Lindsay's List: August 2024

August slipped away... or something like that. Afghan food, a vintage photo booth and Mary Todd Lincoln (yep, you read that right)

Sep 03, 2024

∙ Paid

August is historically my favorite month of the year. While it does sadly mark the end of summer, it also marks the beginning of my favorite season (and yes, I’ve already had a pumpkin spice latte this year), brings beautiful weather and most importantly, is my birth month. But if I’m being honest, August was kind of a flop this year.

I know it’s easy to call astrology bullshit, but this most recent Mercury retrograde — which overlapped with almost the entire month of August — brought an almost unbelievable amount of chaos into my life. Without getting into too many details, let’s just say… I’m really looking forward to September!

That said, there was still so much good. I turned 25, took a week off from work to play tourist in my own city and had a birthday party at my favorite brewery with my awesome friends and family. My trivia team, The Queerbaiters 🌈, has been absolutely crushing it this month and we finished the season as one the top 30 teams in the whole city!!! I got my New York license, spent time with out-of-town friends and basked in the first few days of fall-like weather.

And on top of all that good, there’s also been the joy of discovering my favorites for the month. Happy reading!

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The Favorites:

“Oh, Mary!” on Broadway
Location: Lyceum Theatre at 149 W 45th St in Times Square
Transportation: Times Sq-42 St 1/2/3/7/N/Q/R/W, 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal A/C/E or 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Ctr B/D/F/M
Cost: Free (my girlfriend Claire got me tickets for my birthday! Ticket prices range from $74-350 but in person rush tickets and digital lottery tickets are offered for $43 and $47, respectively)
"Oh, Mary!" at the Lyceum Theatre
If I could only pick one favorite for August, it would be “Oh, Mary!” The play follows the life of Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Lincoln’s assassination through the lens of Cole Escola, who plays Mary and wrote the play. It’s hard to accurately describe just how hilarious this play was and how fantastic of a performer Escola is, but I can say that Claire and I were laughing during 99% of the show — and Claire was quite literally crying from laughter at one point. I’d highly recommend you find a way to see this play before it closes on November 10. Very few things are worth fighting for your life through a tourist-filled Times Square, but this play is easily worth the fuss.
Chicken Thigh Kabab with Qabuli Rice at Dunya Kebab House
Location: 696 Coney Island Ave in Kensington
Transportation: Cortelyou Rd B/Q
Cost: $17.99 (with regular rice the dish costs $14.99)
The chicken thigh kabab with qabuli rice from Dunya Kabab House
Afghan food is one of my all-time favorite cuisines. I’m embarrassed to admit that it took almost a year of living here to make it to an Afghan restaurant, but dining at Dunya Kabab House made up for the wait. Claire and I ate here after trying (and failing) to dine at another restaurant in the neighborhood, and it ended up being the best meal I had this month. It was a friendly reminder that sometimes things don’t work out so that something better can surface! While all the food was excellent, the chicken thigh kabab was the star of the show. The chicken was so tender that we were able to cut it without a knife, the meat was bursting with flavor and it paired well with the slightly-sweet qabuli rice, which was well worth the extra $3. I was too busy savoring this dish to snap a pic, but I — of course —doused the plate with plenty of the perfectly tangy and creamy Halal-style white sauce.
Old Friend Photobooth
Location: 117 Orchard St on the Lower East Side
Transportation: Delancey St-Essex St F/M/J/Z or M15/B39 Buses
Cost: $8 for one photo strip with four poses
My Old Friend Photobooth strip and the booth itself
In typical Leo fashion, I love taking photos of myself, and since I’ve moved to Brooklyn I’ve been on a mission to try out every vintage analog photo booth in the city. This is Manhattan’s newest — and only street-side — photo booth, which gives it a bit of a European feel. At $8 per strip, this booth is definitely on the pricier side but has a short turnaround time at just three minutes, and I felt that the quality of the photos justified the price of the strip. I love how these old-school photo strips capture a single moment in time and I’m looking forward to looking at this a few years down the line and reminiscing on being 24 in NYC.
Watermelon and Lychee Slush at A&N Fruit Store
Location: 25 Canal St on the Lower East Side
Transportation: East Broadway F or M9/15 Buses
Cost: $5.50
Watermelon and lychee slush from A&N Fruit Store
Everyone knows that I’m an ice cream super fan, but sometimes you just need a summer treat that’s a little less heavy. That’s where A&N Fruit Store comes in. At what looks like an unassuming storefront, you can get any fresh fruit slush you’d like for just $5. I opted for watermelon and lychee (each additional fruit costs $0.50), but there was a variety of different options ranging from mango and passionfruit to kiwi and papaya. The freshness of the watermelon complemented the subtle sweetness of the lychee, making for a refreshing flavor combo. After a long day walking around Chinatown, this was the perfect treat to cool me down.
Boston Clogs in Faded Purple from Birkenstock
Cost: $160
How I've been styling my Birkenstock Boston clogs
This is the third summer that I’ve been wanting to buy a pair of Boston clogs, but I finally bit the bullet this month as a birthday present to myself. Usually I gravitate toward neutral colors for my staple shoes, but I fell in love with the limited edition faded purple colorway when I went to try and find a pair in person at the Birkenstock store. I’ve been wearing these a ton the past few weeks and have been shocked at just how comfortable they are. I think these are the perfect transition shoe as we head into the fall, and they look so cute with all my favorite socks from BAGGU!
Chive Pancakes at North Dumpling
Location: 27A Essex St on the Lower East Side
Transportation: East Broadway F, Delancey St-Essex St F/M/J/Z or M9 Bus
Cost: $3 (cash only) for two
A chive pancake from North Dumpling
North Dumpling may be known for its dumplings, but you shouldn’t miss out on the chive pancakes at this dumpling shop. For just $3, you get two pancakes that are stuffed to the max with chives, glass noodles and little bits of scrambled egg. I originally didn’t even order the chive pancakes, but after seeing another customer get them, I knew I had to try them for myself. The pancake is crispy on the outside and bursting with so much umami flavor from the filling. These were so good that I was hesitant to even share them with the friends that I was with because I knew they’d want more, and they did!
The Flops:
iPhone issues: My phone camera cracked this month and as someone who loves to take pictures, I had to go get a new phone. Pro tip: don’t try to get a new phone when you don’t have it backed up at all and have more than 60,000 photos. I promise, it isn’t fun! The good news: after three trips to the Apple Store and one full week of my phone backing up, I finally have a new phone.
Quiche gone wrong: To kickoff my birthday week, I had a spa day with friends at Bathhouse in Williamsburg. I had been to the spa’s restaurant when I went back in February, and was disappointed to discover that the menu had completely changed. I ordered a quiche that was $12, took ~20 minutes to come out, was only about 3-4 bites and had moldy onions in it. Gross! Next time I go to Bathhouse, it will only be for the spa.
A former favorite: I went to The Whitney this month and noticed its analog photo booth — which used to be my favorite in the city — was missing. After talking to an employee, I discovered the tragic news that the photo booth had been taken back by its owner. However, I did also confirm with someone I know who works in the analog photo booth industry (this is why I love New York) that the booth’s owner is looking to find it a new home.