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The curry sampler from Babu Ji, a casual, crowd-pleasing Indian restaurant in New York City. For more, see page 80.
Around the Country in 34 Dishes
America is in the middle of a love affair with food, as bold and talented chefs from Hawaii to Maine continually reinvent our national cuisine. Here’s your ultimate coast-to-coast culinary bucket list.
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“For lunch, I often find myself wishing I were in New York City at Danny Meyer’s Maialino, enjoying the bombolotti all’amatriciana with spicy tomato and guanciale. The guanciale is well seasoned, and the pasta is always cooked al dente, as if I were across the Atlantic at an Italian trattoria.” maialinonyc.com; $24. — Barbara Lynch MENTON, BOSTON Chef’s pick
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The Mammoth, Meal-in-Itself Sandwich Four lunch or dinner crowd-pleasers—the messier the better.
PANEER KATI ROLL
OYSTER PO’BOY
Dining at Troy MacLarty’s Bollywood Theater is like taking a crash course in Indian street food, and the one dish Portlanders can’t get enough of is the kati roll. MacLarty, a Chez Panisse alum, makes his own paneer (fresh cheese), then steeps it in a yogurt, ginger, garlic, and tikka masala marinade. Next come the toppings: cabbage slaw, cilantro-mint chutney, and a dab of Sweet & Hot. All this gets wrapped in a paratha (flatbread) cooked with egg, slathered in ghee, and fried to perfection. bolly woodtheaterpdx.com; $10.
One bite of its well-stuffed oyster po’boy will tell you why this family-run restaurant has been around for almost a century. Domilise’s doesn’t skimp on the Gulf oysters, which come sweet, briny, and freshly fried on a roll from local favorite Leidenheimer Bakery. The sandwiches are dressed with mayo, ketchup, hot sauce, pickles, and shredded lettuce, all in careful proportion—an engineering feat. It’s the quintessential unpretentious New Orleans experience. domilises poboys.com; $15.
Bollywood Theater, Portland, Oregon
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Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar, New Orleans
POP’S PASTRAMI
Harry & Ida’s Meat & Supply Co., New York City There’s something both comfortingly familiar and wholly unexpected about Will Horowitz’s interpretation of a New York classic, available for take-out at his new East Village delicatessen. Horowitz brines Creekstone beef for two weeks, smokes the meat over oak and maple wood, and then steams it. Instead of using rye bread, he piles half a pound of lusciously marbled slices onto a baguette from top bakery Pain d’Avignon. Old-world mustard blended with white anchovies is the final touch. meatandsupplyco.com; $18.
HOT MAINE LOBSTER ROLL
Neptune Oyster, Boston Traditionally, lobster rolls in Boston are served cold with mayonnaise. And this sleek North End restaurant—which takes no reservations, and nearly always has a wait—does just such a classic roll. But their hot version outsells it four to one. Seven ounces of tail, knuckle, and claw meat are tossed in warm clarified butter, then stacked high on a grilled, buttered brioche bun. Count on a few happy forkfuls before it’s even possible to eat the thing like a sandwich. neptuneoyster. com; $29.
E R I N & E R I CA . I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY A L EX A N D R A C O M PA I N -T I S S I E R
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Show Stoppers
A dish can be all about looks and theatrics— even better if it tastes great, too. PORK SAUSAGE & LYCHEE SALAD
CORNBREAD MADELEINE Holdfast, Portland, Oregon
Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.
At his New American restaurant on Capitol Hill, Aaron Silverman serves a small, family-style dinner menu full of hits. But the star is the pork-sausageand-lychee salad, which doesn’t contain a piece of lettuce. Instead, a vibrant mix of red onions, peanuts, a scattering of herbs (mint, basil, cilantro), and a coconut-habanero sauce are artfully arranged side by side. The ingredients seem random, but the dish comes together harmoniously: sweet, salty, tart, fresh, and outrageously addictive. rosesluxury.com; $13.
Will Preisch and Joel Stocks cook and serve every course at their intimate restaurant– supper club, which hosts just four seatings a week. Their menu of seasonal, often foraged food has but one constant: the sweet and savory cornbread madeleine, which arrives on its own tiny plate. Brushed with browned butter, draped with lardo, and crowned with a nub of honeycomb, a sprinkle of salt, and a flurry of Parmesan snowflakes, the two-bite treat is a delicate, surprising prelude to dessert. holdfastdining.com; tasting menus from $65.
“UNICORN” SEA URCHIN Pao, Miami
Miami’s hottest new hotel, the Faena, wouldn’t be complete without a masterful dish to rival its worldclass art. And when the world is already gaga over uni, you end up with Paul Qui’s “unicorn”: sea urchin, grilled corn, lime and calamansi juices, and chile de arbol, all melded in a custard-like filling and finished off with sake aioli, lime zest, epazote, and even more uni. The dish arrives in a black urchin shell set on a bed of dried spices. And there’s another twist: the name is a play on the room’s showstopping unicorn sculpture by Damien Hirst. faena.com; $25.
“At his restaurant in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jose Enrique butterflies the yellowtail snapper, takes the rib and spine out, and folds the fish over so the back fin is still on before dusting it in cornstarch and frying it. Top that with Jose’s signature hot sauce—which in its own right is enough to make me get on a plane—and you have a truly incredible dish.” joseenriquepr.com; from $25. — Chris Shepherd UNDERBELLY, HOUSTON
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The best fish you’ll ever eat in a parking lot SHOYU AHI POKE at ONO SEAFOOD HONOLULU
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ou have to venture away from busy Waikiki to find Ono Seafood, a tiny hole-in-thewall storefront in an unassuming complex. But your reward is Oahu’s best poke, a classic Hawaiian dish of fish mixed with soy and sesame. Ono’s recipes are treasured family secrets, created more than two decades ago when founder Judy Sakuma sold her poke out of an Igloo cooler. Today, Sakuma and her daughter still showcase fresh, raw, cubed ahi alongside local ingredients like kukui nuts and limu, a kind of algae. There are no seats in this mom-and-pop shop, so patrons often eat from Styrofoam containers outside. Look for a second Ono outpost opening this summer. 747 Kapahulu Ave., 808-732-4806; poke from $8.
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“Some of my favorite foods bring together tastes and memories I love. That’s why when I travel to Denver, I head to Acorn for chef Steve Redzikowski’s tomato-braised meatballs. Served with stoneground grits, burrata, and basil, they’re a delightful combination of traditional Italian flavors and memories of my Southern roots.” denveracorn.com; $14. — Ryan Hardy CHARLIE BIRD AND PASQUALE JONES, NEW YORK CITY
Chicago Two Ways
Whether you’re counting calories or collecting them, the city has a pair of must-try dishes—both in the West Loop. THE DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER
Au Cheval, Chicago This haute diner slings between 500 and 700 burgers a day, and the one that’s got everyone talking is the underpromisingly named double cheeseburger. Three—not two—four-ounce patties are griddle-cooked medium, stacked on a bun from the local Z Baking, and layered with a smear of Dijonnaise and slices of Kraft American cheese, which chef Annie Gano loves for its meltability. Should you desire an extra dose of culinary hedonism, get an egg on it. aucheval chicago.com; $13.
