Late Winter Dispatch | My Personality Is Defrosting
Winter musings, the Noma moment, new openings, and a creative engine slowly coming back online.
Well, well, well. It’s been a moment, friends.
I had a lovely little posting rhythm going here… and then the creative engine stalled out completely. Creative block. Writer’s block. And absolutely no urge to say anything at all.
But then something shifted. The first 70-degree, sunny day in New York arrived a week ago and suddenly… I’m back. Or at the very least, attempting to be.
Better than ever? Probably not. But consider this a warm-up lap - a way to get the gears turning and the energy flowing again.
So, a brief rundown of the thoughts, spots, and small obsessions that filled up the past month and some change.
First, something that fills my cup
Being the go-to “where should I go for…” friend is a medal I wear proudly - shiny smile and twinkle in my eye included.
A subtle shoutout to my close confidant and travel virtuoso Coco Barnes, who also happens to write one of my favorite Substacks on this platform. She wrote a lovely and loving piece about her birthday dinner at Bar Miller, following a rather comprehensive recommendation text I sent her.
I’ll take that as a win.
My Current - need to, Hit List
The places I’ve got a close and steady eye on, and extra points if you needed a little inspiration:
Ambassadors Clubhouse (Koreatown)
Or’Esh (SoHo)
Oddball (East Village)
The Argyle (Chelsea)
Faena – The Living Room (Chelsea)
Much Obliged (East Village)
Horse With No Name (East Village)
Mariscos El Submarino (Brooklyn)
Le Veau d’Or (if anyone can help me score a reservation that isn’t a Tuesday at 10pm… I’m listening)
Bong (Crown Heights)
MAD Radio NYC (Williamsburg)
F&F Restaurant and Bar (Carroll Gardens)
Now sashaying onto a healthy dose of…
February Firsts
Hotel Chelsea
I get it now.
From the outside, the Hotel Chelsea can feel a little unassuming. But behind those doors? A slice of boutique heaven.
I enjoyed two firsts over the past month:
A. Cocktails and swank at the lobby bar
B. A treat-yourself Friday night massage at the spa
First - the lobby bar.
How it took me this long to visit is beyond me. Dare I say one of the best hotel bars in the city?
It’s giving Chateau Marmont energy meets stylish NYC pre-event martini chatter. You feel the history immediately. Velvet sofas, vintage chandeliers, and warmly dim lighting paired with a not-so-quietly excellent cocktail menu.
Will I happily cough up another $28–$32 martini to soak in the sexiness of that room?
Yes. Yes, I will.
Now for the spa.
Think small, boutique, thoughtful, and warm — clean but not overly modern in the best way. Perched on the hotel’s penthouse, it genuinely takes you out of the city for a few hours.
Swedish sauna, aromatic steam room, rain showers, fireplace lounge - and a fantastic massage program.
I cannot recommend the “Rehab” massage enough, particularly because the spa menu describes it as best suited for: “Help.” “No such thing as too much pressure.” or “Knock me out.”
Fair.
7 Spring
Oh I love it.
A backgammon café. I mean - what’s not to love?
We visited during one of February’s sudden snowstorms and enjoyed the warmth, a cozy glass, and a Sunday game. Perfect for a date day or catching up with an old friend.
The vibe reads European cozy corner meets bookworm New York clubroom. Does that description make sense to anyone else?
Hats off to the Ritz-Carlton for utilizing the venue to host their Late Checkout launch party. The subtle, sleek coverage gave off all the essence of, “Don't you wish you were in the room?” Well, to me, yes.
Buddy Buddy
The peanut butter coffee, Parisian transplant along Bowery, is indeed as exceptional as expected. Rich, nutty, balanced beverages paired with a sleek, almost futuristic café space.
I’ll be there once a week, thank you very much.
Wildflower Farms
It’s no surprise that the Auberge Collection property nestled in the Hudson Valley is absolutely stunning.
Design heaven. Farm-to-table everything. A spa that sends you into restful oblivion. Activities that tickle the preferences of just about everyone, and especially the interests of the one and only Helena Ahearn.
Now don’t get me wrong - I did not cough up the $1,200+ nightly rate. I soaked up the perfection during a work event site visit.
However… if you have the means? Take the weekend. I implore you. Dare. I beg you.
And if anyone is looking for an absolutely breathtaking wedding location, well… you didn’t hear it from me. Or maybe you did. And go right ahead and shoot an invite my way.
Seahorse
The sun was shining, it was an immaculate Saturday, so obviously it was, cute outfit and spur-of-the-moment lunch date o’clock. Location chosen: A John McDonald seafood concept tucked inside the redone W Hotel in Union Square.
The seafood offerings were excellent, paired with immaculate design by David Rockwell - banquettes and wood accents that whisper a bit of Lure’s signature magic, but spread across a much brighter, lightly zestier, and above-ground dining room.
Would I return for a Saturday brunch again? Probably not.
Not because of the food, but because the space was simply too empty. It lacked the buzz needed to fully envelop the room. However, I will absolutely be returning for the dinner vibes.
