Last, best & final
Gawker loft, One Domino Square, Jean Imbert au Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Hartley’s, People’s, best beer gardens, MORE
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
For NYC’s extremely online generation of the aughts, the loft apartment on the second floor of 76 Crosby Street, directly across from Balthazar, served as the central party hub thanks to its owner and impresario, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton. With carefully curated guest lists that often excluded his own employees, Denton blended old and new media in a spacious central living room/kitchen space that would, by the peak of each party, be body-to-body all the way to the private stairwell leading down to Spring Street.
That era ended a long time ago, but today comes the coda: Denton and his husband are placing the loft on the market, setting an “intentionally low” asking price of $3.5M with the hopes of fomenting a bidding war before the property goes to last/best/final by Sunday 03/30. “We have loved this apartment and hope to find someone else who will too,” Denton tells FOUND, while also noting that only all-cash buyers need apply. An exclusive crowd, as ever.
→ 76 Crosby St #2B (Soho) • 2BR/2BA, 2152 SF • Ask: $3.5M • Days on market: 1 • Monthly cc: $4476; monthly tax: $1643• Agent: Pamela D’Arc, Compass • Open house Sun 03/23, 12-130p.
REAL ESTATE • Quicklisting
→ One Domino Square, Unit PH1C (Williamsburg waterfront), 3BR/3.5BA, 2443 SF indoor & 674 SF private terrace • Price: $5.95M • Discover the perfect blend of waterfront living, resort-style amenities, and the vibrant energy of Williamsburg — all balanced by the tranquility of Domino Park — in this sprawling three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom penthouse duplex at One Domino Square • 20 active listings, $1.8M to $7M • Developer: Two Trees Management. [spon]
REAL ESTATE LINKS: Five-bedroom West Village condo at 150 Charles trades for record-setting $60M • 22-story new development The Dutchess wraps construction on Upper East Side • NYC’s 20 best-selling residential buildings of 2024 • Who climbed the El Dorado?
GETAWAYS • Paris
Cruising altitude
This post appeared in today’s debut edition of FOUND Paris. Looking for a little more of the City of Lights in your life? Subscribe to FOUND Paris, with new issues dropping each Friday. (Also debuting this week across the pond: FOUND LDN, with new issues each Wednesday.)
Globe-trotting chef Jean Imbert has finally hit his stride at the swanky Hôtel Plaza Athénée, where on Fridays and Saturdays, you can find his 190 € three-course lunch.
Imbert’s arrival three years ago signaled a major changing of the gastronomic guard in Paris — after all, he replaced Alain Ducasse. But it’s taken some time for him to settle in, especially because he has restaurants everywhere from Saint Barths to Dubai. Out of the gate, he did a brilliant job rebooting the Plaza Athénée’s rather elderly brasserie, Le Relais Plaza, with a menu of comfort food dishes like baked stuffed tomatoes.
It was slower going at Jean Imbert au Plaza Athenee, the hotel’s main gastronomic restaurant, with its opulent Vive le Roi! decor, best embodied by a mile-long red marble table dotted with crystal and gilt candelabras. If an initial meal here was excellent, the following one came off more like business-class catering.
Now, though, Imbert’s reached cruising altitude. It’s especially true of the lunch menu, which includes a first, main, and dessert (a miniature buffet of spectacularly beautiful and inventive French pastries). There’s also a complimentary suite of hors d’oeuvres, plus champagne, mineral water, and coffee. The menu evolves regularly, but a recent lunch of scallop mousse with sea urchin, followed by sea bass in a sauce of vin jaune with girolles mushrooms was technically flawless, beautifully plated, and deeply satisfying.
They also pour a seriously good list of wines by the glass, including a flinty Condrieu and a luscious Pommard. Under the direction of galant and hawk-eyed Denis Courtiade, probably the best maitre d’hotel in Paris, service is unfailingly warm and alert, all part and parcel of one of the best buys in town. –Alexander Lobrano
→ Jean Imbert au Hôtel Plaza Athénée (8th arr) • 25 Av Montaigne • Lunch Fri & Sat 12h30-14h15, dinner Tues-Sat 19h15–22h15 • Book.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Signs of summer: In East Hampton, Bostwick’s reopens for the season • 16-acre North Fork vineyard comes to market asking $2.695M • Hudson Valley home prices continue to rise • In Caribbean, Marriott Luxury Collection eco-resort Salterra opens on South Caicos • Air France unveils redesigned La Premiere suites • Should chatbots book tickets?