MOMOTARO TARTARE Momotaro, Chicago
This deceptively simple dish, served at Chicago’s restaurant of the moment, includes no steak or egg yolk. The presentation is like fool’s gold: a mound of Japanese tomato cut to resemble minced meat and garnished with Maui onion dressing. The texture is a dead ringer for beef, too, as the tomatoes get dehydrated and then rehydrated, yielding the exact mouthfeel of tender Kobe. How so much flavor—sweetness, acid, umami—is coaxed from those two ingredients remains the chef’s tightlipped secret. momotaro chicago.com; $13.
Pizza Party
Slices of perfection on both the right and left coasts. PIZZA
Few destinations have as many excellent pizza spots per square mile as New York City. And yet, Gotham’s latest darling is an inconspicuous restaurant on an unassuming block of Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill. Be prepared to wait—sometimes for hours, even on weeknights—for pizza in as many as two dozen artisanal variations, all courtesy of Matt Hyland. There are daily specials, but we prefer one of the standbys, the Colony, with spicy pickled chiles, pepperoni, and a drizzle of honey, which demonstrates how deft Hyland is at balancing big, bold flavors atop perfectly charred crusts. pizzaloves emily.com; $18.
At his low-key restaurant in the tiny village of Eastsound, chef Jay Blackinton serves both a ninecourse, New American tasting menu—and pizza. Plenty of it. His perfectly blistered pies are made from dough that’s fermented up to 48 hours and topped with ingredients like hay-smoked goat cheese, green garlic, early summer squash, and whatever else has arrived from farms across Orcas Island. If you get the tasting menu, the pizza arrives in a takeout box halfway through the meal—which means you’re set for a late-night snack. hogstone.com; tasting menu $85, pizzas from $12.
Emily, Brooklyn, New York
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COLONY PIZZA
Hogstone’s Wood Oven, Orcas Island, Washington
F R O M TO P : K E V I N J. M I YA Z A K I ; K Y L E J O H N S O N
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Game of Chicken
Ridiculously good birds that everyone’s crowing about.
WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN FOR TWO Nomad Hotel, New York City
Chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara like to tease those who order this dish at their polished, low-lit restaurant. First, a server brings out a cast-iron pot holding a caramel-toned chicken smelling of the foie-gras-and-black-truffle mixture that was piped under the skin. But you get only a quick glimpse before it’s whisked back into the kitchen. After what feels like an eternity (but is just a few minutes), the chicken returns, carved into portions, alongside a truffled potato purée and a tiny bowl of dark leg meat sautéed with shallots and morels. One bite confirms it: this ultimate elevation of a once humble meal deserves a spot in the pantheon of New York’s most decadent dishes. thenomadhotel. com; $90.
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ROAST CHICKEN WITH WARM BREAD SALAD FOR TWO
Zuni Café, San Francisco One of the city’s most iconic dishes, unaltered since the late chef-owner Judy Rodgers first served it in 1987, is brilliantly simple. Small, organic birds emerge crisp-skinned and juicy from a wood-burning brick oven and get plated over a salad that’s just as essential as the chicken: grilled, torn rustic bread tossed in a vibrant vinaigrette with sautéed scallions, garlic, baby mustard greens, dried currants, pine nuts, and— crucially—chicken drippings, so those savory juices seep into the bread below. zunicafe.com; $54.
HOT CHICKEN
Hattie B’s, Nashville If you don’t know hot chicken, it’s time to get familiar with Nashville’s claim to culinary fame. There are many places in Music City to find these oily, crispy, cayenne-laced (or -laden) birds, but familyowned Hattie B’s stands out for its levels of heat. From noon to night, antsy customers form a line around the block for breasts, thighs, and wings labeled as “hot,” “damn hot,” or “shut the cluck up.” Those who triumph head to communal tables, baskets in hand, where white bread and pickles await to temper the burn. hattieb.com; from $9.
“The burger at Husk, in Charleston, South Carolina, has a great smoky beef flavor, and I love that they use American cheese. Not to mention the bun is perfect, because it smashes down just so.” huskrestaurant.com; $14. — Naomi Pomeroy BEAST, Chef’s pick
PORTLAND, OREGON
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“Briermere Farms is worth a drive up to the North Fork of Long Island for the pies alone. Each is made from scratch in the bakery with fruit grown right on the property. My personal go-to is the raspberry cream. From the tartness of the fruit and the cooling cream to the buttery crust, it makes the perfect summer snack.” briermere.com; $23. — Missy Robbins LILIA, NEW YORK CITY Chef’s pick
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Take a Dip
As far from Super Bowl party fare as you can get. Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee The highlight of Blackberry Farm may be the Barn, the resort’s formal restaurant. But one could argue that snacking on umami-packed pimento cheese, made with house-roasted red peppers and cheddar that’s aged for four months—all while sitting at a picnic table overlooking the mountains, rosé champagne in hand—is even more memorable. It’s the ultimate combo of kick-yourfeet-up country living and no-holds-barred indulgence. blackberryfarm.com; doubles from $795, including meals.
HUMMUS
Dizengoff, Philadelphia How do you perfect a dish as simple as hummus? Michael Solomonov, who put modern Israeli fare on the map in America, has done it at his signature restaurant, Zahav. The hummus was so popular that it inspired his more casual, hummus-focused spinoff, Dizengoff. Solomonov’s secrets include using small chickpeas for even cooking, lots of tahini, and sesame seeds from Ethiopia. The result is an ethereally light, silky dish that’s revelatory on its own, but even better when topped with crunchy chicken skin or roasted Japanese eggplant. dizengoff philly.com; from $10.
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CURRY SAMPLER
Babu Ji, New York City There are two reasons to book the tasting menu at Jessi and Jennifer Singh’s East Village Indian restaurant. One, it guarantees you a reservation (à la carte diners get in on a first-come, firstserved basis). Two, the tasting menu includes the curry sampler—six dip-size versions of flavorful dishes like raw scallop curry and Long Island duck curry. Notes of turmeric, ginger, and garlic shine through instead of the usual coconut milk. babuji nyc.com; tasting menu $62.
LE GRAND AÏOLI Bar Sajor, Seattle
The traditional grand aïoli— a feast of boiled seafood and vegetables with thick garlic mayo for dipping—hails from Provence. But Matthew Dillon’s version, served at his sun-washed restaurant in Pioneer Square, anchors you firmly in the Pacific Northwest. Dungeness crab claws, iridescent trout roe, and fruitwood-smoked mussels share space in the bowl with charred favas, snappy radishes, and slender green beans. Dillon will sometimes even add sumac to his whipped aioli for a balancing hint of acid. barsajor.com; from $30.
B E A L L + T H O M AS
PIMENTO CHEESE DIP
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Melting Pot
Global flavors stunningly reimagined in American kitchens.
“The malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery in Honolulu are doughnuts filled with sweet cream, and the flavors range from pineapple to macadamia nut. What could go wrong with that?” leonardshawaii.com; $1.50. — Dominique Ansel DOMINIQUE Chef’s pick
ANSEL BAKERY, NEW YORK CITY
HEIRLOOM-BLUE-CORN TACOS
GRANDMA TANG’S ROAST-PORK BUNS
Mall food conjures visions of bad stir-fry and soft pretzels. That is definitely not what Carlos Salgado, who trained at Coi and Commis, is doing at his Chicano restaurant inside Orange County’s shopping mecca, the OC Mix. He sources heirloom blue corn from Mexico, hand-presses tortillas, and stuffs them with everything from stone fruits and pork cheeks to chicken in ancho-almond mole. taco maria.com; from $13.
