Beach Volleyball! Pier 25 in TriBeCa

Stumbled upon these three brand-new courts while running along the West Side Highway. They didn't look open but I'm very excited to use them once it gets a little warmer. Paragon Sports here I come to purchase a ball!

Dolce and Gabbana FW 2011 Finale

Generally, I hate youtube but when you can see cool videos like this, it's pretty great.  I especially like the end where you can see the editors making a dash for it the moment the show ended.

Pierre Rougier- The Man The Myth The Legend

Loved the article on Pierre Rougier, founder of fashion pr powerhouse PR Consulting and my first boss.  I'm still in awe of everything I learned just from watching/listening to him and this article explains a little bit why, though I think, in his grand, inimitable style, the real secrets to his success are a mystery and that's just how he would prefer it.

Photo from wsj.com by Dean Kaufman

WSJ.com

Wouldn't This Make A Super-Chic Wedding Dress

From Style.com

I didn't love this season's Bottega Veneta collection, which is strange, because it's a house that only sends looks down the runway that can be sold in stores.  That sort of commercial viability generally appeals to me.  However, I was quite taken with the finale ball gowns, especially this copper one.  Not that I'm in the market for a wedding dress, but it was the first thing I thought when I saw this coppery dream.

DKNY Bag - A hundred and ninety-five buckaroos

How cute is this bag? And for under two hundred dollars? Cherry red has been popping up everywhere (though I daresay this looks a bit more raspberry to moi but n'importe quoi) Might be a solid investment. Though it's very "of the moment," it also has a grandmother slash Grace Kelly vibe that means it's a classic. At least that's how I would categorize that sort of juxtaposition.

Available at netaporter.com

Mr. Porter from Net-a-Porter.com

I know this ebony and black diamond Luis Morales bracelet is for a guy, but I love it.  Is ebony durable?  I kind of beat my stuff up and I feel like I'd wear this every day. 

Mr. Porter is a new site  and it has a great selection of chic menswear as well as cool editorial, the killer combination we've come to expect from Net-a-Porter.com.  I'm looking forward to great things.

http://www.mrporter.com/product/162290

Bond St Sushi Gluten Free Menu

Another win in the gluten-free dining column.  Bond St Sushi.  The waitress, who was a true peach about my questions, brought over this menu.  They had tamari as a soy sauce replacement on the table for me, gave me my own plate so there was no touching or contamination, and made me my own spicy rolls with tamari instead of soy.  So amazing when it's this easy.

From Things I Like and Love

Proenza Schouler FW 2011

Well, I guess it goes without saying that I loved Proenza's collection, a. because, well, the blog is called things I like and love, and b. I almost always love Proenza.

Here's perhaps my fave look, impossible to say really, they were all amazing.

Photo: Monica Feudi / Feudiguaineri.com from Style.com

Vanessa Bruno's Miracle

One of my favorite bloggers, fashioneditoratlarge said that novelty was one of her big trends for fall and I think this video really brings that to life. (just like the Prada one in my previous post) It's beautiful, it's upbeat, it's poetic, and it brings the brand to life.  Love.

Prada SS 2011 Ad Campaign

I just love this video campaign.  I saw it as an ad on vogue.co.uk with the whole background of the site done in stripes reminiscent of the season's styles and it was brilliant.



Who will buy me that fur stole?

And, wonders never cease, there's a making of campaign!



Prada.com

Alexander Wang FW 2011

I mean, who doesn't die for Alexander Wang?

Maybe one of my fave looks so far

Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Style.com

Jason Wu FW 2011 Video- UPDATE

UPDATE: You can pre-order from this collection from Bergdorf's online.  That's pretty cool.  It harkens back to an era where a woman chose her wardrobe with care, in advance of the seasons, directly from a designer's collection.  These pieces are so beautiful and timeless, I'm sure they would become staples.  I personally am just obsessed with lace-trim sweatshirt.  Maybe I should pre-order??



I totally heart technology.

Marc Jacobs FW 2011

Love MJ.  I mean, sometimes I'm not such a fan, but lately, love.

Here are my faves!

Photo: Monica Feudi/Style.com

Home Made Girl Scout Cookies- Samoas!

Gluten-free adventures in baking continue!  I craved Girl Scout cookies so I decided to make my own for a little pre-Valentine's day treat.  Some effective googling brought me to Bakingbites.com where I found a great Samoas recipe.

