The Tony Awards took over The Plaza, the Palm Court, the Terrace Room and the Plaza Food Hall and Todd English Food Hall for its after party bash. The lavish and glamorous affair, with its many piece band, dance floor, and soaring flower arrangements, was saturated with award winners. And having just seen the CBS awards show hosted by the charming and talented Neil Patrick Harris, I felt it was almost surreal seeing the parade of the little girls who played in Matilda, Patina Miller, actress in musical Pippin, and Pam MacKinnon, who took the award for directing in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Of course, I was dying to see Tom Hanks (Lucky Guy) and Cyndi Lauper (winner for score of Kinky Boots) but there must have been some secret VIP room to which those recognizable luminaries were spirited away. I did see award presenter, Steven Van Zandt of the Sopranos and I think I spotted Billy Porter, who won the actor award for Kinky Boots, which had just swept the best musical against tough competition (Pippin and Matilda). In the play’s honor I sipped on the Kinky Boots Cosmo (recipe below).
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After serious people watching, I hit the sumptuous spread laid out at the Todd English Food Hall and chatted with Todd English himself who was situated near the sushi stations watching the talented crowd devour Toro tuna, spicy salmon rolls and all sorts of fancy hand rolls. The choice of food was daunting: platters of charcuterie and cheeses, pulled pork sliders, lobster hush puppies, mini-burgers of foie gras. I grazed among the food stations and couldn’t resist the fried oysters with caviar crème fraiche. I passed on the display of hundreds of mini pastries (since I forgo dessert saving the calories for cocktails). I was becoming a regular at Todd’s feasting stations; last month I was devouring those same foie gras burgers at Chef’s Night Out party (which preceded the James Beard Awards).
Kinky Boots Cosmo
1 ½ oz. Absolut Citron
¼ oz. fresh lime juice
¾ oz. Combier triple sec
¾ oz. cranberry juice
Served up in martini glass and garnished with orange peel
Some films like Julie & Julia, Eat Drink Man Woman and Babette’s Feast make you hungry while you watch actors prepare and eat food on screen. The new documentary film, Hey Bartender, makes you thirsty. You want to reach out to the big screen and grab the freshly shaken cocktail that the bartender has just prepared. I sat in the theater and watched as mixologist Jim Meeham (Please Don’t Tell), Julie Reiner (The Clover Club) and Sasha Petraske (Milk and Honey) all gave their concoctions a good shake in seductive cinematic slow-mo and then slowly extended the cocktail glass onto the bar towards the viewer.
courtesy 4th Row Films
It was thrilling to see many longtime friends and acquaintances all playing themselves on screen. Dale Degroff, the King of the Cocktail whom everyone credits with the revival of the craft cocktail movement, held court in many scenes. The Employee Only (EO), which spearheaded the craft cocktail revolution, was the main venue presented with scenes from the annual Repeal Prohibition party, picturing all its original legendary owners Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmos, Bill Gilroy, Dushan Zaric and Henry LaFargue. Dushan’s story was in high focus as was the tale of a young apprentice, Steve Schneider, who aspired to “get the jacket” at EO.
courtesy 4th Row Films
After the film, which had featured enticing scenes of high-octane partying, the movie premier crowd was ready for a raging after-party. And soon the exquisite craft cocktails flowed for real. The crowd jammed the Experimental Cocktail Club on the Lower East Side (owned by Frenchmen Romée de Goriainoff, Olivier Bon, and Pierre-Charles Cros) where the some of the bartenders in the film had created cocktails for the occasion.
William Grant & Sons who partnered with the independently produced documentary with 4th Row Films and writer/director Douglas Tirola, supplied all the great liquor brands for the party from Hendrick’s Gin to Glenfiddich to Sailor Jerry Rum. I stuck with the gin drink—Sasha Petrake’s creation and my day-after effects were minimal. Not so for my drinking buddy who tried most of the cocktails mixing gin, rum, vodka and scotch who suffered greatly the following day. My rule with spirits: stick to the same one throughout the night.
Here are several of the amazing drinks created for Hey Bartender’s blow-out screening party.
THE CAITLIN FLANAGAN by Sasha Petraske: Hendrick’s Gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, white peach and black pepper
PELE’S WRATH by Julie Reiner: Milagro Silver Tequila, Aperol, fresh lime juice, fresh pineapple juice and Grenadine
WET STONE by Jim Meehan: Milagro Silver Tequila, Montelobos Mezcal, fresh lime juice, fresh grapefruit juice, agave and dill pickle brine
PANDAIQUIRI by Nico de Soto: Pandan Infused Sailor Jerry, lime juice, Young Thai Coconut Cordial
One of my favorite Manhattan charities is
Citymeals-on-Wheels, which this year held its 28th edition, Rumble at the Rock: NY vs. CA Chef Showdown, at the benefit’s regular venue at Rockefeller Center.
Recently, I interviewed Gloria Steinem, American feminist and founder of Ms. Magazine, who along with Gael Greene had been there at the beginning. “Gael was the founder, along with James Beard,” said Steinem. “At the time we all could identify with Citymeals-on-Wheels because we all had visions of ourselves in later life being single women in single rooms needing meals on wheels.” Well, the charity grew through almost three decades to become a huge success and this year’s benefit took in $820,000, enough to fund the preparation and hand-delivery of 127,725 nutritious meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers.
Jeremy McMillan and Richard Gere; Photo by Hart Media
At the event wine was flowing! The Long Island wine region had a big presence, especially since Michael Lynne, owner of the North Fork’s top winery, Bedell Cellars, has been one of the charity’s main chairs for years. So Bedell brought out its finest, their Taste series (red, white and rosé), all with stunning art labels designed by artist Barbara Kruger.
I first sipped the Taste White, a blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Gerwurztraminer and Riesling. The crisp white exhibits tropical aromas and flavors of citrus and stone fruit. Next, I went on to the Taste Rosé, which has the highest rating of any rosé in the Northeast. A red grape blend of primarily Merlot, the wine has a light lovely texture and vivid notes of wild strawberry, peach and papaya.
Marc Forgione; photo by hart media
Bedell’s wine display was right near some delectable tasting stations and the Taste Rosé went perfectly with Michael Mina’s shaved Wagu beef with sweet and sour lime. Mina was representing Team California. Soon I started to ricochet between the teams, next visiting Nobu Matsuhisa of Team New York. Now with a coupe glass of wonderful Henriot Champagne in hand (which I discovered in the secret VIP section), I tasted yellowtail sashimi with jalapenos and a tuna tataki with Matsuhisa dressing.
left: Michael Tusk; right: Michael Gabriel. Photos by Hart Media
Next it was Team California’s Scott Conant and his cavatelli with rock shrimp against New York’s Alfred Portale and his goat cheese agnolotti with morel mushrooms. All these delicate bites could not be surpassed and the competition was surely close. I ended with Christina Tosi’s pretzel cake truffles and chocolate chip cake truffles (NY) and Nancy Silverton & Dahlia Narvaez’s bittersweet chocolate tartufo with olive oil gelato and sea salt (CA). Such great culinary offerings and such an exciting time, even an appearance of Richard Gere representing his restaurant, Farmhouse at Bedford Post for a very worthy cause. I have to be honest: I give Team CA a slight edge for that wining tartufo dessert.
