Watch-Blog
Artistically Designed Glasses with Class
By Claudie Benjamin There are certainly many eyeglass shops on the Upper West Side. But the designs at Anne et Valentin are in a class of their own. Mathilde Brecy is the manager of the store at 248 Columbus Avenue that opened in March 2016. Started about 40 years...
Starchitects McKim, Mead & White – How did they get started? 4/19 with LW!
Everyone starts somewhere-even lauded Starchitects McKim, Mead & White. Individually, they were rather undistinguished as young men. How did they become the gold standard of American architecture of their era? Architectural historian Prof. Mosette Broderick takes...
Ultimate Neighborhood Grocery
By Claudie Benjamin Pioneer Supermarket at 289 Columbus Avenue goes way back. And, Steve Vasilikos, a long-time partner of Lenny Franzblau the original owner, has been managing the store for 53 of the businesses’ 70+ years. Steve’s father immigrated to the US from...
Thrifting and Community Service
By Claudie Benjamin The Goodwill store that opened at 157 W. 72nd Street in 2013 highlights a curated concept first piloted at an earlier Goodwill shop at 217 West 79th Street. The curated look? Mostly gone is the old-time jumble, catch as catch can style thrift...
Parisian Classics
By Claudie Benjamin It's hard to imagine a more spectacular plum tart than the one Sami Baker has just produced. Many other fresh sweet and savory items are still on trays in a rack ready to go into the small, charming front room of the bakery. The Epices Bakery...
Lippold books a ticket to LGA
Richard Lippold's Orpheus and Apollo, a site-specific piece designed for the grand foyer of the Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center, where it hung from 1962-2014 has spent the past 7 years in a box in New Jersey. First reported by the New York Times, read about it in...
Pushcart to Q(Quality) Florist
By Claudie Benjamin More than 50 years ago, Constantin Bazas was promoting beauty in apartments of the Upper West Side with his sales of flowers to local customers. He sold these roses and other flowers from a pushcart in front of Beresford at 211 Central Park West...
Taking Your Taste Buds on an International Trip
By Claudie Benjamin Brunch, that very American creation, is truly proving itself a classic at The Consulate. The partners who own the two-year-old restaurant at the northeast corner of 85th Street clearly have what it takes. There are lines and many regulars. Brunch...
Gracefully Feeling Better
By Claudie Benjamin Every exercise therapy has its own philosophy and discipline. Some have hallmark equipment designed to train the body in specific ways. Trainers and enthusiasts of particular techniques talk about finding what’s right for them in helping them feel...
Matching Occasions with Little Cards & More
By Claudie Benjamin It’s been decades since the Upper West Side was dotted with custom print stores where customers could lean on the advice of a seasoned printer as they selected fonts and paper quality for wedding invitations, business cards and custom holiday...
