[image: Grzywinski+Pons]

Grzywinski+Pons also designed the Hotel on Rivington that inhabits the neighborhood in a rather intrusive way, if you will pardon my judgment here. I guess I could say that I am a fan of their aesthetic, but not of their buildings' relationship with the surrounding space and with the idiom of the neighborhood. Once inside one of the rooms, however, the grey, white, and yellow color palette, pictured above, is minimalist and luxurious at the same time. And definitely on-trend this season. Have you visited a Kenneth Cole store this Spring, for example?

Speaking of "Hyper Design," the design show to top all design shows: the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) runs May 17-20 at the Javits. Don't forget, Tuesday the 20th is the Public Day where you can purchase tickets for $50. It is better to be a design professional, to be sure.

[images: Grzywinski+Pons by way of New York magazine]
click to here view additional photos

Speaking of New York magazine's "Hyper Design" issue, did you happen to see this eye-popping Modernist home, pictured above, in Flushing, Queens? Admittedly I am looking longingly at the subterranean pool. And the room off the pool. And the furniture from Ligne Roset and Poliform (he gets a discount from "work"). The owner, John Hsu, is a developer with high profile projects in Manhattan, including a new 60-room hotel in NoLita designed by the same architects that designed his home, Grzywinski+Pons.

My question is this. If Hsu met with such opposition from the neighborhood over the design of his home, as the article describes, why would he want it published in such detail for all to see? I personally would want to lay low for awhile until the neighborhood rage subsided.

Pools of light on the ceiling at DC Moore

After reading about Modernist architecture in Preservation magazine last week, I found the lighting near the elevator banks at DC Moore Gallery particularly beautiful. I have never seen such fixtures that look like a cross between an exhaust fan and a space ship. And then I saw the same fixture this morning in New York magazine's "Hyper Design" issue. What are the odds? Check out the photo on the right in The DIY Artist Loft.

If you happen to visit the gallery before June 13, the current exhibition of paintings, Roger Brown: The American Landscape will help you see light in a new way too. His paintings make quite an impact.


DC Moore Gallery
724 5th Avenue (56th & 57th Streets)
Midtown
New York
212.247.2111

Joe, you are such a tease.

Enter on Lexington Avenue to find the promise of the latest Joe,
which will be store #4

Joe The Art of Coffee has been coming soon to Grand Central for the past several months. To which I reply, so I'm ready already. More on this later today.



More:
There are rumblings that the newest Joe, located in the Graybar Passage of Grand Central Terminal, will open at the end of this month. I called and found out that everything is still on schedule. This Joe will be mainly to-go, given the constraints of the space. I am eager to try their iced coffee. I would imagine, after reading about their serious approach to coffee brewing, a la El Beit in Williamsburg, that it will be an iced Americano instead of an iced American coffee, a la Bluedog on 25th and 6th Avenue. Still you can't beat the iced coffee at Macchiato just around the corner. Dark, delicious, and two dollars. I do have my loyalties. I like my person at Macchiato. She always has my order ready when I get to the register. The new Joe might create an internal conflict.

Mother's Day Window, Cole Haan, Madison Avenue & 61st Street

Anneke Jakobs, Chiquita Chandelier (and detail), recycled cardboard, 2003
[images: Anneke Jakobs]

Advertising is Good for You is a humorous, well-written, informative blog by Boston-area copywriter and creative director, Paula Zargaj-Reynolds. As of today, it is going on my list of weekly reads. The "Advertising Arts & Crafts" section offers some great examples of post-consumer recycling, like this ballgown by Jamie Kuli McIntosh. I also found the Chiquita Chandelier, pictured above, by Dutch designer and master recycler, Anneke Jakobs. If you would like to make one, the artist has graciously provided a digital how-to manual for you on her Website. As I have an affinity for both bananas and corrugated cardboard, I may just download it. Click on tekst> to access a PDF. For a list of Jakobs' projects, click here.

[image: core77]

Or maybe I just have Murakami on the brain, anxiously anticipating seeing his show at the Brooklyn Museum. Doesn't this image make you want to find out the meaning of this curious crown on the Eiffel Tower? It's worth the click. Perhaps you will discover a new favorite design resource: Core77. I have.

[image: yourdivineinspirations.com]

When you think about it, eating a muffin is like eating a hunk of cake. Or a cupcake without the frosting. How is a muffin a breakfast item? What was I saying a few weeks ago? Correction: a muffin equals calories.

