East Village, anyone?
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East Village, anyone?
Explore the neighborhood with a guide and a giveaway!
This week we’re sharing our East Village Neighborhood Guide, featuring an exclusive East Village giveaway, and introducing you to our cool new friend: Stacey Mei Yan Fong.
Radio Star
Greenpoint’s newest restaurant/bar/cafe just opened this week and we’ll be stopping by at all hours of the day. Radio Star is inspired by the radio era of the 1940s and sits pretty on one of our favorite parks in the city, Transmitter Park. Chef Yusef Lovett is bringing us breakfast & lunch classics like cream cheese pastries and breakfast sammies along with dinner plates of smoked short ribs and chili.
Comme Si
Yes, we are sharing about socks, but hear us out…they are very chic socks! Comme Si has set up shop for the holiday season in Dumbo at 142 Plymouth Street at Hudson Wilder and the space is just as gorgeous as the product. Head to the shop now through January to shop their selection of socks, loungewear & accessories Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11a - 6p & Sundays 11a - 5p.
We’re very excited to announce a super cool GIVEAWAY with Standard Hotels, Saturdays, and the International Center of Photography: the Downtown Dreamin’ Sweepstakes!
It all goes down downtown! We've dreamed up an indulgent getaway with our NYC faves and we're treating one winner to it all:
A 2-night stay at The Standard, East Village
A $200 credit to wine & dine during your stay
A $1,000 gift card to Saturdays NYC
A Photographer's Circle level membership to the International Center of Photography - includes VIP opening invites, free admission & exclusive tours
Super Cool Friend subscription to coolstuff.nyc - includes premium access to weekly newsletters & a custom-curated 1-day NYC itinerary
Table at Salter House
French tableware brand, Table, is popping up at the East Village Salter House shop THIS WEEKEND for the first time ever. Stop by Today through Sunday (with a launch party tonight from 6-8p) to shop their tableware collection along with exclusive objects shoppable only at the pop-up!
Grand Bazaar
The oldest, largest, and most diverse weekly NYC market, The Grand Bazaar NYC, is hosting a fun Thanksgiving edition of their market this Sunday! The Thanksgiving Bazaar will be a one-stop shop for the most delicious pumpkin pies, pastries, unique artisanal food purveyors, stunning flower arrangements, and funfunfun gift shopping. Come hungry and explore New York City’s favorite flea from 10a-5p at 100 W 77th St on the Upper West Side.
Iconic French Dijon brand Maille and L’Appartement 4F have teamed up to launch an exclusive, one-day pop-up at their Brooklyn Heights bakery this Saturday. 4F will be serving a delish Tomato Galette inspired by - and including - Maille’s iconic Dijon Originale and Maille will also be hosting a mustard tasting with Mustard Sommelier Brandon Collins. Head over to 115 Montague Street starting at 8 am to shop the new pastry and snag prizes if you’re one of the first 15 people in line.
If you’re sticking around the city this Thanksgiving, look no further. There are plenty of NYC restaurants that are hosting dinners, baking pies for pick up and putting together Thanksgiving-at-home packages to make your holiday easy & delish.
Figure Eight
The newest spot from the Silver Apricot team, Figure Eight, is offering seasonal pies available to pre-order for pick-up or delivery for the holiday…but with a twist. You can expect unique pies like: Pies Nan Gua Bing Pie - a take on the Chinese pumpkin cake with a kabocha filling, a mochi layer inside and sesame seeds, Pecan “Master Stock” Pie - their version of a pecan pie made with their house-made master stock poaching liquid, and Apple Pear Five-Spice Pie - filled with the perfect mix of apples and pears and five spice. Pre-order here until November 20th!
Rigor Hill Market
Tribeca marketplace and cafe, Rigor Hill Market, is offering a selection of prepared Thanksgiving dishes and desserts, using local produce sourced from their farm. They’ll be dishing out classics like Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, and staple like, Pull-Apart Rolls, Cornbread, & Mashed Potatoes as well as specialty pies like Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, and Pecan Pie. All will be available for pre-order & pick up beginning 11/13 through Thanksgiving eve.
Momofuku
Thanksgiving pickup packs will be available for order from NYC’s favorite, Momofuku Noodle Bar. Serving 4-6 people, the pickup pack includes a spread of sliced smoked brisket with a spicy-tingly crust, potato mash gratin and roasted broccolini with mushroom xo sauce. The mains come with sides like pickled daikon and jalapeno white bbq coleslaw, and dessert is a crunchy, chocolate peanut pie. To make sure next day’s leftovers are thoroughly enjoyed, the pickup pack comes with a pack of potato rolls for leftover brisket sandos. Packs are available for pickup on Resy starting on Wednesday, November 23rd.
Patti Ann’s
Prospect Heights fave, Patti Ann’s, is offering a 3-course pre-fixe dinner options on Thanksgiving day with dishes like Brussels Sprout Salad, Pull Apart Rolls, and Whipped Brown Butter, Herb Roasted Turkey with Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, and Cornbread Stuffing, and Pumpkin Pie. Book your holiday meal here.
