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LIZ HEATHER

May 9, 2022

April Activities 2022

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Food, Links, Movies, Music, Personal, Recipes, Television


april flowers nyc liz heather 2022
april flowers nyc liz heather 2022

Yes, I’m late on the monthly post but there are approx. three people who read these posts so WE’LL ALL LIVE. Here’s what went down in April!

  • NATHAN’S TV SHOW TRAPPED PREMIERED! It’s available only in Canada on Bell Fibe TV1 but I have a link to it if you’re interested in watching and you’re not in Canada (message me about it). So wildly proud of how good it is and I promise you’ll love it.

Airing on Bell Fibe TV1

  • The best tweets of April can be found over here and here.

  • I wrote about seeing the great Birthday Candles on Broadway.

  • I did Nathan’s podcast again and we talked about the Netflix show Old Enough and whether or not you can question women.

  • I talked about visiting the beautiful New York Transit Museum and why you should too.

  • I came across this wonderful Kurt Vonnegut letter.

  • I should have loved this recipe for lemon orzo with parmesan and peas, but it was definitely missing something. Maybe a basil vinaigrette should’ve been mixed in? Maybe some grilled chicken? There are so many recipe blogs now that everything has become so boring and bland.

  • I went to Hudson Yards for the first time and it’s… a lot. I had no idea there was so much going on in that area. Had drinks at Peak with Jessie mainly for the view and it was lovely! If you find yourself shopping in that area, a drink up there should definitely be on your list.

Peak in Hudson Yards, NYC

  • I looked through the new Half Baked Harvest cookbook and there might be some decent recipes in there (like the rosemary chicken salad with bacon shallot vinaigrette or the lasagna alla vodka or the balsamic stuffed mushrooms with basil and orzo). Will I buy it? Time will tell. Buying a new cookbook is such a commitment.

  • I went to the antique store No Particular Hours finally and it was a little disappointing. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I figured that since it was only open on the weekends it’d be a bit more exciting? How does this logic make sense? I’m not sure. In any case, it’s nothing special. I think antique shops might only be good in the suburbs.

  • I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Easter candy is EONS better than Halloween candy. And the Dove milk chocolate peanut butter eggs give you a reason to live. But that being said, the Lindt mini eggs completely sucked. There’s a weird powder on them that didn’t seem normal, the Cadbury ones are waaay better.

  • Baby Dog and I went to Central Park because everything is in bloom and it’d be a sin not to go and see it all.

My happy girl in Central Park, April 2022

Her expression makes me want to weep

  • Things I Watched:

    • The House of the Devil: uuuuugggghhhh, words can’t express how terrible this was. I can’t stand when directors who aren’t Alfred Hitchcock show up in their own movies. It always seems desperate. I might officially hate Ti West (god even that name, I cringe writing it).

    • Speaking of awful things, I did a brief hate-watch of some seasons of Entourage for some reason. What’s wrong with me?

    • Also rewatched some of The League and it really doesn’t hold up after all these years. Every scene with Jason Mantzoukas is magic and Andre (Paul Scheer) is by far the best character, but other than that it’s definitely not worth a rewatch.

    • Euphoria: I watched all two seasons of it at once and loved Kat & Ethan (until she was awful in the second season to him), obviously loved the idea of Lexi & Fez, and I kind of hate Rue & Jules. I just can’t stand Jules. The last two episodes of season two especially? So messy. Love mess.

    • I saw the Lizzo SNL and these two sketches were by far the funniest ones: the Black Eyed Peas one and the Venga Bus one.

    • Life of Kylie: do you remember this sad attempt at a show? It was on while I was getting my nails done and just wow. Apparently money can’t stop you from being boring. (Also, small side note: if these people weren’t absolutely wretched, I would feel immensely bad for the awful face work that Scott has had done recently. Someone forced a clip of their new show on me and it’s shocking that bad plastic surgery can still be achieved even if you have millions. Sad.)

    • Old Enough: love how low maintenance this is, perfect show, no notes.

    • I attempted the first season of Atlanta and only got through the first three episodes. I do want to watch that Trinidadian funeral episode from this season though because I’ve only heard good things (from one person, my brother Robbie, but that’s enough to spark my interest). I don’t think I’ve ever seen any show attempt to show what a Caribbean funeral is like and I’d love to see if they got it right.

    • Bao: Pixar is really incredible sometimes (I’m aware that we all know this already). I feel like all moms would love this short.

