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oh boy, that's it, it had to happen someday... i can't think of one bloody thing to tell you this morning. don't look so relieved!

let's see, friday night, i met a fetching girlfriend of mine from london in a nice bar in the middle of hell; the dove is an uncharacteristically nice bar in a neighborhood (bleeker street) that i would normally avoid at any cost, save for this little gem. with airs of victorian velvet and good service, it stands out in this nabe which is filled with tourist and bridge-and-tunnel-based watering holes in which jugs of beer are easily purchasable. then it was on to meeting gary and the good people of the new york collective who were celebrating the signing of a new fantastic project (more on that at some point if they let me...) at yama where my young, red-dressed friend made quite an impression on the sea of boys lined up at the sushi bar. good edamame, competent inside-out rolls, nothing to win awards over. then gary and i headed to the newly one-starred mcnally foray into the italian countryside morandi and we were both highly disappointed. keith mcnally is one of the entrepreneur who, much like andré balazs, doesn't get much wrong. but i think this was wrong, all wrong and not for the reasons mcnally i thought could ever be wrong about. lucky strike, balthazar, pastis and schiller's liquor bar have in common that their faux-thenticity™ is realized fully and to perfection. i lived in paris most of my life and i can tell you that those places reflect the feel of a parisian brasserie with more realism than even at la coupole. every detail has been slaved over, from the found giant mirrors to the paint used to scribble the raw bar menu on them to the vintage branding colors, mcnally has an eye for context and everything else (yes, even food) comes second, and it works marvels because you feel like you have escaped to a new world. at morandi however, with its criminally low ceiling, distracting floor tiles and ubiquitous unfinished wood (complete with sloppy and apparent wood putty), it just didn't feel like, what i can only hope was the goal, an intimate place. the basket wine all over made the place feel cheap and very much like what those crazy disney imagineers might come up with for their version of an italian restaurant. and that's exactly how we felt, like we were on a ride.

saturday morning at 11am, i met up with our old friend david for one good-old fashioned movie marathon: 4 movies, rushing from theater to theater and enjoying the best hollywood has to offer. see, i don't get to the movies much and that's the only way i can catch up. david had picked the movies this time and jamie kennedy's kickin' it old skool was up first. i could do it, couldn't even go in, jamie kennedy people, no one can take that at 11am! so instead we went to see what should have been standard fare in the bruce willis, halle berry thriller perfect stranger which, as the rating explained, promised nudity and sexual behavior. when ms. berry's involved, i assume that would be a breakfast fit for any man on a saturday morning. but, no zilch, nothing, just a piece of shit with phoned-in performances, script and pictures of some naked girl, pictures! if you can't count on your rating's board who can you count on these days? (why'd you have to go jack?!) anyway, next was hot fuzz for which i had great hopes having had an uprorious time at shaun of the dead but i was greatly let down by the direction of the film with its over-parodying of the cop-on-a-mission genre. next came one of the worst movies i've ever seen (david, i'm going to need those 2 hours back,) year of the dog, a pro-peta manifesto fit for suicidal housewives. ho-rri-ble! and last, i tought will ferrell would save the day with blades of glory but, alas, only half of me laughed with the other thinking that now all comedies will try to replicate this new genre of ironic laughter at the expense of beloved sports (see forthcoming balls of fury) and will inevitably fall short. all in all, a wonderful day, i mean that, i love the movies!

saturday night was michele's birthday and we went to gonzo, a pizzeria she favors and where they make that fancy thin crust which is, in theory, supposed to highlight the ingredients used on top but in reality, in the end, just leaves you hungry. gina and i got her that hot marc jacobs pan am weekender filled with orange mini-cocottes from staub because she love cooking small portions and we love her, so there, that worked out well. from there, it was on to lotus and finally bob where the funk was on tap and the girls were getting sweaty which was pretty much a win-win for me.

the next day, bread called my and nicole's name for brunch which i heartily recommend any day of the week, it just keeps getting better. after that, a wonderful visit to earnest cut & sewn netted gina some wonderful asstastic denim short shorts which will get some use in and outside the house and zo got lucky with some jeans that compliment his 4-year-old frame in a way he'll only be able to thank me for years from now as he waives from his float.

like i said, really did nothing this weekend, but if you find yourself in new york this summer, i'd say that's a pretty good itinerary... oh, and you'll need some tunes:

kate havnevik
charlotte gainsbourg
peder
the album seal
filmotheque
jazz love spirit
bebl gilberto
avishai cohen

stefan - Apr 30 - 08:04 AM

replies

Posted by: tiffany sets at Feb 11, 2011 1:04:21 AM