Metrotwin Blog

Metrotwin, for the city you´re in

Mel — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:04:50 +0000

Anyone familiar with Metrotwin will know we started life as a home for lists of the very best on offer, here and now, in both New York and London. For good measure, we ´twin´ venues in both cities whenever and wherever possible. I guess we thought all this would be of most interest to those travelling to either city, but we wanted our recommendations to be a mix of the best of the best and the unusual - places you wouldn´t find if you just put London or NYC into Google and hit ´I Feel Lucky´. So maybe it shouldn´t be a surprise that a bunch of us have found the site just as useful if you´re someone living and working in either city. Perhaps you´ve got visitors in town, or just fancy jumping up off the sofa one weekend and exploring what´s happening out there, just beyond your doorstep.

If you´re in that frame of mind, here are a couple of great shows to visit. Both these exhibitions are wonderful in their own right, in very different ways. Of course, if you´re visiting from out of town, there´s nothing to stop you going too. Grab a map and hit the subway or tube.

First up, Saul Steinberg at Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich, London. A regular contributor to The New Yorker last century, Steinberg´s satirical, whimsical illustration - the full range of which is on show here - seems ahead of its time (David Shrigley surely owes just a little to Steinberg). The distorted, cosmopolitan maps of the world he created, where 5th Avenue, say, sits within throwing distance of Mayfair are of course what attracted Metrotwin´s particular interest. The exhibition is on until February 15th, directions are here.

And on the other side of the pond, if you haven´t got to this one already, go now - the wonderful William Eggleston exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art on Madison Avenue. Plenty has been said about Eggleston, but his ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, his use of colour photography when the establishment obsessed over black & white, the way he captured the apparently inconsequential flotsam and jetsam of suburban America….these are reasons enough to see this before the show closes on January 25th. I leave you with a particular favourite - the glamour of air travel captured in a single, perfect shot.

Source: pdnedu.blogs.com

Cheer up

CandyJ — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:02:02 +0000

Another list from the excellent Central Park Blogger this time following another of his passions - Jazz. Check out the spots that he’s chosen as the best place for finger clicking good Jaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzz from the Village Vanguard to the Lenox Lounge.

In honour of the list we’ve also blipped some of our favourite Jazz classics check them out here

I feel another Mixtape coming on, suggestions for songs to be included…

Three best London bars, cocktails and restaurants via the Mr & Mrs Smith blog

Tim Malbon — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:38:17 +0000

The Mr & Mrs Smith blog is a great source of high quality recommendations of the best places to go in New York and London and should be on your list of sites to check out if you’re planning a visit to either city. It’s only the best from The Smiths, they don’t mess around. Check out their lists on Metrotwin of top city restaurants and boutique hotels in both cities.

Mr & Mrs Smith recently asked Soho bar operator Brenhan Magee the following questions:

Top three places in London to get a great cocktail?
Shochu Lounge under Roka, on Charlotte Street
Green & Red on Bethnal Green Road
LAB bar on Old Compton Street in Soho

Three best three bars in London for atmosphere?
Cocoon on Regent Street
The Long Bar at the Sanderson Hotel in Berners Street
Café Boheme on Old Compton Street

Top three bars in London for design?
The Blue Bar at The Berkeley Hotel
The new Eight Club in the City (still being built!)
The Coburg Bar at The Connaught

Top three London restaurants?
Scott’s of Mayfair, on Mount Street
La Petite Maison, also in Mayfair
Hakkasan in Hanway Street

Wee Birdy’s New York Christmas

Tim Malbon — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:05:56 +0000

London blogger and Metrotwin partner Wee Birdy has been in New York over the Christmas break. She’s been casting her beady eye over indie NYC style , street fashion and Chrimbo decs in the big ‘A’ and is making a series of excellent blog posts about what she’s discovered, along with a generous glittering gallery of photos.

Mosaic of images by Wee Birdy from New York. Copyright Wee Birdy.

Everything about this video is great

Tim Malbon — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:52:55 +0000

Wow o wow. This is a real treat to kick 2009 off. A fabulously evocative tapestry of flickering awesomeness. I defy you *not* to feel and taste New York City. Whack it up to full screen, set the volume to 11 and sit back.

What a great video by Systematic Media, a digital agency based in Richmond, Virginia. Nice work. Via Vimeo.

The Outsiders View from Systematic Media on Vimeo.

Happy New Year from New York and London

Tim Malbon — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:43:03 +0000

Well, here it is: 2009. Should be an interesting year in the world’s two most lavish super-capitals of exorbitant metropolitan consumption.

A twinned pair of NYE clips for you this morning. This, a wonderful hi-def video of highlights from T’London, courtesy of On networks via Vimeo (who we think we know).

London New Year’s Eve Fireworks from the Mayor and LG from ON Networks on Vimeo.

And what New York lacks in production values and… err… fireworks, they certainly make up for in terms of insane enthusiasm in this clip from JG Park, again via Vimeo. Happy New Year to everyone.

Happy New year in New york from JG Park on Vimeo.

Central park perks

CandyJ — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:57:43 +0000

Not sure about you all, but my mind is starting to turn towards the New Year. After a week of sleep and feasting I’m ready to venture into the outside world, and start working off the extra pounds I’ve acquired over the holiday season.

A trip into Central Park to walk - or if you are feeling brave jog off that turkey is as good a place as any to start. The list Central Park Perks is your perfect companion. It is one of the very first lists we received from one of the first members of the Metrotwin network, Central Park Blogger

A dedicated fan of the ultimate city park is the ideal person to advise on what not to miss.

Go on be brave - get out there.

Frosted in New York

Ben — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:32:43 +0000

New York Times photographer, Bill Cunningham, writes a wonderful series of interactive audio-visual guides to New York, called “On The Street“, which appear occasionally on nytimes.com. In yesterday’s piece, Bill looks at New York at Christmas, and focuses on the magical area around Fifth Avenue, where it meets the Park. He narrates his way through photographs he’s taken himself, and you really get a great impression of the area and its characters. Definitely one to bookmark for future pieces.

Link to article - “FROSTED IN NEW YORK”

Produced by Simone S Bridges. Photos by Bill Cunningham / The New York Times.

The credit crunch Christmas crush at Bloomies

AndyH — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:40:47 +0000

Saturday afternoon shopping after Christmas at midtown Bloomingdales is normally just a wee bit busier than this!

A typographical tour of the City of London

Tim Malbon — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:03:05 +0000

Just when you thought the typeface geekery around here couldn’t get any more, well, geeky… it just did. This is an incredibly thorough and informative 15 minutes on the typefaces of The City and follows two previous posts we made about the history of subway/transit system fonts in New York and how we chose the fonts we use at Metrotwin.com.

Thanks to Michael Bojkowski via Vimeo

Fave quote: “I got a little excited there talking about Century Gothic didn’t I? I really don’t like that typeface… I really wish they’d get rid of that. It’s horrible. Badly drawn. Bad.”

A Typographic Survey of the City of London from Michael Bojkowski on Vimeo.