Keith McNally on the West Village discourse.
Plus a new Chinatown members' club, layoffs at Condé Nast, and more.
Good morning everyone. I loved looking at these photos of New Yorkers commuting in 1998.
Today’s letter includes: Keith McNally on the New York restaurants he’s envious of, a new members’ club in Chinatown, the internet’s most beloved entertainers are speaking up about Gaza, layoffs at Condé Nast, and a new Hamptons restaurant using very bad AI artwork.
Guest Lecture: Keith McNally
This interview is part of a Feed Me feature called Guest Lecture. In this series, I introduce you all to an expert who I’m curious about, and give paid readers an opportunity to ask them anything they want. Past guests have included Joe Weisenthal, Nikki Ogunnaike, Olivia Nuzzi, and Chris Black.
I have so much respect and admiration for people who dedicate their life to building spaces for other people. School teachers, magazine editors, and in today’s case, restaurateurs. Keith McNally has become somewhat of a celebrity in New York. When I announced that he’d be doing a Guest Lecture last week, there were readers who seemed like they’d been carrying a small list of questions around with them in case they ever got a chance to see him at one of his restaurants.
On one of the last pages of his memoir, I Regret Almost Everything, McNally writes:
“I’m still suspicious of those who place self-expression above self-awareness and of people who have a romantic view of art. I still hate those who don’t believe the more vile the crime, the more crucial due process becomes. And I still have no time for people who bask in being right, or anyone religious who won’t admit that if they were born to different parents, chances are they’d have a totally different religion. I still hate those who use knowledge as a weapon, but most of all I hate those who don’t have the fucking guts to change their minds. Especially about the things they’re most certain of.”
Editing this letter last night got me a little worked up. I was writing the letter on my couch, and simultaneously flipping through I Regret Almost Everything, and all I wanted to do was put a sweater on and walk out my front door, into the dark city at 10:37pm and talk to someone about all of this. All of this. Maybe one of you get what I mean.
Feed Me’s Guest Lectures are always surprising, but I’m really glad that McNally took the time to answer so many of your questions this week. And I’m glad you took the time to ask them. What a fun corner of the internet we’ve built.
Below, Keith answers over 20 reader questions about the West Village discourse, the worst person he knows, the era of New York he “bitterly regrets” missing out on, and what’s surprised him about D.C. since opening restaurants there.
“Will Guidara’s approach to hospitality - too much, or genius, somewhere in between?” - Samantha
I'm embarrassed to say I don't know who Will Guidara is. Is he a chef?
“Keith — how would you define sex appeal in hospitality? In a dining room, in a crowd, in a menu?” - Jac
Only deeply unsexual people are able to define sex appeal in hospitality. The truly sexual people do it instead of defining it.
“Is there anywhere in New York, beyond the world of dining and drinking, that captures the spirit of hospitality for you?” - Alec
Since my stroke, incidental gestures of kindness have a disproportionate effect on me: a taxi driver's thoughtfulness, a busboy's sensitivity, a doorman's courtesy. These small, unprompted acts of decency are reminders of New York's real hospitality, not the fucking false kind you find in restaurants.