Transport yourself to the Quidditch World Cup with this whimsical Airbnb stay in Asheville, North Carolina—just a two hour flight from NYC. Tucked within the Blue Ridge Mountains, a tent known as “Alchemy” may look meager, but what lies behind the flaps is anything but!
Airbnb / Alchemy
Upon arrival, guests will have to slide down a 12-foot spiral slide to enter into the Airbnb’s living quarters, situated with a full bathroom, Queen-size bed, and a fold-out futon if you’re bringing the kids. Admire the mountain views with expansive windows while you cozy into the intimate space and pretend you’ve escaped to the Wizarding World.
Alchemy is one of the “Earth & Sky Dwellings” properties. Outside of this Airbnb, guests will find another tent for their enjoyment, known as “Enchantment,” which boasts a homey sitting area, perfect to relax in. Plus, when the sun finally sets over the mountains, you can sit by the fire pit and roast marshmallows for s’mores.
Airbnb / Alchemy
The entire property is fit for a total of four people, and ranks as a guest favorite on the home-sharing platform.
“With only 1000 characters to write a review, I doubt I will be able to do this place and experience justice,” wrote Ana, a former guest at Alchemy on the Airbnb listing. “The small details and hidden surprises we found during our stay were everything! Caroline and Mike have created something so special that can only be understood when you visit.” She recommends you stay more than just one night.
Airbnb / Alchemy
A single night in the Quidditch-inspired Airbnb will run you about $480. And since the tent is so popular, you’ll definitely want to make your reservation in advance!
If that’s not in your budget for fall travel however, you can find some of the best deals in the country during this time at this seaside town outside of NYC.
It’s Brooklyn or bust, baby. If you haven’t heard, the New York City Wine & Food Festival (NYCWFF) is landing in Brooklyn this year. Touching down October 17 through October 21, the festival will make its debut at the brand new, 450,000 square-foot modern hub, Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. And while the festival is going down next month, plenty of events are on the cusp of or have already sold out. But if combing through 80-plus events gives you hives, we’ve got you. Below, check out a few events you should put on your roster.
Thursday
Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop presents Brooklyn Eats & Beats Rapper and cultural icon (and the unofficial MVP of the 2024 Summer Olympics), Snoop Dogg is bringing West Coast vibes to Brooklyn. Along with Dr. Dre, the duo are set to kick off the festivities at Invesco QQQ Festival Campus at Brooklyn Army Terminal. Celebrating all things Brooklyn, the walk around tasting will feature bites from some of the area’s best, including Hometown BBQ, Laser Wolf, Lilia, Lucali, Misi and mökbar. Plus Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg will be on site pouring their ready-to-drink cocktail, Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop.
Friday
Photograph: Shutterstock
Meet Cutes NYC presents Tacos & Tequila hosted by Aarón Sánchez Tacos, tequila and love can be had all in one place. Hosted by celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez, the walk-around taco tasting will feature bites from a handful of New York’s finest taquerias. Setting the mood for romance, the event will be held at the immersive Hall des Lumières. TikTok channel Meet Cutes NYC will onsite, ready to capture all the love (and tacos).
Saturday
Photograph: Courtesy of Nick Ryan
Rainbow Cookie Croissant Master Class hosted by Bilena Settepani Settepani Bakery, which has a location at Time Out Market, is a well-known destination for everything baked, be it breads, cakes and cookies. But one of its most viral claims to fame? The Rainbow Cookie Croissant, of course. Learn how to make this hit at home with this special, hands-on baking class. Settepani’s executive chef and New York’s panettone princess, Bilena Settepani will be in the kitchen demonstrating how to make her classic, original “crookie.”
FoodieCon Meet your favorite foodies IRL. For its second year, the annual event is bringing together top content creators and foodies in one place. Sit in on thoughtful discussions to learn about the latest food trends with panelists that include Dan Pelossi (@grossypelosi), Sara, Madison, Carly and Julia (@sistersnacking) and Brian Lindo (@briancantstopeating). Held at Industry City, a lineup of food vendors will also be available for snacking, including Ample Hills Creamery, Burger Joint and Bangkok B.A.R.
