You think you can handle this meaty truth? Then head over to Burgers & Cupcakes in Hell's Kitchen, pointed out by UrbanDaddy and somehow missed by yours truly last week. It's just what it says. Consult with roboppy's excellent photologue on Flickr, exemplified above (though no cupcake action revealed just yet). Perhaps a recon mission for this weekend.
Sweet Beef [UrbanDaddy]
roboppy's photos / Tags / burgersandcupcakes [Flickr]
Previously: Cafecito East Village, Chinatown Brasserie, Bruni v. Zagat, Fortunato Brothers Caffe and Pasticceria, Dirty Bird to Go
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If you're cruising the Far East Village looking for some good Cuban fare, don't miss Cafecito on Avenue C. During the warm months (i.e. now), they have stools set up on the sidewalk at a bar protruding from the front windows. Inside, you can grab a table and have delicious Cuban plates such as bollos, black bean and corn fritters, the famous Cubano sandwich (a delicacy of pork and Swiss cheese), or one of their entrees, many of which also feature said Swiss cheese. It's dark and homey inside, and although the service may be a hair brisk, it has a great neighborhood feel with fantastic food to back it up. If you think Avenue C is a little far to go for a meal, even the New York Times' Eric Asimov made it there for an enjoyable, "good -- not great" meal.
The Hasted Hunt gallery hosts an exhibit by photographer Martin Schoeller, whose specialty is up-close portraits. The exhibition, appropriately titled Close Up, is modeled on Schoeller's book of the same name. Mixed among the faces are many celeb types, such as Mr. Walken above. Where are Mr. Walken's hot dogs? Somehow the ladies and Marilyn Manson still look good in close-up. Except Tammy Faye. The exhibition runs until August 30.
If you don't mind the off season -- and one of the most horrific sets of default package hotels I've ever seen -- this deal is pretty much unbeatable. Round-trip airfare from New York and seven nights' hotel accommodation indeed cost $699 from September 11 to October 11 ($559 November 1 to December 15, if you can believe it). On top of all that, you're flying Air Tahiti Nui, "providing wonderful Tahitian in-flight ambiance," whatever that may be. Better hotels, different dates, and different departures available for price bumps, of course.
Metblog NYC reviews Beer Advocate's Top 50 Places to Have a Beer in America, and three New York venues made the list. And not only are none of these bars in Manhattan, but they're all in Brooklyn. And not only are they all in Brooklyn, but they're all in Williamsburg. Top of the New York trio is Spuyten Duyvil (#3 on the BA list), then Mugs Ale House (#36), then Barcade (#49). Choke on it, Park Slope breeders.
The scamps at Hard Rock Cafes/Hotels/Casinos/Merchandising are celebrating 35 years of brand existence with the Ambassadors of Rock concert tour. Spanning shows in London, New York, Tokyo, Osaka, Orlando, Chicago, Caracas, Singapore, and Hollywood (Florida), the tour also has an attached promo contest. Register by May 31 to win the grand prize: complete trips to all the concerts, including airfare, hotel, and show tickets. First prize is a similar trip to the London show only. Similar individual drawings for the other concerts/cities will continue throughout the summer.
$99 Swissotel Chicago: This reduced rate at the Swissôtel Chicago is chiefly attractive because it's valid on holiday weekends -- both Memorial Day and July 4th. Otherwise it's hobbled by numerous blackout dates through July, but still, it's not a bad location at all for a Windy City holiday.
Not much going on deal-wise on the urban side of things as we head into summer "escape" season. However, there's a somewhat undifferentiated mass of domestic fare sales out there. For example, there are a few good round-trip fares to New York on Priceline (e.g. Boston $125, Chicago $141). AirTran hawks its perpetual sale, tweaking a few dollars and routes here and there as usual. And Travelocity reels off a laundry list of domestic low fare alerts. Be sure to check out Airfare Watchdog for specific route deals and guidance in navigating in all these overlapping and competitive sales, as that's a definite Watchdog specialty.
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Attention, Stock Photo Woman. Put on these earbuds. Now stare ahead, smiling vacantly. You are being podcasted! Sell it! Orbitz has begun offering its own podcasts -- covering New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco -- courtesy of podcast producer iToors. Thrill to monthly podcasts covering local events and notable neighborhoods in each city. Fairly general-purpose in content, at least in a small sampling of the NYC/LA offerings. But hey, if it burns up a few minutes on the commute, why not.
French bagmaker Longchamp opens their new "Maison Unique" store this week in Soho, assuring local purse fanatics of many new fetish objects. However, as Men's Style rightly notes, the real star may be the surreal staircase designed for the store by Thomas Heatherwick. Swooping down and undulating from above in ribbons of steel and rubber, the staircase is meant to draw customers upward to the bulk of the retail space on the second floor. Sadly, you're not allowed to zoom downstairs in a potato sack when finished with shopping.
The "ultimate lifestyle hotel for the 21st century" promises a bleak 94 years indeed, as the Hudson Hotel takes it on the chin again over at sib site Consumerist. After Jason Calacanis declared the Hudson the "worst hotel in the world" and thusly got his bill chopped, it's biz as usual. Again with the cold room and unsympathetic staff, and now with the clanging AC unit. Curious, since as cold-clime folks know, such clanging is usually the result of the heat coming on. Perhaps they just got a broke-ass boiler downstairs at the Hudson. Hey, doubles are going for $249 a night this weekend! You can always warm yourself by the fire in the library.