The In Crowd

via Village Voice:

"The bi-level space, at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, will have 140 seats and feature china from Harlem antique shops, wall murals from local artists, and local farmers' market ingredients. Samuelsson wants the food to "taste like I took a bike from the east side of Harlem to the west side of Harlem and told the story of everything I saw. I want to capture the Latin community, the Caribbean and African-American communities, the Italian-American community, the Jewish-American community and the Columbia students. That, to me, is so representative of American food and Americans today.""

Red Rooster - website |  twitter |  facebook

Dom Pérignon is releasing a limited edition Andy Warhol tribute bottle. Rendered in the unmistakable Warhol style, the bottles retail for the same price as a regular bottle of Dom, about $150.

The official line from the beverage brand is "Dom Pérignon commissioned the Design Laboratory at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design to reinterpret its timeless bottle. The result is a unique collection of three bottles, each with its distinct label in red, blue or yellow, paying homage to Warhol’s iconic colour games."

[via Brandchannel.com]

"As much as the restaurant leapfrogs Nordic cuisine to a new level with 32-year-old Redzepi’s adoption of avant-garde techniques — he uses gadgets such as the Pacojet and Thermomix as well as blast freezers, liquid nitrogen and thermal immersion circulators for sous-vide preparation — Noma’s philosophy is very much rooted in tradition and preserving the essence of natural, raw ingredients.

Three professional foragers hunt out local sorrel, mushrooms, herbs and carrots about an hour from Copenhagen, supplementing the backbone of the restaurant’s approach. Ben Devlin, a young Australian chef who has been working in the pastry kitchen for the past year, spends 80 per cent of his time during the summer foraging for ingredients, some of which will be preserved and used for the menu in the winter months."

Click HERE to read the full article.

* Late pass (again)....*

Click HERE for the details.

[via Brand Republic]

I'm skeptical that there can really be any good soul food in Toronto, the cultural underpinnings just aren't there. Now Caribbean food? That's a whole 'nother discussion but I'm curious to check this place out some time anyway. In the meantime, read these reviews: Marcus Troy |  blogTO

Harlem Underground - website |  twitter

This is an interesting concept I caught wind of recently....

"Gardens Under Glass will be a sustainable urban Eco Village located in the Galleria At Erieview, Cleveland's Center for Green Technology. Built in 1987 in the heart of downtown Cleveland, the Galleria was a two story retail Center, which has transformed into a mixed use property.

It is the ideal location for a project of this nature due to its structural design that provides a year-round controlled environment perfectly conducive to successful implementation. At the project’s root is an urban farm that will use a system called re-circulating greenhouse hydroponics to grow produce such as; tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs, peppers, and flowers. From the Gardens will stem opportunities for urban-based businesses traditionally considered rural."

Click HERE for more.

WTF?!?? Why??

"From the brand-extension bizarro world comes the limited-edition Karl Lagerfeld Coca-Cola Light (Diet Coke) box set. The co-branding promotion is done in collaboration with Paris boutique Colette and costs a show-stopping €60.00 (includes bottle opener!) Individual bottles are a more-affordable €3.50. Get yours at Colette."

Click HERE for info.

Bread Boi - Raw Wraps from Language Artz on Vimeo. Bred Boi's Raw Rap Shit: The Menu album drops July 31st.

Part of the very chic, new and buzzing West Harlem Piers development. I had a meal here about three weeks ago. I wouldn't have intuitively guessed that Latin & Thai cuisine would go together so well and the 'Talay Foo Dogs' out front at the spot (see above) were a bit cheesy, but the food was amazing and decently priced. Talay is highly recommended.

Click here for more info on Talay and the West Harlem Piers.

Online:

Talay Restaurant - website

From the NY Daily News:

"Now that 70-degree days have us craving pints on the patio and brunch in a bistro garden, anyplace with even a few inches outdoors is perpetually slammed. So when everyone else queues up for the same stretch of SoHo sidewalk, head to one of these great city spaces to skip the crowds."

Click here for the full list. How'd they miss 230 Fifth though?? I swear I have never seen a bar, especially an outdoor one, this big.

For more details click the Goliath blog. (h/t: Boogie Tonight)

Tom Laroc is my long-time dude from back in the day who use to cook it up on the 1 and 2's in NYC before moving to Miami to do the same - he was Mark Ronson before there was a Mark Ronson (without the millionaire rock n roll step dad and prep school coinnections). Who knew he could do the same in an actual kitchen?! From his YouTube channel:

"Gaining popularity for his healthy floribbean cuisine, Tom Laroc keeps Hip-Hop dignataries, top models & Hollywood's elite fed with his healthy culinary delights."

For more:

- Tom Laroc YouTube channel

- Tom Laroc - MySpace 

Brilliant! Buy them here.