MOE.
What a great weekend to have been in Miami! The South Beach Wine & Food Festival went on from Thursday, February 23rd, through Sunday, February 26th, with different events going on each day. I had the absolute fortune to attend the opening party, "The Q", hosted by celebrity chefs Emeril Lagasse and Guy Fieri.
Set up behind the Delano, right on the beach, the smells of barbecue and ocean water hit your nose as soon as you handed over your coveted ticket. That's right, folks! barbecue was the theme of the night! About a city block’s worth of beach space was transformed into a barbecue wonderland, with chefs having set up booths on the left and right and various bars set up right down the center. The very first thing we did was hit up the bar for a truly lovely little cocktail called a "Grand Berry". Consisting of Grand Marnier liqueur, cranberry juice, and fresh lime juice, it was a great sweet, crisp and light choice to get our mouths ready for the smokey, savory, deliciousness of the food we would soon glut ourselves on. And glut we did!
All said and done, we managed to hit up 10 chefs. Although everyone produced a great product, there were a few unquestionable stand outs in the crowd, the first being Guy Fieri. I'll admit to having a bit of a foodie crush on this man, but please believe me when I say that his food was hands down the best of the night. Everything about his "banh mi taco with BBQ chicken fried Rice" was great! The best word I can use to describe it would have be "dynamic", as it exploded in my mouth with flavor. While everyone else seemed to be pushing ribs and coleslaw here comes Guy Fieri with the last thing I would expect to find at a barbecue.
The very first thing we saw when we approached Guy's table was the man, himself, wearing his signature shades, laughing uproariously and popping a bottle of Moët, which he poured for his fellow chefs working the booth with him. A lot can be said for presentation, as well. Some of the dishes we tried were alright, they tasted just fine, we enjoyed them...but they were served to us on little paper plates. Not Guy! He served his in a corn husk boat with a generous pile of yummy rice, two light corn tortillas, and chopped scallions as garnish. Lovely.
Another stand out of the night for me was Nadia G of Bitchin' Kitchen fame. I got a chance to talk to her a little while in line for her yummy "slow smoked pork belly with balsamic BBQ sauce, green onion and cucumber on an open-faced challah bun sandwich". She couldn't have been nicer, and she told me she was having a great time in beautiful Miami and having great fun with the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Her food was excellent! The pork was super tender and had a nice smokey flavor to it, and the barbecue sauce added a certain sweetness and tang that really went well with the relative mildness of the bun. All in all I was very impressed by her dish.
The band was rocking, the cocktails were flowing, and I hit up the Godiva Chocolate bar more than once. To cleanse my palate, of course. I had a grand time.
Derek and Daniel Koch of Dual Groupe will collaborate with Aurelia Group for a Day & Night Gold Standard Brunch on February 25 from 2:00 pm to 7:00pm at Ajna Bar (formerly Buddha Bar), with glamorous Red Carpet functions preceeding the excitement.
Proceeds from the ticket sales for this pre-Oscar themed brunch will benefit the American Cancer Society, fighting cancer through research, outreach, and treatment with more than 12 chartered divisions and 900 local offices nationwide. The event will feature a lavish, “5 star, white glove” gourmet brunch courtesy of Moet &Chandon, Krol Vodka, and Source Water, in addition to a live music set by Madonna’s Official DJ, Grammy-nominated producer Tracy Young, and resident DJ Claudius Raphael. Though this event has usually been invite-only, limited amounts of tickets have been released for sale to the general public.
Rick Ross, dressed in his signature head to toe white threads, celebrated his 36th birthday at Club Amnesia in Miami over the weekend. The legendary rapper drew a swarm of fans along with some of the biggest names in hip hop including Dr. Dre, Diddy, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, and the LOX, amongst others. He was also joined by singer/producer Sean Garrett and former business manager and head of Poe Boy, E-Class. Guests enjoyed flowing bottles of Moet champage and, naturally, Ciroc Vodka (Diddy's brand), while listening to sets by DJ Camilo.
Speaking of, Diddy rolled up as expected with an entourage that included Cassie, his son Justin, and French Montana --the latest new artist to join Bad Boy Records. The highlight of the night was when Ross took to the stage for a live performance of his 'Holy Ghost' track which also features Diddy.
