OOOOH. This look's like fun. Can't wait to see it in action.

Bathed in New Lights, Empire State Building Will Star in More Vivid Show

By ERIC A. TAUB

Philips Color KineticsNew lighting is being installed in the Empire State Building that will allow for a much more varied display at night.

When redesigning the exterior lighting for one of the world’s best-known buildings, how should you proceed?
With much greater energy efficiency, a significantly wider palette of more intense colors and a lot of panache.
That is the tack that the owners of the Empire State Building are taking with their decision to replace its 400 existing standard lamps — technology that was introduced to coincide with the 1976 bicentennial — with 1,200 newly designed fixtures using the latest LED technology.
Because the colors of each LED fixture can be manipulated independently and instantaneously via computer, lighting effects — including rainbows, ripples, cross-fades and burst effects — can be created that appear to be animated, continuously moving and changing.

“We’ll have some real fun with our ability to manipulate the new lights,” said Anthony E. Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, an affiliate of the entity that owns the building. The announcement on the new lighting is scheduled to be made on Wednesday.
Of course, changing the lighting on such a prominent building is fraught with not only financial considerations, but also ethical responsibilities. Just because technology creates the ability to stage rock-concert-like light shows on the walls of one of the world’s most recognizable buildings does not mean that is what should be done.
Fear not, Mr. Malkin said.
“We want the Hong Kong experience,” he said, referring to the often-dramatic lighting seen on buildings there, but “we won’t be showing TV shows on the side of the building.”
The installation of the LED fixtures will begin in a few weeks and will be completed sometime in the fall; it will save 75 percent in annual energy costs and will last three to six times longer than the existing fixtures.
The timing of the new lighting is serendipitous. The significant improvement in the look of the building at night could draw additional attention to the building just as 1 World Trade Center is claiming its status as the tallest building in New York.

Philips Color KineticsThe new lighting at the Empire State Building has been already tested, though the full effect will not be on view for several months.

With the new LED fixtures, bought from Philips Color Kinetics, based in Massachusetts, the Empire State Building will be illuminated with millions of deep, rich colors and subtle pastels, compared with a limited palette of 10 colors from the existing lamps, which also tend to flicker and produce different brightnesses depending on the color.
The existing lamps project static colors only after gels are placed on top of each one, a process that takes a crew of seven workers up to seven hours. With LED lamps, color changes can be made immediately.
“When the Yankees win the pennant, we can put pinstripes on one side of the building and solid blue on the other,” said Jeff Campbell, director of architectural products for Philips Color Kinetics.
The retrofit was originally conceived four years ago. “At that time, the costs were very high and the illumination was not impressive enough,” Mr. Malkin said.
He decided to go ahead with the project now because the newest LED fixtures produce seven times as much light as the earlier units. The lighting will be on the 72nd and 81st floors. The building’s mast, which is now lighted with fluorescent tubes, will also receive an LED upgrade.
One thing the public will not see is corporate logos flashing along the walls. “We’ll maintain the traditional iconic international recognition that the Empire State Building has,” Mr. Malkin said.
The lighting retrofit is part of an energy efficiency package to which Malkin Holdings committed itself when it gained control of the building in 2006.
Working with the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, the company embarked on a major energy efficiency retrofit with the switch to light-emitting diodes being a small part. In addition, the company has revamped its ventilation system and the building’s insulation, and upgraded its existing windows.
“The building was state of the art when it was built, and when we’re done with our retrofit, there will be no more technically advanced building,” Mr. Malkin said.
The switch to LED fixtures, which will cost “a few million dollars,” he said, will pay for itself in six years.
With the new lighting retrofit, “the owners of the Empire State Building have a unique responsibility” not to mess up, said Paul Gregory, a principal in Focus Lighting, an architectural lighting design firm based in New York. Focus Lighting has used LEDs to redesign the lighting in F. A. O. Schwarz’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue, in the Aureole restaurant in Manhattan and on the exterior of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, among others.
With LEDs, Mr. Gregory said, “you can create a light painting that’s not bludgeoned with color.”
“Lighting can help you see the beauty in nature,” he continued, “and help you understand how small you are in comparison.”
With well-constructed lighting, Mr. Gregory added, “you realize you’re not as important as you think you are; that’s an accomplishment.”
“And,” he continued, “the Empire State Building can do that.”

