When My Friends Ask Where to Get Cool Fine Jewelry, These Are the Brands I List
Whenever my friends ask me for shopping advice, I always make a point to provide them with suggestions that aren’t completely obvious. For example, if they ask me where to buy great workout clothes, I’m not going to tell them Lululemon because everyone already knows that. The same goes for jewelry. I get a lot of questions about fine jewelry, in particular, since it’s an investment and you’re likely to want to choose carefully. I completely get that, and I always make a point to answer carefully as well.
Some of my favorite fine jewelry brands at the moment are ones you may or may not have heard of, but I’m quite sure that you won’t soon forget them once you’re familiar. Scroll on to familiarize yourself with these cool fine jewelry brands and to shop some of my favorite pieces. (Feel free to tell your friends about them, too.)
Cape Cod restaurants: Brothers serve eclectic food, local flair when you ride The Rail
At The Rail, a new restaurant in Orleans on the way to Nauset Beach, “locally grown” refers to the chef as well as much of the food and drink.
“Both Cameron and I started working at The (Chatham) Squire when we were teenagers,” said chef Tyler Hadfield, 27. He opened The Rail in mid-April with his brother Cameron Hadfield, 29, who manages The Rail’s bar and dining service.
Tyler worked his way up from bussing tables to cooking at Chatham Squire and then helped open La Bella Vita, down the road in Orleans. When the opportunity came up to buy the spot at 222 Main St., home to the Nauset Beach Club for many years and Toast to the Coast for one season, the Hadfield brothers jumped at the chance.
“I was working as a manager for several properties in Cambridge that were owned by MIT, but I missed my little brother, so I bought him a restaurant,” teases Cameron.
The new breakfast, lunch and cocktails place is located in what was originally a 1930s-era cottage (and the original home of the Goose Hummock Shop) on a curve, across from Barley Neck Inn. Although the cottage has had many renovations, it still has the red-brick hearth, which, even without a fire, lends a warm, cozy feel to the bar. There, patrons will find local beer (Hog’s Island, Devil’s Purse and Cisco), Shoal’s Hope cider from Provincetown, and specialty cocktails.
The Rail has a total of 55 seats spread over two dining rooms and a nine-table patio that was full when we visited on a recent sunny day. Several windows, including a bay, combined with pristine white walls, make The Rail sparkle.
The main dining room, up a few steps from the bar, features the work of local artists: a fish mural by Alex Curtiss and a whale painting by Lucas Alden Baybutt, a Boston-based artist who markets himself under LAB Fine Arts.
Off the dining room is a small kitchen, where a crew of five turns out a creative menu with daily specials. Elvis French Toast was a recent offering, featuring two slices of brioche bread slathered with the king of rock ‘n roll’s favorite peanut butter, crumbled bacon and banana. The fruit got an upgrade, served as part of a sweet bourbon sauce reminiscent of Bananas Foster, a New Orleans classic.
The Rail specialties
Although you can order basic eggs and bacon, or oatmeal, many of The Rail’s specialties are more like brunch dishes, a little richer and more complex. Chef Tyler’s homemade lemon curd adds a bright, citrusy flavor to blueberry pancakes with sweet blueberry syrup ($9), and the Marmalade French Toast with orange creme anglaise and triple sec marmalade sauce ($10) takes fancy up a notch.
Tyler’s homemade orange marmalade, thinned to a syrup, also makes an appearance in The Rail’s breakfast martini. Named in honor of restaurant predecessor Toast to the Coast, the martini has marmalade, Beefeater gin and a vanilla-infused vodka that bar manager Cameron makes by toasting vanilla beans and soaking them for four days.
One of the restaurant’s most popular items is Corned Beef Hash & Eggs ($15), featuring Tyler’s homemade corned beef. “The hash takes five or six days to make because I butcher it (the beef) myself and then brine it in the cooler for four days, then shred it and mix it with the potatoes and other ingredients.”
The menu includes a breakfast salad and two others for lunch; one chicken and one turkey sandwich; and five hot sandwiches: lamb-and-beef gyro ($13); Philly cheesesteak ($15); chicken — either buffalo or barbecue at $14 each; and The Rail burger ($15), with homemade sauce and a following, judging by the burger takeout orders coming in by phone.
The only thing The Rail doesn’t do is baking from scratch. “I just don’t have room in this kitchen,” Tyler says, noting that the restaurant’s popular Apple Croissant sandwich is made on a pastry from Pain D’Avignon in Hyannis.
Want a water view with your dinner?:Readers recommend 10 (and more!) places to go on the Cape
Raw bar on the patio
The brothers are working on adding a raw bar of seafood on the patio.
The Rail has a surprisingly large workforce of more than four dozen, the Hadfields say, because their friends and former colleagues are willing to put in a few shifts each week. The part-time help has allowed The Rail to get around the Cape’s labor shortage.
As for the name, The Rail, it refers to the bottom of a surfboard that is customized depending on the surfer’s style. The Hadfields are not big surfers, but say, on their website, that they like the idea of having food and cocktails that allow guests to customize each visit — whether it is a work lunch or day-at-the-beach adventure.
The Rail
222 Main St., Orleans
774-561-2161; therailorleans.com
Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays-Sundays
Eclectic and ‘unapologetically inauthentic’ Mister Mao set to open in the former Dick & Jenny’s
Google Maps
Mister Mao, a “tropical roadhouse” from chef Sophina Uong and husband/partner William “Wildcat” Greenwell, is set to open in the former Dick & Jenny’s spot on July 24.
