HD Talks Blog

Food, Wine, and Great Design

I've never been to Mohegan Sun. Nor have I been to a wine and food festival. I'm a foodie and an aspiring wine enthusiast, so the 7th Annual Sun Winefest, the largest food and wine show in Connecticut (it brought in 15,000 attendees this year), was just the event to tend to my taste buds! 

From the time I walked into the lobby, I knew my time here would be a real experience, in food, wine, and design. Here are some of the elements that stood out at Mohegan Sun:

The lobby

Intense lighting hanging above escalators. 

The amazing sculpture by Dale Chihuly in front of Todd English's Tuscany restaurant.

Now, let's get back to the show. I must admit I was a bit star-struck or should I say chef-struck. I watch most of the cooking shows, own many cookbooks, and yes, I love to cook. But seeing some of these celebrity chefs up close made me excited and nervous at the same time. What do I say? What do I ask? There were chefs left and right--Tyler Anderson, Kevin Cottle, Jasper White, and Betty Fraser just to name a few.  

 

Prior to a wonderful dinner at Bobby Flay's second outpost of Bar Americain (the restaurant opened at Mohegan Sun in November) I attended a cocktail reception with chef Govind Armstrong (Table 8 and 8 Ounces restaurants) and Ben Ford (Ford's Filling Station). I was smitten, having been a huge Govind Armstrong fan for a while. I also saw chef Armstrong in action at Sunday's cooking demonstration making brandade fritters with wood-roasted tomato coulis. Yum. 

 

And the show wasn't complete without chef, restaurateur, TV personality, and author Bobby Flay doing his thing. He made his dallas burger crunchified, something you could find at Bobby's Burger Palace. After the demonstration, I tried it out for myself and waiting online for almost 25 minutes was worth it. This burger (probably the best I've ever had) along with a pistachio milkshake was a real winning combination. 

Bobby Flay was also one of 22 chefs to participate in Saturday night's Celebrity Chef Dine Around. This event was filling with both great food and wine pairings. Every type of dish was there from Rich Lucas' braised short ribs of beef with a pumpkin and wile mushroom polenta to Todd English's lobster rolls to an all-out meal from Lydia Shire with lobster popovers, crab cakes, and tiramisu with Kahlua. 

The demonstrations were just part of the show. The other part was of course, the wine! There were seminars from vineyards like Far Niente and Bridlewood Estate Winery; a grape stomp; and even an oyster shucking contest--The Oyster Open. And now for the tastiest wine and liquor--Duckhorn Vineyards' Paraduxx, Far Niente's Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Apel Eis Apple Ice Wine, Navan's natural vanilla liqueur, Pearly Bay's semi-sweet sparkling wine from South Africa, and Soave's dry white wine from Northern Italy. But taste wasn't all that caught my eye--so did the bottle and label design. Here are some of my favorites--and yes, even Ed Hardy is now making wine (the sangria was pretty good):

It's Monday and I'm still full from all the goodness from the weekend. I enjoyed talking to the winemakers and the chefs so much that I feel like I want to become one myself. There was so much passion felt throughout the event---it was very hopeful. Cheers to the thriving food and wine industry! 

City of Collaboration

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend the opening of Aria, the casino-hotel component and the final hotel of the $8.5 billion LEED-certified CityCenter development in Las Vegas. (Harmon Residences and Veer Towers are still under construction.) It was my first time seeing the city-within-a-city. I knew a lot about it after doing a story on MGM Mirage Group president Bill Smith two years ago and keeping up to date on it since. But to be honest I didn't know quite what to expect—and I have to say I was impressed. 

