Reviews #8

Living life in New York City is not the same when it’s less than twenty degrees outside, so it’s safe to say I’ve had difficulty adjusting after spending two months in Miami. Nonetheless, I’ve managed to live some parts of my life as normally as possible. With indoor dining closed and significantly fewer people living in NYC, it can sometimes feel like a ghost town near my apartment. I frequently remind myself to leave my apartment, see people, and get some fresh air. Thankfully, I have wonderful friends who have entertained all my ideas of ways to have fun in NYC despite the cold. 

So far, I’ve done outdoor dining at Lola Taverna, Soho Diner, Citizens of Gramercy, and Rosie’s. I was the warmest and most content with the experience at Rosie’s, but the food at Lola Taverna was by far some of the best I’ve had in a while.

I cannot stress enough how necessary it is to have a reservation for dinner these days. There is basically no such thing as walk-ins anymore with restaurants operating at such limited capacities; I’ve witnessed hostess’ turn away dozens of people on separate occasions due to “being fully booked for the night”. It’s also not very enjoyable to wait outside in the cold. If you can’t get a table, your best bet is getting on the Resy waitlist of your desired restaurant and having your notifications on. That’s how I got my table at Lola Taverna! Rosie’s was also fully booked for prime dining hours, so my friend and I ended up taking a 6:45 pm reservation (note to self: sitting down for a 6:45 dinner is low key the move because it’s a) not as cold out and b) you still have the night ahead of you after your meal). 

If you get lucky enough to dine in Lola Taverna’s beautiful outdoor patio, make sure they seat you in the cool people section. I was seated in the not-so-cool section. Quite frankly, I wasn’t in the mood to start a fight at a boujee restaurants in SoHo. It just looked like the scene-y section was warmer, which is why I recommend it. We ordered the dip trio to start (spicy feta, hummus, and baba ghanoush), the brussel sprout salad, the chicken bao buns, and the steak frites. Everything we ordered was delicious and I would probably order again EXCEPT the bao buns; I just felt it was a little inauthentic to order at a “Mediterranean” restaurant. It’s obviously not that by the looks of what we ordered. 

I also took myself on a date to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) on Sunday afternoon. If you haven’t been since they remodeled, you absolutely must. There are so many new galleries and modern art pieces, I felt like I was in a completely new museum. I almost dropped dead when I saw they dedicated a section to Matisse’s Swimming Pools. But don’t fret, you can still find The Starry Night and Le Demoiselles d’Avignon amongst the new Rothko and Matisse pieces. I also noticed that there were many more female artists (!!) on display like Alice Neel and Audrey Flack.

A couple of MoMa COVID visiting tips - don’t forget to buy your tickets ahead of time online. They have student pricing, but NYU students can still go for free. There’s no coat check, so be prepared to carry around your jacket all day or boil from the intense central heating. Wear a comfortable mask that you don’t mind wearing for a long time. 

On the topic of fashion, don’t sell yourself short in the winter. Wear warm socks, comfortable shoes, well-lined pants, big sweaters, your best scarf/mittens/hat combo, and hit the town. It’s not the sexiest fir, but you can still look cute in the winter. Just don’t forget that you still have to be practical and intentional in your wardrobe choice.