New York City Avenues For Fun

You name it, they’re participating. Never before has the fashion community united as strongly as they will Thursday, September 10th for much anticipated “Fashion’s Night Out.” Anna Wintour’s brainchild, this evening aims truly aims to promote retail, restore consumer confidence, celebrate fashion and unite industry aspects. There are no tickets, no invitations, no exclusive lists. From 6p.m. to 11p.m. stores will welcome customers with giveaways, sweepstakes, cocktails and mini manicures and more.

The Vogue City normally encourages bargain shopping, widely discouraging full price purchasing, but Fashion’s Night Out is more than just shopping.  All proceeds from Fashion’s Night Out official t-shirt sales will benefit the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. Over 700 retail stores in the 5 boroughs are on board to participate and in addition to celebrating, many retailers are taking a charity angle. A city-wide clothing drive where people can donate new or gently used clothing will kick off to benefit the New York City AIDS Fund. The collected clothing will be distributed to 17 area AIDS charities. For a list of retailers accepting the clothing donations, click here.
With Zac Posen painting one of a kind dresses at Bergdorf and a Patrick McMullen photo exhibit at Lord & Taylor, participation is running the gamut. It wouldn’t be New York and it wouldn’t be Vogue without some star alignment. WWD reports Sienna Miller at Intermix, Hugh Jackman at Jeffery, the Olsen twins at Barney’s, Charlize Theron at Dior, Justin Timberlake at Saks and the list goes on.

Rich, poor or somewhere in between, this is an unprecedented global event orchestrated by the American fashion industry. No where else in the world could such an ambitious, charitable and energetic idea, accessible to every citizen regardless of class, color, or cash flow, ignite a global phenomenon pulling together every teeny aspect of monstrous industry. Despite the state of our economy, shaky decision-making and heart-wrenching loss in some of our most creative industries, we are New Yorkers. Like Bergdorf’s president and CEO, Jim Gold, said a few weeks back, “You can lay down and do nothing, or beat the drum and create excitement.” In New York, we’re drum beaters.
Fashion’s Night out is an initiative supported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, The City of New York, New York & Co., and Vogue. For a list of retailers, timelines or other information, visit www.fashionsnightout.com. 

Emma Dinzebach

The unusually cool weather made June feel like May and now suddenly, it’s the 4th of July. Woot! Woot! What to eat? Lucky for us this city is full of inexpensive American eats that both epitomize and obscure traditional American food. This means burgers, beers, dawgs, brats and BBQ all reinvented and retained for your palate’s pleasure. But this weekend you need to go all out and have a few (or many) friends to feed. Unsure where to do each? That’s what menupages is for people, but we’ll tell you which neighborhood joint is worth the trip out of your hood.

Daisy May’s BBQ – Sure the commercials are queer, but hailing from St. Louis, I can say this is the best BBQ in the city. No offense to Danny Meyer, but Daisy May’s realizes that there is some smothering involved in BBQ, and since they aren’t competing for presentation, they can smother away. If you only go once a year get a pulled pork sandwich or the Kansas City sweet and sticky pork ribs – a messy mixture of ketchupy barbecue sauce and sweet tang.

For those planning on serving a large party (6 or more), there is a catering menu and the staff are more than helpful. Here you can order whole hogs and pork butts. The whole hogs are straight up terrifying, and no, it isn’t necessary for them to leave the squeal-stoned heads on, but they do. So get a brave friend to slice her up, and keep away from small children. I’d get the pork butt. I realize it says butt and therefore sounds sickening, but it’s delicious and much easier to manage than the whole hog.  And yes, I’ve had both. I told you, I’m from the Midwest!

But the real winners at Daisy May’s are the sides. I don’t like the cole slaw because it’s too mayonnaisey for me, but the creamed corn, creamed spinach, baked beans with burnt ends and brown sugar sweet potatoes are delicious. Actually, delicious understates how good the brown sugar sweet potatoes are. They are to die for.  Lastly, this is NOT health food people, so plan on spending the next couple days working it off.

From The Vogue City to you, have a happy and safe Independence Day New York.