    • Turning Red: Okay, so I’m going to have strong opinions about a movie based in Toronto. And here they are. No Canadian has ever said the word “hoser” to any other Canadian. Can we all just accept that and move on? It’s embarrassing. Also, when the mother over-pronounced the word “Toronto” you could immediately tell that little to no research was done on this movie. It takes place in 2002 and the $5 bills they showed were the new ones that definitely came out after 2002. And the birthday cake Timbits they mentioned came out in 2014. Am I a loser for pointing these things out? NOPE! How hard is it to research a movie with a budget of millions?! I’M not the problem here. And look, all that being said yes it’s a good movie. It’s a real “call your mom” movie.

  • We’ve been making homemade iced green tea for about a year now, but I started getting flavoured green tea and it’s taken things to a whole new level.

Homemade iced green tea is the answer, whatever the question

  • I’ve never even heard of the Canadian singer Virginia To Vegas, but I’m obsessed with the two songs betterman and selfish.

  • I will not stop re-buying these pocketed leggings from Aerie. So damn soft.

  • I went out to a winery in the Hamptons (Macari Vineyards) with my friend Diana and what a great time we had. Sometimes I forget how good it feels to leave the city for a day.

Baby Dog at a winery!

Baby Dog at a Hamptons beach!

  • Nathan and I saw American Buffalo on Broadway with Sam Rockwell (what a compete fox) and what a fucking party. It was so good, that man is incredible, I love that theatre (Circle in the Square), I can’t recommend it enough. This was the first Mamet play I’ve ever seen, so I was already excited. The set is incredible, everyone did so well, and we managed to get lottery tickets through TodayTix that were amazing seats. GO GO GO.

April 2022

  • Real fast: if you find yourself in Richmond, Virginia then you have to go to the Hotel Greene to play mini golf INSIDE this gorgeous, old hotel. Nathan did it while he was there for shows and it looks incredible.

Things I’m looking forward to: I’m definitely going to go see part two of the new costume exhibit at The Met, Stanley Tucci’s second season of Searching For Italy is finally airing so I can’t wait to see that, this might sound stupid but Ina Garten is in Europe for two weeks and she’s posting in her stories about her favourite places and I am enthralled I can’t wait to hear about them, and I must visit the new restaurant Le Gratin inside my precious Beekman.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in March over here.

I mean… no one is cuter

TAGS: Liz Heather, monthly post, monthly roundup, April, April 2022, April Activities 2022, April Activities, Nathan Macintosh, Bell Fibe TV1, Trapped, Trapped TV show, TV, Ron James, lemon orzo peas parmesan, Hudson Yards, NYC, Peak, Peak NYC, restaurants with a view NYC, Half Baked Harvest, No Particular Hours, antique shop, antique shop NYC, Easter candy, Dove chocolate peanut butter eggs, Lindt mini eggs, Cadbury, chocolate, Easter chocolate, Baby Dog, Central Park spring, cherry blossoms Central Park, The House of the Devil, Ti West, Alfred Hitchcock, Entourage, The League, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Euphoria, Lizzo SNL, Black Eyed Peas SNL sketch, Venga bus SNL sketch, Life of Kylie, plastic surgery, Old Enough, Atlanta, Bao, Pixar, Turning Red, Toronto, Toronto Ontario, Canada, homemade iced green tea, green tea, Virginia To Vegas, betterman song, selfish song, Macari Vineyard, Hamptons, Hamptons beach, winery Hamptons, American Buffalo Broadway, Sam Rockwell, Circle in the Square, David Mamet, TodayTix, lottery tickets, Broadway ticket lottery, Richmond Virginia, Hotel Greene mini golf, mini golf Richmond Virginia


April 6, 2022

March Magic 2022

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Family, Food, Ideas, Links, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Reviews, Television


View from the Staten Island Ferry as it crosses the bay, March 2022

View from the Staten Island Ferry as it crosses the bay, March 2022

“Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom.”
— Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Sometimes I write these monthly posts and think, “How the hell did I do all of that in one month?” I mean, obviously I love it but sometimes it just seems bewildering that I get to do all of these things that make me so happy. I wish I could go back in time and tell kid Liz what a sweet life she’ll have. She’d never believe it. Anywaaaay, maybe that paragraph should’ve been a diary entry…? Here’s what went down in March, babies.

  • The best tweets of March can be found over here and here.

  • I recapped what I did from my winter list of things to do.

  • I made a spring list of things I want to do.

  • I wrote about the fashion exhibit on now at The Met (In America: A Lexicon of Fashion).

  • I tried out the new Vicks bath salts and they are incredible. I know that all bath salts hit hard, but these? Just beyond relaxing. I also tried the Vicks scented Puffs tissue paper and oh my god. Take all my money, Vicks. Such a genius idea to incorporate that smell when you blow your nose.

