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).”
“There aren’t enough words to express how much you meant to me,” Kwame Onwuachi wrote in his own Instagram tribute. “Chef, father figure, mentor, and friend are some of them. You gave me one of my first jobs and taught me how to lead not through fear but through empathy and guidance.”
On his social media pages, Dan Kluger called Kent an “incredible soul” who would be missed. “Seeing everyone’s posts about you and your giant heart is proof your legacy will live on.”
And the Dead Rabbit team mourned their Crown Shy neighbor, calling him a rare breed. “Accomplished, talented, generous, and driven, he made fine-dining fun…James has left his mark not only on Downtown Manhattan, but also across the world, as he’s mourned by those who met him, worked with him, and loved him.”
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.
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:
Photograph: courtesy of Kith TreatsPhotograph: courtesy of Kith TreatsPhotograph: courtesy of Kith TreatsPhotograph: courtesy of Kith TreatsPhotograph: courtesy of Kith TreatsPhotograph: courtesy of Kith Treats
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.
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!
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.
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.
Photograph: By Rossilynne Skena Culgan for Time Out New York
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.”
Photograph: By Rossilynne Skena Culgan for Time Out New York
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.
The 4th of July is right around the corner, and it’s time to start making your plans! One of NYC’s wackiest and most incredbile Indepence Day traditions is back again this year in the form of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. A competition which sees some of the world’s most incredible competitive eaters chow down as many franks as possible…it’s one of the most epic spectacles you’ll ever lay eyes on.
If you’re thinking about heading out to Coney Island to get a little sight of the ketchup and mustard, here’s all the important info you’ll need to know:
What is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Championship is a competitive food eating competition that takes place every July 4th in NYC. Contestants are given 10 minutes to eat the most hot dog and buns as possible, with the most winning the competition and the coveted “Mustard Belt.”
“The Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest has transformed America’s Independence Day into an international affair,” says Major League Eating Chair George Shea. “The greatest eaters from around the globe will once again convene in Coney Island for this epic sporting event.”
When is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
This year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will take place on July 4, 2024. The contest will run from 11 am – 1 pm, and the schedule of events is as follows:
10 am: Pre-show festivities, including musical and dance performances
11 am: Women’s Contest
12:30 pm: Men’s Contest
Where is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest is held at the original Nathan’s Famous location at 1310 Surf Avenue, Coney Island in Brooklyn. The event takes place near the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, just a short walk from the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station.
Source / Shea Communications
Who is the reigning Hot Dog Eating Champion?
The reigning Hot Dog Eating Men’s Champion is Joey Chestnut, who consumed 62 hot dogs and buns in 2023…taking his home his record setting 16th Mustard Belt. On the women’s side, Miki Sudo remains the 2023 champion after scarfing down 42.5 hot dogs and buns last year!
Is Joey Chestnut competing at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest this year?
As it stands, world-renowned competitive eater Joey Chestnut will not be competing at the 2024 Hot Dog Eating Contest. As reported by CNN, Chestnut has signed a deal with plant-based food company Impossible Foods, which directly rivals Nathan’s Famous. Currently, there is an ongoing drama regarding this matter as the face of the sport controversially signed with a massive rival. More details continue to emerge.
Source / Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest
So who is competing in the Nathan’s Hot Doing Eating Contest?
This year’s competitors have yet to be announced, so stay tuned on the official announcement!
How can I watch the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
New Yorkers can watch the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for free by showing up to Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island to watch the contest IRL! To get there by transit, you can take the D, F, N, Q to Stillwell Avenue Station or the Via Manhattan Express Bus: X28 (Bensonhurst/Midtown), X38 (Bensonhurst/Midtown). For at-home watchers can check out the live broadcast on ESPN!
Gas station grub is having a bit of a moment: this spring, a new burger joint called Smacking Burger opened inside a Mobil Station at 51-63 Eighth Avenue in the West Village. And now Ali Zaman and the team from Little Flower Cafe has just opened a takeout concept inside of the BP petrol station at the Myrtle-Wyckoff intersection in Bushwick, slinging New York classics like chopped cheese, chicken over rice and more.
In the convenience store attached to the Brooklyn-based gas station, you’ll find a brightly colored takeout counter that will upgrade your usual snack stop. Nearly everything on the takeout menu is priced at ten bucks and under (you know how we love cheap eats), with a chicken-parm sandwich and that halal classic, chicken over rice, priced at a premium $12 each.
