Bend and Stretch

Setting aside time to work out on the weekend is always a bit of a drag. There's only about 948 other things we'd rather do than hit the gym. Especially in the summer when we're sipping Dark & Stormies poolside in the Hamptons. But Erika Bloom Pilates Plus has figured out a way to make exercising (slightly) more enjoyable this season. From July 4th through Labor Day, the studio is offering at-home services in the Hamptons so you can do Pilates, yoga and Thai massage at home, poolside or on the beach. If you've ever been to the studio on the Upper East Side you know Erika Bloom instructors have some of the hottest, most enviable bodies in town, which means you should sign up for classes immediately. Click here to do so.

Clothes Call

Now that June's upon us, we're officially welcoming the warm weather by moving all of our winter clothes to the back of the closet. That's it, fifty degree days. We've had enough of you! To celebrate the fashion transition, we're stopping by Gen Art's shopping event—aptly titled Gen Art Shop NYC —this Wednesday evening to purchase wares from super cool emerging local designers like Sally Tseng (left), Whistle & Flute and Cloak & Dagger (right). Come out to support up-and-coming talent and  score some pieces by designers that your friends haven't even heard of yet. Oh, did we mention there's complimentary beer and wine while you shop? We'll see you there.

Are you kicking yourself for not buying a home in 2001 or 2002 before the city's real estate market went super nova? Well, you still missed the boat, but now is definitely the time to buy in Manhattan. Home sales in the Northeast are down, down, down, and with many new-construction condos from Midtown to Downtown sitting half empty, perspective buyers have their choice of location, location, location. But not all new construction is created equally, which is why you might want to check out the latest trend in building: brick. It's back, don't ya know.

Conversation Pièce de résistance

Chatter as of late seems to revolve around the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, the Lakers' quest to reclaim the title, and obtaining the secret number for Minetta Tavern.

But when you head out to Montauk or the Hamptons this summer, plop down one of these unconventional beach towels to spark a fresh conversation.

Art world fixture Yvonne Force Villareal rounded up four artist pals—Julian Schnabel, Karen Kilimnik, Ed Ruscha and Raymond Pettibon—and asked each one to submit an image of something that personally inspired him/her.

Pettibon, a real-life water baby known for his iconic wave series, illustrated his desire to literally "wrap" the water around him. An annotative quote imparts the sentiment: "Later he could be seen in the beach parking lot, behind his van, a towel wrapped around his middle, changing out of his wet summer suit."

The man clearly hails from southern California.

Then there's the infamous Mr. Schnabel. His circa-2007 "Navigation Drawings" are done in oil on vintage nautical maps, mounted on stretched linen. With great flair, his rendering of Martinique is reborn on 100% cotton.

Be on the lookout for Tracey Emin's print come Dec. 2009.

$50; available exclusively at worksonwhatever.com

Best Hotel in the World?

An engaged friend recently asked for seaside honeymoon suggestions since I am a tropical beach junkie. I immediately said she should go to Jade Mountain in St. Lucia, undoubtedly the greatest place I've ever been to in my entire life. (We mentioned it in our recent Caribbean travel package in the May/June issue.) The rooms only have three walls, and the fourth one is just a wide open view of the Piton mountains and the sea, which you can gaze out from your room's personal plunge pool. The picture here is of the actual room I stayed at two years ago, just as it opened. (No, I am not in the photo, and yes, feel free to hate me.) But honestly, as I told my friend, this is truly a place worth marrying for. One caveat: The toilet in the room only has three walls as well. (Weird!) But the lobby has very nice facilities, just in case you're not that close to your betrothed.

Hotel Heaven or Hell?

As you may have heard—literally and figuratively—a few très-très hotels have recently opened in the city. For the most part, their arrivals have had been highly anticipated in the blogosphere, but not so much in the actually neighborhoods in which they went up. As reported by curbed.com this morning, the boisterous fanfaronade constantly emanating from the Cooper Square and Thompson LES's outdoor areas, in particular, is starting to drive the locals nuts. Still, the question remains: Where should you recommend your out-of-town friends stay? Decide for yourself.

An alternative to Terminator...

Fans of the Dardenne brothers won't want to miss the retrospective happening now at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. Last night we caught a screening of Rosetta, the 1999 Palme d'Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival. In true Dardenne style, the focus was on the gritty, lower-class side of Belgium—in this case a young woman who's constantly searching for work and who shares a trailer park with her drunk mother. It's intense, philosophical and once you see it you won't be able to stop thinking about it.

Film junkies take note: The series continues with a screening of La Promesse Friday evening—it's the story of a slum landlord and his teenage son who rent tenements to immigrant workers—and will be followed by a conversation with the Dardennes at 8:30pm. Trust us, you won't want to miss it.

Paper Trail

Alpha and Omega, 2009 acrylic on wood and mirrors, 24 x 24 x 7 inches

Miami artist Jen Stark meticulously cuts stacks of colored paper with an X-Acto knife, creating eye-pleasing layers and designs that still manage to challenge. Her show at downtown gallery LMAKprojects, The Beginning of the End, is on now til June 21. Don’t miss it. That is all.
LMAKprojects, 139 Eldridge St. between Delancey and Broome, 212-255-9707

Finally!

Grizzly Bear's latest album Veckatimest is arguably one of the most anticipated releases of '09. The album was (finally!!) released today and tomorrow the Brooklyn quartet kick off their two-day stint at Town Hall. For more on the boys of Grizzly Bear, check out Manhattan's current issue.

Pulled Pork Showdown

As an avid Yankees fan dating a rabid Mets fan, I usually spend my summer evenings split evenly between Queens and the Bronx. I've already chowed on Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke Carolina pulled pork sandwich at Citi Field (left) but last night marked my first Yankee game so I ran around comparing all the various food options between the two. (You can read about our own comparison in the March/Arpil edition of Manhattan here.) Verdict: Citi Field definitely has the classier grub, but Yankee Stadium has Brother Jimmy's BBQ, offering a pretty competitive pulled pork sandwich to Blue Smoke's. The only difference is the sauce at Blue Smoke is a tad thicker and tangier, but Bro Jimmy's also sells sweet sides like mac 'n cheese, baked beans and fried pickles. As a baked beans lover, I declare this a tie. The only bummer? They post the damn calories. (800!)

Summer Reading

Memorial Day is here at last, so you know what that means! No, not sitting in traffic on the 405 or holding in derisive laughter as plastic-fantastic blondes perambulate around Bridgehampton. It's time to stack up on good books and get your read on. Here are mini-excerpts of ten blockbusters due out this month. All the usual genres are covered—top fiction, memoirs, gritty true crime and, of course, fluff. Take your pick and don't be afraid to hush those loud-talkers on the Jitney.

So scandalous..

After reading Sara Cardace's Q&A with Michael Gross in the current issue of Manhattan, I made a note to add Rogues' Gallery: The Secret History of the Moguls and the Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum to my summer reading list (scandal + gossip in the art world = excellent beach read). Now, having read this article on The Huffington Post, I'm committed to reading everything he's ever written. Starting with this. So juicy!

All that Jazz!

As we've noted: We love our new office. The commute, however, takes some getting used to. As the R train inched its way across Brooklyn this morning, I found this article in the New York Times which only made things worse. Apparently the JVC Jazz Festival in NYC is no longer. Turns out the company behind the festival (a summertime constant in the city since 1984) has run into some financial problems (big surprise). But then I remembered the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party is just three weeks away! If you haven't been, it's amazing: 14 of the nation's top pitmasters cook up their award-winning ribs, pulled pork, brisket and so on. And you get to sample everything—for just $8 per plate. Best of all, the two-day festival features music from six bluesy, soul singers like Howard Tate, The Dixons and SaRon Crenshaw. So while we're sad to see the JVC Festival go, we're sure the blues and soul emanating from Madison Square Park—coupled with a heaping order of baby back ribs—will help take the edge off.
For more info, check out #9 on Manhattan's Top Ten list.

Can you help me?

We’re loving the new neighborhood: Lower Manhattan is pretty amazing on a sunny day, and we’ve had a string of ’em. Yet as New Yorkers, we’re entitled to our pet peeves, and one remains the comically slow checkout line at most Duane Reade drugstores. This morning, a quick pre-work pop-in for a pack of Kleenex resulted in a 7-minute wait as one clerk struggled with a purchase, another had a snafu with an elderly customer (of course!) and another two attempted to unwrap tight rolls of change. The line grew a dozen strong before a cavalry-like clerk rescue occurred from some hidden back room. Oh, all of which reminded us of number 15 from Manhattan’s “25 Ways To Instantly Improve NYC.”

Mmm Mmm Good

Oooooh, big news in the dining scene: Frank Bruni’s New York Times review of Minetta Tavern comes out tomorrow (or tonight, if you’re an obsessive online reader). But why wait? You can read Manhattan’s ace review by dining critic Adeena Sussman right here, right now. So is Keith McNally’s latest McHotspot worth the hype? We’ll let the burger do the talking…
UPDATE: Bruni loves Minetta!
photo by Evan Sung

Get Out!

Okay, so this insanely nice weather has us wanting to ramp up the spring and summer plans, and first up might have to be Friday’s performance of On The Waterfront in Hoboken, on, where else? The waterfront! And when the rain comes back? We’ll be hitting the Met’s Costume Institute and the homage to the supermodel, à la this vintage flick by Peter Lindbergh. Just two of the selections from Manhattan’s May/June issue Top Ten. Check it out now!

Going Dutch

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair winds down today, but some design stores will continue to host exhibitions into next month. One that we checked out was Cite’s “400 Years Later—CITE Goes Dutch,” a showcase of 23 emerging designers from that little country that “discovered” our Manhattan isle four centuries back. The items included in the show range from quirky yet useful stuff like a gun-shaped handbag and a big wall mirror that contains a pop-out hand mirror, but we were most taken with photos by Lisa Klappe, including this one from her “Hair Basketry” series. The exhibit is up at CITE’s Soho showroom until June 14.
CITE, 131 Green St./Prince., 212.431.7272

RE-BRANDING NEW YORK

While we were putting together the May/June issue of Manhattan toward the end of this past miserable winter, the news about the city was getting pretty grim, what with all that Madoff scheming and Wall Street wishy-washiness. So we had an idea: We’d ask several up-and-coming graphic designers with NYC addresses to re-imagine Milton Glaser’s iconic logo. And they obliged. Oh sure, now the weather’s nicer and Wall Street has had a few triple-digit rallies recently—the Dow rose almost 250 points today, in our first full day as neighbors to the NYSE!—so everyone’s all chipper and upbeat again. But humor us if you will, or at least send the link to your graphic design nerd friends.

The New Manhattan

Manhattan’s May/June issue hit newsstands last week, and since we were a bit busy with our move, we didn’t get a chance to start hyping it. We’ll be posting links to specific stories from our digital edition in this space this week, but if you’re in the tri-state area, stop by a newsstand or Barnes & Noble and ask for Manhattan by name!

Day 1

Whew. Manhattan magazine's edit team moved to our new temporary location all the way down near Battery Park today. We'll tell you all about it next week, but we're very excited about the new view, the new digs and the fresh perspective on the greatest city on the planet.