Hello from New York. I’m settling into a daily-ish routine of morning workouts at Sky Ting or ETHĒA, cooling off at Lore, working on Spur and then evenings full of movies. It’s the best time of year to be here. This excellent interview from tasbeeh herwees with Brooks Headley has me missing LA, slightly. It’s the best love letter to Los Angeles I’ve read in years. If anyone has tried the Baby Bistro steak set and wants to report back, please let me know how it is.
I realized a few weeks ago that the Bangers & Jams City Guides are … a little out of date. I’ve just pushed a big refresh to the New York guide, informed by a maturation in how I’m enjoying things across town. A few restaurants are rising to the top of my list and demanding regular, repeat visits. With a dearth of worthy, hot new openings — totally fine, btw — the best experiences more than ever are coming from sliding into the same rotation of places that just get everything right, and leave you feeling good.
Here are some highlights from the updated New York guide. At the bottom of this piece, you can also find my new top 25 movie rankings for the year, after catching most of the big new releases at NYFF. Thanks for reading.