GREATEST HITS: theForum@px.this
PX This hereby presents The Forum’s Greatest Hits, a thread-by-thread archive of the most fascinating discussions from "theForum@px.this" — our online F&B oriented community IP.Board (founded in 2007) made virtually obsolete by the re-launch of theBlahg, pxthis.com, on August 31, 2009.
[theForum@px.this will be fully and permanently dismantled upon the definitive completion of its archive.]
THE HOSTESS DIARIES CONSPIRACY
Started: May 27, 2008. 12:47 PM by (Forum Administrator) *jo* • Closed: June 22, 2010 11:56PM • Archived at 15,935 Views
PRIMARY SUBJECT : New York Times article "My Year at a Hotspot" by Coco Henson Scales, July 11, 2004
ADJUNCT SUBJECTS : Former gawker.com Managing Editor Choire Sicha, Former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni, Former Hue hostess Coco Henson Scales (and friend, William Diggs)
GIST OF TOPIC : Did Choire Sicha and/or Coco Scales (along with Frank Bruni) "conspire" to misappropriate the subject matter in PX This for their own glorification and/or personal gain?
SIGNIFICANCE: In June of 2004, Abbe Diaz purchases a short-running advertising spot within gawker.com to help publicize her book, PX This (Diary of the "Maitre d’ to the Stars"). Within several weeks of that advertisement, the aforementioned article in question, “My Year at a Hotspot,” appears in The New York Times, ostensibly written by former (prominent PX This "character" Karim Amatullah’s) Hue hostess, Coco Henson Scales.
Gawker Editor Choire Sicha declares the article the "best celebrity venality exposé ever!" and goes on to exhort, "if Gawker had a required reading syllabus, it would consist entirely of this article." He then further exalts the article by declaring Coco Scales "The People’s Hero" on his personal blog as well, choiresicha.com (now semi-defunct).
Within hours, "fans" of PX This ("anywhere from 15 to 35 people") send e-mails to Sicha drawing attention to Diaz’s book, with at least one pointing out Diaz’s status as a former advertiser. Diaz herself forwards a mention of her book in the Daily News to Sicha. Sicha responds via e-mail to Diaz (and at least one "enthusiast") but, despite referring to himself as a “big fan,” fails to publicly acknowledge the existence of Diaz’s book in any way.
It is later discovered the climax of Scales’s riveting narrative is completely fictional. Upon speculation as to how a fictional essay (by a previously unknown/unpublished writer) could possibly appear in the New York Times as a non-fictional feature in the first place, it is discovered Choire Sicha "dated Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni for a few months."
Scales has written nothing since.
RATING: ★★★★
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: Ratings range from zero to five stars and reflect the discussion’s entertainment value, from amusing to hilarious, with edification taken into consideration. Hyperlinks contained within are subject to change.
The archives of theForum@px.this have been edited for the sake of clarity, brevity, and squeakiness. [If you require an original unedited copy of the discussion, please e-mail px.this@gmail.com]
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*Pictured (from boston.com): Choire Sicha, Former Gawker blogger, Emily Gould
** See also (earlier): Gawker Loses "Ignorasshole"
For more on this subject, read PX This Too – The Sequel to PX This – Coming Soon in the Autumn of 2010
The Devil Eats Jerk Pork. NOT.
The latest captivating chatter in and amongst the industry has Anna Wintour rumored to have already slapped Serge Becker’s latest not-yet-open downtown "café" with a preliminary smackdown. As you may recall, one of Becker’s other establishments, La Esquina, was recently unjustly obstructed from doing business for three days, and some speculation seems to place an irate neighbor at the core of that unwarranted temporary shutdown. Unfortunately for said neighbor, La Esquina was quickly found to be "in compliance with New York City building codes," and the Department of Buildings is said to have "scrambled" to rescind their erroneous judgement after an attorney and judges from as far away as Washington DC were consulted (presumably to help expedite the matter faster and more efficiently than New York’s frustratingly backlogged bureaucracy) on the arguably distorted assessment of celebrity-haven La Esquina’s "imminent… peril… to life."
Well!
