Ice cream bar
Lai Rai, Brooklyn Heights houses, Via Carota, AvroKO, Edition Farm, David Byrne tix, The Shelborne, best Miami hotels, MORE
BARS • First Round
New terroir
Amid the mildly chaotic sidewalk seating of its wildly popular neighbor (and sibling restaurant) Mắm, it’s easy to miss Lai Rai. The Chinatown wine-and-snack bar is so unassuming, I had to peek through various doorways on the block until I found a blond wood interior with a large patinaed mirror that made the space look twice its size. That wasn’t the clue, though — it was only once I saw the chalkboard menu featuring fish sauce ice cream and giò thủ that I knew I’d found the place.
Lai Rai launched in September 2024 with only a vague Instagram account and no consistent menu. What’s on offer is Vietnamese-inspired ice cream — in addition to that fish sauce flavor, you might find banana leaf, avocado, or Laughing Cow cheese — plus a savory snack or two.
The bar also has one of the most exciting wine lists in town. Ice cream got me in the door, but the ability to get pours from impossible-to-find-stateside winemaker Shofang kept me coming back. I first tried Shofang’s pet-nats — produced using a muscat grape native to the Hefei province in China — at the Hong Kong Food and Wine Festival. They blew my mind. In general, I’ve found myself more excited to drink Chinese wines, which had a terroir I’d never tasted, than I am to swirl big Burgundies.
Lai Rai is one of the few places in New York City that imports bottles from up-and-coming winemaking regions around Asia. On one visit, you might have gelatinous head cheese paired with a glass of Sông Cái Distillery’s yellow flower sticky rice bubbly. On another night, it could be guava sorbet and makgeolli. This unpredictable bounty, combined with an aesthetic that’s the right blend of low-key and cute for a promising first date (but elevated enough for client drinks) makes this an optimal back-pocket option for any night out. –Carina Koeppicus
→ Lai Rai (Chinatown) • 76 Forsyth St • Mon-Thu 6-10p, Fri-Sat 5p-12a, Sun 5-10p • Walk-ins only.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Here, four for-sale houses in Brooklyn Heights that came to market in the last 30 days.
→ 46 Willow Pl (Brooklyn Heights) • 5BR/2BA 2900 SF townhouse • Ask: $3.45M • 1849 Greek Revival framed by modernist houses, same owner since 1969 • Days on market: 2 • Monthly tax: $1151 • Agents: Paul Murphy & Rebecca Navarro, Compass.
→ 25 Middagh St (Brooklyn Heights) • 5BR/3BA, 2860 SF house • Ask: $4.995M • restored and renovated early 1800s clapboard • Days on market: 16 • Monthly tax: $1464 • Agents: Anthony Robles & James Vallejos, Elliman.
→ 40 Orange St (Brooklyn Heights) • 5BR/3BA, 2960 SF townhouse • Ask: $7.255M • front and side entrance plus private garage • Days on market: 24 • Monthly tax: $2173 • Agent: Katriona Kearney, Brown Harris. Open house Sat 1-2p by appt only.
→ 24 Middagh St (Brooklyn Heights, above) • 6BR/5.1BA, 4257 SF two-family • Ask: $9.995M • restored Federal-style with carriage house • Days on market: 25 • Monthly tax: $2515 • Agents: Daniel Kramp, Christie’s.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Brooklyn luxury market tops $100M in contract signings last week, highest in nearly a year • McCarren Park penthouse at 524 Manhattan Ave sells for $6.6M, new Greenpoint condo record • NYC homeowners can now apply to build ADUs.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Upstate edition
KRISTINA O’NEAL • co-founder and principal • AvroKO
Neighborhood you work in: Nolita & Tribeca
Neighborhood you live in: Chelsea
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I co-run AvroKO and HOST with my three partners. We’re about to open the second show in the Eden Codex trilogy, Fulcrum, on October 16. It brings together our art-based Modifieds (modern and whimsical modifications to found objects), our new AvroKO-designed lighting and furniture, and our Host at Host events that live at the intersection of food, wine, and design. Friday is usually creative time for this project, and all of its parts.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
Via Carota for dinner, I Sodi for pasta, Clemente Bar for late night, and Sant Ambroeus on Lafayette for lunch.
How about a little leisure or culture?
My husband and I are creating a donkey sanctuary upstate at Edition Farm in the Hudson Valley. We keep an art studio and gallery there, too. It’s work and rest woven together with animals, land, and design. For more cultural wanderings, we head to Dia:Beacon for monumental art and then to Storm King Art Center. If you want quiet luxury with a sense of place, Troutbeck and Inness capture the region’s pace. They blend culture, design, and nature without noise.
Any weekend getaways?
Other than Edition Farm, Mohonk Mountain House offers lake swims and mountain hikes wrapped in Victorian eccentricity. In Hudson, book a night at The Maker Hotel or Rivertown Lodge, wander Warren Street’s galleries, and have dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis for the kind of local magic that stays with you.
What was your last great vacation?
We have a California ranch in Sonoma, where I have the opportunity to work with the land (and with other women) while I’m in downtime. My latest project is Authored by the Sun with my partner Tessa Perliss, a native of the region. Our Herbarium and lab has been the most fun possible.
