Kiki’s is a Greek restaurant on the lower east side.  It is located in an area of the city that I love.  It is still gritty and feels like NYC to me.  Kiki’s fits in perfectly.  Located on the corner of Division and East Broadway in an old Chinese restaurant.  Inside the restaurant is old school with wooden beams and rambling rooms.  The place is a lot larger than you think but each room is small but keep walking and walking and walking into other rooms.

The menu is quite large and 100% Greek.  We seem to gravitate to the exact same thing no matter where we eat Greek.  The silverware and napkins in the Greek can is a nice touch.

We started with the Greek salad.  Love the block of feta on top and a mixture of oregano and olive oil.

Grilled octopus with a slight smoky flavor.

A whole fish with sauce on the side.  This was a bit dry.

Lamb chops that are really tasty.  A bit over cooked so order rare if you want it medium rare.

I’d totally go back.  It’s fun, it’s casual and it feels like old NYC.

Josh made his way there about a week after Atoboy opened and raved.  He went back a few times before heading off to school.  I made a reservation for when we returned.  Had to check it out ourselves.

A husband and wife team putting out creative Korean food.  The restaurant is long with grey washed walls and wooden seating on both sides creating a very urban edgy vibe.  They have definitely thought of each detail down to the ecru aprons worn by the waitstaff.  The staff couldn’t be nicer.

The menu constantly changes and they recommend 3 dishes per person.  There were four of us so we essentially tasted almost everything on the menu that evening.  Some were excellent and others were just ok. Every dish is roughly the same size.  We opted for a dry Gruner this evening.  They do have sakes and other cocktails too.

Our first few dishes started with eggplant roasted into a pulp and then mashed with pieces of snow crab, tomato and lemon.

Pieces of crispy tofu with soybean, king oyster mushrooms and a mustard sauce.

Littleneck clams mixed with avocado, rice crackers and a Korean red pepper flakes.

Thinly sliced pieces of beef tartare served with super thin fries.

Our next four started with asparagus with spicy code roe, shallots and egg yolk.  This might have been one of my least favorite dishes.

Sliced avocado with horseradish, trout roe and cotija cheese.  This was a really interesting combo.

They also serve white rice or white rice mixed with other grains.  I liked the mixed grain rice.

Caramelized corn with taleggio cheese, bacon and bean paste.  I could have had a bowl to myself.

Squid stuffed with chopped pork, shrimp and topped with a salsa verde.  This was really unique and good.

Our next four were Mackerel with green chilis, radishes and scallions.  This was very salty.

Deep fried pieces of chicken with a spicy peanut butter sauce.  Off the charts.

Pork jowl over barley, pieces of romaine and spicy Korean paste.  I really liked this too.  The meat was tasty and served like a chicken breast.

Brisket served with foie gras, ginger and garlic.  This was too heavy for me.  Josh loved this.

Had to try dessert.  Honey panna cotta was far and away the best dessert served with black rice vinegar and pomegranate.

The granita with burrata and walnuts did zero for me.

Black raspberry cake is really beautiful mixed with hazelnuts and pistachios but I didn’t love this either.

All and all really interesting. Dessert isn’t great.  You need to continue to go back and check out new dishes as they come out of the kitchen.  They are creative and over time my guess is the menu will evolve into some bigger plates, smaller plates and some really good things won’t leave the menu like the fried chicken.

There is countless research on nurture vs nature.  I do believe nurture goes along way to helping guide nature but trying to change nature is never a good thing.

I recently read Alice Hoffman’s new book, The Marriage of Opposites.  The book was longer than need be but the concept of what you were born to be stuck with me.  A historic fictional book based on the life of Camille Pissaro.  Pissaro came from a Jewish family and the idea of becoming an artist was not in the cards.  Pissaro drew and painted whenever he could.  At one point he says to his mother that he was born with this gift, he sees the world in colors and he was meant to be an artist not to run the family store.

Years ago when the kids were young I went on more playdates with them than I can count.  There was this one little boy who loved music, drawing and dressing up.  I knew him when he was between 4-6.  The parents pushed him to do sports (yes even at that age) and he’d do it but then he would return to the corner with his music.  I remember thinking you are not going to change this kids DNA.  He knows what he enjoys and it isn’t sports.

When Emily was barely 2 my Mom bought her an outfit as a gift when we went to visit her one weekend.  She opened the box, said thank you, put the outfit down and never picked it up again the rest of the weekend.  My Mom said “well she certainly knows what she doesn’t like.  She has no interest in that look”.  Kind of amazing at that age.

It is the same thing with entrepreneurs.  It isn’t a matter of should I start a company but I must start a company because I am literally unemployable.  I need to own and run my own thing.  I moderated a panel years ago with four women founders on it.  I asked them at the end of the panel if their companies fail then what will they do next.  They all said the same thing “I will start another company” and they all laughed.

DNA is a very powerful thing.