Here we go again? The recent salacious out-and-about tittle-tattle has Anna Wintour allegedly warning Serge Becker to refrain from throwing "parties" at his new currently-under-construction exotic eatery, located (perilously?) close to Ms. Wintour’s abode.
LOL! Silly Anna. Every night’s… ♪♪ a holiday at Huuurleeey’s! ♪♪ [Quick: name that movie.]
In any case, Serge Becker & Co. might best hope a set of new $10,000.00 soundproof windows can propitiate Ms. Wintour. But frankly, we can’t help but suggest they get down on their knees and pray she doesn’t decide to implement a strategy that could conceivably be classified a "C*ntyNasty," whereby she would perhaps exert her powerful influence to contribute to the restaurant’s undoing, only to open her very own ‘hotspot’ hash house located conveniently close to her residence.
Does Anna Wintour have 311 on speed dial? Would downtown NYC be better served by a more subdued bistro, with a menu based entirely on supermodel-satiating lettuce leaves and water, than a "café" offering up callaloo and whatnot? Stay tuned!
Ahh, so starts the wintour of our discontent…
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For more details on Graydon Carter and the strategic implementation of “the C*ntyNasty” read PX This – The Revised Edition and PX This Too, The Sequel to PX This (Coming Soon in the Autumn of 2010)
** See our latest UPDATE on Serge Becker’s newest enterprise **
Rumors swirling within the industry have Chef Akthar Nawab slated to take over the kitchen at a very popular downtown Mexican eatery. Which begs the question, "what about Zengo?" True, Zengo’s early populace reviews on the internet and word-of-mouth have been mixed at best, but even the most insightful, jaded veterans of the industry are raising their eyebrows over a move that practically takes transience to a whole new level. And let’s never mind the head scratching over why this particular downtown "classic" Mexican eatery (which remains one of the hottest spots in town despite its persistent lack of a boldface-worthy chef) would court a media darling like Nawab in the first place. Some insiders speculate its plans to expand by opening its first offshoot in Miami (ambitiously but tentatively scheduled for the next Art Basel) may have something to do with its new foodieblog-gratifying outlook, but others insist Nawab’s superficial popularity has little or nothing to do with this latest (alleged) development, noting, "he’s just a downtown dude… ya know… with friends in the restaurant." And still others feel fit to surmise the Miami location’s impending opening is still very much on precarious footing anyway, as potential investors continue to engage in the ol’ Subsidizers’ Shuffle.
[But, on a semi-related note: this famous Mexican restaurant is said to be aggressively advancing on its goal to establish a new Jamaican counterpart.]
Whatever? We’re just sayin’.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Salman Rushdie hearts PX This – The Revised Edition by abbe diaz
Former “Maitre d’ to the Stars” to Release Second Book
Here’s a "blind item" for you:
Which restaurateurs are none too pleased with the impending release of PX This Too – The Sequel to PX This? Worse yet, the timely upcoming launch of PX This – The Revised Edition just happens to coincide with the recent openings of two high-profile Manhattan restaurants. Anonymous e-mails sent to this website seem to indicate some ‘characters’ are indeed up to their old shenanigans. Some things never change!
But some things do change! For the better, even. Like for example: PX This – The Revised Edition! Now with enhanced content, photos, and a preview excerpt from PX This Too!
And to celebrate the forthcoming launch of PX This Too [The Sequel to PX This]— coming in the Summer of 2010, the e-book version of PX This – The Revised Edition is FREE! [Print version coming soon!]
This is a limited time offer— so get your FREE e-version of PX This – The Revised Edition for your iPad / Kindle2+ / netbook etc NOW! Hooray!
:)
"i can’t believe that bitch gets more press than i, by maybe-being-me" —abbe diaz, 8/24/07
Well! Hey, Abbe— you wish, Miss Thing! Looks like Ms. Butler has some lessons for you in the art of Media Hype & Hoopla Hustling.
"…the notorious Gwen Butler, after an incident that occurred after service Wednesday night. ‘She assaulted me,’ Skeen tells us. We’ve heard the chef was punched in the face…"
Wow! That’s hott. No wait— that’s better than hott. Hell, that’s gansta.
