The Steeple Times

Tag: drinks

  • Goodness, gracious, gaol

    Goodness, gracious, gaol

    Matthew Steeples updates readers on John Goodman’s return to jail

     

    The conviction of John Goodman in West Palm Beach earlier this year was a tragedy for all concerned but the twists and turns that have followed have been quite something else.

     

    John Goodman in court prior to returning to jail on Friday 12th October 2012

    Goodman, who sold his family business, Goodman Manufacturing, for $1.43 billion in 2004 and who also founded the International Polo Club Palm Beach, was found guilty of the offences of DUI Manslaughter and vehicular homicide on 23rd March.

     

    In February 2010, Goodman had crashed his Bentley Continental GTC at speed into a Hyundai Sonata and in the process catapulted it into a canal. Whilst the driver, Scott Wilson, was left to drown, Goodman fled the scene of the accident and later claimed he did not know he’d hit another driver. On the night in question, Goodman had settled a $272 bar bill for himself and friends at The Players Club in Wellington, Florida at 12:52am and had later drunk more alcohol after the accident in a “man cave” to “alleviate [his] pain.”

     

    Scott Wilson’s Hyundai after it was retrieved from the canal into which John Goodman’s Bentley catapulted it

    In May 2012, Goodman was sentenced to 16 years in jail but shortly afterwards was released on a $7 million bond pending appeal. At exactly the same time, a juror in the case, Dennis DeMartin, self-published a “tell-all” book, Believing in the Truth, in which he revealed that he conducted drinking experiments to see if he could get drunk after three vodka and tonics. After DeMartin was called in for questioning by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath, he stated:

     

    “I’m only human. I made a mistake, just like John Goodman made a mistake… What can I say? I’m getting senile.”

     

    John Goodman has spent most of the year under house arrest at his hacienda at 3665 120th Avenue, Wellington with his girlfriend, whom he also adopted as his daughter to protect his wealth, Heather Laurso Hutchins (also known as Heather Colby). In a further twist, Goodman was caught at the property by two of the $2,000 a day off-duty deputies employed to monitor him at 11pm on Wednesday in an upstairs bathroom with a small mirror. He was allegedly using it to pry open his ankle monitor and disable it with water.

     

    Though Goodman claimed he had hit the monitor on a shower door accidentally, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of West Palm Beach County commented:

     

    “I think he thought, you know, in my estimation he thought that was going to disable it. [It] doesn’t work like that… He paid the price for it because he’s back in the ‘Gun Club Hotel’ [Palm Beach County Jail]. That’s where he’s going to stay.”

     

    “Think about what’s going on in America right now. You know you’ve got celebrities and people with a lot of money, they get arrested, they break the law. And, after a while they just think the rules don’t apply to them.”

     

    “Well, guess what? That don’t happen here. He gets treated just like every other person that’s in my custody. He violates the rules, he’s back in jail.”

     

    As a result, John Goodman will now temporarily remain in jail until the 26th November.

     

    We await the next twist in this case with anticipation.

     

    Read our original report on the case against John Goodman and his subsequent conviction at: http://thesteepletimes.com/the-fog/no-thank-goodnesses-for-goodman/

  • The perils of fusion

    The perils of fusion

    Christian Huhnt reports on recent changes at Cassis restaurant

     

    As I work in the arts and also collect wines, I find Cassis Bistro in South Kensington most comfortable as here I find myself surrounded by great works by Julian Opie, Gary Hume and Henri Matisse alongside as a humongous and well-stocked wine rack at the back of the restaurant. Cassis is part of Marlon Abela’s restaurant group, Marc, which also includes The Greenhouse, Umu, Morello Bistro and Morton’s.

     

    Cassis Bistro’s decor cleverly combines wine and art
    Party guests at Cassis Bistro, 232 – 236 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2BB

    It was with anticipation, therefore, that I accepted an invitation to celebrate the arrival of Cassis’s new head chef, “le nouveau moteur de cuisine,” Massimiliano Blasone. Wait a minute: “Blasone”? That doesn’t sound to French to me. And indeed, he isn’t. This Italian chef made his name at Heinz Beck’s Michelin-starred Apsleys at The Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner.

     

    The first thing that I asked myself was: “What is an Italian chef doing in a French kitchen?” More importantly: “What is an Italian chef doing in a restaurant that has made its goal,” according to their own marketing material, “to deliver: The finest Provençal cuisine in London?”

     

    A leaflet promoting the “Provençal” cuisine on offer at Cassis

    After consulting the restaurant’s PR she told me the new idea is to “cook Provençal cuisine with an Italian influence.” What the heck? Why not add a Nigerian limbo dancer making sushi or a Muslim serving pork pies?