Superlinda - not so super

I made it to Superlinda the other night. This is the new Latin restaurant from the owner of the Beatrice Inn. Walking in I felt like I had been transported back to 1990- something, and a late night trek down to the (then) happening hot spot Odeon. ( a Mc Nally institution - still around today)



There is nothing fancy about the decor; Booths, basic tables,  and flea market finds that can be found in any one of a million suburban chain restaurants across the country.   It's small - maybe about 30 tables? The food tries to be interesting, but falls flat on flavor, save for a few exceptions. The attitude is straight out of the aforementioned 1990's when small "in" restaurants were all the range, and one would hang out for hours at a nondescript bar inside, just to be part of the scene. If you were lucky you could score a table after 6 and  before 11 PM - if not, you would just linger at the bar and watch the lucky ones at tables, pretending you only came for a couple of drinks anyway.

Superlinda brings back the unwritten rules of  the "how to be a hot restaurant - or at least pretend you are" tutorial - Enter - be surprised that it is nothing fancy, tell the maître d’ that you have an 8PM reservation, only to be told that you have to wait "because your table is not ready" as you stare in disbelief at the 6 empty tables in front of you. Then, after you are finally seated ( a half an hour late) - put up with the blase attitude of your server, who can't remember to bring a drink that you ordered, but doesn't really care, because she is "too cool for school" and there just to earn a little cash between auditioning for some cheesy reality show concept. When the food finally does arrive, it is nothing special. You want to like it, especially since you just paid a good amount for a little appetizer, and because you REALLY do want to like the food - since you have a feeling Manhattan cool kid code dictates that you will probably be back a few times anyway. But, you just can't get excited over anything - and instead you wind up very disappointed in your main course- so much in fact, that you are regretting you choice, one bite in. By the time it is all over- you have been ogled by the increasing loud crowd squeezing in 6 deep at the bar a few feet away, and tasted a boring dessert . ugh.

The sad part. This formula works. Sort of like - the "fake it till you make it" motto. A restaurant with the right pedigree - that follows the formula and acts like it is as hot as hell - usually is - at least for a little while. But, hopefully these days, the rules have changed enough that unless this place actually eventually learns to  put good food and good service first - I won't have to go back too many times.

                 

Underwater Hotel in Dubai

Oooooooh- I can't wait for this! Book me now.  

 

 

 

 

A plan has been announced to build a discus-shaped hotel partially underwater in Dubai. Picture: Deep Ocean Technology

The hotel will be partially underwater with the discs located up to 10 metres below. Picture: Deep Ocean Technology

IT'S no stranger to outrageous designs and Dubai's latest extravagance is a plan to build a partially submerged hotel shaped like a discus.

Building company Drydocks World has signed a contract with Swiss firm BIG InvestConsult to develop underwater hotels across the region including the "Water Discus Hotel" in Dubai.

The hotel "discs" are to be located up to 10m below the surface and will include 21 rooms next to an underwater dive centre and bar.

Guests will be able to operate miniature vehicles from inside their rooms that will take blown-up photographs of the surrounding sea creatures.

The company behind the technology, Deep Ocean Technology, said the hotel would help fulfill travellers' desire to explore the depths of the oceans.

“Today, the advent of new technology made the heart of the ocean a setting not only for diving, but also for luxurious holidays," a BIG InvestConsult spokesperson said.

"Now the innovative concept of Water Discus Hotels makes it all possible.”

Water Discus Hotels comprise two discs - an underwater and above-water one. The two parts of the structure will be connected by three legs and a vertical shaft containing a lift and stairway.

"This combination will allow guests to admire the depths of the ocean while making the most of the warm climate," Bogdan Gutkowski, President of BIG INVEST Group said.

