Thursday, March 24, 2016

Fairytale Food of New York

They say the English love queuing, but no-booking restaurants have only recently emerged in London. In New York, lines are everywhere. Even chains such as Shake Shack have allotted areas outside for their anticipated string of customers. One night we sought out the Instagram du jour - special milkshakes that are topped with, for instance, a slice of pie plus ice cream and marshmallows and chocolate sauce - at Black Tap in SoHo, where the fad started. Pointing to the file of shivering hipsters stretching around the block, security informed us the wait would be at least three hours, probably four. The Bagel Store, original purveyor of rainbow bagels, and the Dominique Ansel Bakery, seller of the famous cronut, both entailed similar endurance tests.

Our Queens-based host Tia Keenan pointed out that you could eat at a different restaurant every day for years in New York and never come across a bad meal. My advice? Ditch the trends (for the most part) and follow your own foodie interests. As a pescetarian and lover of Mexican cuisine, my seven day restaurant tour was heavy on the tacos and light on the meat burgers. Although Instagram is exceptionally useful for assembling a food diary, don't be afraid to visit places you haven't seen on the app and remember that Manhattan isn't the only borough.

Read on for my guide to eating out in New York...


The Graphic Art of Harry Potter

This post was originally published on HOUSE by House & Garden.
As an online intern for a magazine, I received an email inviting me to the private viewing of an exhibition that seemed to bear some relation to Harry Potter. Naturally, I found myself putting the new event onto my iPhone calendar before I knew it. I have re-read the Harry Potter books literally dozens of times and stayed up all night to complete the film marathon more than once.
The Graphic Art of the Harry Potter Films is an exhibition by MinaLima currently being held at the Coningsby Gallery in London. It features many of the graphic designs from the films, which were created by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima. The design duo met on the set of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and have worked together ever since their magical collaboration. They are currently working on the upcoming feature film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them based on the short book J. K. Rowling wrote for Comic Relief in 2001.
Entering the gallery, I looked down at my feet to find Hogwarts acceptance letters addressed to Mr. H. Potter in bottle green ink strewn across the floor (though they couldn’t be picked up, unfortunately). The same envelopes, though this time real, hung above us all in the second exhibition room. These details were touching, a nostalgic reminder of waiting for my own letter as a child.
The gallery’s two small rooms are covered in framed designs, tightly packed due to the limited wall space. MinaLima seem to have included every graphic prop that ever appeared thoughout the Harry Potter film series, from book covers and Daily Prophet front pages to Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes posters and sweets packaging. One design that I can’t recall seeing on screen is the book cover of ‘Mudbloods and How to Spot Them’, which the hauntingly saccharine Professor Umbridge kept in her Ministry desk. It is strongly reminiscent of historical propaganda posters, as well as James Bond’s gun barrel motif.
Prices for the artwork range from £99 – that’s for a beautiful unframed illustration of the Whomping Willow from the Marauder’s Map – to £899, which can buy you framed prints of The Quibbler, a Quidditch World Cup poster or the Black Family Tapestry, amongst others. If you know a Harry Potter fan and would like to give them a unique Christmas gift, this presents the perfect opportunity to find a truly special collectable. You even have the chance to meet the magic makers as Mira and Eduardo will be attending the exhibition on weekends.
The following are just a few of the pieces at the exhibition, with quotes from artists Eduardo and Mira.


5 things to do in Samoëns

This piece was originally posted on HOUSE by House & Garden.
Looking for the perfect ski resort? Sienna Rodgers recommends a trip to Samoëns, a small Alpine village in the Haute-Savoie region of France


First Blog Never Die

I've just rediscovered this blog thanks my mate Tiger, who somehow came across it while stalking my mother. I am now 22 years old, a graduate (of York) and currently interning at House & Garden. After reading through what is essentially my teenage online diary, I've decided to revive this old thing. I hope I can be as passionate as I was then, although my interests have changed slightly. During my degree, radical feminism became more important to me than mainstream politics. Nonetheless, I'll endeavour to chill out a bit more and write like I used to - with ease and in excess.