Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Light Switch (opened 8/25): A new coffee shop in Carroll Gardens that turns into a wine bar at night.

• Rok Coffee and Tea (opened 8/25): The LA coffee and tea chain’s first New York location, in the West Village. Known for ultra-thick, dessert-like matcha lattes with cream on top.

• Floradora (opened 8/27): A French bistro from the team behind Capitaine, in the old Chateau Royale space, which the same group quietly closed earlier this year.

• Peral (opens 9/2): A taqueria in Bed-Stuy from the team behind some beloved Mexico City and Brooklyn spots. They did a soft opening in August, but this week is the real one.

• Brasserie Boulud (opens 9/17): Daniel Boulud’s new brasserie across from Lincoln Center. Reservations open this week.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between 8/31 and Labor Day.

• Crown Shy and Yingtao are doing a two-night collab dinner (8/31): An 8-course tasting menu from two of the city’s Michelin-starred kitchens, at Yingtao in Hell’s Kitchen.

• F&F Pizzeria is throwing its last pizza garden party of the summer (9/1): The Frankies Spuntino team is closing out its Pizza Sessions series with a guest chef from Oobatz, a pizza spot in my Paris guide, making his first New York appearance.

• Edith’s is hosting a free 5K through the West Village (9/2): Put on with a run club called Running on Veggies, ending back at the restaurant for a coconut slushie. All paces welcome.

• Gem is running its own take on the Honey Deuce (through the US Open): a honeydew and raspberry slushie version of the classic tennis cocktail, on the menu at Gem Wine for the rest of the tournament.

• Burgers for Good kicks off Hunger Action Month (9/1): City Harvest, the city’s largest food rescue organization, is partnering with restaurants across New York to donate $1 for every specific burger sold in September. The Snail, Nowon, and Lord’s are running it the whole month, plus a handful more for shorter windows. These are burgers you want to order anyways, so you might as well make them count.

• Oysters and crab rolls on a Bushwick rooftop (9/7, Labor Day): Market Price, the mobile oyster bar that’s been popping up all over the city this summer, is doing one more round on the roof at Vacations before summer’s over. This same pop-up sold out on Memorial Day, so don’t wait on this one.

Last-minute day and weekend trips, marked

A few day trips, then a few worth staying over – for the long weekend, or any September Saturday while the weather’s still nice.

• Beach day in Rockaway (1 hour ferry – day trip): The ferry from Wall Street or Sunset Park gets you to Rockaway Beach in about an hour, skyline views the whole way. Breakfast sandwiches, tacos, and a dive bar that pours frozen piña coladas into paper cups for the beach – it’s all in my Rockaway guide.

• Hike and sandwiches in Peekskill (1 hour drive – day trip): This one’s from my summer bucket list. Hike Anthony’s Nose for the view, then reward yourself in town at Benny’s Brown Bag. Get the Thai Fried Chicken Sandwich, it’s the one I keep going back for.

• A beach weekend in Greenport (2 hour drive – weekend trip): Soundview is my top choice to stay, right on the Sound with a private beach and dinner at The Halyard. Silver Sands is the more low-key, beachy option in town. Both are in my North Fork guide.

• A design weekend in Hudson (2.5 hour drive – weekend trip): The Maker is the design-forward stay, and Casa Susanna is my favorite restaurant in the whole region. Warren Street has the best downtown shopping upstate, full stop. More of both in my Catskills and Hudson Valley guide.

• A weekend flight to Portland (1.5 hour flight – weekend trip): Most people don’t think of Maine as a weekend trip from New York, but my flight down was so easy I had to share. The Longfellow Hotel is walkable to almost everything, which makes it the pick for a weekend that’s mostly spent in the city itself. It’s the Portland stop in my Southern Maine guide, which runs all the way down from Kennebunkport.

August was my second full month of funemployment / self employment, and I keep going back to how grateful I am this is happening to me in the summer. There’s been so many fun plans, things to do, and occasions to celebrate the people I love, keeping me busy and fulfilled.

Before jumping into the rest of this, thank you for being here. When the company I worked for shut down in June, I was scared and uncertain about what the future would hold. Pouring so much of my energy into this has been incredibly rewarding, and every note from someone who followed one of my travel guides, checked something off my summer bucket list, or enjoyed a recommendation I gave is the encouragement that’s kept me going. I’ve started working with some brands (if you think I could be a fit for something you’re working on, email me!) to see what I can make of this whole content world. I still don’t know what the future holds, but I feel so fulfilled right now, and for that, thank you.

This month

I started August with a sweet getaway to Southern Maine, staying at the beautiful White Barn Inn with my mom. We’d been here for a dinner around Christmastime, but staying over at the hotel was a life bucket list item. We spent the week trying all the Portland food (everyone needs to experience the honeycomb soft serve at The Honey Paw), visiting local farms, and a waterfront sauna.

I tried a few new restaurants this month. Cleo, which opened in the West Village and is known for its chicken dinners, was a favorite. We ordered corn ribs, the half chicken, corn bread, Cleo’s salad, and the pickle plate. Frenzie, which just opened in my neighborhood next to Confidant, was another. My friend Adriana and I split the sungold tomato pizza. I also checked out Cafe Bureau for their frozen cold brew. I met up with Grace of (love turning Substack friends into real friends) for wine at Casetta.s

I was in the Hamptons for a week midmonth, so it feels like most of my August was spent there. I hadn’t been back in a long time, and this was the first time I could financially stomach (some of) the prices. I stayed in a big house with 10 friends, balancing our $300 beach club day at Gurney’s and big dinner at Duryea’s with homecooked family meals at home. I bopped around to spots on my own while my friends worked remotely during the week, and compiled my favorites into a Hamptons guide. Audi lent me a car for the week to help with said bopping, and I could not be more grateful.

Other highlights: seeing Olivia Dean at Madison Square Garden (angel in human form), and a weekend home in Massachusetts to see my in-laws. I’ve also been steadily working my way through my summer bucket list. I have a few things from it slated for September too.

To close out the month, my close friends got married in the Catskills at Spillian. I’ve mentioned my friend Lindsay before (she runs the vintage store Formerly in Fleischmanns), and celebrating her and being with her people was so special. She hosted a mini bachelorette night before the wedding weekend started, and I brought a custom citrus olive oil cake, thoughtfully made by Monica.

This month on Marked

Southern Maine, marked · Solo days, marked · The Hamptons, marked · Lower East Side, marked

In my cart (and on my body)

This month was a mix of finishing my summer list and getting ahead on fall and winter. I needed a bag for Lindsay’s wedding and ended up wearing this beaded brown clutch all month. I’ll be reaching for it next season too. I wanted a pair of fun sunglasses to wear in the Hamptons and on an upcoming trip to Europe, so I grabbed these blue tinted ones from Jimmy Fairly. I’ve been loving all things stripes, including this red tank from Madewell and this Rowing Blazers sweater.

I’ve been so into these chartreuse shorts and will wear them into the fall. Tangle Teezer just came out with a new brush, and I’ve loved using it right out of the shower. I finally gave in and got this sweater I’ve been seeing everywhere, in a pale blue.

Something I’m eyeing for fall but haven’t bought yet: this dalmatian print bag and its matching shoes.

I also recently got a Vivrelle membership and have been borrowing a small tan Saint Laurent bag for August. I’ll switch it out for something fun/fall in September. You can get a free month of Vivrelle with my code MORGANM if you want to try it yourself.

In my kitchen cabinet

This section is in paid partnership with Pique.

My doctor recommended magnesium a while back to help with sleep, and Pique’s R·E Fountain has become my go-to way to take it this summer. It’s a calming magnesium electrolyte I mix into water before bed, and I fall asleep easier on the nights I have it.