My first foray was imperfect, I sort of invented the pan size using a 13x19 cookie sheet with lip and rolled the cookie out pretty thin, though not all the way to the edge.  I also subbed the regular flour for King Arthur GF Baking Flour.  And, I couldn't find the regular shredded coconut, only finely shredded.  Oh an I couldn't get my hands on soft caramels so I got "Nips" from Duane Reade, a hard caramel and just added two or three tablespoons of butter as I was heating it.

Aside from those issues, these were GREAT for a first run.  They had the great cookie/coconut/chocolate combo going and were unrecognizable at gluten-free.  I will make them again with the right coconut, caramel, and pan and I expect stellar results.

Recipe from Bakingbites.com

Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).
Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Oh no! Zachary Smile closed

This nolita gem on Lafayette had the best little dresses and jackets and all under a hundred bucks. I am very sad to see it go... Must research what happened...

Inoteca Restaurant LES

Some restaurants just don't get the gluten-free thing. Or rather, some servers.

We went for a birthday dinner with a set menu, always a little bit of a risk, but I get it, there are going to be nights in my life where I just will skip dinner in order to spend an evening out with friends drinking wine and laughing. Usually though, this doesn't involve the waiter telling you the meatballs are totally fine. Except, uh, they have breadcrumbs, is that bad? We had one lovely female server who was a peach and totally helpful. And one guy who almost killed my celiac friend and when we asked if he could maybe ask the chef, it was like asking if he could just trot on over to the moon and bring us a side of moon cheese.

I digress though, the dinner was actually quite great, especially the selection of salads: a romaine, radicchio, stravecchio & roasted garlic, a beets, orange, pecorino, mint & hazelnuts, and a
grilled calamari, peppers, celery, spicy tomato vinaigrette. All gluten-free to boot. (Well, ostensibly, my tummy did feel a little funny after dinner but might have been the fried polenta)

Anyway, entrees came, steaming polenta chunks, meatballs, little panini, and some to-die-for looking lasanga. Of course dessert was even better, litte nutella panini (maybe one of life's great treats) and affogatos, coffee ice cream "shots" which are a great way to end a meal.

Calamari Salad-My Fave

Peter Som FW 2011

Peter Som is another favorite, I love the simplicty of his designs combined with the bright colors and occasional prints.

These pants.  This look.  I die.

I mean, now I really die.

This coat would be perfect.

I mean business, baby.

Photos from style.com -- Marcus Tondo / GoRunway.com

Luca Luca FW 2011

Even though I don't work in the industry anymore, fashion will always be my one true love. Yesterday's Luca Luca collection by Raul Melgoza is my fave so far.  Of like the ten that have happened, but yeah, so?

Crisp, clean, long and elegant.

I totally don't have an editorial eye, I like the things I like because I want to wear them. (either in my current life or the imaginary one in my head)  And the below looks are just divine.

Photos from Style.com -- Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com

Can I Wear This to the Talkhouse?

I love it, is that weird?

Halston Heritage on net-a-porter.com

John Dory Oyster Bar

The John Dory Oyster Bar in the Ace Hotel was everything the other reviews have said.  It was a huge pain to get a table, the hostess quoted us an hour and fifteen at the worst and then, of course, that's exactly what it was.  The waiters have to walk through the bar area, jostling everyone.  The plates are teeny tiny.  (which is fine if you have fair warning but I really think our waitress might've mentioned that we had ordered enough food for one small bunny rabbit) We sat at bar stools up against the window, fairly cramped, and, my biggest pet peeve, while there were hooks under the bar for coats and purses, they were positioned so your coat was still in your lap.  I'd hate to dribble roe on my new bomber jacket!

Our waitress, though rushed and eager only to bring us more drinks, was nice and she was pleasant about the gluten-free situation.  I had fluke with watercress and toasted quinoa which was, in a word, delicious.  The toasted quinoa added a delicious crunch and layer of flavor.  I also had the burrata with roe, which was fine, the roe on top is a cool concept but I've certainly had better burrata.  The little cup of peanuts were the real winners, hot and salty with rosemary and garlic.  I could've eaten a bucketful.

Actually the winner was my cocktail, the Lado Este, a tequila blanco and mint concoction.  Light, refreshing, went down like water, pretty perfect.