     

    Continuing, she told me that the former chef had left as he’d decided to open his own restaurant. I recall once having a delightful lunch when that particular chef was still at Cassis, roughly one year ago, and remember how tasteful and typically Provençal it actually was.

     

    Starting, as ever, with the drinks, I let the waiter choose my first one. He gave me a “Cassis Collins” which is supposedly the house cocktail. A mix of gin, crème de cassis soda, blackcurrant purée and lemon juice. Sadly, I could only really taste the lemon and overall it was too watery. It tasted as if it had been mixed 30-minutes prior to my arrival.

     

    Jessica Patterson and Steffen Timm at Cassis

    I quickly changed to an Italian classic, a Negroni, which was strong but cool. This was far more impressive. Steffen Timm, my companion and food connoisseur, went for a non-alcoholic cocktail with the notion to spare his palate for tasting the food later on, but while sipping at it he almost got a sugar shock and therefore turned to the booze too.

     

    While sat at the bar, I found myself surrounded by some delightful locals and regulars. Things were most definitely on the up. After nibbling one grissini after another, finally the food arrived, but it came at such a speed that I struggled to keep up. Not even finished with a typically Italian dish of tagliatelle con tartufo bianco, the kind waiter offered me some superb raw tuna served in a Middle East Asian style with bulgur. Having barely swallowed this, the next dishes presented to me were a pumpkin tortellini with truffles, followed by oysters with sour cream and cucumber. Quail’s eggs with truffles, a lamb saddle with ratatouille (which was probably the only ‘kind-of-Provençal’ canapé) and finally some perfectly made risotto with yet more truffles brought things to a crescendo. My love affair with truffles is well known and some readers may recall my sharing that with you in my review of Honky Tonk. I must say, however, that this particular dish was more reminiscent of something that one might find in a chic restaurant in St Tropez than in the Provençal settings I am used to.

     

    Provençal-style lamb saddle with ratatouille

     

    Although Cassis is delightful and I enjoyed an evening of conversation and company, sadly, this new kitchen seems to have lost its ethos and now lacks the authentic Provençal character that made it so good. I urge the management to return to the quintessentially rustic and traditional roots that first made the place so appealing.

     

    Cassis Bistro, 232 – 236 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2BB. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7581 1101. Website: http://www.cassisbistro.co.uk

     

  • “What time is it acceptable to have the first drink of the day?”

    Our “What’s on your mantelpiece?” question “What time is it acceptable to have the first drink of the day?” has attracted a large mailbag of correspondence. What’s your view? Please submit letters to [email protected]. All letters must be accompanied by contact details and your name and postal address.

     

    SIR – I drink from the moment I wake. Usually Earl Grey made with ginger-infused water. One then can have a Buck’s Fizz with brekkers.

     

    As to a ‘real drink’ I subscribe to the ‘When the Sun’s over the yard arm’ custom.

     

    Since I rarely drink alone and travel internationally with fortunate frequency, the timing is guided by the time zone of my companion. Hence I can be found slurping a Hendricks martini whilst others munch their Rice Crispies.

     

    Glenmore Stratton-Trenear-Harvey

    Pas de Calais, France

     

    SIR – My father taught me: “It must be 6pm somewhere in the world” in relation to the time that it was acceptable to have a drink. It works wherever and whenever.

     

    Godeke von Wedel

    Rheinberg, Germany

     

    SIR – I don’t drink alcohol. For me, it’s acceptable to have a glass of water at any hour of the day.

     

    Vicky Lloyd

    Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset

     

    SIR – 1pm onwards is generally a good time to have a drink.

     

    Drinking generally anytime before midday shows a slight dependency issue. However, if you’re a churchgoer and have your fix of holy sherry post mass around 11am on a Sunday, or you want to enjoy a late morning G&T before weekend lunch, I think that’s fine.

     

    I dated a guy briefly once who drank beer at 10am, after a night out. Whilst it wasn’t my prime reason for parting ways, it certainly didn’t make him very desirable – boozy breath in the morning is pretty disgusting and didn’t really go down well in my books.

     

    Catherine Chapman

    London, NW1

    SIR – As soon as theme tune BBC 6 o’clock news plays I reach for the corkscrew. I see it as an Audio-Pavlovian watershed.

     

    Melinda Hughes

    London, SW3

     

    SIR – It is acceptable whenever you feel like it on your birthday. With best friends it is OK in the afternoon on other occasions, but otherwise after 6pm is when drinking should commence.