Turning it into a ritual instead of another pill to remember is what sold me, and it comes in individual packets, so it’s been an easy one to keep up with through all the summer travel. Small habit, but it’s stuck and it helps. You can get 15% off if you subscribe through my link.

On my nightstand

This month, I read Five Star Weekend so I can watch it without people telling me I “should’ve read the book first.”

Also on my nightstand: Lemme Sleep gummies. If it’s possible to become addicted to these then I’m cooked.

In my bedroom

This section is in paid partnership with Helix.

Sleep matters more to me with every passing year, and the biggest thing that’s helped is changing how I actually sleep. A few months ago, I switched out my mattress for the Helix Midnight Luxe, and I’m here to report back that I’ve been loving it. Sam and I had a hard time agreeing on a mattress (he likes firm, I like medium), so we let their sleep quiz spit out a compromise instead.

Since everyone seems to move apartments in the fall, Helix’s Labor Day sale is live right now with up to 30% off on select mattresses. If you’re in the middle of a move, or just looking for an excuse to upgrade, now’s a great time to do it.

Coming up

I’m excited for New York fall – let me know any content or recommendations you want to see from me! I plan on spending a ton of time in Brooklyn, soaking up my favorite months to live here. I’ll also write guides for some seasonal getaways. But first, one last summer trip to Europe I cannot wait for.

Much more to come here.

That’s August. See you in September. – Morgan

The first time I understood the neighborhood’s pull, I hadn’t officially moved back to New York yet. I was staying in an Airbnb here while I apartment hunted, right after leaving San Francisco. I panic-bought a pair of low-rise jeans within 24 hours.

This guide is everything I go back to when I (often) find myself in the Lower East Side: the coffee shops I treat like my office, my favorite bakery in the city, the curated boutiques I love, and some of the city’s best restaurants, all within about ten minutes of each other.

Coffee & bakeries

My favorite bakery in the city, and a whole lot of very good coffee shops.

• Elbow Bread: Probably my favorite bakery in the city. Known for a sweet potato pretzel shaped like two arms in a hug, their best seller. They also do hot dogs on Fridays in the summer, which made my summer bucket list.

• Little Canal: A Canal Street coffee shop that turns into a wine and cocktail bar at night.

• Le Gaz: Coffee and pastries with a small clothing shop built into the same space.

• Fa San: A butter yellow and red storefront barely six feet wide, decorated inside with thrifted mirrors and trinkets. The drinks are just as playful, think a red bean latte and a yuzu brew.

• Cafe Colmado: Styled after a Caribbean colmado, with coffee sourced from Latin America and regular community events.

• Ludlow Coffee Supply: My favorite spot in the neighborhood to WFH. It has both communal tables and quieter corners. Easy to post up for hours.

• Dialogue Coffee & Flowers: Get the carrot cake latte. It’s a coffee shop and a flower shop in one, so you can leave with both.

Things to do

A few hours that don’t involve eating or shopping.

Read more

Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Oishii (opened 8/20): The brand behind the famously expensive strawberries opened its first-ever shop, a small kiosk inside Chelsea Market.

• Matches (opened 8/14): A new bar in Greenpoint from the team behind Bar Bruno and Greenpoint Fish & Lobster. Steak frites and a burger by day, then it turns into a bar with DJs at night.

• Saolea (opened mid-August): Thai-American wine bar in the West Village with small plates. Already written up by the New York Times.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between 8/24 – 8/30.

• A listening night inside a car showroom (8/25): Car Part Time in East Williamsburg is a vintage car showroom with a lounge and coffee shop built in. Their signature event, Field Notes, is a curated vinyl set with about 90 minutes of just listening, then time after to look at the cars and grab a drink.

• Harry Styles’ 30-night MSG residency (8/26 – 10/31): This week marks the start of Harry at MSG. Word on the street is that plenty of resale tickets are going for less than face value – it’s worth a look on StubHub if you want to see him while he’s in town.

• A Copenhagen wine bar takeover at the Four Horsemen (8/26 – 8/28): The team from Ved Stranden 10, one of Copenhagen’s favorite natural wine bars, is taking over Four Horsemen for three nights.

• Ripe at Rockaway Beach (8/28): The Rockaway concert series is still going, and Ripe is playing this Thursday. I went to a show earlier this summer – it’s a beachy, easy summer night with live music by the water. Take the ferry out, grab a piña colada at Connolly’s, then head over for the show.

• Rhodora’s 5th annual block party (8/29): The Fort Greene wine bar is taking over Willoughby and Adelphi streets all day Saturday to close out summer.

• A free jazz night at Jefferson Market Garden (8/30): The garden’s summer concert series is wrapping up with a jazz set, outdoors in the West Village.

Outstanding in the Field

The pop-up farm dinner series is making its annual stop in Brooklyn.

Outstanding in the Field is back at Brooklyn Grange at the Navy Yard for two nights, 9/2 and 9/3. It’s their only stop in the city, and they only come once a year. I’ve been to one of their dinners in NorCal and to a rooftop dinner at Brooklyn Grange separately, so I can attest this will be a good one. 9/2 just sold out, but 9/3 still has tickets – I’d move on those soon.

If you can’t make it into Brooklyn, they’re also doing a Westchester date on 8/30 and the Hamptons on 9/9, at a farm in Sagaponack.

US Open, marked

Everything you need to know about tennis’s two weeks in the city.

The tournament runs 8/24 through 9/13 in Flushing Meadows. The cheapest way in is a grounds pass, starting around $65, which gets you the outer courts but not a seat in the big stadium: Arthur Ashe. For a specific match or player, you need a stadium ticket instead, and those can get pricey.

Here’s what’s happening off the court:

• A Honey Deuce soft serve: Unnecessary, the cocktail-inspired soft serve shop on Delancey Street, put out its soft serve take on the tournament’s official cocktail. It’ll be around for about a month.

• A Cosme pop-up at the Open: Chef Enrique Olvera’s Flatiron Mexican restaurant is setting up on-site.

• A one-night-only exhibition (8/25): Roger Federer is returning to Arthur Ashe Stadium (he hasn’t since 2019), playing alongside Andre Agassi and John McEnroe.

• Tennis under the chandeliers (8/27): The Waldorf Astoria is turning its Grand Ballroom into a full-size court for one night, with players like Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton playing exhibition matches. Tickets start at $1,500.

• A $500K US Open package at The Mark: The Upper East Side hotel has curated a package for a ridiculously wealthy tennis fan. $500K gets you four nights in the penthouse, a private lesson with John McEnroe, and courtside tickets to the semis and final.

So here’s the whole week: a coastal hike that ends with a truly excellent poke bowl, a coffee shop inside a garden store, the best farm stands and farmers markets, boutiques to stop in, a dinner that feels like a beach club in the south of France, where to watch the sunset, how to beach without a resident sticker, and where to listen to live music with a mudslide.

Where to stay

Everything’s expensive. Find a friend with a house.

Hamptons group rentals on Airbnb: We stayed in a large home in East Hampton, and I loved the location, it made getting to most of the places on this list easy. If you’re traveling with a big group, Airbnb is the way to do it. Split eight or more ways, it always comes in cheaper than a set of hotel rooms.

If it’s just you and one other person, or a smaller group, hotels make more sense:

• Barlume Beach: a new hotel in Montauk with an Italian coastal restaurant, serving raw seafood and handmade pasta.

• LDV at The Maidstone: a historic inn on Main Street in East Hampton that recently reopened.

• The Roundtree: a boutique hotel in Amagansett, walking distance to the shops on Main Street.

• Gurney’s: the big Montauk resort, turning 100 this year, right on the water with a beach club you can visit even if you’re not staying there.

• Marram Montauk: a beachfront hotel in Montauk with a much quieter feel than Gurney’s.

