Am I an Artist?

Last Saturday, I was walking down West 24th Street in Chelsea, on my way to brunch with some friends. As I walked down the street, with music from my iPod drowning out the world around me, I passed by the Danziger Project, an art gallery that focuses primarily on photography.

Normally I would have walked past the gallery without a second thought. It was just another Chelsea art gallery. Nothing new. Nothing different. But I decided to stop this time. I had time to kill, and after all, the gallery had been receiving quite a lot of attention in the past month, especially after The New York Times reported that artist Shepard Fairey had filed a lawsuit against The Associated Press over the use of his now iconic poster of President Barack Obama.

Currently, the Danziger Project is displaying both the Shepard Fairey poster and a copy of the original photograph that it is based on, one taken by photographer Mannie Garcia for The Associated Press in April 2006, when Obama spoke at the National Press Club with George Clooney after he returned from Darfur.

Due to the success of Fairey's poster, James Danziger, the gallery owner and a former editor for Vanity Fair, helped to lead the effort which discovered the original photo that Fairey based his posted on. Now that it has been discovered, Danziger is selling reproductions – some autographed! – developed by Garcia. A limited number that is. Only 200. Each going fro $1,200!

Twelve hundred dollars for a reproduced photograph!?! Sounds crazy, right? Well, apparently people in the art world do not seem to think it is that crazy. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, for example, just purchased a copy of the photo, and will display it alongside a copy of the Fairey poster.

The commotion surrounding Garcia's photo and the Danziger Project again prompted an article from The New York Times, just two days after my initial visit to the gallery. Noam Cohen's article was titled, "Viewing Journalism as a Work of Art," yet he himself never answered a very important question: is journalism art?

As a student of journalism, I began to think about this question, and it was not until I heard a lecture given by one of my former professors, which addressed both "In Cold Blood" and "All the President's Men." Truman Capote transformed his notes and interviews with convict Perry Smith, into what is now often regarded as a pioneering work of true crime. While Bernstein and Woodward's novel is now one of the best-selling novels of all-time and is read by historians and thrill-seekers alike. Both are journalism. And both are art. If these are art, then wouldn't Mannie Garcia's photograph of Obama be considered art as well? Of course. Garcia is making art every single time he picks up a camera. Despite the fact that his art traditionally appears in USA Today and not MoMA does not change the fact that he is indeed an artist.

But the notoriously humble Garcia refuses to call himself an artist.

“I want to avoid calling myself an artistic photographer," he said. "Wire guy, I am comfortable with that."


Danziger Project:
534 W. 24th St.
New York, New York 10011
(212) 629-6778

info@danzigerprojects.com

Hours:
Wednesday - Friday: 11am to 6pm
Saturday: noon to 6pm
Monday - Tuesday: by appointment only Read More!

Hey Chelsea, did you know…?

When I signed my lease for my apartment back in November, I really did not know anything about Chelsea. In fact, all that I knew was that Dorothy and all of her friends would be there to greet me, with arms wide open. Besides that? Not much at all.

Well, all of that changed when I decided to explore my new neighborhood, with my friend Alfred, a professional tour guide with 19 years experience, who allowed me to follow him on one of his walking tours through Chelsea. Despite the fact that it took place over three hours, during one of the worst rainstorms that I can remember, I truly did learn a lot.

For example, did you know that before it became New York’s rainbow capital, Chelsea was once the capital of red America? Located on 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, was the headquarters of the Communist Party of the United States of America. What is it today? A pet supply store.

And just across the street was the infamous Hotel Chelsea, where Sir Arthur C. Clarke wrote my favorite novel, “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

What else happened in Chelsea?

Did you know that French singer Edith Piaf was married in 1952 at the Saint Vincent de Paul Church on 23rd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. And who was her matron of honor?

“Piaf asked her best friend, Marlene Dietrich, to be the matron,” said my guide Alfred.

I was also informed that the original headquarters of my mecca was located at 17th Street and Seventh Avenue:
“In 1923, Barney Pressman pawned his wife’s engagement ring for $500 in order to lease a small store on 17th and Seventh Avenue,” said Alfred. “He built that into the 200,000 square foot flagship store of Barneys New York.”

