The Best *Everything* of All Time

We asked friends to share 20 recommendations, including perfect travel shoes, a thrilling movie, advice for parenting teens, a "criminally delicious" sandwich and the coolest color to wear these days.

Welcome to Big Salad’s last issue of 2023! We’re so glad you’re here, and we have loved getting to know this funny and wonderful Big Salad community. To end the year with a bang, we asked a bunch of fun people to share their best-of-all-time recommendations for everything from raising twins to cheap dates to red lipstick to plane picnics. (And please share yours in the comments.)

Here we goooooo… please enjoy!

“Play is essential for our mental health, so find things that are fun for you. This year, I remembered the joy of dressing up for the holidays, while puttering around in a Dôen dress and red lipstick. I've also been tinkering on the xylophone lately and really enjoying it. And remember that sex and pleasure are also play!” — Erica Chidi, health educator, former doula, and co-founder of Loom

“While visiting my mom in Atlanta, I found these deliriously chewy gummy candies in her pantry with interesting fruit flavors: watermelon, mango, blueberry, grapefruit and pineapple. THEY WERE SO GOOD. I was watching a Netflix show I'm obsessed with, Carol & the End of the World, and suddenly found that I had eaten the whole bag!” — Eric Kim, New York Times food columnist and cookbook author

Seinfeld’s suede jacket, a moment in Marfa, and Ginny ballerinas

“Brown! I used to be afraid of brown (it felt so serious), but lately I've been gravitating toward earthy tones and lots and lots of wood. I think we're all moving into a comfier, more lived-in era of design in our homes and wardrobes. (I have three variations of Jerry’s jacket, above, in my closet.) Plus, brown pairs well with other colors, like pistachio green and poppy red.” — 

Ali LaBelle

, creative director

“I'm a sucker for a documentary about an extreme sport, and The Deepest Breath features one of the world's best free divers. It's life-affirming to see what our human bodies are capable of, but it was the love story at the center of this doc that really stuck with me. I saw it in January and am still thinking about it.” — Connie Wang, journalist and author of Oh My Mother!

“My advice for connecting with teens is to go for walks at night, when everyone is done with their homework, even if it's late. Go out into the dark, or out into the neon city, and just be quiet together or talk about whatever anyone wants to talk about in that nice, sideways way that walking allows, where you are not boring into their skull with your eyeballs full of Mama worry and intensity.” —

Catherine Newman

, author of We All Want Impossible Things and resident of the Internet’s fave house tour

“In 2023, I absolutely adored watching women put on TikTok’s mustache/goatee filter and naming, with incredible accuracy, the type of dude they looked like. I loved it so much I made a highlight in my Instagram and wrote about it.” —

Anne Helen Petersen

, culture writer and podcast host

“Go to the first stop in Brooklyn Heights on the 2/3 line (Clark St), buy a six-pack of something cheap at the grocery store, go to the Promenade and pick a bench to drink them on, watch the sun set over the city, and pretend you're in a bad episode of Girls.” — Matt Buechele, comedy writer and songwriter (see him here, too)

“The National Gallery in London is my all-time favorite, especially for paintings. This fall, I was specifically attracted to this Cézanne and this Mantegna. Have you heard of Stendhal Syndrome? It’s when a person becomes physically overwhelmed by exposure to great beauty, and I had all the symptoms! I actually came back the next day so I could enjoy them without feeling feverish.” — Gisela Gueiros, art historian, educator, and curator

“When I moved back to New York this year, I was excited to go to Win Son in Williamsburg because I’d heard so much about it. Little did I know, I was about to eat the best breakfast sandwich of my life. Seriously: the BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) on a scallion pancake is criminally delicious. Imagine the crispiest, straight-out-of-the-fryer scallion pancake you’ve ever had wrapped around the creamiest eggs, the crunchiest bacon, and the gooiest cheese, and you’ll get the idea [editor’s note: recipe here].” —

