The Time Out New York blog
Your up-to-the-minute guide to New York City events, restaurants, bars, nightlife, ticket alerts, NSFW ephemera and cat photos.
Greener grass
Sun Jul 29
One of the better things about the introduction of a new video format is how it allows companies to fix things they got wrong the first time. Case in point: Lionsgate's terrific new Blu-ray edition of Weeds' first season, which presents the Mary-Louise Parker--as-pot-peddlin'-MILF dramedy in widescreen—as it was seen on Showtime—rather than with the sides chopped off the picture, as with the DVD released last year. Oh yeah, it looks pretty fantastic, too.
Panoramic might not seem vital where a dialogue-heavy series like this one is concerned. But Weeds is uncommonly cinematic for a quasisitcom, and the detailed set design—one of many reasons its portrayal of suburbia is so convincing—took a definite hit on the season-one discs. The Blu-ray version compensates ten times over—above and beyond the widescreen presentation, there's an almost supernatural sharpness to the image that takes a little getting used to. On Blu-ray discs, material shot with HDTV in mind generally tends to...
Mustache ride
Fri Jul 27
Sure, it's too steamy to think about covering up for fall, but the arctic weather is coming, people! So when we spotted this quirky wool "Beard Cap" ($135) from Icelandic design collective Vik Prjnsdttir, we knew we had to spread the word. Patterned after a traditional hood worn by snowstorm-enduring farmers in the land of Bjrk, the wool cover-up is far less scary than a ski mask (we might be sporting this on blustery Tenth Avenue). It's available at B-burg boutique Scandinavian Grace (167 North 9th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-384-7886), which hosted Vik Prjonsdottir's U.S. debut last night. But we're puzzled by the item's name...shouldn't it be called "Mustache Mask"?
Ramsay in the hizzouse
Thu Jul 26
Star Brit Gordon Ramsay is one of Manhattan's most famous absentee chefs, drawing scrutiny for naming a restaurant for himself without actually being there much of the time. So imagine my surprise when I saw the short-sleeved-chef-jacket-wearing, shar-pei-browed, flaxen-haired Ramsay, floating about at his casual eatery, Maze. Though my usual reaction to celeb chefs is feigned indifference, in Ramsay's case, I was awed. I couldn't believe he was actually there.
I promptly took my camera out of my purse, and our eyes locked, as though he has a sixth sense for photo ops. "Would it be terribly tacky if I took your photo?" I asked, testing out my Britishese. "Tacky? No!" He replied. "Why don't we do it in the kitchen?" And the gracious Ramsay benevolently ushered two civilians (neither my guest, former Eat Outer Leslie Price, nor I outed ourselves as press) into the stainless-steel fortress where all the magic happens.
If you can't tell by our shit-eating grins, it was a...
I scream, you scream
Thu Jul 26
Finally, there's some stifling heat to complain about, and that's a good excuse to move slowly and dawdle on your way to work. Me, I made a little detour this morning to check out the Puma i-Cycle in Union Square. Truth be known, I'm afraid to ride a bike in the city, but this was a little different. It's basically an old-fashioned ice-cream bike in modern Puma-esque style. Of course, I ended up riding it, which made me scared and sweaty, but whatever. The thing is filled with blue, green and purple ice pops and they're giving those away, so it's not a bad idea to head over there and get one. Just look for the big, red thing-on-wheels in front of the Puma Store on the west side of Union Square. The best part is, with each pop, you get a chance to win a new Puma Biomega eight-speed bike (for those who like being terrified, this is cool). Pictured here in its folded-up form (!), the prize is part of Puma's plan to get us all riding bikes in NYC. Hey, it's better than sitting in...
I'm just wild about Harry (still!)
Wed Jul 25
By now, five full days after its release, most of the world (or at least anyone calling themselves a Muggle) has finally finished the 754-page behemoth that is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This means that readers have learned the final fate of the Boy Who Lived, whether good won out over evil and—most important—if Ron and Hermione finally suck face.
So was it worth the wait? Find out in our spoiler-heavy, do-not-read-unless-you-want-to-know-the-ending review—which includes our favorite dork moments and a forum for talking back—after the jump.
You read that part about spoilers and how we're going to ruin everything, right? Cool.
As if there were any doubt: Harry lives, and Voldemort is vanquished once and for all. It had to happen—having the villain triumph over the hero would completely go against the archetype, and would be an acknowledgment that yes, Virginia, evil does exist in the world and there's nothing you can do to stop it. And we all know J.K. Rowling is...
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