     

    Aliona Adrianova

    London, E14

     

    SIR – Any day, anytime, anywhere.

     

    Adam Caldwell

    London, W14

     

    SIR – An acceptable time is too strict since having a drink applies to a phase.

     

    Kathleen de Cheyne

    West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

     

    SIR – They say: “No wine before nine” but they don’t specify am or pm. Another option is to get on a plane to a different time zone and get going.

     

    Ed Hood

    Tonbridge, Kent

     

  • Alexandra Abrahams

    Alexandra Abrahams

    Her knowledge of gin and the London bar scene is beyond impressive. She’s sociable and she possesses an enthusiasm that knows no bounds. She travels with a suitcase full of gin and for this and her jovial manner, Abrahams is always one of the most welcome guests at any gathering.

  • Hospitality’s game changers

    Hospitality’s game changers

    Sixteen rising stars in hospitality in New York by Oliver Estreich

     

    In the first of a series, we profile the up and coming achievers working in hospitality in New York:

     

    Miranda Mancuso:

    A lifelong New Yorker and graduate of the Brearley School, Miranda Mancuso’s interest in the hotel industry led her to the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. After graduation, she began her career with André Balazs Properties and is currently director of acquisitions and development. In that role, she focuses on finding and underwriting potential properties, helping to grow the company’s portfolio of boutique hotels. One recent project Mancuso was involved in was the acquisition of the Cooper Square Hotel, which is currently being transformed into the Standard East Village.

     

    Bobby Rossi:

    A New York native and Penn State graduate, Rossi has had a long history of brand building and hospitality development under his belt. Currently, Rossi owns and operates No.8 in which has quickly been recognised as an elite venue in New York City. Due to it’s rapid success, further outposts of the brand are being developed in Miami and Las Vegas with his partners, LDV Hospitality. In addition to his venues, Rossi is the principle of two other companies. One is Rossi Marketing Group, a leader in the strategic marketing field, and the other, Headlines & Heroes, an online men’s lifestyle guide that features products and services from an array of categories.

     

    Brian Mazza:

    Windsor Custom co-founder Brian Mazza developed an appreciation for the finest in menswear at an early age through his father, who instilled a love of fashion and understanding of quality, cut and design. A native New Yorker, he attended the University of Rhode Island where he majored in communications and dedicated a year to pursue his true passion and studied fashion and art in Florence, Italy at Lorenzo de Medici. When he returned to the States, Mazza accepted a position working in sales at Generra and also merchandised the collection for their top retailers. He subsequently began exploring the hospitality industry at The Paige Management Group where he quickly rose to director of hospitality and soon after became a partner at The Ainsworth and The Fulton, the group’s top-ranked venues. Windsor Custom combines Mazza’s expertise and love of the best in entertainment and dressing.

     

    Christina Civetta:

    Civetta started interning at PR Consulting where she had her first real opportunity to see some of the biggest NYFW shows and after-parties come together. It was this behind the scenes rush that sparked her interest. She states she has always have had a passionate love for fashion, art and music and that she loves that to to combine them organising events. Her favourite project was working on Mick Rock’s Exposed book tour, which she did with his manager and one of her close friends, Liz Vap of FeralCat Productions. She launched C2 Worldwide in 2010 with Cole Miller and feels she: “Hasn’t really looked back (or had time to!)” Her company works on partnerships for some of the most exclusive venues in Manhattan. She’s now expanding through the US and globally with brands and venue projects.

     

    David Hart:

    A chef who trained in London, David Hart has developed a wealth of diverse experience over the course of 18 years at the highest levels of the restaurant business. Having worked his way to the top in renowned companies, such as Soho House, Claridges Hotel and other well-known London restaurants, he adapted his talents and knowledge of the business to help launch various restaurants and bars in the UK.

     

    In 2004, Hart started his own events company and quickly secured prestigious accounts for the BBC and MTV at both the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival. It was while managing events logistics on board the yacht Annaliesse at Cannes in 2005 that he worked with Richard O’Hagan and the two became firm friends. Hart moved to the US in 2006 to run his own chef training and restaurant consultancy service. As Desmond’s executive chef and operations director, his culinary creativity is matched with significant operational knowledge.

     

    Michael Blum:

    Michael Blum has been working in real estate for the better part of ten years. He began on the construction site of a private residence and then worked for several developers and investors including a DC-based company focusing on commercial real estate. After graduating college, he moved to Bombay to co-manage the acquisitions for Crescent Heights, a US-based condo developer/converter. He also spent almost a year between India and Vietnam on residential, commercial and hospitality deals.