Calling all photographers! FREE FILM, the nationwide, crowdsourced film photography project is back with another edition of their series in collaboration with WORTHLESSSTUDIOS. FREE FILM: NY democratizes how we document our communities by bringing a mobile darkroom and a converted Airstream trailer to a publicly accessible location within a specific neighborhood in NYC and distributing free rolls of 35mm film to the community. The November’s open call is looking for a local photographer in East Williamsburg/Bushwick for a one-month-long residency in the WS Airstream mobile darkroom, starting mid-February 2024. Apply to the open call now until December 15th!
Introducing our new Monthly Reader Q & A
Ask us a question, recommendation, or well…anything in the comments section of the newsletter & we’ll reply within 24 hours. This is your chance for personalized NYC recommendations - from a date night spot in the West Village to the best time to visit the Union Sq Farmers market - we’ve got you covered! All you have to do is click the comment icon at the top or bottom of this week’s newsletter to get your questions over to us :)
We’re so excited to launch this new feature of our newsletter to chat with all of you even more and broaden our community. See you in the comments?
This week’s guide is very special: we tapped East Village local and founder of the online magazine passerby, Clémence Polès for a custom curation. Since 2015, passers-by from all over the world have welcomed us into their homes, offering honest looks into their lives—the unconventional paths, mistakes, and small victories that define their day-to-day lives. Dive into all of Clémence’s picks for one of the best neighborhoods to sit down and observe all of the passers-by.
Meet Stacey, baker & author of cookbook: 50 Pies, 50 States. Stacey grew up developing her love for baking and deeper love for America in Hong Kong with frequent travels to the states during her summer vacations and her constantly listening to Dolly Parton & Bruce Springsteen. She eventually made the journey over to America for college at SCAD in Savannah, GA. Stacey's pies have been featured on Eater, A Cup of Jo, NPR’s All Things Considered, Cherry Bombe and the New York Times Cooking Instagram not once but twice!
What led you to start your pie baking project & cookbook, 50 Pies 50 States?
I started my project 50 pies, 50 states in 2015 when I was in the process of applying for my permanent residency in the United States. I thought it would be fun to learn about the country I had chosen to call home in a medium of food that I think is the most American, pie! It also gave me something to think, dream and do while I was in the midst of so much visa paperwork. I took the project a step beyond pie and did my best Nora Ephorn, Nancy Meyers romcom grand gesture and gave the pie to someone I knew from that state as my token of affection for them. The project started as my love letter to the country I have chosen to call home and became so much more than that. It further taught me about connection through food, it made me exercise giving my friends their roses whenever I could and it allowed me to explore what being American really meant to me. The project helped me find my way home. All of this led me to my now editor Michael Szczerban cold emailing me asking me if I would like to write a cookbook to which I replied, OH YES! Getting to put my journey to find my way home from pen, page to pie has been an absolute dream come true!
How did you decide which type of pie would represent each state?
The beauty of America is that most states have some sort of state food, fruit or regional cuisine that is very tied and unique to that state. Some of the pies I built based on experiences with food I had in that state or food that the person I was dedicating the pie to held dear. Some pies like Alabama built itself with a state berry of blackberry, a state fruit of peach and a state nut of pecan! Other states I just went straight out of the confines of what you might traditionally think of pie like for Nevada! I did a pie that was based on an All you can eat buffet because I wanted you to feel that in that state you can have your pie and eat it too!
What’s your favorite part about the New York creative community?
My favorite part about the New York creative community is that it knows no bounds and you can find connection through whatever medium you work in. From illustrators, to fibers artists, bakers and chefs everyone wants to share their stories and most of all inspiration is free flowing wherever you look!
Do you have a favorite pie you created/baked for the book?
Picking a favorite would be so so hard it's like picking a favorite child!! The pies I am most excited for people to see are the pies I developed for the book that aren't part of 50 states! I baked a series of pies in the book that represent where I grew up (Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong), where I went to college (Savannah) as well as where I live now (Brooklyn). I kinda saw these pies as a way for you to get to know me, like going on three dates with me before you decide you're going to go on an all state road trip with me! haha!
How many of the 50 states have you visited and which state do you want to visit next?
I've hit almost every state on both coasts and sprinkles of states in the south and in the midwest! I've been to Hawaii! I have a really cheesy scratch off map of all the states that I've slowly been working on. I get to check off two states this year which I'm so excited about: Arkansas and Oregon! I had a whole solo trip planned for Alaska before the pandemic so I think that's where I would love to go next or maybe Idaho! Taking a nap next to a river in Idaho sounds like an absolute dream!
Follow Along:
@50pies50states on Instagram
www.50pies50states.com
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More articles, interviews, and guides are available at www.coolstuff.nyc
Want to contribute?
Send your suggestions to hello@coolstuff.nyc – don’t worry, we always give credit where credit is due.
This week’s contributors:
Anna & Garrett Albury
Clémence Polès