Right on track 7
Filled With Hoopla!
Don’t let the simple red awning of Clyde Frazier’s Wine
and Dine fool you: Inside is a sleek and bustling sports bar and restaurant, with an open-air kitchen and huge flat-screen TVs on every wall.
The bar opened in 2012 with lots of Frazier-style touches, including a mini basketball court and funky bar seating. But one of the style highlights is the ceiling: It’s decorated with 3-D patterns based on Frazier’s notoriously wild suits.
“The ceiling is just a culmination of them getting an idea from my wardrobe,” he says.
The menu includes chops, barbecue, pizza, burgers and more. And you might even catch Frazier there: He says he pops by about three to four times a week.
“So many kids come, and I don’t want to disappoint them,” he says. 485 10th Ave., at 37th Street; 212-842-1110
OFF the Wall!
The Sean Kelly Gallery focuses on contemporary art mostly by living artists, but it also represents the estate of famed (and often controversial) erotic photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. You can see some of his work soon, too: During an upcoming Joseph Kosuth neon show, a small exhibit of Mapplethorpe’s Polaroids will be on display. Currently you can catch an exhibit of London-based artist Idris Khan’s work through Oct. 24. 475 10th Ave., at 36th Street; 212-239-1181
leave gluten behind!
This outpost of the gluten-free-focused
Friedman’s restaurant opened in February with an eye on the soon-to-open station .
“We wanted to get in before everything else,” manager Dominika Perkowska says. The food is American-style favorites, like buttermilk fried-chicken sandwich ($17) and lamb burgers ($17), with the option to make nearly everything gluten-free. And due to its location, it’s got a “miracle on the Hudson”-themed cocktail: the Captain Sully, which comes with Greenhook Ginsmiths dry gin, maraschino liqueur, liqueur de violette and lemon juice. ($12). 450 10th Ave., at 35th Street; 212-268-1100
Perfect vintage!
Dining royalty Danny Meyer’s latest spot opened in March in the huge Waterfront New York Building. Porchlight maintains the aesthetics of the 124-year-old warehouse while serving up craft cocktails and Southern-inspired fare like boiled-peanut hummus and a smoked catfish dip (both $15). The bar’s back room is stocked with vintage board games (“Dear Abby,” the game, anyone?) and old Playboy magazines. The bar is rolling out a new subway-themed cocktail, too: the Train’s a Comin’ ($14), made of cognac, Dolin blanc vermouth, Crème Yvette, lemon juice and concord-grape syrup — which makes it purple, in honor of the 7, of course. 271 11th Ave., between 27th and 28th streets; 212-981-6188
climb it!
There are more parks than just the High Line. Two sections of the new Hudson
Yards Park opened this month, too. One features a children’s playground with lots of climbable play areas; the other is a serene plot ringed by fountains. The lack of tall buildings around give it ample sunshine, too — for now, at least. West 33rd to West 36th streets, between 10th and 11th avenues
Caffeine Find!
The 4-year-old the Café Grind is a go-to coffee spot for the early adopters of the neighborhood. It’s got to-go sandwiches (like a chorizo-and-cheese mini-baguette), pour-over coffee and tables made out of repurposed barrels. It’s not too hipstery, though: CNBC was projected onto the wall on a recent afternoon. 477 10th Ave., between 36th and 37th streets; 212-279-4100