Viaplay, a popular streaming service from Scandinavia, has launched in the United States, offering a unique collection of curated content from the Nordic region.
Apart from spring, New Yorkers now have something else to get excited about coming this May. It was announced today that NYC will be holding its own groundbreaking Asian concert “Head In The Clouds Music and Arts Festival.” This “Head In The Clouds New York Music Arts Festival” like its Los Angeles counterpart will be presented by 88rising.
The Blue Jacket Fashion Show united fashion, the arts, and influential celebrities from diverse industries for a great cause – to help raise awareness and funds for the prevention of Prostate Cancer through the organization, ZERO.
January 26, 2023, Manhattan New York. Hard Rock Hotel. Detroit native and Platinum certified recording artist, Quinn XCII, shutdown the illustrious Hard Rock hotel in New York City to usher in his new album, โThe Peopleโs Champโ. The pre-album release performance venue occupied two floors of the performance wings with a VIP bar on the second level that served complimentary cocktail drinks, inspired by the theme of the album.ย
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Owner Debbie Ellen Jones of Ellen’s Wine and Spirites, brings a unique and new concept to the usual liquor store environment. Her creative use of categorization immediately caught my eye once I walked into the store for our one-on-one tasting and interview. Everything is organized by price, colorful dots, and charming emojis. The colorful dots spotlight whether the product embodies, “female power, minority, kosher, I love NY, biodynamic, organic and off dry and sweet” options. The charming emojis are displayed like a fun game game of literal verses symbolic flavors, for example, mushrooms for earthy, and wood for smoky. The store being displayed by price also provides a go-to comfortable area for each individual customer that walks in. Owner Debbie’s hospitality, enthusiasm, vast knowledge, and huge passion come from her 11 years of expertise as a Sommelier, including at a 2 Michelin Star Restaurant, Jungsik in Tribeca.
Owner Debbie Ellen Jones of Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
N:ย ย I love the categorization of your liquor store. What brought about this idea and made you want to do that?
D:ย ย I’ve been in the restaurant industry in NYC for about 11 years now, and being a female in the wine industry for a long time, it is still represented majority by males. And being a female in the wine industry, I understand that there’s very few of us, and I wanted to represent the underrepresented. There are very few females in the wine industry, there are even fewer minorities in the wine industry, so this is where the ideas sort of came from. But also, I’m keeping in mind about the quality of the product that we have, and representing also the local industry as well, such as, we are in Queens, in Ridgewood, so we want to represent…about 20-25 percent of our inventory is from New York and then everything else is globally. We also have a great sticker system so females in the wine industry are represented by pink, minorities in the wine industry are represented by purple, we have a small amount of Kosher represented by blue, organics by orange, biodynamics is green, and then also off dry-to sweet styles of wine, for ease of locating different products that someone might be interested in. Our wine section is organized by price point so, $14, $20, and $28 on the long wall there, and inside those respected price points, you have about 40 different selections of wines ranging from white, rose, and also reds from all around the world, and each wine has a label and also emojis, because I think emojis are very simple to understand, and when somebody walks into a wine shop, they might feel a little bit intimidated, so I try to make this wine shop as easy as possible to navigate. We also have a small section of orange wines, sparking wine, such as champagne, pet nat prosecco, for example as well, and then we have our spirites section where we represent scotch whiskey, also whiskey from Japan, a lot of American, urbans, and ryes, and then also, Irish whiskey, mezcal, tequila, vodka, gin, and then after dinner drinks such as cognac, amores as well. Some Vermouth, so you can shake up some cocktails.
Owner Debbie Ellen Jones of Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Owner Debbie Ellen Jones of Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Owner Debbie Ellen Jones of Ellen's Wine And Spirites. Photo By Dijana Mesin
N:ย ย Nice! I would love to know since you did come from a Michelin Star Restaurant, what was that transition like into more retail, more ownership, and more entrepreneurship?
D:ย ย I’m still actually a part of the restaurant industry. We just opened the wine shop about 2 months ago. We had our soft opening, and our grand opening was November 16th, so we are a very new wine shop located in Ridgewood, and we’re still expanding as you can see in the center of the store. We have another price-point, categorized, so anything above $30 is in the center, reds, and whites, and in the future we are going to expand these sections, so that it’s a larger section…that is our improvements for the future though. I, in the Michelin Star Restaurant industry, am at the Jungsik, it’s a 2 Michelin Star Restaurant in Tribeca. That transition was relatively easy because I have such an amazing staff at the wine shop to run everything on the day to day. I have great support!
N:ย ย Can you speak a bit about being a Sommelier and being that representation, and how you hope to leave your mark in this industry?
D:ย ย I hope to leave a mark in the industry by raising awareness of females and minorities in the wine industry. I think that the more that we talk about the equality or the opportunities for some verses others, have to be a little more equal because as a Sommelier, the certifications are very expensive, buying wine itself is very expensive to expand your palette, and to also learn about spirites as well. All of this has a dollar amount. So I would like to expand the awareness of how the restaurant industry and the wine industry can help those who need it.
Executive Chef and Partner of Pig Beach & Barbeque Restaurants, Matt Abdoo, brings together his cultures of being half-Italian and half-Lebanese, to his delicious dishes. Being an informational and charismatic Guest Chef on TV shows such as, The Today Show, has “always been a dream” for him. He drew up watching the greats – Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, and Bobby Fley, being “iconic rockstars,” telling me, “I remember Emeril Lagasse doing his thing, and being completely enthralled by it.” Abdoo is also an Award Winning Pit Master, a Food Network Celebrity Judge, and a classically trained, fine-dining Chef, as well as the Co-Author of “Pig Beach: BBQ Cookbook,” along with Shane McBride.
