Want a slice of the BEST cake in NYC?
The coolstuff.nyc x The Good Batch cake collaboration is available NOW!
This week we’re featuring our latest collaboration, highlighting cool weekend shopping pop-ups and gallery shows, sharing the best spots to snag a table for dinner, and introducing you to our cool new friend: Chef Yara Herrera.
Ikigai
We’ve just found the newest place to celebrate an exciting moment in your life: Ikigai – the new kaiseki restaurant from Polish chef, Rafal Maslankiewicz (formerly of Eleven Madison Park.) Not only is Ikigai’s 10-course tasting fantastic (especially with bevvy pairings) but it’s also a meal with a purpose. Ikigai is set up as a not for profit enterprise and donates everything left over after operating expenses to Rescuing Leftover Cuisine – an organization fighting food insecurity in NYC. Don’t miss this gem of a spot, and savor in whatever magic the chefs have made during your visit. Book your seating here.
Bar Enzo
LIC’s newest Italian-American cocktail bar, Bar Enzo, is now open! Inspired by the founder's Sicilian family gatherings in Queens, the new spot blends nostalgia with modern craft, focusing on gin and amaro-based cocktails. The menu features creative takes on classics, including signature Negronis and Spritzes. A discreet door leads you up a set of stairs and through a hallway lined with family photos, arriving at the cozy 35-seat bar. Head over now at 10-15 43rd Avenue.
Press play to watch a fun video about the process behind this collaboration.
We are SO excited to announce our collaboration with The Good Batch Bakery. As a part of The Good Batch’s Playdate Pastry series, we worked with cool friend Chef Anna Gordon to create a delicious cake inspired by both late-summer southern ingredients and quintissential NYC flavors.
The cake, available every weekend this in September, has a rye & ginger base, with peach jam, whipped vanilla & goat cheese frosting, a mint soak, topped with fresh peaches and mint.
Head to The Good Batch at 936 Fulton Street in Clinton Hill BK this and every weekend in September starting today to buy a slice! If you want to secure a taste or throw a party, you can also pre-order a whole cake. While you’re there don’t miss out on The Good Batch’s fantastic ice cream sandwiches, coffee, and scones!
Stop by for a slice today!
Photography, video, and editing by Shea Salisbury • @sheasalz
L.L. Bean x Abbode
For two days this weekend, Saturday & Sunday 10a-6p, the iconic L.L.Bean (OMG) will be taking over Abbode's Nolita shop in a funfunfun New York City pop-up, where you can snag the brand's legendary Boat and Tote bags and zip pouches. Abbode will be providing its custom embroidery services on-site, so you can personalize the L.L.Bean totes with bespoke designs. Stop by to see their fully transformed store, bringing Maine to NYC at 252 Elizabeth Street.
Palmes at Cueva
Join Copenhagen-based men's fashionable tennis brand, Palmes, this Saturday for the launch of Palmes at Cueva in the West Village! Explore their Autumn — Winter 24 Collection, win a pair of Palmes for Sperry shoes in their raffle, grab a beer, receive a tube of Palmes tennis balls &&& more. It’s all happening at 86 Christopher Street tomorrow from 3-7p.
Pig Island at Snug Harbor
BBQ lovers rejoice, The 15-year celebration of Pig Island NYC is TOMORROW from 11a-4p, at Snug Harbor on Staten Island. Over two dozen chefs, restaurants, and expert judges lead the 15-year celebration of Food Karma Projects Pig Island NYC™, transforming Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden into an all-inclusive food festival of BBQ and global flavors. They’ll be pulling out all the stops, giving chefs carte blanche to flex their skills with heritage breed pigs and farm-fresh vegetables. Grab your last-min tickets NOW so you can feast tomorrow.
din din Fall Series
din din is a popup restaurant serving Chef Courtney Sproule’s dishes that nod to regional French cuisines using conscientiously sourced ingredients. din din’s fall series offers nine evenings of tasting dinners and wine pairings in din din’s dining room in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. September’s menu features the late summer harvest of Dancing Greens Farm, a woman-owned farm in the southern Berkshires with dishes like mussels in saffron Banyuls tomato water, and bruléed coconut pastis aioli with Beluga lentils. din din’s new dining room is darling yet cozy, so snag your resys now!
Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi at Claire Oliver Gallery
Mazloomi is a textile artist who uses traditional quilting, a nod to Black women’s craft, as her canvas to convey rich iconographic narratives of Black American history through her own medium - with a focus on activists and Civil Rights leaders. Mazloomi has had an incredible career as an aeronautical engineer before dedicating herself fully to quilting. She founded the Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN) in 1985 and is renowned as an independent curator, writer, artist, and tireless advocate for Black women quilters. Whole Cloth, Narratives in Black and White, is on view now until November 2nd at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem.
Peter Knapp at NowHere
NowHere's new show, "North South East West," features the work of Swiss photographer and former ELLE Magazine art director, Peter Knapp. The show (on now until October 6th), highlights Knapp's work as a globally influential fashion photographer during the mid-late 20th Century and how he unintentionally shaped the landscape of fashion editorial in France and Japan. Stop by now at 40 Wooster Street in Soho.
Suite Caroline’s Fashion Week Hair Banner
Soho Salon, Suite Caroline, is showing a live art installation each day of NYFW to bring color to the streets of Soho with their “Hair Banner!” As a fashion-forward salon with stylists who often work on runway shows, they wanted to use this week to celebrate the color and fashion roots that run through the streets of their neighborhood. Stop by during fashion week week to see the piece and watch how the installation is tweaked and edited every day at 65 Greene St.
Meet Yara, the rising star chef behind Ridgewood’s newest spot, Hellbender. Her signature style of playful, Mexican-American cuisine is inspired by her upbringing in a Mexican family in LA. Her menu features expertly executed bar food and snacks — from a “Cold and Raw” section of small plates, to a variety of tacos and larger dishes like Shrimp and Corn Fried Rice — with ingredients thoughtfully sourced either locally or from small producers in Mexico. We caught up with Yara to hear how she got her start and how her time spent at spots like Xilonen and Momfuku inspires her dishes now.
How did your career in the culinary world begin?
My culinary career started out by accident. I was never passionate about cooking until I took an elective class in High School, while trying to take extra credit classes to get into college. I had a cool teacher that made cooking and learning how to execute recipes fun and exciting. She inspired me to learn more about food and the culinary world, and I ended up ditching my original college plans and started working in a kitchen at the age of 20.
Tell us about your first chef/owner venture with your Mexican-American restaurant, Hellbender!
It’s only been 5 months since we opened Hellbender, but it feels like a lifetime and a true dream come true. I met my partners while doing pop-ups around New York. A year later they approached me with an offer to partner up. It’s been a wild ride to say that least. There are so many conversations, so much coordinating, and so much decision making I never thought I would have to do. Overall, it’s been a great learning experience both personally and professionally.
What’s your favorite part about the New York culinary community?
It’s not hard to be part of the culinary community here, regardless of what cuisine you are most interested in. New York is such a competitive place that it’s easy to feel like you need to stop and catch your breath sometimes. But you’re not alone! Everyone in this industry understands the hardships and challenges that come with cooking professionally and it’s easy to bond with one another. I wish everyone in this career the best- and I think most other people do as well.
How did your time at iconic restaurants like Spago, Momofuku Ko and Xilonen influence the menu at Hellbender?
Every experience I’ve had working in all these different places has taught me something about myself. My earlier years in cooking have helped me build endurance, and I’ve often asked myself. “How bad do I really want this?” and “What am I willing to do to move across the country?.” Although that sounds a little dramatic, it's real. My first Chef de Cuisine title at Xilonen put a lot of pressure on me to figure out how I want to express myself, and most importantly how to manage a team. Fast forward to now at Hellbender, I feel a lot more comfortable building a team and having the knowledge to know what I need from everyone to come together for a special collaboration. Although I don’t have all the answers, the menu at Hellbender is a combination of technique, knowledge, and experiences in all my previous jobs mixed in with the parts of my culture I’ve come closer to.
Do you have a favorite item on the menu right now?
My favorite item on the menu is the Shrimp Cocktail. It’s a classic Mexican shrimp cocktail with a cold, savory, spicy clamato broth, combined with shrimp and pico de gallo. Ours is topped with avocado and served with two tostadas. I have one every day!
Follow along:
@yaraherrerayara
@hellbendernyc
www.hellbendernyc.com
Went to Ikigai the other week and loved it! Also love the work Rescuing Leftover Cuisine is doing! Does anyone know of any other non-profit / impact-oriented restaurants in NYC?