside for lovely views of Long Island Sound. Downtown Greenport has plenty of cute shops, restaurants, and places to stay, including American Beech, a breezy bistro with five all-white rooms. You’ll want to linger at Croteaux Vineyards, the only vineyard in the

US that exclusively makes rosé wines. Owner Paula Croteaux, who has lived in Paris and Provence, created a very French-style slice of serenity in the garden. Her crisp, refreshing, and sparkling rosés are the essence of summer in a glass. When hunger strikes, head to Mattituck for two great options: Lombardi’s Love Lane Market for made-to-order panini and The Village Cheese Shop

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for picnic supplies, cheese plates, and fondues by former Brooklynite Michael Affatato. Don’t miss McCall Wines in Cutchogue, one of the region’s few producers of pinot noir. Sample their delicate pinot and robust cabernet franc in the barn-turned-tastingroom and chat with owner Russell McCall and his son Brewster to learn how they saved the land from development.

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FOR SHOPPING: Hudson THE SMALL TOWN of Hudson, just two hours north of New York City, has officially emerged as a hotspot of design. It feels a bit like Brooklyn on the Hudson, thanks to spades of former New Yorkers who decamped there and set up shop. A wealth of boutiques, restaurants, and bars are 80

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concentrated on Warren Street—Hudon’s main drag—so it’s easy to wander up and down, popping into stores that catch your eye. Score awesome mid-century modern finds at Neven & Neven Moderne. For handmade ceramics, candles, and paper goods stop by Flowerkraut. Peruse

the vibrant local art scene, stop by Jeff Bailey Gallery for a reliably well-curated show. Tired of shopping? Take a yoga class at Sadhana Yoga Center, then reward your efforts with a great meal at Fish & Game or WM Farmer & Sons. Locals head to Ör Gallery & Tavern for post-

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dinner drinks in a former auto garage with a cool Icelandic vibe. Stay at the Rivertown Lodge in a former movie theater, opened by a hospitality industry vet who worked on high profile projects with Ian Schrager, but wanted to create a more earnest, down-toearth hotel. 81

FOR TH E GR E AT OUTDOOR S: The Berkshires, Massachusetts FOR SWEEPING MOUNTAIN views, hiking trails, small town vibes, and a dash of culture, it’s hard to beat the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. You’ll want a car for this trip, as things are a bit spread out. Drive three-and-a-half hours north to Stockbridge and check into the historic Red Lion Inn. The place

oozes old-fashioned New England charm, with rooms full of antiques and dainty patterned wallpaper. The dining room whips up a nice brunch and the subterranean Lion’s Den has live music every night. District Kitchen & Bar, a short drive away in Pittsfield, serves dependable pub grub, including giant bowls of

hearty mac and cheese. From Stockbridge, drive an hour north to hike Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. There are plenty of different trails that will take you through the woods past streams and up to scenic vista points. While you’re in the area, don’t miss Mass MoCA, a major

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contemporary art museum in a former mill complex— it’s worth the trip just to see Sol LeWitt’s incredible wall drawings. In Lenox, you can visit the Mount, Edith Wharton’s former estate, and Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which boasts a great roster of outdoor concerts.

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FOR FOODIES: Philadelphia Though Philadelphia’s nickname is the city of Brotherly Love, it should be the City of Good Eats. There are so many amazing restaurants, you could design a whole weekend trip around meals and still just barely scratch the surface. Take the train on Friday after work and roll into town in time for dinner at Zahav, where Israeli chef Michael Solomonov turns out mouthwatering mezze, including the silkiest hummus you’ve ever tasted, and tender lamb shoulder braised in pomegranate. Saturday morning, head to High Street on Market for an elevated egg-and-cheese sandwich loaded with swiss cheese, oyster mushrooms, and braised kale. For dinner,