     

    In 2009, during his studies for his master’s in real estate development, he found a hotel in the Hamptons to use as his Capstone project for an artsy, boutique hotel. Simultaneously, he tried to acquire the hotel, only to lose out to a far more experienced Sean MacPherson.

     

    After completing his master’s, Blum was hired by a Mexican investor and hotel company, Grupo Habita, to oversee the construction and opening of a boutique hotel in Chelsea, called Hotel Americano. The hotel is on West 27th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. It has 56 rooms, 2 restaurants, and four bars. In addition to acting as a developer, Blum was also in charge of the pre-opening and became general manager, overseeing a team of over 100 employees. Hotel Americano was on Condé Nast’s 2012 Hot List, and won a James Beard Award for Best Restaurant Graphics.

     

    Blum has recently left Hotel Americano to redevelop a hotel and retail project of his own at Texas A&M University.

     

    Michael Stillman:

    As the son of one of the country’s leading restaurateurs, Michael Stillman grew up with a unique vantage point on the inner workings of the industry. Michael learned from a young age how artful design, quality ingredients, and creative marketing all play a critical role in attracting and retaining a loyal clientele.

     

    After graduating from Brown University with a double degree in modern and contemporary painting and African-American political theory, Stillman worked for the acclaimed Union Square Hospitality Group before learning the business of The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group from the ground up. After stints in the restaurants’ kitchens and purchasing departments, Stillman played a critical role in the opening of the Smith & Wollensky restaurants in Houston, Dallas, and Boston. During openings, Stillman participated in staff recruitment and training, menu development, and operations. He then led the creation and execution of every aspect of Quality Meats, Park Avenue, and the group’s newest project, The Hurricane Club.

     

    When the proposed merger of The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group closed, Stillman became president of Fourth Wall Restaurants, a New York-based restaurant group that owns, manages, and develops unique restaurant concepts, including Park Avenue, Quality Meats, Maloney & Porcelli, The Post House, The Hurricane Club and Smith & Wollensky New York.

     

    Dana Loia: 

    A native New Yorker and the creative force behind Dana’s Bakery. During her career as a photo editor, Loia achieved great success but felt something was missing. Pursuing her passion for baking, she enrolled in the pastry and baking program at New York’s Institute of Culinary Education, and graduated with honors.

     

    A pastry advocate and longtime lover of macarons, Loia was surprised by the lack of variety in flavors available. She saw an opportunity to do something no one else was doing and created a line of French macarons that have an American twist.

     

    With flavors like caramel popcorn, thin mint and S’mores to name a few, Dana’s Bakery has received an overwhelming response and is an instant hit among New Yorkers.

     

    Dana’s Bakery is currently sold exclusively in New York City and will launch nationwide in August.

     

    Brandon Freid:

    A native New Yorker and graduate of the University of Miami, Brandon Freid joined the Impulsive Group in 2003 where he began his business career managing operations and assets for the Ameritania Hotel in New York City. Freid now oversees the operations and management of the complete Impulsive Group portfolio, which includes Impulsive Charters, which charters yachts around the world, the sophisticated four-star Ameritania Hotel located in Midtown’s Theater District; the Moroccan-themed Marrakech Hotel nestled in the Upper West Side and the award-winning Sanctuary Hotel, also located in the Theater District.

     

    Freid’s mastery of business and finance is coupled with a solid grasp of architecture and design. He plays an instrumental role in the interior design and renovation work of all Impulsive Group properties.  His most recent project was designing The Sanctuary Hotel’s new rooftop lounge and restaurant, Haven, which just opened this month.

     

    Zachary Goldberg:  

    Zachary Goldberg was born and raised in Manhattan and entered the world of nightlife at a young age. He attended Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School for high school and continued his college education at Baruch where he graduated with a degree in corporate communications. Goldberg has worked in restaurants ever since he was 16 years old beginning as an assistant maitre’d at Town Restaurant and Blue Water Grill. His first nightlife gig was creating electronic dance music parties, before EDM was cool, at Marquee. When Lavo Nightclub premiered, Goldberg obtained then glamorous position of VIP host.

    Vip Manchanda:

    One successful restaurant will just be the start of it for Vip Manchanda, who is just getting his feet wet in New York City.

     

    Manchanda worked in nightclubs, bars, and restaurants as a student at the George Washington University and after graduating in 2008 came to New York to pursue his career in finance. That year, he opened Brick NYC. After realising his true passion was in hospitality, he left his finance career in 2009 and has never looked back.

     

    Apparently there are many more projects in the works, and Brick NYC just seems to be the launching pad for this successful restaurateur.

