THE-NAKED-APPLE
Lexington Brass. Two words that make up the name to the yummiest new restaurant in midtown! The geniuses behind Tenjune, Abe and Arthur's and SL, the EMM group, opened this eatery last week. I originally went to this place looking for a happy hour spot in midtown but discovered so much more. It actually opens at 7am for breakfast and has a impressive lunch menu as well. The cocktail list was unique with drinks like "penicillin" and my personal favorite "sweet savannah" which is made with Absolut wild tea, it's a naughty iced tea, minty, refreshing drink. One really cool thing about this place is that it has a wine tap!!!! They have both white and red wine on tap! Not only is it an amazing concept, but it makes for a fresh glass of wine. I sampled some things from the dinner menu and I have to say, if I was an inmate on death row my last meal on earth would be Lexington Brass's NY strip and their sweet corn ravioli. The food was so good, I was left speechless for once in my life. I've traveled the world, eaten at the best restaurants and I'm going to make a bold statement right now, the BEST desserts I have ever had was the candy bar and upside down cheesecake from this restaurant. The candy bar is a blend of chocolate, crispy-amazingness mixed with a little George Clooney and Bradley Cooper. YUM YUM. For all of you who work or live in the midtown east area, you need to come check this spot out.The food is truly beyond delicious and the happy hour is one of the best in Midtown, packed with lots of attractive 20 and 30 somethings. This place has it all; great breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, happy hour, and hot men and women to look at while you eat your candy bar.
Lexington Brass- 517 Lexington Ave (between 48th and 49 street)
I love going back to my hometown. I spend quality time with my family and friends, get some fresh air, and down time from the madness of New York City. Living in NYC can make you jaded and angry, there's just too many people living here and you wanna knock out the next person who slams into you because they're too busy texting. Or how about those annoying people who do not know how to walk down the street? I know you fellow New Yorkers know what I'm talking about. But the most amusing thing about going home is seeing those girls who peaked in high school who are now ugly and enormous.
I'm almost out of my pasta carb coma! One of my most beautiful friends had her birthday party at Box last night. I haven't been there in so long, but let me tell you….ignore all those ugly rumors…..the shows are still beyond normal mental comprehension. I couldn't take pictures, but I literally witnessed a fat lady stabbing her camel toe with a butcher knife. Now I'm sure this was hopefully staged…I at least tell myself that!!!! Beyond that crazy show, a few really talented people really showed that they need to be off the box stage and onto something much more.
Fashion week? Whats that? Move over fashion week! Italy is taking over NYC this week. Andrea Boccelli is in town having a live concert on Thursday, September 15th, and Barilla Pasta will be making many New Yorkers's stomachs very happy. My tastebuds and I had the pleasure of attending the first annual Casa Barilla event at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park yesterday. I have always thought Barilla pasta was the best --it's what I choose when I cook pasta at home. I love my carbs, and I just don't understand those no carb freaks, I really don't.
There are so many fun things to do at Casa Barilla. I watched a pasta cook off, got a photo of my head shaped in pasta, learned how to make lemon spaghetti from the sexy chef Scott Conant, and of course sampled many servings of all different sorts of pasta; and even had a delicious cafe macchiato from the espresso bar! My favorite pasta dish of the day was the carrot and quash. There's a five dollar entrance charge for the event, and all the proceeds go to the Food Bank of NY. It's for a great cause ,but for all you nickel and dimers out there, trust me, you get your money's worth!