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go off the beaten track in up-and-coming Fishtown. Wm. Mulherin’s Sons—opened this spring—serves excellent wood-fired pizzas, hand-made pastas, and other top-notch Italian food. The restaurant, which occupies a preProhibition whiskey blending and bottling facility, features original wood-paneled walls, hand-cut mosaic floors, and a custom mural by Stacey Rozich. On Sunday morning, have brunch at La Colombe’s flagship, which serves a full menu. Take in the scenery on a walk through Center City, then have an early dinner at Vernick Food & Drink, where chef Greg Vernick has mastered the art of the small plate. Order some fish crudo and whatever seasonal item he’s putting on toast. ♦

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space. He founded the Chinati Foundation on an old army base and invited Dan Flavin and John Chamberlain to create permanent installations there, though it grew to include the work of twelve artists. I spent Saturday touring the exhibits and got a peek at the Robert Irwin installation opening in July with Jenny Moore, the foundation’s director, who moved to Marfa from Brooklyn. Explaining how she fell in love with Chinati, she said, “This is the opposite of the hermetically sealed, climate controlled, evenly lit, very tame environment that we’re so used to seeing art in. It was such an extraordinary revelation that there doesn’t need to be a separation between art and life. It can be part of the land and the climate and the buildings can be transformed.” For a deeper understanding, I toured Judd’s house with a guide from the Judd Foundation and went back to Chinati on Sunday. Communing with Judd’s concrete works, I was amazed to find myself completely alone in that vast desert landscape. I spent the afternoon visiting Marfa’s small contemporary art galleries, including Inde/Jacobs, which sells Judd’s sketches, and Rule, a Denver-

MY T H I C M A R FA

With its wide-open spaces, endless starry skies, a thriving art scene, and hippie music f e s t i v a l s , t h e b o h e m i a n f a r w e s t Te x a s t o w n o f Marfa exerts a magnetic pull on travelers.

IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT in Marfa and I’m at the Lost Horse Saloon getting schooled on the difference between a cowboy and a rancher by the tall, one-eyed cowboy who owns the place. Locals are gathered around the fire pit smoking and drinking beers while inside a band plays on a little stage draped with the Texas flag. A few minutes earlier, I was in the courtyard of Ballroom Marfa, the arts nonprofit behind the famous Prada Marfa installation, where people were watching trippy projections and nodding along to the tunes of the Bitchin Bajas. And before that, I was drinking a margarita and eating mac and cheese at the bar in Hotel Saint George, the sleek new boutique hotel in town, where I was staying for the weekend along with a crew of Abercrombie models and some fellow Brooklynites.

In some ways, I find this remote town of 2,000 people shockingly like Brooklyn. And then I’m brought back to reality by one of the many idiosyncratic characters here—like the aforementioned cowboy—who remind me that Marfa is, after all, in the desert of west Texas. There’s definitely some synergy between the two places, and plenty of reasons for Brooklynites to visit, the main one being the art scene. For fans of Donald Judd and his contemporaries, a trip to Marfa is like a pilgrimage to Mecca (and takes just about as long to get there). I’d been dreaming of going for months and found plenty to do when I arrived. If you’ve seen Judd’s work in Soho and at Dia Beacon, you probably know that he moved to Marfa in the early seventies searching for more

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P H O T O S Laura Itzkowitz

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based gallery in a house where artists live. I browsed the Marfa Book Company in Hotel Saint George and chatted with Tim Johnson, who runs it and plans readings, performances, and other cultural events there. In the evening, I joined Taylor Livingston, the hotel’s Marketing and Events Coordinator, and Allison Josefowitz, the Director of Rooms, for nachos at Planet Marfa, a chill beer garden with a teepee. They were my unofficial guides, taking me around to the town’s quirky spots, including the very surreal Museum of Electronic Wonders & Late Night Grilled Cheese Parlour, filled with vintage TVs and obsolete computers with nineties trivia games you can play. I spent my last night at the Brite Building—a huge two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom apartment associated with El Cosmico, Austinbased hotelier Liz Lambert’s collection of teepees, tents, refurbished airstream trailers, and yurts that hosts the annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love. I left on Monday morning satisfied, but feeling that I’d only scratched the surface. I’ll have to return. ♦

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VIVA LA PASTA!

