Cookbook Recs, Summer Scallops and Gap’s Renaissance
OT's first Guest Edit with Phoebe Tomion Fry of “The Dish”!
Hi friends,
For our first guest edit while Rach is on mat leave, I’m thrilled to welcome my friend Phoebe Tomion Fry! Phoebe and I met while she was working as a chef at Hart’s and I became an avid reader of her newsletter,
, while she was drafting dispatches from the American Academy in Rome. Her journal-entry style posts are laced with lush descriptors and personal details, her recipes are expertly crafted (I made her tomato, chorizo and chickpea cod earlier this week — phenomenal) and she generally has her finger very on the pulse of where to eat and how to create beautiful food.Enjoy Phoebe’s picks!
Cait
Open Tabs
CP: To kick off, I’d love to hear about what restaurants are on your list for the remainder of summer? Personally, I’m excited to make it over to the new Moonburger outpost in Williamsburg and Theodora’s new sister restaurant/bakery Thea. Also, will probably need to pay Shy’s (my favorite smash burger in NYC) a visit during their summer residency at Mimi.
PF: My #1 is Penny in the East Village, which looks right up my alley with fresh seafood and good wine. I also want to dine at Tolo, a new-ish Chinese restaurant in Dimes Square, where I’m eyeing the nori-sprinkled fries, salt & pepper tofu, and sticky rice with Chinese sausage and shiitake. Lastly, I’ve somehow never been to Red Hook Tavern, and I just feel like it’s time to introduce myself to their famous cheeseburger. Double date with the boys??
CP: We just went to Penny a few weeks ago! Their ice boxes really are everything I want to eat in this humidity. Always down for a Red Hook date night!
Anything you’ve been eyeing to buy recently? Fashion, beauty, home or otherwise! I’ve been hovering above check out with this Rue Sophie anorak jacket for weeks now. Justifying that I’ll need it for an upcoming trip to the Oregon Coast and also as a transitional piece for rainy late summer days.
PF: Ooh, that jacket is so elegant. I’m tempted to buy a pair of Rothy’s Mary Janes to wear to work for a slightly elevated look that’s still comfy. (I refuse to traverse New York City in uncomfortable shoes!) I’m also digging Gap right now, which feels funny to say, but I think it’s having a renaissance — maybe because Zac Posen is the Creative Director now? I don’t know, but just look at this matching set, oxford, and tiered maxi and tell me Gap isn’t looking chic.
On a completely different note, I’m obsessed with sushi rice at the moment and am itching to get a Zojirushi rice cooker.
CP: Yes! I was coveting a cashmere set from Gap back in Issue 3! Lots of good stuff lately. I also wholeheartedly trust any kitchen tool rec from you.
Closed Tabs
CP: Have you been to any stand-out restaurants lately? Or fun, recent purchases?
I moved…again (long story 🙃) back to south Brooklyn this month, so many of my closed tabs are related to that, like this vintage painting we grabbed in honor of our dog, Rosie. It’s been fun to revisit my south BK favorites (Long Island Bar! Nili!) and explore new things that opened since we left. Like Laurel Bakery, which I’ve been to multiple times since being back (once with Phoebe!). I continue to be really impressed by their pastry selection, especially the peak-season tomato tartine. I also went to Bar Contra after their reopening and am happy to confirm it is as special as Contra was but with some spectacular menu additions, like the scallops wrapped in shiso and fried in corn batter. I grabbed a glass of wine with a friend in town at the new spot Plus du Vin in Williamsburg last week too. Many will say the last thing Williamsburg needs is another natural wine bar — and they may be right! However! This one has a lovely backyard and is counter service only, which made it feel incredibly laid back.
Lastly, I had maybe the best meal of my year so far (?!) at Cafe Kestrel in Red Hook this past weekend. The walls are peppered with random framed art and mirrors in a way that could seem haphazard but instead feels lived-in and intentional. The real star of the show was the chicken, served simply with carrots and capers and with a crispy char from being cooked in a sticky, sweet date sauce. It made the large shell mac and cheese side we got (which was also incredible!) less of a focus, a phrase I never thought I’d say! It overall felt very European in that it was small-scale (five bar seats, six tables) and no one element was trying too hard. Highly recommend to New Yorkers or someone planning a trip here.
PF: Okay, I have to start with Fradei because I just had such an exceptional meal there. There was one dish with raw scallop, fresh peach, buttermilk, and jalapeño that was so unexpected and totally blew me away. I also had a great dinner at Mắm on the Lower East Side the other night (get the fried eggplant!). And I recently had a casual lunch at one of my all-time faves, Chef Katsu in Fort Greene, where I always order the pork katsu burger with miso sauce.
CP: BIG co-sign of Fradei! We lived two blocks away from it for four years and, frankly, didn’t take enough advantage of that proximity.
Open Books
CP: I recently pitched Phoebe on getting a GoodReads account so that we all can follow her great taste in books, but in the meantime — please share some of your recent reads or releases that are on your radar!
On my side, I recently watched the movie Widow Clicquot about the woman who revolutionized winemaking in the champagne region and helmed Veuve Clicquot for years, so now I can’t wait to get my hands on the book it was inspired by.
PH: I just started a gorgeous novel called The Blue Maiden by Anna Noyes, who happens to be related to my boyfriend and an all-around lovely person. The book is set in the 1800s and tells the story of two sisters growing up on a Nordic island with a haunting history. (I just shivered as I said that!) Anyway, Anna’s a brilliant writer.
I’m also always reading cookbooks, and I’m currently loving Kismet, a new release from the folks behind the Los Angeles restaurants Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie. The recipes are bright and bold, inspired by Mediterranean cooking and centered around vegetables. I love that there’s a whole section about feta, including how to marinate and serve it with delicious things like grilled endive and roasted squash. Speaking of cookbooks, do you read Stained Page News? It’s a newsletter for cookbook nerds like us, and I love it so much.
CP: I haven’t but consider me subscribed! Very much relate to reading cookbooks as books and often pick up/browse my literal stained page copies of La Buvette and The Lost Kitchen when short on inspo.
Open Obsessions
CP: Lastly, what’s been taking up real estate in your brain? A fun show, a meme, a podcast — anything!
As Phoebe knows, because I wouldn’t stop talking to her about this over coffee, I’ve become obsessed with Tokyo Vice. It is a (to me) under-the-radar HBO show based on a true story about an American reporter in Japan covering the yakuza. Ansel Elgort stars and became conversationally fluent in Japanese for the part, a fact that truly surprised and impressed me every episode! I love how the show portrayed the hierarchy of organized crime in Japan and how interconnected it is with law enforcement and the media. Cut to me deep-dive Googling how the author of the source text is able to publish in such crazy detail and still be, well, alive to tell the tale!
PF: I’m so excited to start Tokyo Vice. In terms of TV, I have to admit I’m in the thick of a reality phase. I just finished Love Island U.S. Season 6, and just started Love Is Blind U.K. Season 1. Both shows are in the so-bad-they’re-good category. Mindless and juicy.
Another thing taking up real estate in my brain is the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, which won gold at the Olympics. I’ve been a fan of the team for a while now, so it was such a thrill to watch them succeed. I feel like I’m friends with all the players!
CP: Brain balm is so important in the summer! As are women’s sports, but for all seasons, of course.
That’s all for Phoebe’s guest issue! To see more of what we talked about in this letter, follow our Instagram @opentabsletter or shop all of our issues here.
Eeee so much fun! Thanks for including me xx