Out of the box Archives - Page 3 of 4

Movies & champagne on a roof

Summer is just around the corner! This year, like every other year, the Seventh Art deserts the dark rooms blasting AC in order to take place outdoors in NY parks around the city. You know the big names by now, useless to present the free screenings on Bryan Park’s lawn, the Summerstage programming in Central Park or the view of the big screen and the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge Park. And, as every year, it’s a happy chaos. You have to get there…

A vineyard on a rooftop

Drinks at sunset in NY: pretty nice. Drinks at sunset on a rooftop in NY: very nice. Drinks at sunset on a rooftop surrounded by a vineyard in NY: getting close to perfection! You might have heard of beekeeping on the roof of the Opera Garnier in Paris, well now you also have grape-growing on rooftops in NY. Rooftop Reds is somewhat of a far-fetched project. Growing grapes on a Brooklyn rooftop. Producing wine in the middle of New York’s urban jungle. But don’t think…

Brooklyn swings

During the day, the Sankofa Aban bed and breakfast is barely distinguishable from the other 19th-century townhouses on the street. This is a typical brownstone characteristic of the BedStuy borough and gorgeously restored. But when dusk falls, something starts swinging at 107 Macon Street. Debbie McClain orchestrates the whole event. The brownstone was her grandfather’s. She converted it into a bed and breakfast and has been organizing live jazz concerts every Friday and Saturday night in the parlor. With only thirty seats, the least you…

RIP Levain Bakery

It has been officially Spring since Sunday and pop-up stores are appearing all over New York. There is one especially whose opening filled us with joy and wild delight, especially all former Londoners. Spoiler alert: Ben’s Cookies opens in New York! For those who don’t know them yet, Ben’s Cookies is the Rolls-Royce of cookies in London. It’s the British counterpart to Levain Bakery, the cookie specialist from the Upper West Side. And we must admit that between the two, we have a slight preference…

Looking for a Backstage Pass?

Have you ever wondered about the chassé-croisé of ballerinas behind the velvet curtains at a ballet? All the bustle from the change of scenery at the opera? The frenzy from the change of costumes between two acts at the theater? If so, there is a Sunday rendezvous you should not miss. Few people are in on the secret, but it is possible to visit the backstage of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Each week a small group goes behind the scenes and steps into…

Abracadabra

Forget all the preconceived ideas you have about magic. Miles away from old-fashioned spectacles, stereotypes and outdated decor, The Magician makes magic shows hip again. Enter the chic NoMad hotel. Imposing fireplace, red velvet benches, cozy atmosphere. A hostess in a Charleston dress welcomes you with a card game and invites you to explore the second floor of the hotel. Get lost in the corridors, go past room 213 to discover a hidden theater, transformed into a cabaret from the 20s. Take a seat and order a cocktail – we recommend the Golden Pineapples served in…

A Classic revisited

At Christmas, one of the traditions which is difficult to bypass is the sacrosanct Nutcracker. For purists, there is George Balanchine’s version at NYC Ballet. Classic, sublime, timeless. For the more daring, we found a burlesque version a little more off the wall. Rococo, extravagant, suggestive. At the instigation of the Company XIV troupe, Hoffmann’s tale turns into a bacchanal. To appreciate it, you need to understand the burlesque genre: it’s a variety show that combines dance and songs with a comic tone often caricatural,…

Sunday Jazz

There are two types of concerts. The “big” ones: ceremonious and codified concerts in major venues, such as Carnegie Hall, where you are welcomed with several restrictions. No cell phones, no pictures, no talking. On the other hand you have the “small” concerts, in more informal venues. What about a performance hosted in the intimacy of the living room of a Harlem apartment? Welcome to Marjorie Eliot’s Parlor Jazz. 23 years. It has been 23 years since Marjorie Eliot opened the doors of her apartment in…

Dinner with Woody Allen

One of NY’s small privileges is the opportunity to randomly bump into one of your favorite personalities while out wandering – whether you end up on the same ferry to Brooklyn as Leonardo DiCaprio, or at the table next to Sarah Jessica Parker in a Nolita restaurant. But if you do not want to rely on fate alone, we suggest you visit the Carlyle Hotel on Monday evenings to have dinner in the company of Woody Allen. We all have our favorite version of Woody Allen. Whether he plays an inveterate…

The new “Sleep No More”

How about spending your Halloween night with Lewis Caroll trapped within the confines of a former psychiatric hospital? For a horrifying night, you can’t do better than the English writer’s eerie universe. Forget about haunted houses full of ghosts; instead, you will find yourself in the setting of a hospital occupied by strangely familiar figures such as the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts, over which lingers the shadow of the (very) controversial relationship between Lewis Caroll and his (very) young muse Alice.