Chef Cara Stadler is only 28 but she already has two restaurants and three nods from the James Beard Foundation. At Tao Yuan, she cooks pork rump or shoulder sous vide overnight in her greatgrandmother’s secret sauce. She then packs the meat, along with brown-bean paste, garlic, hoisin sauce, and black pepper, into the center of airy buns made by her pastry chef that day. tao-yuan.me; $7.
Taco María, Costa Mesa, California
HERRING UNDER A FUR COAT
Tao Yuan, Brunswick, Maine
Kachka, Portland, Oregon Odds are, Soviet-era food is not something you crave on a regular basis. Chef Bonnie Morales will change that with her take on a Russian layered salad. The ingredients may be humble: grated potato, salt-cured herring, a layer each of grated, roasted carrots and beets, then a dollop of beet-infused mayo topped with a finely crumbled hard-boiled egg. But Morales stacks them so artfully that the result is a masterpiece of textures and flavors. kachkapdx.com; $8.
Let’s Make a Toast AVOCADO TOAST
SCANDINAVIAN TOASTS
Yes, avocado toast is everywhere. But once you’ve had Jessica Koslow’s version, it will cross your mind weeks later like a longdistance lover, and the next thing you know, you’ve booked a flight to reunite in two days. A thick foundation of warmed country bread supports an uninhibited schmear of garlicky crème fraîche, half a Hass or Reed avocado, hot pickled carrots, strips of green onion, housemade za’atar, a heavy squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of fleur de sel, the queen mother of salts. sqirlla.com; $9.
You’re probably familiar with Danish smørrebrød and Swedish smörgås, but the dinner-only, do-ityourself plate of Nordic-influenced toasts at the Bachelor Farmer keeps things fresh. Waiters bring out bread on a silver caddy with a generous selection of seasonal toppings (herring, fruit compote) that often nod to Minnesotans’ Scandinavian roots. You can’t go wrong with any of the flavor pairings, from cow’smilk cheese with oyster mushrooms and bacon-onion jam to beef tartare with fried parsnips. thebachelor farmer.com; from $15.
Sqirl, Los Angeles
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The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
F R O M TO P : L I Z BA R C L AY / C O U RT ESY O F K AC H K A ; DY L A N + J E N I
The comfort food of the moment reaches a peak with two indulgent new twists.
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“The lobster at Saison, in San Francisco, is served so simply, but with so much heart. The tail meat is raw, torn, and served over ice, the claws, lightly warmed in the fire. And the wine service is as good as the food! What Joshua Skenes and his team are doing is very thoughtful.” saisonsf.com; tasting menu $398. — José Andrés CHINA Chef’s pick
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CHILCANO, WASHINGTON, D.C.; THE BAZAAR, MIAMI BEACH
Sugar Rush
The two most delicious cookies in the country are in the South, 500 miles apart. Try swinging both in one trip.
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES
COOKIES AND MILK
Austin dessert darling Laura Sawicki is used to seeing her work on Instagram (look for her birthday-cake ice cream sandwiches). But it’s her take on the Samoa Girl Scout cookie that has everyone clamoring to get in to Launderette, her new East Side restaurant with partner Rene Ortiz. Just like their inspiration, the cookies come topped with crunchy coconut and drizzled lines of chocolate, but Sawicki adds a hint of butterscotch and savory miso for a grown-up twist. launderette austin.com; $6 for two.
Though it’s barely a year old, this light-filled restaurant and bakery is earning raves for its spin on the classic cookiesand-milk combo. Five kinds of Valrhona chocolate go into the cookies, which come topped with a pinch of sea salt to counterbalance the sweetness. But the defining ingredients of the dish come on the side: an actual eggbeater, its spokes cleverly dripping raw chocolate-chip-cookie dough, and a cup of Tahitian-vanillabean-infused milk—dunking compulsory. willajean.com; $8.
Launderette, Austin, Texas
Willa Jean, New Orleans
The breakfast you pay $1,500 a night just to have SOUFFLÉ PANCAKES at TWIN FARMS BARNARD, VERMONT
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estled in the Vermont forest, this bucolic allinclusive getaway is home to America’s most perfect pancakes. Since 1993, each acting chef (currently, Nathan Rich) has carried on a tradition every morning of flipping light-as-air, soufflé-style pancakes in the Main House. The secret is egg whites whipped into stiff peaks and then folded into the batter. The addition of seasonal, often locally grown fruit results in flavors that change daily— sweet raspberry-almond, citrusy lemon-poppy-seed, creamy banana-chocolate. What remains constant is a breakfast that’s quite possibly better than any dessert and ends only when you’re too full for more. twinfarms.com; doubles from $1,500, all-inclusive. Edited by Jacqueline Gifford and Lindsey Olander. Reported by Julia Bainbridge, Lila Battis, Nikki Ekstein, Adam Erace, Laura Itzkowitz, Carey Jones, Stirling Kelso, Hannah Wallace, and Stephanie Wu.
F R O M L E F T : J E N N Y SAT H N GA M ; K I R A T U R N B U L L
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BEYOND Being There
DESTINATION GUIDE
For Rome’s best hotels, restaurants, and things to do, go to tandl.me/ romeguide.
Coffee with Canova
In Rome’s historic center, an artist’s studio turned restaurant offers a quiet respite among a crowd of Neoclassical sculptures.
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n the soft light of late afternoon, the largerthan-life sculptures of Ristorante Atelier Canova Tadolini seem to glow, pearlescent, against the restaurant’s crimson walls. Ten-foot, toga-clad patricians and outsize classical goddesses crowd the spaces between white-napped tables, while a soldier on horseback looms over a couple seated at a table with a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino. From somewhere behind the bar, an espresso machine hisses. There’s a clink as a barista places a little porcelain cup and saucer in front of a shop assistant on a break from her shift at the Valentino store, just down Via del Babuino. In front of her, a small model of Antonio Canova’s Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss is a quiet reminder that this place, today a bar and restaurant, was once the great Neoclassical sculptor’s atelier. The crowds of statues make the space seem small—claustrophobic, even—but Canova’s studio, which he shared with his protégé Adamo Tadolini, was in fact quite extensive. Wandering through the A customer sits beneath the interconnected rooms, past the Neoclassical chamber at the back where the sculptures and tools the sculptors once used bas-reliefs at Canova Tadolini. are displayed, and up a creaky staircase to the sculpture-lined second-floor dining rooms, it’s easy to imagine the space as it was in 1818, the year Canova moved in. By then the artist had been appointed inspector general of fine arts and antiquities for the Papal States, and had received commissions from Napoleon. Though he did stints in Venice, Vienna, and Paris, he spent much of his life in this appealing corner of Rome, and created many of his most iconic works here. At the time, the area— known as the Tridente—was populated by artists and poets, including John Keats, who lived in an apartment on the Piazza di Spagna and who, like Canova, drew inspiration from classical Rome. Nowadays you’ll find elegantly dressed Romans drinking Aperol spritzes on Via del Babuino, a narrow street that runs from the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza di Spagna. Some locals visit Canova Tadolini for the food (the spaghetti alla carbonara is perfectly fine) but the atmosphere is the real selling point. The restaurant is magical for one simple reason: it invites you to linger with the art, to exist alongside it. Surrounded by Roman history, it’s easy to feel that the city may reveal its secrets to you, if only you could stay for one more glass of Brunello. — LAURA ITZKOWITZ canovatadolini.com.