Adam Roberts

, cookbook author

“This rosette from Danish shop Damernes Magasin is a surefire pick-me-up for your reliable basics. I love it clipped into the lapel of a jacket, or the top of a collar, or just into the side of a sweater. Also, my best advice for fellow parents of twins: SPEND TIME ALONE WITH YOUR KIDS. It’s incredibly inconvenient to split them up, but time alone with each twin is when you get to know the galaxies of independence and selfhood that are erupting within each of them and gives them a chance to soften their voices — and stop trying to scream over someone else to be heard!” — 

Leandra Medine Cohen

, fashion writer and author

leandramcohen

A post shared by @leandramcohen

“If you’re home sick, watch Paterson. Adam Driver plays a bus driver who is also a poet just going about his day in New Jersey. It’s life-affirming yet calming enough to fall asleep to. Also, any 1950s Hitchcock, like North by Northwest or Rear Window, will work like a charm — you can’t beat Cary Grant in technicolor.” —

Elissa Suh

, writer and film critic

“Our Mimi Cheng’s cooking and dinner playlist has the ultimate vibes! And we’re always updating it.” — Hannah Cheng, co-founder of Mimi Cheng’s Dumplings

“To comfort a grieving friend, just say anything; it doesn’t have to be perfect. Grief can feel very lonely (like the poem ‘Stop All the Clocks’), so it’s very comforting when a friend recognizes your loss and what a big deal it is. Instead of platitudes (‘everything happens for a reason’), just say something that feels authentic, even if it’s just ‘I wish I knew what to say,’ or ‘I love you, and this really sucks.’” — Lucy Kalanithi, physician (see her here, too)

“I do like small flowers in a vase, but when I have the opportunity to do something big, I go for it! Huge branches act like nature and block the door and make me interact with them, and I feel like I’m outside and I love that.” — John Derian, designer, decoupage artist, and store owner

“My plane snack is to bring two peeled jammy eggs and a little tin of Jameson salt. (My husband Matt is yelling at me in the background saying how gross that is!) But I also think that Finn Crisps and cucumbers and hummus would not alienate a seatmate.” —

Yolanda Edwards

, travel writer

"These $40 Tevas are the perfect warm-weather travel shoe. They pack easily, last forever, and can be dressed up or down. Also, our daughter lives in a soft romper — get the kind with no feet, and your kid can wear them until they fit like capris." — Simone Kitchens, senior editor at The Strategist and co-editor of the Secret Strategist newsletter

“We tend to think of an invitation as a carrier of logistics — date, time, place — but your warmth and specificity can make guests feel welcome (and intrigued) from the first moment. One example is when a couple sent an invitation to dozens of friends saying, "Come help us welcome Jane and Dan to the neighborhood!" and asking everyone to bring their best neighborhood tip. It was smart: They gave their guests a mission before anyone even entered the room.” — Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering

“This 2014 New Yorker cover by illustrator Christoph Niemann is spare yet incredibly evocative. Niemann said in an interview, ‘To my mind, there’s no place on earth where being stuck in traffic on a rainy day is more beautiful.’ Another is this one by Ryo Takemasa. I cherish the feeling of a morning walk while the city is asleep; and this cover captures that stillness. I love how the woman notices the row of pigeons and is turning to see what they are looking at.” — Erin Jang, designer and illustrator

“‘To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall’ by Kim Addonizio. The urgency, depth and familiarity bowl me over every time. And that last line: ‘listen I love you joy is coming.’” — Kate Baer, NYTimes bestselling poet

poetryisnotaluxury

A post shared by @poetryisnotaluxury

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1. In Which Preteens Say the Funniest Things. “My barber did me wrong, bro.”

2. A Week of Outfits:

   LaTonya Yvette
   . The Brooklyn-based author and mom of two shows us her slinky dress and colorful socks.

3. 12 Readers Share Fun Snapshots. Like, a baby nephew and pasta tattoo.

4. Five Fun Things. Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott absolutely burn up the screen.

(Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission or have a sponsored relationship with the brand, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.)

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Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful holiday!!! We’ll send our next issue on January 5th, featuring a surprising winter fashion trend, a non-alcoholic drink that feels like a kiss, and a funny podcast episode. Take gentle care of yourselves. xoxo