Anywho, just wanted to say, "Hi, Snax!" Lookin’ good, mami. Mrreeoowwr!
Thanks for making the food blogs fun again! We haven’t read anything this LOL inducing since… well… this.
Luv ya!
Your adoring fans at PX This.
**See also (earlier):
• SYMPATHY 4 THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
• Chef Roman à Clef: "I’m not Abbe"
• Is our mystery roman à clef writer Boston’s $2.45 Million Dollar Bartender?
• "I’ll punch somebody if it gets me in Page Six. Just kidding…"
• "Think of it – you would be so badass…"
** For more on this story, read PX This, Too – Coming in the Summer of 2010 **
• Rumor has it David Bouley has "let go" of corporate chef Shea Gallante. This report has not been confirmed, however, as further inquiries have merely resulted in eye rolls and knowing smirks. Besides, it’s not really our job nor inclination here at PX This to sweat and/or verify these things (we’re not a fucking foodie blog, dammit!) but, you can feel free to bear in mind that since its 2004 inception, PX This has never been wrong.
It’s much more fun to sit back and watch others do the work, anyway. Imagining the PR people and whanot suddenly scrambling to send appeasing press releases to Florence Fabricant is always good for chuckle.
• John deLucie responds via SMS to the persistent e-mails PX This has received that he was "fired" and not simply "on leave" from The Waverly Inn. He writes, "I’m a partner. How can I be fired?"
Mmmkay? Got that? We hope you’re satisfied now. Just sayin’.
• John McDonald replies to an inquiry about the renovation of Chinatown Brasserie: "Eh, we haven’t even started yet… you know how it is."
• Lastly, our two nightlife impresarios on the subject of their latest venture: "The Russian is out… but we got this other guy from Belarus…"
Just in case you were wondering.
Underground parties land cool new Nolita club Kenmare in hot water [the Daily News]
"New A-list hot spot Kenmare wound up in hot water after State Liquor Authority officials read about underground parties there in the gossip pages, the Daily News has learned… But that’s not how the owners of Kenmare portrayed the spot to the State Liquor Authority when it was granted a liquor license in early February… ‘We are paying close attention to them,’ said SLA Deputy Chief Executive Officer Michael Jones. ‘They are supposed to be operating as a restaurant.’ …Kenmare could face penalties as severe as losing its liquor license."
Huh. Is that right?
Well, hmm— what was that you said again, Gawker? Something about our original breaking coverage on the transformation of the former Civetta being "not true," right after you misquoted us and incorrectly paraphrased our bulletin?
Oh but wait, we do admit perhaps we were somewhat remiss when we later mused, "…what does ‘the new Beatrice’ even mean?" and subsequently suggested you were "narrow-minded, short-sighted… ignorant" and "asinine" for creating such a nonsensical description of Kenmare née Civetta in the first place.
I guess we should apologize. We kinda totally ‘get it’ now.
Gee, it looks like Kenmare may very well be "the new Beatrice" after all.
**See also (earlier):
• Civetta Closing – "New Concept" to Come
• Which nightlife impresario is being "forced" to keep "embellishing" the truth? Rampant speculation has pushed him and his team into a corner, and creative storytelling is the only way to keep the dream hype alive. The truth is: despite multiple gestures and promises by a prospective deep-pocketed investor, the money simply hasn’t been delivered.
• Which well-known chef just got busted cheating on his wife again? Word on the street is his long "suffering" wife is so used to it, she doesn’t even care anymore. Refreshingly, her consistent gracious and courteous demeanor has softened the edges on sharp, snake-like forked tongues. Despite all his money and authority, it’s she who’s captured the hearts of the minions. Unfortunately, she can’t stop the tongues from wagging, but maybe she can at least take some comfort in knowing the mongering often ends, "… but she’s sooo nice… I really like her."
• Let’s play PX This – Mad Libs! From the Members Only forum (fill in the blanks):
"Now that the big day is drawing near and the hype is starting to build, can we place our bets on how long __________ and __________ are going to last with each other? Two notorious ________ under one roof yet again. This could be more fun to watch than ____________ at ____________." [Answers revealed to Members here.]
