An Insider's Guide To Frieze New York Week

I have lived in San Francisco, London, Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, and now my husband and I have been living in New York for the past 12 years. I actually grew up two hours outside of New York at my father's family home, and in adulthood, I've lived here three separate times. This is the longest that I've lived here.

I think while globalization has taken its toll on the unique allure of New York City a little bit, we still have theatre like no one else, we still have the best museums. Food? Of course we do, but then these days, every third and fourth-tier city now has a great culinary scene. But I feel nightlife is very different here, it's not a late-night city the way it once was. Of course, this could partly be due to my age! We all get to a point where we say, "Well, it was so much better when I was young." But I don't know. I don't see young people doing it the way we did it in the 1980s.

But then, I guess for New York, there's something about the commercial nature of this city that makes you just feel like you’re part of something. You've got to keep going, keep experiencing it, you have a tremendous responsibility to yourself to get out there. It does get exhausting, but New Yorkers don't easily stay at home! You know, even on a casual Saturday night, it might be pouring rain, but I still feel as if there must be something I should be doing! FOMO? I think we invented it here! Whatever your field, you can find stuff to do.

I love architecture, so a lot of my choices for restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels have to do with architecture. If I just want a drink, I can just pour a nice glass of wine at home, but when I go out, I need an environment, more so than a well-dressed crowd, even. So, with that in mind, I love the Beekman Hotel, which is all the way downtown at 123 Nassau Street. The hotel opened in 2016, but the actual building dates to 1883, a stunning example of 19th century urban architecture. I believe back in the mid-1700s, there used to be a theatre on the site and then in the 1800s, an NYU campus and library.

They have kept that 19th century atmosphere in the design, so what I love about it is that when you come in, you are immediately in a huge lobby, all mosaics, marbles, Persian rugs, art, and antiques. You can stand in the lobby and see all the way up to the top of the building, to the sky with the glass atrium. It's all about the environment here, the architecture, the ambiance. I think you have much more of this in Europe, especially in London and Paris, where there are great old historic buildings that have been turned into sort of chic, lounge bars, restaurants, environments, hotels, whatever. We don't have that many in New York City. We really don't. So, this is to me, kind of a rare gem in New York.
The Beekman

From the Upper East Side, one of my favourite things to do is to take a ride on the East River Ferry. It’s the price of the subway ticket, just $2, $2.75 to ride, and I can take it all the way down from where I live on the Upper East Side near Sotheby's, just a couple of stops and you're downtown, at Wall Street. Not only is it the fastest mode of transportation to get all the way downtown from here - it's faster than taking an Uber - but you feel like you're on that Circle Line cruise that people pay $50 to go on.

And the views are great. You get to see the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the UN Building, all of it. And then you go under the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, you stop at South Street Seaport. And one of our favourite day trips is to go down on the ferry, and then get off at South Street Seaport, where there's a place called the Tin Building. And here is where we arrive at the first restaurant recommendation I want to talk about.
The East River Ferry

For years, there had been a fish market, the Fulton Fish Market, at the Seaport on East River, just by the Brooklyn Bridge. In its heyday, it was one of the largest seafood markets in the world. The fish market is no longer there but now, the French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has renovated the adjacent historic Tin Building into a sort of emporium, a food hall which is just incredible.

The first floor is beautiful - it's like being in Harrods food hall. You can shop for your fish, bread, flowers, pastries, everything. And then upstairs, there are maybe 12 restaurants and eating places. And my favourite of all of these is the House of The Red Pearl.

It’s a very high-end Chinese restaurant, designed in a sort of speakeasy style. When you enter, you might think you're in a stylish Asian food market, but when you head to the back, there is a little red curtain, behind which is the entrance to the bar and restaurant and the most gorgeous dining room. The décor is very upscale. And God, the food is so good! Honestly, I don’t know if I could pick one favourite thing but if I had to, it would probably be the steamed black sea bass. It has ginger, scallions, red chili and coriander. That’s my go-to dish. I like the chilled sesame noodles too, and actually I think I’ve had practically every single thing on this menu.

