What's New

This week we’re highlighting a new Brooklyn Heights donut shop, sharing all of the coolest V-Day movies to catch right now, and introducing you to our cool new friend: Basu Ratnam of INDAY.

Culture Corner

COOL NEW THING

PS for those of you who read these newsletters right when they drop every Friday…we are at Cloudy Donut RIGHT NOW! ;-) 

CREATE

Our friend Melis Aydogan, founder of Rüya Coffee, will be setting up at 15 Essex Street from 11 am - 3 pm to serve donation-based Turkish coffee & collecting donations to help earthquake victims. If you can make it out to support, consider bringing some of the items below: 

• Tents
• Blankets
• Pocket Warmers
• Sleeping Bags
• Baby Food/Formula
• Baby Diapers/Wipes
• Flash Lights
• Powerbanks
• Over-the-counter medications for flu, cold and pain

Cash and Venmo-based donations will be accepted at the event, and if you’d like to donate now, you can send support to @Melis-Aydogan on Venmo. ❤️

WATCH

This week we’re very excited to welcome back Elissa Suh of MOVIEPUDDING as a guest contributor. Here is Elissa’s list of what-to-watch this Valentine’s Day →

• Harold and Maude at Museum of the Moving Image: The original May-December romance between a preppy goth and a septuagenarian backed by a Cat Stevens soundtrack

• The Love Witch at Metrograph: A modern day witch compels men to fall in love with her to disastrous effect. Teeming with lush vintage set dressings, this stunning homage to Technicolor camp has teeth, taking down gender roles with an incisive feminist spin.

• Ganja and Hess at Nitehawk: Recut into a blacksploitation movie against the director’s wishes, this sultry, cosmically shambolic “vampire” movie from the 70s dispatches genre conventions to underline schisms across Black identity in America. Plus one for the soundtrack.

• Dark Horse at the Roxy: A portrait of two unlikely soul mates, a man-child loser and a catatonically depressed woman (Selma Blair!!) brought to you by Todd Solondz, heavy on the deadpan and misanthropy but not without sympathy. 

• The Lobster at Metrograph: Singles who fail to find a partner in 40 days time are turned into an animal of their choosing. If you still haven’t seen this wicked, absurd, yet highly moving appraisal of dating conventions, compatibility and more, now’s your chance.

TREAT YOURSELF

Special Feature:
2023 Staycation Guide

The winter is cold
your apartment is too, 
and all of your roommates belong in a zoo.

Yet downtown still beckons
withs warm bars in sight
For Cozy drinks with friends:
the seasons delight

So plan a staycation
let us be your guide
And these last frigid months, you will taketh in stride! 

Cool Friends: Basu Ratnam

How did you start your creative & casual Indian cooking restaurant, INDAY?

I grew up in a home surrounded by amazing food sourced locally and cooked in really innovative ways. I wanted to bring that to people in a way that felt accessible and fun. Indian food had a stigma attached to it. It still can be a polarizing cuisine.  I wanted it to be more everyday and casual. I hired my friends to do the brand, and worked with scrappy designers to help us build the space. We ran out of money and used construction and acoustic materials for our finishes, but luckily we were busy from day 1 and the rest grew from there. 

What's your favorite part about the New York creative community?

It's so diverse. Everyone who's here is at the top of their game. The people that have stayed long enough are real New Yorkers, because New York is a little bit like a washing machine, eventually it spits most people out. I heard once that what gives New York its energy is that everyone is running around trying to figure out what it means to be a New Yorker. I love that idea. We're all trying our best to fit into this city and leave our mark. 

What's inspiring you right now?

Indian and Sri Lankan modernist design, Geoffrey Bawa and Bijoy Jain. Simplicity but emotion, fusing new and old elements and local materials. We're always evolving our restaurant design, so that's what I've been digging right now. 

Follow Along:
@indayallday on Instagram
www.indayallday.com