Author: Chang

The open kitchens and living spaces of 88 & 90 Lex’s luxury condos beg to entertain. So, instead of waiting to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner, call your friends and family and let them know that this year’s feast is at your new home. NoMad’s environs offer an eclectic mix of food and home furnishings to satisfy all tastes, so you can let your creative side run free and set a sumptuous, stylish table for your guests this holiday season.

You’ll certainly want to make your first decorating stop at the New York Design Center (NYCD). NYCD is the ideal place to see textiles, lighting fixtures, and furniture up close; explore color palettes and styles; and get a sense of how different design elements will work together in an interior. Though the showrooms are “to the trade,” meaning that customers must make purchases through an interior designer or architect, the Center’s Access to Design Program can connect you with a designer who will help you make decisions for your space and make purchases from the showrooms. The 10-story, 500,000-square-foot building is home to a range of purveyors, ideal for different budgets and tastes. On the 10^th floor, 54 antiques showrooms provide a crash course in the signature styles and silhouettes of different time periods, so you can begin to discern Art Deco from Art Nouveau and develop a personal aesthetic. Browsing with an open mind is key: stumbling upon an unexpected object or piece of furniture that immediately draws your eye is a sure sign that you’ve found something that will feel just right in your new luxury condo.

For those who seek modern takes on classic designs, Restoration Hardware may be just the ticket. Authentic and reimagined reproductions alike can be found in a multitude of furniture choices, textiles, and other home goods that will please the most discriminating shoppers. Each Restoration Hardware showroom is its own thoughtfully designed gallery, so even a single stroll through the store is a good exercise in imagining how a piece of furniture, color scheme, or design concept could work for your space. Best of all, you can count on Restoration Hardware to provide something new every few months, as most offerings are seasonally coordinated to a larger aesthetic theme. If you’re looking for a table that is practical for everyday use in your urban space but easily expands to accommodate twelve hungry companions, then this is the only store you’ll need to visit. 88 & 90 Lex features a model apartment designed by Restoration Hardware, so you can see for yourself just how perfect a match your home will be.

For those who love vintage dinnerware that evokes the cheery optimism of midcentury Americana, Fishs Eddy is the perfect shop to find place settings for a festive and fun holiday table. Both affordable and stylish, Fishs Eddy offers a mix of antique and new tableware, including some historical gems like dinnerware from cruise ships, diners, and social clubs, and  unique hand-painted samples from china factories. The store also sells new china classics that celebrate the New York City skyline, scenes from American history, pets, an array of bright solid colors, and pure white. Todd Oldham’s dinnerware, barware, and accessories line for Fishs Eddy draws its aesthetic from the work of American Modernist Charley Harper (1922-2007), who illustrated science textbooks in the 1950s. His floral and bird designs add a welcome bit of joy to any table.

Though a chic table presentation will provide ambiance, a successful Thanksgiving is all about the food. That’s why those with condos in Gramercy or near Madison Square Park flock to nearby Whole Foods, the neighborhood staple Kalustyan’s, and the massive Italian specialty emporium, Eataly. Eataly’s 50,000-square-foot space is lined with rows of specialty items, classic staples, and cookware, and they even offer recipes and cooking classes. No one describes Eataly better than Mario Batali, the celebrity chef and owner (along with co-owners Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich), who likened it to a grocery store with tasting rooms. Eataly can provide it all, including your turkey, for an updated and inspired Thanksgiving feast. And, when Thanksgiving is over, be sure to duck in the store for the delicate, delectable truffles and related specialty items that can only be found in the fall.

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New York City and music go hand in hand, like the modern and classic design of the 88 & 90 Lexington apartments. Whether it’s Billie Holiday singing “Autumn in New York” or Lou Reed taking a walk on the wild side, the songs inspired by the city that never sleeps could fill countless playlists from every conceivable genre. Over the years, New York has provided ripe terrain for a host of musical scenes—from street harmonics, jazz, rock, and disco to New Wave, punk, and hip hop, to name just a few—and for myriad musicians whose careers were launched and thrived in clubs and concert halls around town. Whether you want to listen to a romantic street-corner saxophone solo or rousing rock concert, some of New York City’s most legendary music venues are just around the corner from your Madison Square Park condos.

Irving Plaza | 17 Irving Place

If you want to visit the same venue where everyone from the Ramones and the Dave Matthews Band to Eric Clapton and U2 have played, stop by this vaunted neighborhood performance space. Over the past 150 years, the building at 17 Irving Place has served many roles, including as a union meeting house and a Polish American community center that once hosted the future pope John Paul II. Now it is an intimate concert hall where the biggest names in music history and current stars like Lily Allen and pop sensation Meghan Trainor perform. Staying tuned to Irving Plaza’s lineup can pay off in spades: in 2015, a surprise concert by Paul McCartney was announced on the morning of the show.

Gramercy Theatre | 127 East 23rd Street

Much like New York City, the Gramercy Theatre has been reinventing itself since its inception. The Streamline Moderne-inspired, Charles Sandblom designed building has been a destination for art-house films, a dollar-movie discount theater, and an Off-Broadway venue. Its current incarnation hails as one of NYC’s best midsize concert venues. There’s a mix of seating and standing room, so those who want to “rock out” can air-guitar right up to the stage. There is sure to be an artist who will inspire you to experience Gramercy Theatre! After all, the Gramercy has hosted an eclectic range of acts over the years, from the Counting Crows and Steve Winwood to Jay Z.