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
The motherload
LORENZO BONGIOVANNI • photographer/writer/creative consultant • Mr. Flood’s Party
Neighborhood you live in: Fort Greene
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I’ll be locked in and writing for a few more hours — music on the speakers, incense burning, afternoon coffee within reach. I’m working on an exciting piece for Off-Menu Magazine about Hot Soup & Bad Larry’s Sandwiches. I’m also writing about Ha’s Snack Bar on my Substack this week, which is a fun challenge because they’re getting tons of press, so I’m approaching it from a different angle than my usual write-ups. After I wrap, I’ll hit the gym before meeting friends for drinks. I’m a big believer that a lot of New York’s beauty lies in the unplanned, so I like to anchor my weekend around a few great meals but leave plenty of space for spontaneity.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
We’re getting things rolling at Hartley’s in Clinton Hill. It’s my favorite bar and they pour the best pint of Guinness in the city. We’ll see where the night goes, maybe Doris for a bit. Tomorrow, I’m going to grab coffee at Villager before heading to Ridgewood to check out Salty Lunch Lady’s Little Luncheonette with my friend Olivia. We’ll probably stop by La Cabra Roastery as well — their coffee is top-class, and it’s an incredible space. It’s counterintuitive, but in the winter I find myself venturing further from home for my restaurant explorations. I brought a crew with me to Yemenat in Bay Ridge a few weeks ago — we ordered liberally and had a blast. I have plans to get up to Angel in Jackson Heights as well. Otherwise, I always seem to have a Cervo’s res on the books.
Any weekend getaways?
I’m headed to Montreal next weekend. It’s one of my favorite North American cities and so effortlessly cool. I aim to get up there at least once a year. Their restaurant scene is impressive — lots of French influence paired with warm, distinctly Canadian hospitality. And they really love wine. Salle Climatisée, Beba, and Pichai are all worthy hits if you find yourself in town. I’ll definitely be hitting up the floating spa, Bota Bota, while I’m there.
What was your last great vacation?
Italy last summer with my family was special. A name like mine would lead you to believe I’ve been to the motherland dozens of times, but it was actually my first visit. We traveled all over but notably had an epic one-night stay at Casa Maria Luigia outside Modena — and an equally memorable long lunch at Osteria Mirasole. There’s some magic in the rolling hills of Emilia Romagna. Later this year, I’m headed to Edinburgh to see Oasis, which I’m unbelievably excited about. If you have Scotland recs, please hit me up.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
My Fujifilm X100V is the most important purchase I’ve ever made. I love that camera dearly. It’s changed the way I see the world, as corny as that sounds.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I stopped in Ven. Space in Carroll Gardens last week — pretty inspirational menswear selection they’ve got going. I love 3sixteen for basics and denim. And I’ve been really into Wythe and their Western aesthetic lately. Service-wise, an afternoon spent at Spa 88 by Wall Street is always rejuvenating. You can pay to have them smack you with oak leaves, which I think can be considered a service.
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Battle over Kith founder Ronnie Feig’s proposed padel club at 120 Leroy St. comes to a head • Inside the splendor of the new Frick • New Zwirner gallery on 19th St sets 05/08 opening with Michael Armitage show • How wealthy Gen Z and millennial collectors are reshaping the art market • The best chef-led restaurants in museums and cultural hubs.
BARS & GALLERIES • First Round
Personal space
The Skinny: The cool new gallery in town is also a bar in the basement of a brownstone on West 13th St. People’s opened in December in what was once the home of Downtown Gallery, dating from 1926.
The Vibe: A cross between an evening club and an art salon. The unmarked facade leads to a red-lit vestibule where a host awaits. From there, a literal curtain is pulled back to reveal three distinct, well-designed rooms. First, a parlor complete with a long, mahogany bar, cozy booths, and roaring fireplace. Second, a spacious lounge with mauve velvet walls, vintage fabric lanterns, and plush striped couches that's used for private events. Third, an elevated atrium room with another bar, silky cream drapes, and a few smaller tables. Each room has a rotating roster of pieces on display from up-and-coming artists, all available for purchase.
The Food: The Raf’s/Musket Room team assembled the food menu, which includes a quick hit list of snacks, full-size plates, and small selection of sweets. The cheddar and onion jam toastie and seasonal eton mess (this month made with banana) were both excellent.
The Drink: Eight house cocktails as well as martinis three ways — The Classic (gin/vodka, vermouth, olives or a twist), The People’s (Tanqueray, dry vermouth, garnishes), or The Rockefeller (Belvedere, umami bitters, brine, EVOO). The wine list is heavy on champagne, which fits the mood. Alternatively, there’s Guinness and Moretti on tap.
The Verdict: A chic respite for anyone looking for somewhere special to order a nightcap or more, People’s feels like the best kind of locals spot. –Caitlin Pangares
→ People’s (Greenwich Village) • 111 West 13th St • By appointment only.
CULTURE & LEISURE • ABC
Glengarry Glen Ross • Palace Theatre (Theater District) • Fri @ 8p • orchestra right, $359 per
Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life • Beacon Theatre (Upper West Side) • Fri @ 730p • orchestra, $123 per
Nobuyuki Tsujii, Piano • Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall (Midtown West) • Fri @ 8p • second tier, $134 per
BARS • The Nines
Beer, gardens and halls
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Hofbrãu Bierhaus (Midtown East), where it’s Oktoberfest every afternoon and evening