• Hero Beach Club: a smaller beachfront hotel in Montauk, more low-key than Gurney’s or Marram.

Everything out here is expensive no matter which of these you pick, so if you have a friend with a Hamptons house, say thank you to them.

Breakfast & coffee

Set an alarm to beat the line.

Read more

Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• El Califa de León (opened 8/6): The Mexico City taqueria that became the world’s first Michelin-starred taco stand in 2024 (but lost its star this spring) just opened its first NYC location in Flatiron.

• Frenzie (opened 8/13): The team behind Confidant in Brooklyn Heights opened a late night wine and pizza bar next door. They’ve got sourdough pies until midnight on weekdays and 2am on weekends, plus wine and small plates.

• Recente (opened 8/13): A coastal Italian aperitivo bar in the East Village from Dante alums, with spritzes and a courtyard garden.

• Pony’s (opens Saturday, 8/22): A new cocktail bar in Red Hook. The furniture’s all handmade, and horse and meadow motifs turn up in unexpected spots.

• Ugly Baby (opens Thursday, 8/27): The beloved Thai spot that closed in Carroll Gardens is now open again, this time in Williamsburg. Reservations are already booked through August, but September just opened up.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between 8/17 – 8/23.

• Bar Kabawa x Win Son (8/18-8/20): Each month a different NYC kitchen gets one week to put its own spin on a Caribbean patty at Bar Kabawa. This round it’s Win Son Bakery, with a Taiwanese pork and fermented black bean patty.

• A Night at Nonna’s Table at L’Artusi (8/21): A four-course, family-style dinner of Italian Sunday classics at L’Artusi’s supper club location.

• Brooklyn & Bronx Summer Streets (8/22): One more Saturday for Brooklyn & the Bronx – Eastern Parkway and the Grand Concourse close to cars for biking and walking, 9am to 5pm.

• MSG box office tickets for Olivia Dean (8/17, 8/18): Resale sites have tickets going for $800+, but you can get them for a fraction of the cost at the Box Office. I first heard about this from Emily’s TikTok, and people on Reddit have posted having the same experience, walking away with face-value $150 tickets.

Adult slushies

Another week of highs in the 80s, so let’s eat our way through it.

This is pulled from my cold treats guide – the full list also covers frozen cocktails, soft serve, and ice cream sandwiches, if you want the rest of the lineup.

• Matcha strawberry slushie at Gem Home: The café and homewares shop on Mott Street in Nolita does a matcha slushie with strawberries for summer. I’ve seen them make it with both Harry’s Berries and local ones.

• Pineapple lemonade slushie at Slik: The Copenhagen-inspired candy and soft serve shop in the East Village, from the Smør team. They’re also serving up slushies for the summer.

• Tahini coffee slushie at Edith’s: Officially the Iced Café Slushie – cold brew blended with tahini and oat milk – from the Williamsburg and West Village sandwich counter. I loved it as much as I thought I would.

• Frozen cold brew at Cafe Bureau: The concept store in Williamsburg is a clothing shop with both a coffee bar and wine list. Their frozen cold brew is strong and refreshing, and they have wifi if you want to work, or a backyard pool table if you don’t.

• Strawberry slushie at the McCarren Farmers Market: Farmers market strawberries, blended, by Williams Fruit Farm at the McCarren Park farmers market in Greenpoint. Also at Grand Army.

• Maple freeze at Culture Espresso: The Midtown coffee shop known for its molten chocolate chip cookie also blends a maple freeze in summer – essentially a maple coffee slushie.

In bed by 10

The recurring weeknight experiences that get you out of the apartment without wrecking your bedtime.

This section is sponsored by Helix. I upgraded my mattress to their Midnight Luxe a few months ago and have been loving it. Their Labor Day sale is live now.

• Mondays: Trivia at Montague Diner (Brooklyn Heights), 8pm. Categories rotate weekly, and you’re playing over a milkshake or a drink instead of at a bar. Wraps by 9:30.

• Tuesdays: British Movie Night at Jones Wood Foundry (Upper East Side). Dinner at 6:30, film starts at 7:45. This week’s screening is Snatch.

• Wednesdays: Sunset yoga at Bryant Park, free, on the lawn, Wednesday evenings through mid-September.

• Thursdays: Dinner and a burlesque show at Seventy Seven Alley (Tribeca). A chef tasting menu from Chef London Chase, then a reserved table next door at Saint Tuesday for jazz and burlesque.

• Fridays: Hot Dog Day at Elbow Bread (Lower East Side). The one day a week the Dimes Square bakery makes hot dogs in addition to baked goods. Already on my summer bucket list, so this is your excuse to finally cross it off.

In case you missed it

Elizabeth Street Garden is saved for good. After years of fighting a plan to demolish it for affordable housing, the city struck a deal to keep Elizabeth Street Garden alive. The garden will stay a public space, and the affordable housing developer will build on an alternate site nearby instead.

Outdoor dining is coming back year-round. The City Council passed a bill to end the seasonal rule that made restaurants tear down and rebuild their outdoor dining sheds every winter.

Below is the version of a solo day I’d build for myself: where to get coffee and shop in the same place, a museum to wander at your own pace, a matinee, an entire afternoon at a bathhouse, and where to eat and drink somewhere that’s better solo than it would be with company. Take all of it, or take one section and build your own day around it.

A note before we get into it: this post is in paid partnership with Dove, which is why it’s unlocked for everyone today instead of sitting behind a paywall. My solo day mornings start in the shower now, with the new Dove Serum+ Radiance Oil Body Wash. I step out feeling hydrated and glowy, not that tight, stripped feeling some body washes leave. Some mornings it’s the closest thing I get to a spa day without leaving my bathroom, and it’s become part of my own solo day ritual. It's accessible luxury, and the first good decision I make before the day's even started.

Coffee with shopping

Cafes that double as shops.

• Homecoming (Greenpoint & Williamsburg): Coffee and pastries up front, then flowers and small gifts from local makers in the back half of the shop. Good excuse to buy someone flowers on your way out, even if that someone is you.

• Café Bureau (Williamsburg): Coffee shop and clothing store in one, with a pool table in the back and a hidden patio. I just tried it for the first time and added their frozen cold brew to my cold treats guide.

• Salter House (Brooklyn Heights): A home goods and clothing shop with marble bistro tables where they’ll bring you coffee and something sweet while you browse. I've found good pieces in the clothing section tucked in the back.

• Apartment Ra’el (Bed-Stuy): Feels more like someone's loft than a coffee shop, except everything in it is for sale.

• Air Mail (West Village): A shop with books, gifts, and a small café in the back.

Museum wander

Going at your own pace.

• The Frick Collection (Upper East Side): The atrium alone might make this one of the prettiest museums I’ve been in. It’s small enough to see in an hour, and phones are only allowed in the atrium, so once you’re in the galleries, everyone around you is also looking at the art.

• Noguchi Museum (Long Island City): Isamu Noguchi built this around his own sculpture and design work, with a garden you should sit in even if you’ve already seen the galleries. The Akari light sculptures, the paper lanterns you’ve probably seen reproduced in a hundred apartments, are the most famous pieces here.

• Neue Galerie (Upper East Side): German and Austrian art from around 1900 is the focus here, with one of the best Klimt collections outside Europe. Café Sabarsky downstairs doubles as a good solo lunch, so you can make a whole afternoon of it.

• The Morgan Library & Museum (Murray Hill): I share a name with this place. It’s why my husband took me here for my birthday one year. I’ve been obsessed with the original library room since.

• Chisholm Larsson Gallery (Chelsea): Tens of thousands of original posters going back to the 1800s. Feels more like a museum than a store.

Matinee

The one I keep recommending, plus a few I plan to see.

