Plugs is The Angel’s recs column. On most Saturdays, you’ll get six picks—a restaurant, a bar, a shop, an ingredient, a person, and a treat—from someone in New York or Los Angeles who knows what they’re talking about, plus a selection of Angel-curated links. Plugs are for paid subscribers of The Angel only; upgrade your subscription to receive all six!
That said, this issue of Plugs is free for all to read because it’s sponsored by Postcard, a smarter map for deciding where to go and what to do. You can save places from anywhere, find exactly what you need, and share your lists. Download Postcard here.
#17 is me, Emily Wilson, a New York native and the founder of The Angel, need I say more? Although I’ve plugged in other formats, such as On Repeat and in travel guides, I’ve yet to write my own set of New York Plugs. Now feels like the right time to do just that, as I have an announcement to share. After today’s send, I’m taking a several-month sabbatical from writing The Angel. I’ll still be here behind the scenes, and hopefully, occasionally, popping into your inboxes with a byline, but otherwise, Jamie Feldmar will be taking the wheel. There's no one else I'd be so comfortable giving the platform to, and she's already earned your trust with missives on beach sandwich season and why Two Rose’s David Wilcox is moving on, and features like this past week's on how the OC's Ecology Center transformed a dirt lot into the future of farming.
This means The Angel will be re-centering in Los Angeles for now, as that's where Jamie is based (although she is often in New York), and where most of The Angel's readership remains. I'm taking some time off from Substack to focus on other creative projects and life things, but I'm not going anywhere; if you have questions or want to reach me, you know where to find me. And now, here are my New York Plugs — and here’s my map on Postcard.
Here’s also a bigger, bonus list on Postcard (think of it as a subtle preview for what’s to come, post-sabbatical): my ultimate (f&b) guide to Los Angeles in map form.
Restaurant — Bread & Salt
I considered plugging Bread & Salt’s sensational almond biscotti—thick, well-salted, crunchy yet tender—as my treat. I also considered Crema di Mandorla, or Sicilian almond spread (this or this), for my ingredient, which, when diluted with water, becomes the purest-tasting homemade almond milk that can be mixed with espresso and ice to make caffè Leccese. Bread & Salt’s version might be the most delicious coffee drink I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying.
But then I remembered a recent Saturday lunch at Rick Easton’s counter-service bakery and pizzeria in Jersey City, and realized it was the most satisfying restaurant experience I’ve had lately, at least on food alone, despite it being rainy outside, and the only seating being al fresco, and actually standing (albeit under umbrellas). Come hungry, and be prepared to carbo-load: sausage or mortadella sandwiches on squishy, fresh-baked bread; thin-crusted Roman pizza, made to order; and authentic Italian pastries, 10x better than anything you’ll find at the old-school bakeries that exist within New York City’s Italian enclaves. Easton makes real-deal Italian baked goods, the kind of stuff that makes you wonder why so many people consider France superior to Italy on bread and pastry.
Shout out, too, to Zoli, the most interesting and tasty new New York restaurant I’ve been to this year.
Bar — A joint and a walk around the piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park
My truest bar plug is Henry Public, but I've written about my love for our neighborhood pub enough, and since I don't really go to other bars, I'm plugging what I do instead: roll a joint (I recently got “back into weed"), then take it on an after-dinner walk along the piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park with my husband. The view of the downtown Manhattan skyline from the piers is unmatched, and there's no better way to wind down than a long, pretty walk.
Shop — Farm to People
I love going to the grocery store, and I love to shop in person. I realize more New Yorkers these days prefer to order their groceries online, though, so the fact that my favorite grocery store is delivery-only makes sense. Plus, the convenience—especially given that I work from home—is appealing, I won’t lie. Farm to People sources the best local produce, meat, fish, dairy, pantry items, and snacks, grown/raised by small farmers and made by artisans. They’re always expanding their offerings and, importantly, filling the tri-state area’s seasonal produce gaps with the good stuff from California. And best of all, they’re just really good people who are always listening to their customers and bettering the shopping experience. In a New York where the Union Square Greenmarket is frankly stressful, Citarella and Whole Foods have gone downhill, Happier Grocer (don’t even get me started on “Meadow Lane”) is soul-sucking, and Union Market is... fine, Farm to People is my saving grace.