Puffs with Vicks

  • I went to the downtown location of Eataly and it’s less chaotic than the Flatiron one. And I don’t hate Eataly, but you definitely have to know why to go here. It’s overpriced and terrible if you’re going for a sit down meal or even their pre-packaged meals. But if you’re going for high quality dried pasta, incredible canned tomatoes and specialty items like anchovy paste and canned seafood, then it’s a cook’s dream.

  • I dyed my hair even blonder and… I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to natural. I love this look so much. I think my goal this year is to… become… untouchable?

  • The New York Times had a piece on the former mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion!

  • Sometimes I like to sit in Barnes & Noble and peruse the cookbooks for inspiration and meal ideas since one day B&N will definitely go bankrupt and cease to exist. I give it ten more years, max. So in the meantime, I will take advantage. I looked through The Pepper Thai Cookbook (Chrissy Teigen’s mom) and it wasn’t anything special. I swear, her and her daughter make 90% of their recipes with fish sauce. And look, fish sauce is great when used sparsely, but it’s enough already. I also looked through The Milk Bar cookbook and again, nothing special.

  • I got coffee at the fancy coffee place Felix Roasting Co. and yes it’s a pretty space, but they really need to clean the fabric of their booths because they look ROUGH. I can’t stand it when a business puts so much effort and time into creating a different, beautiful space and then there is zero upkeep. Why spend all that money up front and then get lazy with the actual management of the place? It’s such a waste. And not to be a bitch, but the Starbucks flat white is better than whatever they’re serving here. Never again. And if you’d like to see the most pretentious coffee shop menu of all time, gently look below.

$15 for a S’MORES LATTE? We’ve entered hell on earth.

  • I can never find them, but damn those North Fork BBQ potato chips are everything.

  • Kind of over-the-moon in love with this Levi’s x The Simpsons collab. God, that cloud vest is perfect.

  • Obviously, you know how Ulta & Sephora give you a birthday gift during your birthday month, so add Kiehl’s to that list now too. Got their pear scented lip balm for free.

  • My brothers and I all surprised my mom and came to Canada for her 70th birthday and it was so nice. Can’t believe it actually happened.

The Heathers, March 2022

  • I bought this fake suede green coat from Zara that is the absolute softest and will be completely ruined if it rains.

  • I tried the new croissant croutons from Trader Joe’s and they taste like little butter cubes. Just an insane amount of butter in these. They should’ve crumbled these up and sold them as a croissant breadcrumb instead. But what do I know (other than everything).

  • Every single time I go to Mimi Cheng’s, I remember how much I love them all over again. Not really for their every day items, but their monthly specials are always incredible. In March they had French onion soup dumplings that were so intensely flavourful, they didn’t even need a dipping sauce. Love this place.

  • My best friend Harmeet was visiting, so we had drinks at The Palm Court at The Plaza before going over to see Plaza Suite on Broadway (her idea to do both, a genius one at that). The play was too good. When did they start letting you order a whole bottle of wine to take to your seat? Love that. And Sarah Jessica Parker was magnificent, but Matthew Broderick? Not so great! He just seemed… tired. Or unenthusiastic. Which seems weird because doesn’t he have tons of Broadway experience?

  • I had my steak Diane at The Dowlings at The Carlyle and it was divine. Ordered the raviolo carbonara, the wedge salad and the table-side flambéed steak and what a glorious night it was. The Carlyle is such a beautiful hotel, I love that they still have mail chutes prominently shown (below).

I love embossed butter (at Dowlings At The Carlyle, NYC)

Appetizers, Dowlings At The Carlyle, NYC

Mail chute at The Carlyle, March 2022

  • I had lunch at Robert for the first time and it was perfectly all right. The food/service/view were all good, but who decorated this place? Bit of a yikes situation with the colour scheme.

Robert dining room, NYC

View onto Columbus Circle from Robert, NYC

  • This week in things that are too beautiful + too expensive:

    • This gorgeous Marchesa Notte Greer Gown

    • This breathtaking neon Coach purse

    • I would wear this to fill my bird feeder

    • Oh my god, THE BEADING

  • I’ve mentioned my love of Bread Alone bakery (they always have a stand at the Union Square farmer’s market), but I hadn’t tried their oat chocolate chip cookie until now and it’s even better than the basic chocolate chip one. They also have incredible whole wheat sourdough.

  • I saw the Harry Potter play (SPOILERS) even though I’ve never read the books nor cared about the movies, so maybe that’s why I didn’t love it. One standout part, though? Those damn dementors, they were WILD. Do not see this play high. The effects of them were true insanity and if you liked the series even 1%, this is the main reason to see the play.

  • I love the spring collection of colours that Essie puts out and my favourite colour right now is definitely their Well Nested Energy.