Which unfortunately closed in 1996 when the company filed for bankruptcy, and is now home to the Rubin Museum of Art.

At first, I was not sure if I would get anything out of the tour, but was I ever wrong! Yes, it was long. Yes, it was raining, and yes, by the end, I was soaked. But, yes, it was worth it.

For more information, please call (212) 979-2388. Read More!

Trip to the Market

As stock market prices continue to plummet, the current recession has had one benefit: notoriously expensive food is suddenly inexpensive. Including lobster, which recently sold for a mere $7.95 at the Lobster Place, located at the popular Chelsea Market.

“We’re selling just as much lobster,” said Ian MacGregor, president of the Lobster Place, New York City’s largest purveyor of live lobster. “Prices are down, and suddenly people are willing to buy lobster.”

The Lobster Place is just one of many tenants at the popular Chelsea Market, located on Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th streets, which has come to symbolize the transformation of a gritty neighborhood into a vibrant culinary hub.

Despite the recent economic crisis, the upscale Market appears to be unaffected, as its stores are filled with locals and tourists alike who have come for the opportunity to buy fresh foods directly from wholesalers.

“Believe it or not, our wholesale operation has outgrown the space here, and the original vision for this market is definitely evolving,” he said. “If you take a walk around here, you’ll find no less than 15 luxury high-rise buildings going up, and now we view our tenancy here as a tremendous opportunity for retail expansion.”

“It has more than any food store that I’ve ever seen,” said Charlotte Garvey, a Maryland native who is spending the week in New York City with her husband. “And I’m surprised how inexpensive everything is. The produce here is some of the cheapest I’ve ever seen, but it all looks so fresh, and delicious.”

The present-day Chelsea Market is a product of investor Irwin B. Cohen, who in the 1990s purchased a handful of buildings that had once made up the headquarters of the National Biscuit Company, commonly known as NABISCO.

Completed in 1898 as the company’s bakery, the ovens were notorious for baking some of the world’s most famous biscuit and cookie brands, including Premium Saltines, Vanilla Wafers, Fig Newtons, Barnum’s Animal Crackers, and Mallomars. The building is however probably most famous for being the birthplace of the Oreo.

“When I was little girl, we used to buy Oreo cookies that came straight out of the oven, in fact they were still warm,” said longtime Chelsea resident, Marissa Shapiro. “Then we’d get a nice, cold bottle of milk on the way home, and sit on the front steps eating them.”

“A package was only a nickel back then,” added Shapiro. “With the way that the economy is now, I can’t afford to buy all of the extravagant products at the Chelsea Market. No sweets for me. Just my produce.”

In 1959, when NABISCO moved its operations to Fair Lawn, N.J., the complex was sold to investor Louis J. Glickman. With few tenants, the buildings slipped into disrepair throughout the 1970s and 1980s. When it finally reopened in the 1990s, the Market helped to gentrify not only west Chelsea but also the nearby Meatpacking District. Today, the Market is as a masterpiece of Chelsea, and despite the rough times, is as crowded as ever.

“I love it here,” said Eloise Parks, a longtime resident of Manhattan. “You can buy anything you want here. If you want wine, you can go to Chelsea Wine Vault. If you want the freshest produce, go to the Manhattan Fruit Exchange. It’s all here.”

When she first opened her bakery at the Chelsea Market in 1997, Eleni Gianopulos had never imagined that how successful the Market would become.

“I had no idea how much our retail business would take off,” said Gianopulos, whose bakery is called Eleni’s New York.

In August 2005, Gianopulos moved her bakery operations to a new 20,000-square-foot space in a warehouse building in Long Island City, and has decided to transform her Chelsea Market store into a full retail location, and now uses the entire ground-floor portion of her space at the Market for her retail business.

“Am I worried about the economy?” said Eleni Gianopulos, the owner of the popular Eleni’s New York bakery. “Of course not.”

“Everyone needs to eat,” she added. “As long as they continue to eat, we will continue to serve.” Read More!

Top Chef, Low Cost

Watch out New York City: restaurateur and “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio has come up with a new, low-cost option for those who looking to save some bucks.