With all the raw fish options, it's a pretty great choice for gluten-free.  My waitress didn't seem at all surprised by my request and was eager to help me figure out what I could and couldn't have.

The New York City Ballet- February 5th 2011

Saturday evening I saw the most amazing ballet at the New York City Ballet.  I believe it was only playing for one evening, which is just too sad.  It consisted of three parts, one rather traditional, one quite modern, and one referencing Fred Astaire (in that order).  Each was lovely and unique and done by such talented dancers.

I've copied the program notes below for anyone with more interest in it... I don't think my words would do it justice.

Photo © Paul Kolnik

Music	Excerpts from Raymonda (1896-1897) by Alexander Glazounov
Choreography	George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Premiere	May 17, 1973, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater
Original Cast	Melissa Hayden, Karin von Aroldingen, Colleen Neary, Merrill Ashley, Jacques d'Amboise, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux
Average Length	32 min.
	Cortège Hongrois ("a courtly parade in the Hungarian style") was created by Balanchine as a farewell gift for Melissa Hayden when she announced her retirement after more than 20 years of dancing principal roles in the Company. The mixture of "character" ethnic dances with classical ballet, including a grand pas de deux, is also a tribute to Marius Petipa, choreographer of the original full-length Raymonda (1898). As a student and dancer in St. Petersburg, Balanchine knew Raymonda and the character dances typically included in Petipa's great 19th century ballets. The full-length Raymonda ends with a lavish Hungarian divertissement, which is recalled in Cortège Hongrois' ethnically accented costumes of green, white and gold. Balanchine considered the Raymonda score "a treasure chest of music." For Cortège Hongrois he chose some of the same music he had used for Pas de Dix in 1955. Still other excerpts were chosen for the 1961 Raymonda Variations. Alexander Glazounov (1865-1936), a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, was director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music from 1906 to 1917. It was during his tenure there that he was called to the Maryinsky to play piano for a rehearsal ofRaymonda; Balanchine was one of the dancers present. Besides ballets, Glazounov composed eight symphonies, a piano concerto, a violin concerto, chamber music, and orchestral tone poems.

Photo © Paul Kolnik

Music	Violin Concerto (Concentric Paths), Op. 24 (2005) by Thomas Adès
Choreography	Wayne McGregor
Premiere	May 14, 2010, New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Theater
Original Cast	Ashley Bouder, Sterling Hyltin, Maria Kowroski, Tiler Peck, Wendy Whelan, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Joaquin De Luz, Robert Fairchild, Gonzalo Garcia, Craig Hall, Amar Ramasar
	Concentric Paths, the subtitle of the composition of Thomas Adès, refers to having a common center, with outliers remaining peripheral to the action.  Those within the circle dance harmoniously until an outlier intrudes.  There is conflicted action among the men in regard to the women.  The lighting effects create changes in mood--red for strong emotionality; yellow for tranquility; grey for somberness.  The choreography reflects the changing moods, using both flowing lyricism and sharp angularity which echoes the music.  The triad structure of the music is reflected in the use of threes in the groupings of the dancers in three movements. Thomas Adès (b. London 1971), studied piano at the Guildhall School of Music, and read music at King's College, Cambridge.  Between 1993 and 1995 he was Composer in Association with the Hallé Orchestra. Mr. Adès’ first opera, Powder Her Face (commissioned by Almeida Opera for the Cheltenham Festival in 1995), has been performed all round the world.  Most of the composer's music has been recorded by EMI, with whom Adès has an exclusive contract as composer, pianist and conductor. His second opera, The Tempest, was commissioned by the Royal Opera House and was premiered there under the baton of the composer to great critical acclaim in February 2004. Thomas Adès' music has attracted numerous awards and prizes, and he is in demand worldwide as a conductor and pianist.  As well as being a renowned interpreter of his own music, his performances and recordings of composers including Kurtág, Janácek, Nancarrow, Schumann, Schubert, Ruders, Tchaikovsky and Gerald Barry have been critically acclaimed.  He performs regularly in collaboration with other artists including Ian Bostridge and the Belcea Quartet and has conducted many orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Radio France, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles including the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, the Athelas Ensemble and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Adès has an exclusive contract with EMI Classics as composer, pianist and conductor, for whom he has recorded music by composers including Janácek, Schubert, Castiglioni, Stravinsky, Grieg and Busoni, as well as almost all of his own music.  Mr. Adès has been Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival since 1999.

