New York Insiders | Citybuzz - A Vidicom and Christy Ferer Guide to Travel

New York

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+ Shelter: Argentine & Italian food with a rustic winter feel

Williamsburg: not a place for asking questions. It’s a place for sitting at a slab of oak tree beneath a stuffed goat, and digging on some scrumptious meat pastries... At least it is at Shelter, a spacious Williamsburg lair of whiskey and Argentine-Italian edibles, now open. El Almacen and Rosarito Fish Shack. Same folks behind those created this—a kind of hunting lodge of pizza and empanadas. Which... is a strange combination, yes. But after running the following equation—Pizza + Empanadas + Moose Horns + Whiskey = A Damn Good Time—mathematicians have determined the whole thing works just fine.

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+ Industrial style meets nature at risk taking clothing store Owen

Owen’s thoughtful compilation of men's and women’s wear in rich jewel tones, dark neutrals, and complex, highly textured knit, leather, and fur, make it a worthwhile addition the high-end boutiques in the meatpacking district. Phillip Salem, Owen’s enthusiastic, 25-old-owner, handpicks every piece―his lofty goal is to ensure that each pick is both statement-making and timeless.

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+ The Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop brings ramen expertise to NYC

The Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop is located in the Gotham West Market at 600 11th Avenue, between 44th and 45th Street. Since majoring in Japanese in college, Ivan Orkin has lived in Japan, studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and opened two ramen shops in Tokyo. An unheard of feat for a foreigner, one of his Tokyo shops is a leading ramen destination in Japan. This is Ivan Orkin's first ramen shop in the United States. The menu consists of an authentic, yet creative blend of ramen, combining Japanese tradition with Ivan's personal tastes. His flagship location will be opening soon in Manhattan's lower east side.

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+ New Museum: Paweł Althamer’s The Neighbors

This exhibition includes a new presentation of Paweł Althamer's work, Draftsmen’s Congress, originally presented at the 7th Berlin Biennial (2012). The blank white space of the New Museum’s Fourth Floor gallery is transformed through the gradual accumulation of drawings and paintings by Museum visitors and a wide array of invited community organizations. The exhibition also features a number of Althamer’s iconic sculptures and performative videos. For “The Neighbors,” Althamer has initiated a coat drive for the Bowery Mission, the Museum’s neighboring organization, which has been serving the homeless and hungry since 1879.

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+ A look at the sleek, made-to-measure custom shirts from Manuel Racim

The new made to measure experience. Manuel Racim offers the latest trends in custom suit tailoring. Just walk in—no appointment necessary—for a stylist-led tour of the high-tech space: Remote-controlled panels rotate with some 200 Italian-milled fabrics and a magical wall mirror converts into a digital touch-screen, letting customers swipe through options for everything from the type of fit, collar, and cuffs to the color of monogram, buttons, and threading. The shirts, which start at $125, are sewn in a century-old French atelier and arrive within two weeks; your measurements, meanwhile, are saved to an online account for future bespoke shopping

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+ Rustic meets refined at Betony, a modern American Restaurant

Betony is a Modern American restaurant overseen by Executive Chef Bryce Shuman (Eleven Madison Park) and General Manager Eamon Rockey (Eleven Madison Park, Atera, and Aska). The restaurant features soaring ceilings, contemporary photos of New York City street scenes, a bar, lounge and dining room.

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+ Check out heritage brand Etienne Aigner’s new flagship store in Soho

Etienne Aigner is a heritage brand that's been respected for its value, quality, and devotion to classic fashion for decades. The brand just opened up a 3,500-square-foot flagship store in Soho, located at 65 Greene Street.

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+ Ereka Vetrini on Tortaria

Tortaria is a Mexican-style sandwich shop and tequila bar that specializes in tortas, taquitos, and tequila. We offer the widest selection of tortas in all of New York City and prepare them from scratch each morning with authentic Mexican ingredients. And we don't stop there. We are also proud to offer made-to-order guacamole, hand-pressed corn Masa tortillas, and fresh fruit-squeezed margaritas.