     

    Brick NYC is a two-floor space located in Tribeca and serves modern Italian fare.

     

    Nick Kenner:

    Nick Kenner left his job in finance to go into the risky restaurant business with his pal Rob Crespi. Their idea for Just Salad came when they realized there weren’t enough quick, healthy lunch options near their offices in Midtown.

     

    With the help and knowledge of a family friend, chef Laura Pensiero, who developed the menu and created 27 unique dressings, Just Salad opened its doors in 2006. A line of hungry young professionals gathered and Just Salad became a de facto singles scene. The lunch spot was such a hit that Kenner and Crespi were able to open another location only eight months later. Revenue is expected to top $3 million this year.

     

    Nick Cohen:

    It’s been said of DJ Nick Cohen: “I don’t know if he’s better known for his skills, the women he’s been with or the sneakers he’s created, but either way if DJing were movies, this kid would be the Australian version of a young Johnny Depp.”

     

    Cohen’s skills are great, but his music selection is better. He is not afraid to play any song and has a knack for understanding what makes women dance. Recent coverage in W Magazine and the following of a really interesting crowd makes Cohen my choice for the next New York DJ to take the crown: “More importantly, whenever he is spinning, the party is very high end. Good energy is hard to bottle and Cohen has a supply for several lifetimes.”

     

    Cohen lost his DJ virginity at Bungalow 8, New York City’s legendary playground for the international jet set. By the time he was old enough to drink legally, he was regularly featured in the many publications which chronicle the movements of the young and influential tastemakers who compose his loyal fan base, such as New York Magazine, Page Six, The Wall Street Journal, the Daily News, Gotham and Hamptons Magazine, to name a few.

     

    Having sharpened his teeth at elite nightclubs and private parties in his native Manhattan and Southampton summer playground, Cohen has in recent years transcended his birthplace and taken the game on the road, headlining marquee gigs coast to coast and across the globe.

     

    In fashion circles they say that you’ve got to know the rules before you can break them. This concept succinctly sums up Cohen’s iconoclastic boundary-breaking and genre-defying style. The hallmark of DJ genius is dropping the track nobody expected to hear and hearing a dull roar of enthusiasm bubble up from the crowd as the dance floor fills to capacity. Whether he’s bumping Nas at a white-tie wedding or throwing on Fleetwood Mac at a hip-hop industry gathering, DJ Nick Cohen keeps their heads ringing and their bodies moving.

     

    His singular sonic signature has everyone from Paris Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld to real estate kingpin Aby Rosen, Stavros Niarchos, Vito Schnabel, Gwen Stefani, Larry Gagosian, Dasha Zhukova, Maria Sharapova and Shady Aftermath Records chief Stuart Parr asking for: “The Nick Cohen sound.”

     

    Having fully earned his stripes through years of residencies at storied venues like Bungalow 8, Marquee, Avenue, 1Oak, Le Bain, Jet East, Pink Elephant, Cain and countless more, Cohen is now available strictly for private functions. In his spare time, he has recently developed, launched, and successfully sold high-end sneaker company Upper Echelon Shoes and is currently working on what promises to be New York’s most exciting new restaurant venture. Stay tuned.

     

    Alexander Ott:  

    World-renowned master alchemist, published author, and explorer Alex Ott learned the life of a nomad from his globe-trotting mother and father, a nutritionist, architect and musician, respectively, who exposed young Ott to a vast array of adventures.

     

    From playing with lions in Africa to exploring the Atlas Mountains, surfing with dolphins, and fighting off nature’s elements in the rainforest, Ott learned how to get the most out of life. His journeys provided him with the unique ability to experience the flavors of foreign lands and taste all the fruits of the earth.

     

    Ott began his career in mixology at age fourteen and learned the tricks of the trade under the tutelage of Heiko Beck and Thomas Kothe, owners of one of Europe’s most creative cocktail bars. After getting his bachelor of science in organic chemistry and further cultivating his craft, Alex launched the exotic cocktail menu for the famed Buddha Bar in Paris. The process inspired Alex to delve deeper into the art and science of drink alchemy and to develop his unique approach to infusing fresh fruits, spices, and herbs into elixirs used to stimulate the mind and body.

     

    For the next few years, Ott continued traveling and experiencing foreign cultures, tastes, and scents. After surviving a harrowing plane crash in Thailand in 1998 that killed 101 passengers, Ott had a renewed sense of dedication to all of the passions in his life, including art, surfing, film production, nature preservation, and flavor alchemy. Alexander Ott’s path led him to New York City, where he made a name for himself at the fusion eatery Sushi Samba where he was the first in Manhattan to use the famous muddle stick.