623 East 11th at 46th Street  212.977.1500

Can’t get to Hell’s Kitchen? Visit them on the web at www.daisymays.com for city-wide push cart locations. 

Revved for a good dinner but low on cash surprisingly led me to one of New York’s most delicious neighborhoods, the West Village, where I met two beautiful friends at Fatty Crab.  Fatty Crab is pretty much a New York City institution – for those who know about it – and the hands down best Malaysian-style crab outside of, um.. Malaysia? Not that I would actually know. But I do know quite a bit about Fatty Crab! So I’ve sifted through my wealth of New York City restaurant knowledge and pulled out three things you should know before you go.

1) It’s called Fatty Crab because you should order the crab.

2) They call it a “joint” as opposed to a restaurant.

3) Chef Zak Pelaccio’s been doin’ Asian since, well, I don’t really know when actually. But he def worked at the now defunct Chickenbone Cafe in the BK before working at 5 Ninth, which I almost all together ignore not because I can find anything wrong with their Cuban sandy but because I don’t so much do those Meatpacking places. But we heart him because he then opened Fatty Crab, which as since expanded to Fatty Crab UWS. Not that I’ll visit the latter locale any time soon. You know how I feel about dining above 23rd Street. (With Per Se and Tao as obvious exceptions. And stop snickering, Tao has the best desserts ever.)

      
Onto the food. My friend outright scolds Pelaccio for having thus far failed to bottle and sell the BBQesque sauce that smothers the crab. It is literally so good I can’t even find the words to describe it – tangy, thick but light and succulent. The sauce tastes delicious with the coconut rice. The beef/pork sliders surprisingly do not taste like your average slider and come with a pickle, lettuce and sweet yummy bun. The mango salad is spicy, peanuty shredded greatness, if a little standard. I also recommend the pork buns, which are moist with the perfect amount of pork/bun ratio. Our food bill came to around $80 total for three ladies, and we had more than enough food. If you are really watching your dollas, order PBR. Our alcohol total was $90 – more than our food!, but we had champagne because, like I said, we’re ladies.
The atmosphere is key. Everyone is lively, patient and there for the food. No reservations in the village location, so have a cocktail to start and then beer with your meal. They serve Rogue Fatty Crab Sidestepper Ale on draft, and it’s perfect with the crab.

The Fatty Crab  W. Village 634 Hudson between Horatio and Gansevoort  UWS 2170 Broadway between 72nd and 73rd  212.496.2722

Hell we can’t afford to eat out anymore, so we’re taking our happy hour to a new level. Seal level that is. Since 1989, Lightship #115 AKA Frying Pan has made her home at Chelsea’s Pier 66. Becoming a Manhattan hot spot is a storybook ending for this ship who sunk in the late 70’s and lived underwater for three years before being raised by saintly saviors, sold to her present owners and made into a vessel for NYC tours and entertainment.

Um, we were entertained, so entertained in fact that we’re skipping DBGB’s and heading west to the waterfront tiki bar, which serves cold beer, better-than-average burgers and delicious garlic fries. Not convinced? Let me clarify, the whole vessel is a nightlife smorgasbord from the front quarter’s effervescent DJ lounge to live acts in the ship’s belly. New York Magazine described the dated couches and “ratty make-out couches.” Hm, well there are an abnormal amount of make-out nooks. Although I thought the couches were meant to signify male ownership of the jack. A woman would never want to make-out on something described as “ratty.” If it’s nice though, skip (no pun intended) the lounge and plant yourself on one of the deck’s plastic chairs for gorgeous views of the Hudson and a quixotic sunset.

Saturday and Sunday afternoons on the Frying Pan are a great time to unleash your inner swashbuckler. With patrons singing and scary bathroom trips two floors down (go with a friend), a weekend at Frying Pan is one to remember. Or not…depending on how much you drink. Warning: patrons take the nod to seafaring a bit serious and after many Bucket-O-Beers can get rowdy. As far as we can tell, there are few regulations and accidents do happen. (Our friend slipped and sprained her wrist.) In other words, be careful!

Frying Pan Pier 66, North River  W. 26th Street & West Side Highway  212-989-6363