<![CDATA[Miss Manhattan]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!agJ6!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feeb1c221-e08b-443d-849e-ea8599cbf003_418x418.pngMiss Manhattanhttps://www.miss-manhattan.comSubstackSun, 21 Jun 2026 08:54:19 GMT<![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Chris Bittar]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-chrishttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-chrisWed, 03 Jun 2026 17:20:46 GMTWhen I ask Chris Bittar to do a Miss Manhattan Hangs Out, deep in the back of my mind I wonder if he’ll choose the American Museum of Natural History. He does, and adds that he wants to get a hot dog afterward.

Chris loves space. We came here on an early date, nearly four years ago (!) and have returned many times since, ambling past its exhibits, windin…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Angela Quinche]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-angelahttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-angelaWed, 20 May 2026 23:33:35 GMTA cardinal fact you must accept is that wherever you go, whatever you do, if Angela Quinche is there she will look cuter than you. I know because I have been there, at costume parties, concerts, and cocktails wishing I had stepped up my game. But I use it as fuel–to be more creative, to sink my teeth into my closet and try something new. She is, in shor…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Michael Witkes aka Pink Pancake]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-michaelhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-michaelWed, 06 May 2026 23:40:16 GMTMany drag artists have told me their inspirations, but nobody had ever said Tennessee Williams. But such is the nature of Michael Witkes, the artist also known as Pink Pancake, who describes his drag in part as the intersection between Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski, with additional influences from club kids, The Wizard of Oz, Sex and the City, Roc…

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]]><![CDATA[Three Meals]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/three-mealshttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/three-mealsFri, 01 May 2026 20:18:03 GMTThe time I spend in Florida is often far from joyful, but dinners with dear friends balance me out. They bring my spirits back up at the end of what is usually a wrecked-to-shit day that makes my insides crawl out of my body like prehistoric whales from the ocean. I’ve started to plan my nights in town this way, making sure my evenings are accounted for…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Thomas Dyja]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-thomashttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-thomasWed, 22 Apr 2026 10:41:00 GMTThomas Dyja was interested in doing Miss Manhattan Hangs Out, but he wanted it to be more interesting than buying bananas at Fairway, he said: “They have terrible bananas.”

Dyja is a historian and author. His work includes exceptional nonfiction books like New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation, which may be on…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with McKenzie Wark]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-mckenziehttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-mckenzieWed, 08 Apr 2026 13:08:29 GMTThe brilliant scholar and writer McKenzie Wark is a vision in purple when I meet her at Hive Mind Books. Owned by her partner Jules Wernersbach, Wark is a regular at the bookstore, which specializes in queer texts. Two of Wark’s own books, Raving and an anthology she co-edited called Writing on Raving, appear near the counter and signed editions are ava…

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]]><![CDATA[No Thoughts but Scones]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/no-thoughts-but-sconeshttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/no-thoughts-but-sconesSat, 04 Apr 2026 16:28:03 GMTSaturday, that’s what it’s about. Freedom, relaxation. I never liked Sundays. There’s this lurking sense of disquiet that spills over the entire day, like my own internal Jaws soundtrack. The anxiety of what work I need to do this week inches ever closer, gets louder and louder by the time the day is over, and I’ll inevitably wake up at 4am unable to fa…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Amygdala]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-amygdalahttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-amygdalaWed, 25 Mar 2026 14:19:26 GMTThe tail of a long blond mullet cascades over Amygdala’s shoulders at Stone Circle Theatre, by evening a performance venue and by day a Presbyterian church. Stained glass colors the windows. Pews will be rolled out as seating for the night’s show, Cetacea. This is the latest installment of Amygdala’s series Pleasure Dome, named for Kenneth Anger’s 1954 …

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]]><![CDATA[Viva Aust-vegas]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/viva-aust-vegashttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/viva-aust-vegasThu, 19 Mar 2026 00:13:47 GMTI had forgotten I had legs.

This winter had been especially ugh. The dark days starting at 4pm, the blistering wind, the fact that I had to wear The Brown Coat of Indignity for several weeks in a row aside from the usual one. I had gotten down to Florida in February but even that brought a chill with it, and I was wearing sweaters every day. Artificial h…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Rachel Rampleman]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-rachelhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-rachelWed, 11 Mar 2026 14:14:09 GMTRachel Rampleman is already in process when I arrive to meet her at the art space SoMad, where she is an artist in residence. Lights and tripods and laptops line a swath of white seamless paper that’s draped onto the floor from on high, a couch here, a chair there.