     

    Acclaimed for his unconventional drink mixes, Ott landed roles as himself in the HBO series Sex and the City and earned titles such as “Mixologist of the Year” and “Best Mixologist in America” from national publications for many consecutive years. Since then, Ott has worked and consulted with scientists, flavor houses such as Givaudan, more than fifty major spirits brands, including Svedka Vodka, Gallo Wines and Möet Hennessy. He has created over 290 cocktail menus worldwide, and endless cocktails for high-end establishments and events such as the Oscars, produced Tom Ford fragrances, invented space travel beverages for NASA, and helped conjure the hangover prevention drink MERCY.

     

    From over twenty years of experience in food and drink science, Alex has developed a one-of-a-kind approach to cocktails, now called elixirs and potions. In his upcoming book DR COCKTAIL 50 Spirited infusions for the Body and Mind he shares his knowledge of food science of botanicals, juices, herbs, and spices to awaken and stimulate the world to the effects and benefits of earth’s finest offerings.

    Daniel Holzman:

    Co-owner and executive chef of The Meatball Shop, Daniel Holzman started his cooking career at age 15 at Le Bernardin in New York City. Working after school and on weekends and holidays, Holzman remained there for 4 years until, at the suggestion of chef Eric Ripert, he attended the Culinary Institute of America with a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. Prior to graduation, Holzman accepted a position at the soon-to-open Paladin in New York City for chef Jean Louis Paladin, working alongside such culinary notables as Wylie Dufresne and Sam Mason.

     

    Six months later Jean Louis Paladin asked Holzman if he would be willing to move to Las Vegas, NV, to fill a vacancy at his flagship restaurant Napa in the Rio Hotel. Accepting the offer, Holzman began what would ultimately become a 10-year culinary journey through some of Los Angeles, and San Francisco’s finest restaurants including The Campton Place, The Fifth Floor, Aqua and Jardinière.

     

    In 2004, Holzman began his first management job as chef of the California organic bistro, Axe, in Venice, Los Angeles. After 1 year at Axe, Holzman was offered and accepted the position of executive chef at the Inn of the Seventh Ray, a 250-seat restaurant in the Topanga hills known for its romantic outdoor setting and lavish weddings. Holzman remained at the Inn until 2007 when he moved to San Francisco to open SPQR, a rustic Roman osteria, as co-owner and executive chef.  Within 3 months of opening SPQR received 3½ out of 4 stars from Michael Bauer in The San Francisco Chronicle, a rating usually reserved for far fancier restaurants.

     

    In 2008, Holzman and three partners founded KB Treats LLC, an ice cream novelty company. KB’s first product, QB’s (crispy rice and marshmallow treats filled with ice cream), were an immediate success and can be found in markets nationwide, including Whole Foods, Giant and Stop and Shop.

     

    Michael Chernow:

    Co-owner and general manager of The Meatball Shop, Michael Chernow began his professional restaurant career in 1996 behind the bar of the popular nightclub, Life, on Bleecker Street in New York City.

     

    Learning from the ground up, Chernow quickly worked his way through the ranks becoming the youngest bartender on staff. After 2 years working at both Life in New York and its East Hampton sister club, The Tavern, Chernow signed on to open Woo Lae Oak on Mercer St. in New York City. In 2001, Chernow made the move to Los Angeles where he worked at Woo Lae Oak’s original location on La Cienega Blvd. Returning to New York, he opened Punch and Judy, a wine bar on Clinton Street. In 2002, Frank Prizanzano offered Chernow a position behind the bar of his eponymous flagship restaurant Frank on Second Avenue.

     

    For 7 years, Chernow managed the bar at Frank where he had a large, loyal following. In 2007, Chernow enrolled in the French Culinary Institute (FCI), graduated with honors, and was awarded an associate’s degree in both culinary arts and restaurant management in 2008.

     

  • Just what the doctor ordered

    Just what the doctor ordered

    A review of Elistano, Chelsea

     

    Lunch in the company of Rex Leyland, who co-founded The Restaurant Doctor with Pierre Koffman and Terence Martin, is always a pleasure as he is frankly one of the most passionate foodies I’ve ever encountered. We recently met, along with the former restaurateur Anthony Brown, at Elistano in Chelsea and a good time was had by all.

