The American Girl Place staff served attractive and clever snacks at the Bunny Hop.
I love a holiday-pegged party, don’t you? At Halloween parties, for example, there is a legitimate reason to eat candy corn, whereas if you take the candy corn home, it stains the sheets. Don’t ask.
Recently I was pleased to attend two holiday-driven fetes. On St. Patrick’s Day, I joined the Kelly Gang for benefit cocktails at Michael’s restaurant, and then for Easter I hit the Bunny Hop benefit for Memorial Sloan-Kettering. (I also stopped by Food & Wine’s annual Best New Chefs awards, but there’s no restaurant holiday yet that I know of.)
The Kelly Gang is a group of people, mostly from the media world, whose last name is Kelly, almost all of whom I seem to know. They’ve been having a lively, highly publicized party for years, which I considered the antithesis of St. Paddy’s Day (isn’t it a day you meet with friends in secret?), but they have now turned their gathering into a benefit, of which I wholly approve.
I think I need to make it clear, despite my surname, that I come from a long line of Irish. I used to attend the Gael of the Year awards at Georgetown University all the time (my grandfather won twice) despite not having attended the school. Here are a few of my family members’ names: Kitty, Kip, Kerry, Bevinn, Gillian, Connor, Nevie, Moira, Kelly, and that is not even including the doubles (Mary Kay, Danny Pat, Mary Carol). Get the picture?
So I’m here to tell you that the Kelly Gang, except for bagpipes, does very little to create the erin go bragh sensation. There is no soda bread. No shillelaghs. No Blarney stone facsimile to lean over backward and kiss. No Jameson’s served neat. Still, they throw a nice event.
You’ve probably heard about this event before, because the Kelly Gang has a scribe, Keith Kelly of The New York Post. He brags about the group all the time.
But what is great is that they started adding a fund-raising.phpect to the proceedings. Last year, they honored Michael Kelly, former editor in chief of The Atlantic Monthly, and the first embedded journalist to die in Iraq, and gave the earnings to his wife and children.
This year, they were raising greenbacks for an officer named Kelly, who lost his leg in the same desert. I stayed only briefly this year, though was buttonholed by both Keith and the other Michael Kelly (this one is president of AOL Networks). I promised both of them that I would return and spend money again next year. Why? Because it is one of the few nights where media machers let their hair (and egos) down just a bit. Kudos to Howard Rubenstein for donating the staff to raise the expertise a little bit.
The Bunny Hop got a long-winded review last year, so I’ll keep it snappy. My two experts, nieces Rory and Kendra, loved it despite the raging snowstorm, which only slightly depressed turnout. Apparently I was the only one who called asking about the cancellation policy.
There were not one but two nondenominational, extravagantly costumed holiday bunnies on hand, which I thought confusing, but the kids seemed to love. Again the staff of American Girl Place served attractive and clever snacks, and eagerly sold merchandise.
My favorite new element was also bunny-themed, a decorate-your-own-Peeps station sponsored by Dylan’s Candy Bar. Dylan Lauren is an old friend, so I promised to mention that the store does candy decorating parties at her store as well. (There’s your plug, sweetie.) To me, Peeps (those marshmallow birds with a sandpaper finish) are right up there with candy corn for guilty holiday pleasures. Here, you got a set of naked (i.e., white) Peeps bunnies and all the goo you liked for decorating. I wisely ate mine before bed this year.
Best New Chefs
One of the easiest ways to look informed about food, restaurants, chefs, and that whole world is to brave the madding crowd at Food & Wine’s annual Best New Chefs awards. My friends and former clients at the magazine have a knack for picking the about-to-be-biggies, and since the list is national, you learn about good places to go in other cities, which I find to be a real challenge. (Here in New York I’m never at a loss for dinner locales, are you?) I discovered and befriended Los Angeles chef Suzanne Goin this way, and then turned her on to In Style and Vanity Fair, and now I get seated on the sidewalk at her restaurants, Lucques and A.P.C.