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+ Thomas Farley Goes For A Ride In NYC

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+ NEUE Galerie’s Scott Gutterman Relaxes at Prospect Park

Believe it or not, Central Park is not the only park in New York City. Brooklyn native and Deputy Director Scott Gutterman of one of New York's coolest museums, the NEUE Galerie, knows that Brooklyn's Prospect Park is the hidden gem for a perfect urban escape. "As much as I love Central Park," Scott told citybuzz, "I think Prospect Park is a fantastic place. They have amazing concerts in the summer, lots of beautiful meadows, and it's a little more rolling and winding so it gets a lot of respect from the city."

Located in the heart of New York's most populated borough- yep, Brooklyn- Prospect Park is the place where true locals go to hang out. Designed by the same architects who created Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, is bigger in some ways than its more famous counterpart: a 90-acre Long Meadow, 60-acre lake and Brooklyn's only forest. But that's not all, Prospect Park has the nation's first urban Audobon Center, a zoo and every summer there's the Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Center, on top of year round tennis, playgrounds, and twilight tours that are like an urban safari, but with wine and cheese! Of course, Prospect Park is also great for a romantic stroll and the perfect excuse to get out of Manhattan and visit- for most New Yorkers- the real New York City. *** Scott Gutterman is the Deputy Director of the NEUE Galerie on Museum Mile near Central Park. NEUE Galerie focuses on early twentieth-century German and Austrian art, including famed works from Gustav Klimt, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Otto Dix.

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+ New Museum’s Lisa Phillips Dines at Gemma

As the director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Lisa Phillips knows a thing or two about the "renaissance," as she calls it, of Bowery Street. The New Museum, is after all, at the center of that explosion of art on Bowery with its Guggenheim-esque new building that opened on December 1, 2007.

When Lisa isn't at the forefront of all things innovative, she heads up a few blocks on Bowery to the New Museum's antithesis, Gemma. "This is where I spend most of my time and eat most of my meals," Lisa told citybuzz of the East Village area. Gemma's an Italian restaurant that's as rustic as you can get in ultra-modern New York City. There's the classic thatched red wine bottles, wooden table tops and copper covered bar that evoke a feeling that Dorothy is no longer in the East Village anymore. The menu is filled with tried and true favorites like delicious wood-fired pizzas and soft gnocchi with a hearty Bolognese sauce. The easy setting and reliable food leaves diners like Lisa Phillips with the impression that, as the New York Times stated,"Gemma has an unlabored panache that makes an evening go down very easy." *** Lisa Phillips has been the Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art since 1999.

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+ Jean Georges Always Gold for Restaurant Critic Frank Bruni

There's only one restaurant in New York City where you'll never hear a bad word from former New York Times Restaurant Critic Frank Bruni; it's Jean Georges. This celebrity chef has made a name for himself with star-studded favorites Spice Market and Mercer Kitchen, but his self-titled Jean Georges is the creme de la creme of his culinary empire. "In my job I get a lot of calls and emails saying, 'Well you know I had heard that X restaurant was great' or 'you had said that Y restaurant was great,'" Frank Bruni said to citybuzz of his tenure at the New York Times. "So I get a lot of complaints, and a lot of feedback that’s positive as well, and that’s a restaurant, Jean Georges, that I almost never, ever field a complaint about."

These are words that every chef would like to hear, especially since it's a commentary from not only one of the most respected food critics in the business, but also of the overwhelmingly happy clientele at Jean Georges. What makes this place so great? The four star restaurant prepares every meal to perfection, and that is not a cliche here. Every dish steals the show from perfectly seasoned scallops to signature dishes like the checkerboard hamachi and yellowfin tun and roasted squab with a corn pancake and an elegant splash of foie gras. The Trump Hotel restaurant (Hey, if it passed The Donald's seal of approval, you know it must be incredible) has cleaned up nearly every award in the book: 4 Stars from the Times, 3 Michelen Stars (one of only four NYC restaurants with that Michelen rating), and chef Jean Georges Vongerichten has won 2 James Beard awards for this restaurant alone. Or, as Frank Bruni simply put it, "Among food lovers who go to the city's four star restaurants, I think Jean-Georges in the Trump Hotel in Columbus Circle is a restaurant that almost never disappoints." *** Frank Bruni is the former restaurant critic for The New York Times and is now working for the Times Magazine. Bruni is also a best-selling author, with works including the politically themed Ambling Into History and his recent memoir Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater.

