Hennessy X Os Gêmeos

For it's third artist collaboration, cognac brand Hennessy has invited Os Gêmeos to design a limited-edition bottle label. The Brazilian identical-twin brothers, Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo (os gemeos means "twins" in Portuguese), said their design, quite a departure from the graffiti-like art they're known for, is similar to a drawing each of the brothers did when they were around 6 years old. Today, the twins are busy in their São Paulo studio preparing for two big exhibitions: one in Brazil in 2014 and one in NYC in 2015.

Meanwhile, Hennessy, which began its artist collaboration in 2011 with Kaws and followed in 2012 with Futura, is finalizing which artist it will partner with for 2014. Every Limited Edition Hennessy V.S bottle in this artist series is individually numbered.

Here's a recipe from the twins for a cocktail called Brazil Spice: 

Brazil Spice

1.5 oz Hennessy V.S

.5 Fresh Lime juice

.5 Fresh Simple Syrup

Splash of soda

Optional: 4 dashes of Angostura bitters

Garnish: Lime wheel

Note: The lime and simple syrup can be substituted with 1 oz of sourmix.

Method: Shake all ingredients but the sprite and strain into a rocks glass with ice add a splash of sprite and garnish with lime wheel.

The Butterfly, NYC

Michael White's latest endeavor is a bit of a departure. Unlike his other Altamarea Group restaurants Marea, Ai Fiori, and Costata, a visit to The Butterfly in TriBeCa doesn't require a special occasion or an expense account. It does require, however, a taste for the vintage and the mid-century modern—both in design and somewhat in cuisine. For those wondering about the restaurant's name, it actually hails from Wisconsin (as does White): working at the Butterfly Club in Beloit was one of White's first cooking jobs. Although he was there in 1989, White's NYC reinterpretation has a mod 1960's feel, rendered by Stefano Angeli and Franco Rosignolo, his frequent design collaborators. You'll find George Nelson clocks, mid-century Scandinavian cupboards, a Sputnik pendant fixture—even the waitstaff wears plastic pen pocket protectors. The menu skews toward Americana nostalgia, too. There are versions of a reuben, a patty melt, and fried chicken on the menu; our dessert, called Little B, was like a fancy, and equally yummy, Ring Ding. The Midwest Butterfly offered entertainment with dinner; the urban version plans to host screenings of Packers football games and the Oscars on a huge flat-screen. 

Crab cakes

the upscale Ring-Ding: Little B

Bouley Test Kitchen, NYC

The buzzer to the test kitchen

The Bouley Test Kitchen, aka Bouley TK, in TriBeca is a grand loft space that offers cooking classes and that can be rented for events, like product previews, which is what I was there for (for DeLonghi and Kenwood).

Slate wall; the writing is the original menu from Bouley restaurant

There's a full state-of-the-art kitchen, obviously, but also a library of 8,000 cookbooks, a 200-foot-long slate wall, and a full bathroom suite with shower. There's also a funky metal fish sculpture.

Shower

Fish sculpture

Tons of hanging copper pots & pans

The library and handcrafted Nautilus speakers

Fort Greene in the Rain

I took a little field trip tonight to one of Brooklyn's finest, Fort Greene. Even in the rain, the broad leafy streets lined with brownstones are movie-set-worthy. We popped into a tiny gem of a restaurant that I hadn't heard of, Lulu & Po, and proceeded to have a delicious meal of small but shareable plates: chicken liver & pancetta paté with hearty grilled bread, seared Alaskan salmon with corn and lemon cream, sugar snap peas with house made cultured butter (heavenly), and grilled pizza dough with a side of whipped ricotta and pesto. We sat at the bar, which was cozy and where we were well taken care of. Designwise, the setting is noteworthy, too. Concrete and metal surfaces are warmed up by a wood (I think pine) ceiling and the occasional red bar stool or dining chair. One wall is entirely blank save for an oversize, off-center rooster--it looks like a tattoo (this is Brooklyn, after all). You can leave your own temporary tattoo in the restroom: a chalkboard wall begs to be scribbled on with the chunky sticks of chalk provided in a metal pail. Ligaya Mishan wrote in her New York Times review of Lulu & Po, "No one does industrial-cozy chic like Brooklyn," and she's right, at least with this space (her piece has good pics, too). The one drawback is that it's almost unpleasantly loud--bad acoustics coupled with loud music. If the music could just be turned down a notch, it would make all the difference.

Star Table at Blue Note

Le Petit Prince

The restaurant space at 199 Prince has hosted many a tenant in recent years. (Long ago, for a long while, it was the charming Frontiére.) Goblin Market (ok, not great), Shorty's (good food, bad vibe), Princepessa (bad name, bad vibe). But its current incarnation, Little Prince, has promise. A bit loud & hot, but a very pretty space, helpful & friendly staff & exceptional food. Bon chance petite prince! 

Wine list

Vintage phone w flower stems given to female customers

Stanford White Studio

Chatwal hotel lobby mural by unknown artist

I had a lovely dinner last night at the Stanford White Studio inside the Chatwal hotel-also home to the Lambs Club. Weirdly, I hadn't been here before, even though the super-talented Thierry Despont did the interiors two years ago. I recommend a visit if you're at all into Art Deco--and even if you're not. The lobby (where there's an amazing double-height mural but I don't know by who), restaurant, upstairs bar (where Andrew Andrew DJ every Thurs night), and White studio are quite well done. The White studio is the hotel's special-event space - a gorgeous wood-paneled room done in the style of Stanford White (who built the building that now houses the hotel in 1905 for the Lambs Club, a social club for theater professionals) - that's a unique option for a private dinner for 20 or so. So long as you don't get creeped out by the Evelyn Nesbit portraits on the wall--and the red swing that's rumored to be installed soon... I also recommend coming for chef Geoffrey Zakarian's cuisine--unusual and flavorful.

McKim, Mead & White rendering in the Stanford White Studio

Portraits of Evelyn Nesbit

Slow-cooked sea bass with caramelized fennel, spinach & roasted tomato beurre blanc

The lobby bar

Empire State Building pendants in the upstairs bar