Another chef I met this way was Anita Lo, chef /proprietor of Annisa in the West Village and Rickshaw, her new place on 23rd Street. Her partner, Jennifer Scism, runs the front of the house, and so far I still get a seat, but all that is I think going to change since Anita’s defeat of Mario Batali on Iron Chef America last week.
She was serving up barbecue spareribs with pork and noodle stuffing at last week’s event (once you are anointed a Best New Chef, the magazine expects you to come back and plate up food for the new guys), so I asked whether her victory on Iron Chef had affected business. Jennifer filled me in, “Well, all our friends called.” Did Mario call or send a note? “Nothing like that.” Well, Mario is one of the most talented and charming people I’ve ever met, but he looked pretty surprised and annoyed at the result. Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin was one of the judges—does that explain why Mario skipped her event?
The event was held at Skylight on Hudson (at Dominick), which got rave reviews all around. It is a clean, well-lighted kinda place, with gobs of space, making the 600-plus-person gathering seem almost civilized.
Now, for your where-to-eat-out-of-town files, here's the list of this year's honorees (which also includes one New Yorker):
Tyson Cole, Uchi, Austin, Texas, 512.916.4808
Seth Bixby Daugherty, Cosmos at Le Meridien, Minneapolis, 612.677.1100
Christophe Eme, Ortolan Restaurant, Los Angeles, 323.653.3300
Shea Gallante, Cru, New York, 212.529.6700
Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.561.1101
Maria Hines, Earth & Ocean, Seattle, 206.264.6060
Daniel Humm, Campton Place Restaurant, San Francisco, 415.955.5555
Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson, Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado, 303.442.6966
Tony Maws, Craigie Street Bistrot, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 617.497.5511
Eric Ziebold, City Zen in the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., 202.787.6006
Posted 04.01.05
Columnist Ted Kruckel is an experienced and opinionated former event and PR pro who ran events for 20 years for high-profile clients like Vanity Fair, Elle Decor, Christian Dior and Carolina Herrera. He shuttered his firm, Ted Inc., in 2003. You can email him at [email protected].
Photos: Patrick McMullan (Lo, chefs)
Recently I was pleased to attend two holiday-driven fetes. On St. Patrick’s Day, I joined the Kelly Gang for benefit cocktails at Michael’s restaurant, and then for Easter I hit the Bunny Hop benefit for Memorial Sloan-Kettering. (I also stopped by Food & Wine’s annual Best New Chefs awards, but there’s no restaurant holiday yet that I know of.)
The Kelly Gang is a group of people, mostly from the media world, whose last name is Kelly, almost all of whom I seem to know. They’ve been having a lively, highly publicized party for years, which I considered the antithesis of St. Paddy’s Day (isn’t it a day you meet with friends in secret?), but they have now turned their gathering into a benefit, of which I wholly approve.
I think I need to make it clear, despite my surname, that I come from a long line of Irish. I used to attend the Gael of the Year awards at Georgetown University all the time (my grandfather won twice) despite not having attended the school. Here are a few of my family members’ names: Kitty, Kip, Kerry, Bevinn, Gillian, Connor, Nevie, Moira, Kelly, and that is not even including the doubles (Mary Kay, Danny Pat, Mary Carol). Get the picture?
So I’m here to tell you that the Kelly Gang, except for bagpipes, does very little to create the erin go bragh sensation. There is no soda bread. No shillelaghs. No Blarney stone facsimile to lean over backward and kiss. No Jameson’s served neat. Still, they throw a nice event.
You’ve probably heard about this event before, because the Kelly Gang has a scribe, Keith Kelly of The New York Post. He brags about the group all the time.
But what is great is that they started adding a fund-raising.phpect to the proceedings. Last year, they honored Michael Kelly, former editor in chief of The Atlantic Monthly, and the first embedded journalist to die in Iraq, and gave the earnings to his wife and children.
