Gotham Gal

Return to DGBG

 

Went back to DGBG and not sure I will ever return again.

I went this past summer when it first opened.  Josh and I shared the menage a trois which is all 3 burgers and it was delicious.  Last night was not the same experience.

My friend and I had a drink at the Bowery Hotel which was perfect.  Should have stayed there an ordered a few of their pizzas from Gemma.  After drinks we walked down to DBGB and nabbed the last seat for 2 in the bar area.  First thing, order more drinks.  I was drinking scotch and they had a Japanese Single Malt scotch on the menu which I ordered.  Amazing.  Smooth, rich and delicious. Could be good for an after dinner drink it was so smooth.

We decided to order everything to share.  We started with 2 salads. Crispy chopped iceberg lettuce with chunky blue cheese dressing and pieces of bacon over the top was very good.  Loved the crispy with the creamy.  The other salad was a medium hard boiled duck egg encased in a deep fried bread crumb casing tilted on sliced portobello mushrooms that had been over cooked in red white witha few chitlins mixed in.  It tasted like a suburban chef who was trying to be clever.  Sorry to all the suburbanites but that is my best description.   Creative works when it works but when it doesn't, it is really abysmal. 

Out next came the 2 sausages.  The menu has a variety of sausages to order from sweet to spicy, etc.  One was a lamb merguez served over really overcooked spinach and a few chickpeas.  One bite, not so good, two bites, no more for me.  The other sausage was chunky pork sausage with pieces of something in it which I believe was bacon, pork, mushrooms and onions but that isn't what it tasted like. This was served over lentils cooked in red wine. We did get a side of fries though that were top.  My friend said today, have you ever had a bad fry and the answer is absolutely.  These fries were really good.

For dessert we split the chocolate sundae.  Too much whipped cream, uneven layering of chocolate pieces over the ice cream.  Of course it was sweet and chocolatey but not fab.

 

I waited 24 hours to write this but I slept really bad, my stomach is a bit upset today....all and all, I never liked the decor in there and now I'm pretty sure the only thing I like are the fries, the burgers and the Japanese scotch.  Also, while I'm on a roll, why are the bathrooms so far back you have to navigate the waitstaff and servers to get there?

 

Jeff Koons

Today, Emily and I were treated to a tour of Jeff Koons studio.  Wow.  This is not your every day artist studio, this is a serious art shop.  Koons, who I never realized until day, is so incredibly proficient that his work runs the gamut working with a variety of materials to create sculptures as well as oil paintings.  There are 110 people that work in the studio.  Emily and I talked about it afterward, it is as if he is an architect of art.  His staff executes on his visions like a Warhol factory.  Genius. 

The first area we walked into is where the people mix the paints.  Each color is given a number and there is a crew that literally just creates and mixes the colors.  This particular piece is broken down by number to what color goes where.  Think paint by numbers squared. 

We could see through the doorway this hospital looking lab.  There is sculpture going on inside where they are using certain plasters that have chemicals, hence the lab. 

The next area was a variety of objects that Koons is working on for his next large installation...no photography allowed except for this statue of a gorilla.  This particular object originally came from a gum ball machine in LAX and Koons decided to bring it to life.  Here it is in plaster but I believe this was one of the first replicas until it was made in stone.   Just part of the process.

 After leaving that area we walked into a huge room where large canvases were being worked on.  He produces about 6-8 of these a year, each take a serious amount of time.  If they are needed in a hurry, he will have people working on them in shifts over 24 hours.

What is amazing is how the work looks 3D but it isn't.  Needless to say the people working on them are quite talented to be able to do this.  Serious intricate work.

Check out all the different colors.  Makes the Sherwin-Williams paint colors seem juvenile. 

The last room was where the pool toys are replicated.  Only kidding but in reality, yes. 

A total wow.  Koons has had quite an interesting life.  What I did not know is that he became a commodities broker while establishing himself as an artist.  Love that. Certainly his work has made an impact world wide.  His work is in some of the finest museum collections across the globe fetching millions of dollars for each piece.  Seeing how his work is made from start to finish, first hand, was truly a serious treat.  I'd love to see an exhibit of all the artists that work in the lab titled Jeff Koons studio work, literally.  I would imagine it would be a broad range and would be interesting to see all the peoples work behind his. 

Cookbooks

In years past, I was really into buying the latest and greatest cookbook.  I have a nice collection.  I have also kept my own personal collection of pulling recipes out of magazines that I then categorized them in a large binder and plastic inserts.  Organized, yes, what can I say?  Now, I just go to the Internet and rarely look through the books, alas.