Every Wednesday, Colicchio will turn the front section of his popular and pricey Chelsea restaurant Craftsteak, on 10th Avenue and 15th Street, into “Halfsteak,” which will provide diners with a casual dining experience, with smaller plates and much lower prices.

The new weekly menu was devised by chef de cuisine Shane McBride, who was inspired by his southern upbringing, and offers everything from smoked chicken wings in a white BBQ sauce, to chicken fried cod with hash browns, and a brisket sandwich topped with sauerkraut and provolone. The menu would obviously not be complete without the Halfsteak: a half-portion of Craftsteak’s high-quality, dry-aged strip steak, served with hand-cut fries, all for less than $15. Just remember, it normally costs $50. Pastry chef Erica Leahy has also created new individually sized desserts, including red velvet cupcakes and an ice cream sandwich of the day.

The half-size, half-price concept also extends to cocktails which all cost less than $9, and half-pints of small, artisanal beers which all cost less than $4. Even the notoriously overpriced wine list has been dialed down, with glasses costing around $10 and about 20 bottles for under $50.

A warning: beware of the “Half Naked,” a blend of tequila, Cointreau, jalapeno and fresh lime juice, served in a miniature mason jar.

It just so happens that opening night coincided with part one of the “Top Chef” season finale. Crowds flocked to the restaurant, where Tom Colicchio and his fellow judges Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons, as well as the final four contestants, were gathered around the flat-screen televisions situated above the bar.

“Halfsteak” came as no surprise, given the recent economic recession. In fact, restaurants all over New York have been hurt by the dramatic drop in customers, along with the increase in operational expenses.

A simple phone call can prove that restaurants are desperate. On “Grub Street,” the dining blog for New York magazine, bloggers play Two for Eight, a game that involves calling some of the cities most exclusive restaurants at 4 p.m. to see which ones can squeeze a couple in for dinner. Some recent restaurants that topped the list: Danny Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park and Gramercy Tavern, Chanterelle and The Harrison in TriBeCa, as well as Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Matsugen and his Michelin three-star flagship restaurant, Jean Georges.

Celebrated chef Vongerichten led the recent recession trend last October, when his Greenwich Village restaurant Perry St. began offering a $35 three-course dinner menu. The trend quickly spread through his organization, and today six of his restaurants offer the dinner menu, in addition to a $24 three-course lunch menu.

Next was Mario Batali, when the price of the extravagant 20-course meal at Del Posto was reduced from $250 to $175, and the price of his nine-course tasting menu dropped from $175 to $125.

Tom Colicchio followed shortly after when he made some changes to the menu at his trendy flagship restaurant, Craft. Every Tuesday, Colicchio offers, TOM: Tuesday Dinner. Instead of the usual $185 per person menu, an eight-course meal served is in the private dining room for $150. Craft executive chef Damon Wise has since created Damon: Frugal Friday, a weekly tapas style meal with everything costing less than $10 per plate. Now, he has “Halfsteak.”

When Craftseak first opened in 2006, it received mainly negative reviews. In an effort to save his restaurant, last year Colicchio revamped the menu, and even replaced the restaurant’s initial chef de cuisine, Chris Albrecht. But based on the attendance and the excitement surrounding “Halfsteak,” it is obvious that Colicchio and his restaurants will not be going anywhere anytime soon.
Read More!

A Second Chance

“He looked like he could have been anyone’s father.”

That was what a fellow classmate said last Thursday about Steve Zakrzewski, a recovering alcoholic who has been at the Bowery Mission on New York City’s Lower East Side since last May.

Zakrzewski had actually reminded me of my own father. He was roughly the same height, with salt-and-pepper, barely-there hair. He was well dressed, wearing blue jeans, a dress shirt and tie, with a Polo windbreaker.

“For 30 years I was a functioning alcoholic,” said Steve Zakrzewski. “I had a great job and was able to travel around the world, but about three years ago, I crossed the line and became a drunk.”

“After I lost my apartment and my car, I was hospitalized with liver inflammation,” added Zakrzewski. “AA just didn’t work, so a doctor recommended that I come here.”

That’s exactly what he did. Roughly eight months ago, he arrived at the Mission. Since 1879, the Bowery Mission has worked to provide, as they say, “compassionate care and life transformation services” to those homeless men and women living in New York City. The halls of the Bowery Mission are filled with success stories.

