John Ortved
Robot John Ortved. New York Times contributor. Words in Vogue, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, McSweeney's, etc. Views are my own(er's). john.ortved(at)gmail(dot)com
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by John Ortved
The Best Indian Restaurant in Manhattan Isn’t Indian…Strictly Speaking
Tucked away on a quiet stretch of 13th St. in the East Village, chef Aarthi Sampath (who you might recognize from her Chopped win, or Beat Bobby Flay, or BBQ Brawl) has built Drāvida, focusing on that India’s diaspora—from South Africa to the Caribbean, from Myanmar to Afghanistan. There’s nothing simple about a meal at Drāvida, but it is simply delicious.
This Cult-Favorite Arc’teryx Jacket From 1998 Is Back—and It’s Packed With Details for Die-Hard Fans Original
Long before Keita “Gonzo” Kobayashi began directing North American collaborations for the venerable Japanese fashion retailer Beams, he was an Arc’teryx-obsessed kid. While studying English in Seattle as a teenager, he made a pilgrimage to the brand’s headquarters in North Vancouver. Now, as Arc’teryx and Beams celebrate 25 years of working together, the former fan is helping shape the partnership’s legacy.
This Cult-Favorite Arc’teryx Jacket From 1998 Is Back—and It’s Packed With Details for Die-Hard Fans
Long before Keita “Gonzo” Kobayashi began directing North American collaborations for the venerable Japanese fashion retailer Beams, he was an Arc’teryx-obsessed kid. While studying English in Seattle as a teenager, he made a pilgrimage to the brand’s headquarters in North Vancouver. Now, as Arc’teryx and Beams celebrate 25 years of working together, the former fan is helping shape the partnership’s legacy.
Shuk Up: Shukette Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja Talks Restaurants & Recipes
If you only know Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja as a Titan from Bobby's Triple Threat on The Food Network, you don't know her very well. The Brooklyn born-and-bred chef-who still lives in Gravesend, where she was raised, just a few blocks from her mother, has thrice been nominated for a James Beard Award. A veteran of the New York restaurant scene, she trained under heavyweights Lidia Bastianich, Missy Robbins, and Terrance Brennan, before opening her own restaurants, Shuka and Shukette.
Shuk Up: Shukette Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja Talks Restaurants & Recipes
If you only know Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja as a Titan from Bobby's Triple Threat on The Food Network, you don't know her very well. The Brooklyn born-and-bred chef-who still lives in Gravesend, where she was raised, just a few blocks from her mother, has thrice been nominated for a James Beard Award. A veteran of the New York restaurant scene, she trained under heavyweights Lidia Bastianich, Missy Robbins, and Terrance Brennan, before opening her own restaurants, Shuka and Shukette.
Tanya Sichynsky Doesn't Peel Her Ginger & Other Things We Learned
A Q&A with the editor of NYT newsletter "The Veggie" and the new cookbook Veg Everything, out September 15
First Look: Inside El Califa de León's Manhattan Location
The tacos at El Califa de León aren't like other tacos. I'm not being metaphorical here. And I'm not talking about the fact that they come from the first taqueria on the planet to win a Michelin star. They're genuinely different. Simply put: there's just one piece of meat.
How Dining Defined the Golden Age of Magazines at Condé Nast
In Mike Grynbaum's Empire of the Elite (Simon & Schuster, 2025), the media reporter delves into the culture of luxury that was Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ and the other splashy titles of Condé Nast during the salad days of print media. A surprising amount of that culture revolves around food-and not simply within the pages of Gourmet and Bon Appétit. You weren't alive unless you were awarded a prime seat at Condé power spots like 44, or the Four Seasons.
Are Lavish And Expensive New Stadiums Good For Cities And Fans? Ask Peter Pan
More than a billion people watched the World Cup final this month and will forever remember the drama that unfolded at New York New Jersey Stadium—except, wait a second, that’s not the actual name of the venue. As every NFL fan knows, the stadium is, in fact, named after an insurance company: MetLife. What the hell is going on here? Nearly all major sporting venues in the U.S. are named after companies, including … Smoothie King! Home of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
Pleets & Beets: Samantha Pleet & Hannah Kristina Metz Tease Fall Line
The designers held a dinner reveal of their fall fashion collab at Canal Club in Chinatown, catered by Hudson Valley's Leah Guadagnoli
¿Son buenos para las ciudades y los aficionados los estadios nuevos, lujosos y caros? Pregúntenle a Peter Pan.