MORE on Sevigny & Khan (& Civetta. Sort of.)
When we broke the story on Civetta’s closing, little did we realize it would become the *Nightlife Bloggers’ SAT on Reading Comprehension. Or maybe that’s more like the Jellus Bloggers’ SAT on Integrity and Pettiness? Whatever! We digress.
This just in from a tipster: "Did you see your old buddy Steve [Lewis]’s column today? Funny how Nur [Khan] supposedly denies working with Paul [Sevigny]… from what I hear, they maybe are looking into a space in SoHo together, and Brad Zipper is their money guy… I don’t know how (or if) he fits into Civetta, though."
Another source adds: "…I have seen Brad [Zipper] at Civetta a couple times — he does live around the corner and is quite friendly with the staff… but I wouldn’t say that he’s involved in Civetta…"
And yet a third ‘insider’ speculates: "If I had to make a semi-educated guess, I’d say it could be possible there are two deals in the works? If the so-called SoHo space with Zipper is a go, it might still be a ways off… the Civetta thing would be a way for them to start up now, get their feet wet, then move along to the next project once that’s in the swing of things…"
*By the way, what does "the new Beatrice" even mean? As far as we know, The Beatrice Inn is closed, indefinitely— just as we predicted (despite various uninformed opinions throughout the blogosphere contrary to our deduction). When Eric Goode & Co opened MK, did they call it "the new" Area? When Peter Gatien built Club USA, was it called "the new" Limelight? Hmm, perhaps they were— by those who were narrow-minded, shortsighted and ignorant.
The Beatrice Inn was the name of the space at 258 W 12th St, long before Matt Abramcyk and Paul Sevigny took over. For anyone to take that very same name and apply it to another location would, in short, be asinine.
Might we suggest pulling your head out of your navel for a change, and try some real erudition on for size. You might be amazed at what you can learn about reality and our industry if you just freed your hands from that circle jerk, and say (for example)— picked up a book every once in a while.
This just in from a tipster: Civetta has abruptly laid off most of its staff and is closing for one month to make way for a new concept that will tentatively be manned "…by Nur Khan and Paul Sevigny." The termination comes as quite a surprise to the majority of those involved, as Civetta was just building its mostly-word-of-mouth reputation as a "pretty darned good restaurant."
Apparently, an unnamed very deep-pocketed "investor" with "ties to several projects in downtown" Manhattan, including possible "involvements" with such high-profile operators as "Andre Balazs and Serge Becker," is the primary impetus behind Civetta’s sudden shift in momentum.
Civetta will close its doors next week on December 1st.
Gee, and we hadn’t even had the chance to try it yet.
Oh well, maybe next concept.
**See our UPDATE for more information on Khan, Sevigny and Civetta.**
• Which rival nightlife impresarios are vying for the same space, unbeknownst to each other? One has a very deep-pocketed investor, but the other has A-list celebrity names "attached." Little do either realize the space has also caught the eye of two F&B powerhouse contenders as well. May the best man biggest check win!
• Which nightlife impresario who just had a baby is (typically) shagging his pretty, young bartender? Unfortunately for him, she now has bragging rights and knows how to use them. Damn that pesky Primadonna Complex!
• Which James Beard darling is ready to fly the coop (he helped put on the map)? Sigh… creative types…
*image by Shari Davis
You may find this hard to believe, but PX This has always been much much more about Fashion than the F&B Industry. But, that’s not the only reason my Netflix recommendation of the week is Valentino: The Last Emperor.
You see, one of the perks of being a PX This Dot Com administrator is that I now have access to the official email inbox — which even includes emails from long, long ago before this new version of the website was even built. Well, to try and make a long story short, a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this old email from the past. And one of things I found very intriguing was this passage:
".. You migth definately find this interesting, Well like I said I used to work at [withheld] and so I know [withheld] and you know she had to leave beacsue they found out about all the [withheld] she stole that she was giving away to all her big-name clients and friends and such. Scandal! And did you know she works for [withheld] now… but the way she cemmented herself is that she introduced [model] to [withheld] who is the son of [withheld]… which is the company that OWNS [withheld]….because of her client list whcih little do they realize she gave away half the stock for free to get…Well I don’t have to tell you fashion is sooo shady…"
But, of course, in the original email, the "[withheld]" parts are all visible. Well, wouldn’t you know, browsing through Netflix last week, I just happened to stumble upon a certain documentary about the fashion world, and I simply couldn’t resist adding it to the top of my queue. And I’m so glad I did!
