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Around Town - Cakes Fit for a King, Art Party, Jazz Nights, Free NYE Party and 2025 NYC Restaurant Openings!
December 26, 2024, 6:16.48 pm ET

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Photo: Mercado Little Spain

Mercado Little Spain is celebrating Three Kings Day or Dia de Reyes on January 6th in honor of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts for baby Jesus. The iconic pastry features round, sweet yeasted bread shaped to represent the crown worn by the kings. According to tradition, the cake, which contains a king and a dried bean inside, is eaten for breakfast (and again for lunch). The person who finds the king wins good fortune. The person with the bean pays for next year’s cake. Click here for more information.

Not to be outdone, Dominique Ansel is also offering its version of Gallette des Rois (or “King Cake”) to celebrate the epiphany. The cake is filled with an almond cream surrounded by butter puff pastry. It’s available December 16th to January 19th.


Photo: Madison Voelkel/BFA.com

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual Art Party returns on January 28, 2025, for a disco-inspired evening celebrating art and philanthropy. Hosted by Whitney Contemporaries, the event features music, dancing, craft cocktails, and exclusive access to exhibitions, including Edges of Ailey before it closes. The night promises a vibrant mix of creativity, community, and culture.


Photo: Hortus NYC

Hortus NYC, nestled in the heart of stylish NoMad, is now hosting Jazz Nights, with a new menu of modern Asian cuisine that pairs well with their extensive wine and sake list as well as low ABV cocktails. The soulful live jazz music will feature the harmonious performances of Chika & Tatsuya, the Jinjoo Yoo Trio, and Jo-Besebastian, three distinguished NYC-based Asian Jazz groups. Jazz nights happen weekly from Wednesday-Friday from 7 pm to 10 pm, walk-ins welcome, no cover charge.


Photo: Loreley

Celebrate the New Year in style at the New Year’s Eve Masquerade Party on Dec. 31 at the LES favorite Loreley (7 Rivington St), where there will be no cover all night, a free Champagne toast at midnight while watching the ball drop, and happy hour 5pm - 10pm. Guests will receive free masquerade masks from 8pm — but even better, anyone who brings their own mask gets a free beer (0.2 liter). Toast to the New Year with festive holiday drinks like Boozy Bourbon Black & White Hot Chocolate with toasted marshmallows; Hot Bourbon Apple Cider; and Peppermint Nitro Martini with a candy cane. Reservations are recommended, but walk-ins are accepted.

Looking Ahead…

Two restaurant to watch for in the 2025.


Photo: Chef Soogil Lim

RAON (207 East 59th St) is the highly anticipated fine dining concept from husband-and-wife team Chef Soogil Lim and Sasook Youn who are behind the French-Korean restaurant, Soogil, in the East Village. Located in Midtown East at 207 East 59th Street, this intimate 14-seat chef’s counter is set to open in January with a multi-course tasting menu that pays homage to Korea’s most iconic dish: kimchi.


Photo: ChefIsao Yamada/Max Flatow

Yamada (16 Elizabeth St), meanwhile, will open in February 2025. The chef's counter kaiseki restaurant will be helmed by Chef Isao Yamada, a trailblazer of New York City's earliest kaiseki dining experiences. Yamada will join the group's other establishments, Nakaji and Kono, in Chinatown's Canal Arcade – a passageway that connects Elizabeth and Bowery. Chef Yamada will host two nightly seatings at his intimate 12-seat counter, serving a seasonally-driven tasting menu that is rooted in traditional kaiseki customs, while incorporating some European touches – a unique style shaped by his decade-long tenure at Brushstroke.

Until Next Time, we'll be seeing you Around Town!


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