Happy Juneteenth! Two Monday-only events to start the week off right at Sugar Monk and Loring Place
Happy Juneteenth my friends,
Hope you all had a great weekend…Mine was a busy one, Eiji graduated from Middle School and Sam finished up elementary school, so there were a couple of Stepping Up ceremonies, a prom, and a delicious dinner out Friday night to celebrate it all at Popina. On Saturday, I took the kids to see Fat Ham which was fabulous, and if you haven’t gone, GO NOW! Run! Skip! Whatever you can do to get there before it has to close on July 3rd. It’s a magical, hilarious and moving show.
Sunday was up in Katonah to see my dad for Father’s Day and have a big old Shelsky’s bagel and lox spread (with rugelach too because you have to have Peter’s rugelach.) It was a nice lazy day in the pool and the kids got some time with their Pop Pop, which, as my parents get older, feels more and more important and urgent.
Today is a Monday, but it’s a different kind of Monday with schools and many businesses closed to allow for celebrations in honor of Juneteenth. (Resources at the end of this newsletter).
I’ve got a few fun Monday-only events for you to check out if you find yourself with some free time this evening! Enjoy and Happy Juneteenth!
Sugar Monk’s Roaring Twenties Night
Tonight, you must check out Sugar Monk, a lovely intimate speakeasy-style bar in Harlem. Perhaps you’ve heard of Sugar Monk already? It’s getting some great word of mouth for its unique line of botanical infusions made from wild plants gathered by renowned forager Tama Matsuoka Wong; she also supplies some of the city's top restaurants including Daniel and Atoboy.
Tama’s botanicals are featured on Sugar Monk’s new “Before Nightfall” cocktail menu, inspired by the aperitivo hours of Italy, Spain and France. On this menu, served from 5-7pm, you’ll find house-made gin-based Botanical Highballs, along with Spanish Vermouths, Italian Aperitivos, the Sugar Monk Negroni, 50/50 Martini’s, and a Damson Plum Sour (made with Averell Damson Plum Gin Liqueur and Velvet Falernum).
But wait, there’s more! Every Monday night they do a Roaring Twenties Night, an evening that channels the spirit and energy of the Harlem Renaissance with a menu of Prohibition and Pre-Prohibition cocktails —beautiful classics like the Sidecar, Clover Club, Bees Knees, Boulevardier, and more. This cocktail menu is offered exclusively on Mondays, and it’s accompanied by a live jazz performance from Max Bessesen and his trio. Max goes on at 8:00 and reservations via Resy are recommended. If you can’t snag a Resy, they also reserve seats at the bar and in their enclosed outdoor patio for walk-ins!
Washington Square’s Monday Night Pop Up at Loring Place
If you’re a fan of Dan Kluger’s Washington Squares Grandma Pizza, head over to Loring Place for Dan’s Monday Night Pop-Ups in the bar room. Exclusively available on Mondays, the pop-up includes Washington Squares grandma pizzas by the slice, paired with a different local New York brewery, winery or distillery each week, for $15. Previous partners have included Talea Beer Co., Juliet Wines, Grimm Brewery, Neversink Spirits, Threes Brewing, Back Home Beer, Alewife Brewery and more.
Upcoming featured beverage partners include:
Monday, June 19: Saint Luna cocktails
Monday, July 10: Body Vodka cocktails
If you can’t make it to the pop-up, Washington Square pies are also available for local delivery and national shipping via Goldbelly!
And if you love Dan’s food, please go check out Greywind, which he recently opened on the edge of Hudson Yards. It’s classic Dan—seasonally-driven, vegetable-forward dining, but with a focus on rotisserie cooking. His current menu sounds like this: grilled head-on shrimp with cashew-chili and kohlrabi; baby lettuces with tahini, cara cara oranges and sesame; local mushrooms with baby gem lettuce and pickled ramp chimichurri; sugar snap peas with mussel-bonito vinaigrette and buttermilk, and spring vegetable rigatoni with ramps, oldwick shepherd and meyer lemon. From the rotisserie: a half chicken with chiles, asparagus and chicken-mayo, and a whole cauliflower with pickled apricots, chilies and mint. Divine.
The space also includes Spygold, an intimate cocktail lounge underneath Greywind that’s a gorgeous place to sip something beautiful and unwind. Clearly, we all need a night at Spygold.
Finally, since it is Juneteenth and Pride month (and the two are actually connected), I thought I’d share some resources that I have found useful and valuable.
Check out this Anti-Racism Resource List.
Watch Happy Birthday, Marsha!, an introductory resource for LGBTQ+ Pride (Pride month began as a protest by Marsha, a Black, Transgender Woman combating police brutality)
Donate to your local grassroots organizations supporting Black, Queer organizers and community members.
Celebrate BIPOC and LGBTQ+ greatness all year long! This will help not seeming performative and making this about profit over people. Invite racial and LGBTQ+ diversity all year round!
“None of us are free until all of us are free.” -Audre Lorde. 🔥