B A S IC PA S TA DOUGH Recipe courtesy of Brooklyn Kitchen Serves 8

This month, pick up some fresh pastamaking skills courtesy of Brooklyn Kitchen

8 c. 8 8 tbs. 8 tsp. ¼ c.

L AU R A I T Z KOW I T Z

LET ME START with a confession: I lived in Rome for two years and somehow, despite cooking lots of dry pasta and mastering various sauces, never tried to make fresh pasta. Like making your own pie crust from scratch, it seems like one of those things that seems daunting until you do it for the first time. That was my suspicion, and I was proven right when I took a fresh pasta making class at the Brooklyn Kitchen. Luckily for intimidated home cooks like me, the Williamsburg institution, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, has an excellent roster of classes with talented instructors. Now that I’ve finally done it, I can assure you that it’s so easy a child could do it. In fact, I felt a bit like a kid messing around with the dough. The instructor, Linda Sarris, a private chef who has lived in Sicily, taught us to make two pastas: the quintessential Roman dish tagliatelle cacio e pepe and gnocchi in a brown butter sage sauce. The latter doesn’t require any fancy equipment. For the former (and most fresh pastas) you’ll need a pasta maker, but at just $40 for the basic hand-crank variety, it’s a worthwhile investment. I left feeling like I had fulfilled a lifelong dream and knowing that my friends will be eager to come over and allow me to show off my new skills. I’ll be happy to cook for them. As long as they bring the wine. ♦

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J E R S E Y C I T Y, N J 1 6 3 N E WA R K AV E N U E

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Making Pasta by Hand: 1. On a flat surface, mound the flour with salt and make a well in the center. 2. Crack the eggs into the center, and add the olive oil. 3. With a fork or your fingertips, whisk the eggs and oil together. 4. Gradually incorporate the flour from around the center, whisking the lumps out. 5. Stir with a fork until you can no longer. 6. Knead the dough, gradually adding flour until you have a firm and even dough that has a bit of elasticity. Only add a little bit of water if the dough feels very dry. 7. Flatten it into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

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NEW YORK,NY 1 48 W E S T 2 4 T H S T R E E T + 6 S T. M AR K ' S PL AC E

N E W H AV E N , C T O P E N I N G S OO N !

BARCADE .COM

Cacio e Pepe Tagliatelle 2 lbs. fresh tagliatelle 1½ c. freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese 1 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving 2 tbs. coarsely ground black pepper salt to taste

PHOTOS BYJANE BRUCE

all-purpose flour (800g) eggs extra virgin olive oil salt water if necessary

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Meanwhile, combine the cheeses in a small bowl. 2. Return the pasta to the pot or a large saute pan. Working quickly, add a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water while sprinkling cheese, tossing the spaghetti to create a creamy sauce. Alternate adding pasta water and additional cheese to coat the pasta. 3. Add black pepper and season with salt; toss again. Be careful with the salt because the cheese has a good amount already. 4. Transfer the pasta to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

A P R I L 2016

ARTISANAL SOY SAUCE AND ADDICTIVE DIM SUM

How Kings County Imperial Is Elevating Chinese Cuisine One Dumpling at a Time By Laura Itzkowitz Photos by Jane Bruce

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UCKED AWAY UNDER the BQE, Kings County Imperial is one of those little restaurants that’s so good you almost want to keep it a secret so there won’t be a two hour wait the next time you go—because go once and you’ll be hooked. Dimly lit and with a design reminiscent of an opium den, the restaurant is equally good for a date or a dinner with friends, since dishes are served family style. Since last July, when Josh Grinker and Tracy Young opened this place—their pipe dream fifteen years in the making—they’ve gained a loyal following of locals and foodies who come for the flavorful dishes, fun tiki-inspired cocktails, and cozy atmosphere. “Dale Talde was in here the other day,” Grinker told me one sunny afternoon in February when I sat down to chat with him and Young over a pot of tea. “The word in the food community is out there. Any chef that’s interested in Asian food has been here,” Grinker said. It’s not a stretch to say that Chinese cuisine has been undergoing a renaissance of late, with game-changing restaurants like Mission Chinese, Yunnan BBQ, and RedFarm reshaping consumers’ expectations of Chinese restaurants in America. The concept is simple—these places serve food made from fresh, high quality (often organic) ingredients prepared using proper techniques and presented in innovative ways. A meal may be more expensive than at a typical Chinatown spot, but the price is justified by the higher quality food and better overall experience. Though the trend has taken hold in Manhattan, there still aren’t many places in Brooklyn where you can get excellent Chinese food. Kings County Imperial fills that void.