Jazz Standard | 116 East 27th Street

Get some soul food with a side of soulful music at the Jazz Standard, a jazz club where musical luminaries, like the Dr. Onnie Smith Octet and the Mingus Big Band, lay down some killer licks as audience members indulge in the finger-licking fare provided by Danny Meyer’s award-winning BBQ joint, Blue Smoke, just upstairs. Your kids can even get in and jive with Jazz Standard’s music education program for youth. If you feel like staying in, order takeout from Blue Smoke and put on some music recorded live at the Jazz Standard by the likes of SFJAZZ Collective and Rene Marie.

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Living in one of the luxury condos at 88 & 90 Lex in NoMad means that you’re located next door to the best-of-the-best of Manhattan’s gastronomic delights. Across Madison Square Park, fresh pizzas and scoops of gelato are served all day at Eataly, Mario Batali’s bustling haven for food lovers. Around the corner, James Beard Award-winning chef Daniel Humm helms the kitchen at Eleven Madison Park, which, with three Michelin stars, is widely considered the finest restaurant in America.

While these celebrity-led establishments deserve all the plaudits they receive, New Yorkers pride themselves on finding some of the city’s most authentic—and soul-affirming—meals at off-the-radar gems. Sometimes tucked away on side streets behind unassuming facades and ultimately discovered through (closely guarded) word of mouth from devoted clientele, these neighborhood spots are perfect for weeknight dinners with the family, date night cocktails, or solo dinners at the bar with a good book and a glass of malbec. Here are a few future favorites

Lamarca Pasta | 161 East 22nd Street

Carbohydrate connoisseurs have been flocking to Lamarca over the past decade for its traditional take on Italian fare. This small, unpretentious eatery offers more than two dozen varieties of house-made pastas, from gnocchi perfectly smothered in a creamy, piquant Aurora sauce—a garlicky take on classic vodka sauce—to the ear-shaped Orecchiette All’-Arrabbiata with prosciutto, tomato sauce, and chili pepper. You’ll want to linger and digest the generous portions with a glass of their excellent wine or order a full bottle, which will set you back only $20—a nod to the affordable house wines that are de rigueur in the restaurants of Rome. Just make sure to plan these lingering visits for a weekday; Lamarca is closed on the weekend.

The Cannibal  | 113 East 29th Street

Don’t let the name deter you. A more apt descriptor for this low-key, meat-centric boite would probably be “The Carnivore.” (“The Cannibal” pays homage to the nickname of famed Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx.) After working in New York City hot spots like Snack Taverna and Mario Batali’s Otto, owner Christian Pappanicholas wanted to open a restaurant that captured his love for traditional butchery and Belgian culture (especially the beer). The result is this charmingly homey butcher/beer hall/restaurant destination, with a selection of over 350 beers from around the world, as well as sausages, terrines, and all things meat, like the Cannibal dog, a hot dog topped with beef heart chili, and the General Tso’s pig’s head, a menu staple that got its own dedicated write-up on New York’s Eater.

Dear Irving | 55 Irving Place

Cocktails are on the menu, and time is of the essence at this neighborhood speakeasy. Opened by the team behind Chelsea favorite the Raines Law Room and inspired by the film Midnight in Paris, Dear Irving gives visitors a chance to do their own time-travelling via themed rooms. Use the old-school buzzers to get the attention of your server; then take a sip of master mixologist Meaghan Dorman’s cognac-based Bastille Day cocktail in the Marie Antoinette room or loosen up your tie with a whiskey on the rocks in hand, as you channel your inner Don Draper in the 1960s-themed JFK room.

Designed by Charles A. Sandblom and opened in 1937, the Gramercy Theatre is a Manhattan gem. Over the years, the artistically and culturally significant institution has transformed from a movie theater and art house to an off-Broadway playhouse and, finally, to its current incarnation as a hard-hitting concert venue.

Three blocks north, 88 & 90 Lexington’s new condos are delightfully contemporary, pairing well with the Gramercy Theatre’s rock & roll sensibilities, and NoMad residents with a penchant for distorted guitars will find themselves returning to the Gramercy Theatre again and again. Here, we look at some of the wildest shows booked for this summer.

Okilly Dokilly, June 2nd

You could easily mistake this act for a sardonic piece of performance art ready to accept a Tuesday night residency in a Bushwick warehouse. And yet, Okilly Dokilly is headlining the Gramercy Theatre on a Friday night. This metal band is inspired by (we are not making this up) Simpsons character Ned Flanders, with every member sporting the non-so-inimitable Flandersian uniform: glasses, green sweaters, pink button-downs, and bristly mustaches. Even if metal isn’t your cup of tea, the sheer novelty of Okilly Dokilly is worth the price of admission, and you won’t find this kind of musical weirdness anywhere else on this side of the East River.

Sister Hazel, July 20th

For a blast from the past that is sure to please almost any musical palate, check out Sister Hazel, who topped the charts in the 90s with an infectious blend of southern rock, folk, and pop. You probably know their hits “All for You” and “Happy,” but even the deepest of cuts are inherently optimistic and wonderfully melodic. Snag a ticket soon if you’re looking for a fun weeknight date activity or a nostalgia trip that doesn’t take you far from your NoMad apartment.

Pink Talking Fish, August 4th

If you’re in tune with New York City’s music scene, you are likely aware of the impending dreadlock invasion scheduled for much of the summer: Phish’s Baker’s Dozen residency will see them playing 13 shows at Madison Square Garden. Even if jam bands may not be your scene (we certainly wouldn’t blame you!), Phish’s presence this summer means that nearly every other venue will be upping its game with afterparty concerts. At the Gramercy Theatre, you can catch the one-of-a-kind Pink Talking Fish, who mix up covers of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish to create a uniquely psychedelic experience. If you like one, two, or all three of their weirdly connecting source bands, this show is not to be missed!

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