Rima Suqi

The most delicious things ever. Love the “tastes like the everything bagel” line. More info here.

Sam Baron at Japan Premium Beef.

Home made Ginger Syrup made in Brooklyn at  Morris Kitchen. Gorgeous packaging, $10/bottle. Put some in seltzer to make ginger ale, add to hot water for a lovely tea, or use it my way – in Bourbon!

Other ways to use Ginger Syrup are on Morris Kitchen’s helpful recipe page.

I love books that provide a social history of NYC, whether or not I was part of it. Indochine: Stories, Shaken and Stirred (Rizzoli) is the latest. Read below for the official blurb. $60
The restaurant Indochine has gone from trendsetting pioneer in the mid-1980s to established scene-maker in the 1990s, to the iconic status it holds today. With spectacular images presented by some of the most renowned photographers, celebrities, and writers, Indochine celebrates twenty-five years of being an important legacy in New York’s downtown social swirl, where celebrities rub elbows with downtown hipsters, uptown moguls mix with East Village club kids, and fashion designers with artists and gallery owners. Vintage photographs from the 1980s and ’90s are mixed with contemporary collages and Polaroids taken during Indochine’s most notorious private parties. Stories by Salman Rushdie, Moby, Julianne Moore, and Bob Colacello are combined with photographs by Patrick McMullan, Roxanne Lowit, and Patrick Demarchelier, along with artworks by Francesco Clemente, Helmut Lang, Tom Sachs, Ruben Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Ross Bleckner, and Julian Schnabel, among many more.

Arrived in Maui yesterday. After the initial shock of seeing things like Coconut bagels (so wrong, but maybe so right?) I settled in at the Grand Wailea. It’s a big hotel that feels like a big hotel. And its an old-school peachy color. Right smack on the ocean, though, with amazing views.

The thing about Hawaii is that many restaurants, even in resorts, close at around 9, so you’ve got to get used to eating earlier than you might normally. I headed down to Humuhumunukunukuapu`a (that’s really the name) for some Hamachi carpaccio (which was topped with an incredible celery ice).

And, of course, a little vodka. I try to go organic whenever I can, and was offered a local vodka, made right in Maui, distilled from Pineapples. I was skeptical – but was given a taste and damn, it was very very smooth. No taste of Pineapple at all.

Turns out Pau, as its called, is made in GLASS stills and reaches 95% purification with just one distillation, as opposed to the usual 3-7.

The only downside is that it is expensive – $99/bottle here on Maui. And only available in limited quantities in the mainland. Not sure I’d spend the money on the bottle, but if you’re into vodka, try it on the rocks if you get a chance.

Was at the Blue Owl having drinks with my friend Jason Rowan and  a lovely PR person whose envious job it is to see to it that we drink, and drink well. That night, the drink was gin. While Jason, the cocktail expert, was more adventurous, I opted for the simple Martini. Which I was offered with Dirty Sue. Dirty Sue is not a human (that I know of), it is a product that I wish I had thought of — bottled olive juice for the making of dirty martinis and, I’m sure, a lot of other things. Genius. $5.99/bottle. Buy it here.

Judging from the Good Karmal website, I clearly am the last person to know about these. And, to be honest, I’m more a salt girl than a sugar girl. But Good Karmal happens to make a sea salt caramel. Delicious, and not allowed in my home.

I will, however, partake of one in yours. I’ll try to keep it to one.

Priced from $10.

Oh.My.God – a grilled meatball? Who knew this was possible? I LOVE a meatball.
My latest Williams Sonoma catalog showed this contraption that makes it possible to make meatballs on the grill.

From the catalog:

New
Meatball Grill Basket

Our ingenious grilling tool gives smoky open-fire flavor to homemade meatballs. The sturdy stainless-steel basket has 12 perforated wells to drain excess fat as meat is infused with flavor and browns perfectly. With the lid closed, the meatballs are held securely in place and out of the fire. The removable polypropylene handle makes the basket easy to turn – just flip it over for even cooking. The basket works with beef, lamb and poultry as well as vegetable mixtures. Hand-wash. 9 3/4″ x 20 1/2″ including handle. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive. $49.99

I’m giving y’all a six hour foot up on a very cool thing I found while doing a story for the New York Times (that story will appear in the Home section tomorrow). It’s an outdoor table that’s also a cooler or, depending on how you look at it, a cooler that’s also a table. Looks like something Starck might’ve done (if the legs were pointier) ten years ago or Magis, but it’s actually by a company I’d never heard of and, it seems, only available in this country throught Ace Hardware. It’s a lot of style for $79.99
Here are the pictures. Buy the “Cool Bar” on Ace’s website.