« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »
Food & Nightlife News From Around The New York City Blogosphere:
There is an elegant townhouse on a quiet block on the Upper East Side. Walk up the steps, pass through the tall, wooden doors, step inside, and you will find yourself in the Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club, a chic yet discrete restaurant and lounge. After dropping of your coats, a host will escort you to your table--to get to the dining room you will walk through the wine cellar. A glass door will slide open and closed behind you, and then, at the other end of the cellar, another glass door will do the same. Is it a gimmick? Of course, but it is a great one, and it is hardly inappropriate; like any good, fine French restaurant, the wine list is long, and well thought out.
Bruno Jamais, the Parisian-born proprietor, is not a chef. He made his name as the maitre d' at Daniel, and after that, at Alain Ducasse. As you would expect, the service at Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club is exceptional. It is this service, and of course the food, that attracts a diverse, and well-to-do crowd. President Clinton, Kim Cattrall, and Fat Joe are among the stars who have dined here.
Bruno Jamais is defined by its contrasts. The subdued, early evening dinner crowd gives way to raucous cocktail and DJ-driven revelers (there is also a late night menu featuring items such as caviar, club sandwiches, and pommes frites). The warm walls are graced by the eye-popping art of internationally known Cyrille Margarit. Playful, feminine touches, including polka-dotted sofas break up the room.
Perhaps the best way to experience Bruno Jamais is to come for a late dinner, and to stay for the drinks and dancing. About that food...Chef Jonathon Keller, who trained at Nobu and Le Bernadin, brings the occasional Asian influence to the contemporary French menu. To start, the Lobster Brulee is simply a must. Think of the finest comfort food you have ever tasted, and then think of something better. This is it. Chunks of fresh lobster arrive buried in a tasty sambal aioli. On the subject of comfort food, the truffled mac & cheese is as good as this recently popular dish is at any restaurant in the city. The crisp, crumbling top layer adds the perfect texture to the sweet, soft cheese below. The well-prepared duck and the 'scallops three ways' are both good options, especially when you are indulging in those rich dishes. When you finish your meal, order up another bottle of wine, or indulge in one of the signature cocktails, because the party is just getting started.
Sexy yet elegant, chic yet subdued, Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club is the perfect place to take that special someone, or that special someone else.
Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club
24 E 81st St
New York, NY, 10028
(212) 396-3444
www.brunojamais.com
Recently, Zagat rounded up the many positive developments on the Bowery. You can view the entire informative article here:
At 327 Bowery, the owners of Hi-Fi are preparing to open The Bowery Electric by the end of the month in the space that used to house the Remote Lounge, which officially closed in December after a slow death. The space reportedly has a new look, less cameras and retains the old lounge's phone number (212-228-0228).
One block down, the Bowery nightspot Mannahatta has closed up shop and merged its operations with neighbor Crime Scene. Three blocks up, Marion's Marquee Lounge is now going by the name Antik. Next door, the same fine folks are turning the old M&R Bar into a pub, as yet unnamed.
Slate has an interesting story about the 1947 Cheval Blanc, considered by many to be the greatest wine on the planet:
In the animated hit Ratatouille, feared critic Anton Ego visits Gusteau's, the restaurant in which the movie is set, and orders a bottle of 1947 Château Cheval Blanc to go with his meal. In a film full of delicious insider moments for foodies, this is a wink to the wine lovers. That's because the '47 Cheval is probably the most celebrated wine of the 20th century. It is the wine every grape nut wants to experience before he dies, a wine that even the most jaded aficionados will travel thousands of miles to taste.
It only gets better:
The '47 Cheval is often spoken of as a benchmark wine, a yardstick against which other Bordeaux should be measured and a standard to which contemporary winemakers should aspire. But the château itself describes the '47 as a "happy accident of nature," which it was: Born of aberrant weather and vinified under primitive conditions, it is a wine full of technical flaws that turned out delicious in spite of itself. Is there any reason to think that producers today could emulate such a wine, and would they be wise even to try? In addition to seeking answers to these questions, I was hoping my research would yield something else: my first taste of the '47 Cheval.