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Photograph by Andrea Wyner
PHILIP FRIEDMAN
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f you’re traveling to Europe’s cultural capitals, it’s a given that museums are on the docket. But strategizing is key if you want to catch the classics, see a few underthe-radar exhibits, dodge the hordes, and do it all before reaching your museum saturation point. We quizzed the pros and combed the collections to assemble a plan for smarter gallery-going. Ahead, our (sort of) lowbrow guide to (mostly) highbrow culture. Read on, then plot your next European excursion accordingly. >> ILLUSTRATIONS BY LEIF PARSONS
MUSEUMS
THESE DAYS, THERE’S A MUSEUM FOR EVEN THE MOST OFFBEAT OF INTERESTS. FOLLOW OUR FLOWCHART TO FIND A PILGRIMAGE TO SUIT YOUR PASSION.
How to Make Sense of FOR THE FIRST-TIMER
DON’T MISS THIS
“CUBISM AND WAR” through January 2017 | Picasso Museum, Barcelona | STANDOUTS: Henri Matisse, Gourds, and Juan Gris, Still Life with Newspaper “The two pieces hang next to each other, and the space in both works is defined with a lusciously deep black.” — Bernardo Laniado-Romero, director
Reasons to Love Basel
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ention this Swiss city and many people immediately think of Art Basel, the king of contemporary art fairs. But with more than 40 design and art museums—about half of which rival the best galleries in Europe—this town of just 175,000 deserves its reputation as a year-round cultural hub. Currently winning worldwide acclaim is the Kunstmuseum Basel (kunstmuseumbasel.ch), the world’s first municipal art collection, which has been renovated and last month unveiled a third building. The new extension opened with “Sculpture on the Move, 1946–2016” a much-anticipated group exhibition that includes works by Alexander Calder, Joseph Beuys, and Matthew Barney, among others (through September 18). Later this year, the museum will run a major exhibition of Jackson Pollock’s figurative work. “It’s pretty incredible to have such a small population so steeped in art,” says Kunsthalle director Elena Filipovic. — GISEL A WILLIAMS
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Must-Sees That Aren’t Art IF THE WORLD-CLASS EXHIBITS AREN’T YOUR THING, THESE SPOTS HAVE SELLING POINTS TO SPARE.
NEW NORDIC CUISINE Spritmuseum, Stockholm Sip Swedish craft beers on tap at the stellar restaurant from chef Petter Nilsson, formerly of Paris’s much-lauded La Gazzetta.
URBAN GREENERY Tate Modern, London The new Herzog & de Meuron extension opens this year with grassy terraces that are a perfect refuge from the crowds.
DROP-DEAD VIEWS Centre Pompidou, Paris See the best cityscapes in Paris—and catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower—from the Pompidou’s rooftop. Then grab lunch in the terrific café.
INSTAGRAM PERFECTION Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao Cross the river before snapping your shot of the Gehry building. You’ll have a better vantage point and fewer photo-bombing tourists. — JOHN SCARPINATO
Easygoing
DON’T MISS THIS
“ERWIN WURM” April 15–August 22
Berlinische Gallerie, Berlin STANDOUT:
Narrow House “There’s some claustrophobia when you enter this little house, this bourgeois idea of home. Wurm’s work analyzes society and social ideals and dreams.” — Thomas Koehler, director
Cité du Vin
Bordeaux, France laciteduvin.com
Messner Mountain Museum Corones South Tyrol, Italy mmmcorones. com
This Zaha Hadid– designed mountaineering museum is built into the summit of Mt. Kronplatz.
An interactive journey through the history and culture of wine making worldwide, opening this June.
Objets
Murano Glass Museum
Magic or realism?
Chaplin’s World by Grévin
Venice museovetro. visitmuve.it
A collection ranging from ancient glass artifacts to contemporary handblown art.
Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland chaplinmuseum. com
Built on Charlie Chaplin’s estate, this new museum explores his life and work through films, re-created sets, and personal artifacts.
Style or substance? Style
Haworth, England bronte.org.uk
The sisters’ lifelong home now celebrates their work. Don’t miss the desk where all three wrote their novels and poetry.
Substance
Poetry or prose?
Wearable art or objets? Wearable
Adventurous or easygoing?
Poetry Brontë Parsonage Museum
Magic
— L AUR A IT ZKOWIT Z
Classic
Prose
The Mona Lisa. Too packed. Plus, it’s tiny, and your photo will have a hundred iPhones in the foreground. But if you insist on seeing it, don’t bypass Marriage at Cana in the same room—the museum’s largest painting.
Art
Realism
MOST OVERRATED
The Richelieu wing. Napoleon III’s apartments have been painstakingly reconstructed in all their over-the-top, gilt-and-redvelvet glory. An in-person visit is the only way to fully appreciate the Second Empire opulence.
Classic or avantgarde? Avant-garde
RETURN TRIP TO-DOS
Craft or art? Craft
Adventurous
Hit the Denon wing, but don’t stay too long—the crowds are insane. Catch the iconic Winged Victory of Samothrace sculpture and Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, then head to the ornately gilded Apollo Gallery: it encapsulates 17th-century excess and was a model for Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors. Come up for air in the Sully Wing: the Venus de Milo is one of the rare sculptures that lives up to the photos.
F R O M TO P : G R A Z I A N O A R I C I / E Y E V I N E / R E D U X ; A KG - I M AG ES / D E AG O ST I N I
Paris
C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P L E F T : F R A N K H EU E R / L A I F / R E D U X ; © 2 0 1 6 S U C C ESS I O N H . M AT I SS E / A RT I STS R I G H TS S O C I E T Y ( A R S ) , N E W YO R K ; C O U RT ESY O F A L B U M / A RT R ES O U R C E ; J U L I A N SA L I N AS
The Louvre
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Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum
Getaria, Spain cristobalbalenciaga museoa.com
Grimm World
Kassel, Germany grimmwelt.de
A high-concept antidote to Disneyland featuring conceptual takes on Grimm fables, like colorful tree stumps by Ai Weiwei.
Features more than 2,000 pieces of clothing and accessories by the Spanish designer. Look for understated highlights, like a gray suit worn by Grace Kelly.
How to Make Sense of
The Uffizi Gallery Florence
FOR THE FIRST-TIMER
RETURN TRIP TO-DOS
There’s no way you’ll get through the whole gallery in one day. But stick to the second floor and you can watch the Renaissance unfold in a couple of hours—it’s crowded, but the collection is unbeatable. Look for paintings of the Madonna and Child by Giotto, Botticelli’s Venus, and Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, the artist’s only painting in Florence. End in the new first-floor Titian hall with Venus of Urbino, perhaps his greatest—and most controversial—piece.
Check out this summer’s show of rarely seen 15thcentury painted wooden sculptures (until August 28). And always worth a look is the Cabinet of Miniatures, an elaborately decorated room lined with some 400 tiny portraits. MOST OVERLOOKED
The Vasari Corridor, the Medicis’ passageway that houses amazing self-portraits by the masters, is not open to the public unless you book a private tour at uffizi.org. — VALERIE WATERHOUSE
MUSEUMS
How to Make Sense of
The Rijksmuseum
See the Asian Pavilion for works amassed by 17th-century Dutch traders—for centuries the only Europeans doing business with isolationist Japan. The collection is one of the best assemblages of Asian artwork in the West.