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+ The Met’s Thomas Campbell Eats at Balthazar

Balthazar is owned by the same Keith McNally of the trendy, meatpacking hotspot Pastis, so it's no wonder it's always packed with a cool crowd. One of the

elite New Yorkers that frequents the French bistro in artsy SoHo is the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas P. Campbell. Often quoted as a "masterpiece," Balthazar is known for its fresh baked breads, delicious brasserie cuisine, and rustic Parisian-inspired decor. Favorite dishes include the short braised ribs, Portbello mushroom sandwich (for lunch), and the proudly named Balthazar salad. No matter what time of day or night you head downtown, this brasserie is always buzzing with social New Yorkers like Campbell. Make sure to call ahead for a reservation. But if you just want to drop by, you can go to the Balthazar Bakery and grab some of their famous grains to enjoy in the privacy of your home. Thomas Campbell has incredible taste in haute art and tasty cuisine. ***Thomas P. Campbell is the Director of the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. Before his role at the Director and CEO in January 2009, Campbell excelled as the Curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and was the organizer of many groundbreaking and highly acclaimed exhibits at the Met.

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+ Anna Wintour’s Secret Street

One would expect fashion legend Anna Wintour’s favorite New York street to be as glamorous as Vogue’s cover pages, but it is a street so small and hidden it’s only a lane. Minetta Lane is one of the most tranquil and charming streets in the City. Boasting only a block of real estate, it doesn’t even house one store. Instead it has the beautiful Minetta Lane Theater complete with a balcony that shows off-Broadway plays. Minetta Lane is in the heart of Greenwich Village, with bustling Sixth Avenue to its west and NYU bar-ridden MacDougal Street to its east. But you would never know how populated the area is when walking down this street, and that’s why New Yorkers love it. Walking down this lane is like going back in time, with some of the original 1800 buildings still standing proudly. The peace and quiet is an amazing escape from the hustle and bustle of New York without every leaving its heart. ***Anna Wintour is the legendary editor-in-chief and fashion icon of American Vogue Magazine. Ms. Wintour is widely regarded as one of the most powerful people in fashion by heavily influencing trends and emerging designers’ careers. Beyond the pages, Anna Wintour has been the muse of major motion pictures including starring in “The September Issue” and has been named “The Mayoress of New York” by The Guardian publication.

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+ Isaac Mizrahi’s Radio City Inspiration

Issac Mizrahi is a fashion designer with a fabulously loud personality, but his “most inspiring place” in New York is a traditional staple of New York culture: Radio City Music Hall. Thousands will flock to its doors in the upcoming months for the world famous Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular show, but Mizrahi thinks the architecture says it all. Mirazhi says Radio City, not some other famous New York skyscraper, epitomizes the 1930’s art deco architecture and its beauty is truly inspiring. But Mizrahi does love a good Rockette show like the rest of us, having once been in talks to design their costumes!

** Isaac Mizrahi the Chief Director of Liz Claiborne and television host of Bravo’s “The Fashion Show.” Mizrahi has been awarded 4 prestigious CFDA fashion awards and is credited for revolutionizing the fashion industry with his partnership with Target. Beyond fashion, Mizrahi is an accomplished author, performed in a one-man, off-Broadway production, and has appeared in motion pictures and television shows including “Sex & the City.” Mirazhi was born in Brooklyn and resides near Washington Square Park.

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+ Eric Fischl & The New Gen of Odeon Artists

It makes perfect sense that artist Eric Fischl’s favorite restaurant is The Odeon Restaurant. The Odeon is the grandfather of the hot culinary scene that is TriBeCa today. It was the first to arrive on the scene, before TriBeCa got its moniker for being the Triangle-Below-Canal, and attracted

the who’s who of the art world, including Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The Odeon is known for its brasserie fare including the country frisee salad, trouffled poached eggs and sautéed cod. At night, especially on warm summer evenings, the restaurant’s terrace sports the beautiful and fabulous of New York sipping martinis and cocktails. And Eric Fischl’s keeps the Odeon’s artist attraction alive today with his frequent visits to this American brasserie pioneer. ** Eric Fischl is an artist and sculptor and native New Yorker. Fischl’s works have been featured at The Whitney Museum and sculptures in Rockefeller Center.