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“We... get native Chinese people in here who are like, ‘man I haven’t had these flavors for forty years, thank you.’” 87

They may not be Asian like most of the new wave of chefs making headlines, but Grinker and Young are devoted disciples of Chinese cuisine. After attending the New England Culinary Institute, they cooked in a renowned Chinese restaurant in Vermont and have traveled all over China cooking in inns, on trains, and in home kitchens from Hong Kong to Chengdu to Kashgar on the old silk road. For years they fantasized about opening a restaurant where they could use their knowledge of traditional Chinese cooking techniques and an artisanal ethos to create an experience on par with places serving American or European cuisine. “I guess the term farm-to-table gets overused, but we really have bought into that concept” Young explained. “We try to buy local, if we can’t grow it at least to supplement, and everything is made from scratch.” Rather than use frozen dumplings, they make their own dough and have a dumpling maker who comes in every morning to roll, fill, and form those little pockets of deliciousness. Instead of buying sauces in bulk, they make them from scratch. They always use the best ingredients they can find— chickens from a poultry farmer in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, heritage Berkshire pork, as much locally grown produce as possible, and in summer, herbs and edible flowers from their garden. It’s not always easy to find Asian vegetables at farmers markets, but they take advantage of Brooklyn’s own Chinatown in Sunset Park to get items like bok choy. “The Sichuan peppercorn has proven to be the greatest challenge because there’s a huge variation in the quality,” Young said. “You can grow it, but it’s not exactly the right climate.”

Despite the challenges of making farm-to-table Chinese food, Grinker and Young hold themselves to extremely high standards. When they realized they couldn’t make their own soy sauce because it’s such a lengthy process and you need a lot of land on which to do it, they found a family in the Pearl River Delta that still makes it from scratch using the traditional method—sun fermenting the soy in huge porcelain vats. They’ve been back several times to visit and develop a recipe free of preservatives with the goal of launching their own line of artisanal and authentic Chinese soy sauce for the home cook. For now the soy sauce is available on tap in the restaurant and is used in many of their dishes. You can taste the difference—the soy sauce is salty and bright, the dumplings are pleasantly chewy, and the dishes are light, not greasy because everything is cooked in stock instead of oil. Asked if they get any flack for not being Chinese, Grinker responded, “Minor, but as much pushback as we get, we also get native Chinese people in here who are like, ‘man I haven’t had these flavors for forty years, thank you.’ And that’s the biggest testimony of all—that guy who’s in his fifties and grew up in China knows more than any critic and he knows more than me, so for him to be telling us that we’re resonating with him on a basic level, that comes from taking the ingredients and just preparing them in the same way that they’ve been done for hundreds if not thousands of years.” Grinker admits that perhaps because he’s not Chinese, he’s more insecure about being traditional. Unlike Danny Bowien, who serves kung pao pastrami at Mission Chinese, Grinker and Young avoid making

fusion cuisine, unless you count serving Sichuan and Cantonese dishes side by side as fusion. That’s what sets them apart from these other restaurants. “The biggest compliment I hear many times is ‘I haven’t stopped thinking about this since I was here...’” Young affirmed. “It’s almost like an addictive flavor profile.” Indeed, since my dinner there, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the mock eel, which they make with lightly breaded shiitake mushrooms cut into strands, soy sauce, and scallions. Grinker added, “That for us is the realization of the vision because Chinese food used to be considered something that was gross—you do it sitting in front of the TV because you’re starving or whatever and then you wouldn’t want to do it for another month— but this is the opposite. We wanted to create an experience where not only was it fresh and exciting and interesting to people, but they were like, yeah, I could do that a couple times a week for sure.” When they begin serving dim sum brunch this month, you could easily do just that. ♦

“Chinese food used to be considered something that… you [eat] sitting in front of the TV because you’re starving or whatever and then you wouldn’t want to do it for another month—but this is the opposite” 88

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F O O D

D R I N K

I N PR A ISE OF...