Titaníque (St. James Theatre) is one of my favorite shows I’ve seen in a long time. My former boss and his wife (hi John and Kelina!), who have great taste, were the ones who first told me to go and they were right. It’s a very unserious retelling of Titanic as told by Céline Dion. Runs through September 20th.

I haven’t seen these yet, but they come highly recommended by my Broadway friends, so they’re on my list:

• Six (Lena Horne Theatre): Henry VIII’s six wives get the mic. High energy and under two hours.

• Operation Mincemeat (Golden Theatre): A WWII deception operation, where British intelligence planted a corpse with fake documents to fool the Nazis, told as a very funny musical.

• Maybe Happy Ending (Belasco Theatre): Last year’s Best Musical winner, more emotional than the other two.

The bathhouse ritual

The slowest hour of a solo day, and no one's rushing you out of the sauna.

• Lore Bathing Club (NoHo): Book a specific time slot, and check their aufguss schedule before you go. It’s a guided sauna ritual, and you should build your visit around one.

• AIRE Ancient Baths (Tribeca): This bathhouse is candlelit, set inside a restored textile factory. An indulgent date with yourself.

• Bathhouse (Williamsburg): I prefer this location to the one in Flatiron. It’s got the largest rooftop pool in the city, so go on a warm day if you can. There’s also a new outpost on Atlantic Avenue if you’re based on that side of Brooklyn.

• Great Jones Spa (NoHo): This one’s been around forever and is still one of my more low-key favorites. I had one of the best massages of my life here.

Solo dinner

One seat at the bar is easier to get than two anyway.

• Ha’s Snack Bar (Lower East Side): Known as much for its natural wine list as its food. Walk-in only, and if you’re solo you’ll have the best shot at a bar seat right when they open.

• Kisa (Lower East Side): You’d order the same thing here alone or with company, a protein and a full spread of banchan, except solo you get the whole table to spread it out on. Get the spicy pork.

• Lord’s (Greenwich Village): They only make twelve burgers a night. Go alone and you won’t have to share yours.

• Minetta Tavern (Greenwich Village): Bar seats are first-come, first-served, and it’s rumored they’ll send solo diners a free glass of champagne.

• Ichiran (Bushwick): Each seat is its own private booth, walled off on either side, where you write your order on a slip of paper and pass it through a slot. About as low pressure as solo dining gets.

• Shan (Boerum Hill): My neighborhood favorite for wonton soup. I first saw Alison Roman call it her favorite place to eat alone, and I’ve come around to feeling the same way.

Wine bar

Bring a book.

• Stars (East Village): Twelve seats around the bar, from the team behind Claud and Penny. Don’t skip the deviled eggs, topped with little puffed stars.

• Entre Nous (Fort Greene): Lowkey, good for a glass of something with raw bar bites.

• Plus de Vin (Brooklyn): A wall of bottles and a covered back patio.

• L’Apéro (Brooklyn Heights): Not many people know about this one. The L’Appartement 4F bakery turns into a wine bar on select nights.

• Ten Bells (Lower East Side): Dimly lit with an all natural wine list.

• Book Club Bar (East Village): A bookstore that also operates as a wine bar and coffee shop.

Thanks again to Dove for sponsoring and unlocking this one for everyone. The Serum+ Oil Body Wash is on Amazon here.

Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Don’t Matter (opened 8/5): Vinyl and cocktails in a new Dumbo listening bar.

• Graciela (opened 7/14): An Argentine tavern in the West Village from the team behind Don Julio, the Michelin-starred Buenos Aires steakhouse that shows up on World’s 50 Best lists.

• Street Blends (soft opened 7/10): A new caffeine shop on Mott, just off Houston, with drink specials like guava matcha, or earl grey tea lattes.

• Ven.archive (opened 8/5): My husband’s favorite store, Ven.Space (a multi-brand menswear shop in Carroll Gardens), just opened a second outpost a few blocks away. It’s a two-floor archive space stocked with past-season pieces and one-off samples.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between 8/10 – 8/16.

• A summer BBQ at Bridges (8/10): Bridges, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Chinatown, is hosting a summer cookout with Barbichette Wines pouring.

• Poetry night at a wine bar (8/13): June Wine in Cobble Hill is turning its courtyard into a night of seasonal wines paired with readings, curated by two local poets.

• Happy Medium pops up in Prospect Park (8/13): Happy Medium, the art cafe and studio, is leading a life-drawing session at Prospect Park’s carousel, sketching the horses as they go around.

• An Italian restaurant’s dining room becomes a dance floor (8/15): Balera is throwing a party for Ferragosto: the Italian holiday every August 15th when much of the country shuts down and heads to the coast for one last blowout before summer starts winding down. Pizza and cold drinks until the DJ takes over.

• Diljan Bakery’s pop-up pizza (8/15-8/16): Diljan‘s Afghan pastries are some of my favorites in the city, and I’ve heard incredible things about the pizza. They’re making flavors like kofta leek sumac pie.

• Misty Copeland’s Ballet Festival (through 8/16): World-class dancers at the Joyce, with a benefit night curated by Misty Copeland.

• Six years of Edy’s Grocer (8/16): Edy’s Grocer, the pantry and café in Greenpoint, is having a block party to celebrate six years with food and music, plus an ice cream truck parked outside.

• Live music at Elizabeth Street Garden (8/16): The free Sunday concert series continues at the beloved Nolita community garden. Bring a blanket and sit under the trees.

It’s corn

Corn season, marked. The best corn dishes on menus right now, sweet and savory, showing up in places you wouldn’t expect.

• Za’atar corn ribs at Cleo in the West Village. I tried these last week on my first visit and would order them again on every return trip. Luckily, they seem to be a menu fixture, not a seasonal special.

• The smoked corn BLT at Edith’s, which has locations in both Williamsburg and the West Village, and which I’d rank (personally) as the best sandwich in the city. I convinced myself I needed to try it again last week, purely for research purposes. It’s only around while their heirloom tomatoes and corn are actually in season, a very short window, so go now.

• A corn and blueberry soft serve twist at Leo, the Williamsburg pizza spot that rotates its soft serve flavors. Confirmed it’s still on for this coming week.

• A corn cookie at Culture Espresso in Midtown, sweet with a little savory edge. It’s a standing menu item, but corn season is the perfect excuse to get one.

• A corn and brown sugar ice cream sandwich at Poppy’s. It sold out before Friday was even over this past weekend. Poppy’s told me it’ll be back this coming weekend (Friday through Sunday) at their Outpost location on the Columbia Street waterfront, once they’ve restocked.

• Classic elote at Tacoway Beach, the Rockaway taco stand, a staple of their summer menu.

• Corn ice cream at Lai Rai in Chinatown, which I featured in my NYC summer bucket list. It’s the natural wine bar where you can get scoops of pretty unusual ice cream flavors alongside your glass, and corn might be the one they’re most known for.

• A blackberry corn croissant at Hani’s Bakery in NoHo, roasted corn custard and fresh blackberries folded in. Only on the menu about two months a year, so this is the window.

Somewhere else worth going

You can get to Maine faster than you can get to the Hamptons.

Last week I took a trip to Maine and needed to share how easy it was for a last-minute weekend getaway. The flight from New York to Portland is cheap and easy enough that you could probably pull off a day trip, though I’d give it the full weekend. I ate and shopped my way through Portland, then stayed at a life-changing hotel and found a waterfront sauna and a pick-your-own flower farm. All the details, including my favorites from many past trips, are in Southern Maine, marked.

This guide is a mix of three things: places I just tried for the first time, places I’ve loved for years and keep going back to, and a few places still on my list that come recommended by people whose taste I trust completely. There’s a you-pick flower farm, a floating sauna on the water, one of the most special dining rooms I’ve sat in on the East Coast, and a running list of the niche shops I’ll keep sending to friends.

