Take shelter
Estiatorio Milos Hudson Yards, Shelter Island listings, Epistrophy, Manhattan Kayak Co, airport report, best Miami cocktail bars, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Final Yards
Over the course of several recent winter afternoons, FOUND visited Hudson Yards to conduct a two-point spot check on the current state of lunch. Here, part two. Previously, part one.
A Saturday lunch at Estiatorio Milos at Hudson Yards delivered the same warming effect I once sought from a visit to a tanning bed or a quickie Caribbean vacation. Unlike Locanda Verde, you have to seek out this restaurant, first ascending a few flights in an elevator, then past a host stand, further up a circular marble staircase. The dining room is oriented toward a wall of west-facing windows that afford an up-close view of The Vessel, plus a view of folks using the outdoor saunas at nearby Equinox. As the clock slips past noon, the western exposure becomes so intensely sun-drenched that electric shades are drawn to preserve your comfort and your eyesight.
Estiatorio Milos is a multi-city, multi-continent affair, with two Manhattan locations (three, if you count the standalone winebar) and nearly a dozen more elsewhere (Montreal, Miami, West Palm Beach, Las Vegas, London, Athens, Los Cabos, Singapore, and Dubai). Seated in a white leather chair at the Hudson Yards location, enjoying delicate seafood, oddly delicious winter tomatoes, and a general sense of pampered well-being, I felt that I could be in any number of interchangeably luxurious Tokyo shopping megaplexes, Hong Kong hotel restaurants, or an Eataly inside a Westfield mall. To be fair, the same could be said of almost any of the Hudson Yards’ dining outlets.
If you’ve sought this place out, it’s not to have an “authentic” New York dining experience. It’s likely because you heard about the fresh, well-prepared seafood on which Estiatorio Milos has built its reputation. On this count, it delivers. Our server first handed us a Restaurant Week menu, but made the hard sell to accompany him on a walk to the “fish market” display of recently deceased sea creatures on ice. He then suggested the correct course of action: three courses, heavy on fish and vegetables, with a single glass of flinty but fruity 2023 Mikra Thira Assyrtiko for my boyfriend.
Every outlet in New York — from Duane Reade sushi cabinets to New American temples of gastronomy — has long understood the appeal of raw fish, but few do it as well as Estiatorio Milos. We began with an order of magiatiko (amberjack) sashimi, subtly and perfectly dressed in herbs, oil, a splash of citrus, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Octopus, too, has become rather ubiquitous across genres, but the EM version, tenderly grilled and served with fava purée and sharp red onion, is somehow revelatory. The main event was a whole tsipoura (sea bream) with platters of roasted fingerling potatoes, Greek salad, and grilled vegetables alongside, all of it cooked and seasoned with care and restraint, each element tasting like the sunniest, most naturally delicious version of itself.
Our curated order was substantial enough that we walked out with boxes of carefully packed leftovers, no desire for dessert, and a real desire to take a nap on a lounger, atop a beach towel and under an umbrella, with an unspecified ocean providing both a lulling soundtrack and the ingredients for our next meal. –Laurie Woolever
→ Estiatorio Milos Hudson Yards (Hudson Yards) • 20 Hudson Yards • Mon-Fri 1130a-330p & 430p-1130p, Sat-Sun 12p-1130p • Reserve.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties in Shelter Island that came to market in the last two months.
→ 8 Gardiner Way and 15A Harbor Ln (Dering Harbor) • 5BR/3.1BA, 4053 SF • Ask: $6.75M • victorian has heated pool, connecting lot with 50-ft shoreline and 100-ft dock • Days on market: 11 • Annual tax: $19,642 • Agent: Penelope A. Moore, Saunders.
→ 24 Harbor Ln (Dering Harbor, above) • 5BR/4.1BA, 3736 SF • Ask: $6.995M • one of original gatehouses from legendary Manhansett House Hotel, views of Dering Harbor and the Shelter Island Yacht Club • Days on market: coming tomorrow (03/15) • Annual tax: $23,652 • Agent: Peter M McCracken, Corcoran.
→ 79 North Midway Rd (Shelter Island) • 8BR/6.3BA, 8000 SF • Ask: $8.75M • tucked away 6+ acre horse farm w/ two-story guest house and horse barn, plus paddocks and grounds for riding • Days on market: 42 • Annual taxes: $20,555 • Agent: Rebecca M Shafer, Corcoran.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: The Chronicles of Central Park: 6-week loop overhaul starts next week… new rec center w/ pool/rink at northern end to open Apr 26 • New plan to fix BQE in Brooklyn Heights provokes less resident ire than usual • The challenges of selling apartments at Brooklyn’s tallest, darkest tower.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Wonder wheel
ELIOT STEIN • journalist/book author • BBC
Neighborhood you work in: Midtown
Neighborhood you live in: Park Slope
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I’m a travel editor at the BBC and usually work out of our Midtown office midweek, but on Fridays, I work from home in South Slope. When I’m not assigning and editing stories for the BBC that (hopefully) inspire people to fall back in love with the world, I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on my new book. It’s called Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions and the Last People Keeping them Alive, and it’s about 10 of the rarest and most astonishing cultural marvels on the brink of extinction.