In Napa and Sonoma, some of the most beautiful places to eat include Charlie’s, the three-Michelin-starred Single Thread in Healdsburg (which AvroKO designed), Meadowood for an overnight stay, Plank Coffee in Healdsburg for a locals’ breakfast, and La Luna Taqueria in Rutherford for the best burritos. Spend an afternoon at Scribe Winery in their sensational Sonoma landscape that feels present, not performative.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A new high-design/high performance bar cart that we designed at AvroKO that bridges sculpture and function, debuting in our October Fulcrum show at HOST.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Plant Daddies — plants, pots, green energy for your home
Obsolete — rare design pieces with texture and history
Where are you donating your time or money?
All Seated in a Barn — a sanctuary for donkeys and equine
Little Longears Miniature Donkey Rescue — sanctuary care for miniature donkeys
CULTURE & LEISURE • Once in a Lifetime
David Byrne • Radio City (Midtown West) • Sat @ 8p • orchestra 5, $307 per
Lainey Wilson • MSG (Midtown South) • Fri @ 7p • sec 107, $198 per
Capitals v Rangers • MSG (Midtown South) • Sun @ 7p • sec 107, $336 per
LIFE IS ART: Mark Ghuneim’s installation, Selling My Life (above), brings together objects and ephemera — streetwear, concert tee shirts, posters — from his decades in the city. The immersive installation is on display through next Sunday 10/19, at Gotham Chelsea.
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: On the Bowery, Offline gallery is putting digital art on the walls • The painting that set the mood for Chinatown wine bar Lei • Gazzetta, the bold font behind The Life of a Showgirl.
GETAWAYS • Miami
Proper deco
The Shelborne returned to Collins Avenue in May, reopening after a 22-month, $100 million makeover by Proper Hotels. With so many of its contemporaries currently closed and in various states of redevelopment — The Raleigh, Delano, Shore Club, and most recently SLS — The Shelborne now stands as the paragon of the iconic 1940s-era Art Deco glamour that’s come to define South Beach.
It’s a big responsibility. After all, what’s South Beach without its Art Deco hotels, exemplars of effortless style, shrugging excess, and a touch of depravity? I’m happy to report that the newly reimagined Shelborne by Proper is more than up to the task.
Beyond the familiar white concrete facade and port-cochère, with its massive, space-age disc swirling with neon lights, the expansive flow-through lobby retains its terrazzo and marble tile floors in shades of pink, coral, and cream. It sets the stage for interior designer ADC Atelier’s voluminous, playful furnishings, sculptural decorative art, and enormous terra cotta planters bursting with flora. Originally designed by Igor Polevitzky and Thomas Triplett Russell in 1941, MiMo master Morris Lapidus made updates in the 1950s, including his signature “stairway to nowhere” (more typically associated with the Fontainebleau) at the rear of the lobby that I’ve always loved.
The spacious lobby bar acts as a central gathering place with understated glamour, and a sophisticated menu of cocktails and light bites. I stopped in with a friend before dinner one night and sampled their two signature martinis: one Vesper-style with avocado oil-washed vodka and dry gin, the other, an espresso martini with reposado tequila and Cherry Heering, both excellent. The menu includes artfully plated crudités, a selection of ceviches, caviar service, and heartier “con pan” selections, like zucchini and chorizo on flatbread with egg yolk and cotija. (The hotel’s main restaurant Pauline and speakeasy bar Little Torch haven’t opened yet. Judging by the quality and attention to detail in the bar, I have high hopes they’ll be excellent.)
Stellar hospitality was a throughline throughout my two-night stay. From front desk to pool and waitstaff, service was anticipatory, smart, and genuinely friendly. They’ve tapped Miami Beach hospitality vet Crispy (formerly of The Standard) as director of guest services and her presence in the lobby gives the whole place the feeling of a homecoming.
The hotel is home to one of Miami Beach’s great classic Art Deco pool decks, with an original diving platform and an oasis of a deep end, framed by a chic turquoise, green, and blue color scheme covering dramatic double plush lounge chairs, towels, and umbrellas around the pool.
While rooms are somewhat tight due to the historic preservation of the hotel’s original footprint, they’re beautifully decorated in a neutral color palette of taupe and what could fairly be noted as seaworthy green, featuring low-slung, mod, built-in furnishings with natural wood and stone finishes. (For more space, consider a suite or multi-room villa along the pool.) With an oceanfront room on a high floor, I found the original long, narrow windows — which might otherwise feel dated and claustrophobic — charming. They perfectly frame ocean views as if you’re on a ship, a hallmark of Miami Beach’s deco design aesthetic.
With the Proper touch, The Shelborne has catapulted from tired Art Deco relic to one of Miami Beach’s premier luxury stays. –Shayne Benowitz
→ The Shelborne by Proper (South Beach) • 1801 Collins Ave • Rates from $489.
GETAWAYS LINKS: On the market: 2000-acre Hudson Valley farm • Trendwatch: ChatGPT travel apps • Hotels turning ski towns into autumn retreats, because climate change.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Hotels, Miami
Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
The Shelborne by Proper (South Beach, above), fresh off $100 million renovation, now reigns as South Beach’s most stylish Art Deco bolthole