“Water Discus Hotel project opens many new fields of development for hotel and tourism sector, housing and city sector in the coastal off-shore areas, as well as new opportunities for ecology support by creation of new underwater ecosystems and activities on underwater world protection."

Dubai is famous for “The World” - an estimated $18 billion reproduction of the Earth made out of islands. It is also home to the Burj Khalifa, which at 829m is the world’s tallest building.

The World Discus Hotel is not technically the world’s first underwater hotel room, but it is the most lavish. A wedding package at the Maldives Rangali Islands resort promised an unforgettable night below the Indian Ocean in a glass domed aquarium.

Also in the Maldives, a plan was unveiled last year to create a floating golf course on islands connected by underwater tunnels.

Earlier last year a plan was unveiled to design a futuristic see-through “slinky” bubble hotel that can adapt to both land and water.

In pictures: The amazing 'slinky' hotel

World Discus Hotel

It's not the world's first underwater hotel room, but it is the most lavish. Picture: Deep Ocean Technology

Source: No Source

World Discus Hotel

Guests will be able to operate miniature vehicles from inside their rooms to see sea creaturesl. Picture: Deep Ocean Technology

Source: No Source

World Discus Hotel

The two parts of the structure would be connected by three legs. Picture: Deep Ocean Technology

Source: No Source

World Discus Hotel

Opens new fields of development for the hotel and tourism sector in the coastal off-shore areas. Picture: Deep Ocean Technology

Source: No Source

Related and Leyva Team Up for More Residential Near High Line

The Highline has been the best thing to happen to New York City real estate in quite a while. Another new residential building is being proposed - again by Related. I was part of the team that worked on the +Art building at 540 West 28th Street nearby - which is now almost sold out. For sure, real estate values in this area will continue to rise. It is the last perfect investment frontier in lower Manhattan.

Related and Leyva Team Up for More Residential Near High Line

Wednesday, May 2, 2012, by Pete Davies

11 images

The Related Companies has yet another residential plan in the works along the northern stretch of the High Line, their latest at 539 West 29th Street. It's just down the block from the 33-story tower of Related residentials getting ready to rise at 500 West 30th Street, said to designed by Robert A.M. Stern. The new plan at 539 is for 15 floors with 126 units and, once again, Related's architect of record is Ismael Leyva. The new building application hasn't been approved yet; at the end of April the plan exam by the Department of Buildings resulted in a thumbs down. And some zoning issues are still pending. But given the numbers found on the Schedule A, this one could be boxy, in the mode of +Art a block to the south at 540 West 28th Street.

What re-zoning can do.>>

This new plan is part of the development land rush in the vicinity of NYC's newest neighborhood at Hudson Yards, Related's mega-project covering 26 acres where 5.5 million square feet of commercial and residential buildings will go in, all encircled by the last stretch of the High Line. Rising across the street from 539 West 29th will be the block-busting Avalon West Chelsea, where the big dig out for 700+ new residential units is on-going. Towering above Related's newest project, where an old garage stood until it was demo'ed last summer, is the big white slab of nightlife fun, better known as Ohm. Proximity to the High Line is proving to be the economic boon foreseen by the Bloomberg administration when this area was re-zoned back in 2005, a plan that just might be the only NYC re-zoning scheme that can be called "award winning."
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Book Club at Saxon and Parole

Another Book Club dinner with the girls tonight. This time at Saxon and Parole. The last time I was in this place it was for my "hip dinner" - a gathering of 24 of my closet friends 2 days before my hip replacement surgery. I had an broken down hip, and this place was called Double Crown. Now the decor has changed to the feel of an English manor complete with lots of horseshoes on the ceiling and, leather banquettes, and many a horse picture.





We ate downstairs, which I enjoyed, as it was the quieter and more exclusive area. The food is decent. A good selection of filling portions and heartier fare. I started with the endive salad, which came with stilton, grapes and cranberry seeds. My main course was a delicious sweet potato risotto with kale. The kale had a nice smokey bite to it. The portion was so large, I came home with at least half of it.   Drinks were decent. Definitely try the peach beer! I am not a beer drinker and this one tasted like a peach wine cooler. ( from back when I used to drink wine coolers in college! )

All in all, a good standard place to go, I will certainly be back.