Wow. What a crazy summer. And the craziest weekend of the summer by far was the last one. Labor day weekend was absolute debauchery. I went to the Hamptons. There were a lot of casualties this weekend, one being my cell phone --which was victim to the biggest champagne shower in history. Not sure why, but people were out of control! Let me break down my weekend for you…. The chaos began early Saturday, I stopped by Walbaums (yes, Walbaums!) to get free pizza. Artichoke Restaurant in NYC headed by Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss hosted a tasting for their new frozen pizza line. Only these two guys could fill a parking lot of a grocery store with gorgeous models and party girls. Watch out Digiorno…
On Wednesday night, legendary nightlife/restaurant guru Noah Tepperberg had his birthday celebration. For you people living under a rock, Noah owns some of the best and most profitable nightclubs in the world. Just to name a few venues, does Tao, Marquee, Lavo and Avenue ring a bell? The night started at Tao with a 300+ person dinner. Everyone was dressed in white, as it was a white and neon themed party. Even the infamous giant Buddha who sits in the main dining room was dressed properly with a white shirt and neon sunglasses and was surrounded by gorgeous busty dancers with onion booties that definitely made me tear up a little bit. T & A was clearly the main course for dinner. Everyone then went to Lavo, where Kaskade was DJing. (I seriously love his song "Move for me" from 2008 and will never ever get sick of it. I still listen to it now while I walk the stinky streets of NYC.) It was a epic evening at Lavo. Filled with the most beautiful people in NYC, with dozens of people flying in from around the world just for the special occasion. Lots and lots of bottles of champagne being popped and a gigantic pair of sneakers in a form of a birthday cake all for the special birthday boy. I would have to say it will be nearly impossible for anyone to top this birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Mr. Noah Tepperberg!!!!
Last Wednesday night I went out for a friends birthday. We had dinner at Beauty and Essex in the lower east side. This place is fairly new, and the food is pretty yummy. I had the lobster tacos. And for all you shopoholics like me, there's a small store selling all sorts of random jewelry and odds and ends when you first walk into the restaurant. The hostesses were super nice and even charged my dead phone. Now onto the good stuff… the rest of the night was a giant blur. We went to Avenue after dinner, where we ended up hanging out with Usher and Maxwell. I sang Justin Bieber songs to Usher, I was shocked when he didn't offer me a record deal. Clearly he didn't recognize my raw talent. Around 3am, we all headed over to 1oak and there was surprise performance by Tinie Tempah, the British rapper who has that hit "Written in the Stars." He rapped about 3 songs and disappeared. Jesse Marco was djing at 1oak besides being super cute he's definitely one of the best DJs out there right now. I loved his entire eclectic playlist.
There's one DJ that you will always find at the best hip hop parties in the city: DJ SussOne. While I usually head to open format places like Avenue, SL and 1oak when I go out, I decided last Monday that I would venture to Juliet Supperclub for the Keri Hilson album release party. I didn't really recognize her, she was wearing this new bleach blonde Lady Gaga-ish weave. Truthfully, not sure who her stylist is, but Keri should "knock her down." Only Lady Gaga can pull off a wig like that. Keri has looked wayyyy better.
Yes, like most B list celebs who get paid to go to a nightclub, she came late and didn't stay long. (Sounds like a bad boyfriend.) It's kind of insane when you really think about how much these "celebs" are getting paid just to show up somewhere then leave after a half hour. The funniest is when they leave and then go to another club, one that didn't pay them.
For July 4th weekend I went to the Hamptons per usual and went to South Pointe to hear Steve Powers and Rony Seiklay spin. Rony is one massively tall man, and not only was he a talented basketball player but hes also a really talented DJ. He brings the crowds and they came with their credit cards on hand to listen to him at South Pointe. I hope to hear him and Steve play together again soon!
I decided to take a weekend off from the Hamptons madness and venture to Vegas to watch one of my best friends play in the world series of poker and also catch DJ Steve Powers spinning at the Marquee Pool and Tao Beach party. Now for the small percentage of you who have never been to Vegas, I can sum it up for you with these two words…..Liver Failure. Everytime I go I need a good week to recover. Go big or go home, thats my motto. And this trip I def went big. I drank and gambled till about 9 in the morning for two days straight, almost got kicked out of the Wynn (who knew rubbing the chips and cards on your breasts and calling the dealer a b*tch was frowned upon?) and met some cool new people.
The past week has been a busy one for me. I'm moving into my new apartment and it's my birthday on June 20th!!! I went out Wednesday night with all my close NYC girlfriends for a early birthday dinner at Crossbar. It's Todd English's new resto-bar located in the Limelight Church on 47 W. 20th and 6th ave. The space is absolutely stunning! One of the most beautiful venues I have ever seen. With gothic marble cross tables, and red velvet church pews in the bar area to the Moroccan day beds and wooden tables in the patio, the entire design of the place was gorgeous. I'm a huge foodie and think about food all day. I swear I have a tapeworm (his name is Frank, he will be mentioned a lot in my future articles).
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