Rachel is the artist behind “Life is Drag,” which is currently the largest archive of reco…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Maxxx Pleasure]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-maxxxhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-maxxxWed, 25 Feb 2026 12:10:12 GMTWaiting for Maxxx Pleasure in C’Mon Everybody, it occurs to me I’ve been to the bar countless times, but rarely to sit and chat. It’s a welcome change. Maxxx is a GLAM-award nominated drag king who’s also opened for Chappell Roan. He hosts a show called Guilty Pleasures, also at C’Mon Everybody, and the next one is March 18. You may have also seen him a…

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]]><![CDATA[Estate Sale]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/estate-salehttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/estate-saleFri, 20 Feb 2026 02:19:33 GMTThere’s an auction house in New York that does a tag sale once a month, and on a particularly crisp Saturday I wound my way there. I’ve lived for thrifting, for estate sales, for vintage clothing stores as long as I can remember, and the moment I walked in the door I wasn’t disappointed. A white and red silk Japanese bridal kimono peered at me from a ro…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Joseph Lezza]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-josephhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-josephWed, 11 Feb 2026 13:07:48 GMTWhen I meet Joseph Lezza at Rolf’s, we can’t get in. It’s Christmastime, and the German restaurant is famed for its interiors oozing Christmas cheer. Joseph, Joe, wanted to do something festive for the holidays, but he has a backup. We head uptown to the Lotte New York Palace for a far more accessible exercise in holiday grandeur. The lush hotel is wove…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Heather McCalden]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-heatherhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-heatherWed, 28 Jan 2026 15:30:27 GMTWriter and visual artist Heather McCalden arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in a chic black beret, overcoat, and boots. We’re on a mission today, specifically to see the Divine Egypt exhibition–Heather is working on an essay about mysticism.

I first read Heather’s work when she reached out about the Miss Manhattan reading a few years ago. Her book

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]]><![CDATA[To Winter]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/to-winterhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/to-winterFri, 23 Jan 2026 14:52:01 GMTThe picture above features Great-Grandma Evelyn in her white mink coat. I was told she did a great Mae West impersonation.

With a giant snowstorm and frigid temperatures upon us–and by us, I mean not just New York but large chunks of the country–I started to think about ways that I…winter, at the risk of sounding like a Hamptons housewife. I don’t really…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Rob Roth]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-robhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-robWed, 14 Jan 2026 16:02:37 GMTBefore we do anything else, Rob Roth reads my tarot cards. We cut the deck once, twice, three times sitting at his dining room table. Sprinkled across it are a red tile from a Valentino show in Paris, a white elephant teapot, some partly burnt palo santo sticks in a white ashtray. Above us hangs a chandelier dripping with juicy, clear baubles. The walls…

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]]><![CDATA[Little Luxury]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/little-luxuryhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/little-luxuryFri, 09 Jan 2026 17:42:08 GMTHappy new year, everyone! Thank you for your ongoing support of Miss Manhattan on Substack. Here’s to a beautiful, healthy, fulfilling new year among loved ones.

If you’ve been enjoying Miss Manhattan so far, please consider becoming a paid subscriber if you haven’t already. A paid subscription to Miss Manhattan helps fund both Miss Manhattan Hangs Out–i…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Joanna Lovering]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-joannahttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-joannaWed, 31 Dec 2025 15:20:59 GMTCold air sails through me as I wait for Joanna Lovering in Shubert Alley, right off of Times Square in the heart of the Theater District. Broadway posters line the walls on one side, and Junior’s is on the other. It’s here where I meet Joanna, who’s attired in a luxe beige vintage coat, her curly red hair tucked under a beige beanie. She’s a semi-regula…

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]]><![CDATA[Comfort Zones]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/comfort-zoneshttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/comfort-zonesWed, 24 Dec 2025 16:26:56 GMTOne of the times I went home this year, I made the conscious effort to bring back the menorah I made as a preschooler. We had this fancy gold one in the house, but we never used it–we always used this one, the one from preschool with the little tiles in a barrage of colors stuck on a wooden slab, hexagonal nuts in a row to hold the candles. When Hanukka…

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]]><![CDATA[Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with MTHR TRSA]]>https://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-mthrhttps://www.miss-manhattan.com/p/miss-manhattan-hangs-out-with-mthrWed, 17 Dec 2025 14:08:56 GMTIn a dressing room at Performance Space New York, MTHR TRSA is brushing a wig as bodies twist themselves into a host of pantyhose, spandex, and ALMOST NONBINARY t-shirts (yes, you can buy them–here, along with her ACTIVELY EATING shirts). Today, in about two hours, she’ll be debuting her performance piece High and Scared, an experimental work in progres…

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