Más de mil millones de personas vieron la final del Mundial este mes y recordarán para siempre el drama que se vivió en el New York New Jersey Stadium; solo que, un momento, ese no es el nombre real del estadio. Como bien saben todos los aficionados de la NFL, el estadio, de hecho, lleva el nombre de una compañía de seguros: MetLife. ¿Qué demonios está pasando aquí? Casi todos los grandes recintos deportivos de EE. UU.
Are Lavish and Expensive New Stadiums Good for Cities and Fans? Ask Peter Pan. Original
6 min read More than a billion people watched the World Cup final this month and will forever remember the drama that unfolded at New York New Jersey Stadium—except, wait a second, that’s not the actual name of the venue. As every NFL fan knows, the stadium is, in fact, named after an insurance company: MetLife. What the hell is going on here? Nearly all major sporting venues in the U.S. are named after companies, including … Smoothie King! Home of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
Little Rat Ice Cream Pops Up Across New York City
Sue Raben and her husband, Charles Raben, are working with herbs and flowers: mini shiso, Thai basil, marigolds. All of it for ice cream. It's a sweet story (sorry). The couple met in high school, at an after school program at The Rubin Museum for Himalayan and Tibetan Art. A year ago, they decided to start a business together. She, a tattoo artist and baker, and he, a chef-used their backgrounds, and the above ingredients, to create Little Rat, specializing in homemade ice cream.
The New York Times Created a Deck of Cocktail Recipes-And It's Summer Ready
Brooklyn's Summer Cocktails Emily Weinstein, editor-in-chief of NYT Food and Cooking, and of the section's new Cocktail Deck, thinks that Tinto de Verano, could be Brooklyn's drink of the summer. "It's that mix of the wine, the soda; there's something that feels a little irreverent," Weinstein says. Wait a minute, wasn't last summer-Brat Girl Summer-all about irreverence? "This is Irreverent Girl," says Weinstein. Like Brat Girl went to college? "It's a little more study abroad," she says.
Wild Sorrel: A New Cookbook Shop Sprouts in the East Village
"Chatting with Sally between courses about marmalade made me very happy," says Troy Chatterton. Sally as in Sally Clarke-the UK's answer to Alice Waters-whom Chatterton flew to London to meet and receive several books for his new East Village shop, Wild Sorrel Cookbooks. "After lunch, I crossed the street to pick up my big green Sally Clarke bag that was beautifully packed and waiting, filled with Sally Clarke's Book and First Put on Your Apron.
crEdible Source: An Interview with Eddie Huang
Where to start with Eddie Huang? It's easier to begin with most current project: the novel Come Undone, which just came out today, June 16 (One World). A romantic comedy, the story follows a late-30s travel food show host, Hubie, whose approach to relationships is more In-N-Out Burger than sit-down dinner. Huang is the author of the bestselling memoir Fresh Off the Boat, which was adapted into a sitcom and ran for six seasons on ABC.
Pizza Studio Tamaki x Moody Tongue Brewery: Pizza Pairing Heaven
I don't want yuzu beer. But it turns out I like yuzu beer. And now I want yuzu beer. Allow me to explain: I don't want a squirt, "a few pumps" (ew), of vanilla, or cherry or what have you, in my latte. It's not that I'm a straight-up, "Coffee. Black," kind of tough guy. But I like my lacey cortado to taste like a cortado. If I wanted fruit juice, or fig jam, I would order that.
A New NYC Exhibition Is Coming With Rarely Seen French Luxury Artifacts—and It Will Be on Display for 5 Days Only
Timed to coincide with America’s upcoming semiquincentennial, France is arriving in New York with a reminder that the American story has always had a Gallic thread woven through it. Opening May 26 at the Shed in Hudson Yards, the exhibition, Hidden Treasures: 250 Years of Franco-American Luxury Stories, gathers more than 100 rarely seen objects including Benjamin Franklin’s Libertas Americana medal mold, Jacqueline Kennedy’s Givenchy jacket, and Cartier’s gold tribute to Apollo 11.