Joan Rivers' high-gilded Manhattan condo: $29.5M | Inman News

Joan Rivers' high-gilded Manhattan condo: $29.5M | Inman News

Sex and the City townhouse details

We already knew that the Sex and the City house had sold, but we did not know for how much or to whom. One of those questions can be definitely answered now, the other may remain a mystery, at least until we work up the gumption to ring the doorbell.
The home at 64 Perry Street, listed for $9.65 million in early March with Sotheby’s brokers Joshua Wesoky and Steve Dawson, has sold for $9.85 million, according to city records.
Both the owners and the sellers have gone to great lengths to keep their identities hush-hush. The property is passing from 64 Perry LLC to MMKK Perry Street Realty LLC. We doubt that the new owner could be as famous as the building’s stoop, which played one of Carrie’s favorite spots for smoking and musing during the first three seasons of Sex and the City, but you never know.
The historic 5-bedroom home has been much in demand of late. After selling for $9 million—6 percent more than the list price—after only a few days on the market in Nov. 2011, the West Village townhouse was re-listed for $650,000 more this March, which it apparently had no problem fetching, and then some.
The house will offer its new owner ornate crown and ceiling moldings, herringbone wood floors and the six fireplaces with carved marble mantels. Besides Sex and the City, it’s also acted in Woody Allen’s Alice and has been home to fashion guru Tim Gunn, who lived in an upstairs apartment for 16 years, documentary filmmaker Wheaton Galentine and Harold Eliot Leeds, who designed the Paris Theater, the Caribe Hilton in San Juan and Martha Graham’s dance studio.

Three Manhattan residential properties hit market for more than $20M each

Former home of Gloria Vanderbilt is available, while a hedge funder is selling a rare Beresford penthouse and 50-year owners of an UES townhouse finally list their home

April 24, 2012 02:00PM
By Katherine Clarke

From left: 39 East 72nd Street, the Beresford building at 211 Central Park West and 36 East 68th Street

Former home of Gloria Vanderbilt hits market for $25M

Massey Knakal Realty Services' Guthrie Gavin and Gloria Vanderbilt

A 27-foot-wide, six-story elevator building at 39 East 72nd Street, once the home of artist and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, has hit the market for $25 million, according to Massey Knakal Realty Services, the exclusive listing agent for the property.
While the listing has been reconfigured into a multi-family set up, it still has the original details of the Vanderbilt mansion. The fireplace on the parlor floor still boasts a prominent “V,” according to the listing. The property currently houses four free-market tenants and has one vacant unit, according to Massey Knakal. The entire property could be vacant within 10 months of closing.
The 13,310-square-foot building could be transformed back into a single-family property said listing agent Gurthrie Garvin. It was at one time home to Vanderbilt’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt Senior, and the artist lived there as a small child.
The building has been owned by Mangold Realty Partnership since 1995, according to public records. Owner Mark Mangold was not immediately available for comment.
Hedge funder lists Beresford penthouse for $22M

Brown Harris Stevens' John Burger and the interior of the Beresford penthouse

Ronald Beck, the managing director and portfolio manager global hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management who paid $19 million for a duplex penthouse with two 43-foot-wide terraces at the Beresford in 2008, has relisted the unit for $23 million, according to data from Streeteasy.com.
Beck and wife Cynthia bought the unit at the Emery Roth building at 211 Central Park West from Indian publishing magnate Nari Hira, who owns magazines such as Showtime, Savvy and Health. They’ve now listed the apartment with John Burger, a senior vice president at Brown Harris Stevens. They closed on the unit for $9 million less than the asking price of $28 million. Had it commanded the full $28 million, it would have been the most expensive apartment ever to sell in the building, according to an article in the New York Sun.
The nine-room penthouse has two terraces including a total of 90 feet fronting Central Park. The 26-foot living room has a wood-burning fireplace and features floor-to-ceiling windows and direct park views.
The 23-story Beresford building has long been home to celebrities, including Manhattan chef Marc Murphy and his wife, Pamela Schein Murphy, who paid $16.5 million for the co-op on the 15th floor of the 81st Street building last year. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, tennis ace John McEnroe and film director Sidney Lumet have all lived in the building.
There are currently four active sales listings in the building, including a 14-room duplex combination of three apartments on the 16th and 17th floors, asking $29.75 million. The unit is owned by film executive Bob Weinstein and has been on the market for almost three years.
Beck was not immediately available for comment and Burger declined to comment.
$21M UES townhouse listed by 50-year owners

