Results tagged “thefourseasons”

You might not expect Julian Niccolini, “flamboyant” co-owner of the Four Seasons restaurant, to be connected to the urban beekeeping subculture. After all, this is a guy who presides over the eternal midtown power lunch, and just yesterday appeared in a Grub Street post talking about $34 ahi burgers and wine at $30 a glass. But look closely at the gentleman’s photo in that post, and you can make out the impression of a lapel pin, the same one seen in greater detail here. Turns out Mr. Niccolini hearts honey.

In his new book, Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honeybee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis, author Rowan Jacobsen describes the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) on beekeeping throughout the world. While the exact cause of CCD remains unknown, it clearly has the makings of a major agricultural crisis: Pollination is required in the life cycles for most every facet of our food supply. Among the nastier discoveries Jacobsen makes while telling the CCD story is that some industrial honeybees are forced to slurp down their share of high fructose corn syrup. Fall is also a DIY book; its appendices lay out resources for tyro beekeepers, including a breakdown of beneficial, bee-friendly “pollinator plants.”

Broadway's big night celebrated two hit shows, both with word "Boys" in the title. "Jersey Boys," the musical about singing group, The Four Seasons, won Best Musical and two actors won Best Actor (John Lloyd Young) and Best Featured Actor (Christian Hoff), and "The History Boys," a play about British education, won Best Play, Best Direction and Best Actor (Richard Griffiths). The speeches were all very heartfelt, touching and classy - Frances de la Tour, who won as Best Featured Actress in The History Boys, graciously thanked the crew and said she felt at home in "New York, New York." LaChanze won Best Actress in a Musical for The Color Purple, and thanked Oprah Winfrey at the very end. And Cynthia Nixon won Best Actress in a Play for The Rabbit Hole, and called herself a theater geek. The team behind The Drowsy Chaperone, the throwback to the 1920s musical, won a bunch of big awards, including Best Book and Best Score, with its Canadian creators thanking America.

Gothamist knows that the best restaurants in the city use the best ingredients they can find. But there are many chefs that go to extremes to find the best of the best. Chefs like Thomas Keller of Per Se fame develop relationships with local farmers, fisherman and wild mushroom cultivators in the maticulous pursuit of the best ingredients. Unfortuntely, most of these ingredients are not always available to the passionate home cook.

Another thing we all to look forward to this fall: The Presidential election. We hope you're voting, and if you can, why not think about being a swing state volunteer? Two swing state resources: The Swing State Project blog and a swing State Project volunteer site.

Nicole Beland, Writer/Girl Next Door

The Times also has a Julian–Niccolini drawn seating chart for the Four Seasons and while we expected to see Anna Wintour, Harvey Weinstein, and G.Pa(ltrow) on it, we were surprised to see Kerry Kittles, Nets guard. For some reason, basketball players seem more steak–oriented, like at Smith and Wollensky, Sparks, or Michael Jordan's.

Giving hope to commoners everywhere, Alex Von Bidder, co-owner of swank The Four Seasons restaurant, is a Land's End loyalist. So taken with the custom jeans he ordered, the Observer reports that Von Bidder wrote a letter to Land's End, who, faster than you can say "In-House Marketing Team," ask Von Bidder if he (and the restaurant) would like to model for them. Von Bidder can be seen wearing the Custom Dress Shirt (starting at $49) in catalog pages. Four Seasons co-owner Julian Niccolini approves of Von Bidder's side gig but makes clear he wears Brioni.