Least Kept Secrets

Every year every magazine has to do its Best-of-list. New York magazine is no different and this week’s issue is full of places deemed by the editors as best to eat, drink, shop (are you kidding? Bloomingdale’s the best place to get jeans? Try “the most expensive”) and take your dog for a walk (Tompkins Square Park). But, except the fact that our all-time favorite places like Russ And Daughters (a no brainer - of course they would win in the “best lox on a bagel sandwich” category, duh!) and Mars Bar (best dive bar) had won in crucial categories, we have to say that lists like these don’t make any sense for us.

We understand it helps boost up their business, and we’re all for it. It’s just that usually when local gems are written about in popular magazines, they sort of lose their charm. Everybody knows about them and everybody goes there. It’s like that humongous sign on Century 21 store downtown that says “New York’s Best Kept Secret” and can be seen from a plane, it’s so big. That’s what happened to Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria - after it was written about in Time Out NY, it literally became a madhouse. And they had to hire uniformed guards who give you a hard time if you don’t have a state-issued ID. You know what we mean? Some things are just better kept a secret.

We have to say though, that we like the idea of hiring artists to design this year’s Best of New York’s magazine cover (clearly a new Yorker rip-off, but we still think it’s a good thing). There are only two winners (one cover for subscribers, the other for newsstands, photo above) but our favorite was the one with nothing but the 212-471-1555 number scribbled on a piece of green paper (some more competing covers below). And, we are happy to say, that the message on its voice mail is pretty amusing. What is it? Just try it yourself.