The New York food world is in mourning this week after the unexpected loss of James Kent, the acclaimed NYC-born chef behind such high-profile restaurants as Crown Shy, the two-Michelin-starred Saga (one of our most anticipated restaurants of 2024) and Overstory. He died at age 45 this past Saturday, June 15, his restaurant and hospitality group announced in a statement. 

“We are heartbroken to share that James Kent passed away unexpectedly earlier today,” wrote Saga Hospitality Group in an Instagram post announcing the chef’s passing. “The Saga Hospitality Group family is focused on supporting each other and most importantly Kelly, Gavin and Avery as we grieve James’ loss,” the post said, adding that the group’s restaurants would be closed in tribute the following day. “Celebrate Father’s Day with your loved ones,” the message ended. 

Born and raised in New York City, Kent kicked off his cooking career as a summer apprentice at Bouley when he was fifteen years old. After training at Le Cordon Bleu in London and Paris, he spent time in big-name kitchens like Babbo, Jean-Georges, and Gordon Ramsay. He then oversaw the kitchen of The Nomad and Eleven Madison Park, leading the latter to three Michelin stars and a place on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List. 

Kent was building one of the most exciting restaurant empires in the city. And local chefs have come out in mass to pay tribute to the late chef. Daniel Boulud praised Kent’s “evolution, talent, ambition, determination and accomplishments” and wrote that his “artistic creativity, energy and generosity was an inspiration to his team and to us all.”

Marcus Samuelsson posted on Instagram that the two toques had “just had dinner a few weeks ago,” where they had talked about their shared love for the arts and food. “We would talk for hours about my love for Basquiat and his love for graffiti (he was [an] artist himself).”

* This article was originally published here

Kith Treats is whipping up something big over in Dumbo: now inside Empire Stores adjacent to Time Out Market New York, the brand is introducing not only its fourth NYC location but also its largest ice cream bar yet.

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At 55 Water Street, the cereal-infused ice cream parlor from luxury lifestyle and fashion brand Kith has opened inside of the second standalone Kith Kids storefront. (Visitors can either enter the Kith store from within the Empire Stores or from the street.) Inside, you’ll find a 508-square-foot space decorated with marble countertops, banquette seating and Kith Treats’ signature parlor-style cereal dispensers.

The goodies inside those dispensers are used to jazz up the brand’s menu of Signature Specials (including partnerships with Action Bronson, Virgil Abloh, LeBron James and other notable folks), Build Your Own creations (visitors can choose from a bevy of ice cream, milk, cereal and mix-ins choices, plus dairy-free alternatives) and Waffle Program options. The latter includes three waffle cone variations (each dipped in various chocolates and toppings), as well as a whole made-to-order branded Belgian-style waffle that features debossed Kith logos and comes topped with rotating ice cream specials.

And, as is Kith Treats tradition, there will also be a location-specific ice cream special available exclusively at the new Dumbo outpost: Named M², the offering is served in two kid-sized Kith Treats cups and features two swirls: one with vanilla and chocolate ice cream infused with Cocoa Puffs, Oreos, and mini M&M’s, topped with a chocolate drizzle; and the other featuring vanilla ice cream infused with strawberries, Frosted Flakes and mini marshmallows, topped with a strawberry drizzle.

Both the Kith Kids retail store and Kith Treat bar will be open daily from 11am to 8pm. Check out the treat bar and those exclusives below: 

* This article was originally published here

As the heat dome that meteorologists have been warning us about slowly envelopes the New York area, forecasters are letting everyone know that a 90-degree heat wave will be part of the weather-related updates.  

It’s already super hot out there but temperatures are expected to hit 90 degrees in the Tri-state area by tomorrow and “exceed that benchmark at least through Thursday,” reports ABC7.

Unfortunately, it will be sweltering hot but also humid, making the day feel that much warmer.

Of course, the best way to deal with the heat is to stay indoors. That being said, there are a number of fun ways to stay cool during this week’s heat wave as well: feel the wind in your hair at Coney Island or grab a cool beer in Union Square, for example. Unfortunately, NYC’s outdoor public pools don’t open until June 27, but you could still cool down at one of the indoor pools.

Lest you start worrying about the state of the city during the sweltering days ahead, you should know that Mayor Eric Adams said earlier today that his administration is ready to tackle the week.

“A heat wave can be more than just uncomfortable,” Adams said this morning during a press conference. “It can be deadly and life-threatening if you are not prepared. But New York City has a plan to beat the heat, and we want all New Yorkers to have a plan, too.”

His advice? Wear a hat, find shade whenever possible, take breaks if spending time outdoors and, of course, get acquainted with the city’s various cooling centers, which will open tomorrow and welcome folks in at least through Friday. Find more information about them all right here.