My husband raves about the beef dish, the black pepper beef. This place is just beautiful - the cocktails are perfect, everything is elevated to the point. So, here’s a suggestion for a great experience - take the East River Ferry down to South Street Seaport, walk around the Tin Building, do your marketing or whatever, and then go eat at the House of The Red Pearl. It's the best. And then you can go to up to the Beekman, which is not too far away, for dinner!
The House of The Red Pearl

This is another amazing building that we love, the former Church Missions House, a landmarked six-story building on the corner of Park Avenue South and 22nd Street that was built in the early 20th century, for Protestant missionary work. Today, it houses a photography museum called Fotografiska. Interesting side note: this was the building that the ‘fake heiress’ Anna Delvey claimed she was going to buy for her planned Foundation.

So, now Fotografiska, the Swedish photography museum has the space and at the very top of the house, is a jewel of a bar called the Chapel Bar. It’s behind a black door, so again, it’s got that speakeasy style. It used to be a members-only bar, but they’ve recently opened it up to the public, but it’s worth making a reservation in advance. It’s in what used to be an actual 19th century style chapel for employees of the original building. It’s a beautiful little bar, with historic design, flowers, and a one-of-a-kind ambiance.

If you’re in luck, and he’s still here by the time you read this, there's a magic show on the top floor of the house by a guy called Dan White. This guy is absolutely unbelievable. His sister is one of my closest friends, but Dan got into magic when he was young and when he grew up he became an apprentice to David Blaine for many years before establishing his own act. And he does an amazing show, there are celebrities there each time I visit, he’s been on Jimmy Fallon many times. Even if he is no longer appearing here by the time you read this I would still strongly recommend seeing if he is appearing anywhere in New York when you visit. It’s a perfect evening's experience. So, head here and you can have a great night all in one spot - the museum, the Chapel Bar, and Dan White. That's a whole eight hours of your life. You'll be very full and very drunk, but it's okay.
The Chapel Bar
'The Magician' Dan White

For a really good coffee and pastry, for me, it has to be Café Sabarsky at the Neue Galerie. This is where, as you may know, they have the famous Klimt painting, Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I on permanent exhibition. And the landmarked building itself is spectacular – it was designed by Carrère & Hastings in 1914, the same architects who designed the New York Public Library. It was taken over by Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarsky in 1994.

In fact, the Neue Galerie itself is a must-see, because it's so focused on German and Austrian Expressionist art, it's really an altar to Klimt and Egon Schiele and the artists of that period, the Wiener Werkstatt. So, if that appeals to you, this is the place to visit.

While you do have to often wait in line for Cafe Sabarski, it's worth it, I don't mind it so much. You know, it’s a weekend, my husband and I are spending the day together, so it isn’t so bad to spend time waiting in line together, chatting? And to me, it's worth it just to get into that dining room, which is spectacular. It has beautiful panelling, beautiful marble fireplaces, views out onto Central Park, you can see everybody walking on Fifth Avenue. And obviously here, the Viennese pastries are phenomenal, I would say this is my go-to for a coffee and pastry experience.

You know, after all my years living on the West Coast, I just got tired of the elevation of coffee to the point where the coffee has become the point. Whereas to me, I like either spending time with myself or spending time with a friend over a coffee, and that is the point, not the coffee. You know, in California, especially Northern California, where I lived for so long, it’s gotten to be like, you better respect the bean! (laughing) It can get really irksome.
Café Sabarsky

Freemans on the Lower East Side has been there for many, many years. It’s off Rivington Street, between Chrystie and the Bowery on the Lower East Side and to find it you have to go down a hidden alley to an old ramshackle building. When you get inside, you’ll feel like you're in a rustic country lodge. It's full of taxidermy - not that I'm a big fan of taxidermy, but there's something cool about it. And it's just got the cosiest, most comfortable country house feel of any restaurant in the city. It's not new, it’s not flashy, but it's just my thing.

It's been around forever (well, since 2004), and it seems that the menu never changes. I would call it new American cuisine - pork chops, steaks, Amish-style roast chicken – all very high quality.