Yet over the past week I was compelled to buy 2 cookbooks which I am really happy I bought.  Momofuko and Ad Hoc.  Both are beautiful books, well written and full of information.  Ad Hoc is almost like a miniature cooking class. 

So, the print world isn't over yet.

Nightingale

 

Seeing Lynn Redgrave last night, to me, was a moment in NYC history that I felt lucky to capture.  It was a performance that I will not only remember but talk how lucky we were to see it years from now.

Nightingale is a one person play, 90 minutes long.  Redgrave sits in a chair and tells us the story of her Grandmother.  She slowly flips through a notebook as to keep the story going.  Keep in mind she also wrote this story.  She goes in and out of a few characters but the main character is her Grandmother.

It isn't so much about the tale but how Redgrave tells it.  A master storyteller.  Her body movement, her facial expressions, her intonations.  So incredible.  I found myself drifting at times because of her vivid descriptions.  I started thinking about our kids when they were young and cuddly as she talked in first person as her Grandmother about her children.  At one point when her Grandmother was in Switzerland I found myself recalling when I was there in college.

A remarkable performance.  Watching her in such a small setting was a treat.  Her age in some ways made a bigger impact on me because when someone like Redgrave, who is so skilled in her profession, makes you realize you are seeing years of performing and that experience shows us what she is really made of on the stage.  Not sure they make them like her anymore. 

Biscotti

Good biscotti is not easy to come by.  Fred met with the Founder/Ceo of Eqentia.com last week who had told me at the Donors Choose event his wife had some biscotti to give me.  Of course, I did not catch Williams wife's name or where you can pick up her biscotti but hopefully one of them reads this blog and can share.  Fred mentioned that the biscotti was free of a few things like possibly sugar.  Obviously missing the information but the almond cranberry biscotti was delicious.  Big thanks.

Development

Development can be a bad word if isn't implemented properly.  Some people cringe at the thought of a development person calling them on the phone because it means that someone wants you for your money.  While others are happy to take a meeting with a development person because they care about the organization and are fully aware of why they are meeting.  Some people just write a check and say we don't need to meet, I know what you want and here it is.  But at the end of the day, development is a fine line between love and hate and it has to be done right for everyone to fall on the love side.

This past weekend we were at Wesleyan for Jessica's parent weekend.  The weather was perfect and seeing Jessica is always great and she is so happy that we are still feeling the after affects of pure joy.  She has embraced the academics, is enjoying the social life and all and all just seems incredibly happy, independent and thrilled.  We really couldn't ask for more. 

The 3 of us were invited to a cocktail party at the President's home on Saturday evening.  Probably about 20 maybe 25 families.  Interesting enough, Wesleyan's endowment compared to their peer schools, is less per student.  The event was only about an hour or so.  Gave us an opportunity to meet the President, the Chairman of the Board and other families at the school.  There is no doubt that this particular event was the first opportunity for the Development office to begin a relationship with us.  Believe me, I get it, I've been on the Development side and I have been pitched by many organizations while sitting on the other side of the fence.  You got to do what you have to do and I am fully aware of what they are doing.

Here are some key points in development.  Do your research and thanks to Google, research has gotten a helluva lot easier over the years.  You should know everyone in the room and their history.  It is all out there somewhere if you really spend some time investigating.  When someone is asked for money, if the Development office is good, they know exactly what range is suitable after all that is their job. So here are some finer points besides knowing who you are speaking to. 

If someone is partners with a Wesleyan graduate who is an involved alumni, don't feign surprise.  I know as well as you know that you knew the information before we walked into the room.  Don't suck up to the husband and ignore the wife or the student.  The saying is a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, well the way to a parents heart is through their kid.  Most important, in today's world, and probably forever, the wife or the partner might have a different role than a full time money maker, show them respect vs fawning over their husband/partner.  There isn't anybody who is called upon from the Development office that doesn't know why they were called.  Focusing on the money and ignoring the rest of the group will get you nowhere.  Just because that person presently brings in the cash doesn't mean they are the person making the decisions about how the cash gets spent.  After all, there is a thing called partnership.  Also, at everyone of these events, the President should say something to the group even it is for a few minutes...like hello, thanks for coming, we are thrilled to have your kids, something.  Don't just attempt to make conversation with random families and then sneak out the back door for your next event.  Embrace the moment.  That is a lost opportunity. 

Ok, that's my Development class today.  Needless to say, we love Wesleyan because Jessica is so thrilled to be there and we know so many people who graduated from Wesleyan that are still involved and just love the place but the Development end needs some serious fine tuning. 

