The Best Bet
Foodies are thanking Mother Nature for a bumper crop of fragrant, subtly musky white truffles this season, the result of a particularly dry summer in Italy and Croatia. The abundant harvest means lower prices—$100 per ounce at Grace’s Marketplace (1237 Third Ave., at 71st St.; 212-737-0600), versus last year’s $300 per ounce—and longer availability. “If the good weather continues,” explains Jane Walsh of the Chefs Warehouse, which supplies many of New York’s top chefs with truffles, “we can almost guarantee that we’ll have these through mid-January.” Which means you might finally get to find out what it would feel like to say, “Truffles again?”
The Right Layers for Fickle Weather
SmartWool’s superfine merino pieces are just the thing on those confusing warm/chilly fall days. This hoodie is $100 at Paragon Sporting Goods (867 Broadway, at 18th St.; 212-255-8036).
Handmade and Machine-Washable
Unlike mass-produced stuffed animals, Anne-Claire Petit’s oversize hand-crocheted duck and bunny have personality—and can make it through the spin cycle ($120 to $135 at ABC Carpet & Home, 888 Broadway, at 19th St.; 212-473-3000).
Collector’s Items That Fit a Budget
Original versions of the ceramics that Ettore Sottsass designed in the fifties are very rare and very pricey. His Italian manufacturer, Bitossi, still makes the same pieces, still by hand ($145 to $425, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 E. 91st St., at Fifth Ave.; 212-849-8355).
Wall Art From Way Back
The best examples of poster art, from Toulouse-Lautrec to the present, will be on sale at the Vintage Poster Fair (October 21 to 23). This design, by Ikko Tanaka, is $2,500 ($12 entry; the Gallery at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W. 18th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 917-495-2143).
One Rake Fits All
The tines on Union Tools’ durable plastic rake can be adjusted to any kind of yard debris, from dry leaves (longer) to wet grass (shorter) ($19.99 at Home Depot, 550 Hamilton Ave., nr. 16th St., Red Hook, Brooklyn; 718-832-8553).