A Vibes Correction
A picnic map, a playlist ideology, and more good energy.
I know: It’s Wednesday, not Sunday! I’ll be trying out a few different send times over the next few weeks, starting with this one. If you miss this newsletter as weekend reading, please let me know. Now let’s get into it:
Hi, hello!
August is almost here, and New York is in full muggy, messy bloom. I’ve heard a lot of talk about how the “vibes are off” in the city lately, so I’m here to help. I teamed up with Tanu, who runs the wonderful illustration account NYC Curated, to make an illustrated map of a few of my favorite picnic spot + takeout spot duos in the city. (You may remember this concept from my recent picnic newsletter.) There’s chicken yassa up in Harlem, sublime ice cream in the East Village, and plenty more pairings designed to spark some good energy. Zoom in to see them all!
If you’re a local or heading here on vacation, I hope it’ll come in handy. And if you live somewhere a bit further away, I hope you’ll be inspired to get takeout from a local restaurant, stake out an ice cream truck, or make Japanese potato salad and enjoy your bounty somewhere shady. If you’re eating food on the ground, it totally counts.
I’m also happy to be running a second playlist-focused Q&A installment with my friend Arielle Gordon, who is truly one of my favorite music writers. (Read her Pitchfork reviews here!) I’ve spent the past few weekends streaming her UK baseline playlist to conjure up some adrenaline before leaving my apartment, and her thoughts on playlists as a form of connection (or vibe curation) don’t miss either. Check it out:
What do you like about the practice of making playlists?
“Playlists are kind of like a diary entry—they can be long or short, intimate or obtuse. They're ways for me to look back at the music I listened to at a certain moment in time. I use playlists to connect with others about music—if I ever send one to someone, I almost always ask them to send me a playlist in return. My sister and I have had a playlist we've added to for years; when we were living far apart while she was in college, it felt like we were musical pen pals.”
What is your most specific playlist?
“I really love this Oasis shirt my friends at Night Gallery made; it gave me such an immediate vibe when I put it on. So I made a playlist about how I felt wearing it—sweaty, a little sexy, a little exhausted.”
What songs/artists would you tap for these playlist situations?
Road trip: “For a road trip, I want long songs. We've got nothing but time. I want a song that's a banger to kick things off, and I want a drawn-out, beautiful song with a lot of chapters to kind of take in the scenery in the trip's quieter moments. For the former, something like "Born Slippy" by Underworld. For the latter, I really love Braids' "Miniskirt" or "Halcyon and On" by Orbital.”
Getting ready for a night out: “For a night out, I kind of like to listen to serotonin-boosting music... for me, that's like Blink-182 and Avril Lavinge. Just undeniable hits.”
Hosting a dinner party: “Dinner parties are so so hard; you don't want the music to overpower the food or conversation, but you don't want total silence. I'd honestly love to hear what cooks, food writers, and chefs put on. I feel like I just like to stick to a few wordless, low-key records that still have a beat, so it's not a lullabye vibe: something off Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 usually works in a pinch; something like the Special Request DJ Kicks might work too.”
(Ed note: To answer Arielle’s question, I usually start off my dinner parties with Buena Vista Social Club! It’s timeless and a good mix of energies, so it can easily segue into whatever feels right next.)
4. Crying in your bedroom: “I actually have a playlist for this already, lol. I don't really cry to the kind of songs people seem to cry to (Olivia Rodrigo? Phoebe Bridgers?), so I put together a group of songs that brings me to tears no matter what.”
Pop Culture Potpourri
Heatwave cooking endorsement: Watermelon granita is the easiest, iciest, fluffiest fruit dessert around. I’ve been making Gabriela Cámara’s lime and chili spiked version for years, and it doesn’t miss. All you do is blend down and strain a watermelon along with lime and sugar, pour it into a tray in the freezer, and periodically scrape up the frozen bits until you have a tray of shaved ice. Top with chili and if you’re feeling boozy, a mezcal float. This also stores well in a container in the freezer for a few days—just use a fork to fluff it up before eating.
Dreamy cookbook: I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Sumac, Anas Atassi’s love letter to Syrian cuisine. Atassi is an accomplished Syrian chef who has spent most of his life living outside his homeland due to civil war, and his efforts to memorialize and revive his family traditions through food are precious and ultra-delicious. If you own a grill, you need this book.
NYC Tacos: If you live in the area, get yourself to NeNe’s Taqueria in Bushwick ASAP. I’m still on a mission to try the city’s recent wave wealth of birria spots, but I can confidently say these are some of the best tacos I’ve had in New York.
TikTok Roulette: The best family tradition. My dream garden.How to throw a punch with acrylics. Bird watching.
Recent Clips:
The Jewish American Bakery Renaissance Is in Full Swing (Food & Wine). A new guard of Jewish American eateries is playing with pay-it-forward loaves, Key lime pie hamantaschen, and lots of babka.
Hear Me Out: This Natural Bug Spray Actually Works (Bon Appetit). A huge thank you to Amateur Hours reader Melissa Yennie who told me about this brand after my picnic newsletter! My itchy ankles are forever grateful.