Super Bowl takeaways
Julia’s Local, $10M+ deals, La Compagnie Flatiron, Outline, Hotel Locarno, Super Bowl provisioning, Tatung rice cooker, MORE
GETAWAYS • The Catskills
Regular’s special
The Skinny: After closing the beloved Henning’s Local a year ago, chef Henning Nordanger turned his attention to his newly opened Catskills farm-to-table restaurant, Julia’s Local, where he serves a menu of familiar Norwegian flavors to an always full dining room in the hamlet of Round Top.
The Vibe: Perched on a hill at an unlit intersection, the restaurant only takes reservations by phone (check its Instagram for updates on hours and capacity). That phone is a direct line to co-owner Julia Joern herself. She was also the one who greeted us at the door and invited us into the modest house, where she asked us to hang up our coats — no coat check here — before leading us to a petite table in the corner of the dining room.
The space’s aesthetics are restrained in a way that draws your focus to the table and its textured dishware from Ithaca-based Beiko Ceramics. Still, when my eyes did wander, I saw that not only did Julia know everyone, but everyone knew everyone, including the rest of the staff, who were pleasantly chatty and quick with a recommendation. It isn’t always the fastest meal, but nobody’s hurrying to leave.
The Food: The menu changes with the seasons and arrives on a clipboard. Vegetables come from the owners’ farm down the road, the bread is baked in-house. To start, nearly every table (including ours) had either the bread basket or fist-size popovers, both served warm with subtle dried tomato butter. Chicken liver pate was also great, piped onto kneippbrød crostinis with ample pickled onions, rich without being heavy. We also watched an ambitiously long cheese board come out of the kitchen, served with cornichon and rugbrød (Danish rye bread).
The trout is the thing, though — sourced locally, served in at least three forms every time I’ve visited. There’s a tartar with lime and walnuts, and a trout sashimi served with simple dipping soy sauce and wasabi for appetizers. For mains, a buttery trout almondine, and sometimes an additional preparation like the sesame-crusted version I had on a recent January night. It was crunchy without being tough, covered in multi-colored sesame seeds, served over a pile of sautéed kale. In addition to fish, the tender short rib bourguignon and the salty, crispy-skinned chicken accompanied by mashed potatoes (served with a puddle of butter) are standouts. Overall, without being necessarily innovative, the flavors are surprising, while remaining deeply rooted in Nordic and Scandinavian traditions.
The Drink: We started slow with the excellent housemade seltzers — cherry vanilla and a more savory ginger soda. The cocktail list features familiar faces like negronis and margaritas alongside various glasses of mostly natural wines.
The Verdict: Julia’s Local is a true Catskills restaurant: a place so warm, the food doesn’t have to be this good. –Sylvie Florman
→ Julia’s Local (Round Top, NY) • 1507 Hearts Content Rd • Wed-Sat 5-9p • Call (518) 622-0021 to reserve.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Inside The Surrey’s stylish makeover on the Upper East Side • Hampton Coffee Company opens Hampton Bays outpost • Jetblue ending LGA-BOS route in April • Private club The Ned opens in Washington DC • In Baja, forthcoming Park Hyatt Los Cabos now accepting reservations • Private jet pitfalls, examined • The cutthroat game of snagging a pool chair on vacation.
REAL ESTATE • Market Report
Big deals
It was a strong year for ultra luxury home purchases in 2024, with 1,744 properties trading hands nationwide at $10M or above. That’s a 12% increase over last year, per Compass’s year-end Ultra Luxury Report. Ten markets accounted for 70% of all sales, with Manhattan in the top slot, and the Hamptons in eighth.
The full top 10:
Manhattan NY • 307 sales (20%)
Greater Los Angeles CA • 190 (-18% YoY)
Miami-Dade FL • 152 (29%)
Palm Beach County FL • 132 (21%)
Orange County CA • 107 (32%)
Silicon Valley & Peninsula CA • 72 (1%)
Southwest Florida FL • 72 (76%)
The Hamptons NY • 70 (-3%)
Aspen CO • 58 (-12%)
San Diego CA • 56 (30%)
Elsewhere in the ultra-luxe neighborhood, Greenwich, CT (17 sales, 31%) was the only other local market to crack double digits. Brooklyn (8 sales, 14%) recorded one more sale than last year.