Amsterdam
FOR THE FIRST-TIMER
Spend an hour or two with the Dutch masters (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals) in the department of 17th-century Golden Age art. Then see the model ships and weaponry—incredible craftsmanship, and a nice change after all the paintings. End in the library: three floors, spiral staircase, might make book lovers cry.
Tucked away in the medieval art halls are a series of tiny 16th-century prayer nuts, rosary beads prized by wealthy congregants. Their size makes them easy to miss, but the intricately carved patterns and microscopic biblical scenes warrant a closer look. — LIL A BAT TIS
DON’T MISS THIS
IT’S KNOWN FOR BEACHES AND NIGHTLIFE, BUT THE CÔTE D’AZUR HAS MUSEUMS TO PLEASE EVEN THE PICKIEST OF CULTURE VULTURES. THIS DRIVE—IDEAL FOR A WEEKLONG GETAWAY— WILL SATISFY SUN-WORSHIPPERS AND AESTHETES ALIKE.
2. Musée Granet— considered one of France’s most beautiful museums—is an Impressionism-lover’s dream, with paintings by Monet, Degas, van Gogh, and Renoir.
3. Opened in 2013, MuCEM combines antiquities and modern art. Stop at one of the museum’s Gérald Passédat restaurants—the only place to taste his cuisine outside of his Michelin three-starred Le Petit Nice.
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4. The legendary artist has a number of namesake museums, but the Musée Picasso in Antibes is the only one he actually used as a studio. Set in the ancient Château Grimaldi, it’s small enough to see in an hour and well worth the visit.
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5. Striking Midcentury architecture provides a stunning backdrop for contemporary art at Fondation Maeght. Lose yourself in Miró’s Labyrinth and gaze upon works by Calder, Braque, Kandinsky, and Léger.
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6. A visit to the bright, airy Musée Matisse will shed light on the great painter’s use of color—literally. Matisse lived nearby in the early 20s and painted in local hotels; their rich interiors liven up much of his work from that time.
7. Chagall lived on the French Riviera in the 1920s and again after World War II. The Musée Chagall is home to the Belarusian painter’s large-scale biblical oeuvre, swirling with magical realism.
8. The bold architecture of the Musée Cocteau is the perfect setting for the artist’s works. The collection consists of 1,800 of his pieces, including drawings, tapestries, and films. — L.I.
POUL GERNES: “I CANNOT DO IT ALONE—WANT TO JOIN IN?” June 2– October 16 | Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen | STANDOUT: Dream Ship “Poul Gernes was an important 20th-century Danish artist. For me this piece is a contemporary Viking ship: a light construction, made from everyday materials, that awaits our dreams to set sail to some distant coast.” — Anders Kold, curator
C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P L E F T : G E T T Y I M AG ES / D E AG O ST I N I ; C O U RT ESY O F H E T N O O R D B R A BA N TS M U S EU M ; G E T T Y I M AG ES / D E AG O ST I N I ( 2 ) ; C O U RT ESY O F M I C H E L H O U L L E B EC Q / PA L A I S D E TO K YO
MOST OVERLOOKED
Road-Tripping the Riviera 1. Cézanne’s birthplace pays homage to the great PostImpressionist with a walking trail that follows his footsteps through the town of Aix-en-Provence. Visit the Atelier Cézanne to see his studio and garden.
The Last Judgment.
RETURN TRIP TO-DOS
F R O M TO P : C O U RT ESY O F T H E R I J KS M U S EU M ; L E Á N I E LS E N / C O U RT ESY O F LO U I S I A N A M U S EU M
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Bosch-mania!
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ommemorating 500 years since the death of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, exhibitions across Europe showcase his nightmarish paintings, many displayed together for the first time. Starting this month, see more than 60 works in Madrid at the Prado’s “Bosch: The Centenary Exhibition.” This fall, a more intimate show opens at Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, then in December the Doge’s Palace in Venice puts on “Bosch and the Mediterranean”—a gran finale to a thrilling quincentennial. — V.W.
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Top Multi-Pass Picks WE RAN THE NUMBERS TO FIND THE BEST MUSEUM BARGAINS IN EUROPE.
Paris Museum Pass, $53–$80 For whichever price you pick, you get two, four, or six days of unlimited front-of-line access to some 50 museums and tourist spots. If you’re a newbie hoping to hit the highlights (Versailles included), it’s a must-buy. parismuseumpass.com.
Venezia Unica Musei Civici Pass, $27 This package covers all 11 city museums, including the Doge’s Palace, Museo Correr, and the Murano Glass Museum. Worth it if you’ll visit one of the museums in St. Mark’s Square ($21) and at least one other city-run sight ($6–$13). veneziaunica.it.
Madrid Art-Walk Pass, $35 Provides priority entry at the Paseo del Arte, which includes the Prado, Reina Sofía, and ThyssenBornemisza. It’s great if you want to visit all of them without waiting in line. madrid.ticketbar.eu.
VisitBerlin Museum Pass, $26 Scores you three days of admission to 50 museums, including the Pergamon and the Bauhaus-Archiv. Buy it if you plan to venture beyond Museum Island. visitberlin.de. — ADELINE DUFF
DON’T MISS THIS
MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ: “RESTER VIVANT” June 23–September 12 | Palais de Tokyo, Paris “By combining literature, photography, contemporary art, and cinema, this exhibit will explore to what extent Houellebecq is not only a talented author but also a great, multifaceted artist.” — Jean de Loisy, president
How to Make Sense of
The Vatican Museums Rome
FOR THE FIRST TIMER
Don’t get stuck following the set route—it’s boring. Instead, head straight for Leonardo and the masters in the Pinacoteca, the Laocoön (one of the world’s finest ancient sculptures), and the painstakingly detailed frescoes of papal territories lining the walls in the Gallery of Maps. RETURN TRIP TO-DOS
MOST OVERRATED
The Gregorian Etruscan Museum, to see the seventh-century B.C. gold Etruscan “bling” from a nearby tomb and a breastplate embossed with rows upon rows of intricate miniature animals. The Carriage Pavilion has fab Popemobiles from the past.
The Sistine Chapel. Usually too packed to be enjoyable. Aim to get there at 5 p.m., when crowds start to clear out. For the best vantage point, stand at the end below the Creation scenes. Don’t forget to look down— the original mosaic floors are easy to miss. — V.W.
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MUSEUMS
THE GOOD NEWS JUST DOESN’T STOP.
Exit Through the Gift Shop STEER CLEAR OF THE KEY CHAINS—THESE THOUGHTFULLY CURATED MUSEUM SHOPS HAVE MORE EXHIBIT-WORTHY SOUVENIRS IN STORE.
1. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen Saltglazed vases, $37–$74. 2. Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Patterned coasters, $3 each. 3. Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain Hand-painted silk scarf, $204. 4. Imperial War Museums, London The Great War Cook Book, $14. 5. Moderna Museet, Stockholm Retro toy station wagon, $45.
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Keurig and K-Cup are trademarks of Keurig, Incorporated. Used with permission.
