we had another successful trip to nyc – new vendors + products, visits to 2 favorite shops…and a new “artefact nyc top twenty” dining spot added to our ‘collection’!
shop
it’s been over a year since we have ventured down to the west village + soho to ‘do some shopping’. it was a windy, cool winter day but we traipsed on down the hi-line and over to urban zen, donna karan’s “i want one of everything” shop in nyc. moody, edgy, cool – gorgeous clothing + accessories, exceptional home decor + styling – a new favorite!
a must visit – not only are the wares phenomenal, the shop staff are knowledgable + nice – but donna’s pairing of philanthropy + commerce “to raise awareness + inspire change” is…..well, it’s inspiring.
then on to our newest favorite shop GUILD. oh my – what is not to love?
we arrived just before dusk – the perfect light – the shop was bustling + we felt right at home (it was like Artefact Home|Garden, but with NYC scale + prices…and a bartender)
first we shopped…purchasing some tablewares by japanese artisan yasuski kuno + the father-son team of aage + kasper wurtz who are ‘considered pioneers in nordic design’. (look for upcoming photos of artefact tabletop – as we pair our new acquisitions with our AE Ceramics, Civil Stoneware, Montes Doggett + Caskata collections….and celebratory foods!)
did we mention that Guild has a bar? while lounging in a ‘vignette’ of leather sling chairs, tufted + welted bench + velvet sofa we thoroughly enjoyed our hemingway daquiri (sue) + sidecar (maureen)….does a saturday afternoon get better than this?
eat
“now that’s a knife”
we were cold…and since uncle boon’s doesn’t take reservations (next time NY), we were interested in resting our feet (we had already done 14K steps and sunday would most likely be more)…luck was with us and a table for two was found for us at the Jeju Noodle Bar….oh how lucky we were!
we had walked by earlier, thought we would ‘give it a shot’! all i can say is “we’ll be back”. outstanding food, service, vibe, fellow diners….we just loved it all!
Jeju is an island in Korea – known for clean + sustainable agriculture and vacationers! check out this CNN Travel list of 10 “must do’s” on Jeju!
the menu at Jeju is divided into 2 parts: Before Ramyun and Finally Ramyun – love it. the menu is simple, spare – like the food! unfortunately we were only able to “get through” a part of the menu – i would highly recommend EVERYTHING i had, including the sparkling pinot noir (a very pleasant surprise)!
“before ramyun”
b + b edamame – black edamame in a black chile garlic sauce, ssam buns – braised pork belley, white kimchi, corn, ssam sauce
“finally ramyun”
so-ramyun – veal broth, “soo fuk” brisket, scallion, pickled garlic, garlic oil, gochu-ramyun – spicy pork broth, pork belley, white kimchi
the broth – rich, layered, almost elegant; the presentation – quite refined; we will be making our may reservations soon!
finds for the shop
another successful show! we added 6 new vendors (chile, kenya, usa, mexico, germany + lithuania) – some items for underfoot, a few new items to adorn yourself…sculptural + colorful tabletop….
old friends….new designs + collections
“not for us….but fun”
overall a great trip….drop by the shop – a few things have already arrived….we expect most things to be here by end-of-march. in the meantime we have new lighting, furniture, bodycare + jewelry arriving in the next few weeks.