     

    Elistano, 25-27 Elystan Street, London, SW3 3NT

    Leyland is a character whom the Evening Standard once described as an “excitable bearded man.” He founded the Chelsea institution Foxtrot Oscar with Michael Proudlock and variously owned other restaurants including Jake’s in Hollywood Road and Busby’s. Now based between a gargantuan houseboat at Kew Bridge on the River Thames and a home in Spain, his insatiable enthusiasm for food, cars and planes is quite wonderful. You can follow him on Twitter @Rexthesex.

     

    Elistano is itself a restaurant that I have known for some years as a good friend, Guy Mountford, worked there whilst he lived in the UK. He sadly suddenly had to return to South Africa after breaking up with a girlfriend and in the following period many changes have followed. As is often the case in the restaurant business, chefs and managers have come and gone at Elistano but now the venue seems to be back on track after a much needed facelift.

     

    One of the problems at Elistano was that it was just too noisy. Owner Derek Taylor has successfully rectified this by installing sound reducers and this has somewhat solved the problem. The décor has also been updated considerably and my only criticism would be that the flooring remains stuck in 1972. In time, I am sure this will be replaced also.

     

    To start, we shared a selection of small plates and salads. Mr Leyland was especially impressed with a Vitaminica salad (£12.95) that he described as “fabulous” but Mr Brown’s beef Carpaccio (£10.95) was unfortunately fridge cold. My choice of chorizo sausage in red wine sauce, however, was a little too fatty and somewhat disappointing.

     

    I continued with a delicious chicken escalope with rocket and cherry tomatoes. At £12.50 this was great value for money and the chips (£3.95), surprisingly for an Italian restaurant, were exceptional.

     

    Mr Brown opted for the 8oz rib eye steak with béarnaise sauce and a grilled tomato (£17.95). All meat at Elistano comes from the restaurant’s neighbour, Jago’s butchers, a terrific local business, but sadly on this occasion the cut was mostly fat. Himself living across the road from the restaurant, he did however comment that on previous visits this particular steak had generally been a most suitable choice.

     

    We concluded with Elistano’s homemade tiramisu, as well as trifle (both at £5.95 each) and a cheese selection (£7.95). The tiramisu was perfectly executed but the trifle was somewhat lacking. As I see only too often, the cheese was served fridge cold. This is an error that would have resulted in a meltdown if a certain American I know had been present and it is a mistake that restaurants should take heed to ensure does not occur. White wine should be served from the coolest of fridges. Cheese should be at room temperature.

     

    The wine list at Elistano understandably is mainly Italian in focus. A 2010 Pinot Grigio is pefectly quaffable and priced at £24 a bottle. Variety comes in the form of a list that ranges from a half-litre carafe of house wine priced at £11 to an £89.50 Montepulciano. The Vina Zaca Rioja (£29.95) we tried was also especially good.

     

    Elistano is somewhere one can rely on for good simple cuisine at reasonable prices. Yes, it has faults but so do all restaurants. This is a neighbourhood restaurant that truly deserves a chance.

     

    Elistano, 25-27 Elystan Street, London, SW3 3NT. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7584 5248. Website: http://www.elistano.com

     

    Follow Elistano on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/elistano

  • John B. Goodman

    John B. Goodman

    John B. Goodman sold his family business, Goodman Manufacturing, for $1.43 billion in 2004 and founded the International Polo Club Palm Beach. This socialite and protégé of the $7 billion Ponzi-schemer Sir Allan Stanford, claimed: “I don’t know what happened” when put on trial for smashing his Bentley into a Hyundai driven by Scott Wilson in 2010. Bizarrely, he attempted to adopt his girlfriend as his daughter to save his fortune and after spending years under house, John Goodman was finally jailed for 16 years for killing Wilson in December 2014. Here is a case of an individual some called a “generous and decent man” who truly screwed up.

     

  • Long live the spies

    Long live the spies

    Vadim J. Birstein wins the first Intelligence Book of the Year Award

     

    Yesterday a reception was held in a fascinating hotel named the St. Ermin’s to announce the winner of the first Intelligence Book of the Year Awards.

     

    The grand exterior of the recently refurbished St. Ermin's Hotel, Caxton Street, London, SW1H 0QW

    The setting, just next to Scotland Yard, was most appropriate as the hotel has many connections to diplomacy, spying and covert operations. The building’s close proximity to the headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Services (SIS, AKA MI6) was a reason it became a convenient venue where agents could meet in the 1930s and 1940s but it was when SIS took over an entire floor in 1936 to accommodate a new division that it became most important.

     

    Section D, referring to “D” for destruction, was headed by Colonel Lawrence Grand and he was tasked with preparing plans for the sabotage of strategic sites in Europe that might fall into Nazi hands in the event of war. The division remained at the hotel until 1940 when Section D was absorbed into the Special Operations Executive but even after continued to use the St. Ermin’s as a meeting place.