“Before I came here, I drank to numb my feelings because I had nothing to believe in,” said Zakrzewski. “But now that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, I was finally able to pull myself out of the pit that I was living in.”

In mid-November, he graduated from the program, and has since started working as an operations manager at a transitional housing office associated with the Bowery Mission.

Zakrzewski is not the only success story at the Mission. In fact, one of the directors of the program claims to be one of the Bowery Mission’s greatest success stories.

“I like to say that I went from the garbage to Madison Avenue,” said James Macklin, the Director of Outreach at the Bowery Mission

About 22 years ago, Macklin became heavily involved in drugs and lost his business. He eventually made it to the Bowery Mission to receive treatment and guidance. After volunteering at the Mission, he eventually moved to Madison Avenue, the Mission’s headquarters when he was placed in charge of outreach.

“This is my home,” added Macklin. “This is where my family is.”

When I first arrived at the Bowery Mission that morning, I had assumed that it would be a place of sadness. As men lined up for their lunches however, they were covered in smiles: laughing, joking, and patting each other on the back. Despite the hard past that they had obviously endured, the Bowery Mission had given them something that most men and women never get. A second chance. Read More!

Haute Cuisine by the King of Haute Couture?

Despite the terrible state of the economy, Giorgio Armani recently opened a massive Fifth Avenue boutique, equipped with its own restaurant. Intriguing. Here's what Florence Fabricant of The New York Times had to say about it:

Giorgio Armani, who has a Nobu branch in his Milan store, is opening a restaurant and bar in his huge new Fifth Avenue store with his longtime friend Lorenzo Viani. Mr. Viani is the chef and owner of Ristorante Lorenzo, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the beach town of Forte dei Marmi on the Tuscan coast. Mr. Viani will be a consultant/chef at Armani/Ristorante 5th Avenue, which is expected to open this week on the top level of the three-floor location.

The decor, in the subdued Armani palette, is glossed with metal. The menu is modern Italian — sole on an eggplant puree, feuillettee of pecorino with pears, turkey with green tomato mustard, zucchini flan, gnocchi with chanterelles, baby veal in an almond crust, semi-freddi and panna cottas for dessert. They will only serve dinner at first, until 11 p.m., but later they’ll open for lunch too.

Sirio Maccioni had tried to do a restaurant in Paris with Mr. Viani and said he was having lunch with him on Monday. “I’m still trying to do something,” Mr. Maccioni said.

Well next time I actually decided to venture north of 23rd Street (minus the occasional visit to Shake Shack), I'll have to check that out.

Information:
Armani/Ristorante 5th Avenue
at Armani/Fifth Avenue
717 Fifth Avenue (56th Street)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 207-1902 Read More!

Jean-Georges

Well, I don't even know where to begin. First of all, I need to apologize to all of my readers (hah) for not posting in over a month. My bad! I'm currently on a flight to Florida, where I am heading to a family wedding. I had nothing else to do, so I figured that I must must must update you all (double hah) on my recent culinary experiences. Mainly restaurant week.

I only went to one initially, but as soon as it was extended due to the terrible economic crisis that has swept across the United States, I decided to try another...

(oh, and I went to the Tribeca Grill, but it was actually too boring to write about... sorry Robert DeNiro!)

Spice Market

I started off going to Spice Market in the Meatpacking District, in order to add a little Jean-Georges Vongerichten class to my life. As soon as we arrived I was impressed, yet disappointed by the decor. Yes, it's elaborate. But, I thought it was a little over the top. I mean honestly, it looked like what Disney would have done if they had made Thailand a country at Epcot. And the uniforms were similar. Very Epcotesque. However, everyone wearing the uniforms was, well to be honest, gorgeous. I would have willingly taken any of them home in a doggy bad. Even the women. Everyone had amazing bodies, perfectly tanned skin, and were just really really... hot. Grrrrr.

I went on a Sunday evening for lunch with my best friend from high school, Kelly. And in true Beau-and-Kelly fashion, we ordered booze as soon as we sat down. They were delicious, but to be honest, I don't really remember what I had since this was a few weeks bad. I had some sort of margarita and she had some sort of ginger mojito. So, let's just skip booze and we'll discuss food!