“Food is about brining people to the table, sharing your love, with your family, with your friends, and with your loved ones, to bring everyone together.” What I found most celebratory about the dinner event, was the absolute deep enthusiasm and passion that he embodies during his demonstrations. “Getting every demographic, every diverse group and everyone from every walk of life, getting excited about food” was always something “special,” for him.
N: How did the partnership come about with Zippo, and what excites you most about this partnership? Why is Zippo so targeted to your audience?
M: Well, first and foremost, there isn’t a better lighter on the market than the Zippo. It’s the most reliable and badass looking lighter that’s out there, and it works consistently without ever worrying about it at all. I started using these lighters when I was much younger, in my upstate New York days, just setting camp fires in my Boy Scout trips. It was always like the cool thing to breakout that really cool lighter that was in your survival pack, and then it grew to be this sort of iconic thing, that everyone knows what it is, whether it’s a movie scene or a tv show- the villain or the hero, where the guy like sets the house on fire, or blows it up. There’s always a Zippo, but that sound is like quintessential. You hear the click, and it’s lit, and it’s just the coolest thing ever, so I’ve always loved using these lighters for as long as I can remember. It happened just by happenstance, that Sherry, who I’ve worked with in the past, reached out to me and said, “hey, we got this really incredible thing/ client that we’re working with. I think you would be perfect for them!” And she connected us and they took a liking to me and knew that the whole, barbeque, pig-master, live-master thing was a good match, and we just had a lot of fun working together, collaborating on these dishes and holiday-themed recipes, doing something special so that we can have a really fun holiday event with you guys!
N: Love it, and I want to congratulate you on the cookbook! What are your top two…
M: Oh my God, recipes?!
N: Yes!
M: That’s like trying to pick who’s your favorite child! So the really cool thing about the Pig Beach cookbook is the majority core is based upon fundamental barbeque recipes. Later in the book we have some cool recipes that me and my partner Shane, that helped me write the book, take our fine-dining-“Chef-y” careers, and we get a little bit more elaborate with smoke, and the flavor, verses just traditional barbeque. We have some incredible recipes. I’ll give you one- my favorite Barbeque recipe, and then I’ll give you my favorite, what we call, “non-barbeque-barbeque” chapter. So, my favorite recipe in the cookbook is gotta be our peach and glazed baby-honey-back ribs… In the “non-barbeque-barbeque chapter,” it’s gonna be a toss up either between, again, cause of my fine-dining Italian roots and barbeque, we do this smoked-duck lasagna in the back of the book.”
The wonderful and delicious dinner and specialty drinks was concluded with goodie bags filled with Matt and Shane’s cookbook, Zippo decorative lighters of choice, candle lighters and chargers.
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Zippo Dinner. Photo By Dijana Mesin
Right around the corner, we attended the last #TheDryChallenge workout class in honor of the New Year. We sweat and toned at SLT Tread in Nomad – an event hosted by the author of The Dry Challenge:ย How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month.
“Attention Upper East Siders, your fav show returns with even more scandalous drama, and fashionable glamour, and the served tea, will be hot!”
The Stars of Broadway joined forces for a night of philanthropy, celebration, and joyful music!
I once played a show in Paris and was excited to try as much food as possible that day, but all I had time for was a chicken shack by my hotel. And while that chicken did slap, I knew Iโd been cheated.
So when I heard Mr. T, with its Parisian outpost, French techniques and international street food was opening in LA, I knew I had to find my way there. I was not disappointed.
The space is industrial and trรจ chic, with exposed pipes and uncovered bulbs. It feels at once high end yet approachable.
All photos by Ron Clark
I started with a couple sensational drinks, as I do. First was the Mr. T, a sublime mezcal-based drink featuring fruity accoutrements; prickly pear, Cointreau, lime juice, agave and candied hibiscus. This is obviously their signature drink, and it was sensational, the mezcal a perfect smoky balance to the other sweet ingredients.
Next up was the Let Me Ride, the sweetest drink on the menu. Itโs made with tequila, mango, lime juice, agave, and squirt with a mango purรฉe tajin rim. I loved it, though itโs more of a summertime al fresco taste. Iโd absolutely have it again.
The โUniโ was my appetizer. Itโs sea urchin topped with confit egg yolk and Koshihikari rice. It was subdued and incredibly fresh, a savory and buttery taste that was lighter than I expected.
The morning before I went to this dinner, my very sophisticated friend said โyou canโt go wrong with steak frites,โ so I ordered it. I trust him with my life.
He was correct! Iโve always adored hanger steak, and this was a particularly choice offering. I ordered it medium rare, and it was succulent and juicy. I just involuntarily drooled thinking about it.
Despite that high praise, the dish of the night was the striped bass sabayon, an unbelievably delicious cut of fish that tasted so sophisticated and fresh I couldnโt help but fall head over heels.
The vandouvan crust was such a lovely touch, a welcome addition to both the texture and taste of the dish. Canโt stress it enough: I was blown away by this.
The poulet frit โcesarโ was decadent, a fried Cornish game hen slathered in hot honey. It was lovely and sinful, which is a wonderful combination.
Rounding out the night was apple pithiviers, a straightforward and gently-bombastic dessert. I had a great time with it, though after the heavier entrees, I shouldโve chosen something a bit lighter.
Mr. T more than lives up to the hype. This developing corridor of Hollywood is lucky to have such a tremendous dining experience. I canโt recommend it enough.