Photo © Paul Kolnik

Music	Morton Gould, based on a theme by Jerome Kern, "I'm Old-Fashioned" (film sequence You Were Never Lovelier, starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth). Score commissioned by New York City Ballet.
Choreography	Jerome Robbins
Premiere	June 16, 1983, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater
Original Cast	Joseph Duell, Judith Fugate, Sean Lavery, Kyra Nichols, Bart Cook, Heather Watts
Average Length	33 min.
	Morton Gould (1913-1996) was an American composer, conductor, and arranger whose lighter works generally drew on American subject matter and music. In his later works Gould concentrated on abstract, as opposed to programmatic or popular, works. His style became more contrapuntal, dissonant, and complex in its treatment of musical materials. Throughout his career Gould was a skillful orchestrator, sensitive to color and texture, and original in his combinations of instruments. His ballets include Fall River Legend, choreographed by Agnes de Mille, and Interplay, choreographed by Jerome Robbins, and he composed numerous scores for film, Broadway, and television.

http://boxoffice.nycballet.com/

Spasso Restaurant- West Village

This new spot in the West Village has been tempting me ever since I got that first UrbanDaddy email about it opening.  I love Choptank and it's the same owners so.....

Stracciatella

Polenta

Well, it was fine.  Not good.  Not bad.  Fine.  The wait was 35 minutes for a 9:30 reservation on a Tuesday, pretty ridic.  Our waitress was quite nice and pretty knowledgeable about the GF situation for the menu.  She okayed my choices so I ordered the grilled octopus, mushrooms, polenta, and the home-made stracciatella (to be fair, at first glance, it doesn't look like there are a lot of GF options but these were what I wanted to order anyway so it worked out).

Octopus was good, nice charred taste, polenta was a creamy dream, mushrooms fine (perhaps a giant pile of mushrooms was a bit ambitious both on my part and theirs), and the stracciatella, well, a bowl of cheese is always delicious even if you can't spread it on bread.

According to my dining companions, I can report that the ribolita was delicious.  That's one of those things I think wouldn't be worth even trying make gluten-free.  It's an Italian bread soup that conjures up some lovely, culinary memories from my time studying in Florence, but I guess those memories will just have to suffice.

Spasso
551 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014
212-858-3838

Chicness at the Gramercy Park Hotel

I always knew the Gramercy Park Hotel was chic, with the Rose Bar, the Rooftop Bar, and then the Italian restaurant Maialino, but I didn't realize how much I'd love the rooms.  Our suite had the cutest details.  A little bohemian, a little rococo, and a little modern.

The drop down mirrored bar, bright and shiny! (and check out the bit of bright blue wall, very fun)

The glass selection for your cocktail needs.  Why yes, I would like my $14 grey goose in a mini goblet!

The lighting in the bathroom.  Sorry the pic is a little bright- the detail shots are better but I wanted to give a feel for the whole thing.

Now the bathtub was a little shabby, peeling and grody, but otherwise, a charming hotel room.

http://www.gramercyparkhotel.com/

Gluten Free Entertaining! Pizza Party

The biggest issue for me eating GF is the inconvenience to those around me.  I find it almost embarrassing to reveal this little issue and am always looking for ways to live in a way that doesn't make a big deal of it.

Obviously, dinner parties are a problem. I don't want to serve my friends gluten-free food that might not be up to snuff with it's gluten laden counterparts, but I'd like to eat, too!

SOLUTION- Pizza party!

I made my own GF pizza crust and then we had pre-made regular pizza dough.  I wanted to make Gluten Free Girl's recipe, but was in a rush and just couldn't source the flours.  I went with King Arthur's mix which was fine.  A little too "fluffy" but flavor wise not too bad, just a little dull which is a bad combination when it's that fluffy.  But at least I didn't feel left out.

All of my guests brought toppings: red sauce, pesto, mozzarella, sausage, salami, arugula, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions, you get the idea.  We assembled each pie on tinfoil, then cooked them on my new purchase, the AMAZING Mario Batali pizza maker from Crate and Barrel.  Pump the oven to 500 degrees, put the pizza still on the greased tinfoil onto the cast iron pan and cook for ~9 mins.

My pizza pan! Love! crateandbarrel.com

My first finished gluten-free pizza!  The Batali pizza maker ensure you don't have to pre-cook the dough, just top the raw pizza with your delicious choices and throw it in the oven and out pops a crisp pizza.  I will be researching a better/thinner dough for future attempts but in general I am pleased as punch.

