One of our favorite New York cocktail mavens is opening a new neighborhood wine bar in Brooklyn: Ivy Mix, co-owner of the great Leyenda over in Carroll Gardens, is part of the founding team behind Whoopsie Daisy, which is set to debut on Wednesday, May 1. A collaboration with Conor McKee and Piper Kristensen of Fiasco! Wine + Spirits, the casual, 35-seat Crown Heights den will be located less than a block from that sibling bottle shop and will spotlight both natural wines and local bites. 

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Aimed at serving “both local community members in need of a high-integrity hangout spot and visitors looking for their next favorite pour,” the beverage list will champion both natural and biodynamic wines, with a focus on diverse producers, low-intervention, and traditional production methods. The bar will work in tandem with Fiasco!, offering an overlapping drinks selection that guests can later find and purchase at the nearby wine and spirits shop to be enjoyed at home.

The drinks program at Whoopsie will be complemented by a similarly thoughtful snack menu: think bread and butter, tinned fish, cheese and charcuterie, and, for something a little sweet, chocolate chip cookies from Ridgewood’s L’imprimerie bakery with locally sourced milk. Food items will largely pull from boutique New York farmers and mongers including Blakesville Creamery, La Salumina, Churchill Creamery, C. Hesse Cheese, and Jake’s Gouda. 

Alongside that local ethos is a dedication to low-waste initiatives, such as the elimination of citrus garnishes for cocktails and reusing wine kegs to round out the wine program. The Whoopsie Daisy team is also aligning itself with partners that share its dedication to sustainability and will regularly host pop-up events featuring winemakers, craft spirit producers and other like-minded retailers. 

Check out some of the food-and-drink offerings, as well as Mix and the rest of the opening team from Whoopsie Daisy below: 

* This article was originally published here

Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul released a new $237 billion state budget deal that, among other things, included a clause permitting local movie theaters to apply for a license to sell hard liquor on site. 

Both the New York State Senate and the Assembly already approved the measures, but no word yet on when the changes will go into effect.

One thing to keep in mind: according to the new guidelines, customers will only be allowed to buy a single drink per transaction (so you and your date will have to head to the bar together).  

Of course, the concept of drinking while catching the new Dune isn’t completely foreign: theaters like iPic are known to deliver a culinary experience alongside movie screenings, and they do so by holding a restaurant license and operating a full kitchen with staff delivering orders directly to the various seats. 

Back in 2022, officials passed new laws allowing “traditional” theaters to serve wine, beer and cider to movie-goers. Sipping on a mojito, though, has been prohibited until now. 

The new budget includes a number of other measures: liquor stores no longer have to be located at street level to qualify for a license (believe it or not, that was a Prohibition era law!) and the “drinks to go” provision that came about during the pandemic will now be extended another five years, beginning 2025 through 2030. 

Basically, NYC is entering the golden era of cocktail sipping outside of bars—and we’re here for it.

* This article was originally published here

Express was the go-to clothing store for so many of us as we scoured for “going out” tops in college and then forayed into our careers. But now it’ll start fading into memory as the fashion retailer begins closing a large swath of its stores across the U.S. 

Express Inc., which is based in Ohio and also owns the Bonbons and Upwest brands, just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, forcing it to shutter 95 stores across the country, including over a dozen in NYC, according to Pix 11.

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Here are the following Express stores that’ll close around the NYC area:

NYC

• Bay Terrace in Bayside
• 490 Fulton Street in Brooklyn
• Kings Plaza in Brooklyn
• 514 Broadway in Soho
• Times Square
• 129 5th Avenue in the Flatiron District

Long Island

• The South Shore Mall in Bay Shore
• The Sands in Oceanside
• Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream

Northern Suburbs

• Sangertown Square in New Hartford
• Cross County Center in Yonkers

New Jersey

• Deptford Mall
• Freehold Raceway
• Livingston Mall
• Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing
• Moorestown Mall
• Garden State Plaza in Paramus
• Woodbridge Center

You’ll want to get to these shops before they close to take advantage of the sales. Let’s pour one out for a real one and hope that it makes a comeback like Century 21.