Monsters of Folk

Last night Fred and I went to see the Monsters of Folk at the Beacon Theater.  The Monsters of Folk is a group of accomplished artists;  M. Ward (M. Ward) , Conor Oberst ( Bright Eyes and solo ), Jim James (My Morning Jacket)  and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes).  We listen to all of them and have seen them each individually in concert.  So, seeing them as a group performing together is a serious treat.

After seeing the concert, my guess is they not only enjoy collaborating together but performing together gives them an opportunity to play solo throughout the show just a few times vs an entire concert.  It is probably exhausting doing a solo show every night so this way the audience gets the best of all worlds and so do the artists. 

Today, I've got all of them in heavy rotation.  Sorry for the blurry pics...the lighting they used last night was not working with my camera.  Also, they were filming the show so cameras were a big no-no.

A Shout out to Frank Bruni

Friday night we walked over to Joseph Leonard, sat at the bar and had dinner.  Yes, we are one of a group of investors in JL but my favorite thing about it is the vibe and the bar.  It is great going there, sitting at the bar, drinking, eating and chatting with Gabe.  It is our local home away from home.  BTW, JL opens for breakfast this week.

 

Frank Bruni sat down next to us at dinner last night.  Of course, after a few glasses of wine, and Gabe introduced us, I couldn’t help but gush over his book and him.  I asked him what he was doing now. He is still writing for the Times but not on a constant basis.  Couldn’t help but put my 2 cents in and said he should write another book after all he is a brand.

 

The New York Times food column gave Bruni the platform to become a brand.  As our world is evolving through social networking, I see Bruni, if he chooses to embrace it, as the first real generation of personal brands that are really not so much connected through where he came from, The New York Times.  If he chooses, he could take himself and grow his brand without having to be connected to the Times, or he could do both ( if the Times lets him and they should).

 

Bruni can continue to write a food column on his own personal blog, he can continue to write another book about his experiences which based on the first book are not only interesting but he makes them fun to read about, he could use Four Square as a way for people to follow him through out his restaurant endeavors and Twitter to grow his audience.  People trust his experience.  Certainly there are many ad networks that will continue to figure out how to make money on all 3 of those platforms, they already have blogging down and Bruni could probably make a pretty good income on the ads on his blog alone.  Where that takes him, who knows.  Food books, travel books, political books ( which he had an interest in earlier in his career ), etc.  Maybe first chapters released on his blog as the book industry is figuring out what they will look like in 5 years. 

 

I saw Bruni in a question and answer forum with Ben Leventhal at the Food and Wine weekend and was impressed.  He is a smart charismatic guy.  So, here’s a shout out to Frank Bruni, take your brand, you, and show us what you can really do.  Be a early adapter of the brands that are being built around people.  You are a prime candidate. 

Tiny Cupcakes on Spring Street

On Spring Street between Mercer and Broadway, north side of the street, is a tiny store front that sells tiny cupcakes.  They are almost like the cupcake tops without the bottoms about the size of a quarter.  Baked by Melissa. 

There are eight flavors.  Mint chocolate chip, tie-dye, cookies 'n cream, cookie dough, peanut butter cup, peanut butter and jelly, cinnamon and sm'ores.  I believe the cost was $1 for 3.  You truly can't beat it. 

We had the peanut butter cup, cinnamon and sm'ores.  Each packs a powerful punch and are really rich.  All you need is that one bite and your sweet craving is cured. 

Clever idea, great product.  You can buy them in bulk for parties too. 

Last night wasn't my night

Last night Fred did a meet and greet for all the people who gave to his Donors Choose Challenge.  It was a really nice event.   Last night just wasn't my night. 

In general, I am quite the meet and greeter but for the first time in a very very long time I found myself sitting at a table just waiting out the event.  Very un-me.  It was a long time and an exhausting day on many levels.  It happens. 

So, to all those last night that I didn't get to speak to or I appeared to be disconnected from, sorry.  It just wasn't my night.  It happens. 

As for Donors Choose, which is a great organization, I'd like to see it be stickier.  What I mean by that is in the world that we live in, the world of instant gratification, it is so easy to press a button and donate.  That works for many but not for all.  Perhaps a good handful of the people there would have liked to take their donation to another level by getting involved.  In the early days of MOUSE, we had barn raisers on Saturdays where people who wanted to literally climbed through ceilings and wired High Schools.  Perhaps Donors Choose can figure out to have Meet-ups at actual schools on the weekends where people can plant a garden, set up the computers, go through the library books and organize them.  I am just tossing out some ideas here but as the teachers ( the only people who really met last night ) are teaching the next generation of leaders, maybe we can do more than just send cash.