Where to stay

One for a splurge, one for the spa, one for a Portland weekend.

• White Barn Inn (Kennebunk): I’d been for dinner here before, in what might be one of the most special dining rooms in the Northeast. This time I came back to actually stay overnight, and there are so many reasons it was special, so much attention to detail. They deliver your specific coffee or tea order to your room every morning, keep a couple of Mercedes on hand as courtesy cars if you want to borrow one and explore, and the pool is somewhere you could post up all day. Next time I want to try one of their houseboats on the river.

• Cliff House (Cape Neddick): A special place for the women in my family. It’s a gorgeous, massive spa hotel right on the coast, and we make an annual trip up for a full spa day together. I’ve never actually stayed the night, but it’s on my list.

• Longfellow Hotel (Portland): I had a coffee meeting in the lobby here and it was lovely enough that I’d book a room the next time I’m mostly doing things in Portland, right on Congress Street and walkable to almost everything.

Bakeries & coffee

This state might have the best baked goods in the country.

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Hi! If you’re new here, this is my monthly recap on Marked: what I actually did, ate, bought, and read.

July was busy, and August is shaping up to be even busier. I’m fully in my self-employed summer era, and it turns out that’s a different kind of busy than a 9-5 ever was. I’ll grab coffee with someone I’ve been meaning to see, spend an afternoon checking out a new neighborhood for a Marked guide, catch part of an event before it gets dark, and then realize that I haven’t touched my laptop all day, so I’m scrambling to answer emails or actually post something before bed.

My weeks have started to feel as social as my weekends, and my weekends have started to carry as much work as my weeks. Everything is blurring together, and mostly I don’t mind. I’ve been taking every summer trip on my bucket list, with plenty coming up in August and September. The through line is trying to be present wherever I am.

This month

I started the month at a family lake house in New Hampshire, celebrating July 4th weekend and my brother-in-law’s birthday. It’s always so nice to have weekends away where we’re in swimsuits or sweatpants the whole time, and we lose our phones. This is also the first month I’ve had the luxury of an Equinox membership, and I’ve been loving mixing up my typical heated sculpt class routine with last minute trips to walk on the treadmill, or trying out new classes. I’m on an unofficial journey to try the best breakfast burritos in the city, and I checked off Bluelight Speakcheesy in Greenpoint this month. They only do theirs on Thursdays and it’s a good one – if you have a favorite breakfast burrito I need to try, please don’t be shy! I was also on a more official journey (wrote Outdoor pools, marked) to try the pool passes of the city. My favorites are probably Bathhouse and Arlo.

I also celebrated my one year wedding anniversary this month, which meant figuring out what our anniversary “thing” is going to be. On Valentine’s Day, we always try a different burger spot (highly recommend experiencing a romantic Valentine’s Day at JG Melon, surrounded by a bunch of single dudes at dinner together). On my birthday, we try a new spot that’s been on my list for a while. For our anniversary, doing a return trip to our favorite restaurant from the past year felt like the natural fit, so for us that was The Snail. I can’t sing the praises of this place enough. Of course, you need to get the burger and a martini. But I also dream of their chips and ham appetizer, and their chocosu (a mash-up of chocolate cake and tiramisu) for dessert. This month I also tried Plus de Vin and Comal, and did a deep dive in Prospect Heights for my neighborhood guide, including a date night that started at Farm.One and ended at Cafe Mado. I do think this neighborhood is going to be the next hot spot to move to. Between Canyon Coffee and Radio Bakery opening there, along with the existing strong scene of neighborhood spots, proximity to Prospect Park and beautiful brownstones, I can see why people love it.

In the middle of the month, I went to my first Best Sellers party! Apparently they do these approximately once a quarter, and it was my first time qualifying for an invite. I thought for sure I wouldn’t know anyone there, but I finally got to meet Shannon from in person. I immediately connected with writers like , who also is in the Travel category, from Railed, who writes about sex and dating, and , who writes personal essays about her life. I don’t personally identify as a writer (I feel more like I curate, I guess?) but I was very inspired to be surrounded by kind, talented people.

I’m still working my way through my summer bucket list too. This month, I crossed off a concert at the Rockaway Hotel, did the Brooklyn Heights promenade walk (multiple times) and took a trip to the North Fork with friends. I have a lot left on my list, but we still have ~2 official months of summer left.

The North Fork deserves more than a passing mention. We stayed at our friend Courtney’s house (hi Courtney!) and spent the weekend seeing the area through her favorites, which is my preferred way to experience any place. It was also my first time on Shelter Island, and safe to say I will be back. We had dinner at Sunset Beach, which feels more like a beach restaurant somewhere in Europe. The rest was boat days and farm stand stops (Sep’s, Briermere Farms), but mostly it was laughs and dogs and babies. What could be better.

This month on Marked

Red Hook, marked · Marseille, marked · Outdoor pools, marked · Backyards & patios, marked · Prospect Heights, marked

In my shower

I’ve got a lot on the calendar this summer where I already know I’ll be in shorts or a bathing suit half the day, so I’ve been a little more attentive to anything shower-related than usual. Left to my own devices, I’m a soap, quick lotion afterward kind of person. It’s more of a task than a ritual.

This month, Dove sent me their Serum+ Soothing Oil Body Wash, and I used it as an excuse to slow down a bit. Since going self-employed I’ve had more flexibility in my days, and I’ve started putting some of it back into things like lighting a candle and taking the extra ten minutes, turning every regular shower into what the internet has lovingly branded an “everything shower.”

The wash itself works into an actual lather instead of the thin, runny suds I expect from most body washes, and my skin comes out moisturized but not greasy. It’s dermatologically tested too, which matters more to me these days than it used to. This is a great, affordable body wash that feels just as luxurious as the more expensive options.

My everything showers have become the daily self-care that has actually stuck – fifteen minutes that make the rest of the day feel a little more put together.

Available now at Amazon.

In my cart (and on my body)

I tend to hyperfixate on brands, and recently for me that’s been Leset. I already love their pointelle pajama sets, and I own their Margot tee in multiple colors and lengths, but I recently also got their long shorts and they are the perfect fit. I will be wearing mine into the fall. I’ve been stocking up on items for upcoming summer events and trips, like this brown beaded clutch for a Catskills wedding and Euro summer dinners. I also got this fun-colored bikini. I’ve seen multiple people post these wrap rope sandals and I finally got my own pair. Most have it in red, I went with this fun green color. I’ve never gotten more compliments in my life than I did in this low back top in the perfect blue color that I wore on my anniversary. I’ve also been loving my woven, square toe Freda Salvador flats. I perpetually have blisters from trying to walk too many steps in impractical shoes, but these have such soft leather. I can’t stop buying things in colorful stripes, and I got this Madewell tote – perfect for the beach but I also used it as a work bag last week.

Things in my cart that I’m not buying (yet): these bronze shorts from Chan Luu, a silk set from Same Los Angeles, these brown lounge pants from Adanola.

On my nightstand

I didn’t read a single book this month, if I’m being honest. Something always has to give, and lately it’s been the pre-bedtime reading hour. Back to it in August, probably? Hopefully?

Coming up

August is about to be BUSY. I will be in the Hamptons for a week, I have a friend’s wedding in the Catskills, a trip to see family, and will be prepping for a Euro Summer trip in September. I also have a few exciting concerts, dinner reservations, and an ambitious amount of my New York summer bucket list left.

That’s July. See you in August. – Morgan

Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Cleo (new brunch service + takeout window): The West Village rotisserie spot from the hospitality group behind Margot and Montague Diner is adding weekend brunch, along with a takeout window. I highly recommend their dinner service, and I can’t wait to try brunch on a future visit. The perfect summer date.