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MUSEUMS
How to Make Sense of
The British Museum London
MOST OVERLOOKED
The clocks and watches room. Yeah, it sounds boring, but go just before the hour for a harmony of tinkles and bongs when the clocks strike— it’s kind of magical. Also magical: a ship clock that once fired cannons and played music to mark the time.
RETURN TRIP TO-DOS
The gold jewelry and ornaments in the Ancient Iran room bring the country’s cultural history to life. Same goes for the European artifacts, such as Anglo-Saxon burial masks and 12thcentury chess pieces made from walrus tusks. Don’t miss the controversial Elgin Marbles: they make up half the surviving Parthenon sculptures, and are some of the finest Athenian artifacts in the world. — EMILY MATHIESON
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Museum Hacks TIPS THE GUIDEBOOKS DON’T DIVULGE.
Acropolis Museum, Athens The top floor has spectacular views of the Acropolis, so start there and work your way down. Musée d’Orsay, Paris Skip free Sundays—the museum is a madhouse. Instead, buy a $10 ticket after 4:30 p.m. to visit van Gogh sans crowds.
The Pergamon, Berlin There’s no AC. Come in the early morning or on Thursdays after 6 p.m., when it’s cool and quiet. Vasamuseet, Stockholm Avoid the free tour of the ship: you’ll learn more reading the exhibit displays, and you can go at your own pace. — J.S.
The Boros Collection.
In Private Hands
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hether for prestige, passion, or tax breaks—or all of the above— Germany has more privately owned art museums accessible to the public than any other nation. Many of the finest examples are in Berlin, such as the Boros Collection (sammlung-boros.de), a selection of contemporary works housed in a World War II bunker. This summer, the city will get a much anticipated outpost of the Julia Stoschek Collection (julia-stoschek-collection. net), a multimedia art institution based in Düsseldorf. South of Stuttgart, a modern concrete building houses Museum Ritter (museum-ritter.de), an impressive array of abstract works. And in Duderstadt, billionaire Hans Georg Näder has created Kunsthalle HGN (kunsthallehgn.de), a gallery touting the work of contemporary German artists like Neo Rauch and Helmut Newton. Thanks to deep pockets, the architecture of many private museums is as striking as the collections, as is the case with the Langen Foundation (langen foundation.de), designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. It has Europe’s largest private holding of works by Jean Dubuffet, as well as 350 Japanese pieces spanning the 12th to 20th centuries. It makes the otherwise lackluster destination of Neuss, an industrial city near Düsseldorf, worth the trip. — G.W.
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DON’T MISS THIS
“ON THE VERGE OF INSANITY. VAN GOGH AND HIS ILLNESS” July 15–September 25 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam STANDOUT: Still Life with a Plate of Onions “Van Gogh painted this during his recovery in 1889. It’s almost a self-portrait—we see his pipe, a letter from his brother, and a medical book.” — Nienke Bakker, exhibition curator
F R A N C I S G. M AY E R / C O R B I S ; N O S H E / C O U RT ESY O F T H E B O R O S C O L L ECT I O N
It’s massive. Plan your attack or you’ll burn out. The Lindow Man and the Egyptian mummies are creepycool. The tessellated glass roof in the Great Court is awe-inspiring and Instagram-worthy. The Rosetta Stone’s always mobbed—just skip it.
C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P R I G H T : C O U RT ESY O F T H E B R I T I S H M U S EU M ;
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NIGHTLIFE
LONDON WILL BE STAYING UP LATE With plans for the city’s 24-hour weekend Tube service nearly finalized, the days of downing a pint and racing for the last train home at 11:45 are almost over. Take the Underground to these hot spots for a night of partying into the wee hours.
DINNER & DRINKS Chances are, unless you’ve visited the O2 Arena, you’ve never thought of partying in Greenwich before—it is, after all, at least a £40 cab ride from anywhere. Save your pounds and hop the Jubilee Line to kick-start your evening at Craft London (craft-london. co.uk), celebrated chef Stevie Parle’s latest venture. The Tom Dixon–designed space is rich and sexy, all copper, tweed, and limestone, with impressive views of the city. Parle uses almost exclusively local produce in his New British menu, which includes such dishes as langoustines with lardo and clay-baked duck with broad-bean-and-barley “miso.” While you’re in the area, don’t pass up a visit to Meantime Brewery Tasting Rooms (meantimebrewing.com). Sample four of its 10 brews with a flight poured straight from the maturation tanks and kegs.
Shoreditch residents have been able to keep the intimate, subterranean bar Joyeux Bordel (joyeux bordel.com) off the radar since the four French gents of Paris’s Experimental Cocktail Club opened it in April. With the Tube’s coming late schedule, the place will no longer be a neighborhood secret. Hop the train to Shoreditch High Street station and linger over champagne >> COCKTAIL-INDULGING
Seymour’s Parlour, at the Zetter Townhouse hotel in Marylebone.
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C O U RT ESY O F Z E T T E R TOW N H O U S E M A RY L E B O N E
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The fashionforward crowd at Hotel Chantelle. LEFT: Seymour’s gin-based Rake. BELOW: The Tom Dixon–designed Craft London, with its killer view.
Knock back a scotch cocktail, like the gingery, lemony Penicillin C. Still have some stamina? Hotels are adapting to the prospect of the new Tube, too. The second Zetter Townhouse (thezettertownhouse.com), the sister to the Clerkenwell original, landed this summer in Marylebone (near Marble Arch station). It’s a 24-bedroom Georgian town house with zany panache, elegant bathrooms, a private roof terrace, and a cozy parlor, where master mixer Tony Conigliaro makes decadent cocktails—try Le Sphinx, with orange neroli honey, ambrette bitters, and champagne. The bar might close at 1 a.m., but hotel guests can sip Conigliaro’s premixed cocktails—they’re in the mini-bar. Or skip over to St. Martins Lane, London’s original boutique hotel (Embankment station), which recently introduced Blind Spot (morganshotelgroup.com), a glistening cocktail lounge. It’s the perfect spot for a nightcap before you stumble upstairs and sleep it off until noon.
cocktails and cheeky libations like the Jolly Mess, made with rye, cardamom, and dark-chocolate liqueur. How does an ox-cheek doughnut with a view sound after midnight? Setting the trend for round-the-clock dining when it opened in 2012, Duck & Waffle (duck andwaffle.com) is by far London’s most exclusive 24-hour restaurant, 40 floors up in the Heron Tower (at Liverpool Street station). Go for the popular namesake dish, paired with a rhubarb spritz. New York City’s Hotel Chantelle (hotelchantelle.com) has hopped the pond, bringing late-night fun and French and American fare to Marylebone (near Bond Street station). Though the name might suggest otherwise, this is a restaurant and bar; it’s open until 2 a.m. for dinner and until 3 a.m. for drinks.
