Odds are that at some point this year, you blinked (or spent a week off the grid in Bali). So in case you missed anything important over the last 12 months, here’s the highlights. For dramatic effect, you’ll want to read this in super slow-mo.
Well, now we know what happens when you combine William Shakespeare, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch and a bunch of half-naked witches. You get Sleep No More. Part interactive play. Part haunted hotel. Part culturally enriching fever dream.
In 2010, you were gifted Eataly (and the immaculate prime rib sandwich that went along with it). So this year, what does Batali do for a follow-up: he sticks a 4,500-square-foot beer garden (complete with retractable dome) on the roof. Next year: Eataly space station
Your home away from home base this past summer: a Montauk lakeside resort that operated like an upscale sleepaway camp. There were drum circles, tepees, nature walks, treehouses, cookouts, tetherball, summer romances, kite surfing and all-night, nautical-themed cocktail parties. After all, it was still the Hamptons.
Used to be, a pillow mint was enough. Then the Dream Downtown opened and spoiled you with its glass-bottom pool, experimental restaurant (operated by a practicing neurosurgeon) and electrical closet turned secret dance lounge. Yes, they’ll hide them anywhere these days.
Your penchant for violence was never higher than it was in 2011. In part, that was due to following the Mets. But mostly, it was thanks to the Destruction Company. That 24-hour den of demolition where you were free to take bat, axe and chain saw to all. Wrecking a Harley with a sledgehammer: very cathartic.
Forget about once a year. You’re lucky if you see a culinary breakthrough like the Grilled Cheese Martini once a generation. The comfort food cocktail featured sandwich-infused vodka, muddled basil and tomato juice ice cubes in a glass rimmed with prosciutto. A huge hit with the liquid lunch crowd.
This was a big summer for fans of putt-putt. Not only did the city transform an unused wharf on the Hudson River into a mini-golf course, but they also accented it with a bunch of beach volleyball courts and a cooler full of Good Humor. And where the Chocolate Eclairs go, you go.
