When enough food influencers call a place underrated, is it really? Lions Bar & Grill has an allegedly underrated burger, so I’m here to rate it: yummy! My friend Syd and I tucked ourselves into a two-top at this cozy, wood-lined East Village eatery ready to share everything. I ended up having three drinks, starting with this pint-glass tropical tequila cocktail, and I thought pint meant bigger than what it was: fruity cocktail with tons of ice in a Guinness glass. It was yummy, but not as yummy as the other drink I got, which had Oaxaca in the name somewhere. I ordered it because I had an incredible cocktail in New Orleans called the Oaxacan Midnight, so I knew this wouldn’t disappoint me. Syd stayed in the Nola bubble, too, drinking the smoothest sazerac on the east coast. We shared our food and hit the perfect fullness equilibrium: a divine baked potato and chili that we mashed together, plus the burger we split in half. It was definitely one of the best burgers I’ve had in New York — simple but feels unique. Crispy bun, flavorful patty, delicious onions, and I can’t forget the substantial side of fries. See for yourself if the burger is underrated, and maybe make it more rated.

Too much talkin’ around. How’d this happen? This is the start of “Dancing Elephants” by Rochelle Jordan, one of the best songs I’ve ever heard, probably. After cycling through this banger for years, I was anxiously awaiting her new album, Through The Wall. Usually, I listen to an album once — maybe twice if it’s lucky — pick out my faves, add them to my playlist, and never listen to it again. Through The Wall has been rotating over and over for me this week; it might be my favorite album of the year. Do you like Kaytranada? Or at least do you like an electronic, house-ish, R&B-ish, smooth, sexy groove? This whole album is exactly the kind of music I want to listen to all the time. It can focus me or zone me out, make me feel big or small. It’s bright like the day but clearly meant for the night. I added every song aside from the intro and, oddly, her lead single “Doing It Too,” which I find to be the weakest track. I am loving every song, but if I had to recommend one it would be “Bite The Bait.” It is sensual, self-assured, and exactly how I want to feel all the time. Rochelle knows how to whisper right in my ear and confirm what I needed from her. Now if you want to talk about underrated, this is an underrated artist to dive into.

I actually can’t stop thinking about this clip of singer Olivia Dean on the Today show. She is just so enchanting, sunlight practically shoving its way out of her body. She has this persona down so well that I can only assume she is as genuine and sweet as this performance clip shows. She feels like she’s from another era in her balance between delicateness and depth. I have been loving her new album this week (can’t stop humming “Nice To Each Other”) and will hopefully get to see her at ACL this weekend.

Any time I see Toni Collette, I have no choice but to watch whatever she’s doing. Oh, you say it’s a scary thing? Perfect. Wayward is a Netflix miniseries about a cultish rehabilitation high school for troubled teens in which Collette plays the scary headmaster. The school is in Vermont but the series begins (and is fully shot in) Canada, following delinquent besties Abbie and Leila. Mae Martin created and starred while also showing off their sexy arms in a wifebeater/wifepleaser (depending on your wokeness today). They play a cop that moved to town with their pretty, pregnant wife for a fresh start, but she went to scary school here and has some secrets. This was such an easy series to breeze through, with some fun mysteries and enough unsettling (but not blood-curdling) moments to keep you on your toes. I also like the Canada-centricness of the show (Abbie uses her French to get out of a sticky situation). I kind of wanted more information out of the end even though it’s wrapped up in a nice-enough bow. I recommend watching just so you can see Toni Collette wear big glasses and give long, uncomfortable hugs.

This week’s Code Switch episode immediately piqued my interest with the title: “Why Malala Yousafzai is a hero in the West but not back home.” People hate Malala? I had to listen. The episode is an interview with a Pakistani journalist and professor as she unpacks complex critiques of Malala, which sometimes drill down to a suspicion U.S./western ideals after Pakistan has been surveilled and screwed over enough times by us. It’s less than 45 minutes and engaging all the way through.

Did you know that there is a bar in Bed-Stuy with turtle races? For my friend Ikram’s birthday, we went to Turtles All the Way Down, which has turtles Ashanti and Ja Rule race down a track three times every first Sunday of the month. You can place bets and get free drinks if your turtle wins. They are so much faster than you assume they would be, proving once again that you should get to know something before making assumptions.