If the weather’s nice, I usually run a loop in Prospect Park after wrapping up work for the day. If it’s not, I may journal, meditate, or pick my three-year-old up early from daycare and set out on one of his favorite games: “end of the line.” This mini-vision quest involves us hopping on the first subway train that arrives, riding it somewhere we’ve never been before (often to the end of that line), and then exploring a new corner of the city.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
I could eat Mexican food every night of the week and am really fond of the Tacos El Bronco food truck in Sunset Park. I’ve also been going to WakuWaku izakaya in Industry City quite a bit, Java Indonesian a few blocks from my apartment, and LaRina in Fort Greene. I lived in Cagliari for a number of years and Epistrophy in Nolita does Sardinian food about as well as you’ll find in New York.
Places like Sunny’s, Brooklyn Inn, Tile Bar, Radio Bar, Sharlene’s, and Tip Top Bar & Grill are my speed for a drink.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I love kayaking and recently discovered Manhattan Kayak Co. They offer year-round paddling trips throughout the region, including one of the best things I’ve done in New York City: a 30-mile circumnavigation of Manhattan that takes nine hours to complete. If the weather’s nice, I may go for a paddle before heading to the beach with the family for a stroll.
I’ll never understand people who turn their noses up at Coney Island. It’s a gem, and walking the boardwalk on a sunny day is one of the city’s better people-watching experiences. It also happens to be next to one of my favorite neighborhoods, Brighton Beach, which is about as close as 1920s New York City as I think you’ll find. Depending on how things go, I may just stay at Tatiana until the restaurant closes and it turns into a Ukrainian nightclub. Or, if it’s on, I may head to one of the city’s most joyous parties, Soul in the Horn.
Any weekend getaways?
Camping, hiking, and unplugging outside make me happy, and Hipcamp helps me find places where I can do that. It’s kind of like Airbnb for farmers: if a farmer or family owns 20 acres of land but is only using 15, you can rent part of their private property to pitch a tent, forage, meet the animals, and explore. I’ve found it makes for a much more personal and private camping experience than many state parks. We’ve recently used it as a base to canoe to islands in Maine, hike through gorges in rural Pennsylvania, and camp on a blueberry farm in Ithaca.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
We recently booked a family vacation to Nicaragua, where my better half’s family is from. I’ve visited before and adore it, but this trip will be especially meaningful, as it’ll be the first time our son will meet his last living great-grandparent.
CULTURE & LEISURE • UConn and You Will
Big East Men's Basketball Final • Madison Square Garden (Midtown South) • Sat @ 630p • section 107, $464 per
Movements with Citizen • Brooklyn Paramount (Downtown) • Fri @ 630p • balcony, $53 per
Lizzo • Irving Plaza (Union Square) • Sun @ 8p • GA, $113 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Brace for Meow Wolf, coming to Pier 17 • Japanese gallery Ippodo opens in Tribeca • Brooklyn Fine Art Print fair debuts Mar 27 • What does the museum of the future look like?
GETAWAYS • Airports
→ JFK: As part of the airport’s ongoing refurb, the Port Authority announced that it’s doubling the number of concessions at JetBlue’s Terminal 5. The additions, which will open throughout the rest of this year, include Eataly, Nom Wah, Devoción, and Serafina. A refresh of the terminal is planned as well, with a “park-like setting” planned for the center (above).
→ JFK: Meanwhile, while JetBlue has remained mostly mum on plans for its first-ever premium lounge, slated to open at Terminal 5 by the end of this year, its president did drop a strange hint last week: "We don't want to do anything Delta does.” As previously reported, lounge access will accrue to those with top-tier (Mosaic 4) status, travelers flying Mint to Europe, or holders of the new JetBlue Premier card. Annual passes will also be available, though pricing hasn’t been set.
→ ROUTING: Recent notable routing changes from the region’s airports:
JFK: Hawaiian Airlines bringing 787 Dreamliner to JFK-HNL route starting next month. JetBlue adding service to BUR (Burbank) daily starting Apr 30, plus additional new routes including DCA, PIT, BDL (Hartford), and PVD (Providence).
LGA: American doubling number of flights to BOS starting May 5, adding summer flights to CHS (Charleston) and MYR (Myrtle Beach).
EWR: United adds weekly EWR-DOM (Dominica) flight. JetBlue relaunching 3x-daily service to LAX starting Apr 30 and daily to SDQ (Santo Domingo, DR), both routes summer seasonal.
ISP: JetBlue adding daily summer seasonal route to BOS starting Apr 30.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Inside Klock Estate, the Ken Fulk-designed brandy distillery outside Hudson • Top Chef alum opens Italian-American restaurant Judy’s in Asbury Park • The bar that remains the beating heart of New Hope, PA • The wisdom of pre-flight facials.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Cocktail bars, Miami
This post appeared in a recent edition of FOUND Miami. Looking for a little more South Beach in your life? Subscribe to FOUND Miami, with new issues dropping each Thursday.
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