Good Morning & Hello Friday!!

• This week was way more action packed than usual. So many new restaurants and bars to check out and getting myself back out to Brooklyn was major. I have to thank both Laser Wolf and the soon-to-open Google Store for providing the impetus. (#3, 4, 7)
• Major week for Brad as well. His new show just opened in Chelsea at Garth Greenan (his new gallery). He’s had an absolutely stellar year with 2 big museum openings and now the show in Chelsea! (#10).
• The biggest news of the week for me, however, was finally cancelling the Faroe Islands trip. Sad to do it but at least I’m no longer stressed by USCIS’ interminable delays in issuing green card renewals. And I did get a full credit (albeit not a refund). But I am happy with the outcome. I’m already planning several domestic cultural tourism adventures! And, btw, for anyone needing to renew their passport, please prepare yourself for some major backlogs. This is an informative article on just how dire the situation has become, even for Americans.

Please scroll down for this week’s Top 10. Enjoy!

1. [watch]: Video Recap

2. Cynthia Rowley’s Collection, modeled on horseback, at the Marfa Invitational. SO FABULOUS!! [SOUND ON PLS!!]

• Marfa, which I first visited 20 years ago, is still an absolute highlight of my travel and art life. Seeing the Donald Judds, the Chinati Foundation, the town of Marfa and the Texas landscape in that area, was life-changing for me. It made me fall in love with Texas.
• This year’s Marfa Invitational just wrapped. Had I known what I know now about how treacly slow USCIS would be in issuing green card renewals, I would have been writing this blog from Texas. Next year I am getting that Marfa Invitational VIP Pass come hell or high water!!!
• Also, for those who may be wondering what Cynthia Rowley was doing at Marfa with a fashion show, her husband, Bill Powers, is the founder of Half Gallery in NYC/LA. Half Gallery was one of the earliest galleries connected with the Marfa Invitational in 2019. He and Cynthia have been involved in numerous art projects over the years.
• And big shout out to Yvonne Force for posting the above video on her Instagram – just magical!

3. Laser Wolf (and Google) enticed me back to Brooklyn

• Laser Wolf, serving Israeli cuisine, from chef/ co-owner Michael Solomonov, just opened a rooftop restaurant at the Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg. It is FABULOUS!
• They are supposedly booked through June but I was not going to let that stop me from at least getting seated at the bar. This past Monday, at 5 pm (the minute they opened), my friend Jill and I got my wish. Two seats at the bar.
• The food was fantastic. Here’s how it works: When you order from the grill menu (we had the Chicken Shishlik and the Bulgarian Beef Kebab (which was amazing!), you are served a Salatim tray with everything from hummus to Pickled Green Tomato w/Cucumber + Harissa. Plus you get a cup of soft-serve ice cream for dessert. There are some a la carte options but I would go for the complete experience.
• HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

By the way, I have noticed that reservations at NYC’s hot, new-ish restaurants are increasingly hard to come by. Eater just confirmed that this is indeed true. April 2022 was Resy’s busiest month to date, with sign-ups for waitlists jumping 50% since 2019.

4. WILLIAMSBURG BK: Getting reacquainted and it feels so good (ty Google!)

Google’s second retail store is opening soon in Brooklyn (134 N. 6th St – between Buck Mason and Vans) and that inspired me to spend an afternoon exploring the area between Bedford and Wythe (North 3rd to North 10th Streets). Highlights and pics below.

• Very few Brooklyn-born and bred retailers left (KCDC at 80 N.3rd is an exception!). Another store that I found interesting is Aland. It’s out of Korea and opted for Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. Aland actually has two huge locations in Williamsburg. With a few exceptions, however, Williamsburg is now filled with all the same stores that you’ll find in Manhattan, or any good suburban mall. However, the Brooklyn locations often have more creative flair!
• General Brooklyn by Vans (102 N. 6th) is a fave of mine. Exceptionally well designed, and also a neighbor of the new Google store.
• For such a youthful neighborhood, I was surprised by the number of urgent care facilities. But on second thought, young people often don’t have regular doctors so it actually makes sense. Less surprising, all the waxing, massage, tattoo studios that take up storefront space.
• Also, electric car charger stations – have not seen this on the streets of Manhattan (although they are available in parking garages).
• And finally, loved the Blank Street Coffee vibe at the Wythe location.

