It’s hard to look hip and stay warm, but if you want to get schooled in how to do it, take a trip out to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Fashion is still on the forefront here, even in freezing temperatures.

A trapper hat and pattern-edged coat summon the great Northwest. Salmon colored pants really make it pop. Continue reading…

If the underground sliver of space that houses Bar Henry hits you with a wave of nostalgia when you step through the door, it’s because it used to house Zinc Bar. Once jammed with students and aging bohemians, clogged with smoke and a tangle of jazz band equipment that you had to step over to reach the bathroom door (often while the band was playing), Zinc Bar was a quintessential Greenwich Village live music spot. But before you get too nostalgic, note that Zinc Bar hasn’t died, it just moved around the corner, where you can still hear famed jazz guitarist Ron Affif play on Monday nights.

Meanwhile, Bar Henry benefits from the lingering magic of this space, though both the music and the smoke are gone now. In this incarnation, it’s been spiffed up with a black and white marble floor and red plush seating in the back. Continue reading…

While it may be tempting to bury yourself in a plain black puffer jacket for the fifth day in a row, these fashionable folks prove that you can still look stylish in the cold. Layers are obviously key, but these women and men are paying a lot of attention to coats and accessories, seemingly dressing from the outside layer in. Start with a good coat or interesting bag you may have been neglecting this winter and try building the rest of your look around that.

A sculptural, mannishly-tailored coat is a cool Calvin Klein-esque look when paired with skinny black jeans and a gray sweatshirt. The alligator bag ensures that the whole look isn’t too casual. Continue reading…

Like it or not, Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, so it’s time to start getting in the mood. As seen on the cover of WWD, sheer black tights in floral, lace, and polka dot patterns are sexing up legwear for evening. They’re more fashionable – and more practical – than bare legs, so you can look hot even when it’s 10 degrees outside.

Of course, the French have been on the forefront of this sexy trend, so channel your inner belle du jour with Givenchy’s Autumn Floral Lace Tights ($18). Continue reading…

This Louisiana specialty used to be hard to come by, but thanks to the wonders of FedEx and one dedicated Louisiana family, live crawfish are now just a click away. The Louisiana Crawfish Co. ships bags of live crawfish around the country–you can either get it FedExed or pick up your crawdads at the airport. This is essentially how fish mongers are getting them anyway, and Louisiana Crawfish Co.’s prices are about 2.5 times the wholesale value of $2 a pound (scaled for volume, so you might as well buy more)–not bad in non-Southern cities where many fish mongers inflate the price of crawfish to 5 times the wholesale value.

The crawfish season only runs through May, so start planning that crawfish boil now. Here’s how to do it.

Bonus: Louisiana Crawfish Co. also sells turduckens.

Louisiana Crawfish Co. 888-522-7292

Urban Daddy: Live Crawfish from the Louisiana Crawfish Company

Has there ever been a real Maryland-style seafood restaurant in New York? You can find Philly cheese steak, Southern food, Austrian food, Cuban food, even Malaysian food faster than you can find a decent crab cake in this town. And the attempts of New York chefs to appropriate Maryland seafood are often bungled, such as the “crab boil.” As the folks at the Hideaway know, you should never, ever boil the delicate blue crab. They should be steamed.

Choptank, backed by several Maryland natives including food and cocktail consultant (and friend of mine) Kevin Patricio, has boldly gone where no New York restaurant has gone in recent memory: into the wilds of Baltimore, land of “The Wire.” There are Old Bay potato chips on the menu and pictures of tall ships on the walls—just like home, hon. Continue reading…