Most everyone knows that it is a great collaboration or architects--Gensler, Libeskind, Foster, Pelli, Viñoly, to name a few. Impressive, definitely, especially the camaraderie that was shown at the opening event. But what I found even more impressive was the number of designers that worked on the interior spaces. They seem to flow, even though each one is unique, while at every turn there was another detail, something different in design that I hadn't quite seen before. (Maybe that is why it has taken me so long to figure out what to blog about.) And what really made the design enthusiast side of me excited is that MGM Mirage's design team (especially Sven Van Assche) brought in a mix of designers—the old guard and the new, some who are even making their Vegas debut. For instance, BBGM handled the guestroom design of condo-hotel Vdara and the suites at Aria, David Rockwell created an interior park in the Libeskind's modern Crystals retail and restaurant building, and Adam D. Tihany designed the impressive Mandarin Oriental and two restaurants in Aria, one for Sirio Maccioni and one for the Light Group. Speaking of the Light Group, the young restaurant and nightclub operators chose Franklin Studios (a recent HD Wave of the Future honoree) for gaming bar Deuce, while three-person firm SL Design led by Chris Sheffield created a natural environment for Michael Mina's fish house, American Fish. And that's just to mention a few of the designers (not to mention chefs and operators).

I think people will come to see the largest privately funded construction project in the U.S., but I think they will come back to try out all of the variously designed spaces housed within.

Look for a more in-depth look at the designers involved in an upcoming issue of HD and a few sneak peeks of a few of the spaces on our website.

West Side Tale

The other night I had the pleasure of dining at the newly renovated and expanded Dovetail restaurant on New York's Upper West Side. Even though its a 3-Star restaurant, the rustic decor by local architect Richard Bloch gives the restaurant a decidedly neighborhood feel, which goes along perfectly with chef/owner John Fraser's idea that dining should be an experience that's not to be rushed. 

Set in a 110-year-old brownstone building, there's exposed brick on columns and walls, deep gray and blue hues, soft lighting, maple wood panels, and sheer drapery. Besides a larger dining area, the expansion also includes a new cozy bar area that looks out onto quaint tree-lined 77th street, and larger wine cellar, which has grown by 500 bottles. For the cooking show lovers, the downstairs cellar stands next to two original tasting tables that have a sneak peek into the kitchen. The cool thing about this renovation is that it completes the two-year-old restaurant's original floorplan vision; it just took awhile to "get" the extra space.

The best thing about the pared down modern interiors is that it is a perfect backdrop for Fraser's inventive (and I must say delicious) cuisine. I had a gorgeous beet salad and perfectly grilled fluke. Yet one of the stand outs: the salt baked onion lined with burgundy truffles. I know what you are thinking—a salt baked onion, really? But it is so savory and sweet you don't realize you are eating an onion. And to top off the fantastic meal, the new expansions have made room for cheese carts. But this isn't your normal cheese selection. Here they are pairing Vermont versus Old World cheeses, from goat to blue. The winner for me was a Vermont cheddar, but I may have to go back just to make sure.

Best of the Betsy

I love hotels. I love visiting them and staying in them. Especially ones with great bathrooms. Possibly because for years I lived in New York City where a tiny room stuffed with a sink, toilet, and shower was considered a bathroom. So it always excites me when I am lucky enough to stay in a hotel with a large, glassed-in tiled rainfall shower, or one with multiple jets. That excitement, however, is usually short lived when I turn on the shower and get partly soaked; somehow I want my crappy shower back where turning it on is not an acrobatic feat to not get wet. Which is why I couldn't have been happier staying at the Betsy hotel last week for HD Boutique. Not only is the bathroom beautiful, but the lever to turn on the rainfall shower is on the opposite wall of the showerhead. Simple, yes, but this attention to detail, especially in Miami, made me feel right at home (a luxurious one at that). Another bonus? Electric Mirror's Mirror TV. Yes, I am a TV junkie so the fact that I could continue to watch what was on in the bedroom made me one happy gal. Yes, it is the simple things in life that make me happy. 

Flavor Flay!

I'm a Bobby Flay fan. I watch his shows on the Food Network and I always think that my cooking is worth a throwdown (for his show Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, the chef challenges masters who have different cooking styles from pizza-makers to pastry extraordinaires in a cook-off to see who makes the best dish). But today, it was about the chef's food and his New England outpost of Bar Americain set to open in November at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