     

    Kim Philby in Russia in 1968, five years after defecting

    The most famous spy linked to the hotel was Kim Philby. In his memoirs, My Silent War, Philby, whose cryptonym was “Stanley,” tells of being interviewed to join the SIS there and also of meeting Guy Burgess at his office in the building. He was also said to have used the hotel’s Caxton Bar with fellow Cambridge Five traitor Donald Duart Maclean, AKA “Homer.”

     

    Invited by one of the judges, British intelligence analyst Glenmore Trenear-Harvey, I found it intriguing to attend an event which mixed such luminaries as the espionage journalist and author Harry Chapman Pincher, the Evening Standard’s Mira Bar-Hillel, former CBS reporter Jesse Schulman and Claire Rubinstein, formerly of the BBC. A smattering of journalists, a racehorse owner and various representatives of the hotel equally were a delight to converse with as the champagne flowed.

     

    The judging panel for the award, which featured a list of some 34 books, included an intelligence bibliophile and historian named Daniel J. Mulvenna, formerly of the Security Service of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Andrew Lownie, an author of a forthcoming book on the life of Guy Burgess; Michael Smith, an author of many books on espionage; and Nigel West, a former Conservative MP, intelligence historian and author who is also known as Rupert Allason.

     

    Dr Vadim J. Birstein, scientist and historian, award-winning author, pictured at the St. Ermin’s Hotel with Glenmore S. Trenear-Harvey, Editor-in-Chief of the World Intelligence Review and an Intelligence Book of the Year Award judge
    The famous “Don’t Chatter” poster created by Nina Vatolina, an aunt of the "SMERSH" author Dr Vadim Birstein, during the first days of the Great Patriotic War

    West spoke on behalf of the panel when he awarded Dr Vadim J. Birstein, a Russian-American historian and molecular geneticist, a £3,000 prize for his groundbreaking history of an acronym of a Russian phrase, SMERSH. In his account SMERSH: Stalin’s Secret Weapon Soviet Counter Intelligence in WWII, Birstein enlightens readers with his account of a phrase that means: “Death to spies.” Though the term is best known because of SMERSH being James Bond’s sinister opponent in Ian Fleming’s novels, the real life version was said to be far worse.

     

    In his concluding remarks Nigel West commented that the spy genre is “thriving in literary terms” and indeed instead of SMERSH, may I add: “Long live the spies.”

     

    For further information on the Intelligence Book of the Year Awards contact Tim Fordham-Moss on +44 (0) 771 049 1788 or email: [email protected]

     

    Further details are also listed on the St. Ermin’s Hotel’s blog: http://www.sterminshotelblog.co.uk/?p=278

     

  • Gin O’Clock

    Gin O’Clock

    Celebrate World Gin Day at The Rib Room

     

    At 12 noon I often receive a message from my good friend the photographer to the stars, John Stoddart. As a fellow gin aficionado, we regularly raise a toast to one another as well as all manner of others things. After all, as they say: “If you can’t have one eleven, have eleven at one.”

     

    Hogarth’s famous print “Gin Lane”

    Saturday 9th June marks a celebration of all things gin as it is World Gin Day™ and I am pleased to share with you news of a brilliant way of celebrating what could become the only invented celebratory day that I will agree to embrace with gusto. The Rib Room at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower is offering a Sloane Street Vesper to all who take their mum to their bar and quote the words “Mother’s Ruin” absolutely free of charge.

     

    The drink itself consists of a combination of Sipsmith Gin, Pinky Vodka, Americano Cocchi and Lillet Blanc served straight up. The Rib Room themselves describe it as being: “Cheek, chic, pose and poise.”

     

    I’ll certainly be there to celebrate “Gin O’Clock.” Make mine a treble.

     

    The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant, Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Cadogan Place, London, SW1X 9PY. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7858 7250. Website: http://www.theribroom.co.uk.

     

    Follow The Rib Room on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/RibRoomSW1

     

    For more information about World Gin Day™, go to: http://worldginday.com

  • Holly Candy (born Holly Rachel Vukadinović)

    Holly Candy (born Holly Rachel Vukadinović)

    Best known for her role as Flick Scully on the soap Neighbours, this Australian born actress, singer and model struck gold when she married the British property tycoon Nick Candy. Her foray into music as Holly Valance brought success with Kiss Kiss but she subsequently fell out with her manager and had to pay him $350,000 in damages. She’s now most likely to be found on London’s social circuit or out shopping.