At Spice Market for Restaurant Week we were presented with a bento box filled with delicious goodies. I began with the butternut squash soup, topped with a spoonful of cream and ginger pumpkin seeds. I have to say, the soup was fantastic. On it's own, it would have still be divine, but with the crunchiness and the delicacy of the ginger, it really made the soup out of this world. The butternut squash was just the right consistency. Not too thick. But not too watery. I always hate ordering butternut squash soup because I always find the consistency to be off. Well, not at Spice Market.

In the next square, I found a salad made of sliced green papayas and apples, with candied ginger. Good. Nothing to write home about.

Then, beef skewers with a pistachio dipping sauce. Simply, but splendid. The beef was tender and moist, perfectly cooked in a delicious and somewhat spicy seasoning. They weren't too big that they became awkward as you tore them away from the skewer. But they weren't tiny either. They would have been ideal for Goldilocks. And the pistachio dipping sauce was to die for. Creamy and rich, yet tangy from the lime.

The final box contained one of my favorite fishes: striped bass, with wok fried cabbage. water chestnuts and cucumbers. On one end, it was simply too spicy. Way too much cayenne pepper. One the other end, the striped bass cooled my mouth as soon as I tasted it. As we both sat quietly trying to figure out what we thought about the the final box, I could see the expression on Kelly's face and knew that we were in accord: too spicy.

Dessert was amazing though! An outstanding Ovaltine kulfi, topped with caramelized bananas and popcorn, and a spiced milk chocolate sauce. I don't even know where to begin. I know that if I attempt to describe how amazing they are, I will not be able to do it justice! Go! Eat!

Overall, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first Jean-Georges experience. However, my second one was far superior....

Information:
403 W. 13th Street
(at Ninth Avenue)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 675-2322


The Mercer Kitchen

One Friday afternoon, when I was supposed to be at work, I traveled to the Kitchen with my roommate Nina for lunch. Again, the booze was very good, but I don't really remember what I had. Tear. Like last time, I'll get right to the food.

I started off with a salad. Well, to clall it a salad would be inappropriate because it was so amazing that I am still trying to make it on my own at home. Unsuccessfully of course. But hey, at least I'm trying. On a bed of mixed greens, there were avocado slices, tiny mushroom slices, and tomato slices. Placed on top were several large steamed shrimp. On then drizzled all over the salad was a champagne vinaigrette, and cracked black pepper. Basically, sex in salad form. A. MAZE. ING. The smooth creamy avocado blended with the steamed shrimp perfectly, which then blended perfect with the dressing, which was a slightly more tart version of a vinaigrette. My mouth is watering as I think about it.

From there, nothing could be better. Sorry, Jean-Georges. It was all downhill.

Well, not downhill, but that was a damn good salad, and in my mind nothing could possibly beat it. But next, they brought out a delicious slider, topped with avocado and pepperjack, with a side order of french fries. The slider was average. Delicious beef, great cheese, excellent choice of toppings, but the bun was overly greasy, and well, when you think of Jean-Georges, you think of haute cuisine. This was haute Five Guys. In fact, I think I'd rather a Five Guys burger than a slider from the Kitchen. Sorry, Jean-Georges!

He made up for it in the end though, with a warm "Valhrona" chocolate cake, with a warm chocolate inside, and topped with vanilla ice cream. The warm, gooey chocolate covered all over my plate as I cute into it, and when mixed with the ice cold vanilla, it was a comfortable combination. Comfortable in a good, delicious, sitting-at-home-with-your-family-on-a-cold-winter's-day sort of way.

The Mercer Kitchen was definitely worth it. In addition to the salad, the atmosphere is just so New York, which I love. It's trendy and chic, yet comfortable. The decor has plenty of wood and steel, clean lines, and just feels like the perfect New York kitchen. The staff is friendly (and gorgeous). The people are trendy (and gorgeous). And come on, it always sounds classy when you can turn to your vastly inferior friends, and say, "Oh, guess who I saw the other day at the Mercer Kitchen..."

Information:
99 Prince Street
(at Mercer Street)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 966-5454 Read More!