L E T THERE BE L IGHT LILIA 567 UNION AVENUE, WILLIAMSBURG

IN ROME, MY favorite place to go for aperitivo was a restaurant called Gusto. Every night, it would buzz with locals and expats like myself eager to catch up with friends over a glass of wine and the city’s best spread of small bites. The space was vaguely industrial, with whitewashed walls, high ceilings, and huge windows filling it with natural light. The wine list was extensive; the servers never rushed you out. It was the place I always wanted to meet up with friends. Lilia, the highly anticipated new restaurant by Missy Robbins, is that kind of place. Anytime a Michelin-star-caliber chef opens a restaurant in Brooklyn, it’s a big deal, but you never know if it will actually live up to the hype. When I arrived for dinner at 7pm on a Wednesday, there were no empty tables, and over the course of a leisurely meal, I began to understand why. The space, a former auto-body shop reimagined by designers Nico Arze and Matthew Maddy, feels sleek yet cozy, with the aforementioned whitewashed walls, large windows, and high ceilings, plus light wood tables, glowing candles, and an open kitchen over which Robbins presides. All the design details are there, right down to the handmade ceramics by Jono Pandolfi, who created the dishes for Eleven Madison Park among other high profile venues. Pasta and seafood play starring roles on the seven-part menu, but you can easily mix and match the 12

small and large plates or even just drop by the bar for a glass of Aglianico and some luscious mozzarella—made in-house of course. When Robbins set out to open her own spot, she wanted to emphasize the lighter side of Italian cooking. Sure, red sauce joints have their purpose, but this style is much closer to the way Italians actually eat everyday. The grilled squid, which arrived perfectly cooked, tasted like it was just caught off the Amalfi Coast, and could have stood on its own without its tomato accoutrement. The malfadini—like fettuccini but with squiggly edges—was reminiscent of traditional Roman cacio e pepe, though Robbins uses pink peppercorns and parmigiano reggiano instead of goat’s milk cheese. I couldn’t put my finger on the rich, concentrated flavors of the salsa verde that accompanied the black bass, but I didn’t want to stop eating it. For dessert, the moist olive oil cake managed to be both dense and light by some magic alchemy, and came with whipped cream and a few refreshingly tart slices of persimmon. I can’t claim to know how Robbins managed to create a place that feels both authentically Italian and oh-so-rooted in Brooklyn, but almost three years after leaving A Voce, she’s opened a restaurant that comes off as effortless despite all the hard work and planning that went into it. If only there was a Gusto-style buffet, I’d be there several times a week. Laura Itzkowitz B K M AG.CO M

EVERYONE LOVES THE classic New York slice; its crisp yet pliable crust renders it a perfectly foldable, portable food for a city where people are seemingly always on the go. And while I’d never turn up my nose at the Platonic ideal of pizza, lately I’ve been hankering for a different kind of slice, a square slice. When I was a kid, these were called Sicilian slices at my neighborhood spot on upper Broadway (the late, great Pizza Town RIP), but these days, they’re mostly known simply as squares, or sometimes Grandma slices. But a rose by any other name and all that; the important thing about the square slice is that, when done right, it’s a worthy alternative to its triangular counterpart. Done right, a square slice has a sturdy charred-bottom crust, with a pillowy top, filled with air pockets, all the better to soak up the tangy sauce that can be ladled on with less judiciousness than on a regular slice. Because, really, the square is mostly about the sauce and dough; cheese isn’t an afterthought, but it’s more of a garnish here than the main attraction. Lucky for the square slice aficionados among us, there’s plenty of places in Brooklyn to get an excellent version. You can’t go wrong with Gravesend’s famous L & B Spumoni Gardens, and Williamsburg’s Best Pizza offers up a fine example as well. Plus, beloved Clinton Hill pizzeria Emily is set to open Emmy Squared in Williamsburg soon, bringing even more quadrilateral pizza magic to Brooklyn.