A New NYC Exhibition Is Coming With Rarely Seen French Luxury Artifacts—and It Will Be on Display for 5 Days Only
Louis Vuitton product catalogue presenting the Cabin, Excelsior and Saint-Louis trunks. 1914, Fine art print. Credit: Louis Vuitton Collection Timed to coincide with America’s upcoming semiquincentennial, France is arriving in New York with a reminder that the American story has always had a Gallic thread woven through it.
Edible Schoolyard NYC Hosts a Star-Studded Fundraiser
Alison Roman summed up the room best: “It’s people that actually care about food and where it comes from.” She was referring to the crowd that gathered on Tuesday, May 5, at an event space on Desbrosses in TriBeCa, where some of the brightest stars—and serious figures—in the New York dining scene converged to celebrate and fundraise for Edible Schoolyard NYC.
John Ortved
The May 5th event brought together food world heavies from chefs to writers and restaurateurs and raised nearly a million for the food education nonprofit The lifelong New Yorker and Kennedy political scion dishes on diners, meal prep, and his political recipe for success ahead of the primary Food for Thought, In Season, Tastemakers The comedy star on his Netflix series, “This is A Gardening Show,” root veggies, 5-year-olds, and the future of mankind The Greenpoint Favorite to Showcase...
Sailor’s Delight: The Fort Greene Bistro to Host British Chefs
Hot goss from April Bloomfield’s kitchen at Sailor in Fort Greene—actually about 3,500 miles from there, in simmering London hotspots like the chef-driven Quo Vadis and Rochelle Canteen. We hear that beginning this summer and stretching into fall, Sailor will partner with Chase Sapphire Reserve to bring British chefs like Jeremy Lee and Hector Henderson to Fort Greene for a kitchen-takeover series they’ve dubbed London Calling.
Negro Piattoni Elevates Flame-Broiled Fare at Pocketbook Hudson
Pocketbook Hudson chef Norberto “Negro” Piattoni comes from fire. But before we get into all that, or so we can get into all that, some vocabulary: ASADO—The ritual of grilling meat, often beef, especially in Argentina, over wood or charcoal; at once a technique, social, historical, communal. Calling asado simply “grilling” is like saying the Church is a building where people pray.
Candidate Jack Schlossberg Gives These NYC Eateries His Vote
If the most recent polls are to be believed, the next representative candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional district could be John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg. The 33-year-old grandson of JFK, Harvard Law grad, and social media star is polling at 22-23% in a field of 12 candidates (the next closest is Alex Bores, with 19%).
In the Garden with Zach Galifianakis
It’s hard to find a show that I enjoy and can watch with all my nieces and nephews (ranging in age from 2-16). “This is A Gardening Show,” comedian and actor Zach Galifianakis’ Netflix series, which debuts today, is that rare bird. With wit, charm, information, and a healthy dose of sincere mischief, Galifianakis manages to fly that uneasy path. At a bitesized 15-20 minutes, the episodes, which each focus on one agricultural topic, go down easy.
Coop Scoop: Pies ‘n’ Thighs Alights in Park Slope
Mythology aside, Williamsburg in the aughts was a great deal of fun. There was still an element of the Wild Wild East, at least for us city kids, and there was also a rapidly developing restaurant scene (shout out to Roebling Tea Room, Marlowe and Sons, Fette Sau, Roberta’s). Originally opened in the back of a Williamsburg dive bar “hanging out into the East River” in 2006, Sarah Sanneh’s fried chicken shack, Pies ‘n’ Thighs, came to help define and symbolize the era.
Everything’s Better with Butter: The Brioche Martini
At the newly opened Arthur in Greenpoint, the brioche martini is a buttery delicacy that manages to stand out amidst a crowded field. As a young man, shopping for clothes with my mother, I was always taken by her delight in fabric. We’d be in the suit section of a high-end department store—”just to look,” she’d say—and I’d see her stroking the sleeve of a woolen suit from Canali or a cashmere jacket from Brioni. “It’s like butter,” she’d whisper, almost reverently.
Ballpark Bites: Citi Field Food Options | 2026 Season
Visiting Citi Field to preview this year’s food offerings, as I did the week before the Mets’ opening day, one must embrace certain dualities: People are there for the food, but really for other reasons. It’s snacks for the fans—but also for the people (Citi Field has received national recognition not only for the quality of its food, but its diversity, mirroring that of the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park where it lies).
