Full bloom
Harvey Cedars, House of Stefas, Shop Rat, Liar Liar, $5M open houses, Upstate art 9s, MORE
GETAWAYS • Long Beach Island
Shore thing
Black-Eyed Susans in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island used to be a charming, special occasion restaurant, in a small building now home to another stylish vacationland spot, Birdy’s. In the summer of 2020, BES moved up the block into the sprawling yellow house on the corner of 80th Street that for 20 years housed Plantation, a restaurant with buttoned-up valet parking vibes.
During that first pandemic summer, the menu at BES expanded. We took advantage, donning masks to pick up clam pizzas and thin, crisp fries, each a parsley-speckled revelation in a takeout box.
This season, a longer stay on the island made clear how central the ambitious restaurant has become to the pulse of the north end of LBI. There’s now a pink-and-white trailer by the entrance (dubbed Marigold) serving coffee by day and cocktails in the evening, a bustling farmers market under the tent out front on Fridays, and live music during cocktail hour a couple of times a week. The lively bar inside is always full, the tent dotted with families during early dinner hours.
The action has even spilled over to local institutions Harvey Cedars Shellfish next door, and Neptune Market up the street, both of which have upgraded. With blossoming Birdy’s a block to the south, it all makes for an impressive transformation.
Back at Black-Eyed Susans, the versatile menu is brimming with local fish and produce. It’s a pizza place and a beach restaurant and a date night dress-up all in one. This season, we were partial to whipped ricotta on excellent house sourdough (grab a whole loaf at the farmers market), the black garlic Caesar, and crisped fluke over fregola and fennel. But we still came back to the pizzas, especially that white clam pie and the Angry Crab with arrabiata sauce and jumbo lumps. A sundae for dessert will turn heads.
It’s just a couple blocks from bay to beach on this stretch of LBI, and the surf and sunsets are really enough for a week or two away with the family. But put a great and fun restaurant in between, and, wow, we might just settle in. –Josh Albertson
→ Black-Eyed Susans (Harvey Cedars, NJ) • 7908 Long Beach Blvd • Daily (in season) 4p-close • Reserve.
GETAWAYS • Upstate Intel
THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY: New Greek restaurant House of Stefas opened Upstate in Millbrook last month. Here now, a FOUND correspondent early to the scene:
Imagine if Estiatorio Milos was transported from Midtown, took a gap year in Mykonos, and then took up permanent residence on a quaint country main street in Millbrook, NY. Even on a Monday night, things were happening at House of Stefas.
The restaurant instantly fills a major gap up here. The seafood is super fresh (whole red snappers, oysters, scallops, and massive prawns sitting in a trove of ice on a marble bar). A large-format braised lamb can be had, as well as a salt-baked whole fish. House pitas come puffed and steaming right out of the oven. We opted for the "Let the Gods Decide” omakase of sorts, which inundated us with plate upon plate of great food. Standouts were bright and fresh Greek salad, and all the mezzes — especially the spicy feta and the soutzoukakia (think spiced meatballs in tomato sauce), along with an order of the aforementioned giant prawns stewed in tomatoes, feta, and ouzo. There’s also a serious cocktail program (bound in a menu entitled "Drinks of the Gods").
My early take on House of Stefas: a unique, delicious Upstate special occasion restaurant, especially for a group ready for a big night out. We didn't see anyone dancing on tables, but then again, it was a Monday. –Jason Klein
→ House of Stefas (Millbrook, NY) • 3299 Franklin Ave • Mon-Thu 5-10p, Fri 5-1030p, Sat 1130a-1030p, Sun 1130a-10p • Aegean Odyssey: Sat 530p & 730p seatings, $250 per • Reserve.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Record-breaking $7.6M penthouse sale in Asbury Park • Gulf Air returning to JFK this fall • Spa trendwatch: immersive digital treatments • The rise, fall, and revival of Pan Am.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Rat czar
EMILIA PETRARCA • freelance writer • Shop Rat
Neighborhood you work & live in: Park Slope
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I just filed a big magazine profile, so now I need to turn my attention to my newsletter, Shop Rat, since I plan on sending one out on Saturday morning. The subject is my recent trip to Greece. I find that my readers really enjoy it when I share my travel itineraries, so I created a separate vertical called Hotel Rat specifically for that. I really enjoy writing them, so it’s a win-win. They just take a while to put together.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
The wine bar Liar Liar in Gowanus just opened a new back room, so I’m going there tonight with my boyfriend and his best friend — they both live in the neighborhood. They serve a $36 steak frites; you can’t beat that. After being in Europe for about a month, I told myself that I wouldn’t eat out at any restaurants for the rest of the month, but I broke that rule about 48 hours after I got back. I was invited to a press dinner at Bridges, so I had to!!! And then all bets were off. When I’m not eating out, I’m eating sushi from Union Market. I also got ice cream at Heaps, which recently opened in the neighborhood.
How about a little leisure or culture?
