Chelsea Market is home to the holiday pop-up store Jingle, which features clothes from 19 different designers.
Tis the season, yeah yeah, I’m sure you’ve noticed the holidays are upon us. While I love to throw back eggnog and get sloshed at the holiday office party as much as the next guy, there is the whole issue of actual gift buying that needs to be tackled. If you value your sanity, I would avoid department stores like the plague. And while I’m a big fan of online shopping, there’s a whole slew of holiday markets that are popping up all over New York City to choose from. After all, if you’re going to spend all that hard-earned money on other people, you might as well get them something cool that they won’t re-gift back to you next year.
Cool Hunting for Gap
Always with their finger on the pulse of the next cool thing, it makes sense that Cool Hunting launched a pop-up store of their very own. This year they teamed up with Gap and set up shop in Gap’s project space on 5th Avenue, to bring you an exclusive showcase of independent designers and companies. Along with their expert product selection, they’ve also included a series of Cool Hunting collaborations, featuring limited-edition Mast Brothers chocolate and an Outlier cycling cap. It’s the perfect stop for those hipper-than thou, impossible to shop for, people on your gift list.
Open 7 Days a Week | Now through Jan 2 (except Xmas Day) | 680 5th Ave (at 54th St) |Mon- Sat 10:ooam-9:00pm, Sun 11:ooam-8:00pm | Midtown | Read More »
The Volstead has nightly drink specials, like Mojito Mondays
Although Midtown East may seem like a pretty convenient place to visitors (read: tourists), it’s never been considered a wonderful nightlife area for those who are young, hip, and in the know. Fortunately, The Volstead offers up nice digs — and an even nicer happy hour to go along with them — for when you find yourself in Fanny Pack land (no offense, dear tourists).
In addition to Happy Hour from 4-8 PM offering $6 specialty cocktails ($7 for Absolut), The Volstead offers a special almost every night of the week: Mojito Mondays ($6), Happy Hour all night on Wednesdays, Margarita specials all night on Thursdays ($6), and more. Plus, $15 will get you a plate of sliders and a beer of your choice, which looked like the hot deal of choice last time I went.
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It was only a matter of time before Brooklyn, the DIY capital of the country right now, got its own winery. You would never guess that behind the Brooklyn Winery’s dimly lit, spacious wine bar is a massive wine making operation complete with barrels stacked high in the back room. While their community wine-making packages aren’t particularly budget-friendly, it doesn’t take much time, effort or money to enjoy the many varietals they offer at the new Brooklyn Winery Bar.
This place is large enough that it’s hard to ever feel “packed.” With a spacious tasting room in front and numerous nooks and crannies in the back, it’s perfect for hosting a party or grabbing a quiet drink with a friend. Plus the back room features a brewery-style display window where you can see all those barrels fermenting their way to perfection.
Choose from a mix of imported and domestic wines, featuring everything from your typical reds to champagne and dessert wines. And the best part is, the prices range from — dare I say cheap — to very high-end. I had a full pour of the Monastrell wine, a red from the Catalonia region of Spain and known for its earthy flavor, but more importantly, its high alcohol content. At $3.50 for a half pour and $7 for a full pour (and trust me, those glasses are BIG), you’ll be feeling just fine after a glass or two. For the non vino-lovers, they also offer a selection of local bottled beers. I recommend Brooklyn Brewery’s Dark Chocolate Stout, so you can sip along with your neighboring wine drinkers. Read More »
Try old-school Italian fare at Bamonte's in Brooklyn.
If you’re anywhere near as obsessed with the old-school Italian American culture and aesthetic as I am, you need to get yourself to Bamonte’s in Williamsburg. The atmosphere is an unreal time capsule of 1950s Brooklyn (though it’s been there since 1900). True story: I sat at a table right next to former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Tommy la Sorda on Easter weekend. Something about this place tells me that probably wasn’t a rare occurrence. This is absolutely the place to take your parents or some out-of-towners in search of an authentic Brooklyn experience.
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The new Loreley Williamsburg is a great place to enjoy beer and German food outdoors
Once summer arrives, New Yorkers love to head outside to drink, and biergartens are one of their favorite places to do it. Although many tourists stick to the island of Manhattan, a trip to Brooklyn to check out the new Loreley Williamsburg biergarten is well worth it.
I’m glad this place exists in such a convenient location (a short ride from Manhattan on the L subway), and it’s definitely a less-hipstery ”people under 25″ outdoors option as compared to Union Pool, a less fancy, less beer-oriented option as compared to A Night of Joy, and a more-intimate and more-convenient option as compared to Berry Park. True, German food (which is served at Loreley) is totally inferior to pretty much any type of Mexican food (especially that amazing Union Pool taco truck), but they have table service (as it’s really more of a restaurant), and if you like eating meat, well, there’s certainly tons of that going on in various forms. During the World Cup, they even have these special little pretzel dough rolls filled with various things that are meant to represent the competing countries.
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