Ilan Hall’s Williamsburg Dinner Was a Beau Monde BashIlan Hall’s last night in town before departing out west to open his tapas truck looks like it was a pretty sweet one, judging from the images of Friday’s charity dinner. As we wrote last week, Studiofeast, a swank “culinary collective,” a.k.a. underground supper club, brought in the Top Chef–at–large to cook a fairly elaborate meal for charity. (A portion of the proceeds went to the West Side Campaign Against Hunger.) The slideshow is thin on images of dishes like Hall’s bacon-poached swordfish or crispy American Lamb breast with ginger and mint vinegar, but it was enlightening sociologically. Is it just us, or does this look like the Logan’s Run of supper-club events? We knew that Ilan was a member of the beau monde, but assumed that at least some of his customers would be the usual Billyburg lows. In fact, they all looked like people you would expect to be friends with Ilan.
Studiofeast: Special Ilan Hall dinner [Studiofeast]
Earlier: ‘Top Chef’ Victor Ilan Hall Stealthily Cooks for Williamsburgers
apropos of nothing
The True Cost of Music PiracyAccording to a nonsensical report published by a moronic organization, music piracy has cost the United States economy $12.5 billion. After the jump, Vulture speculates on how the record industry would have spent that money.
User’s Guide
Frozen-Yogurt Wars: We Have Not Yet Begun to Flurt
Last week, Grub Street compiled a comparison chart of different frozen yogurts (and one gelato) found in New York City. We asked readers for thoughts and you responded with frozen gusto. The most popular response was “You missed Flurt!” Indeed we did; the chain (now with two locations) opened in July. So here’s what you need to know:
FLURT
Country of Origin: New York City
Social Aesthetic: Tundralike minimalism.
Product Pitch: We’re cheaper than Pinkberry!
NYC Locations: Two: Gramercy and Battery Park City.
Critical Reception: Unofficial just yet, but commenters on Chowhound offered a “better than Pinkberry” consensus. One reader concurred: “Flurt is a takeoff of Pinkberry, but the yogurt has much better texture. Plus, they offer smoothies and Greek yogurt parfait.”
it just happened
Fred Thompson Calls City of New York ‘A Big Bully’
Presidential non-candidate Fred Thompson has finally turned on the city that made him rich and famous. The Law & Order star, who spent years pretending to fight violent crime as district attorney Arthur Branch, lashed out at the Big Apple today in a blog post that decries efforts by Giuliani and Bloomberg to crack down on gun trafficking. He called the moves, wherein the city sought to sue some weapon providers whose wares ended up being used in crimes, an “attack by New York City on the Second Amendment.” “In this case,” he says, “we need Federalism to protect states from a big bully in New York City.” A bully! Well, we never. We don’t know anything about guns, and frankly, we like it that way. But by golly we know a slap in the face when we see one!
I’m in a New York State of Mind [I’mWithFred.com]
Related:: The Actor [NYM]
video look book
What the Auteurs Are Wearing These Days
Amy Larocca discovered NYU film student Hunter Shaw sitting on a stoop mulling over his latest screenplay. Though he couldn’t seem to make the script work, he was pleased to share his fashion muse Frank Booth from Blue Velvet and his favorite store with us: “Trash & Vaudeville that’s where I buy all my pants.” Will Shaw find creative relief from a neighbor in pink bottoms? Find out in this week’s Video Look Book.
Hunter Shaw [Video Look Book]