The interior of the 66th Street home

An 11,000-square-foot multi-family building at 36 East 68th Street hit the market last week as a single-family mega-mansion for $21 million, according to data from Streeteasy.com. While currently configured as 12 apartments, the house, which has been in the same family for half a century, will be delivered completely vacant and ready to be transformed into a high-end single-family residence, owner Amy Iager told The Real Deal today.
Situated among neighboring mansions designed by renowned architects Carrere & Hastings, Delano & Aldrich, John Duncan, the 22-foot-wide Neo-Grecian style house was designed and built in 1886 by Richard Buckley, a prolific 19th century architect and builder, according to the listing. It has six stories as well as a forecourt, rear courtyard, two terraces plus a rooftop with city views.
The building is listed with Fred Williams, senior vice president of Sotheby’s International Realty. Williams declined to comment on the listing.
Iager, who personally lived in one of the units in the building for 30 years, said the property had been “gently used” and is in immaculate condition.
“It’s been in the family for 50 years,” she said, “and it’s time to move on.”
Iager said she and her husband, both retired, will likely move to a condominium unit in the city once the sale is completed, “to live a more retiring life.”

Tags: 39 east 72nd street, gloria vanderbilt, massey knakal

Make your apartment a "star"!!

As someone who has been approached by television shows and movie productions in the past, asking to use a particular apartment or development for a shoot - it isn't always as easy as it seems. One concern is annoying other residents in the building while crews set up lighting, have cables running everywhere, and are filming in the elevator while someone else is just trying to get to the office on time! I guess the people in this article are some of the lucky ones!

The Appraisal

Homes With Star Quality Are Now Hiring an Agent

Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

An upstairs room in the brownstone owned by Merele Williams-Adkins and Terry Adkins, which has been rented out in the past year as a location for film and print advertising shoots.

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS

Published: April 16, 2012   

To step inside Merele Williams-Adkins’s deliciously restored Clinton Hill brownstone is to enter a world of 15-foot ceilings, white marble mantels and fabulous art. You feel as though you have sauntered into pages of an elegant furniture catalog, or onto the set of a quirky independent film. And in a sense, you have.

 

Dave Sanders for The New York Times

Andrea Raisfeld, a location agent, scouts an apartment on Carroll Street. "My specialty is really residential," she said.

Enlarge This Image

Design Within Reach

Ms. Williams-Adkins's home as it was presented in a recent Design Within Reach catalog.

Ms. Williams-Adkins and her husband, Terry Adkins, have rented out their home several times in the past year as a location for film and print advertising shoots. Their brownstone can be seen in the movie “Friends With Kids,” the forthcoming “Bachelorette,” a Design Within Reach catalog and in another for West Elm, which has not yet been released.

And like all serious talent, the home is represented by an agent.

“My specialty is really residential,” said the agent, Andrea Raisfeld, the founder of Andrea Raisfeld Locations. “A talent agent has his or her stable of actors and actresses. My cast is houses and places.”

If a script calls for a desolate stretch of road where a villain can dump a gun, or a street corner that can be gussied up to look like it is 1955, a location scout can go out and find the perfect spot. But where their job gets tricky, scouts and agents say, is getting inside of people’s homes. (Excuse me, we’ve never met, but may I come in to photograph your bedroom and all of your belongings?) And that is where location agents come in.

“If you go knock on doors, it could take all day to get into one place,” said Mitchell Brozinsky, a location scout and manager. “So sometimes a scout will call an agent, which narrows their search and makes it easier to get through the front door. If someone has screened you, the house people like you better.

