cityrag

greenery
reader smoke-in support from somewhere very green and mellow, peace out…

here she comes again
goodbye Alex, hello Bonnie. another f’in weekend of rain. this photo was shot last Friday as the remnants of hurricane Alex blasted in. forecasts expect Bonnie to produce a wicked deja vu tonight...

the drunk room
the Dark Room opening last night was a blast! lots of party people in the house, awesome space, comfortable room, beautiful bartenders, good tunes. and a 2 hour open bar that rocked (6 Stolis in under 2 hours) ummm, good party. hope some readers out there were able to follow the tip!

Buddy and the baby - part 2
the thing is, Buddy isn’t much of a kisser. if he really likes you, you might get one. except for our friend's baby. we can’t keep Buddy away from him. about now he's realized we don’t want him licking the baby all day. so he sits patiently, watching for a moment when we look away, and he runs in and licks him like a lollypop…

neighborhood loyalty
continuing with submission Thursday... reader Marissa was kind enough to share a story she'd written on life in NYC. we love this snippet on neighborhood aesthetics...
“New Yorkers carry immense pride for the neighborhoods they live in. Here in New York it’s no shock that homeless people live on almost every single street. But what you may not realize is that even they proudly represent their neighborhoods. For instance, I live in an area called Murray Hill. It’s known for being a little pretentious and somewhat high-fashion. Therefore, the homeless woman who lives outside my building stylishly sports Ugg Boots, a Louis Vuitton bag and Gucci shades. If that’s not neighborhood loyalty, I don’t know what is!"

seeing Adam Purple outside our door in the LES everyday, we give this observation a hearty AMEN!

hidden history
we love NYC construction. not just for the giant cranes, wonder bread trucks and sexy hard hats, but the amazing peak it can give into New York's past. after seeing our post earlier this week on the Chashama demolition, reader EG sent over this great pic he snapped last month; catching an interesting piece of history peaking out, that's now gone forever...

new bar opening on Ludlow tonight!
the Dark Room – a BEAUTIFUL new bar opens tonight in the former location of Ludlow Bar (formerly, formerly the Ludlow St Café, for old schoolers.) with promises of an open bar from 8-10!

2 of our genius artist/design friends who’ve been behind some of the best bars on both coasts (Beauty Bar, the Coral Room and Tainted Lady Lounge are some in NYC) have been working on the interior, so we snagged a preview - and it’s fucking fabulous! dark, sleek, sexy and welcoming. gorgeous stone used throughout, big bars with rich, dark wood, great lighting, big luxurious padded boths all around. the deep colors and textures used on the walls bring it all together casting an elegant and warm vibe. sound system looks excellent, and the owners promise a cool assortment of DJ’s. we thought the LES had everything, but this new spot is actually a very cool addition. (the photos above were taken during construction, we'll bring you more tomorrow!)

the Dark Room is located at 165 Ludlow St., between Houston and Stanton. ironically, on the same block where the Luna Lounge is being forced to leave (as we learned from Curbed this week)

smokin for justice
our latest smoke-in features some extra stinky weed, a mohawked friend from Humboldt Cali and several police cars (one with a cop inside)...

hot tomato
there’s a reason why you’ll see heirloom tomatoes on the menus of some of the city’s best restaurants right now... they have a rich, deep and bright flavor, and come in beautiful variety of shapes and colors. heirlooms have a had a major resurgence in both the gardening and epicurean communities over the last few years. they’re one of our favorite foods, and call for the simplest of preparations. like an open-face tomato sandwich: a piece of toast, with a smear of mayo and a couple fresh slices on top.

so many great varieties, and each have their own unique characteristics and undertones. one of the most flavor packed is the pink fleshed Brandywine shown below. they’re available at the Union Square green market and other farm markets around the city. but our secret spot for scoring an inexpensive, freshly picked assortment is a little old family farm stand called “Green Acres” in Columbia County about hours above the city (at the Hudson exit off the Taconic, 3 miles west on Rt. 82.) and by-the-way – don’t be afraid of their funny look, the ugly ones are often the tastiest! (and as the pic below shows, once you slice them open, inside it’s another story.)

little tramp
he makes a scrunchy face, and we laugh out loud, so the little comedian scruches it up even more.