Everything’s Better with Butter: The Brioche Martini
At the newly opened Arthur’s in Greenpoint, the brioche martini is a buttery delicacy that manages to stand out amidst a crowded field. As a young man, shopping for clothes with my mother, I was always taken by her delight in fabric. We’d be in the suit section of a high-end department store—”just to look,” she’d say—and I’d see her stroking the sleeve of a woolen suit from Canali or a cashmere jacket from Brioni. “It’s like butter,” she’d whisper, almost reverently.
Everything’s Better with Butter: The Brioche Martini
At the newly opened Arthur in Greenpoint, the brioche martini is a buttery delicacy that manages to stand out amidst a crowded field. As a young man, shopping for clothes with my mother, I was always taken by her delight in fabric. We’d be in the suit section of a high-end department store—”just to look,” she’d say—and I’d see her stroking the sleeve of a woolen suit from Canali or a cashmere jacket from Brioni. “It’s like butter,” she’d whisper, almost reverently.
Who Is Gooskii?
photography shot by Kate Owen @thekateowen It’s difficult to catch Yosef Munro. The Nines, NoHo’s red-hued, maximally plush, celeb-packed lounge and piano bar, where Munro, 36, has been a piano man since its opening in 2022, is “selective,” if we’re being polite about it. Should one make it through the thick velvet curtains, they’ll encounter Munro’s nimble, nuanced takes on Chaka Kha, or Luther Vandross, making the place come alive.
John Ortved
Expertise: Style, dining, television, fashion, travel, hotels Splitting his time between New York City and Toronto, John Ortved covers topics like post-pandemic smoking, rapturous art parties, and naming the best-ever romcoms for Vogue. He's covered style for over two decades, writing for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, and the Business of Fashion, where he held editorial roles.
Taqueria Ramirez’s West Village Expansion
The team behind Greenpoint favorite Taqueria Ramirez have their sights set on the West Village, with a seafood-forward location set to open this summer. Taqueria Ramirez enjoyed easy fame since opening two years ago—New Yorkers and tourists alike flock to Greenpoint for their al pastor and tripe tacos (Pete Wells included it on his famous Best 100 Restaurants in NYC list).
THE NEW MAKERS: ANNA PARK
Artists will typically attribute their success to a mentor, a teacher, their upbringing, or lack thereof; Anna Park's backstory involves a party. "Credit to the [New York] Academy of Art, because of the gala," she says. In 2019, Park, as a student, participated in the open studios for the invitees of The TriBeCa Ball. She struck Insta gold when the evening's honoree, Kaws, posted Park's charcoal and ink drawings to his feed. "It kicked off this frenzy," she says.
THE NEW MAKERS: TIFFANY HOWELL
When it comes to interior design, "I just think it's a form of art," says Tiffany Howell, the creative force behind Night Palm, the studio that has designed spaces for the likes of Doechii, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, and Laura Harrier. Howell took an indirect path to interiors. Growing up "all over," with a DJ dad, she found herself with a modeling contract, art-directing windows for Gap in San Francisco, and eventually running the music video division of Herb Ritts' studio.
GABRIELLE RICHARDSON
To understand Gabrielle Richardson's Ward gallery, one should refer back to Tumblr's Art Hoe, the "online art gallery for queer people of color" which she co-founded in 2016. Richardson's IRL presence, meanwhile, can be found everywhere, modeling in Glossier campaigns and on the pages of Vogue. "I'm juggling modeling and curation consistently," she says from her Crown Heights apartment, preparing for a casting for a Black hair brand.
THE NEW MAKERS: ELLEN HARROLD
Meet the comedian who rises in the LA scene. It's a tough time to be a rebel. There's not a lot we haven't seen, and anything we might wish to see, or dream up, is less than a click away. What's an iconoclast to do? Making something is a good start. Real things, not just content, can exist in the world, turning heads and changing minds. These 10 creatives-all in Chanel Fine Jewelry for this portfolio-might not have permanent solutions, but they are just getting going.
