Let's go grab a GREAT cup of coffee
And where to finish your holiday shopping!
This week we’re sharing our Best Coffee Shops in NYC list, featuring the coolest spots for holiday dining, highlighting weekend shopping and market pop-ups and introducing you to our cool friend: illustrator, Joana Avillez.
The Residence of Mr. Moto
Williamsburg’s newest restaurant, The Residence of Mr. Moto, opened this week from the team behind TabeTomo & The Office of Mr. Moto. Specializing in Kaisen-don, a traditional Japanese rice bowl featuring hearty seafood atop seasoned rice, the menu is the perfect balance between familiar comfort and trying something new. Another reason you should check out the space is the interior design – styled to look like the private home of the fictional Mr. Moto, the cozy space is filled with personal items that bring the character to life. The Residence of Mr. Moto is open from 6p – 12a every day but Mondays and can be booked here!
Messy
There seems to be a bubbling trend of classic Brooklyn restaurants expanding to Manhattan, and the latest addition to the wave is Messy: a Mediterranean/Japanese skewer spot from the team behind Lighthouse. The brand new spot in Soho centers around the skewers (as well as sandwiches and plates) inflected with Japanese ingredients and served alongside housemade mezze, pita, and softserve. We’re super excited for there to be a new casual spot in Soho (most dishes hover around or below the $10 mark) and to have a convenient place to buy some of Lighthouse’s legendary hummus and labne to go! Open daily from 11a-Midnight at 149 Sullivan St.
Holiday Shopping at Warby Parker Greene St.
Tomorrow, December 14th, stop by Warby Parker’s newly renovated Greene St. store anytime from 10 A.M.–3 P.M. for festive holiday shopping. Treat yourself to (complimentary) cookies from Chip City while you shop our favorite Warby frames. Plus!! When you snag a Warby Parker eyewear case, you can enjoy live customization from Brooklyn-based illustrator Laura Supnik. Sweet treats and personalization? Yes, please.
Pet Portraits at Marc Jacobs
For all the pet lovers (or those shopping for pet lovers), Marc Jacobs SoHo is hosting two super fun pet portrait sessions with artist Zac Crawford. From Saturday December 14 through Wednesday the 18th, Zac will be doing complimentary illustrations of your pet on new leather bags purchased in-store. You can also snag some branded dog toys for your furry friend! Stop by 127-129 Prince St on Saturday from 12-7p or on the 15th through 18th from 12-6p to get in on the fun.
Coffee shops are many things – a ritual, a daily highlight, a third place – and they’re a hugely important piece of the city’s fabric. That’s why we tapped Ellie Eckert, founder of Disco Disco Coffee, to expand our guide with a few of her favorites.
Meet Joana, a lifelong New Yorker and wonderful illustrator, cartoonist, and writer. Joana has regularly contributed illustrations to the New Yorker (our favorite print magazine) since 2021, has illustrated several books including Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl, and most recently released a collection of holiday-leaning illustrated invitations with Paperless Post! We caught up with Joana to hear how she got started as an illustrator, and why children’s books continue to inspire her work.
How did your career as an illustrator begin?
I started drawing with my dad when I was very small. We drew together all the time; it was our shared language! I tap into my child-self whenever I'm drawing, she is my guide. So in a sense, I began then, but as a career I have been doing illustration full-time for twelve years, and I absolutely love it. I love getting to work with amazing art directors, to conceive of drawings that will be printed on a page, a book, wallpaper, and far beyond.
You've worked with some iconic brands! Do you have a favorite recent project?
Yes! My recent collaboration with Paperless Post stands out. We created a suite of very special, holiday leaning illustrated invitations. It was magical to work with their immensely talented designers and team, sending drawings and watching them come to life. I just sent one of my own invitations for my son's upcoming 3rd birthday party -- an absolute surreal thrill!!! And I have already received one, from someone who didn't know I made it. A real feather in my cap.
What’s your favorite part about the New York illustrator community?
Oh dear, I don't know if I have one, because one of my favorite things about being an illustrator is that I work with and am friends with people in all worlds. I have friends in food, film, art, dance, fashion, books -- maybe not enough in medicine. But New York is a place that is dominated by every field, and I relish it.
What role does color play in your work?
A minimal one frankly. I'm really interested in line and its movement, shape and style. Scratchy, slow, fast, dribbly, digitally, wispy, languid, detailed, furtive, cramped. I think actually a drawing is often done when it is just a black line. And it is really done when it is printed. But color is important, and I think I tremble a bit before it. I got a new set of knives and I feel similarly. I respect them and want to use both carefully.
We love how candid and fun your style is! Where do you source your inspiration from!
I always look to illustrators and designers of the past, probably because what I am most interested in, vis-a-vis linework, is the immediacy, knowing it came directly from A PERSON. I think you can really feel the honesty in old drawings. I read ZILLIONS of children's books now with my son every day and every night. It is the best! I feel very inspired by all the stories we read, and seeing how text and image come together. The books I love most are not necessarily the ones I thought I would, it's the luster of reading them aloud with a small person that makes some especially shiny and spellbinding.
Follow Along:
@joanaavillez
www.joanaavillez.com
Paperless Post Collab
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!
One of our absolute favorite things about the year coming to an end is being able to put together our annual gift guide – something we are always super proud to share. This year we’ve got 35 GREAT New York-based gift recs for all the people in your life: the home cook, the eco-conscious friend, the dog lover, the bevvy aficionado, the indie fashion head, and MANY MANY more.
Head to the November 22 newsletter to access this list that’s full of both pretty things AND experience-focused gifts, that comes from our hearts and without commissions or affiliate links!
While most of the world may imagine a Christmas or Hanukkah meal looking something like a Norman Rockwell illustration, New Yorkers simply don’t, as is tradition. For us, the best and only way to have a meal with more than four people is at a restaurant, and we love that there’s a great tradition of serious restaurants remaining open and doing something special for the holidays. Read on for our picks of where to dine in the city on December 24 & 25th.
P.S. Upgrade to paid to make sure you aren’t missing out on the rest of this newsletter including our full line-up of where to eat on Christmas & Hanukkah, a few ways to create hands-on, and even more holiday markets.