Here are some of the things that are regularly in my cart: Suzuki Farms’ Japanese cucumbers, Strange Water sparkling coconut water, Catsmo Gold Label smoked salmon, organic frozen Maine wild blueberries, FLX Farm Fresh New York State rolled oats (makes the best oatmeal), Sourmilk probiotic Greek yogurt, Snowdance Farm Heritage Breed whole chicken, Kitchen Garden Farm Calabrian chili flakes, Taproom Farm Jimmy Nardellos, Jake’s Gouda aged Gouda
Ingredient — Ume miso
We cook Japanese food regularly, and The Japanese Pantry is my go-to for keeping our pantry stocked with rice vinegars, soy sauces, sesame oils, dried seaweed, etc. Nothing I've ordered from the San Francisco-based Japanese ingredient importer has disappointed me, but my favorite discovery has been this ume miso from Yamaki Jozo, which blends the prized sun-dried plums with brown miso to create a pink-hued, jammy paste that's gorgeously sweet, sour, and salty at once. You can mix it into a dressing or a marinade, but it's so insanely good as-is—as a dipping sauce or spread on toast. We brush it onto fish or meat, hot off the grill, to be eaten alongside rice and vegetables.
Person — Hannah Root
Hannah Root is a rising star in the art world, with a decade at Pace under her belt and now a new role as senior director at Megan Mulrooney Gallery, working between Los Angeles and New York, and appearing in all of the other major art towns whenever she's needed. She's whip-smart, not to mention hilarious, piercingly honest, and a true original. She's also my oldest New York friend (since age 6!), and one of my favorite people to eat with on account of her critically informed opinions, ferocious appetite, and advanced palate (she was eating uni when we were in 1st grade), plus a deep respect for restaurants and an understanding of the merits of being a regular. I feel lucky that she's been in my inner circle of dining mates for 25 years.
Treat — Sullivan Street Bakery scone & Grapenut ice cream from Taste The Tropics
Maybe it’s just the phase of life I’m in, but since moving back to New York, I’ve been rarely moved by the new, and instead, have really taken comfort in the classics. By that I do not mean The Odeon (too basic) or Noodle Pudding (just bad), but deeper cuts and specific dishes. This treats section here is an ideal place to demonstrate with not one, but two plugs:
The Sullivan St. Bakery scone is a classic in two senses: one, in that the bakery has been slinging some of the city's most reliably great bread and pastries since 1994, and two, in that it's a perfect articulation of the form, from before bakers started getting all cheffy with scones—puck-shaped, with a rich and creamy, orange zest-scented crumb studded with dried cranberries and sour cherries and a craggly exterior achieved with turbinado sugar. The Chelsea location is a block from my therapist’s office, and so on Wednesday mornings when I’m in need of a treat, you’ll find me here having a cold brew and a scone.
A Grapenut ice cream cone from Taste The Tropics has been on my summertime to-do list for at least a decade. A few weeks ago, I finally made the trip to East Flatbush to cross it off with my friend Chip, a fellow Grape-Nuts lover. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. Rich, creamy (in a different way than the scone above), and unmistakably hard ice cream is studded with crunchy, fiber-bomb cereal grains for a wholly satisfying cone (if you don’t believe me, although why wouldn’t you, believe Zohran).
Perfect scone, perfect cone.
Frank Shyong went searching for local Southern Californian seafood (specifically, grunions). Instead, he got a lesson in the broken economics of our seafood supply chains. Really good one. [Buffet]
Very entertaining read from Annie Armstrong on the Casa Bonita revival. We’ll have to go next time we’re in Colorado visiting David’s family… [Caper]
Can Le Canal Saint-Gowanus happen? Can’t say I’m fully sold, but I do love Liar Liar. [Grub Street]
I’d like to go to London to eat at the Garden Café, a restaurant inside of a museum dedicated to gardens, which Jonathan Nunn believes is serving the best desserts in London right now. [Vittles]
I am thrilled to have culled so many yogurt recs from William Mullan’s Ultimate Guide to Yogurt and Late Summer Fruit, which Emily Sundberg ran in her newsletter last week. I’ll add two more to the mix: Tide Mill Creamery, another exceptional Maine Greek yogurt I stumbled upon while there last month, and Pequea Valley Yogurt made from Amish creamery milk in Pennsylvania, carried by Farm to People. +1 for White Moustache, Aris, Sourmilk, Seven Stars, & Riverine Ranch Buffalo Yogurt. [Feed Me]
I wrote about MUSCADINES for The T List, the musky oversize grapes indigenous to the Amerian South, which I was put onto during an exceptional meal at Neng Jr’s in Asheville last year, while roadtripping cross-country. [T Mag, gift link]