“Truthfully, nobody likes to cold-scout houses.”

While these agents tend to have a bit of everything in their inventory a nice barn here, a classroom over there — their Web sites are filled mostly with houses and lofts, apartments and brownstones, all of them owned by people willing to let strangers stomp through the hallways and move around the furniture. In exchange, the owners receive a fee, which can range from $1,000 to $20,000 per day, depending on the project. The agent’s share varies, but a common arrangement is 25 percent of the homeowner’s fee. Most of the business comes directly from a shoot’s production team, and they are paid only when a deal is done.

“I do it mostly because it’s free money, and because I have two kids who go to Saint Ann’s School,” said Ms. Williams-Adkins, referring to the costly private school in Brooklyn Heights. Her husband, she said, is a fine arts professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and she is a real estate broker at the Corcoran Group.

“Selling houses, you never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “So you’ve got to think outside of the box.”

Outside of that box, their brownstone appears to be a hit. It has garnered four shoots in just about a year and is under consideration for another job right now.

Scouts and agents say this kind of repeat hosting is frequent, especially for print work, which tends to supply most of a location agent’s business. And the clients, they say, don’t seem to care whether a home has been shot before.

“It’s not a question I get that often,” said Dena Zemsky, the owner of On the Mark Locations. “One person goes in and shoots it one way. Somebody else shoots it another way. Often my homeowners say, ‘I didn’t even see my house, it was so close up.’ ”

One immaculate Brooklyn Heights brownstone that Ms. Raisfeld represents drips with both chandeliers and bookings. It has recently played host to shoots for Eileen Fisher, Oil of Olay, More Magazine, Lucky Magazine, Cetaphil, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Bali Bras, Kmart, Chico’s and Huggies.

On Classon Avenue, meanwhile, a beat-up old loft with exposed I-beams and chipping paint served as the location for a College Humor video earlier this month, and was the location for a short film last week.

The film will introduce a new line of New Balance sports bras. The spandex in the apartment was abundant.

For the shoot, the production company, Homestead Films, called a location agent and scout named Debbie Regan and asked for an urban space that could be used to simulate several different apartments. That way, one actress could bound around in the bathroom and another in the kitchen, and the production company wouldn’t have to build multiple sets.

Corinna Falusi, executive creative director at StrawberryFrog, the advertising agency behind the film, said using an actual, lived-in apartment was not only cheaper than building sets, but it also looked better.

“It feels real,” Ms. Falusi said. “Otherwise you need to have a really good set designer going around putting little pieces of dust everywhere.”

In this loft there was dust aplenty, along with a treacherous-looking staircase leading down to the street and floors that appeared to have been attacked by angry woodpeckers. It was fabulously raw, wide open and airy, but also sort of a mess, in the way that many true lofts, recently used as commercial or industrial spaces, often are.

Nonetheless, certain strict, though vague, house rules were put in place for the crews: don’t go in the off-limits rooms; don’t open anything; try not to touch anything.

But at least no people were forced to take off their shoes. Agents said home shoots requiring everyone to wear little protective booties or go about in stocking feet were not uncommon.

“Don’t sit on the sofa, don’t look at the dog,” Ms. Falusi said, recounting other shoots. “You can have people with white leather sofas and, quote-unquote, ‘real art’ on the walls, and they don’t care. And then you have people who live in a garage and they’re picky about everything.”

A payment of several thousand dollars in exchange for, essentially, staying out of the way, can generally calm the nerves of even the most anxious homeowner — or at least suppress their fears long enough that they manage to say yes.

“It’s like ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ and you are the fish in the fishbowl,” a location scout, Ernie Liberati, said of the home-shoot process. “When Mommy leaves, the house turns upside down, things are flying and breaking. But by the time Mommy comes, everything is just where you left it.”

Lady Liberty Invites Artists for First Ever Residency Program - DNAinfo.com

Lady Liberty Invites Artists for First Ever Residency Program - DNAinfo.com

New Coffee and Cocktails Hot Spot coming to FiDi

Can't wait for this! New rumor has it opening in mid June. So glad I made the move to FiDi a few years ago. It just keeps getting better... 