PHOTOS BY JANE BRUCE

The Square Slice

KIMIA FERDOWSI KLINE

HOTEL A RT: How the Wythe Hotel Became an Incubator for Artists BY LAURA ITZKOWITZ PHOTOS BY TY COLE

ON A BREEZY night in September, I was perched on the rooftop terrace of the Ides sipping wine out of a plastic cup and talking with the redheaded doorman of the Wythe Hotel, who also happens to be a painter. Austin Furtak-Cole was off-duty, but he was hanging out at the opening for the new works installed in the rooms on the fifth floor. He had moved to New York from Vermont, where he worked at the Vermont Studio Center, and applied for the job through NYFA. “I think I was a little apprehensive of choosing art as a career, but it was always something I knew that I would end up doing,” he told me a few months later. “Through time it’s been: Why am I doing this? Or how do I do this? What do I paint? Those are the things I’ve had to figure out, and then how to support myself as an artist. I think I was apprehensive because both of my parents are artists, and we always had a loving family, but we never had money, and I think I saw that struggle growing up, so it kind of made me afraid of committing to this, but it also feels like an inevitable thing.”

That sense of purpose—of fate, almost—is a common feeling among many of the artists I’ve talked to. “I’ve always made art, ever since I was little. It was always something I loved doing,” Kimia Ferdowsi Kline told me one afternoon over tea at her Fort Greene apartment, where she has her studio. As the Wythe Hotel’s art curator, Kimia is in charge of establishing the hotel’s permanent collection, organizing openings, arranging rotating exhibits in the lobby, inviting artists to come for residencies, and maintaining the hotel’s social media accounts. If you follow @wythehotel on Instagram, you’ve probably seen many of her photos, but first and foremost, she’s a gifted painter making her way in the art world. In the past six months alone, she had a solo show at Turn Gallery on the Lower East Side (with two more coming up this spring), participated in three group shows, did a five-week residency in Detroit, and was the subject of several articles, including one I wrote about the inspiration behind her painting “Homeland” for the October issue of Travel + Leisure—

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PETER LAWRENCE AUSTIN FURTAK-COLE

ERIN WEBB

all on top of her work at the Wythe Hotel, where she has added 60 works of art to the permanent collection and organized two major openings. Like Austin, Kimia originally applied for a job at the hotel because she needed some steady income outside of her art. “Kimia’s job didn’t really exist before Kimia came along,” Peter Lawrence, co-owner of the Wythe Hotel, told me later over lunch at Reynard. Lawrence and his partners Andrew Tarlow—owner of a mini-empire of pioneering farm-to-table restaurants including Diner and Marlow & Sons—and Jed Walentas—the wildly successful developer behind the Domino Sugar Refinery project and much of DUMBO—are firm believers in Brooklyn’s artistic community. Tarlow, who paints in his spare time, has been filling his restaurants with creative types for the past fifteen years. Walentas has long supported the arts, commissioning public works for Brooklyn Bridge Park, offering free studios for artists, and serving as co-chair on the board of Creative Time, the non-profit behind “A Subtlety,” Kara Walker’s mammoth installation at Domino. They tapped into their network when building the hotel. Emily Klass, who worked with Tarlow at Marlow & Sons, served at Reynard when it first opened and became the first artist to display work in one of the hotel’s rooms. “It felt very familial. They’ve done a good job of getting to know the different artists in the neighborhood,” Klass told me on a sunny afternoon in December. “I see that in the way that they built out the

