Good Morning & Hello Friday!

• So much going on in NYC at the moment. I am eating out EVERY day and still not getting caught up on all the new places I want to check out.
• Big highlight this week was the opening of Nine Orchard’s Lobby Lounge and Corner Bar Restaurant and meeting Chef Jason Pfeifer. (#1 below)
• Another major highlight (and I know this may seem odd to some of you), was a Moonlight Tour of Green-Wood Cemetery. A small group of us got tickets (it was SOLD OUT), and we were accompanied by two accordion players and a historian. Absolutely magical! (#9 below – PLS watch the short video)
• Also, must do a shout out to Parasol Projects. This full-service pop-up agency on the Bowery manages (beautifully I might add) at least 10 storefronts in Nolita/LES. The one on my block always has something major going on. This week it’s been turned into Din Din, a pop-up supper club. I’m booked for Friday dinner – will report back. (#2)
• And finally, I’m taking a slightly different tack with my videos. I’m switching it up from being a recap to making it more “forward looking.” Doing it while I’m in public feels a bit weird to me but hopefully I can make it work and keep it interesting. Let me know what you think. (#10)

And with that please scroll down for this week’s Top 10. Enjoy!!

1. Nine Orchard Hotel with Ignacio Mattos/Mattos Hospitality Helming F&B

1. Nine Orchard’s Lobby Lounge and Corner Bar (restaurant) just opened. A fine dining restaurant (Amado Grill) will open in the Fall. The hotel officially opens for bookings June 20. Ignacio Mattos and his hospitality group, Mattos Hospitality, are running all F&B for the property. The chef at the Corner Bar, Jason Pfeifer (formerly at Danny Meyer’s Maialino) is doing a phenomenal job. THIS WILL BE A MAJOR ADDITION TO THE LES/ DIMES SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD.
2. The property was purchased (and exquisitely restored) by DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. I’ve also heard from reliable sources that Ray Azoulay of LA’s Obsolete Gallery had a hand in decorating (I would say he certainly provided the Lobby Lounge couches). I have so far found nothing on who is actually running the hotel.
3. Below pics from our visit to the Lobby Lounge and dinner at the Corner Bar.

2. Din Din Pop-Up Supper Club on LES (2 Rivington Street)

1. The vibe of this pop-up is very charming (a welcome change from the usual streetwear/sneaker hoopla).
2. I met the chef/owner Courtney Sproule (pic above) while she was setting up. And, of course, made a res for the 5-course dinner. No kitchen on the premises so interesting to see how she makes this work (at $90 pp with tax/tip, stakes are high!). It’s running through this weekend and next.
3. Per the website, she’s a two-time winner of Portland (OR) Monthly’s Best Restaurant. Pic of the din din menu below.

3. Notion software’s pop-up. dozens of ppl will stand in line for free coffee!

• Here’s what I learned last week: a cute set-up and almost anything free guarantees you a line of people.
• That said, I did check out NOTION and although I didn’t find it “a tool unlike anything I had seen before,” I do love the graphics on their pop-up and promo/ad materials. Is anyone I know, using Notion?
• Notion has been around for almost 10 years but operating very much under the radar. In October 2021, all that changed when they got major funding from Sequoia Capital and were suddenly valued at $10 billion (with 20 million users).

4. Top street-style look on the LES: Preppy with a Twist!

1. All the girls in my neighborhood are sporting that “shorts with knee-high boots” look this summer!
2. Guys often wearing that modern twist on Ivy League, preppy, i.e., chino pants with critters, or Christmas Nutcracker figures, on them. The ones above look a bit like J. Press x Todd Snyder.

