I am still not sure if I am going home for holiday this year. I am grappling with it for a variety of reasons. But I will fantasize. And almost all of my favourites of the last 25 years that have survived have become mini-chains.
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A toasted bagel with butter from our West Village corner bodega of 20+ years. And an iced hazelnut coffee - they just keep a carafe of it going all day and it is so good. If I’m lucky A will wake up early in the morning and bring it to me in bed. Although I guess it will be a different bed because I have subletted my own very beloved domicile out to a corporate lawyer named Blake.
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Breakfast from the Bus Stop Cafe Two eggs over easy with sourdough toast and home fries. And regular black filter coffee in proper heavy white mugs with unlimited refills. None of this flat white barista bullshit. I will drink it and try not to miss its dearly departed sibling, the Village Den.
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Happy hour tuna crudo, rose, and shrimp cocktail at Mermaid Inn.
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Boiled potato and cheese pierogi from Veselka. Although wtf it’s not open 24 hours anymore which kind of breaks my heart. I’m just glad it survived even if Odessa was slightly better. And I guess I’ll be at Brighton Beach soon enough too if it all works out.
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Cheeseburger from Corner Bistro. I will not look to see what their hours are now. I’m not sure if I ever went before midnight and not about to start now. The only person I ever saw there in the daylight was Philip Seymour Hoffman and look what happened to him.
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MEXICAN FOOD. I have found a couple of places here that are okay but so much of the food here is super sweet and the portions are ridiculously big.
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Arepas at Coppelia in the middle of the night. Again not checking their actual operating hours right now.
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French fries and a vodka martini with a twist from Bar Six. Preferably in the window with the doors open.
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The pounded yellowfin tuna carpacchio with fois gras at Le Bernadin, plus whatever else looks good on the day.
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Lobster roll - my preferred place closed down but Jeffrey’s Grocery is fine.
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Shrimp cocktail from the Lobster Place in Chelsea Market with proper cocktail sauce. Cocktail sauce in Australia involves mayonnaise which is not expected or delicious to me. Also sushi here often includes mayonnaise, cooked fish and even cooked chicken. (!)
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A vegetarian burrito bol from any Chipotle store. I don’t care. And a fountain soda - probably diet coke with a splash of barq’s rootbeer.
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Sweetgreens salad. Probably the Meatpacking one but again I don’t care. And I am going to eat it outside on a public cafe table or park bench on the West Side Highway.
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City WINERY- I know it’s another mini-chain now but good for them. I still remember going down to the original location during Hurricane Sandy when they invited us neighbours to come in to charge phones and get warm on their generator while they played retro movies and shared wine and snacks. Many many good times there - including the 1am texts in the middle of the night when Prince decided to play a set.
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Horseshoe Bar/7B - at least a seltzer and a round of pinball for auld lang syne. You know this bar even if you’ve never been there.
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Clip in extensions at Rapunzel bar.
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Terrible manicure at Beauty Bar.
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Cryo at Equinox Hotel and/or Restore Wellness bar.
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All the weed gummies in the world. In beautifully designed, feminist packaging, thanks.
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Oh and I haven’t done this yet but a sauna rave party at Othership Flatiron NYC would be good. Plus all the other swims, leading the Mermaid Parade and other meeting up with friends obligations I want to do I would also love.
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Last but not least I’d like to catch 3 events by the collective social club I became a founding member of just before covid, after attending their events for about 15 years? I get the invites all the time and have joined a few very cool events while I was home by chance and they’re always doing something awesome. Happy to support even in absentia but would love to experience too.
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