“It’s not like a thing that people run around trying

hotel using local craftsmen, artisans, artists, and that attention to detail I think is aesthetic and fits the boutique hotel, but also they like these people. They wanna support the people they’ve gotten to know.” Everyone who’s familiar with the Wythe Hotel knows it as the hotel by and for Brooklyn; when it opened in May 2012, with 72 rooms in a former cooperage on the Williamsburg waterfront, it was the neighborhood’s first boutique hotel. Many would describe it as a hipster hangout, but such an easy categorization flattens it and obscures the thoughtful planning behind such an ambitious undertaking. “Originally the idea was to build something that really belonged in Brooklyn because at the time that didn’t exist as far as a hotel was concerned,” Lawrence told me. “But obviously a huge part of Brooklyn’s story, especially the waterfront of Williamsburg, is that quintessential story of artists finding inexpensive large space, bringing creativity and energy to a neighborhood that in New York these days inevitably starts a snowball effect that ends up with those artists not being in the neighborhood anymore and moving on to the next place,” he continued. In order to tell that story, they wanted to get as much of the community involved as possible, so they employed local welders and craftsmen in the construction process. They worked with Brooklyn-based artists Tom Fruin, Duke Riley, and Steve ESPO Powers on pieces for the public spaces. Fruin’s colorful “Hotel” sign may be the most recognizable piece, but visitors passing through can admire Powers’s street art-style murals and Riley’s politically incorrect tongue-in-cheek representation of Brooklyn’s history in the lobby. The trio’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed—the hotel’s opening was probably the splashiest development to hit the borough since the Brooklyn Bridge—thanks to coverage from just about every major publication you can think of. In 2012, the New York Times, T Magazine, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, Wallpaper, Elle, and many others reviewed the hotel; GQ interviewed Tarlow not once but twice; in 2013, Travel + Leisure included it in their annual “It List” of the world’s hottest new hotels. It was the darling of glossy magazines from Paris to Japan. But with so much media attention, such high hopes and great ambitions, how does the hotel live up to its own reputation now, nearly four years later? How can a property that claims to have art at its core stay engaged with Brooklyn’s creative community? What’s to stop it from becoming a mere repository for works that only executives who can afford to pay rates upwards of $400 a night can appreciate? These were the nagging questions in the back of my mind as I set out to investigate this article.

to impress each other, they just

DEVA MAHAL

do really amazing things and you find out because you’re surrounded by it.”

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The answer, I found, is a combination of things—art openings, film screenings, artist residencies—but it all comes down to recognizing the value that Brooklyn’s creative community brings. In part, it’s the permanent collection of works by local artists of a certain caliber, but it’s also the staff, most of whom are artists of one kind or another. It’s not just Austin and Kimia. It’s Erin Webb, the concierge/singer, who performs at Pete’s Candy Store; Deva Mahal, events coordinator and singer who has performed at the Highline Ballroom, Union Pool, and other local venues; Caitie Moore, a poet who works at the front desk and has poems framed in one of the rooms on the fourth floor; Filmore Bouldes, a photographer who works the host station at Reynard and the Ides. Others, like former coffee boss/musician Emma Blankenship, and painter Emily Klass, who once worked at the hotel, have gone off to focus on their art. They form a tightknit, supportive community of young artists trying to make it. “This place is one of those magic spots that is home to a lot of people that are exceptionally intelligent and really talented,” Mahal told me over a cappuccino at Reynard. “The people here are really exceptionally talented, and they don’t 83

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“I think the art world and the culture is now expanding out to such a degree that everything has to be looked at as a potential stage or venue.”

brag about it, they don’t boast about it. It’s not like a thing that people run around trying to impress each other, they just do really amazing things and you find out because you’re surrounded by it.” Mahal was on the opening staff at Reynard after being lured away from Dumont, where she worked as a host. She explained that from the beginning, she appreciated the owners’ holistic approach to running the hotel. “Well, this is just my experience, but working here you’re really allowed to be who you are when you walk in the door. Like, when you start working here, they’re not trying to change who you are,” she said. “So I think first and foremost that’s a really important thing because they like the freedom you get from feeling accepted in a space like this.” Mahal, Blankinship, and Webb all told me that if they tell their co-workers they’re performing, a crowd will turn up to support them. Equally important is the flexibility in terms of scheduling. If, say, one of the employees can’t make a shift because she 86

landed an amazing gig, or wants to go away for a few weeks for an artist residency, Lawrence finds a way to make it work. “For me it’s really been like a home base,” as Kline put it. “As I’m pursuing my own creative stuff, it’s a place I always feel comfortable coming back to, both in terms of the financial security that it gives, having a stable part-time job, and the emotional support that you have when you work with other creative people.” Moore and Furtak-Cole agreed, adding that from day one, Lawrence encouraged them to pursue their artistic interests outside of the hotel, and assuring that if an opportunity came their way, they’d have no problem taking time off. Lawrence seems to have unlocked the secret to keeping morale high—a shrewd business move that mutually benefits both the owners and the staff. It’s a conscious decision on his part—whenever he needs to hire someone, he lists the position on NYFA because he inevitably finds people who are well educated, socially sophisticated, and accomplished.