  Earlier this week news leaked that Handsome Coffee Roasters, a new LA outfit, is going to open in the forthcoming Financial District restaurant and cocktail den Demi Monde, and today reps offer details on the rest of the operation.
The front, street-level section of Demi Monde will indeed function as a coffee shop during the day, serving nearby locals and office workers. At night the bulk of the space, located via a winding staircase to a subterranean level, will open and will provide, press materials promise, "an underground nightlife experience like no other." The space will have a 200 person capacity with seating for 120 and will be divided into a series of connected rooms. There will be a sunken lounge filled with tables, a carpeted VIP area, a bar, a DJ booth, and "places out of the action to sit or mingle." On the menu: serious cocktails—co-owners include bar man Alex Day and Death & Co's David Kaplan after all—a wine list with a focus on sparkling wine, and share plates from Vandaag alum Phillip Kirschen-Clark.

Best Brunch Places in the City according to Eater

Allswell

124 Bedford AveBrooklyn, NY 11211(347) 799-2743

The brand-new Williamsburg restaurant from Spotted Pig alum Nate Smith might serve the best new brunch in town. The menu changes every week, but you'll usually find …dishes like the biscuits and gravy, the gruyere frittata with greens, the apple rhubarb French toast, and the incredible fried chicken sandwich. Smith has a gift for reinterpreting comfort food dishes so that they taste fresh and new, and there's a lot of variety on the menu here. The corner space also has a great vibe during the early afternoon. Follow the restaurant on Twitter for daily menu updates. (Krieger)
[link]

N 40° 43.10768W 73° 57.22071

Edi & The Wolf

102 Avenue CNew York, NY 10009(212) 598-1040

Edi & the Wolf is any easy contender for most fun new restaurant in NYC. It's got a kooky but comfortable dining room, a friendly staff, awesome music and a menu of … solid Austrian fare. On the weekends, they offer a $14 brunch deal where you get your choice of beverage, pastry, and entree, including things like Kaiserschmarrn (caramelized pancake bits), scrambled eggs, or a pork belly BLT. (photo)

N 40° 43.26093W 73° 58.43946

Isa

348 Wythe AveBrooklyn, NY 11211(347) 689-3594

There is no fixed menu at Taavo Somer’s rustic new Williamsburg hit, but brunch is available every Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 3:30 PM. Past menus have …included dishes like roast pork with egg, a Caesar salad, duck leg with yolk and sweet potatoes, and boudin noir with eggs and toast. Also: there's arts and crafts for the kiddies. (Krieger)
[link]

N 40° 42.51281W 73° 57.55029

The Cannibal

113 E 29th StNew York, NY 10016

During brunch, Resto spinoff The Cannibal serves a number of fresh pastries as well as things like a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and pork belly, soft scrambled …egg sandwiches, and a pig's head Cubano. This is the perfect food to eat after a rough night, and if you want a little hair of the dog, the bar boasts a next-level selection of craft beer. (There are also several lighter options if you want something healthy). (Krieger) [link]

N 40° 44.37600W 73° 58.57543

Kutsher's Tribeca

186 Franklin StNew York, NY 10013212 431 0606

For brunch, the popular new Catskills import from Jeffrey Chodorow serves things like challah French toast, pastrami-smoked salmon, and the Leo sandwich, which is made …with scrambled eggs, Nova Scotia lox and onions. (Krieger)

N 40° 43.10110W 74° 0.34689

Betel

51 Grove StNew York, NY 10014(212) 352-0460

This hip West Village Thai restaurant just kicked of brunch, with a menu that includes a banh mi burger, spiced French toast, corn fritters, pork belly with poached …eggs, and a classic Australian breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, tomatoes, and onions. Also: bottomless brunch cocktails for one hour. (Krieger)
[link]