Read more at Slate.
The Bank is Las Vegas’ premier nightlife destination, catering to a
discerning audience with higher sensibilities. The Bank, rich in
tradition of European bottle service and original design, will
flawlessly maintain its position as the most desirable cosmopolitan
nightclub in Las Vegas. Offering unrivaled service in a high-energy
atmosphere, the exquisitely chic 6,600 square foot space will make The
Bank a world class nightclub destination.
The Bank is located in the Bellagio
The Bank
702-693-8300
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
http://www.lightgroup.com/
If you haven't made plans yet, JoonBug has got a number of last-minute Valentine's Day (and weekend) ideas for you:
Last night the JoonBlog took the subway up to Times Square, to catch the Super Bowl at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. Along with the rest of New York City, we're still recovering from the Giants' epic Super Bowl upset. HTZ was the perfect place to catch the game, with its giant video wall (for which we had front-row seats ), and the beautiful waitresses decked out in sexy referee uniforms. There are times when it really is great to be in Times Square, and last night was one of those occasions. (Click For The Full Photo Gallery)
Former Giants punter Sean Landeta got the fiercely partisan crowd ready for the game, doing some duty on the mic, and offering to let fans try on one of his two Super Bowl rings. Sorry--we never snagged a picture of those two beauties. On the subject of beauties, our waitress, who was fast, efficient, and friendly, was also the half-time beauty pageant winner.
Draft Bud and Bud Lights were only three dollars, so by kick-off time the crowd was loud and ready for a game that proved to be one of the best in years.
We started the evening off with HTZ's signature appetizer, the Pu Pu Platter, an open flame surrounded by hibachi sticks, chicken, beef, chorizo, chicken wings, shrimp, pineapple & vegetables, along with dipping sauces. The BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders (three to an order, with a side of fries) were another winner--pulled pork in a tangy BBQ sauce, topped by a sliced picked, served on a soft bun.
While the rest of America watched aged rocker Tom Petty at half-time, we were treated to a burlesque show, followed by a beauty pageant, featuring the wait staff.
How great a time was everyone having? For the first five minutes of the game, no one could figure out how to switch over from the Spanish audio feed to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman--yet there was no booing, no shouting, no anger at all--just a comical chant of Ole, Ole, Ole, as if we were watching a American football match.
So how are we going to remember the greatest upset in Super Bowl history? The worst 18-1 season in NFL history? This epic triumph of New York over New England? Well, the food was good, the drinks were cheap, and the atmosphere was second-to-none. HTZ went out of their way to make sure that we, and everyone else, had a great time--beers were replaced as soon as our glasses were close to the bottom, and food came out of the kitchen only minutes after we ordered it. Running efficiently on this, one of the biggest drinking/eating nights of the year, says a lot for the level of service at HTZ. We came with a crowd of guys, girls, native New Yorkers, transplants, and out-of-towners, and they all had a great time.
And after the game ended, another party was just getting started out on the street:
Many Photos appear courtesy of Kyle Reinford. Thanks!
P.S. Michael Strahan will be throwing a victory party @ The Plumm tomorrow night (via Imbible)
If you haven't made any plans for Super Sunday, than JoonBug has got some Super Bowl Parties you'll want to check out
If your going to be on the Upper East Side, you might want to check out Brady's Manning's. From UES blogger 78thand2nd (via Eater):
With the Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots set for Sunday, you've probably noticed local establishments hanging an extra Giants sign here or there, to show support for the hometown team.To further that point and then some, UES dive bar Brady's on 82nd and 2nd is going to make it damn well known that the name of the bar has nothing to do with anything related to the Patriots or their quarterback Tom Brady -- and the bar has been temporarily re-branded Manning's, in honor of Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