I was given a copy of Preservation at the beginning of the week, an architecture magazine connected to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and I have to say, I have been devouring every word. This issue highlights the restrained beauty of Modernist architecture, and the importance of preserving examples of Modernism around the world. Being a fan of this period and aesthetic, I feel like I want to get out and do some advocacy work. There are a number of articles available online. I recommend all of them: The Modernist Manifesto, Air Age Gothic and Palm Springs Eternal, to name a few.

I have a thing for Zak! Affordable well-designed tablewear made of melamine. Ultra smooth. Pleasing to the touch. For example, just look at these ice cream spoons. You can find many pieces from the Seaside collection at the Food Emporium Bridgemarket over on 1st and 59th. I have had fantasies about fancy salads (or better yet, fancy pasta salads) using the serving spoons and matching giant bowl. The intense sky blue would go great with red salad plates. Think of the dinner party possibilities! I do. If I talk much more about this, I will be running right over to Food Emporium and buying up a storm.

Right next door at The Conran Shop, check out Zak's latest Confetti Group, pictured above. I love the oval-shaped drinking cups. A set of 6 is around $20. Also available on Amazon and Target, for those who don't get that far east.


Food Emporium
The Conran Shop
Bridgemarket
1st Avenue at E 59th St
New York

Ok, I am amused. From Passive Aggressive Notes.

Remember the Poldo Chest by Creazioni which I wrote about for Zoozoom? Well now there is a a matching mirror. The Babi Mirror is available in high-gloss orange polyurethane as well as other colors, $3400 at The Conran Shop.


The Conran Shop
Bridgemarket
407 E 59th St (at 1st Avenue)
New York, NY 10022
212.755.9079

The new recipe inspiration from Epicurious has been serving me well all week. I actually cooked a cauliflower for the first time in my life on Wednesday. Indian style. Cut into small pieces and roasted in the oven with olive oil and Dry Garlic Chutney, a wonderful spice I picked up at an Indian grocery store. Served with yogurt.

Above, the Roasted Vegetable Napoleon I made on Monday with a side salad of mesclun, chickpeas and grape tomatoes. I roasted everything separately on cookie sheets in the oven with garlic. Once cooked, I layered the ingredients: tofu, red onion, red pepper, zucchini, eggplant, then tofu again, zucchini, eggplant, onion, red pepper. I used jarred roasted red peppers and re-roasted them to add more taste. It was a shortcut that worked. Once layered, I popped it back in the oven and served it hot. Roasting time was approximately 45 minutes at 400 degrees.

Creston's American Grill. This is new.

A sneak peek for you. Along with my hand, at left.
The decor is a little on the Frank Lloyd Wright side of things.

This photo is a bit hard to read. In the foreground, the first floor
with a railing and a view to a spacious floor below. Perhaps the lounge area.

This looks interesting. A new restaurant opening at 319 E 53rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. Creston's American Grill. Steaks and American Food. Lots of beautiful dark wood in the interior. I took a peek. Arts and Crafts meets traditional Japanese decor. Elegant. Ordered. Visually pleasing. So when will it open? What will the menu be, besides steak of course.

Slated to open this month, according to ZagatBuzz, Creston's American Grill will be a new venture for restaurateur Laurence Cresci who previously ran Manhattan Grill in the same space. Cresci's other restaurant: Portofino Grille. The menu will feature steak and American favorites. There is not much more pre-buzz than that. Like a Website. Or an online menu. We'll just have to wait and see.

I call this triptych the Neapolitan ice cream of peeling paint. Strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, all represented. Well more like strawberry, chocolately-vanilla, and cherry. Close enough anyway. A feast for the eyes, if you like this sort of visual feast. Which I do.

I could not look away from the matching couple with their matching skinny jeans and their matching boots, seating across from me on the R train. Hers, tucked (r). His, untucked (l).

Avocado & Watercress Salad, a great idea for later this week

Now there is no excuse for me not to cook healthy delicious varied recipes all week. Not that I wanted an excuse. I wanted new ideas. Desperately. Epicurious to the rescue, as usual. I clicked on Healthy, Vegetarian and found more than 99 pages of ideas. I am going to make a tofu & roasted vegetable Napoleon this evening with sides of roasted garlic fingerling potatoes and a mesclun salad with chickpeas and grape tomatoes dressed in Dijon vinaigrette.