The food was great as was the presentation. He gave us a taste of pretty much everything on the menu from his popular hot potato chips with blue cheese sauce to spicy tuna tartar with garnish to a variety of shellfish cocktails. And when I thought I was going to be full for days, dessert came out. Sweet potato pie, which was my favorite, blueberry lemon crepes, and blackberry souffle plus a few others were ours to share. Amazing. Now back to the new Bar Americain. This 300-seat restaurant will be Mohegan Sun's largest explained Bruce Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council. Designed by Rockwell Group, the restaurant will have the looks of its New York City counterpart with similar items offered on the menu with some Native American-inspired dishes. "It will have it's own Connecticut flavor," says Flay. The second Bar Americain was born out of Flay's travels around the United States (this was also documented on Flay's show FoodNation). Flay has had great success so far with the summer opening of Bobby's Burger Palace (from what I understand, the line is always long) at Mohegan Sun. Hopefully, Bar Americain will be as popular and as successful as his other eateries. And if you want to learn how to make some of Flay's tasty Bar Americain dishes, check out his 10th cookbook coming out in 2010. 

Mac it to Me

Yesterday I got the chance to meet Mark Thomas Amadei, co-owner of SoHo hotspot Delicatessen He is such a cool guy with a great personality and it was great hearing how enthusiastic he is about his newest endeavour, Macbar, which is set to open later this week. I first met him at Delicatessen. The place was packed with lunch-goers. Ralph Lauren model Tyson Beckford was enjoying lunch with a gal and celebrity chef and restaurateur Todd English stood near the bar chatting. I did want to say hi to Tyson, but what was I going to say besides that I think he's gorgeous? 

Before seeing the new mac-n-cheese spot (it's right around the corner from Delicatessen and the two spots will share a kitchen) I went to see Delicatessen's new Model Lounge in the courtyard downstairs from the restaurant. Shown below, the space has very cool artwork from Juan Jose Heredia, a NYC artist and Bruce Weber model. The colors are bold and he even used a real belt in the mural giving it dimension. The lounge is hosted by Vans, a sneaker brand from the VF Corporation, and is a place for models to hang between castings. The models get all of this cool stuff including Vans bags, sneakers, Popchips, a discount on Delicatessen food, and access to private events. Where's my pass? 

I then got to see the newest addition to SoHo, Macbar. I'm not going to give away a lot of information since you'll be able to read my full feature on www.hdmag.com later this month, but this place is perfect for those who are true mac-n-cheese lovers and I'm not talking about the boxed kind. The branding of Macbar, done by Marque Creative, is fun and bold. Ran Lerner did the package design, which I immediately fell in love with. When you order one of the mac-n-cheese varieties, you are given the food in a recycled plastic noodle. And if you come back with it when you place another order, you get 10% off. The menu includes 12 flavors, all of which have its own icon. The comfort food flavors include Mayan Chipotle, Mac Lobsta', and Mac Quack. The eatery will also offer its own specialty energy drink and water. The interiors were done by NEMAWORKSHOP, a NYC firm who also worked on Delicatessen. Gourmet flair, great design and branding, and mac-n-cheese--count me in!

Got game?

Queens, New York. Home of the Mets, the World's Fair, and a ton of traffic on the Long Island Expressway. What else might it be home to soon? A "racino".  That is, if the bidding war for Queens' Aqueduct Racetrack ever ends and New York State Governor David Paterson makes a decision as to who will build the new gaming facility. Casino and hotel tycoon Steve Wynn CEO of Wynn Resorts is in the running as well as MGM Mirage, Penn National Gaming, Hard Rock Entertainment, Larry Woolf's Navegante Group, and Harrah's Entertainment.

The overall project entails a complex full of food and fun. For example, Wynn's proposed idea would have 4,500 video lottery terminals, a stage for performances, dining and retail components, and a 70-to-80-foot façade with a lake and other natural features all to enhance the European design.

From a Queens girl's perspective, this facility does deserve a facelift, but one that fits the area, no massive structures towering over homes, just simplicity with good design. And incase you wanted a little history on the racetrack--it opened in 1894; in 1941 track offices and a clubhouse were built; the track was torn down in 1956; the new "Big A" was reopened in 1959; and in 1975, an inner track was built for winer racing. See the horses lined up below.

Good news is that the project would create many jobs (Wynn Resorts reports upwards of 1,700 operational jobs and 1,000 union construction jobs). Let's see what happens!