TRENDING | JURA WINES For consumers ever more interested in small-batch products, Jura wines are something of a revelation. The French region near the Swiss border produces wines made from grape varieties and styles that are not often used elsewhere, such as the intentionally oxidized vin jaune, whose flavors can range from nutty to curry-like. The less daring can still appreciate the Jura’s pale red wines—earthy and herbaceous, made from Poulsard and Trousseau grapes. Order online (sherry-lehmann.com) or ask the sommelier anywhere with a sizable French wine list, such as McCrady’s (mccradys restaurant.com), in Charleston, S.C., to school you on the bottles. — CAREY JONES
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C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P L E F T : C O U RT ESY O F Z E T T E R TOW N H O U S E M A RY L E B O N E ; J. B O B É ; P E E R L I N D G R E E N . I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DAV I D S PA R S H OT T
UP TILL DAWN
NIGHTLIFE
Scott Baird, Josh Harris, and Morgan Schick (from left)—of the Bon Vivants—at their Mission mainstay, Trick Dog.
THE COCKTAIL GENIUSES ARE AT WORK IN SAN FRANCISCO
Morgan Schick and his team, the Bon Vivants, helped usher in a new era of the city’s nightlife with Trick Dog, the Mission’s go-to cocktail bar. We asked him about the group’s newest project—and other favorite bars in town. BY LAURA ITZKOWITZ
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Café du Nord In June, the Bon Vivants relaunched the historic hangout in the Swedish American Hall—“an homage to old nightlife,” Schick describes it—complete with oyster-shellinfused martinis, live music, and a turnof-the-century vibe. cafedunord.com. Benjamin Cooper This vintage industrial space hidden inside Union Square’s Hotel G opened in March to much acclaim. The cocktail list includes the Swarthy Gentleman, with rye, rum, sherry, coffee, chocolate, and bitters. Schick goes for the dealer’s choice and surrenders his fate to the bartender. benjamincoopersf.com.
C LO C K W I S E F R O M L E F T : ES Z T E R A N D DAV I D ; K E L LY P U L E I O ; N OA H B E R G E R / B LO O M B E R G V I A G E T T Y I M AG ES ; K E L LY P U L E I O ; K E L L A N E L L I OT T- M C C R E A . I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DAV I D S PA R S H OT T
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TRENDING | GOSE BEER
A lemon twist at Benjamin Cooper. RIGHT, FROM TOP: Bar Agricole; Benjamin Cooper’s liquor display. BELOW: South Pacific flair at Smuggler's Cove.
ABV A few blocks from Trick Dog (trickdogbar. com), this bar has a chill atmosphere, cult spirits, and inventive food, none of which requires a fork. Try the bite-size grilled octopus or the kimchi fritter. abvsf.com. Smuggler’s Cove This Civic Center bar is the ultimate spot for a piña colada or a flaming cocktail. A favorite of Schick’s bartender buddies, the
watering hole is full of the kitschy tiki finds that owner Martin Cate has been collecting for years. smugglerscovesf.com. Bar Agricole This South of Market bar is beloved for its sleek design—wood from reclaimed whiskey barrels, hanging glass sculptures— and novel cocktail menu filled with reimagined Caribbean classics like the dark-rum swizzle and planter’s punch. baragricole.com. Stookey’s Club Moderne Schick likes to get a martini at Stookey’s, which opened earlier this year. The Nob Hill space combines 1930s décor— a framed portrait of FDR hangs on the wall—with eco-friendly touches like biodegradable floors made from burlap and linseed oil. stookeysclubmoderne.com. Specs Twelve Adler Museum Café The old-school dive bar has been frequented by poets, beatnik holdovers, longshoremen, and misfits since it opened in 1968. Owner Richard “Specs” Simmons, who lives nearby, keeps his North Beach hideaway looking much the same as it did in Ginsberg’s day. 12 William Saroyan Place; 415-421-4112.
A subcategory of what is known as sour beer—a centuries-old style that also includes Berliner Weisses and Lambics— artisanal Gose is marked by a well-balanced mix of salt, coriander, and wheat, and is actually neither tart nor very sour. “It’s a little more complex and wellbalanced than your typical sour beer,” says Jimmy Carbone, beer aficionado and proprietor of Jimmy’s No. 43 (jimmysno43.com) in New York's East Village. Gose was born in Leipzig, Germany, and had all but disappeared until a few producers brought it back in the 1990s. Craft-beer bars like the Porter Beer Bar (the porterbeerbar.com) in Atlanta, Brü (bruphilly. com) in Philadelphia, and ChurchKey (churchkey dc.com) in Washington, D.C., typically have some bottles stocked. For an authentic taste, look for German imports such as Ritterguts’s Gose and Bayerischer Banhof’s Leipziger. — CORINA QUINN
NIGHTLIFE
DOWNTOWN CAPE TOWN IS LOOSENING ITS TIE
For years, much of Cape Town’s Central Business District was fairly quiet after business hours—but no longer. Along Bree and Loop Streets, these clubs keep the CBD humming well past sunset. BY SARAH KHAN
with sumptuous velvet furniture and kicky Pop art murals that draw a sophisticated after-work crowd. tjingtjing.co.za.
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5 House of Machines Part café, part motorcycle shop, part men’swear emporium, the dark space becomes a live-music venue after dark, showcasing popular local acts in a bar packed with revelers. thehouseof machines.com.
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choose among more than 150 gin offerings, sourced from places ranging from the American South to South Africa. facebook. com/mothersruincpt.
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4 Tjing Tjing/Torii In June, popular scarlet-toned rooftop bar Tjing Tjing introduced Torii, its blue-hued sister lounge downstairs,
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1 Orphanage Cocktail Emporium Vintage glam is what's on tap at this Victorianesque, speakeasy-style bar: a chandelier strung with old keys, oil lamps, and waistcoated barmen theatrically presenting retro cocktails, like the rum-based Daddy Warbucks. theorphanage.co.za. 2 Door 221 The newest kid on the lively 200 block of
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Bree Street opened in late June. Come early to the intimate bar on Taco Tuesdays for some of the best Mexican dishes in Cape Town—paired with Don Julio tequila. facebook. com/door221. 3 Mother’s Ruin Gin Bar Connoisseurs looking for something new can strike up a conversation with the knowledgeable bartenders. They’ll help you
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DJs descend upon Era. CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: The Village Idiot’s mascot; amplified conversation in a corner of Era; a Daddy Warbucks at the Orphanage Cocktail Emporium.
6 Coco/GoldBar One of Cape Town’s most vaunted clubs, Coco added another spot next door with the August opening of VIP-heavy GoldBar. Expect to rub elbows with South African luminaries while grooving to a rotating roster of global DJs. cococpt.co.za.
8 Village Idiot Lines running along Loop Street have been a common sight ever since the Village Idiot opened in May. If you make it inside, join locals swaying to live music on the balcony and by the pool table, or making the acquaintance of the Village Idiot himself: Oskar, the stuffed ostrich presiding over the bar. thevillageidiot.co.za.
7 Era The futuristic design here sets the stage for one of the best electronica scenes in South Africa. Spend the night dancing to international DJs in a techno temple with walls and ceilings of flashing LED lights. eracapetown.com.
If you’re in town: First Thursdays is one of the city’s biggest monthly events, when the CBD transforms into a festive block party, with galleries and boutiques keeping their doors open late. first-thursdays.co.za.
C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P : I A N S K E N E ; M E L I SSA D E L P O RT / I M AG E B R I E F. C O M ; J O N X P I L L E M E R ; C O U RT ESY O F T H E O R P H A N AG E C O C K TA I L E M P O R I U M . I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DAV I D S PA R S H OT T
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HAVANA’S HOT NIGHTS ARE GETTING HOTTER Easing regulations on private businesses is allowing bares clandestinos to come out of the shadows. Translation: a muy caliente nightlife scene in the capital of Cuba.