ABSOLUT Vodka presents Drag Disco David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris are back with their famous all-out bash, Drag Disco. Set to a playlist of groovy and funky tunes, drag queens will perform all night long, including sets from Meatball, Beaujangless and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season eight winner, Jimbo. Don’t forget to bring some cash to tip the queens!
Sunday
Photograph: Shutterstock
Oyster Bash Calling all oyster lovers: this one’s for you. Celebrity chef and food TV personality Andrew Zimmern is hosting this year’s bivalve bonanza. From raw and roasted to baked and fried, oyster fiends can slurp down their favorites here. East Coast farmers will be onsite and shucking plus there will be cocktails aplenty for the sipping.
BACARDĺ presents JJ Johnson’s The Cookout: A Hip-Hop Celebration Closing out the festivities is a bash like no other. Hosted by JJ Johnson and Angela Yee, The Cookout: a Hip-Hop Celebration honors hip-hop and Black cuisine and culture. Johnson has curated a lineup of some of the best Black-owned restaurants in NYC to dish out top notch eats, including Preston Clark of Lure Fishbar, Melba Wilson of Melba’s and chef Brittney “Stikxz” Williams. DJ Too Much will be keeping the tunes spinning all night long, and the one and only Rev Run will be giving a special performance you won’t want to miss out on.
Saturday and Sunday
Grand Tasting You can’t think about attending NYCWFF without going to the Grand Tasting. Held on Saturday and Sunday, the Grand Tasting celebrates the best NYC restaurants and chefs. Spend the afternoon under the iconic tents to sample top-notch bites (including a few samples from our very own Time Out Market vendors: Bark Barbecue and Smashed NYC) and an array of wines and spirits. In bewteen snacking, watch culinary demonstrations from celeb chefs, such as Jet Tila and Kardea Brown, and get your cookbook signed by some of your favorite personalities.
New York City Wine & Food Festival will be held October 17 through October 20. Check out the full lineup at its website.
NYC is no stranger to hidden bars in unassuming places, and this newest one is actually very easy to miss. That’s because a graffiti-covered entrance is all that separates guests from an anonymous street corner and a cozy listening room, but once inside the dimly-lit lounge you’ll feel as if you just stumbled into a local legend’s living room.
Dubbed So & So’s, the piano-bar-meets-supper-club is an ode to Hell’s Kitchen’s working theater scene. Serving as a discrete escape for locals and theater industry goers it’s a place where “somebodies mingle easily with the whoevers” while lounging in deep red banquettes and being swept away by the sounds of live music from up-and-coming local acts, iconic talents, and Broadway legends.
Source / Zach Teplin
Paying homage to the neighborhood’s past and present, acts will include an eclectic mix of industry insiders, jazz trios, drag performers, and more, and beyond regularly scheduled programming unexpected guests just might pop in here and there!
But the performers aren’t the only notable faces you’ll see walking through the bar–Phil Collins, Director of Beverage for TableOne Hospitality and former backup dancer for Lady Gaga and Rihanna, is the one behind the cocktail menu which features drinks inspired by Broadway shows, actors, and directors.
Source / Zach Teplin
Cocktails include the Bodega Cat, made with Reposado tequila, coconut milk, cherry, lime, vanilla, and cinnamon, the Piano Man, made with Catedral Espadin Mezcal, cynar, fernet, cacao bitters, 20% Saline, classics including everything from martinis to margs, and dedicated sections for “50/50” mixes and “So & So” combos.
A menu of shareable bites featuring playful, modern riffs on classic dishes evoke retro NYC, and include items such as Disco Inferno Fries with a spicy gochujang based sauce, crispy twice cooked noodles, furikake, sesame seeds, and 3-cheese blend, Devils on Horseback, chorizo and cotija-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon with smoky red sauce, and So & So Sliders, grilled wagyu beef sliders on Hawaiian bun, topped with So & So’s not so secret sauce and American cheese.
Source / Zach Teplin
Matthew Goodrich stated:
We designed the space to draw inspiration from beloved and iconic NYC neighborhood bars from decades past, folding in anachronistic details and vintage elements. We combined these details with a contemporary energy driven by modern patterns and a striking red and blue color palette to achieve the desired aesthetic.
Intentionally tucked away on 52nd Street, around the side of Romer Hell’s Kitchen, So & So’s is removed from the busy foot traffic of 8th Avenue, making it the perfect place to escape reality for a bit.