My plan: sit at the bar, enjoy their SH Martini (Monkey 47, Lillet, Yellow Chartreuse - PERFECT) and pair it with oysters and their crudo trio, which frankly puts most others in the city to shame.
+Speaking of Lure
A recent Sunday visit to Lure Fishbar was wildly enjoyed, topped off afterward with a glass at Parcelle and a walk home, practically skipping.
Sappe
I went face-first into the raw marinated crab and didn’t look back. Our waitress, with a knowing smile, asked more than once if we actually knew what we were ordering - and gently reminded us that we had already ordered enough food for three people.
She wasn’t wrong.
I’m fairly certain I ate the equivalent of five crabs on my own. No regrets.
One bite in and it was immediately clear: this is real Thai food. Bright, funky, unapologetically bold - the kind that instantly transports you somewhere else.
For a brief moment, I could’ve sworn I was back in Thailand.
Yes, the table was very full. And yes, we ate it all.
Not a first, but [a soft mention to] Tigre
I somehow ended up at Tigre three separate times in February.
Not intentionally - simply the natural course of events. And I must say: it remains top tier.
Perfectly shaken cocktails paired with an atmosphere that almost sends you into a Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief–coded gold realm where you’re unsure how much time has passed - or how many drinks you’ve had. 1 gimlet turns to 3, and 1 martini turns ya sideways.
On one visit, we landed in one of the tucked-away, partly private rooms with a porthole cutout into the main space.
Perfect for giggling, deeper conversation, and comfortably dropping both first and last names over two or three pours.
Topping off with a few February-early March honorable mentions:
• Le Titsou Bar at Hotel Fouquet’s — sexy, impeccably designed, strong pours.
• The Cooper Hewitt — a lovely Saturday immersed in uptown ambiance and music.
• Elvis — visited no fewer than four times between February and early March. Make of that what you will.
• Mahjong — currently learning. Equal parts fascinating, frustrating, and confusing.
Random Thoughts, Learnings & Musings
Bar Bonobo is open until 4am. Somehow, I didn’t know this. I will now use this information as I see fit. Thank you very much.
I had the best deviled eggs of my life at a baby shower this past weekend. They were topped with shaved black truffle, so frankly, the odds were already stacked.
Fini Pizza gives L’Industrie a strong run for its money on the best slice in Williamsburg.
Speaking of Williamsburg, Gran Torino is an excellent place to spend far too much time catching up over cards, spritzes, and a friendly day of pool on a windy afternoon.
Sendo does indeed rip some incredible takeout sushi.
Not that this is news, but the martinis at People’s remain absolutely lethal. Ugh, it's been a month, and I’m still thinking about that hangover. But I’ll admit, I’m already joansing to return again and plotting the next visit.
So what. A girl likes to have a little too much fun some of the time. Dare I say all the time. Sue me.
A final note on Noma
Before I close this out, one thing I’ve been thinking about a lot this past week and a half: the current Noma situation.
To say the least, it’s been… a lot.
Like many people in food and hospitality, Noma has been a place I’ve idolized for years. A restaurant that helped shape the modern culinary conversation, and one I had long imagined, eventually making a pilgrimage to Copenhagen to experience.
I’ve had the pleasure of tasting small pieces of that world before - through their Taste Buds products and the broader influence their work has had across the industry. And in Kyoto, I was fortunate enough to dine at Lurra, led by Chef Jacob Kear, who trained at Noma and worked closely with René Redzepi. It remains one of the top three meals and dining experiences I’ve ever had, and yes, I often think about it and the conversations we had with Chef Kear throughout our meal.
Which is why watching the current wave of reporting and discussion unfold has felt particularly complicated.
In the midst of it all, Chef Kear’s recent Instagram post titled “Love Letter” offered a perspective that I found interesting to read - not as a dismissal of the concerns being raised, but as another layer in what is clearly a much bigger conversation.
None of this is to suggest that the accusations or experiences being shared should be ignored or excused. Rather, it feels like we are witnessing a broader moment of reflection within hospitality - one that touches on the culture of kitchens, the mythology of chefs, and the long-standing realities of high-pressure restaurant environments.
If you’re interested in reading a thoughtful take on this moment, I highly recommend Gabriel Waterhouse’s recent Substack piece, which explores how chef culture and restaurant work have been shaped by both industry tradition and the stories we tell about it.
He closes with a line that feels particularly relevant right now:
“Because if we can reinvent the food on the plate, we should also be capable of reinventing the kitchens in which it is made.”
The spotlight now on Noma and René raises an interesting question for the industry. Is this a singular moment of reckoning, or the start of a broader reexamination of chef culture and restaurant power structures? It would be naïve to assume other celebrated kitchens and institutions don’t carry complicated histories and possible checkered pasts of their own. I’m curious to see where both the media - and the industry itself - take the conversation from here.
Well, that’s it for now.
Plenty more on my mind — but I’m still defrosting and digesting.
Cheers.
xx