What a fascinating movie! I mean, if you’ve read PX This, that is. And have access to the email inbox. And do a little creative Googling. And think for a couple of minutes.
Fascinating.
a blogger (that’s me), a restaurateur, and an operator walk into a bar…
… order a couple of josé-cuervo platino margaritas on the rocks with salt, get a little tipsy, and —what else?— start gossiping like a bunch of sewing bee bitches. it went down a little something like this:
midway through the night, i suddenly spot a proprietor of aforementioned bar. so i remark to nobody in particular "oh! look who it is…" and as he approaches, a scenario from a recent encounter abruptly replays in my head, wherein a certain chef in whose restaurant i dine in practically EVERY WEEK urges me not to blagh about "the cockroach" or he’ll "kill [me]." but when i counter "fine. then give me something else to bloog about instead," he responds with some stupid already relatively prevalent opinion about a different fellow restaurateur (which i essentially can’t blog about anyways cuz then two prominent colleagues of the industry would just be beefin with each other for absolutely no valid substantial reason whatsoever. and believe it or not, i’m not that kind of "blogger") rather than just allowing me to blerg about his new upcoming project. which then evidently gets "scooped" by the biggest fucking ass sucking jerkhead on the face of cyberspace instead. but whatever
i digress.
anyhoo. so the proprietor approaches and after initial pleasantries about the family, lugano switzerland, and the prevailing astrological planetary alignment— the conversation turns to the current progression of the new underground ChinatownBrasserie.
unfortunately, there isn’t much fascinating enlightenment left to dispense. except for maybe:
it may (or may not) open "in four or five weeks." because "once construction is started, it should be boom boom very fast bang it out very fast" seeing as "it’s really just a tweak" anyways. once that room opens, the current ‘chinatown’ upstairs will close down to allow for construction of josh-capon’s and robert-collins’s new project, but that will take "much longer" since the architect isn’t "entirely 100% sure" what he’s going to do yet, despite having already "bought some things" for the space.
also, he evidently aha ha ahaa "[has] ADD" so you know how that is.
but all in all "it should be fun" (yes i’m sure). no really— it "should be a lot of fun."
that’s it.
ahahahahaa well. i mean
actually that’s not IT— but as usual, everything else all the really good shit is off the fucking record.
• Which two longstanding nightlife impresarios have unexpectedly teamed up and are "thisclose" to inking a deal for a multi-level space in the West Village? Given their well-earned reputations (and the location of the building), this new venture could either be a smash hit of Waverly-Innsian proportions or a disaster of Beatrice-Innsian debacle-ness. At the very least, it should be fun to watch. For insiders, that is, since you won’t find anyone involved with the project offering up previews or preliminary information of any kind.
As per usual, you read it here first.
Now sssssshhhhhhhhhh…!
• Which not-so-longstanding F&B/nightlife impresario is "thisclose" to inking a deal with an established downtown restaurateur/operator? We have one word of advice, though: Better think twice about that "unbelievable" location. The community board for that district recently shot down a proposal for a restaurant on that very same street. Given the logistics of the projected impending business, putting all the eggs in that building’s basket may just be a colossal waste of time and energy.
OK, actually we have two words of advice (here’s one specifically for the restaurateur): Given the track record of said "impresario," putting any eggs in that big-cheese’s basket may just be a colossal waste of time and energy.
Don’t say we never warned you. But feel free to go ahead and learn the hard way if you must.
image by Shari Davis
This just in from a tipster: “…Victoria’s Secret is shooting at Surf Lodge all this week… it’s supposed to be hush hush…”
Thanks, tipster! Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone! We promise!
= "personne extraordinaire"