eeeeek!
but then SOMEHOW completely forgets— he runs like, one of the hottest restaurants in like, the woooorld.
okay seriously though. how precious is this. he attends a private concert (150 guests), stands face to face in real flesh and blood life inches away from his number one all time favorite "omg i can’t breathe" IDOL (who just happens to apparently have an affinity for cute young handsomely cherubic attractive boys just like him), and he totally and utterly fails to comprehend how ridiculously easy it would be for him to simply hand her his business card and invite her to dinner at the super duper hotspot where he works. she’s probably already been there, even.
aww i just love him to death he’s so scrumptious and adorable isn’t he?
"the Centro Vinoteca of Lugano, Switzerland…"
is Bottegone del Vino?
hmmm. not quite.
it’s very nice though. and the waiters are super sweet. plus i’m a total sucker for any "uneducated unskilled blue collar service sector (wing collar?)" multilingual human being so you know how that is.
and yes, they do indeed have a rather impressive wine list at reasonable prices making it a haunt obviously beloved of the locals.
unfortunately, although the charcuterie and cheese (with three kinds of honey!) plates are generous, fresh, and delicious— the cooked stuff is just a wee bleah.
the kinda odd plunked-between-the-office-buildings location is a bit off putting too, but that’s probably just the spoiled new york city real estate snob in me talking.
"the CentroVinoteca of Cernobbio, Italy…"
is Albergo Centrale Ristorante?
hmmm. close. i guess. getting warmer at least.
it’s very nice though. and the waiters are super sweet. plus i’m a total sucker for any "uneducated unskilled blue collar service sector (wing collar?)" multilingual human being so you know how that is.
and yes the food is quite decent. and very reasonably priced (particularly for the area) making it a haunt quite obviously beloved of the locals.
and oh if there was a way all restaurateurs could promptly adopt the policy of just gratuitously plopping one chilled full bottle of limoncello and one chilled full bottle of licorice liqueur and a couple of shot glasses at the table with the check conto, allowing the patrons to idle the night away at one’s leisure—
sigh. what a civilized society we would be.
and broke as shit too, bitches.
"the CentroVinoteca of Bellaggio, Italy…"
is Cava Lucciolo?
hmmm. notttttt really. they don’t even seem to have a cooking kitchen, do they?
the wine tasting flights are a nice touch though. and pretty reasonably priced (particularly for the area). i have no idea if it’s a haunt beloved of the locals, cuz from what i’ve gathered from my regrettably short visit to this area of bellaggio smack on the banks of lago di como— there aint no "locals" up in this muhfuh.
it’s very pretty and scenic though. much prettier than times square. and there’s no mcdonalds or starbucks or hawaiian tropic zone so hooray for bellaggio, italy.
but yah. if i have to listen to one more camera wielding, postcard shopping, walking short sportin dumbwit say "bunn jurr no" or "gratt see" i think i might just scream.
That’s right; we’re still in Travel Mode here at PX This. In that vein, I present another one of my personal favorites: The Italian.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it’s better than most movies you’ve probably ever seen in your lifetime. The Italian is undoubtedly the kind of film that will make you fall in love with movies all over again and make you wonder how a person like Brett Ratner could ever become so fucking rich.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Hotel Metropole – Lake Como, Bellaggio
lovely, isn’t it? unfortunately, the kinda asinine thing about this particular table is that it’s technically available only for dinner. which starts at 7PM. so if you would like to enjoy this incredible view at a reasonably sunlit hour so you can actually SEE all the magnificent mountains and whatnot in the distance over the horizon— like everything else in the world, you have to know exactly whose palm to grease.
i’m just sayin.
 |
 |
oh but: the food is eh.
and whatever you do, stay away from the "house wine."
In keeping with The PX This TRAVEL SERIES, check out this video.
LOL! Laughter really is the universal language.
Clooney, Branson, and the Ghost of Versace
if you squint hard and look really really closely, you can see them in the windows!
Richard Branson “just bought this villa” on Lake Como
a closer look at Richard Branson’s new home. (eh, it’s okay. just a tad too small maybe, no?)
Gianni Versace‘s villa. (hmmm i assume it’s Donatella‘s now?)
what a dump! ciao, gianni.
George Clooney‘s Villa#1. evidently, he owns “this one, all the gardens in between, and the one next door.”
George Clooney’s Villa#2. why does george-clooney need two houses? maybe one for the pet pig.*
*shame on you, i wasn’t talking about his girlfriends. he really has a pet pig.
i don’t know how they can possibly get away with it, but i’m about 99.9% sure this Harry’sBar (despite its great location) has absolutely nothing at all to do with the famous Harry’sBar in venice. especially since about halfway through our meal, the manager (proprietor?) asked if we’ve ever been to "the harry’s bar in new york" after inquiring where we’re from.
ha aha ahaa i mean— can you imagine?
i asked him "the one in the Helmsley or the one on fifth avenue?" and he totally ran away.
anyhoo. it just looked like a cute little place so we figured we’d give it a try.
and so we did.
it was okay. unfortunately not really anything to write home about though.
and so i won’t.
Jen Gatien and David D Wasserman present Chelsea on the Rocks
Opening Friday at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema
Ristorante La Veranda – Villa D’Este, Lake Como, Cernobbio, Italy
hey have you ever had a $40 sandwich? (oh no wait i’m sorry, at the current exchange rate, actually €29.00 = $42.19)
i have! and i mean, don’t get me wrong, it was an okay sandwich and all, but i honestly can’t quite fathom where else in the world three very thin slices of roast beef with one leaf of lettuce and tartar sauce (yes i said TARTAR SAUCE. hahaa fuckin italians) on white bread (okay fine, they did cut off the crust) could warrant such a price tag. not even Cipriani would dare perpetrate such culinary chicanery.
yah yah sure i get it. essentially $42.19 is not buying the beef, it’s paying for the lovely view and the two nice looking italian dudes waiting tables in tuxedoes in the middle of the afternoon.
va bene.
Montes – Alpha, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Chile)
Cost: $22/bottle
This is a ‘big bang for the buck’ wine. I have had 3 bottles of the 2006 vintage and I keep coming back for more. Notes of saddle leather and toasty oak greet you up front and slowly evolve into a genuine ripeness of blackcherry and cherry fruit, with subtle hints of roasted coffee bean, scorched earth, and charred embers that eventually evolve again into more ripe fruit. Amazing for such a young wine— this has density, depth of fruit, and a sensational texture. This is a ‘must buy’ case for me.
Rating: 92
= "personne extraordinaire"