Some other emerging markets: Snowmass Village, Colorado notched 21 $10M+ sales, 3x last year’s number. Tampa Bay and Sarasota, Florida doubled, with 26 sales across the market. The Lake Tahoe region tallied 3 ultra-luxury sales, compared to 12 in 2023. Finally, Greater Nashville splashed onto the scene, with nine such transactions in 2024 versus last year’s single sale.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: 88-story condo The Greenwich unveils city’s highest private pool • Residential conversion coming for former Pfizer building in Midtown • After nearly 10 years, converted Waldorf Astoria welcoming first residents • A 60-story tower for MePa? • At the Seaport, deep dive on the Leaning Tower of NYC.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Shop talk
MARGARET AUSTIN • owner • Outline
Neighborhood you work and live in: Boerum Hill
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I own a women’s clothing store on Atlantic Avenue called Outline. Weekends are our busiest time and when we get the most foot traffic. Because of that, I try to keep my Fridays pretty laid back. My husband and I will go out to dinner somewhere in the neighborhood, like Rucola. We also love going to BAM — we’re members, and they’re always playing the best movies.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
We like to go out for breakfast before I open the shop. We’ll walk down to Cobble Hill Coffee Shop on Court or Montague Diner in Brooklyn Heights. For lunch, we recently discovered the falafel sandwich at Damascus Bakery on Atlantic Ave. — it’s so good. Everything there is great. For dinner, my parents live in Brooklyn Heights, so we’ll sometimes meet them at Noodle Pudding on Henry, a classic. Or, back on Atlantic, at al Badawi, an amazing Palestinian restaurant.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I’m a really big theater fan, honestly. Two friends and I joke that we’re a “Broadway Club” (but it’s also very serious!). We just saw Gypsy and Sunset Boulevard. I did ballet growing up, so I also love to go to the New York City Ballet. I usually go with my mom, but my husband has recently been turned onto it too.
Any weekend getaways?
My family has a house in East Hampton, so that’s where we go the most when I can get time off from the shop. I love the beach in the off-season. They recently opened a Grindstone Donuts in East Hampton, so that’s been great for breakfast while we’re there. Sam’s is an old school Italian restaurant that’s good for dinner on the main drag of East Hampton, especially their broccoli rabe pasta. Sometimes I’ll join my dad at the public driving range at Poxabogue too.
What was your last great vacation?
After I went on a buying trip for Outline, my husband and I did a long weekend in Rome. Neither of us had been since we were kids, so it was a first-time of sorts. We stayed at Hotel Locarno, which I think is a perfect hotel — the best combination of luxury and feeling homey. It has an incredible breakfast, beautiful courtyard, and everyone who works there is so nice. Another highlight was the Etruscan Museum, in a beautiful 16th century papal villa. They have very well preserved Etruscan tombs and jewelry. Our favorite meal was at La Campana — supposedly the oldest restaurant in Rome. We had fried, steamed, and marinated artichokes, all of which I recommend.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
The Tatung stainless steel rice cooker.
What store or service do you always recommend?
All of the stores on Atlantic between Hoyt and Bond!!! The Primary Essentials, Consignment BK, and Layla and particular favorites of mine. I also like facials from Dorian Skin Studio, pilates at Brooklyn Born Pilates, energy/bodywork from Jon Boschetto, and haircuts by Shelby Samaria or Anna of Boy Luv Girl.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Section 107
Sheng Wang • Capital Theatre (Port Chester) • Fri @ 8p • orchestra center, $100 per
NYC Ballet: Innovators & Icons • Koch Theater (Lincoln Center) • Sat @ 730p • repertory, $54 per
Celtics v Knicks • Madison Square Garden (Midtown South) • Sat @ 830p • section 107, $1038 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: In Seaport, The Lawn Club opens with 20K SF for lawn games (& curling) • Requiem for a Blue Man Group • Artists and galleries decry sale of iconic W. 26th St. building • The rope has been photoshopped out: the rise of alternative wedding photo shoots • What are art clubs?
BARS • First Round
Fresh terroir
The Skinny: An offshoot of the Soho wine bar La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, La Compagnie Flatiron opened last spring in a swankier, larger, more grown-up space.
The Vibe: Sophisticated, approachable, and a little sultry. The bar’s design is immaculate, characterized by traditional New York brickwork and original parquet flooring, with industrial metal accents and a variety of barstools, velvet couches, and cozy two-seater tables.
The List: Refreshingly, not dogmatically natural, though there’s plenty of natural wine to be found. Fans of the classics will delight in the bar’s extensive Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux offerings. The list also highlights a number of Italian greats and is peppered with off-the-beaten-path picks from Argentina, South Africa, New York, and beyond. (In the spirit of bringing a piece of the bar’s original repertoire uptown, La Compagnie Flatiron carries on with its Wine Boot Camp series and daily Mystery Wine tradition — winners who guess the blind pour taste correctly win the bottle along with bragging rights.)
The Food: A half-dozen snacks for the table, a handful of skewers, and a set of composed plates of meats and fish, with an emphasis on locally sourced produce. Highlights include housemade gougères, chicory salad, and black truffle flatbread made with béchamel, confit sunchoke, and toasted chestnuts.
Why It’s FOUND: A more mature sibling of a beloved spot with a 23-page list — including non-alcoholic beverages and 20+ wines by the glass. –Vicki Denig
→ La Compagnie Flatiron (Flatiron) • 6 W 24th St • Mon-Wed 5p-12a, Thur-Sat 5p-12a, Sun 4-11p • Reserve.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Super Bowl provisioning
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of NYC's best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Emily Pizza (West Village/Clinton HIll, above), signature gochujang wings for takeout by the dozen, plus Caesar and pizza trays; wings from $32 per-dozen; email amanda@emilybrooklyn.com by end of day to order or online day-of for small quantities