Brooklyn-ese retailers

STANDOUTS

Lots of coffee options but this is the best: Blank Street

So many medical services:

Electric Car Charging Stations

5. More private membership social clubs and restaurants. is it Too much yet?

Three new membership club locations confirmed this week:

1. Edison House in Salt Lake City is opening late summer. Founded by brothers Cardon-Bystry and Charlie Cardon, who say the idea for the club was partially inspired by the “modern model” of new social clubs such as Soho House and The Battery in San Francisco. Rather than functioning as “your grandfather’s country club,” Edison House says it’s designed to foster a diverse community that is “eager to explore the world” and is “constantly curious.”  (Source: abc4)
2. Soho House’s newest LA location is Holloway House. Supposedly will be younger and “louder” than the Sunset Strip original. I’m neither of those things (young or loud), but I might give it a whirl next time I’m in LA.
3. The Carbone guys are opening their ZZ’s Club at Hudson Yards by year’s end. It will be in the former WS Tavern space. It’s a huge 25,000 square feet space and will include a Japanese restaurant (as in the Miami location), as well as lounges, bars, party spaces and an edition of Carbone — all open only to members, a first. Supposedly, there is a waiting list of more than 7,000 for the Miami location (and I can believe it because try as I might, getting a dinner reservation at Carbone has been impossible for years).

6. Cultural tourism – and mural tourism – increasingly popular!

Cultural tourism (pics above) is about learning, discovering, and experiencing a place and its people through the lens of its art and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, music, and creative industries. It’s my absolute favorite kind of travel!

• Mural Tourism is often the first step, especially for areas that have not been steeped in the arts. Recently, Johnson City, TN turned to artists to paint murals depicting animals and plants native to Northeast Tennessee under the Interstate 26 overpass on North Roan Street (pics below). They hired Felipe Ortiz, an artist originally from Colombia, to paint the pieces across four walls under the bridge. Ortiz has lived in Massachusetts for 20 years but travels extensively for public art projects across the United States.
• Jordan Roemerman, marketing manager for Kansas Tourism, noted murals were “a movement that began outside the state, but Kansas has picked up on it and run with it.” She noted that Taylor Swift had a butterfly mural painted in Nashville and now people line up and wait their turn to have their photo taken by the mural. 
• Speaking of Nashville, I will be there staying at Soho House which is dabsmack in the middle of Wedgewood Houston (WeHo), the city’s art hub. My cultural cup is overflowing with all the cool, creative things to do and see in the city.
• SLC is also dialing up their art game with a survey of locals to determine what kind of art and culture they want to see more of in downtown Salt Lake City.

7. Green-Wood Cemetery Catacombs and Moonlight Tours: Brooklyn’s hidden gem!

• The Green-Wood Catacombs are generally only open for private tours. However, Green-Wood’s first-ever artist in residence, Heidi Lau, has a phenomenal installation there currently and the catacombs are now open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays thru July 3rd.
• I also signed up for the June Moonlight Tour exploring Green-Wood’s monuments and Catacombs under the glow of the full moon. Historian Jeff Richman leads these immensely popular walking tours, which begin at sunset and are accompanied by the ethereal and atmospheric sounds of live accordion music.
• We’re entering a new golden age of cemeteries! (Remember you heard it here first!)

8. Beware: newprofilepic.com. it’s a cool app but gets scammy real fast

• This new app supposedly uses artificial intelligence to turn your profile picture into a painting. I’m starting to see lots of people using it and posting on Facebook.
• At first I thought it was fun. But when I went to use it again a few hours after downloading it, my phone was basically taken over by ads that I could not close or delete for quite a while, e.g., getir.
• There are a lot of warnings online about the app being Russian, sending your data to Moscow and so on. None of that seems to be true. BUT I do think they take your phone hostage for ads and I don’t like that. I’ve removed the app from my phone. BE CAUTIOUS WITH THIS APP!!!

9. Chicana Foods Peanut Salsa Macha: Made with 🖤 in downtown boise

• I first wrote about this brand and its three sister-founders in October 2021 (#9 on the blog) when I covered Boise Entrepreneur Week.
• I’m so excited to now be able to order the Chicana Foods brand and hopefully I will find it sublime!! Will let you know.

10. Brad’s opening at Garth GReenan Gallery (May 12 – June 18, 2022)

• Show dates: May 12- June 18, 2022
• Garth Greenan Gallery, 545 West 20th Street

And that’s a wrap for this week, my friends!

But not before I post about a very cool new wine/tabac bar in my neighborhood called Le Dive (37 Canal Street at Ludlow). It’s Jon Neidich’s newest baby. And it’s going to be quite a scene!! At the moment, if you get there when they open right at 5pm, you should have no problems getting seated.

And with that, it is indeed a wrap. If anyone wants to check out Brad’s show with me over the next few weeks, let me know! Also, any recommendations for Brooklyn now that I’m back into getting on the L train, please send them my way. Have an aweome weekend everyone!