SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR MAMA’S

Your favorite East Village comfort food is soon to have its third address!

After launching a hotspot outpost at Veronica’s in Brooklyn, owner Jeremiah Clancy officially announced the new Mama’s Food Shop Brooklyn will open in late October this year.

To get ready, the Clancy family is asking for some extra TLC with a call to submit a photo, sketch or painted portrait of your mom to be featured in the new restaurant.

Selected submissions will be rewarded with dinner for 2 courtesy of Mama herself, and a chance to say ‘Hey that’s my Mom!‘ when the new spot opens.

So go on, show your love email submissions to mamasfoodshop@gmail.com or send your piece to Mama’s Food Shop  Attn: Sweet Mama  200 E. 3rd Street NY NY 10009.

On Sunday, SGU and friends hosted an issue release party to commemorate and honor the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. SGU created a special issue in honor of this historical day entitled #WTC in tribute to all of those who were affected by the events of September 11^th.

In true New York fashion, ten years later this city is stronger than ever. Instead of mourning the tragedy, we celebrated how far New Yorkers have come since the attack and raised our glasses toward the future.

The fiesta brought party-goers all the way down to the financial district just minutes away from the memorial site. We compiled into the lobby of the Thompson hotel on Gold St, and made ourselves at home in TBD lounge. The crowd looked exactly like Goldbar Funday. We got toasted and toasted to the sounds of Dj Lino as he warmed up the party for the big performance of the night, Cam’ron. What better way to celebrate New York than with a member of Dipset?

As usual Cam’ron killed it. In between rapping “Welcome to New York City” and “Hey Mooma” Killa Cam stopped the party for a moment of silence to pay respect to all of those we had lost ten years ago. He stopped to take twit pics with his fans, as usual, and had so much fun that he followed to the after-party.

Cam’ron hopped in his whip and headed to Broome and Mulberry where he continued to get gully with all of us at Goldbar Funday.

It was a great way to commemorate such a meaningful day in New York City. I’m so proud to say I live here. Never forgive. Never forget.

TBD Lounge

15 Gold St

Goldbar

389 Broome St

SGU #WTC issue will be available FREE of charge at specialgraffitiunit.com, as well as at Robertas, Malick Willams, Ace Hotel, Whitmans and SGU Newspaper boxes around the city. 

CALLING ALL BARGAIN BABES!

Haul your ass down to SoHo today and tomorrow for the Proenza Schouler sample sale. The sale will be featuring women’s SHOES, tops, bottoms, and dresses from Spring 2011 and previous seasons. The prices start as low as $70. This isn’t a mirage.

Today, 7/27 and 7/28 from 9am-6pm

495 Broadway, 8th floor

Remember Thor? Yeah, me neither. Hotel on Rivington has been a diamond in the rough for some time now awaiting the right people to come along and revive its downtown destiny. Finally the space that so many locals have written off has been given the allure that it deserves.

CO-OP is the new American brasserie and sushi bar in the Hotel on Rivington.  Partners Alan Philips and Jason Apfelbaum have teamed up to change the game with stunning success.

Last week at the press preview of CO-OP I got to experience the first of several concepts these two are cooking up in the Hotel on Rivington. Upon arrival, each guest was greeted with a Pink Bazooka (fresh watermelon, Grey Goose, a coconut water ice cube, and fresh basil) cocktail and truffle popcorn, rather than bread. No carbs people, GENIUS. The drink was just the beginning of the overwhelming two-page tasting menu. We indulged in five courses of delectable dishes each one better than the last.

Rather than just choosing food from a menu the creators of CO-OP aim to make dining a “creative exercise”. Chef John Keller (Le Bernardin, Nobu, Bruno Jamais) and sushi Chef Stephan Wong (Sushi of Gari, Megu, Sushi Hana) pair up to offer an extensive menu that leaves no taste bud left behind. Each course was accompanied by beverage ranging from cocktails, to sake to wine, delicately selected to create just the right palate combination with the food.

The best appetizer was the Kale Caesar Salad, Kale is having a major moment and I’m all about it. On the sushi side, you cannot go wrong with the CO-OP roll, my dream creation, a spicy tuna roll topped with rock shrimp a la Nobu. Of all the options, my preferred plate was the Black Cod Butter Lettuce Cups. Proprietor, Jason Apfelbaum came over and introduced the dish himself as “the Lady Killer” deeming it every woman’s number one choice on the menu. It was light, fresh and outrageously delicious, aptly named.

Naturally I asked Apfelbaum, “so then, what drink is the Man Eater?” I shouldn’t have asked. I think Jason brought over every single creation that master mixologist Julio Torres has to offer. The truffle dirty martini won in my personal cocktail tasting.

An extensive guest list of bloggers and foodies filled the windowed ceiling dining room, which draws intense inspiration from the early 1970’s blended with pretentious punk rock flair created by A-list designers DeVinn Bruce and John Rawlins. A combination of ambiance and easy-going staff make for a most agreeable experience. The entertaining environment practically encourages guests to linger over food and drinks.

A constant game of, “Do you know who that is?” or “How good does she look?” was played during dinner. Not about the guests themselves, but about the massive portraits that saturate the walls of the dining room. The 36 portraits were selected from the portfolio of celebrity photographer EJ Camp. Each person was chosen by his or her importance and relevance to the success of downtown New York. Tommy Gun, Patricia Field, Debbie Harry, Fred Austin, Rachel Gallagher and Betsey Johnson all have their Polaroid portrait on the wall. A little known fact, Apfelbaum revealed that CO-OP used the last Polaroid film in the country to make those oversized portraits come to life. Pretty groovy, huh?

Pastry chef Mame Sow whipped up three desserts for the final course of the evening. Her sticky toffee cupcake is like a little taste of heaven. It is a must-try.

Alan Phillips and his Guerrilla Culinary Brigade have knocked it out of the park with CO-OP. With such an extensive range of food and beverage coupled with the unique ambiance, it is the perfect compliment to one of New York’s most diverse neighborhoods, the Lower East Side. This team has only just begun, making CO-OP their first conquest in a series of concepts they will be launching at the Hotel on Rivington. Stayed tuned.

CO-OP Food and Drink @ The Rivington Hotel, 107 Rivington

It takes a lot to get me to leave the comfortable confines of downtown New York, and with good reason. Thursday night, I swallowed my pride and headed uptown with Miss Downtown Diaries herself, Kristina Marino, to Lavo. The promise of Steve Aoki headlining, with Marshall Barnes and Jesse Marco opening served as sufficient bait. Hopping out of the cab, I was a little bit bewildered. Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf were nowhere insight. In their place, a cluttered sea of somebodys and wanna-bes covered 58^th street, all attempting to stampede their way into Jon Schwartz‘s birthday extravaganza.

The champagne showers, go-go dancing, and celebrating brought the energy of the room to reckless proportions. Jesse Marco and Marshall Barnes kept the dance floor live by playing an eclectic mix of house music to hype the crowd for the king of Dim Mak himself.

Once Aoki took over the turntables the room went wild. After that, it gets difficult to put the hysteria into words. Lucky for us, Kirill captured the best of what we barely remember, and what we wish we could have forgotten.

images [[via KIRLLWASHERE]]