Thursday, April 30, 2009

Check Out Check In


Welcome COCI, a new feature on my blog, as I travel and enter countless hotel lobbies.
Hotel lobby.
This area of first impression is becoming more distinct than ever. A grand entrance. A sweeping view. An embodiment of the style/vibe of the place, as it tries to distinguish itself from all the other lodging options. Elegant. Old world. Hipper than the others. Lobbies mesh a variety of elements to create impact. Soaring ceiling. Dazzling lighting. Groovy bars and gathering nooks. Signature scented candles.
In fact, this is now a subject of study, complete with it's own unique measurement system to evaluate specific atmospheric elements.
Witness New York's Hudson. Working with a non-discript red brick residential building, designer Philippe Starck created, not a room, but an experience. The scale and flowing foreigners gives it an airport feel. But tongue in cheek.
Deets:
"The surreal design of the medium lobby has a unique mix of avant-garde. It's filled with brick masonry, dark wood, a 45 ft carved oak desk with a huge hologram lit classical chandelier and a tangle of vines fronting a 30-ft high vine-fronted glass roof. Nearby, French doors lead to a wonderful terrace beckoning with plantings, oversized furniture, and tongue-in-cheek sculpture and a bar (in season). The hotel's decor is captivating with it's color infused escalator."

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

More Obama Food!!!!


Egads, am I onto something here?

Surely yes, because Gothamist is running this stuff as well. NYC sharpies are out catching tributes to the 44th left and right.
Obama Fried Chicken and Pizza (they don't fry the pizza, it's just a welcome mat to comfort food) is a re-branded fried chicken place on St. Nicholas just south of 116th Street, uptown.

Not even sure if this is legal, let alone ethical, but don't we love the tribute vibe?

So yes, you are on board, and hungry, so why not go takeout from Obama Fried Chicken (and pizza),
And wash it down with a bottle of Obama Cuvee?

French winemaker Angela Bousquet-Keita, who hails originally from Guinea in Africa, has created a vintage wine to celebrate the election of the first African-American to the White House.

Der Spiegel tells us about a visionary female vinter based in France:

Bousquet-Keita, who believes she is the only black female winemaker in the entire country, described how she felt a "moment of ecstasy" when Obama won the election. "It was the advent of a world that I had always dreamed of for my children," she told the French daily Le Monde.

Too cool!

"While she intends to charge a steep €150 ($198) for three bottles of the wine, Bousquet-Keita says all the profits will go to an NGO working in the Darfur region of Sudan. That gesture was inspired by the fact that she has employed refugees from Darfur to work in her vineyard for the past few years.
She hopes to be able to present the president with a bottle personally when he visits France in June. Made from three different grapes, she says the wine should improve with age:
"It will be much better when served during his second term."

Second term....people, start those plots of Obama greens right about NOW!

More Obama Food


I know, I was "away from my desk" for a while.
Don't ask, I will someday tell.

But, back to our Obama food theme. (themes are good, right?)
Look, a food cart spotted in NYC.

The owner (and former cook at the Russian Tea Room) Muhammed Rahman said this about the name.
"I just wanted to come up with something new… a new name, and I feel like it would be an attraction. He is the President of America. Also, he is a good person and I really like him, but don’t know how to say it.
I want to say nice things, but don’t know the words."

I know, I too am confused about the Irish thing but as the kids say, "roll with it."