DEVONN CHARLES FRANCIS
"You can't avoid food as a product of cultural exchange," says DeVonn Charles Francis, who provides some of the most sought-after experiences in New York with his culinary studio, Charles & Francis, formerly Yardy. Francis grew up between Norfolk, Virginia, and his parents' native Jamaica, where his father owned a restaurant.
LAURA ZHENG DOYON
"Websites aren't particularly interesting for people in 2026," says Laura Zheng Doyon, a design entrepreneur whose company SiteBaby builds not just URLs, but brands. Zheng hails from China but immigrated to Toronto at age five, where her parents splurged on private art lessons-"My one luxe thing," she says- which helped her get into animation school for college. "It was grueling. You'd have to memorize [and draw] every single bone in the body," she says.
THE NEW MAKERS: ARMANDO AGUIRRE
Armando Aguirre was supposed to be a composer. The El Paso native went to school for it at Southern Methodist University, but in doing so, became disenchanted with his first love and had to settle on designing the interiors of some of the finest buildings in Manhattan. Tough beat.
THE NEW MAKERS: AVA PEARLMAN
"I lasted a month," says Ava Pearlman. The designer, model, and lifelong New Yorker is referring to the time she spent at Elon University in North Carolina, where "I got in a lot of trouble for making abstract paintings." This isn't to say Pearlman lacks education. She graduated with a BA in fine arts from FIT, down the street from where she grew up in Chelsea.
THE NEW MAKERS: LIZZY KOURY
Lizzy Koury is a bad bitch. Literally. That's the name of a scholarship she received that was supplied by three women in the food and beverage industry in Charleston, where she attended college.
THE NEW MAKERS: TONI CORNELL
"When I was 12, I learned how to play Diamonds & Rust by Joan Baez," says Toni Cornell. She was encouraged to do so by her dad, the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who told her, "You need to learn how to fingerpick" (which led her to Baez). Cornell's songs, like Little Bitch ("A random diss track," she confides) and Campari, could qualify her as an emerging bedroom pop artist, but she's not having that. "I don't even believe in genres," she says.
This 1930s International Style Apartment Was Never Meant to Feel Cozy-Until Now
When working within historical buildings, design occasionally has the opportunity to break the laws of physics—to transport a space simultaneously backward and forward in time. Such was the case for interior designer Armando Aguirre and design architect Nicholas Potts as they reimagined a combined two-bedroom apartment in New York City’s legendary Rockefeller Apartments. “We let the architecture and the history of the building dictate what we did,” says Aguirre.
Why Lamb Charcuterie Is the Next Big Thing at the Deli Counter
Lamb is stepping out of special-occasion territory. Consumption has seen an uptick in the U.S., and one of the clearest signs of that shift is where lamb is now showing up: behind the deli counter. And because of that, charcuterie boards—and deli cases—are getting a much-needed makeover. Meats like salami, prosciutto, and bresaola are now making room for slices like lamb pastrami, introducing lamb as an everyday option rather than a once-a-year indulgence.
Why Lamb Charcuterie Is the Next Big Thing at the Deli Counter
Lamb is stepping out of special-occasion territory. Consumption has seen an uptick in the U.S., and one of the clearest signs of that shift is where lamb is now showing up: behind the deli counter. And because of that, charcuterie boards—and deli cases—are getting a much-needed makeover. Meats like salami, prosciutto, and bresaola are now making room for slices like lamb pastrami, introducing lamb as an everyday option rather than a once-a-year indulgence.
10 New York Tastemakers To Watch
Sometimes you need to back yourself. These ten New York-based creatives are building worlds, brand and careers in their own way. Catch them in their moment. Art, humanity and creativity are always in flux, which is why transformation, even if it’s not in focus, is unavoidable. It is something these 10 figures from the worlds of art, food, nightlife and fashion not only know, but live.
From Japan to New York
If you have yet to fall in love with yuzu, it is perhaps because you have not had the real thing. “I had used yuzu, but Kito was different,” says renowned pastry chef Yusaku Shibata, who led Team Japan to victory at the 2023 Pastry World Cup.
From Japan to New York
If you have yet to fall in love with yuzu, it is perhaps because you have not had the real thing. “I had used yuzu, but Kito was different,” says renowned pastry chef Yusaku Shibata, who led Team Japan to victory at the 2023 Pastry World Cup.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with John
Contact John, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack