Hotel bars I like: Bemelman's at the Caryle, where I spent my hurricane exile, and Bar Pleiades at the Surrey across the way.
Downtown: The Blue Bar in India House.
Haircut: Gerald DeCock in the Hotel Chelsea penthouse.
Work of Art: Joseph Cornell's "Setting for a Fairytale," at the Guggenheim; "Bedroom from the Sagredo Palace, Venice," at the Met. I've been paying homage to those two since I was a teenager.
Brunch or lunch with friends: The Fat Radish. Any time of day, Cornelia Street Cafe is happening, in the loveliest of ways.
Place for a tryst: Bacaro. Dinner at Duane Park in Tribeca when there is a burlesque show is entertaining, in the right company.
Unexpectedly good, affordable theater: 59E59.
Vintage: make an appointment with Sally Cohen, who also has a few things on display at Estate Jewels in Fort Greene (and at the Brooklyn Flea on the weekends), another absolute must-visit.
Fragrance: Aedes de Venustas, if you've never been. I wear "Carnal Flower" by Frederic Malle, which I buy at Barney's.
Place for quiet conversation: The Morgan Library Dining Room or Cafe, or Cafe Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie, or join a private club (the old-fashioned kind; that's what they're for).
New York novels: That I've publicized, and highly recommend–– Lightning People by Christopher Bollen, The Exquisite by Laird Hunt, YOU or the Invention of Memory by Jonathan Baumbach, Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. Further reading –– Katherine Lanpher's Leap Days (essays), Amor Towles' Rules of Civility. For more reading with a sense of place, visit Idlewild Books.
Thank you kindly for taking the time to tell me your favorites.
Yours, Cait
Posted by: Caitlin Shortell | January 29, 2012 at 02:40 PM
Merci!
I found Idlewild for the first time a year ago and was immediately saddened I hadn't known about it for its whole existence.
Posted by: Autumn Whitefield-Madrano | January 30, 2012 at 12:25 PM