Hacking Hard-To-Get Reservations and Buying Vintage for Beyoncé
A very NYC guest edit with Allie McElwee and Lindsay Cumming!
Hi friends!
Continuing with our NYC mini-series, two of my favorite New Yorkers are this week’s guest editors — Allie and Lindsay! We all left SF for the big apple and immediately bonded over the lack of branded Patagonia vests (bless!) and our love of restaurants.
Beyond being very funny and very cool, these gals are also very accomplished — Allie had an incredible career in food/bev before getting her Masters at Pratt and now works in packaging design for Puma and other apparel brands. Lindsay created her own super successful business managing social content/strategy for countless restaurants and bars here in the city. You’ve probably already double-tapped on a beautiful pic she shot without knowing it!
Together, they make up my beloved “🦴🍎🫖” group chat — a deep-cut reference some OT readers may remember from when the Bon Appetit staff made “Bone-Apple-Tea” merch during the magazine’s hey-day. Simpler times!
I’ve been lucky to share many meals, drinks and New York nights with these two. It goes without saying, but they have impeccable taste in dining, design and all things NYC/BK!
Enjoy their picks,
Cait
Open Tabs
CP: We’re constantly DMing each other restaurant news or little treats™️ we’re eager to try. In that vein, what spots are on your Resy notify list these days? Also, what have you been adding to cart, shopping-wise?
AM: I’ve been dying to get into Sailor for lunch, grilled cheese, caesar, (and/or burger) seems like the correct way to spend an afternoon. Ha’s Snack Bar is also a reservation I’m chasing! I know Lindsay had good luck just walking in so may need to devote one of my forthcoming “Summer Friday’s” to sneaking in there. The other thing that’s top of mind is Yellow Rose’s (group favorite for tex-mex!) Happy Hour. The menu includes an appetizer sampler plate(!) that feels like a nod to Chili’s (high praise).
On the shopping front, I am now chasing this Moschino Statue of Liberty Dress (feels adjacent to the Carrie Bradshaw Dior Newspaper dress) after not buying it from this vintage shop when it dropped to $250. I have no idea if real or fake but I do know I need it for summer. Will be continuing to reverse google image search it until I track it down.
I’m also on the lookout for some “work-friendly” shorts to wear to the office this summer (looking for something that’s appropriate but not too “camp counselor”). I’m intrigued by these from Rue Sophie.
CP: As Rach always says, nothing haunts like the vintage you didn’t buy! What’s on your list, Lindsay?
LC: Can’t recommend a Ha’s walk-in enough - a rare instance of a very hyped new opening actually being worth the hype and then some! I somehow still haven’t made it to Bridges, but feel like everyone else has fallen deeply in love with it, so that’s high on my list! Also still need to check out the newly reinvented F&F Restaurant in Carroll Gardens (was a fan when it was Frank’s Wine Bar, and feel like you both had good things to say about this iteration!). And of course am very excited for yet another (!!) restaurant from the Cervo’s/Hart’s/et al. fam, so am keeping a close eye on their upcoming oyster bar, Bar Meridian.
CP: Ready to join the reservation rat race for Ha’s🫡 that space is so special — RIP original Gem Wine!
Closed Tabs
CP: Allie and I recently went to Ten Bells BK before a Mallrat concert and Linds and I popped into a very interesting Moby Dick themed bar in Seaport with collective “friend of the pod” Taylor after a Caroline O’Donahue author event (can’t let an issue go by without mentioning Sentimental!).
Beyond those places — have you two had any notable meals/drinks recently? Or, bought anything fun?
AM: I did dip my toe into the Dôen Seasonal Sale and ordered this dress (will call it a frock) to wear with Keds this Summer. The fit is great and am consistently pleased with the quality of their materials. I’ve been chasing something similar to Rosette’s Nightgown after it sold out last year so going to count this as my “dupe”.
Most of my other shopping has been Cowboy Carter Tour focused. I was slightly terrified of the journey to and from Metlife Stadium but felt very good about this vintage Budweiser Bandana I bought. Sported it along with a Fashion Brand Company top, white cateye sunglasses (a more direct Beyonce reference), and long denim shorts (a new frontier!), inspired by a look Amelia Dimoldenberg pulled off.
Lastly, a bite that continues to have a hold on me is the Hani’s Bakery Pistachio Tahini Rice Krispie Treat. It is somehow the perfect balance of salty, sweet, and nutty. I now feel obligated to see if they have any, anytime I end up in that area post-errand or appointment!
CP: Huge fans of both Amelia and Hani’s in this house! What about you, Linds?