N 40° 43.59066W 74° 0.13377

La Promenade des Anglais

461 W 23rd StNew York, NY 10011(212) 255-7400

The brunch menu at Alain Allegretti's casual new French restaurant has a lot of variety. In addition to pancakes and egg dishes, you can order charcuterie plates, …salads, soups, or small plates like brandade crostini and squash blossoms. If you want a serious entree, consider the chicken paillard, hanger steak, or the whole branzino a la plancha.
(photo)
[link]

N 40° 44.51291W 74° 0.13100

The Good Fork

391 Van Brunt StBrooklyn, NY 11231(718) 643-6636

This four-year-old Red Hook neighborhood favorite launched brunch not too long ago. The menu features a little something for everyone: huevos rancheros, bibimbap, fried … chicken & waffles, crab cakes, and a smoked berkshire ham steak with eggs. The Good Fork has a full bar and specialty brunch drinks like a "Beergharita." Brunch is served every Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM - 3 PM. (Photo: Elliot Black/NY Mag)
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N 40° 40.33196W 74° 0.51141

North End Grill

104 North End AveNew York, NY 10282(646) 747-1600

This Battery Park City newcomer from the one and only Danny Meyer has brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 2 PM. Brunch specialties include: chorizo tacos …with cheesy scrambled eggs and salsa, a Nova Scotia lobster omelet, and a bacon-shrimp burger.
(Krieger) [link]

N 40° 42.53312W 74° 0.57430

Miss Lily's

132 W Houston StNew York, NY 10012(646) 588-5375

Paul Salmon and Serge Becker's new Jamaican restaurant has a cool dining room, an attractive clientele, and some delicious things to eat at brunch. You can get coconut …pancakes, jerk pork hash, a curry lobster roll, or a full Jamaican breakfast with ackee, salt fish, fruit, dumplings and plantains.
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N 40° 43.39867W 74° 0.4780

Bowery Diner

241 BoweryNew York, NY 10002(212) 388-0052

Mathieu Palombino’s new hot spot offers slightly refined takes on typical diner breakfast fare during its weekend brunch (Saturday and Sunday, 7 AM to 5 PM), like … a shitake omelet, peanut butter and jam donuts, and a Colombian breakfast special. If you're hungover, get the chicken and waffles. (Krieger)

N 40° 43.21122W 73° 59.34702

Betto

138 N 8th StBrooklyn, NY 11211718-384-1904

On the weekend, Jason Denton's chic new Italian restaurant serves a brunch menu with things like chocolate chip pancakes, truffled egg toast, and ricotta fritters. This … is a cool choice if you like to have a drink with the first meal of the day (they offer a daily Negroni special, and there are plenty of great wines to choose from), and a good option to remember if you encounter long lines at other popular brunch places like Egg or Marlow & Sons. (photo)
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N 40° 43.8090W 73° 57.28828

Caffe Storico

170 Central Park WestNew York, NY 10024(212) 485-9211

Located in the New York Historical Society, the Italian-influenced restaurant from Stephen Starr offers various eggs, pastas, and panini for brunch, including oxtail …agnolotti, a smoked salmon and goat cheese frittata, and a shrimp salad panino. A great option before hitting the museum, or after taking a stroll through the park.

N 40° 46.44864W 73° 58.26615

Tertulia

359 6th AveNew York, NY 10012(646) 559-9909

Chef Seamus Mullen has a hit on his hands with Tertulia. People love the food and the rustic, lodge-like vibe of the dining room. It's an especially good brunch pick …if you're with friends and want to try a lot of things. The Spanish small plates on offer include a tortilla Española, soft scrambled eggs with ruby shrimp, fried eggs with potatoes and homemade face bacon, and a Sobrassada sausage flatbread. If you want something sweet, you can order churros with dark chocolate. (photo)
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N 40° 43.56046W 74° 0.2829

B & B

25 W Houston StNew York, NY 10012(212) 334-7320

The brunch menu at chef Josh Capon's hip new Soho Winepub has a little something for everyone. You can get a traditional scramble, but also things like a …chorizo-stuffed burrito, a short rib hash, and a smoked salmon and egg pizza. And if you're really hungry, the usual selection of burgers, fried chicken and tacos are also available.
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N 40° 43.32577W 73° 59.53051

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