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LIZ HEATHER

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.

TAGS: monthly post, monthly roundup, Liz Heather, March 2022, March Magic, March Magic 2022, Vicks bath salts, Vicks Puffs, Vicks tissue paper, best products, Eataly, Eataly NYC, blonde hair, new blonde hair, dyed blonde, Hazel McCallion, Mississauga, Barnes and Noble, cookbooks, Pepper Thai, Milk Bar cookbook, Chrissy Teigen, Felix Roasting Co., best of NYC, Starbucks, flat white, North Fork potato chips, Levis Simpsons collection, The Simpsons clothes, The Simpsons, Ulta birthday gift, Sephora birthday gift, Kiehl's birthday gift, free birthday gifts, Canada, Hassina Heather, Gary Heather, Robbie Heather, Stanley Heather, family, family photo, Zara, suede green coat, croissant croutons, Trader Joe's, Mimi Cheng's, NYC dumplings, french onion soup dumpings, Harmeet Litt, The Plaza, Plaza Suite, The Palm Court, Broadway NYC, broadway play NYC, Broadway, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Playbill, steak Diane, The Dowlings at The Carlyle, The Carlyle Hotel, best of NYC 2022, mail chute, mail chute NYC, The Carlyle mail chute, Robert NYC, Columbus Circle restaurant view, too beautiful, too expensive, Coach purse, Marchesa gown, beaded shirt, Bread Alone bakery, chocolate chip oat cookie, Harry Potter, Harry Potter play, Well Nested Energy nail polish, nail polish, Essie, Vallata, lunch special NYC, Rezdora, best pasta NYC, pasta NYC, duck ragu NYC, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, movies, Malice, Alec Baldwin, god speech, Alec Baldwin god speech, Impeachment, Salonpas, Argosy Book Store, oldest book store NYC, Times Square, Times Square art, Snowdonia, Snowdonia Astoria, Manhatta, Raoul's, Raoul's burger, au poivre burger NYC, best burger NYC, best burger, Tim Hortons, apple fritter, apple fritter Tim Hortons, lemon orzo peas parmesan, best recipes, easy lasagna, Glass House Tavern, scallops, corn and couscous risotto, parmesan, caprese pesto orzo bake, couscous bowls lemon feta, truffled garlic bread ricotta, Birthday Candles, Birthday Candles play, Debra Messing, LES galleries, life has no meaning


January 5, 2022

December Dalliances 2021

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


December was a complete whirlwind but when is it not? I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Other than getting my booster (!), here’s what else went down last month.

  • You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.

  • I recapped how my autumn list went.

  • I made a list of things I’d like to do this winter.

  • I compiled my very favourites from the year.

  • My favourite photos from 2021.

  • Here are two great things to do when a new year has begun.

  • I wrote about the Christian Dior exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum (which closes in February).

  • Did you know that Costco has candles? There’s a four candle box for $20 and they’re only two-wick each, but extremely good quality.

  • I don’t think I’ve ever had pecan pie before in my life (I don’t even know why, I think I thought it might be too nutty?) but I tried a slice at JG Melon and whoa. Who the hell knew?

  • I attempted to read Charles Grodin’s memoir and I just… I couldn’t. I don’t mean to show any disrespect, but what a bore. Some people shouldn’t write books, I simply had to softly put it down on Nathan’s desk and walk away.

  • Incase you need to know the Bob’s Burgers Christmas episodes in one handy chart.

  • I am obsessed with the snow drop scent from Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. I’ve got the all purpose cleaner as well as the dish detergent and I’m so angry I didn’t buy any more to use throughout the year because it’s currently sold out everywhere. And look, the pine one is very good too, but the snow drop one just takes your breath away. Oh god… is this my life now… excitement over cleaning supplies scents?? End me.

  • Speaking of things that bum me out, I also tried the basil scented Method dish soap and Nathan and I both agree: not for us. The bottle shape is weird and the smell of basil to clean your dishes is confusing.