We are well aware that we spend the winter months complaining about the cold and the summertime to avoid the heat but, this time around, we’re not exaggerating: it’s going to get very hot and dangerous out there—so be careful!

* This article was originally published here

As Edgar Allan Poe once wrote, “What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today.” His words serve as the toast to kick off the weekly Literary Pub Crawl, which highlights the fascinating literary history around New York City, particularly in Greenwich Village.

Though the Literary Pub Crawl has a long history in New York City—25 years, 200 authors and 2,000 beers—it remains one of the more under-the-radar walking tours around town. As a book nerd who loves a good pint or two, I recently took the tour and was so delighted by it that I won’t gatekeep this super fun Saturday activity. 

RECOMMENDED: Greenwich Village neighborhood guide

On the tour, guides will lead you to four bars throughout the Village. I won’t spoil the surprise and spill the names of all four, but I will say that you’ll start at The Four-Faced Liar. Inside that pub, you’ll meet your fellow tour members (my group contained three librarians!) and learn that there was so much American literature written in Greenwich Village.

Authors like Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, Edith Wharton, Louisa May Alcott, Jack Kerouac, Frank McCourt, Langford Wilson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, and Edgar Allan Poe all have connections to the neighborhood. As our guide Kurt Kingsley put it, The Village was at one time a “dumping ground of social misfits”—and, yes, that makes for really good writing.

The guides—who are actually actors—share excerpts from the author’s works during the tour. They breathe life into words by poets like Dylan Thomas and Amiri Baraka to powerful effect, so powerful that I added several works to my to-be-read list.

Along the route, guides will point out other historical sites, like the prison where Mae West served time after being arrested for her show “Sex;” the apartment where Alex Haley wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X; and the teeny-tiny building where Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent lived.

You’ll learn about the notorious speakeasy, Chumley’s, where F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald got married and where Orson Welles was said to have left an outstanding tab totaling 30,000 beers. A few streets away, there’s the tale of a fight between Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol over Edie Sedgwick’s affections.

It feels very special to sip a beer at a spot where Frank McCourt tried to rub shoulders with the “real” writers and where Jessica Lange tended bar.

At each bar, you’ll get a chance to buy a drink and listen as the guides share fascinating tales of the authors who hung out, drank, and wrote there. It feels very special to sip a beer at a spot where Frank McCourt tried to rub shoulders with the “real” writers and where Jessica Lange tended bar.

It’s all quite dramatic. But is it true?

“We will never let the truth get in the way of a good story,” our guide Camber Carpenter joked, though the team does extensive research to make sure the stories are as true as possible. They’ve even debunked neighborhood legends. As Eric Chase, owner of Literary Pub Crawls and Walking Tours puts it: “Often the truth is more interesting.”

He founded the company in the late 1990s when Greenwich Village still maintained an identity as a counter-culture, accessible and affordable neighborhood. Back then, dozens of literary bars remained true to their cultural roots.

He was part of a group trying to fundraise for a small theater company called The New Ensemble (now defunct). They’d host events at bars like Chumley’s, the White Horse Tavern and Cornelia Street Cafe, where they’d share history about writers and perform their work. Eventually, that turned that into a literary pub crawl, drawing inspiration from the famed Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. 

Even after the theater company closed, Chase gave the pub crawl its own life, expanding the tours to other neighborhoods. There’s a Brooklyn Literary Tour and a Bohemian Village Tour as well, in addition to the classic Literary Walking Tour in Greenwich Village. 

We’ve dedicated ourselves to help keep the history and memory of the people and literature that made Greenwich Village a truly iconic neighborhood.

“What makes us unique is our passion, performance, our ongoing research and our tenacity. We have watched gentrification rapidly change the vibe and the affordability of Greenwich Village and we’ve dedicated ourselves to help keep the history and memory of the people and literature that made Greenwich Village a truly iconic neighborhood,” Chase said. “Of the five bars part of the original 1998 tour, only one still exists, and is not really accessible to tours in the same way anymore. Yet we persevere and continue to find new and interesting stories and pubs that keep the spirit of the village alive.”

Over the decades, they’ve stayed true to their mission: Get lit with us.

The tour runs about three hours, totaling a mile of walking. Tickets cost $49/person, plus bring along some cash if you’d like to buy drinks. When I attended, the group was a mix of longtime locals and visitors of all ages. From the young librarians visiting from Canada to the longtime Manhattanite in her senior citizen years, everyone left having learned something, having sipped a few drinks, and hopefully feeling inspired to go read. 

* This article was originally published here