Dovetail Restaurant, aka Heaven

Food allergists rejoice!  Foodies rejoice!  Everybody rejoice!  Dovetail on the Upper West Side is a winner for all.  Our server politely asked at the beginning of the meal if there were any allergies, and I said gluten.  Not a problem.  She made certain that the scallops I wanted were gluten-free, they were, and everything else that came to my setting was as well.  

No need to push aside the bread, the busboy didn't serve me any.  No need to worry that the delightful plate of amuse-bouches might be toxic, I was quietly informed they were A-OK.  And after dessert, when the bill arrived, so did a plate of magnificent petits-fours, all, I was assured, GF.

And, not too mention, it was perhaps one of the better meals I've had in recent memory.  Especially the beginning amuse-bouches, a bit of celery-type soup and a disc of mushroom gelee.  My entree of scallops were perfect in flavor, if a touch over-cooked.  The meals of my dining companions were also noteworthy, especially the halibut with chanterelles - true perfection.

It's always great to have a meal where not eating gluten isn't a huge issue and can be dealt with quietly.   It's even better when the food is delicious and I don't feel like I'm forcing my normal eating companions to eat at a poor restaurant for my sake. Dovetail was perfect in this sense and I'm eager to return.

Dovetail, 103 West 77th Street

New York, NY 10024
(212) 362-3800

Longevity Noodles! Happy Chinese New Year!

It's Thursday so... Jo and I are cooking some sort of Asian cuisine.  Tonight?  Longevity noodles! Gung Hey Fat Choi! 

The recipe is here on the Times website.  Again, we had GREAT success.  We had to use mixed dark stir fry greens since the store didn't have napa cabbage and we added a little sriracha at the end, but basically followed the recipe to at T.  (rice noodles of course)  And it was simply amazing.  I'll never order Chinese take-out again after tasting the goodness of homemade.

Leaving Well Enough Alone

Today I stopped by Francois Payard on Houston on the way back from a meeting.  Ostensibly, I needed something for lunch but I also wanted a macaron, having snagged a mini one yesterday in the office, my appetite for my fave cookies was whetted.  They had five flavors of the larger ones, oreo, coffee, cranberry, something else unappetizing, and PB&J. I went with PB&J because, well, why the hell not?  The name on the door being French lulled me into a false sense of gastronomic security.

It sucked.  No PB, some J, terrible consistency for the filling, rather hard and fudgy and altogether too thick.  The cookie sandwich parts were allright, though the flavor aside from sweet was barely discernible. 

The delicious ones at work were from Ceci-Cela, and I can tell you, I know where my next macaron is coming from.

Macy's Windows- Not What I Was Expecting

Despite their much heralded foray into designer collaborations, Macy's doesn't really have that high fashion cachet.  Lord knows I love it there, they are always having a great sale on housewares and I love an impulse Cuisinart purchase, but fashion-forward they are not.

So I was surprised to see these cute windows with cool vintage dresses in them.  There were also montages involving modern clothes, not depicted here because Jessica Simpson's line is a horror I need not impose on my readers.  But I thought these dresses were so gorgeous and a unique take on window dressing for the mass market.  Sure Simon Doonan can do whatever crazy he wants over at Barney's, but they are selling a luxury and irreverence.  Macy's is selling, well, J. Simp and Cuisinart.

So hat's off to Macy's for doing something kind of cool.  (No points awarded, though, for Kinder Aggugini collaboration, I simply did not like it nor do I think it will up their street cred one iota)

Center of Floral Design

I'm helping a friend decorate his apartment, a project that takes up a lot of weekend afternoons as we piece together the items needed, starting with the bigger ones and working our way toward knick knacks and bric a brac.

This weekend- a faux plant for his room. Obviously , a young, unmarried guy didn't want a living obligation so we headed off the flower district to find a fake flower store. I was surprised by the number of options, though many were shilling some pretty atrocious attempts at fake plant life.

Just as I was beginning to get a bit annoyed, we popped into the Center of Floral Design. I knew immediately it was going to have the one. A lovely salesgirl helped us, walking us around the ficuses and palms, discussing the merits of bamboo and appropriate ceiling to height ratios. They had the most lovely flowers as well.

The lucky plant!