5. SCAD’s making sure they stay relevant — and enrollment is up 9%

1. Enrollment at U.S. colleges over the last two years is down 5% due to soaring costs, relevancy, and the pandemic.
2. SCAD, on the other hand, is up 9% and attributes it to updating and critiquing their curriculum multiple times a year. The entire school is dedicated to business innovation.The most popular majors are animation, filmmaking, and fashion. Sneaker design is a minor in a curriculum that’s evolving nimbly and practically.
3. SCAD claims students have a 99% employment rate within 10 months of graduation. (Source: CBS news)

“We’re very oriented toward invention, more so than tradition. Whereas other colleges might be more emphasizing tradition over invention. We don’t teach anything that you can’t get a good job in.“

Paula Wallace, President, Savannah College of Art & Design

6. White Claw has peaked but canned cocktails, fruity summer brews, and beer/wine hybrids are picking up steam

1. The big news for the summer is the launch of canned “Jack & Coke.”
2. Pittsburgh’s I.C. Light Mango, around for a decade as a strictly summer brew, is now a year-round offering. Sales are up 25% in 2022 and it will soon be available at every Giant Eagle in Pennsylvania. (Source: NEXTPittsburgh)
3. And two new summery, fruity ales in SLC: Johnny Fruitah (also infused with mango) and Bougie Johnny’s Rosé Ale (a beer/wine hybrid). All these new fruity brews are considered highly sessionable. (Source: cityweeklyutah)

#MyTake: This is so NOT my thing. But I also get that novice drinkers want something that’s easy on the palate and branded specifically for their generation. Therefore, every ten years or so a new version of wine coolers or malt beverages comes along and moves through a predictable cycle. These novelty products are always quickly adopted and then, just as quickly, abandoned as their fans age out. Most brands in this category have a limited 2-3 year lifecycle.

7. What’s with all these “wolf/wolves” names? It’s kind of badass, but any other reasons?

1. I first got curious about WOLF as a brand name when Laser Wolf opened in Brooklyn (at the Hoxton Hotel).
2. Next, Evan Funke’s hot new spot, the impossible-to-get-into MOTHER WOLF opened in LA. Will try to get a res for when I head out there later this month. If anyone has any “ins,” please let me know.
3. Raised by Wolves, a speakeasy in San Diego, got on my radar a few days ago when it was ranked as one of the top 20 bars in North America.
4. And finally, while checking out a gallery on the Bowery this week, I saw the above “White Wolf Projects” listed on a mailbox in the building!!

Besides the fact that wolves are kind of wild and dangerous, and travel in packs, what is it about the Wolf name that has made it so popular – especially in hospitality? Have googled it and come up empty.

8. Boise’s Corgi Fest sounds very fun (Robert C. – are you reading this??)

1. 600 people and 300 corgis are expected to attend.
2. The fest will include a mini parade, costume contest, a corgi derby, and bobbing for hot dogs, a contest to see which corgi can eat the fastest. There will also be musical hula hoops, which is a twist on musical chairs where owners try to keep their corgis in the hoop when the music stops.
3. One person who would be thrilled by this news: Queen Elizabeth. Corgis are her favorite dog. She’s owned more than 30 Royal Corgis since she became Queen in 1952. She loves them so much that when she received a random photo of 1-year old Jalayne Sutherland of Ohio, dressed up as her majesty with her corgis (for Halloween), the queen asked her lady in waiting, the Hon. Marry Morrison, to respond, with specific praise for the girl’s “splendid outfit.”

9. Coolest thing ever: Moonlight Cemetery Tours.

1. Last week a group of us went out to Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery for the SOLD OUT Moonlight Tour. It was one of the most beautiful evenings ever with an absolutely exquisite sunset. Learning about the history and background of the various families and their tombstone sculptures from Green-Wood’s historian, Jeff Richman, added so much to the experience. On top of that, we were accompanied by two accordion players (Bob Goldberg and Mellissa Elledge). The whole scene was so weird and funky and fabulous. Highly recommend.
2. But not just in NY. These kind of tours are also offered at Arlington National Cemetery which has a Monuments by Moonlight Tour (by trolley)
3. Columbia, SC, offers a Visit the Cemeteries Under the Moonlight Tour.
4. Mystic, CT offers Moonlit Mystic Graveyard Ghost Tours.
5. And in Savannah, GA, which has some of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country, there are a myriad of nightime ghost and gravestone tours (both walking and by trolley).

10. Video: Looking Forward

And that’s a wrap for this week. BTW, update on my COS purchases last week. I have been loving that jumpsuit. I think I’ve worn it 5 times already and have gotten great feedback (even from random strangers on the subway). And with that, wishing you all a great weekend!