Salsa dancers at Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana coronate the festive nightlife scene emerging across Cuba.
Whether in times of need or times of plenty, Havana has never lacked for rum, music, and parties fueled by both. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the city has always had a vibrant nightlife scene; Cuban bars, like virtually every other Cuban enterprise, have long been under state control. For the past few years, however, the government has been allowing would-be entrepreneurs to open private businesses, and Havana is now seeing an explosion of homegrown bars—dynamic venues that break out of the bureaucratic uniformity. “Cuba has such a long cocktail tradition,” says Havana-based tour guide Jesus Noguera. “There have always been bares clandestinos—essentially speakeasies—and now private bars are opening up all over because they are finally legal.” Many feel like classed-up house parties, since they’re run out of people’s homes. >>
TRENDING | RAICILLA First, high-end tequila captivated the cocktail world; next came smoky, earthy mezcal. The agave drink of the moment? Raicilla, a spirit that, like tequila, is made in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Unlike tequila, however, raicilla can be distilled from many species of agave, and every expression is unique, with flavors that range from vibrantly acidic to Gorgonzola-like funky. The first brand to cross the border is La Venenosa, imported in four styles; each is made from a different species of agave. Order some from Astor Wines & Spirits (astorwines.com). — C.J.
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D M I T R I A L EX A N D E R / N AT I O N A L G EO G R A P H I C M AGA Z I N ES / G E T T Y I M AG ES . I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DAV I D S PA R S H OT T
BY CAREY JONES
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El Cocinero, the rooftop bar in the nightlife hub of Vedado. BELOW: The experimental art-bar Fábrica de Arte Cubano.
Havana is best seen from a vintage car, so hail a 1950s convertible and cruise the waterfront Malecón to the Miramar neighborhood, where you can walk through the high-ceilinged parlors of the converted mansion Espacios (espacios-habana.com). In the back is a leafy outdoor bar with a louche, garden-party vibe. In nearby Vedado, where the best bars are located, Bar Bohemio (1065 Calle 21; 53-7-833-6918) isn’t a bohemian den, but rather a restored villa that’s been transformed into an airy, colonial-era lounge with a swank backyard. Order the house cocktail, a frozen blend of vodka and basil. Gay nightlife, too, has become more visible: friendly, basement-level Humboldt 52 (52 Humboldt; 53-5-295-4893) has young, attractive barmen and the occasional drag show, while the wild dance floor at KingBar (kingbarhavana.com) showcases DJs spinning Latin and American hits. Elsewhere in Vedado, El Cocinero (Calle 26 between Calles 11 and 13; 53-7-8322355) is secreted up three flights of stairs in what was once a cooking-oil factory. It’s now a sophisticated roof bar with sharp, professional service (not a given in Cuba) and some of the city’s best daiquiris. Sip a round before braving the crowd at Fábrica de Arte Cubano (fac.cu; open Thursdays through Sundays), a warren of stages, galleries, and bars—don’t be surprised
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if you wander into a modern-jazz set, some performance art, and a spacious outdoor terrace, all without setting down your refreshingly dry mojito. Farther east, the hipster crowd congregates at Siá Kará Café (siakaracafe.com), where Havana’s eclectic aesthetic finds expression in the irreverent art juxtaposed with quirky vintage details. Even La Guarida (laguarida.com), the city’s mostpublicized paladar, or in-home restaurant, has recently opened a new rooftop bar. It serves refined cocktails crafted by internationally recognized British and American mixologists.
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From California to Cuzco, Peru, ingenious bartenders are altering the flavor profiles of classic cocktails, infusing spirits with unusual ingredients, creating some deliciously avant-garde results. At L.A.’s speakeasy-style Walker Inn (thewalkerinnla.com), you might find beetsteeped vermouth or a strawberry-infused cognac-and-mezcal blend, both made in a centrifuge. At the new Broken Shaker (broken shaker.com) in Chicago, indulge your inner tween with the Cocoa Puff Old-Fashioned, which uses bourbon infused with the chocolaty cereal as its base. Portland keeps it weird at Kachka (kachkapdx.com), where the menu includes whiskey flavored with caraway in the Jewish Rye. The trend isn’t limited to the States: In Cuzco, the pisco sour served at the Qespi Bar (jwmarriott.com) is made with your choice of pisco steeped with purple corn or coca leaves. — L.I.
TO EXPLORE THE ESSENCE OF CUBA THROUGH THE ISLAND NATION’S REGIONAL COCKTAILS, GO TO TANDL.ME/CUBANDRINKS.
F R O M TO P : R O B I N T H O M ; N OA H F R I E D M A N - R U D OVS K Y / B LO O M B E R G V I A G E T T Y I M AG ES . I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DAV I D S PA R S H OT T
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David Kaplan (left) and Alex Day at Honeycut, their downtown L.A. bar.
THE INSIDER
WHAT MAKES A GREAT COCKTAIL BAR
Cocktails should tell a story— even when there’s no menu. “At every great bar, you get the mission from the menu,” Kaplan
says. “Does it allow you to peruse the drinks easily? Is it an homage? The menu is one of the tangible pieces you spend the most time with. The Dead Rabbit (deadrabbitnyc.com), in New York, clearly wants to create the biggest, most in-depth menu.” Day cites Pouring Ribbons (pouringribbons.com), in New York’s East Village, which “created a graphic to describe the acidity levels and freshness and bitterness of each drink, so you know what to expect.” On the other hand, Washington, D.C.’s Columbia Room (columbia roomdc.com) has no menu at all. “You’re there because you
Meet more of New York’s best bartenders at tandl.me/nycbar.
trust them. You’re there for the ride,” says Kaplan. The drinks should showcase the bartenders’ knowledge and passion. “We look for some of the new ingredients coming onto the market,” Day says. “Amaros, mezcals—how are they pushing the envelope?” He’s intrigued by single-focus bars like New York’s Amor y Amargo (amoryamargony.com), which is dedicated entirely to amaros. (“They have no citrus whatsoever,” he says. “I don’t even think they have shakers in there!”) Anthony Schmidt, at San Diego’s Rare Form (godblessrareform.com), is “very brandy-focused, but not in the
GOODS
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way most of us think of it,” Kaplan says. “Almost all of his drinks have a split base of brandy and eau de vie. Not many bars do that.” Great design makes drinks taste better. “A cocktail bar has to be welcoming,” Kaplan says. “Polite Provisions (politeprovisions.com), in San Diego, has folding doors that open onto the street. It’s got a dim glow. It’s the kind of place you want to hang out all day and into the night.” A theme can work, too, as at Hale Pele (halepele.com), a tiki bar in Portland, Oregon. “It’s cluttered and chaotic and makes you feel like a kid,” he says. —As told to Laura Itzkowitz F R O M TO P : G R E G G S E G A L ; DAV I D A L E X A N D E R A R N O L D
David Kaplan and Alex Day, the cocktail geniuses who rewrote the book on bartending at New York’s renowned Death & Company (deathandcompany. com), are now conquering Los Angeles with a trio of bars: Honeycut (honeycutla.com), and the recently opened Normandie Club (thenormandie club.com) and Walker Inn (thewalkerinn.com). We asked them to break down the elements of a first-rate drinking den.