If you’re looking to turn up the heat after NYC’s weather has finally cooled down, be sure to attend NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024 heading to Brooklyn this September! The two-day event is sure to make you sweat with epic food vendors, exciting challenges, and more than 50 hot sauce companies making an appearance.
Unsplash / Krista Bennett
What is the NYC Hot Sauce Expo?
The NYC Hot Sauce Expo, presented by High River Sauces, is an annual event celebrating the hottest of hot sauces all coming together for one epic event. This year, more than 50 hot sauce companies will be featured, with special tastings free to all visitors.
When is NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024?
NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024 is happening on September 21st & 22nd.
Where is NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024?
The expo will take place at Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Source / Industry City
What happens at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo?
Here’s a full agenda and list of events for both September 21st and 22nd at NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024:
Saturday, September 21
10am – Doors open
12 pm – Doughnuts of Death Challenge
1 pm – The Spicy Tacos of Hell Challenge
2 pm – The Burning BBQ Pork Challenge
3 pm – Chicken Wings of Death Challenge
4 pm – Spicy Pizza of DOOM Challenge
Sunday, September 22
10 am – Doors open
12 pm – The Slaytanic Burrito Challenge
1 pm – The Italian Beef of Spicy Love Challenge
2 pm – Bobbing For Reaper Peppers Challenge
3 pm – The Hot Diggity Dog Ziggity Boom Challenge
4 pm – Puckerbutt Pepper Company Presents The Guinness Book of World Records Reaper Eating Challenge $1000 Grand Prize
Unsplash / Laura Peruchi
Moreover, the event will have free tastings, craft beers, specialty cocktails, and food vendors.
How can I attend NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024?
Interested guests can purchase tickets online to NYC Hot Sauce Expo 2024.
Although we most definitely did not need an official survey to tell us this, New York was just ranked the very worst city for dating across the U.S. Duh, right?
The survey was conducted by researchers from FetishFinder, who collected data on six key factors while analyzing the 20 largest cities in the U.S. The metrics include the population of single people, the likelihood of marriage, the annual divorce rate, the rate of individuals actively searching for a relationship, quality of life and cost of living.
“New York may have the highest population of single individuals, but it’s also the worst city in the U.S. to start dating,” reads the report. “By all metrics except for the population of singles, New York lags behind other cities. This ranking is due to New York’s high cost of living, low quality of life, high divorce rates, and, despite its large single population, the lowest number of people actively searching for a relationship.”
New Yorkers have been complaining about finding love in the Big Apple since time immemorial, with countless TV shows and movies using the plight of local singles as creative inspiration (Sex and the City! When Harry Met Sally! Girls!) so we’re certainly not surprised about the list. That being said, we are a bit disheartened: why should dating be so hard in one of the greatest cities in the world?
Did you know Oktoberfest doesn’t start until the mayor of Munich screams “O’zapt is!” (“it’s open!”) as he taps the first beer barrel of the festival? We may not be able to witness that barrel pop open come September 21st, but we get an Oktoberfest kick-off at The Standard, High Line to share in the celebration!
Carnival games, competitions, DJs, pretzels, bratwursts, an oompah band and lots of beer…The New York City-style ‘Biergarten’ block party will occupy Washington Street, and it promises to befantastisch.
Entry to The Standard, High Line’s very own ‘Biergarten’ is free, but you can get tickets to buy rides, games, food & drinks. There’s also an all-inclusive VIP package for $200 that grants you access to an all-day open bar and an air-conditioned lounge with aprivatebarand snacks. At the end of the night, you can exchange your VIP wristband for a bratwurst to enjoy on the way home.
The Standard High Line, Oktoberfest
And the Oktoberfest celebration doesn’t end there! Through October 5, the Standard, High Line will offer a two-week line-up of events — filling The Biergarten with German festivities. Curious attendees and Oktoberfest fanatics alike will delight in activities like flower crown making, cookie decorating, beer tastings, indoor carnival games & so much more.
The Standard High Line, Oktoberfest
The Oktoberfest menu and a complete list of activities will be revealed shortly, but in the meantime tickets are available for purchase!
What: The Standard Biergarten Oktoberfest Block Party
When: September 21st – October 5th
Where: The Standard, High Line – 848 Washington St
302 West 52nd Street