  • The best of the holiday recipes that I made over the Christmas break: Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding, Upstate-Style Roast Beef Sandwiches, Southern Baked Macaroni & Cheese, and Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (I didn’t do the marshmallow part, I went with whipped cream instead although a rum whipped cream would have worked well, too).

  • The dill pickle chicken nuggets at Burger King in Canada? Shock of all shocks: not good.

  • But the tim biebs at Tim Hortons? Pretty good!

  • Food lesson I learned: gruyere does not taste good as a shredded cheese on top of garlic bread, it must be mixed into some sort of mixture to taste good since it’s way too overpowering on its own.

  • Tried the chicken sandwich at Jollibee and honestly? It’s a definite contender for the Popeye’s one. Really great.

  • New nails alert!

Nails For You in Square One, Mississauga, Ontario

  • I finally made Alison Roman’s Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies and they are fantastic. I had no idea how much I love demerara sugar, it’s that beautiful crunchy sugar that you can find atop the classiest of muffins and it’s too too good.

  • They have the dairy-free Boursin at Trader Joe’s! And it tastes exactly like the dairy version! Why does this excite me!

  • My niece Layla introduced me to the brand Native and I’m loving their holiday scented body washes (Sugar Cookie & Candy Cane).

  • I finally ate at Carbone with my dear friend Paul and it was good! Was it as special as the world seems to think it is? Of course not, but that reality is okay, too. The service was great, the place is beautifully decorated for the holidays and the food was very much adequate. The cons of the place are mainly due to its inaccessibility and food quality for its price. And maybe we should've gotten more meat entrees instead of only sticking with their pastas but I mean... it's an Italian restaurant... shouldn't all of their pastas wow you with a reputation like theirs? The best things we ate were the tortellini al ragu ($34) and the garlic bread (free). Both truly great. The spicy rigatoni vodka ($32) is their most celebrated pasta and honestly it was good but not at all worth the hype. The fettuccini con funghi ($32) was disappointing mainly because of the inclusion of bell peppers... why put bell peppers in such a dish? Such a gross flavour with the creaminess of a soft fettuccine. I really did want to love this place, but there are far superior Italian places in this city (L'Artusi, Lilia, Portale). Take your money elsewhere.

Tortellini al ragu ($34) at Carbone, NYC

Garlic bread (free) at Carbone, NYC

Carbone, NYC

  • I’ve never even heard of shapable soap, but I bought a can from Bath & Body Works (it’s on sale for $5 right now) and it’s so fun to use. Kids especially seem to love it. Apparently they only have them around the holidays but there are four scents to choose from.

  • I bought this faux leather vest from Zara that I love and have absolutely no idea how to style.

  • I won a lottery ticket to see Girl From The North Country and it was really good, I sat in the second row from the front and I might be ruined forever because seeing a play that close was unreal and so cool. Also, seeing the Belasco Theatre was a dream. Also, Austin Scott can GET IT.

Inside The Belasco Theatre, NYC

Outside The Belasco Theatre, NYC

  • Had a drink at the Ophelia Lounge and the view is wonderful, but the drinks and food aren’t terribly special.

  • The candy cane green tea at Trader Joe’s? Award-winning.

  • Finally ate at Via Carota with Irene on her birthday and it was really good. All the pastas were wonderful, skip the rice balls.

Beautiful Irene on her birthday at Via Carota, NYC

  • I made my way to Via Porta (the smaller, casual outpost of the L’Artusi crew) to get some of their jarred sauces and I was a little disappointed unfortunately. It just didn’t taste the same as in the restaurant. I only tried the bolognese one, so maybe the mushroom ragu will be better? I’ll definitely give it one more try, especially since they’re supposed to start selling their fresh pasta in the coming weeks. (Also, the baked goods they’re selling are extremely good.)

