PX This.

a blogger (that’s me) and two restaurateurs walk into a bar…

… order some drinks (one of them likes "white wine with a few ice cubes." go figure.), get a little tipsy, and —what else?— start gossiping like a bunch of sewing bee bitches. it went down a little something like this:

one of them was late. personally i think he just completely forgot our appointment and hopped into a taxicab right when he got my text message. hey, it happens (quite a lot in NYC, actually). which was fine cuz i needed a drink anyways. it gave me some time to peruse my environs there in theAceHotel lobby. it’s pretty neat in that chic trendy modern retro modern whatever kind of way. and the waitress is really nice.

there are a lot of "locals" and familiar faces and whatnot, so i am assuming peoples are traveling a ways from wherever they live to get here which is pretty impressive. on the stroll over, a block away i started asking myself who the hells is coming out here to stay in a hotel, it’s ridiculous. well there ended up being a lot of people around so it just goes to show how much i know.

then the other restaurateur arrived so that was great. he’s very cute and jovial and he dresses like a little kid. we sat around and chitchatted about the hotel, and then he asked the waitress to bring out the funky little snacks in the plastic baggies. these are little goodie bags filled with stuffs made by april-bloomfield, like caramel corn and salted almonds and salt&vinegar chips…. and chiccharón (! puertochinos, holla). it’s a good idea because apparently the kitchen is behind schedule what with contractor issues and things, so it’s pretty smart to have at least something for bar patrons.

evidently a Stumptown Coffee place just opened here— which is a big deal apparently, it’s like some coffee cultists’ favorite from seattle or someplace. supposedly it’s quite busy already with lines at the door "at 6AM." so good for them.
subsequently that sparked this big discussion about coffee and whether or not LaColombe "is better."

then we started all the really good gossip and
wooo child. lemme tell you. harharaharrr ben-leventhal would kiss keith-mcnally’s jock strap to get a lick of the dish i got last night, honey.
sigh but you see this is my problem

when i first envisioned doing this blog feature "story" whatever thingie, i imagined it might be called "An Evening With: …" and then i just go out and about with all the really cool peoples i usually see, but now when they start to give me the usual "offff the record, abbbeeeee" bullshit i would just tell them to stick it up their asses this time.
obviously i am full of it, cuz i am not about to go spilling all the beans— it’s not stuff i know first hand so i’m not really sure how much of it is true or how much of it to believe anyhow. like for example, there was this one story about frank-bruni’s recent party at theSpottedPig, and supposedly there was some discourse about his former review process wherein frank-bruni called himself a consummate "professional" and HAHAHAHAHAA that one is just entirely too preposterous to swallow.

oh there was also some blabber about joshua.david-stein too. because he wrote something about something something "used to own Gusto" something (?), and i don’t know if that kid is just dumb as a rock or what.

oh! ohhh but the big news! i’m not going to say. nyeeah.
you wouldn’t believe me anyways, bceause everybody always just wants to believe what they want to believe. but haa ahaa believe me if i get so much as a sense of a whiff of an inkling i am about to get "scooped" or whatever, i will so bust that shit wide the fuck open (as usual, bitches)! so you may want to stay tuned just in case!

YAH SO
theBreslin is set to open probably "october first." it’s about 150 seats. it has a big open kitchen. it will have two bars— a large one (directly on the left if you enter from the street) that’s an antique "purchased in harlem." there will be a "bar rail" opposite with small tables lined down the center.
there’s a "grandfathered" mezzanine level as well, with a smaller (also antique) bar. there are refrigerated wine racks lining the wall, and there will be an "owner’s nook that looks down on everything" off in the corner at the end of the wine racks.
downstairs will be "banquettes banquettes more banquettes" and one (or two?) with "a curtain" cuz he "always wanted to do that."
the floor and (16 foot high, ornately molded) ceiling are "original."
and a "big round" table in the middle right in front of the kitchen.
i think it will end up looking quite beautiful. so the only thing the persistently pessimistic perfectionist in me can think to say is: i didn’t notice if there’s a built-in vestibule but i hope so cuz otherwise it looks like it could be potentially mad freezing up front in the wintertime.

i also got to meet the other restaurateur’s brother and a friend of his from london. they were nice.

yay!

2 Responses to “The Blabber on: The Breslin”

Leave a Reply