• Keepers (opened 7/29): A new pizza bar in the West Village from the team behind Dandelion and White Horse Tavern. Thin-crust pies with cocktails, including an “extensive Negroni selection.” This one’s on my list.

• Shania’s Max Bet (opened 7/29): A new cocktail bar in Gowanus, taking over the old Dirty Precious space, from three friends who met working at Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club up the block. Apparently it’s Atlantic City themed, leaning into 80s and 90s throwback drinks.

• Mary's Fish Camp (reopened 7/31): The West Village lobster roll institution that closed in 2024 after more than twenty years is back, a few blocks from its old spot.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between 8/3 – 8/9.

• The Big Vegan BBQ (8/6): Public Records in Gowanus is doing its vegan cookout again this summer. They have a lineup of chefs, including Russell Markus of Essential Herbs & Hot Soup, so it’ll be good.

• A potluck Summer Tomato Party (8/6): Produce Parties started in 2021 as a small potluck series and has grown into 400-person dinners, plus its own print magazine. This one’s tomato-themed at Talea Beer in Williamsburg – buy a ticket, then bring a tomato dish to share.

• A pizza night from seven of the city’s kitchens (8/8): Resy is hosting this pizza party at The Test Brewery in Williamsburg – Four Horsemen and Blue Hill Farm are among the seven kitchens each debuting an original pie. One ticket gets you unlimited slices.

• Summer Streets (8/8): Just two more weekends of Manhattan’s Summer Streets, which shuts down Park Avenue to cars. People bike, run, rollerblade, or just walk down the middle of the road. The last one is 8/15.

• Gem Wine is back, sort of, at Cove (8/9): Gem Wine was a favorite restaurant on the Lower East Side until it closed for good last year. Chef Flynn McGarry folded it into his other two spots, Cove and Gem Home, and this summer he’s reviving the Gem Wine menu Sundays at Cove. They’ll have classic small plates like gouda and cherries, plus $16 glasses.

• Baby Oyster takes over Greenpoint (8/9): A seafood pop-up known for oysters and ceviche, blending Baja and Peruvian flavors, is setting up at Lise & Vito with a DJ.

Outdoor live music

Parks, restaurant backyards, and gardens hosting live music this week.

• Sunset concerts in a garden (8/5): Wave Hill’s Sunset Wednesdays series brings a different act to its Great Lawn overlooking the Hudson every week. This week it’s Grammy-winning musicians who combine West African and American folk.

• Bluegrass Thursday at Saturn Road (8/6): A free bluegrass night in the Cobble Hill coffee shop / bar backyard. No tickets, just walk in.

• The Rockaway Hotel (8/7): An oceanside concert series that runs all summer. I went last week, and it felt like a true escape from the city. This week it’s Neal Francis.

• Live jazz on a Thai restaurant’s patio (8/6, 8/7): Goog, the Red Hook Thai spot, hosts a jazz band outside on its patio on Thursday and Friday nights.

• A daylong outdoor dance party (8/9): A Sunday day party that runs every week through November, from NY nightlife veterans. It’s called Mister Sunday at Nowadays – there’s an outdoor dance floor, with a different guest DJ each week.

Park Slope and Fort Greene have the reputation for this kind of block, but Prospect Heights has the same brownstones and the same park access packed into a fraction of the space. My guess is that’s exactly why it’s about to become the neighborhood everyone’s trying to move to.

Below: the coffee and breakfast spots, then the wine bar and brewery, the park-and-museum stretch that can eat a whole afternoon, and the dinners I keep sending people back to.

Coffee & breakfast

Four options within four blocks.

• Canyon Coffee: The LA import now on Vanderbilt. They’ve got oat milk lattes on tap, plus pastries and toast.

• Gertie: The bagels and bialys are good, but the real draw is the back patio, full of trees, easily the best spot in the neighborhood to meet a friend for breakfast or lunch.

• Dilly Dally: An all-day café that’s turned into the neighborhood’s unofficial coworking space, patio included.

• King David Tacos: NYC’s original Austin-style breakfast taco spot, founded by a Texas transplant who brought her mom’s salsa recipe with her. Get Mom’s Migas, scrambled eggs with salsa and tortilla chips folded in, or the BPEC with bacon, potato, egg, and cheese.

• Radio Bakery: This is the second location of the Greenpoint original, which still pulls a line down the block most mornings – this one’s no different. They’re most famous for the cheesy pretzel bearclaw, a laminated pastry that’s somehow also a pretzel, stuffed with mustard béchamel and cheddar.

Drinks

Wine, and drinks from an actual working farm.

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Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Zig Zag Oyster Bar (opens 7/28): The team behind Hart’s is opening a proper raw bar on the Crown Heights/Prospect Heights border – local oysters, good wine, and a patio for walk-ins.

• More of the same, everywhere: Kings Co Imperial is opening in Park Slope (7/27), Frenchette opened its third location in Nolita (7/14), and Skinny Louie just opened a fourth location with its smash burgers in the East Village (7/24). It feels like every beloved spot in this city is cloning itself lately. Not mad about any of these individually, just wish this section had more net-new openings to put on it and less of the same names popping up in a new neighborhood.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between 7/27 – 8/2.

• A one-night LaRina takeover at Edy’s Grocer (7/28): Chef Silvia Barban of LaRina is cooking an Italian x Lebanese dinner – including focaccia, a family-style pasta and grilled meat spread, and a tiramisu spin on Edy’s labneh mousse sundae. I went to a Brooklyn Grange rooftop dinner she hosted awhile back and it was delicious, and I love LaRina, so this one should be good.

• A week-long pop-up at With Others (7/29 – 8/2): This week’s guest chef at the Williamsburg wine bar is coming from Early June in Paris, one of my favorites there (referenced in my Paris guide). Sounds like this is their last chef pop-up for awhile – they’re hinting at something new coming after this one.

• Soft Bar’s first-ever dinner party (7/30): The trendy non-alcoholic bar in Greenpoint is hosting five Italian courses built around summer produce, with non-alcoholic pairings to match. One long table, cooked by the café’s own team.

• Union Square Greenmarket turns 50 (7/31): This is the regular Friday market at Union Square, just with extra programming to mark 50 years of the Greenmarket – cake, music, games, and bites from Abigail’s Kitchen, Bread’s Bakery, Brooklyn Curry Project, and more, along with the usual stalls.

• Summer Streets kicks off in Manhattan (8/1): This is the first of three Saturdays where you can walk or bike up a carless Park Avenue. The street is closed to cars along with Lafayette Street, from the Brooklyn Bridge up to Inwood.

• Larry’s Cà Phê pops back up at Still Life (8/1): Larry’s Cà Phê was the beloved Vietnamese coffee shop that closed in Park Slope a few months ago – everyone was sad about it. Now it’s doing a one day pop-up in Gowanus, serving three drinks representing the north, central, and south of Vietnam.

Brunch in backyards

Coffee, eggs, and some place green to eat them.

This is one section from my backyards & patios guide – the full list also covers wine bars with patios, outdoor remote work cafes, and romantic dinner spots with back gardens.

• Colonia Verde (Fort Greene): Latin American food in a farmhouse-feeling space that opens into a bright greenhouse room, then out again into a small patio. Go for the shrimp tacos.

• ACRE (Greenpoint): Somewhere to pop in for a matcha or an iced hibiscus tea, or stay for a real meal – the grilled salmon bento is the one people talk about. Either way, there’s a garden patio out back.

• Gertie (Prospect Heights): The bagel and deli spot that closed in Williamsburg came back in a new Prospect Heights space. Get the Best Bialy, hot and cold smoked salmon with a dill caper schmear, and find a shaded spot in their back patio.

