Dog week
Bark Air, Black Seed Bagels, Cafe Mars, oldest house in the West Village, Catskills après ski, Inness, MORE
GETAWAYS • Airlines
Ruff ride
Owning a large dog brings endless joy, but also comes with logistical challenges, especially when it comes to travel. A few years ago, after multiple attempts to crowdsource a pet-friendly flight from New York to California through a very popular and active Facebook group, we gave up and drove — from Montauk to LA and back — just so Scout could join us.
So when I first heard about Bark Air, I didn’t hesitate. The idea of making it to LA in just five hours on a plane specifically designed to accommodate big dogs was obviously appealing. Flying out of Teterboro (TEB), Bark serves destinations including LA, London, Paris, Fort Lauderdale, and Milwaukee, operating each route several times a month. (To add another layer of convenience, Bark can arrange pet-friendly transport to and from the airport.) Our one-way fare to LA, for both dog and human: $6000.
Upon check-in, each of the eight or so pups on the flight gets a “pup passport,” complete with photo and stamps, followed by a meet-and-greet session to burn off any pre-flight zoomies. I found the attention to detail impressive — there were plenty of dog treats and cozy beds for lounging, plus drinks and snacks for the humans. The flight attendants were very experienced with dogs and kept them (and their humans) calm, happy, and informed.
Once on board, the pampering continued with a new experience for the pups every hour: a pupachino, “chompagne,” old socks and shoes. Scout even got wrapped up in a robe for a “spaw” treatment where his ears were cleaned, paws detailed, and head massaged until he fell asleep.
One may think that a plane full of dogs would be chaotic, but my Bark Air experience proved the opposite. Our flights were filled with the sweetest, most well-behaved dogs and their equally respectful owners — there was a shared sense of excitement and gratitude for such an incredible experience, to say nothing of the ability to travel with our pups. –Sarah Jackson
→ Bark Air • NY to LA, Ft Lauderdale, Milwaukee, London, Paris • Rates from $950-$8500 per dog & person • NB February getaway special.
Big week for dogs at FOUND. Check Tuesday’s canine boutiques coverage here.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Delta resuming JFK-TLV (Tel Aviv) flights as of April 1 • Update: Alila taking over Andaz Mayakoba after refresh • Four Seasons coming to Cartagena, plans midyear opening • Insider’s guide to the Austrian Alps • Venice in winter, with a poet as our guide.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale properties in West Village that came to market in the last 21 days.
→ 369 Bleecker Street, Unit PH (West Village) • 2BR/2.1BA, 1590 SF condo • Ask: $4.75M• duplex with private roof deck • Days on market: 18 • Monthly taxes: $2796; Monthly cc: $1251 • Agents: Stephen Ferrara & Clayton Orrigo, Compass.
→ 61 Jane St #9BCD (West Village) • 5BR/5BA, NA SF co-op • Ask: $8.75M • originally 3 apartments, renovated to studs • Days on market: 8 • Monthly maintenance: $6719 • Agent: Jeremy Stein, Sotheby’s.
→ 77 Bedford St (West Village, above) • 4BR/4.1BA, 3550 SF townhouse • Ask: $12.0M • “oldest house in the West Village” • Days on market: 16 • Monthly taxes: $4498 • Agent: Mary Vetri, Brown Harris Stevens.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Latest office-to-residential conversion moving forward at 95 Madison in Nomad… and why those conversions have gotten easier • 222 LES Tower + Lofts wraps up construction on Lower East Side • Why Greenwood Heights is Park Slope II • How big should a house be in East Hampton?
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Schmear job
MATT KLIEGMAN • CEO/co-founder • Black Seed Bagels / Authentic Hospitality
Neighborhoods you work in: Bushwick, Downtown Manhattan
Neighborhood you live in: Boerum Hill
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
While most people are slowing down on Friday, we’re just picking up, as most of our businesses are busiest on the weekends, from our bagel shops (Black Seed) to our bars (Jac's on Bond, Ray's, Bar Calico, etc). We just launched an epic cocktail at Pebble Bar with Vital Farms, so I’ll probably stop by Friday night for a drink and check-in.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
I’ll definitely grab bagels from our Black Seed shop in Boerum Hill, then spend most of the time in the neighborhood — perhaps lunch at Rice & Miso, dinner at Leland Eating & Drinking House, and at least a coffee or two at Nerd Be Cool.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I just saw Stereophonic on Broadway and loved it, but the next few weeks are packed with stuff for the kids — Lion King on Broadway, Disney on Ice at Barclays Center, and the new Space Club playspace in Fort Greene.
Any weekend getaways?
Hoping to sneak in a weekend Upstate at Inness! Otherwise, I’ll take a couple trips to Miami this winter to visit two of our venues: Broken Shaker and the new Ray's in Miami Beach.
