Nobody in fashion eats anything...

[boomurphy]

But I'm coming to New York to write about places they should go when they pretend to.

I write a restaurant blog for vogue in the UK and have been asked to come to New York to preview fashion week. Obviously the main objectives of the trip are to sit around in your fancy hotel lobbies pretending I'm more interesting / richer than I am, but I guess I'll have to squeeze in a few restaurants too.

So, what are the top3 I should visit in your lovely city? Memorable, stylish, quirky, interesting are all good. Something that reflects NY right now? Not bothered about something that's new just for the sake of it. Can't bear to go to Gordon Ramsay, we have far too much of him over here anyway.

thanks a lot in advance, I'll be happy to reciprocate with anyone coming to London!

Boo

[Nathan]

heh, the clientele at GR NY are mostly Brits...

so, do you want to know where fashion people go? or what reflects NY right now? (they sometimes intersect but often not.)

I'll start with the second and come back to the first:

easily the most talked about restaurant in NY right now (topping most critics (including Frank Bruni's) restaurant of the year lists) is Momofuku Ssam Bar. no reservations (except for groups ordering the bo ssam, an entire pork butt), no decor, no comfort, sometimes obnoxious, and extremely good food....kind of like jazz...the food is all riffed, collaborations of several young chefs.

our four stars are all worthy still. American bbq is big right now among foodies...especially the Lockhart, Texas style Hill Country. small venues in the EV, LES and WV are very hot: Back 40, Allen & Delancey, Kingswood, Smiths, Dell'Amina, Little Owl.

alright, fashion people: I'm not in the industry but I go to a few shows every year and know a fair amount of people in it. the older royalty (think Klein, Ralph, Vera, Kors, Anna Wintour etc) have their established places...lunch at Balthazar etc. they can also be seen at dinner at the Waverly Inn (though that's less true now that it's been open a year....but nothing has directly replaced it). among the younger fashion crowd: the Beatrice Inn, the Box, the Rose Bar, Socialista, TenJune. though it depends upon the night...most of the real action takes place during the week when the hoi polloi have to get up for work in the morning. for food, lunch in the WV during the week (Cafe Cluny or any other place on 10th or 4th), dinner is a lot more variable...often it's where they live...if they don't have money they live in Chelsea...if they're entry level they live on the UES, if they do have money it's NoLIta (try Public or Monday Room for dinner -- both of which are good restaurants too) or TriBeCa....

I'd really peruse Gawker for more on this.

hope that's a start.

edit: part of the problem is that NY is simply so big (like London) that any number of places can be "hot" without one really standing out. with exceptions: Waverly Inn last year. Spice Market four years ago (for about six months).

also throw in places having a very brief shelf life: La Esquina was very hot when it opened almost three years ago. after a few months, the A list had moved on and the fashionable set had moved in. now it's populated by a quarter of Hoboken on the weekends.

I'll also note that cocktail culture is huge in NY right now (as with London). not only are new restaurants often trying for serious cocktails, but places like PDT, Death & Co, Pegu Club, and the original Milk & Honey are all attracting a lot of notice.

Edited January 4, 2008 by Nathan (log)

[Nathan]

another thing: dinners and parties during fashion week itself are mostly at rented venues...those are the parties you really want to get into. sometimes they're at restaurants that aren't even officially open yet.

and during fashion week they're all too busy to be doing lunch anywhere...(the clothes are still being fitted that day etc.)

(also consider Tailor among unusual restaurants to have recently opened in NY....and they're hosting a fair amount of parties so that's covered to)

edit: and Tailor goes with the fashion theme...

Edited January 4, 2008 by Nathan (log)

[raji]

I think you'll get more help if you clarify -

Are you blogging about where to eat while attending fashion week? Then we'd focus on the Bryant Park area -

Or is it more like - fashion week is going on, and by the way, here are the most fashionable restaurants -

Or is it - where does the fashion industry dine?

IMHO most people in that industry care farrrrr too much about the scene, buzz, crowd, decor - well, everything but the food - everyone here cares about the food!

Japanese is the new french, so if you need Japanese intel, I'm your man. Most of my UK friends are blown away when I take them out for Japanese food - that level of authenticity and specialization simply does not exist in Europe, as opposed to, say, Indian food, where NYC can merely approach UK's greatness

[Kent Wang]

As a member of the fashion industry, I'd like to say that I do eat quite a bit.

[boomurphy]

thanks a lot for the advice... I'm determined no to do my usual trick of drinking too much, forget where I've been, lose the menus and then make something up while I eat room service.

New York's such fun, can't wait to get stuck in!