• Milk & Roses (Greenpoint): The inside looks like a moody little library, all dark wood and bookshelves, with a fireplace crackling in the colder months. Out back there’s a big garden with a small greenhouse, pretty enough that people get married in it.

• Bakeri (Greenpoint & Williamsburg): A Scandinavian bakery, known for its bread and pastries. The Greenpoint location has the larger outdoor seating.

Paid subscribers can find the rest of the backyards & patios list – wine bars, cafes, etc. – plus the running map, in the full guide.

I’ve been keeping track of them all summer: brunch spots with real gardens, wine bars with back patios bigger than the room up front, even a rooftop farm looking out over the water. There’s a massive museum garden that happens to have WiFi too, and a running list of cafes where I’ve gotten work done outside, which might be the most useful section in this post. I’ve been adding each one to a map the second I find it.

Paid subscribers can find that map at the end of this post, with every backyard and patio pinned.

Brunch/lunch

Coffee, eggs, and some place green to eat them.

• Colonia Verde (Fort Greene): Latin American food in a farmhouse-feeling space that opens into a bright greenhouse room, then out again into a small patio. Go for the shrimp tacos.

• ACRE (Greenpoint): Somewhere to pop in for a matcha or an iced hibiscus tea, or stay for a real meal, the grilled salmon bento is the one people talk about. Either way, there’s a garden patio out back.

• Gertie (Prospect Heights): The bagel and deli spot that closed in Williamsburg came back in a new Prospect Heights space. Get the Best Bialy, hot and cold smoked salmon with a dill caper schmear, and find a shaded spot in their back patio.

• Milk & Roses (Greenpoint): The inside looks like a moody little library, all dark wood and bookshelves, with a fireplace crackling in the colder months. Out back there is a big garden with a small greenhouse, pretty enough that people get married in it.

• Bakeri (Greenpoint & Williamsburg): A Scandinavian bakery, known for its bread and pastries. The Greenpoint location has the larger outdoor seating.

Wine bars

Natural wine had a very good summer.

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Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Coffee Stain (opened 7/12): A new coffee shop on Havemeyer Street in East Williamsburg.

• Muje (opened 7/2): A more casual tasting menu spot near Koreatown, from Jungsik Yim – the chef behind Jungsik, one of only a handful of restaurants in the city with three Michelin stars.

• Hungry Spicy (opens 7/23): A new Thai restaurant in Chelsea from the team behind Hungry Thirsty, the Brooklyn restaurant that relaunched fan-favorite Ugly Baby last year. Same team, same spice level – but where Hungry Thirsty sticks to the flavors of Southern Thailand, this one is ranging across the rest of the country’s regional cuisines.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between July 20 – July 26.

• Soundbath at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (7/20): An outdoor listening session on the garden’s lawn – bring a mat, lie back, and a string quartet is performing their Grammy-winning album live as the sun goes down.

• After the Curtain at Masquerade (7/21): Masquerade is an immersive, walk-through reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera playing Off-Broadway. It’s throwing a late night concert series in the show’s Lake Bar, a set built to look like the underground lake from the opera’s original story. This week, Broadway star Ciara Renée is singing a French-inspired set of jazz standards.

• Peak Summer at Hart’s (7/21): This Bed-Stuy restaurant changes its menu nightly based on what’s fresh at the market. This week, that means leaning all the way into peak summer produce.

• Rolo’s Clam Shack Pop-Up at Brothers (7/24): Rolo’s, the Ridgewood wood-fire bar and grill from a pair of Gramercy Tavern alums (that’s always booked out), is taking over Brothers – a cafe on the boardwalk in Rockaway – for a day of clams and other shore food.

• MoMA PS1 Warm Up (7/24): MoMA’s contemporary art museum in Long Island City is throwing its long-running summer dance party in the outdoor courtyard, with DJs playing house, dub, and techno.

• Frø’s Guest Chef Smørrebrød Series (7/25 & 7/26): Frø is a Red Hook bakery known for its dense Danish rye bread. It’s throwing the first of a four week series, where a different guest chef builds smørrebrød – Danish-style open-faced sandwiches – on top of that rye each week.

• Meadow Lane x Tuckshop Chicken Salad Toastie (7/22–7/28): Tribeca’s viral grocery store Meadow Lane is teaming up with Tuckshop, a West Village shop known for Australian-style grilled sandwiches, to turn its cult-favorite chicken salad into a toastie for one week only.

Tomato time

The best tomato specials on menus and in glasses right now.

• Tomato Tree at Sip & Guzzle: A cocktail built entirely from parts of a tomato plant – tomato water for the fruit, dill and basil for the leaves, elderflower for the blossom, and a Greek liqueur standing in for the sap. This West Village bar was just named the best in North America by World’s 50 Best, an annual ranking of the world’s top bars.

• Caprese Martini at Jac’s on Bond: Tomato and basil-infused vodka shaken with olive oil, vermouth, and balsamic – a savory martini that’s become this NoHo bar’s signature order.

• Smoked Corn BLT at Edith’s: This sandwich counter’s bacon-lettuce-tomato is back for the summer, stacked with peak season tomatoes and smoked corn.

• Tomato, Watermelon & Whipped Feta Salad at The Snail: Ripe tomato and watermelon with whipped feta, basil, and mint at my favorite Greenpoint restaurant. I tried it Saturday night and it was delicious.

• Tomato Menu at Breads Bakery: This acclaimed Union Square bakery, known for its award winning chocolate babka, is running a tomato-only menu through the end of July. Includes a tomato galette, an open-faced tart of cherry tomatoes and tomato jam on flaky pastry.

• Marinated Tomato Salad at Cove: Marinated tomatoes with grapes, ajo blanco, and fried thyme, at Flynn McGarry (of Gem Home)’s Hudson Square restaurant

I spent the last few weeks tracking down the pool day passes that deserve your attention: the Williamsburg hotel cluster everyone already knows, a few quick day trips, the spas doing pools better than most hotels, the gyms where the pool is the whole reason to join, and the members clubs where the pool is part of what you’re paying dues for.

Paid subscribers get the full guide.

Hotel pools

No room key required

• Arlo Williamsburg: The pool deck here is its own branded thing, ART Williamsburg, and it’s a genuine rooftop scene – lifeguard on duty, full food and drink service brought right to your day bed. I went this week and found it to be lively but not too crowded, and you really can’t beat the skyline view. A lounge chair (starting at $85) gets you a three-hour time slot – 10am, 1pm, or 4pm. Note that the full day passes (starting at $100) don’t include a chair. Cabanas start at $125, and also have a food and drink minimum.

• CODA Williamsburg: Branded as a beach club, and just went through a renovation to live up to the name. Not a rooftop – it’s tucked in between buildings, but still gets plenty of sun. There’s a bar menu with light bites, and specialty drinks including one served in a coconut. Day passes start around $95, daybeds from $115, cabanas from $1,150.

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Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Yellow Pear Coffee (soft opening): Took over the beloved Larry’s Cà Phê space in Park Slope, serving Cantonese-inspired coffee drinks and pastries like pineapple buns and egg tarts.

• Noury (opened 6/25): A new izakaya and sake bar in SoHo from the team behind Kiko, the acclaimed Hudson Square restaurant.

• dokidoki (now open): A new standing-room cocktail bar in Williamsburg blending Japanese and Latin flavors, with easy, low-ABV drinks.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between July 13 – July 19.

• Movie night at Elizabeth Street Garden (7/15): The free Wednesday series is returning to the SoHo garden with a screening of The Princess Bride.

• Poppy’s summer picnic series (7/16): The Brooklyn Heights cafe is kicking off Thursday fried chicken dinners, timed to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Movies with a View; this week’s film is Bend It Like Beckham.