It was a full moon on Wednesday night, so I booked a rare “moonlight tour” around Green-Wood Cemetery with its resident historian. It’s one of my favorite places in New York. I even spent my 32nd birthday at the cemetery on a trolley ride with friends. On Saturday, I went to the Met to see the new Costume Institute show, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style and the Sargent show, both of which were great. My friend also told me about a new American photography exhibit and the new Arts of Oceania galleries, which I’m glad we also checked out.
Any weekend getaways?
I’m excited to go to the Rockaways this summer, as always!
What was your last great vacation?
As I mentioned, I just got back from Greece, where I visited Athens, Milos, and Sifnos. I’d love to spend more time in Athens, and Sifnos was my favorite island of the two. I got some incredible ceramics there. My boyfriend and I were also recently in Rome, and I loved staying in the Testaccio neighborhood and going to the market most days. Get a meal at Trecca, too. It’s worth the trip.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I have an aversion to the color blue, but felt like I needed to wear something close to it in Greece. This “steel” colored Attersee cardigan was perfect.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I decided to get really into massages in 2025 because my posture is terrible and I’m always tense from being hunched over a desk all day. I got an amazing Respira treatment at the Chelsea Hotel before I went on vacation and I also go to Opal in my neighborhood when I really need to work out the kinks.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Who Can It Be?
Keinemusik • Flushing Meadows (Queens) • Sat @ 2p • VVIP, $450 per
Drive-By Truckers & Deer Tick • The Rooftop at Pier 17 (Seaport) • Fri @ 6p • Heineken Silver Zone, $123 per
Men At Work with TOTO & Christopher Cross • PNC Bank Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ) • Fri @ 645p • sec 103, $231 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Lymphatic drainage spa The Tox coming to Harrison St. • A roadtripping recap of Upstate Art Weekend • Best NYC museums for kids • Embracing Clark Art Institute’s new outdoor sculpture show, bears and all • When Black Sabbath played the East Village.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
In the city this summer weekend? Three for-sale properties with open houses that came to market just under $5M in the last 30 days.
→ 36 East 22nd St, 3d fl (Flatiron, above) • 3BR/3BA, 2168 SF condo • Ask: $4.855M • full floor, keyed elevator at The Story House • Days on market: 18 • Monthly tax: $2837 • Monthly cc: $2212 • Agent: Kaptan Unugur, Sotheby's. Open house Sun 1230-130p by appt.
→ 91 Leonard St (Tribeca) • 3BR/3BA, 1843 SF condo • Ask: $4.95M • corner unit with 463-SF private terrace • Days on market: 4 • Monthly tax: $2922; Monthly cc: $2870 • Agents: Todd Lewin & Michael Rubin, Compass. Open house Sun 130-230p by appt.
→ 515 Broadway 4A (Soho) • 2BR/2BA, NA SF co-op • Ask: $4.995M • renovated loft with two exposures and white laminate kitchen • Days on market: 28 (and earlier at lower price) • Monthly maintenance: $5395 • Agents: Tony Testa & Emily Stein, Corcoran. Open house Sun 2-3p by appt only.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Adventures in ground leases: 450% rent hike looms over Carnegie House in Midtown • Building where Bob Dyan first lived in Village lists for $8.25M • Two-tower 80 Clarkson tops out in West Village • U-Haul boxes terrorize Upper West Side • Gowanus rising: $25k/month rental hits the market.
GETAWAYS • Upstate
Art on view, Upstate
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Sky High Farm Biennial (Germantown), site-specific exhibition inside old apple warehouse by downtown favorite Sky High Farm, open Fri-Sun thru fall 2025
The Campus (Hudson, above), over 80 artists exhibiting inside classrooms and halls of former school, open Sat-Sun thru 10/26/25
Millbrook Library (Millbrook), library gallery renovated into exhibition space featuring art programming, talks, workshops, current exhibit on view thru 08/23/25
Wassaic Project (Wassaic), artist-run w/ 7 floors of exhibition space in old mill, plus educational programming, open Thu-Sun thru 09/13/25
The School (Kinderhook), outpost of Jack Shainman Gallery, current show features over dozen artists, open Sat thru 11/29/25
Art Omi (Ghent), 120-acre sculpture & architecture park w/ gallery featuring solo exhibition by Harold Stevenson on view thru 10/26/25
KinoSaito (Verplanck), nonprofit art center inside former Catholic school w/ rotating exhibitions, workshop programming, open Fri-Sun
Magazzino (Cold Spring), museum dedicated to postwar and contemporary Italian art & culture, Antonio Marras and Maria Lai: Llèncols de Aigua on view thru 01/27/26
Storm King (New Windsor), outdoor museum for large-scale sculptures and site-specific works, including tactile sculptural works from Sonia Gomes thru 11/10/25
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
→ A handful of favorite NYC restaurants from new subscribers: Flex Mussels (Upper East Side)• Nougatine (Upper West Side) • Kenka (East Village) • Chow House (Greenwich Village) • Little Tiffin (Greenpoint).