Between-the-bun options include a $7 smashburger, a $9 chopped cheese and an $8 “Dragon Boy” hot chicken sandwich ($8). (And that fried chicken sandwich has pedigree: Zaman’s father Sami—who owns the namesake Afghan restaurant Sami’s Kabab House in Astoria and Long Island City—also once owned a Popeyes franchise location.)
On the eclectic menu, you’ll find halal lamb kebabs butt against Hawaii’s loco moco (white rice layered with a hamburger patty and a sunny-side-up egg smothered in a savory gravy). There’s also Blue Hour’s take on a fast-casual hall of famer: the “Cwunch Wap Supweme,” a beefy copycat of a Taco Bell favorite. Herb-flecked French fries and tater tots gussied up with mushroom powder ($5 each), as well as a passionfruit lemonade, round out the menu offerings.
With a name like Blue Hour (a.k.a. that moody period just before sunrise), it’s not surprising that the long-term plan for the takeout window is to be a late-night option for the neighborhood, especially for cab drivers in the area, reports Eater.
Check out the Blue Hour takeout window below, as well as the concept’s tasty-looking food options:
Photograph: courtesy of Blue Hour | Cwunch Wap Supweme at Blue HourPhotograph: courtesy of Blue Hour | Chicken parm sandwich at Blue HourPhotograph: courtesy of Blue Hour | Fries at Blue HourPhotograph: courtesy of Blue Hour | Chicken over rice at Blue HourPhotograph: courtesy of Blue Hour | Tater tots at Blue Hour
Bankside Park is a new waterfront park in Mott Haven—the residential neighborhood in South Bronx—that officially opened to the public last week, giving area residents direct access to the Harlem River for the first time in 100 years.
The green space was built on an industrial brownfield (basically, underutilized land due to pollution) as part of a larger project: the 4.3-acre Bankside mixed-use development.
According to Bronx News 12, “the park offers lounge chairs, café seating, shaded areas and a gorgeous river view.”
“The Bankside Project stands as a testament to our unwavering commitment to revitalizing the Bronx through sustainable and inclusive development,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson in an official statement. “This remarkable transformation of a former Brownfield site into a vibrant, mixed-income community with waterfront spaces accessible to all members of our Bronx community, demonstrates what we can achieve when we work together. We are not just building homes; we are creating opportunities, enhancing livability, and shaping a brighter future for all Bronx residents.”
Bankside Park adds itself to a pretty hefty roster of new public parks that officials have been celebrating all throughout the city in the past few years.
Pier 97 park, for example, is located across from West 57th Street and, although not yet completed, certain sections are already accessible by folks walking by.
Last year, on the other hand, Brooklyn Bridge welcomed The Arches, a recreational space and community gathering spot set right beneath the landmark in Chinatown, located at the intersection or Rose Street and Avenue of the Finest. Last week, officials announced plans to develop the Brooklyn portion of the area, where 12 new pickleball courts will be set up alongside a number of other recreational pursuits.
Finally, a little over a month ago, Abolitionist Place park, a 1.15-acre public green space that honors Brooklyn’s abolitionist history, debuted at 225 Duffield Street.
It’s the golden era of NYC public parks—and we’re absolutely here for it.
Aptly called the Lincoln Center Night Market, the “outdoor food emporium,” as the destination is referred to in an official press release, is open every night from Wednesdays through Sundays starting at 5pm through 10pm. The market will be in place now through August 10, excluding July 4.
A number of vendors have already been announced, including Harlem Seafood Soul (lobster rolls! Waffle skewers! Mac and cheese bites!), Japanese purveyor Yakitori Totto, Mexican destination Maya’s Snack Bar, Haitian restaurant Bunnan and Cocotazo, a Puerto Rican eatery that, according to the release, “feels like a warm hug.”
Photograph: Courtesy of Lincoln Center
In addition to the already announced food providers, visitors will get to order food from a tent with rotating options that align with each week’s programming at the center.
Not part of the new market but still an exciting food-related update: Joe Coffee will be available from Wednesdays through Saturdays at Lincoln Center starting 9am to 5pm, the perfect fuel for the hundreds of other events that will take over Lincoln Center as part of its third annual Summer for the City Festival, which runs through August 10 and includes over 200 free or choose-what-you-pay happenings that span a variety of topics, genres and locations.
You can read through the entire calendar right here but standouts include virtual reality experience The Dream Machine, which features five distinct game-like interactive performances; a night of opera and drag with two superstar queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Monét X Change and Sapphira Cristál; and a silent disco night as part of India Week with DJ Rajuju Brown.
Browse through all the scheduled events and snag tickets right here.