• Missy Robbins at Callisto Farm (7/18–19): Chef Missy Robbins (Lilia, Misi) is doing a dinner series at Callisto Farm in the Hudson Valley.

• Cake Decorating Club (7/19): A Sunday afternoon cake decorating workshop in Clinton Hill – decorate your own mini layered cake, then share it over drinks with the group.

• Bastille Day at L’Appartement 4F (7/19): The Brooklyn Heights spot is anchoring Montague Street’s Bastille Day block party with gourmet hot dogs, grazing tables, and French pastries.

• World Cup final weekend (7/14, 7/15, 7/19): The semifinals are kicking off Tuesday and Wednesday at 3pm, then the final is landing at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday at 3pm. Resale tickets have dropped to around $7,400 at the cheapest, so if you’re watching, you’re probably doing it on a screen somewhere in the city – Good Thanks is showing it over brunch, MoMA PS1 is turning its courtyard into a free watch party with LIC food vendors, Queens Botanical Garden is screening it on the lawn, and Essex Market is throwing a block party on Broome Street.

Frozen cocktails

Dessert you can also get a little tipsy on. This is a section from my curated of niche frozen desserts: Cold treats, marked. If you want the full list of slushies, froyo, ice cream sandwiches, and more – it’s linked here.

• Frozen cucumber margarita at Sonny’s Corner: The new Greenpoint corner bar in the old Pencil Factory space. There’s two frozen drinks on the menu, and the cucumber margarita is the one.

• Frozen guava margarita at For All Things Good: A Mexican café and masa shop in Bed-Stuy where the frozen margaritas have a following. Guava is the summer pick.

• Sorrento lemon granita at Golden Ratio: At this ingredient-driven Clinton Hill cocktail bar, every drink comes either boozy or zero-proof. The Sorrento lemon is a frozen granita, ideal on the patio.

• Margarita and cream at Schmuck’s: Schmuck’s had a real moment when it first opened, but you might actually be able to get in for a drink now. Their seasonal special is the margarita and cream, tropical with mango and a little cilantro.

• Frozen espresso martini at Jupiter: The King team’s all-day pasta and wine spot on Rockefeller Center’s rink level does a few frozen cocktails – frosé, piña colada, espresso martini.

• Frozen Cosmo at The Long Island Bar: The Cobble Hill institution on Atlantic Avenue, where one of the owners is credited with popularizing the Cosmopolitan – which makes the frozen Cosmo the order to get.

• Frozen piña colada at Habana Outpost: The Fort Greene Cuban spot with the giant rainbow-umbrella patio and a slushie machine running all summer. Get the frozen piña colada and the World Famous Grilled Corn.

• Frozen Arnold Palmer at Lise & Vito: A quirky Greenpoint natural wine bar doing a spiked frozen Arnold Palmer for summer.

• Banana frozen drink (BBC) at Red Hook Barrel Yard: The sprawling new Red Hook waterfront spot – winery, cidery, and distillery under one roof, with Statue of Liberty views. On my first night checking it out, the bartender handed me a banana frozen drink that almost tasted like raw pancake batter (in a good way). It’s called the BBC with Bailey’s, banana liqueur, rum, cream of coconut, and fresh banana. Order it!

Below is where to stay, including a swim spot I’d go back to Marseille just to experience again, plus the full coffee and bakery rundown, where to go for lunch and dinner, wine bars, shopping, and my favorite hike along the water.

Where to stay

A beach club, a design hotel, and a cliffside splurge – ordered roughly by price.

• Tuba Club: The highlight of our whole trip. It’s an old diving club turned beach club, restaurant, and small hotel in Les Goudes, a small fishing village at the southern edge of the city. During the day it’s basically a locals’ hangout – everyone’s just there floating around, drinking, and lounging on the rocks. Guests staying at the hotel get the best tables at dinner, which is a nice perk after a full day in the sun. We loved it so much we’d plan another Marseille trip just to stay there again.

• Hôtel La Relève: A retro guesthouse in Endoume with just four rooms, each done up in its own bold color and theme. There’s a bar downstairs that doubles as the neighborhood hangout, and breakfast happens right there in the morning.

• Le Petit Nice – Passédat: The splurge option – a cliffside hotel near Malmousque, a quiet cove neighborhood on the coast, with its own Michelin three-star restaurant and a pool built right into the rocks above the water.

Coffee & bakeries

For slow mornings, or the reset before dinner.

• Cécile Food Club: A cute little café and deli with really good coffee and sandwiches. There’s an original location in Malmousque and a newer one in Les Goudes, just down the road from Tuba Club – an easy stop on your way to or from the beach club.

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Spots on my radar that just opened – or are already accepting reservations.

• Saison (soft opening 7/11): The Brooklyn baking studio known for its fruit and flower covered cakes is opening its own sunny Bed-Stuy corner storefront. Soft opening features their signature baked goods – prepared foods and sandwiches to follow.

• Behind the Booth (opened 6/28): The LES photobooth from my photobooth guide turned the storefront behind the booth into an intimate 14-seat spot for wine and ice cream.

This week in NYC

My favorite things to do between July 6 – July 12.

• Dante takes over Threes Brewing (7/6): The newly renovated Threes Greenpoint is kicking off its Summer Guest Series – a different iconic NYC bar or restaurant takes over every Monday through August. First up is Dante, pouring classic and chocolate Negronis. Walk-in only, until they run out.

• L’Industrie x Meat Hook BBQ (7/9): Every Thursday the Williamsburg butcher shop is handing its backyard grill to a different chef – the recurring event series is a pick from my summer bucket list – and this week it’s L’Industrie.

• Jazz in July at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (7/9): The botanical garden that borders Prospect Park is hosting live jazz among the blooms, included with garden admission. Bring a blanket and grab a drink from the pop-up bar.

• PDT tequila cocktail class (7/11): A hands-on cocktail making class at the famed phone booth speakeasy. This class is dedicated to tequila drinks.

• Sunday Sommelier Supper at COQODAQ (7/12): A sommelier-led pairing dinner at the fried chicken and champagne destination.

Oyster season

A half dozen places to eat a dozen oysters.

• Titán: The new Dumbo cantina, with a big backyard under the Brooklyn Bridge, is serving up oysters broiled under bone marrow butter and morita oil.

• Penny: The sleek seafood bar above Claud has oysters raw off the ice box, or confit oysters with spiced crackers.

• Greenpoint Fish & Lobster: A working fish market that shucks discounted oysters in front of you, daily from 12 to 6pm.

• Walter’s: A dozen oysters and a bottle of wine for $50 at happy hour, best at an outside table across from Fort Greene Park.

• JR & Son: The revived 1930s Williamsburg supper club with a late-night oyster happy hour.

• Maison Premiere: A classic oyster destination in a beautiful setting in Williamsburg. Eat them at their horseshoe marble bar or in their back garden.

Here’s how I’d spend the day: coffee in a back garden before the crowds, a bakery that’s only open on weekends making some incredible Danish rye, plenty of spots to day drink right on the water, and my favorite dinner restaurant in all of New York (no, it’s not Red Hook Tavern). There’s live music, a brand new bar doing sourdough pizza, and some cold treats to send you off.

Coffee & bakeries

Get in before everyone else does.

• The Black Flamingo: A café with a beautiful hidden garden out back. Stop in for an iced coffee on the way to the water, and grab a scone while you’re at it.

• Frø: A beautiful space with vibrant art on the walls, open just on weekends, where two sisters bake some of the best Danish rye you’ll find. Take a loaf home – it keeps forever in the freezer and toasts right back to life – and don’t leave without one of the buns with butter and cheese. Very good.

• High Beam: The newest coffee shop, and they roast their own. Best of all, there’s loads of room to sit and the interiors are lovely.

Things to do

Pinball, day drinks, and the best view of the skyline.

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