Mister Mao promises an interactive chef’s counter, “unapologetically inauthentic” food and creative cocktails in the barge-board cottage on Tchoupitalous Street.
“Wildcat and I are so excited to welcome our guests and let them experience first-hand everything I love about cooking – the ability to celebrate being together, experimenting with flavors and ingredients from around the world, and finally getting to savor it all,” Uong said.
Mister Mao will serve as Uong’s canvas, she said, a place where the Cambodian American chef will meld her expertise in collaborative cooking tradition from across the globe with her creative dissection of the Southern plate.
After fleeing with her family as a toddler from war-torn Cambodia and finding refuge in Long Beach, California, the self-taught chef grew up surrounded by families and friends of all backgrounds. She spent her time in kitchens, watching as mothers cooked traditional American suppers with delicious pot roast and abuelas made tortillas and stewed Mexican guisados.
Since then, Uong has worked in some of the San Francisco area’s most acclaimed restaurants. In 2016, Uong was named Food Network’s Chopped “Grill Master Napa Champion” and soon after was tapped to manage Andrew Zimmern’s Lucky Cricket restaurant in Minneapolis.
At Mister Mao, Uong will serve up a static menu of eclectic globally inspired cuisine, along with an ever-changing selection of small plates served from roving carts. The whimsical menu categories begin with Drinking Snacks — such as Deviled Almonds & Plantain Chaat, an aromatic Indian riff on bar nuts, and Banchan Mao, tiny bites of fruit pickles, lacto ferments of imperfect produce, dried shrimp mochi and more.
via mistermaonola.com
From there, diners can pick from Foods We Love to Share and those You Don’t Have to Share with untraditional takes on traditional dishes. Shareable plates include Escargot Wellingtons – snails en croute with preserved lemon, garlic butter, horseradish and powdered greens —and Alabama Corn Pudding — topped with Two Dog Farm tomatoes, cucumber, torpedo onions, sumac and pickled corn, along with a North African inspired herb jam.
Main plates include Niman Ranch Pork Shanks – pork hind shanks dry rubbed with ground Congregation Coffee beans and hickory smoked with Chochoyotes — and Raines Farm Wagyu Beef – smoked beef and slow braised in beef fat and served with cumin smothered chickpeas, Covey Rise tomatillos and summer radishes.
These Bring Us Joy + Hellfire Heartburn section is not for the faint of heart. It includes spicy dishes such as Chilled Octopus Cocktail – habanero octopus aguachile, with cerveza jelly, summer pickles and avocado — and Pani Puri — Camellia red bean and potato masala stuffed into semolina puffs and finished tableside with fiery mint water.
Aptly named Here Comes the Chuck Wagon, the roving carts at Mister Mao will change frequently, giving diners a cross section of a variety of tiny plates.
Diners can indulge in sweet treats by Pastry Chef Sarah Cotton, who has worked at renowned spots including Restaurant August and Shaya in New Orleans. Cotton promises to put the Mister Mao’s signature sense of whimsy on each dessert with options including a Dark Chocolate Tart with malty peanut brittle, coconut cream, black garlic and crispy rice and the Lotus Blossom Cookies with crispy coconut, sesame seed and activated charcoal cookies.
Under the direction of co-owner Greenwell, the cocktail program at Naked Bill’s, Mister Mao’s bar, will be as playful and eclectic as the cuisine. Libations include Cathouse Spritz – a refreshing aperitif featuring Amaro Nonino, Campari and lime; Billion Dollar Betsy, a boozy riff on a piña colada with dark and overproof rum, allspice, pineapple and orgeat tres leches; and John’s Secret Dragon Lady – a tiki-style cocktail with a bit of sweetness and saltiness featuring Malort, Benedictine, velvet falernum, orange and saline. Guests can also enjoy an array of virgin cocktails and a small-production focused wine list curated by General Manager/Sommelier Roger Eyles formerly of Shaya, Meauxbar, and Sylvain, as well as local brews from Zony Mash Beer Project.
via mistermaonola.com
Dick & Jenny’s closed in March 2020 after more than two decades at the spot. During that time, restaurant had changed hands several times, with new owners changing up the menu while keeping the name and the homey look and feel of the original Dick & Jenny’s.
The 1,400-square-feet restaurant and bar now has been transformed into what owners describe as a tropical roadhouse with funky décor and bright colors. Guests will enter through the Naked Bill’s bar on Jena Avenue, where they will find lounge and bar seating for 25. Uong and Greenwall envision it as a meet-up spot before a show at Tipitinas or a place to spend a girls’ night out or relaxed date night.
In the dining room, the Chef’s counter seating six provides up close and personal views of the open kitchen, while casual dining tables and chairs are strategically placed throughout the room. Pinks, blues and greens are complemented by tropical plants and a hand-painted mural by New Orleans artist Margie Tillman Ayres adds to the tropical jungle ambiance.
After Mister Mao opens to the public on Saturday, July 24, the restaurant will serve dinner Thursday through Monday from 5 to 10 p.m. It will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mister Mao
4501 Tchoupitoulas St.
504-345-2056
Instagram: @mistermaonola
An earlier version of this story had the wrong name for the bar attached to Mr. Mao. It is Naked Bill’s.