* This article was originally published here

Wars can be fought and lost in a century; love can be found and won in a century; the previously perceived “impossible” can become reality, and a person can live their lives witnessing it all in a century. Thus is the case for East Harlem resident Catherine Knowles, who celebrated her 100th birthday last week. Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs was there to commemorate the occasion.  

“I feel good,” Knowles said with a laugh. “I don’t feel no different so far.”

Knowles was born April 10, 1924 at Harlem Hospital in Manhattan. She was educated at parochial Catholic schools in her adolescence, she said. As a young woman, Knowles worked for Macy’s on 34th Street in Manhattan. She retired from Macy’s in the late 1980s at age 62, after working there for 32 years. 

Knowles and her late husband, Nathaniel Knowles, raised their family in Harlem. She had five children, two of whom are now deceased. Her family said she is an attentive grandmother with her grands, great-grands, and great-great-grandchildren. 

A huge proponent of friendship and traveling, Knowles was a part of a women’s social club called The Friendly Dozen. Social clubs for women were popularized in the 1920s. Some had political affiliations while others offered a sense of community and support. Knowles said her club was primarily for trips, dinners, and monthly gatherings.

“We called them the Dirty Dozen though,” joked her youngest daughter, Darlene. Knowles kept the same energy of “ripping and running in the streets,” having fun at the casino whenever she could, and constantly traveling after her retirement, said her family. Right up until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she had all her wits about her.  It’s only in the last four years that Knowles’ life has slowed down, said her family.

Knowles’ birthday party, held at the community center in the Franklin Plaza apartments, was a festive affair with at least five generations in attendance.

“I became the first formerly incarcerated New York State legislator. Born and raised here in East Harlem. Always said I’m gonna give back and never gonna forget those who brought me in,” said Gibbs at the party as he presented Knowles with a citation, which recognizes individuals and groups/organizations within the district who are commemorating a significant occasion.

Knowles is one of many from Harlem and East Harlem that make up the district’s Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC), which is how primarily senior communities are described. There are 60 official NORCs in the city, but about half are funded for services to older residents, said the Department for the Aging.

The secret to her longevity? “Taking care of myself. Don’t get into no arguments or anything. Just being myself, doing what I had to do. Being in company with my friends and going on trips,” Knowles said.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

The post Lifelong Harlem resident Catherine Knowles turns 100 years old, receives citation from AM Gibbs appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous French drama The Taste of Things offered up some of the finest food-on-film moments in recent memory, so much so that it’s hard not to want to jump right through the screen and stir that simmering sauce alongside Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel’s characters. And for one night only, Cathédrale is offering up the next best thing, with a four-course menu inspired by the acclaimed foodie flick. 

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For one night only—on Wednesday, May 8—the East Village restaurant will transform into a rustic French countryside to curate a culinary experience by candlelight inspired by the award-winning film. Crafted by Tao Group Hospitality’s Chief Culinary Officer Ralph Scamardella and executed by chef Jason Hall, the “Pot-au-Feu Tasting Menu” will feature plates like Soft scrambled egg tartine with carp roe, guinea hen breast with black truffles and a classic baked Alaska.

The prix fixe is set at $145, with optional add-ons of paired wines and libations for $75 more. The experience will be an immersive one, with the venue reserved all night for the experience, with doors opening at 7pm and dinner to follow beginning at 7:30. Limited seating is available so make sure to snag your spot with a reservation. And if you want to keep all of that rustic French immersion going, in partnership, the IFC Center will host several special screenings of The Taste of Things in the leadup to the dinner at Cathédrale. Think of it as a cinematic amuse bouche!

Check out the full Pot-au-Feu Tasting Menu below, as well as photos of the dishes:

First Course
Canapes “Trio” 
Soft scrambled egg tartine with carp roe 
Oysters with Caviar and Mimosa 
Green Pea Veloute 

Second Course 
Guinea Hen Breast with Black Truffles, Savoy Cabbage, and Sauce Supreme 

Third Course 
“Pot-Au-Feu” of Pheasant, Beef Short ribs, Sweetbread Crepinette, Winter Vegetable Consommé 

Fourth Course
“Pears & Cream” dark chocolate and almond nougatine 
Baked Alaska 

* This article was originally published here