New York Summer

FALL FALL FALL BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

Ok, we’re going to be brave. We’re going to accept that there are certain things we can’t change. Like Fall. It’s going to come. But, we’re also going to remember that Fall brings its own magic with it. Some things that have us jazzed for the upcoming months in New York?

New Show Openings: There are some serious stars coming to New York this Fall: Claire Danes (Pygmalion with Jefferson Mays); Ian “Please Call Me Sir” McKellen (King Lear at BAM); Megan Mullally (Young Frankenstein); Jennifer Garner (Cyrano De Bergerac with Kevin Kline); and Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale) – just to name a few.

Art Explosion: The Dutch are invading the Met with a major exposition, “ The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings…”; MoMA is still riding the waves of the Richard Serra exhibit through September 10, and doing a focused look at Alexander Calder’s early work; The Whitney houses Kara Walker’s first full-scale American museum survey.

America’s Next Top Model: Cycle 9, BABY!

Central Park in the Fall: ‘Nuff said.

This Moment is Brought to You by The Arch

BK Rulz

It isn't often (ever) that we venture out to Brooklyn. We're not quite sure why (we're lazy). After all we’ve heard nothing but raves about the art scene (overrun with hipsters), music scene (overrun with hipsters) and the foodie scene (overrun by stroller-wielding hipsters.) But, a recent excursion had us all excited about the Borough formerly known as Kings. From hipsters to hasidim, from pizza to picturesque vistas, Brooklyn had a bit of everything. We stopped by our favorite boxing gym to work on our jabs and punches, took in our favorite view of the Brooklyn Bridge (from right below it) and stopped by Steiner Studios to stalk some film stars (no luck.) Of course, Grimaldi’s beckoned and we couldn’t deny ourselves. But, a walk across the bridge back to Manhattan surely worked off the calories. Although, we’re pretty sure the bag of Jacques Torres chocolates is still with us.

Love to Love You, Baby

A recent night celebrating some birthdays had us trolling about the club-land known as Chelsea. Given that we’re less likely these days to shake, shake, shake our groove things, and more likely to shake, shake, shake a bowl of popcorn while sacked out on the couch, we saw some new and cool things. It’s been a while since we’ve unleashed our inner dancing queens and kings. Well, we made up for lost time, and got down on the dance floor. It reminded us of why New York is considered one of the world’s best play-lands, and made us think of some ab-fab places to get our groove on. Some favorites? Here you go:

Lotus – A personal favorite, this multi-tiered Babylon of hip is all about high style, high energy and that’s what NYC lounge living is all about. With décor done in sexy and soft shades of caramel and chocolate, Lotus keeps the MeatPacking district buzzing.

Cielo – If you are looking to really shake a tailfeather, Cielo is the place for you. The DJs are amongst the best in the city and the smaller setting makes everyone just…pop. Also, we’re all about fresh air when dancing, so the outdoor lounge is nice to catch our breath and a wink.

Pre:Post – No night of clubbing is complete without a little nosh before AND after, right? Well, Pre:Post can cater to both urges! Serving the West Cheslea crowd bistro fare in the daylight and the twilight, Pre:Post fills a very unique niche in New York…and many hungry tummies.

Welcome to the USA

Without getting all political, we can say that we’re not President Bush’s biggest fans. While we’re certainly not his least favorite, we do not wear I heart Bush t-shirts for many, many reasons. Well, the man has scored some points with us this week by signing legislation that expands the Visa Waiver Program. The expansion of the legislation will allow citizens from 39 countries (up from 27) to visit the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, while putting measures in place to enhance national security and improve the arrival process through customs upon entry in the U.S. The National Tour Association, a big proponent of the legislation’s expansion, notes that it will help the U.S. regain lost market share in international travel and work to improve the United States’ image abroad, and we’re definitely big fans of that.

We'd Rather Be At Work...Seriously

Hooray! A Garden for Beer

We can't tell a lie - we love sitting outdoors in the summer months, drinking beer with our friends. We heart beer. We heart summery outdoors. We heart our friends. Put these things together and you've got quite a good time. So, where does one find such good times in NYC? Taking the N train to Queens, our quest is satisfied at the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria. This old time restaurant and beer garden is a former Czech and Slovak social club and features some great Eastern European beers on tap, as well as some tried and true culinary delights. Besides being the last remaining beer garden in New York, the Boho Hall boasts a totally relaxed environment to while away weekend afternoons with a good brew. 'Nuff said.