What are the odds that two famous guys are on the same airplane, both in first class...and they're not even together? Better yet, how could neither of them notice the other in line? Are the bigger seats really that awesome? Is that why neither wanted to give one up?
We are talking about Kris Humphries (aka Mr. Kim Kardashian), 26, and a hilariously-awkward plane ride that involves his wife's former boyfriend Ray J, 30.
On a Delta flight Sunday from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Kris Humphries found himself in an aisle seat across from Ray J, the same guy that starred in a sex tape with now- married Kardashian a few years ago. To avoid even more uncomfortable and unwanted eye contact, Humphries moved to the seat in front of the singer. But then...
Boston emcee Moe Pope recently released his latest album, Depeche Moe, as a free download. For this project, Moe again teamed up with producers Rain and Headnodic to create a remix of their acclaimed Life After God (2010). Depeche Moe dually reinterprets the tracks on the soulful Life After God and serves as homage to English band, Depeche Mode.
The success of this album’s sound is mainly due to its producers, Rain and Headnodic, who also served as producers on Moe’s albums Life After God and Megaphone.
While the former projects were already ripe with their own inventive sound of conscious lyrics and hard-hitting beats, on Depeche Moe, Rain and Headnodic challenge themselves to develop and reinterpret the original LAG tracks by incorporating Depeche Mode classics. What results is an interesting mesh of hip-hop and electronic music that challenges genre categorization and supplies a new set of head-bangers to tweak one’s musical ear.
Nicky Egan, Le Poisson Rouge, 7PM
by Kelsey Paine
Having gone to high school back in Massachusetts with two of Nicky Egan's band members, I knew I had to check out their soulful set at Le Poisson Rouge. Originally from Philadelphia, Egan recently graduated from Berklee School of Music in Boston where she formed her band. The group's sound blends old school funk, R&B and rock, all intertwined with Egan's strong and smokey vocals, a cross between Etta James and Janis Joplin. These kids are serious about their music--Egan bangs out notes on her piano with a power and confidence far beyond her age, and Johnny Simon's guitar solo on an Aretha Franklin cover was sexy and electrifying. Look for Nicky Egan's debut solo album Good People to come out soon.
Nottz (and special guests), Sullivan Hall, 8:30PM
On Friday we had the chance to catch up with LA-based funksters Orgone at their second NYC gig this fall at Sullivan Hall. We got the opportunity to see Orgone at moe.down the weekend prior and were thoroughly impressed with all three of their sets at the festival. You can imagine our excitement when we went home after the festival to download some of their music just to see that they would be playing two shows in NYC over the next few days, the first at Brooklyn Bowl and then a headlining set at Sullivan Hall.
It was a red carpet experience last night at Fashion's Night Out at Sephora on 5th Avenue. With complimentary treatments and treats, it was certainly pappering you could get used to. Eager guests stuck it out on the line that extended to both sides of the double doors, before entering an overwhelming and lively scene.
Starting at 6 p.m. Dr. Gross, founder of Dr. Gross Skincare, wowed the crowd with his skin consultations which normally cost around $250. His best tip for a girl after a night on the town like this: never go to sleep with makeup on, drink lots of water and don't drink coffee after 4 p.m. so that you can catch up with sleep the following night.
It was on Saturday afternoon, smack in the middle of the three-day moe.down festival and during a feel-good version of moe.’s “New York City,” that the band was joined on stage by a group of grade school children. As the kids paraded around in front of the band, some in costumes and all smiling, singing and dancing, it was easy to see the mirror effect it had on the crowd – the music had tapped into the child in each of us, not a care in the world, just enjoying the music and the weather and that funny feeling one gets when sharing a good time with thousands of other people.
It was on Saturday afternoon, smack in the middle of the three-day moe.down festival and during a feel-good version of moe.’s “New York City,” that the band was joined on stage by a group of grade school children. As the kids paraded around in front of the band, some in costumes and all smiling, singing and dancing, it was easy to see the mirror effect it had on the crowd – the music had tapped into the child in each of us, not a care in the world, just enjoying the music and the weather and that funny feeling one gets when sharing a good time with thousands of other people.
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