LC: I had a truly WONDERFUL meal at Smithereens recently, and haven’t stopped thinking about these buttery grilled abalone skewers (served with a cured egg yolk!) ever since. Hoping those stick around on the menu for a while! Also had maybe my new favorite cocktail in NYC last night, a Shiso Gimlet at Bar Goto. Such a highly underrated herb, in my opinion! Have also not stopped talking about (or eating) the Ramp Escargot from Laurel Bakery. I stop in there a minimum of once a week for a *little treat,* but this one is their all-time best work.
Shopping wise, my main area of spending is usually skincare (a serum hates to see me coming!), but strangely don’t usually feel the same pull towards body care products. But this Bioderma Atoderm Shower Oil was recommended to me by a friend and my skin has truly never felt softer (forever taking cues from French women, on the beauty front!). $20 well spent and will last forever.
CP: Shiso is such an unsung hero! Also, we very much worship at the altar of French pharmacy products here at OT.
Open Books
CP: Since we generally read a lot of the same The Cut articles (like this one about West Village girlies…), memoirs (anything Ruth Reichl) and novels — curious what’s currently on your shelves/nightstands?
AM: I’m wrapping up reading Sucker Punch by Scaachi Koul. I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying by Youngmi Mayer was one of my favorites last year. I often gravitate towards memoirs and while these are very different books they share a certain type of raw honesty that I find very comforting along with humor and plenty of self-awareness. I’m also dying to start Keith McNally’s memoir which may have the best book title of all time and will no doubt be unhinged.
I’m also currently making my way through the latest issue of Interview Magazine. I received a subscription as a Christmas gift and it’s been such a delight to have it show up (and not fit in my mailbox lol). Hot tip — a year long subscription is 50 bucks which in this economy feels like a steal!
LC: I’ve been on a streak of some really exceptional books lately — the top one being Wild Dark Shore. I wasn’t expecting to be consumed so deeply by the story, but I was full on sobbing towards the end, to the point of not being able to read a single word on the page. Milk Teeth had some of the most gorgeous writing I’ve ever read (if the concept of “golden hour” was turned into a novel). I’m headed to Paris next week for a part-solo, part-mother/daughter trip and plan on bringing A Certain Hunger and On the Calculation of Volume with me for reading material.
CP: Just bought Milk Teeth for our Europe trip! Now I’m even more excited to dig in.
Open Obsessions
CP: I’m most excited to read your answers here, since we share a lot of *content* crossover with podcasts, TV etc. Have you watched or listened to anything that’s sticky in your brain lately? All obsessions, pop-culture or otherwise, welcome!
AM: Over the past two years, I’ve committed to becoming a “Bravo Person” and have zero regrets. Thank goodness The Valley is back! I do live for seeing Naomi Fry’s various screen grabs of Jax Taylor. Summer House (also a favorite of Lindsay’s) is teeing up for a great Reunion Episode.
I’m also keeping up with the new season of Hacks. I know Cait and I are equally proud when we see Pat Regan (a la Seek Treatment podcast) in the credits! I’m excited that Overcompensating is finally here. Lindsay and I are both diehard fans of anything Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone do. This show is no exception and involves most of my closest parasocial relationships.
Magic Farm by Amalia Ullman (featuring Chloe Sevigny!) is well worth a trip to the movie theatre (tbh it may be streaming by now). I caught a screening and Q&A with Ullman and another castmate opening weekend at the Angelika and came out obsessed. It was incredibly well written, funny, quirky, and heart-felt. It reminded me of the movies I would obsess over in middle school and early high school (Saved!, Napoleon Dynamite, Rushmore).
CP: Seeing Chloe “in the wild” feels like the center square of a NYC Bingo card!
LC: I’m probably the worst person to ask about TV - I tend to re-watch the same shows over and over (hiiii, SATC) and skip almost all new series. But I’ve been on a full Amy Poehler kick lately with her new podcast, Good Hang (a true delight!) and am also rewatching Parks & Rec from the beginning (also delightful!).
And similarly am diving into Overcompensating this weekend for a full binge. So proud of Benny and Mary Beth and am ready to spot all the Ride podcast Easter eggs!
CP: Good Hang is pure serotonin!! I’ve been catching up on that back catalog too. Loved the Kathryn Hahn ep and their chat about the importance female friendship — which feels like a nice note to end on!
That’s all for our guest issue with Allie and Lindsay! To see more of what they ate, linked to or chatted about, follow our Instagram @opentabsletter or shop all of our issues here.