Want to spice up your sex life without landing in a seedy porn shop or a swinger's club? You can do it with class (literally!) at Babeland, a women-owned sex shop chain with two locations in New York.
When we headed to the Soho store for their first workshop of the year called the "Big O." We admit that we were a little, uh, gun shy. (Remember that Sex In The City episode where the girls attended a sex class only to witness a live demonstration of how to pleasure a man?) How the heck was Babeland going to teach a group of strangers how to have better orgasms? Would they make us share our sexual issues in front of an audience or--oh God, no!--ask for volunteers to illustrate techniques?
While we've had our sights set on Brooklyn and that borough's shopping, the first American outpost of Japanese retailer Muji has opened in Manhattan. Known for its cheap-but-chic aesthetic, Muji's sort of like a trendy Target, with the hip clientele to match.
The new SoHo store opened at noon today and it's been going gangbusters since the doors swung open. The first 500 customers tomorrow and Sunday will also score a free "My Bag" reusable shopping tote, which not only proves you're up on the trends but can also score you discounts in the future.
Though this is the first Muji store in the States, you can get some of the company's stuff at the MoMA Design Stores scattered around Manhattan. Might be a good idea to try those this weekend if outrageous crowds aren't your thing.
New York always gets the good firsts, and the latest is Papabubble, Europe's cult-favorite homespun candy store, which has just opened its first U.S. location in Nolita. Papabubble will draw you in with the scent of simmering sugar, the main ingredient in their addictive hard candies. The name stems from the happy bubbles that pop up in their molten candy while it's still being molded.
Inside, think science lab-slash-subway with the decor, including white tiled walls and metal counters with beakers containing sweet mixes. Brightly colored lollipops and suckers are for sale and, if you're lucky, you can catch the show too. Boiling sugar water is mixed with natural oils over a metal counter and then pulled, cooled and cut by hand to create the treats. Buy a bag and see how fast your first lasts--we're guessing it won't be long.
Anyone out there visit or order from a particular neighborhood restaurant so much that it starts to get embarrassing? You know: you can't stay away, but you wince every time they say "welcome back" or complete your order for you? Yeah, we used to have that sort of relationship with a sushi spot called Tokyo Bay before we moved, so we're happy to see it got a nod from Ben Leventhal (of Eater fame) on Gridskipper's recent sushi poll.
Tokyo Bay is located at 183 Duane Street, firmly in Tribeca, but more Financial District in spirit. The atmosphere is relaxed and unpretentious, which is why we used to love shuffling over there in our sweats so much. Leventhal says it's a favorite among Nobu staffers, and he recommends the Omakase menu. Personally, we could go for some of their tuna sashimi right about now. Bonus: Tokyo Bay is open for lunch as well as dinner, which is relatively rare when it comes to reputable sushi restaurants in NYC.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten is something of a culinary genius--not to mention in possession of one of the weirdest names ever--so it was a bit surprising when Vanity Fair smeared his New York City restaurant 66 in a nasty review a couple of years back.
Turns out that VF editor-in-chief Graydon Carter was simply pissy about being seated at a bad table, and then sent a writer later for the hack job. Jossip reports that Graydon actually hearts JGV now, and is a fan of Jean-George's other restaurants Perry Street and Spice Market. Well, isn't that a relief! We were losing sleep at night, consumed by the thought that a megalomanicial magazine editor wasn't getting to eat as well as he should over a little tiff. Bygones, eh, boys?
0 Comments - Add Yours
by pbb
Jean-Georges Vongerichten is something of a culinary genius--not to mention in possession of one of the weirdest names ever--so it was a bit surprising when Vanity Fair smeared his New York City restaurant 66 in a nasty review a couple of years back.