  • My friend Casey kindly invited me to the dress rehearsal of Dear Evan Hansen and I’m so happy to have seen it! But good lord, never again. The music is mostly wonderful and the actors were great, but every other aspect of the production? Yikes. Forever love seeing something on Broadway, though.

  • My And Just Like That… thoughts (spoilers ahead):

    • God, where do I begin…

    • In a time when death, sickness and darkness literally surrounds our every waking moment, why in the world would a team of writers want to start out a “beloved” series with the death of a major character? I mean… read the room??? Why start an entirely new season with grief? On what planet does this make sense? Especially when you have these characters living in this post pandemic existence that still isn’t a reality here and now? It’s nonsense.

    • Also the cringey nature of every single podcast scene? I have to almost ignore these parts entirely because of how bad they are. It’s as though someone wrote this script and then a team of woke writers came in to make it fit into today’s culture but completely missed the mark and just ended up making this vomit-inducing trash. It’s all just so embarrassing to watch.

    • I know this has been said to death, but them even doing this series without Samantha was the wrong decision. The balance is completely off, I don’t care about the new characters, none of this should ever have been made.

  • We bought this new pineapple print for the living room and I can’t wait until it’s hung up.

  • I tried the eggplant parm at Cutlets and it was pretty good but nothing to write home about.

  • In love with the new feathered evening coat I got for Christmas.

  • I tried the KFC potato chips from Walkers (brought over from the UK) and they were delicious.

Walkers KFC potato chips

  • I’m sure you saw my new hair, but incase you’re living under a rock. (Note: this is the first time in 36 years I’ve dyed my hair. Why did I want to do it? Mainly because I wanted to stop being afraid of doing it.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Liz Heather (@lizheather)

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: seeing The Phantom of the Opera with Nathan (his first time!), I’m excited about the return of Restaurant Week, the Bath & Body Works semi-annual sale has already started incase you like cheap candles (the hot buttered rum one is NUTS), I’m excited about making new resolutions for the year because I’m clinically insane, and I might make the trek to Governor’s Island now that it’s opened for the winter.

If you have any interest in other monthly roundups of 2021, they can be found here: November 2021, October 2021, September 2021, August 2021, July 2021, June 2021, May 2021, April 2021, March 2021, February 2021 & January 2021.

God, this city is so pretty during the holidays

TAGS: December, December Dalliances 2021, Liz Heather, monthly post, monthly roundup, Baby Dog Macintosh, Baby Dog, best tweets, new year, Christian Dior, The Brooklyn Museum, Costco candles, JG Melon, pecan pie, Charles Grodin, memoir, Bob's Burgers Christmas episodes, Mrs. Meyers Clean Day, snowdrop scent, snow drop scent, all purpose cleaner holidays, basil Method dish soap, Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding recipe, best recipes, upstate-style roast beef sandwiches, southern baked macaroni and cheese, chocolate pumpkin pie, dill pickle chicken nuggets Burger King, Tim Hortons, Canada, gruyere cheese, Jollibee chicken sandwich, new nails, Nails For You Mississauga, Alison Roman, salted chocolate chunk shortbread cookies, demerara sugar, dairy free Boursin, Trader Joe's, Native, Native body wash seasonal, Paul Fishman, Carbone, Carbone NYC, Carbone garlic bread, Carbone pasta NYC, shapable soap, Bath and Body Works, candles, candle sale, soap sale, Zara, Broadway ticket lottery, Girl From The North Country, Bob Dylan play, Belasco Theatre NYC, Broadway NYC, Ophelia Lounge, candy cane green tea, Via Carota NYC, Irene Morales, Via Porta NYC, Dear Evan Hansen, And Just Like That, And Just Like That..., COVID, pineapple art, Cutlets NYC, feather evening coat emerald, best of Etsy, KFC potato chips, KFC potato crisps, new blonde hair, blonde hair, Radio City Music Hall NYC, Christmas NYC, things to do Christmas NYC