Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we’re sharing five things we are eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. We hope you’ll join us for the ride. (Sign up here, if you haven’t already, and you can reach us at tlist@nytimes.com.)
Eat This
New York’s Latest Fall-Friendly Korean Food
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Since I moved to New York 12 years ago, the warm and savory, often spicy and fermented flavors of Korean food have come to represent October, when the sky grays and all I want to do is watch the South Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s horror films. It’s fortunate for me, then, that several recently opened New York restaurants are offering inventive takes on the cuisine — such as the duck hot pot at O:N in Midtown and the juniper soju cocktails at Reception Bar on the Lower East Side. Two other spots are inspired by South Korea’s Jeju Island, where the female divers, known as haenyeo, have built a semi-matriarchal, seafood-heavy culture: At Jeju Noodle Bar in the West Village, try bonito-broth fish ramyun, the Korean version of Japanese ramen; and at Haenyeo in Park Slope, where the veteran chef Jenny Kwak thrillingly employs shellfish and international flavors to build standout dishes, don’t miss the rice-cake queso fundido. Finally, for special occasions, there’s Atomix in Manhattan’s modernizing Koreatown. There, the chef Junghyun Park (formerly of Jungsik) offers a refined 10-course meal as beautiful and precise — meditative, even — as the ceramic and glass dishware upon which it’s served.
Visit This
A German Getaway That’s Both Clean-Lined and Cozy
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Axel Vervoordt doesn’t like to work on hotels. The Belgian designer has made a few exceptions throughout his career, but the newly opened Purs — set in a 17th-century, gable-roofed former chancellery building in the western German river town of Andernach — is the first hotel whose interiors were designed entirely by Vervoordt and his team. They adhered to a version of wabi-sabi, privileging rough-hewn and period-appropriate materials, including Flemish stone tiles from a historic house in Belgium and a vintage French pharmacy counter (now the reception desk), over those with perfect polish. They also came up with a different scheme for each of the 11 suites: One has rich red walls and Vervoordt’s signature earth-tone linen-covered couches and chairs, while another features a muted blue entrance that leads to an airy bedroom. Elsewhere, there is art by the 20th-century European artist group Zero and its Japanese counterpart, Gutai: Several of Yuko Nasaka’s panels of concentric circles hang in the hotel restaurant, which has already won two Michelin stars. Steinweg 30-32, Andernach, Germany, purs.com.
Wear This
A Denim Brand Made by (and for) Those in Search of the Perfect Jeans
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The word “denim” comes from French — the sturdy cotton fabric was originally made in Nîmes, France, and “de Nîmes” eventually became “denim.” But the first pair of bluejeans was made during the California Gold Rush, and I’ve always thought that if you spend any time in the Golden State, denim automatically becomes part of your wardrobe. That’s why I couldn’t wait to wear Slvrlake, the denim brand that the British transplants Gary and Louise Edgley launched last year. Neither Gary, previously a denim buyer for Selfridges, nor Louise, who worked in fashion marketing, could find any jeans on the market that they liked. Slvrlake’s pieces are made from a high-quality Italian denim and manufactured in Los Angeles; there are a variety of styles (including new cuts and washes for fall), evocative of vintage Levi’s but slightly updated, along with denim jackets. I recommend the London, a wide-leg, high-waisted pair of pants that comes both cropped and not. From $240, slvrlake-denim.com.
See This
An Insta-Worthy Show of Gaetano Pesce’s Designs
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The acclaimed Italian designer Gaetano Pesce has lived in New York since 1980, but when I last interviewed him, in 2013, he lamented: “A lot of people think I live in Italy. In New York, I don’t exist.” Since then, he’s been the subject of a retrospective at the city’s Collective Design fair, his signature wobbly resin vases have been picked up by hip boutiques like Coming Soon and top galleries such as Salon 94 and Friedman Benda have exhibited his furniture. Tomorrow, the latter will debut “Age of Contaminations,” a survey of Pesce’s work from 1968 to 1995. The show includes rarities like the soft, tufted Yeti chairs he created for Cassina in 1968, as well as more famous pieces, like his bulbous Up chair. My favorites, however, are the fat-legged Sansone tables, with cartoon faces painted on top, that he designed for Cassina in 1987. Photos of them are sure to be all over Instagram — further proof that 40 years after Pesce arrived in New York, he’s actually arrived. “Gaetano Pesce: Age of Contaminations” will be on view from Oct. 24 to Dec. 14 at Friedman Benda, 515 West 26th Street, New York, friedmanbenda.com.
Try This
No-Brainer Hair Care With Smart Ingredients
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A few weeks ago, I met Sam Buffa, the founder of the men’s grooming company Fellow Barber, which began in 2006 as a single barber shop on the Lower East Side (he now owns 11 different stores, in New York and San Francisco). Our conversation really got interesting when I discovered that Buffa, a bearded 41-year-old with a full head of tousled hair, rarely uses shampoo — maybe once a month, he said — because most contain too many harsh detergents that can strip strands of their natural oils. His solution: Use a gentler cleanser that corresponds to what you put your hair through in a day. It’s this theory that inspired Buffa to improve and reintroduce his eight-piece product line, called Fellow, that is paraben- and sulfate-free, and scented with 100 percent natural essential oils. The Summer Wash immediately moisturized and calmed my scalp after the summer months, and I keep a container of Texture Paste in my bag to take me from work to the gym to dinner. Next on my to-try list: Fellow’s Winter Wash, available Nov. 1, formulated specifically for chillier temperatures. From $25, fellowbarber.com.
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