What was your last great vacation?
This past summer, we parked ourselves in Paris for nearly two weeks with a short jaunt to London via the Chunnel. My children attend an international school and speak French, so Paris (pre-Olympics) was particularly great. We also have lots of friends in London and enjoyed visiting some of our favorite West London pubs (particularly The Pelican and The Hero).
CULTURE & LEISURE • Showtime
Steve Earle and Zandi Holup • City Winery (West Chelsea) • Fri @ 8p • premier, $108 per
Brett Goldstein • Bergen Performing Arts Center (Englewood) • Sat @ 7p • center orchestra, $137 per
Lakers v Knicks • Madison Square Garden (Midtown South) • Sat @ 830p • section 107, $1218 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: After five-year closure, renovated Frick reopening set for 4/17 • Tribeca galleries damaged in 45 White St fire • The season’s must-see gallery shows • Saga of Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski trial now an off-Broadway musical • Sundance is leaving Park City in 2027 (for Salt Lake City, Boulder, or Cincinnati).
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Life on Mars
Hard by the Gowanus Canal (and on a wintry January evening, everything by the Gowanus Canal is hard) is a weird little restaurant that looks like it was designed by Italian futurists from the 1960s, who threw a bunch of Long Island Grandmas into an open kitchen, and told them to exquisite corpse themselves a restaurant.
If that doesn’t sound enticing, let me assure you that everything at the nearly two-year-old Cafe Mars — from the on-the-house (boozy or NA) aperitivo to the giant bowl of candy-wrapped suckers that holds down the pop-up card check — is calculated, authentic, delicious, and very Brooklyn.
We started with their most obvious Instagram bait: savory, olive-stuffed jellied olives (Negroni-flavored, of course) and Don Bocarte anchovies dusted in “pizza flavors.” Or as my dining companion who grew up outside of Philadelphia put it, “This is the best fancy toaster-oven pizza-oven-bite-flavored fishies I’ve ever had!” She wasn’t wrong.
All pastas are made in house. I loved the girelle, and was particularly pumped to taste it as described on the menu: “lemon, lemon, lemon, basil, capers.” It turns out that “lemon” (x3) means juice, zest and preserves, folded into cream, rolling around the girelle like Amalfi Coast lovers. I wanted to nap in that pasta.
We also had the king trumpet mushroom marsala, with “carrot-bergamot, not risotto.” Imagine three veal steaks, pounded long and flat, breaded, fried, and sauced with marsala. Now swap out the veal for huge mushroom steaks. The carrot-bergamot shows up in the marsala, the whole thing served on top of rice, dairy-free and delicious.
Drinks include vermouth service, wines, beers, an ample selection of NA drinks, and a bunch of thoughtfully balanced “New Tails” like the Giardiniera Martini with vodka, ramp gin, bell pepper shrub, and tomato water. In lieu of dessert, which we’ll be back for, our bartender/server/tour guide Jordan offered up a neat pour of Tramonte “Concerto” — a “suitcase” bottle of coffee amaro unavailable stateside.
The restaurant is done up in bright neon and loopy colors. Silverware is cleverly concealed in pull-out drawers under each table. And about that check: Who loves a pop-up card that says THANKS in bright rainbow lettering? Everyone and their Long Island grandmas, that’s who. –Matt Levy
→ Cafe Mars (Gowanus) • 272 3rd Ave • Wed-Sat 530p-9p, Sun 530-8p • Reserve.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Après ski, Catskills
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of NYC's best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Deer Mountain Inn (Tannersville), American fare in cozy candle-lit bistro w/ tallow, garlic fries, and a martini
Jägerberg (Hunter), Bavarian, including housemade liverwurst pate and cheese fondue, alongside extensive beer & wine menu
Last Chance Antiques & Cheese Café (Tannersville), French onion soup, chicken pot pie, live music
Prospect at Scribner’s Lodge (Hunter), Hunter Mountain views serving après ski classics with a twist (Sat & Sun 3-5p)
Hemlock (Catskill), vibey cocktail bar, smash burgers, experimental bartenders
Fellow Mountain Cafe (Hunter), Main Street cafe serves local hot bagels and cold beer plus DJ on select winter weekends
Trotwood (Round Top), no frills American restaurant w/ seasonal stew and soup, plus hot cocktails with rum and Cynar
Millrock (Windham), unstuffy Italian fare overlooking Windham slopes
Bar at Hotel Lilien (Tannersville, above), limited menu in boutique hotel’s wooded lounge featuring pool table, jukebox, live music on weekends
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
→ A handful of favorite NYC restaurants from new subscribers: Sylvia's (Harlem) • Bistro Vendôme (Midtown East) • Limani (Midtown) • Raoul's (Soho) • Butcher Grill House (Crown Heights).