NYC and Montauk, ‘12
I know, I am long overdue for an update. Many exciting things stalled me, which I will elaborate on more later: As an opening salvo, it’s summer, and I’ve been taking cooking, novel writing and Spanish classes, as well as traveling.
Which brings us to my recent trip to NYC. My best friend Briana recently moved into a new apartment in the West Village and wanted me to breeze into town. We’d rent a car and blaze down the LIE straight to Montauk, making pit stops only for Moon Pies in Moriches and rosé-soaked lunches on the patio at Pierre’s in Bridgehampton.
Not only did I just finish the Great Gatsby, I couldn’t have been more in the mood for this trip.
I arrived in NYC late on a Thursday, wherein Briana and I checked out Richard Sandoval’s new Peruvian restaurant called Raymi’s (43 W. 24th St. and Broadway).
Here’s the Brigitte Bardot-esque beauty sipping a classic Pisco Sour (which was divine):
Side note: How amazing is her dress? It’s by Eva Franco.
I enjoyed the namesake cocktail, with Pisco Porton, aji amarillo, mango passion fruit, lime and pisco sour foam (circumventing the notion of egg white froth for those who’re afraid their drink would fare better on a slice of 9-grain, are we?)
Oh! And, they have a gooseberry pisco sour. I would return to NYC just for that… love the pie!
The next night, we met up at our friend Phillip at Acme, a restaurant I’ve been dying to try (NY Mag taunts me with mentions of this place every month it seems).
Don’t let the facade fool you: The formerly Cajun dump on Great Jones kept the banner, but inside it’s serious New Nordic restaurant from Danish chef Mads Refslund. We were surprised to see our friend Jon Niedich pop in – formerly a manager of the Boom Boom Room – he is now a partner here.
Interjection: Who needs a doorknob when you have these guys?
Moving on, I arrived early, enjoying an Uptown Affair: Vodka, green apple and celery juice, cinnamon nutmeg syrup and dandelion (highly recommended):
Phillip had been raving about the new Nomad Hotel, new from the developer of the Ace, so we cabbed it here for a nightcap.
Leo Robitschek developed the menu at the opulent, 24-foot-long mahogany bar here. We all had a round of the Paris is Burning: London Dry Gin, mezcal, St. Germain, pineapple, lemon and angostura bitters (mezcal and pineapple together are my kryptonite):
Paris burned so bright, we ended up heading over to the Boom Boom Room for Nightcap II. Here, I reunited with the illustrious George Carney, upstanding fellow and creator of marvelous affairs in coupe glasses (like the one pictured below). Mr. Carney explained that he was developing a special cocktail for Cointreau and this was from his test kitchen. I loved it, as evidenced here:
After enjoying a view from the Standard rooftop, I ventured back to the golden palace in the sky to say goodbye to its angels and sky captains.
Early to sleep, early to Montauk the next morning!
Briana and I rented a Prius and hit the 495. And here’s what we encountered upon arrival to Navy Beach:
They were having a 50’s Beach Party! As Briana commented, “You’re perpetually equipped for this,” and lo and behold, this was no exception:
That cocktail is the Navy Grog (dark & light rum, grapefruit, orange, pineapple). It’s always been my favorite at NB.
We brought plenty of reading material, lazed the afternoon away, had a quick bite and were off to an open-window, salty-air slumber.
The plan for the next day can be best summed up here:
Yes, ma’am, we spent the entire day and night at Surf Lodge with the cool kids at GrandLife. Lots of Talking Heads on rotation, lots of rosé for quaffing, lots of fun was had by all.
The next day, we took a tour of the newest hotel on the block. Formerly the Ronjo (a tiki-themed, 1960s affair with huge totem out front to boot), the fully-remodeled Montauk Beach House has its own private membership program and has already hosted the likes of Paul Oakenfold and Paul Sevigny.
Note that cute waitress uniform on the right, and all the girls who work here are gorgeous!
We didn’t have much time to luxuriate here, however we will return! And speaking of returning, we were due to bring the Prius back to the city.
And I was due at the airport shortly thereafter.
Thank you, Briana, Phillip and many others, who made my mini-comeback so spectacular!
See you again soon.