This year, they were raising greenbacks for an officer named Kelly, who lost his leg in the same desert. I stayed only briefly this year, though was buttonholed by both Keith and the other Michael Kelly (this one is president of AOL Networks). I promised both of them that I would return and spend money again next year. Why? Because it is one of the few nights where media machers let their hair (and egos) down just a bit. Kudos to Howard Rubenstein for donating the staff to raise the expertise a little bit.
The Bunny Hop got a long-winded review last year, so I’ll keep it snappy. My two experts, nieces Rory and Kendra, loved it despite the raging snowstorm, which only slightly depressed turnout. Apparently I was the only one who called asking about the cancellation policy.
There were not one but two nondenominational, extravagantly costumed holiday bunnies on hand, which I thought confusing, but the kids seemed to love. Again the staff of American Girl Place served attractive and clever snacks, and eagerly sold merchandise.
My favorite new element was also bunny-themed, a decorate-your-own-Peeps station sponsored by Dylan’s Candy Bar. Dylan Lauren is an old friend, so I promised to mention that the store does candy decorating parties at her store as well. (There’s your plug, sweetie.) To me, Peeps (those marshmallow birds with a sandpaper finish) are right up there with candy corn for guilty holiday pleasures. Here, you got a set of naked (i.e., white) Peeps bunnies and all the goo you liked for decorating. I wisely ate mine before bed this year.
Best New Chefs
One of the easiest ways to look informed about food, restaurants, chefs, and that whole world is to brave the madding crowd at Food & Wine’s annual Best New Chefs awards. My friends and former clients at the magazine have a knack for picking the about-to-be-biggies, and since the list is national, you learn about good places to go in other cities, which I find to be a real challenge. (Here in New York I’m never at a loss for dinner locales, are you?) I discovered and befriended Los Angeles chef Suzanne Goin this way, and then turned her on to In Style and Vanity Fair, and now I get seated on the sidewalk at her restaurants, Lucques and A.P.C.
Another chef I met this way was Anita Lo, chef /proprietor of Annisa in the West Village and Rickshaw, her new place on 23rd Street. Her partner, Jennifer Scism, runs the front of the house, and so far I still get a seat, but all that is I think going to change since Anita’s defeat of Mario Batali on Iron Chef America last week.
She was serving up barbecue spareribs with pork and noodle stuffing at last week’s event (once you are anointed a Best New Chef, the magazine expects you to come back and plate up food for the new guys), so I asked whether her victory on Iron Chef had affected business. Jennifer filled me in, “Well, all our friends called.” Did Mario call or send a note? “Nothing like that.” Well, Mario is one of the most talented and charming people I’ve ever met, but he looked pretty surprised and annoyed at the result. Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin was one of the judges—does that explain why Mario skipped her event?
The event was held at Skylight on Hudson (at Dominick), which got rave reviews all around. It is a clean, well-lighted kinda place, with gobs of space, making the 600-plus-person gathering seem almost civilized.
Now, for your where-to-eat-out-of-town files, here's the list of this year's honorees (which also includes one New Yorker):
Tyson Cole, Uchi, Austin, Texas, 512.916.4808
Seth Bixby Daugherty, Cosmos at Le Meridien, Minneapolis, 612.677.1100
Christophe Eme, Ortolan Restaurant, Los Angeles, 323.653.3300
Shea Gallante, Cru, New York, 212.529.6700
Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.561.1101
Maria Hines, Earth & Ocean, Seattle, 206.264.6060
Daniel Humm, Campton Place Restaurant, San Francisco, 415.955.5555
Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson, Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colorado, 303.442.6966
Tony Maws, Craigie Street Bistrot, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 617.497.5511
Eric Ziebold, City Zen in the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., 202.787.6006
Posted 04.01.05
Columnist Ted Kruckel is an experienced and opinionated former event and PR pro who ran events for 20 years for high-profile clients like Vanity Fair, Elle Decor, Christian Dior and Carolina Herrera. He shuttered his firm, Ted Inc., in 2003. You can email him at [email protected].
Photos: Patrick McMullan (Lo, chefs)