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He knows they might disappear for a while, but then they come back with renewed energy because they’ve been off doing something they’re passionate about. “From a service point of view, it helps narrow the space between people getting the service and people offering the service, which, when you reach a certain point dollar-wise, ends up getting further and further and further apart,” Lawrence added. “My guys at the desk can talk to anyone about anything at anytime, which is lovely because then that gap closes and the people that come and stay with us feel like they’re a part of something rather than just buying something.” Obviously, running a hotel is a business, but it’s nice to think that guests who stay there are paying to support the creative types who work there and the artists whose pieces adorn the walls. Originally, the permanent collection came about because Lawrence and his partners didn’t want to buy a bunch of artwork in bulk. Instead, by hiring

Kline to curate a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces, they took a much more organic approach that allowed them to stay true to the hotel’s mission of being by and for Brooklyn. With one exception, all the artists whose work forms the permanent collection are Brooklyn-based. “I think the approach Peter took was wise, because if they had just bought 70 paintings or 70 photos and stocked the hotel with it, it would have been such a missed opportunity for us to then host openings and do all this fun stuff in the rooms and to extend this creative story past our walls and into the Brooklyn community,” Kline opined. Lawrence added, “That has been really fun for me to watch because one of the things we talk about a lot is how to have real art in a hotel given the constraints of hotel rooms—it can’t be too challenging, it can’t be obscene, obnoxious, lots of the things that sometimes it’s really important for art to be and to challenge people. So finding a way to walk that fine line, and generally give emerging young artists a platform, but also figuring out how the hotel is actually a good platform for those guys and they don’t feel like they’re selling out, or that they’re putting their stuff in the wrong place. And the openings are a huge part of that—all of the artists are almost always here.” For the broader community, the openings are a fun way to peek inside the rooms and meet the artists. It harkens back to the days when hotels served as the gathering places for their cities—when people would flock there to celebrate, mourn tragedies, attend to business, and mingle with community members. In the two openings I’ve attended, I had a chance to chat with three of the artists, including Brad Kahlhamer, an artist represented by Jack Shainman gallery in Chelsea and whose work appears in museums across the country. I later visited his Bushwick studio to learn more about his experience. When I asked if he had any doubts or hesitations about putting his work in a hotel, he replied, “You know if you asked me this question like ten years ago, maybe I would have had more concerns, but I think the art world and the culture is now expanding out to such a degree that everything has to be looked at as a potential stage or venue.” Beau Stanton, an artist known for his vintage-inspired paintings and murals, told me he always enjoys putting his work outside of the traditional spaces for showing art and appreciates the intimacy provided by a hotel room. Matt Kleberg, a recent graduate of Pratt who has shown work at art fairs like Untitled and galleries all over the city, agreed. For them, the openings were like the icing on the cake of opportunity. At the opening I attended in January, it was too cold to stay outside, so when the rooms were closed up, the after party was held in the back room at the Ides. I found myself chatting with Austin once again, and then with Kimia, her husband, and a group of their friends. She pointed out Trudy Benson, whose work is on the fourth floor and who’s married to Russell Tyler, whose paintings on paper I was admiring earlier that evening. As the night drew to a close, Kimia called down to see if we could check out Kahlhamer’s work in the penthouse, but it was booked for the night. Just being in such great company, I felt more strongly than ever before that I was part of that world— that as a writer I shared that need to create, and I had finally found a community with the same sense of purpose. You’ll see me at the Wythe Hotel’s next opening, whenever it is. ♦

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