  • I had the Vallata lunch special ($29 for a pasta & glass of wine) which was really, really good. Especially for that price. In 2022. Couldn’t believe it. I’m sure it won’t last.

  • Sweetest Irene treated me to birthday dinner at Rezdôra (I’ve been dying to go here for ages) and it was phenomenal. We had the Cacio E Pepe in Emilia, this puffed up prosciutto thing and some toasted bread to start and then for our entrees, the truffle Raviolo (the giant raviolo with black truffles), the Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia (the green pasta), and the Maccheroni al Pettine with duck ragu (truly heaven on earth). NOTE: I just noticed on their new, updated menu that the duck ragu is gone and replaced with a sausage ragu! I’ve already sent out an email to those in charge questioning this decision. I’ll do everything in my power to get it back on that menu.

Cacio E Pepe in Emilia, Rezdôra NYC, March 2022

Truffle Raviolo (the giant raviolo with black truffles), the Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia (the green pasta), the Maccheroni al Pettine with duck ragu, Rezdôra NYC, March 2022

  • Things I’ve Watched:

    • To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday: Okay, I watched this because I was turning 37 this month and I thought “that sounds fun” so of course it wasn’t. Spoiler but Gillian IS DEAD. She died on her 35th birthday! I had no idea the whole movie was about the grief of her death, so obviously this wasn’t a fun watch. Also, all the gross flirting with minors was… a lot.

    • Malice: Okay, do you know anything about this movie? If not, don’t look it up. Just watch it. I was ON CLOUD NINE watching this one. So many twists, there’s a great Alec Baldwin monologue in it, it’s just a party of a movie. Especially if you love early 90s semi-sexy psychological thrillers, WHICH I DO. Such a great movie.

    • Impeachment: Great watch. Started watching it at the airport out of boredom and then it really picked up. Fully recommend.

  • I tried these great Vicks-like patches called Salonpas that you can stick on any area that needs pain relief but without the stickiness of an ointment.

  • I visited Argosy Book Store (one of the oldest book stores in NYC) and it’s wild that this place has managed to stay alive.

Argosy Book Store, March 2022

Argosy Book Store, March 2022

  • Did you know that every night at 11:57pm, fifteen screens in Times Square shut down at the same time and display art for three minutes? It’s called the Midnight Moment.

  • This Welsh restaurant in Astoria Snowdonia has started to do tacos on Tuesday that are beyond incredible, especially the lamb.

  • I’m over the moon that Manhatta finally reopened, so Nathan and I went for my birthday and it’s still as beautiful as ever. So thankful they were able to reopen.

Cocktail menu at Manhatta, NYC, March 2022

View from Manhatta, NYC, March 2022

  • So my dear friend Diana and I had brunch together and I found potentially my favourite burger (au poivre) in all of NYC at Raoul’s and I can’t recommend it enough. They only serve it for brunch on the weekends and then a limited amount at the bar on week days. Find this burger. Eat this burger. This is your only option. Christ, it’s a revelation.

  • Since when did Tim Hortons bring back the apple fritter? So messy and good. Not better than San Remo’s, but a respectable alternative. Now all they need to bring back are the salted caramel Timbits and I’ll stop complaining.

  • I made this lemon orzo with peas and parmesan and it tasted so flat, it was weird. I love all those ingredients in it, I was just confused eating it. It’s like when you meet someone you think is so gorgeous and you talk to them and there’s zero chemistry. Like, what the fuck… we coulda been something here.

  • I made this crazy easy lasagna (with jarred sauce instead of tomatoes) last minute and it came out great. Love a fast lasagna. No one has time for a béchamel sauce.

  • One of the best dishes I’ve eaten in a loooong time: the roasted corn and couscous risotto with parmesan from Glass House Tavern. Holy hell, was it good.

  • I made scallops for the first time at home and they tasted so ordinary. They might just be one of those dishes that taste better when somebody else makes it.

  • Some spring inspired recipes I’d love to make soon:

    • Caprese Pesto Orzo Bake

    • Couscous Bowls with Lemon Feta Vinaigrette

    • Truffled Garlic Bread with Ricotta

  • So I saw one of the best plays I’ve ever seen on Broadway: Birthday Candles with Debra Messing. I wrote about it here, but oh my god. I laughed, I cried, I can’t believe how good it was.

Things I’m looking forward to: I’ve gone to the open galleries in Chelsea on Thursdays but I didn’t know that on the third Thursday of every month most of the galleries on the Lower East Side remain open from 4pm-8pm so I’m definitely going to do that if the weather’s nice, I’m excited for all the rain that’s coming (does this sound insane?) because it’s a known fact that spring rain is the least depressing rain, and I really want to make a dent in my “movies to watch” list.

If you have any interest in reading what went on in February, come on over here.

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