It's filled with Brooklyn hipster types, but I just happen to really like it. I worked in the restaurant business for many years, so I always am attracted to places that have a young, hip staff that really cares about food and wine, so I do tend to try to find places like that. And I've been here so many times, it feels like home, it's so comfortable. I would say Freemans is really my go-to place.
Freemans Restaurant

The complete opposite to Freemans is in Hudson Yards, Mercado Little Spain. It's a huge emporium of nothing but Spanish food, all overseen by Chef José Andrés and fellow chefs Albert and Ferran Adrià. There are little stalls with empanadas or ceviche, there's a sit-down restaurant that's very formal, then there's a fish restaurant that's not so formal. There's a little taco spot… Every little aspect of Spanish food that you can imagine is available here and it's a fun, lively place and great for people watching. And it’s in the brand-new Hudson Yards here – the whole place is bright and buzzy, loud, shiny, and exciting.
Mercado Little Spain

Jeremy’s is a swanky little cocktail bar. There aren't very many places on the Upper East Side like this. Sometimes my husband and I just feel like we're always running downtown and going to all these places as if everything's downtown - I just like that there's a bar like this on the Upper East Side. You do have to make a reservation because it's so tiny, and cosy and has this Vienna feel to it, the little fireplace in the back, everything. And I just think it's just great.

Personally, I don’t drink liquor - I only drink wine - my husband is the cocktail drinker, and he is always after the perfect French 75. Or, I should say, I am always looking for the perfect one on his behalf because I want him to be happy and he's so frequently not happy with the way they’re made, so I have a vested interest in finding him a good French 75! This came about from this movie that was out some years ago [‘Priceless’], with the French actress Audrey Tautou. She plays a beautiful grifter in the south of France and through the film, all she keeps ordering is the French 75 everywhere she goes, and when we watching it, I was like what is that? And even my husband didn't know, and he’s lived in Paris for five years. So, we got out our cocktail book, looked it up and thought, that sounds good. He made them and it's our new favourite drink. Then he started ordering them out. He would either have to explain it to the bartender or it would be bad – oh, it's been a thing. Now I feel like there's a little renewed interest in this drink. But yeah, at Jeremy’s, he'll have the French 75.
Jeremy's

There's a store here that I just bought something at the other day, called Creel and Gow. It's in a townhouse on 70th Street. And it has treasures for the home, the most beautifully curated, beautifully merchandised shop I think, in New York. And it is full of treasures that you never knew you wanted, things you’d never even heard of. Things like ostrich eggs, malachite, coral, silver. Vintage, beautiful objects.

It's the perfect place to go for any kind of a hostess gift, because they have beautiful things that fit into any decor, small-scale objects that are just right for New York apartments. It’s a very special store. Just the eye and the curation is beyond, and this is what this is what appeals to me. If someone shows up with a Creel and Gow bag, I’m immediately like, what is in the bag?! To me, it's better than receiving a Tiffany Blue Box or a Hermes bag.
Creel and Gow

Now I'm going to take you to another incredible store, which is a French bookstore, Albertine books. So, here, the experience begins even before you even walk in the door. You're standing in front of a Fifth Avenue Gilded Age mansion that the Whitney and Payne families built for their kids when they married and it's just divine. You could spend half a day there, no problem.
And it's on Fifth Avenue, Museum Row, so, it's super well located for anybody in New York. If you’re visiting, it’s not to be missed.
Albertine

People often overlook the Met Cloisters, because it's way, way up, on the northern tip of Manhattan and it's not easy to get to. It's a long subway or bus ride or even a longer Uber trip. But it's worth it. Especially in the spring and summer, with the views across the river, it's spectacular.

So, it's an extension of the of the Met Museum, it's a reconstructed cloister. You should read up about the history of the building. And it's just got beautiful gardens, beautiful café, it's an amazing place to go, not to just to go see the art that is on view, although they have a lot of great shows there, but the building, the physical place. It's like when I lived in LA all those years, I used to love the Getty Center for the same reason. It wasn't just the art; it was the place where you were on that hill and the building and everything around it. So, it's a real experience. I think The Cloisters is something special. And I know New Yorkers who've never been! I have a picture of my grandmother at the Cloisters in the 1940s and it looks like she is on a grand tour, somewhere in Europe.
The Met Cloisters

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7 June 2024 | 10:00 AM EDT | New York