Take Cover

I followed my normal routine this morning--took a shower, had some breakfast, and watched the news for what's going on in the world. Not only did I hear that it was going to rain here in New York City (this is not news to me since the whole summer has been washed out) but also, yet another fire has struck California. This time, affecting my family's turf--Rancho Palos Verdes. I called my uncle immediately to see if evacuations were taking place; what the scene was like; and of course, how he was dealing with this. He let me know that the fire was being contained and everyone was remaining calm. But what he also let me know was that nearby resort, Terranea, was helping evacuees and their pets by offering them a place to stay. "We made the decision as soon as we saw the situation on the news," said Terranea Resort spokeswoman Wendy Haase. 

A little background on the newly opened resort: the official opening was in June and it is beautiful--I got the chance to see it briefly in late May when I went to visit my family. Not only does the resort offer an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean, but also has 582 guestrooms (one shown below), eight restaurants, a spa, fitness center, and a 9-hole golf course called the Links at Terranea (you could see Catalina Island from the course). 

Not only were families offered rooms at the resort, but pets were greeted with treats from the bellboys. Thanks for lending a helping hand Terranea! 

A Penny for Your Thoughts

We've heard this story many times before. Game players who decide to play a scratch off game, thinking they won soon after looking at the card, only to find out that instead of striking it rich, they have gained nothing other than disappointment due to "a glitch in the system" or "human error". (One story comes to mind--the Daily News had a glitch in its Scratch n' Match contest that led hundreds of people to believe that they won $100,000, but of course, they didn't).

But finally, I heard about a positive ending to a situation similar to a failed sweepstakes. If you were looking for an inexpensive hotel rate at the Crowne Plaza in Quarto D'Altino (located just a little over 15 miles outside of Venice), then you may have found the deal of a lifetime--a two-night stay for just a penny! Yes, a penny. In minutes 1,400 room nights were booked and suspicions first led to a website hacker. As it turns out, it was human error. The deal was originally for a two-night stay at half the price (usually the hotel room rates run between $128 and $214 a night).

Now as I heard this story, I would have bet any amount of money that the ending was going to turn out just like any other--the hotel was not going to honor these reservations, when in fact, it was the hotel's fault. People were going to threaten to throw lawsuits around. An apology would be issued by the hotel. So when I heard the outcome, I was speechless (that doesn't happen often). InterContinental Hotels Group announced that it would be honoring all confirmations for this "weekend-for-a-penny offer". Wow. Just when I thought customer service and honesty were ideals of the past, IHG gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, there are still companies out there that value customer satisfaction. I'm singing your praises. 

Seeing Green

We have written about numerous LEED certified projects, or projects aiming for LEED certification, but it was just the other day that I actually got to experience my first LEED certified project—the Hotel Indigo San Diego, which just opened a few weeks ago (just in time for the craziness that is Comic Con). And now I am hooked! Just walking in, you feel the difference. Open, airy, bright. It just feels good. I know, that may sound cheesey, but its true. 

And it is exciting. The hotel is the first LEED hotel in San Diego, and only the 7th in California, and the first LEED certified hotel for InterContinental in the U.S. It also helped that the hotel's architect Joseph Wong gave me a behind the scenes tour with the hotel's PR rep Robert Arends. (Locally based Wong worked on the project with Atlanta-based Design Directions International.) The best part was a sneak peak at the green roof (another first for the area).

A local feel was key, so much so that there is $300,000 worth of commissioned art pieces including one 12 stories up. Named Indigo Waters, the 40-foot exterior wall sculpture is made of 33 handpainted, laminated, and tempered blue-colored glass panels by local artist Lisa Schirmer.

Barely any light fixtures are needed thanks to Nano Walls that open up the lobby (helps that San Diego is having better-than-average weather right now). I am personally excited because the hotel is dog friendly and the Phi Bar and Bistro will have doggy happy hours starting in September.

I know locals will soon be grabbing a drink on the Phi Terrace, which has a perfect view into Petco Park. Would be better if the Padres were winning more games than loosing, but the cocktail list will be a draw of its own. It includes drinks made with the herbs from this floor's herb garden. Makes me wonder how I start my own garden.