If you take a real look under the covers of history, women perhaps more so than men, were an intrical part of every field from the arts to science.  Maybe women have taken a back seat to their husbands or they just didn’t care about their mark in history.  Whatever the reason this has to change.

The success of NASA had to do with more than a handful of black women engineers.  How come it took until now for me to learn about that?  Did you know that Gymboree, a publicly traded company known by name to families across the country that did over $1 billion in revenue last year was founded by a woman?  I did not know that until Maxine Clark told me about her friend Joan Barnes who founded Gymboree.  Oh, Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear.

I read the obituary on Margrit Mondavi who died recently at 91.  We think of Robert Mondavi, her husband, as the wine pioneer that invented the California wine business.  Margrit founded the winery’s summer musical festival, introduced cooking classes to the vineyard and was a major factor in the success of Mondavi.  Who knew?  Nobody every said Robert and Margrit Mondavi.

Ada Lovelace was the first Computer programmer.  Many of Zelda Fitzgeralds stories were published under her husbands name.  There are many many other women who we should know about that made their mark in history.

When we look back at eras around any vertical for whatever reason we read about the men.  The men artists of a particular time, the men directors of a particular time, the men who build companies of a particular time, the men who were the top sports figures of a particular time, the men of medicine, the men of everything.

My request is simple.  Can all of the women who are making their mark in history from sports to art to start-ups to science to whatever, stay in the public eye.  Make sure that your impact is felt in the history books.  That when people write about a time, a genre that your name is mentioned.  We can only do that by working just as hard as we did to achieve our goals to work just as hard to get into the history books.  Enough of the men owning those history books.

How can young girls break that glass ceiling time and time again when there aren’t enough women for them to point to and say “yes, I can be anything I want to be because that woman did it, so I can do it too”.

 

Ends up that few people in Hudson NY get up to do breakfast before 10 or 11.  We really wanted to go to Bonfiglio & Bread but they were closed for the day.  So we left Hudson and drove to Tivoli for breakfast before exploring the Bard College grounds and the Hessel Museum.

We had breakfast at Murray’s.

Murray’s is located inside an old church.

We then made our way over to Bard and the museum.  No photos in the museum.  Will never get that but whatever.  It was hovering around 94 so our idea of walking Storm King was out so we heading over to Dia Beacon.  I have always wanted to go.

The building is incredible.  It reminded me of the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin.  Large factory feeling with big huge rooms to really show grand pieces.  The first two rooms that are separated are long corridors with an installation from De Maria.  This gives you an idea of the size.

There are Richard Serra’s throughout.  Just love his work.

My favorite artist is Gerhard Richter.  If I could own one of his pieces I would.

Flavin was throughout but the installation in the basement was the best of his work.

Another fave is Sol Lewitt.

John Chamberlain

These deep metal holes by Michael Heizer was incredible.

Sculptures by Louise Bourgeois.

So glad we made the journey.  We were bummed not to see our friends but when life gives you lemons, always make lemonade.

Fred and I were supposed to go see our friends in Martha’s Vineyard but due to the storm last week we had to cancel. We had blocked out the time so why not extend that summer frame of mind for a few more days?  We took a short road trip to Hudson NY.

In 1820, Hudson was the fourth largest city in NY.  The city was built on a grid model and at one point lost being the capital of NY by one lone vote.  The town has great bones and over the past two decades has really come back.  The city has a bit of the Brooklyn vibe.  Artists, antique shops, local shop owners and a handful of restaurants.  The majority of commerce runs down Warren Street in the middle of the town.  It is a long street.

We drove up mid-morning on Wednesday and stayed at Wm. Farmer and Sons for one night.  I booked the Lee Wendell Suite.

Our first stop was lunch.  We sat in the backyard of Cafe Le Perche for a few salads.  Simple with fresh ingredients.  Then we began our stroll.

We soon discovered that most of the locals close shop Tues/Wed and some on Thursday because the busy times are over the weekend so they use the week as their weekend.  It was fine.  We saw plenty.  It was always insanely hot so less was best.

We checked out the local cheese shop.  Talbot & Arding Cheese Provisions.  They make a lot of their own products from jam to candies.

Or is another restaurant/bar off the main drag which has a small shop attached including a gallery.

The Opera House is in the midst of a major renovation.  There is a gallery still open on the ground floor.

We also walked into a few home stores.

Moto Coffee was an essential stop.  Lots of old motorcycles in there including well worn helmuts as the background for what the place is really about….coffee.  Note to return the next morning.

We wandering into Hudson Wine Merchants.  A fantastic store.  What drew us in were all the local alcohols in the window.  Then we noticed how the liquors were stacked up like a bar behind the register.  Tons of wine and a wine room as well.  We walked out and then it hit me, I knew this shop.  We have been ordering wine from the owner, Michael Albin, thru an introduction, for literally years.  He delivers to the city at least once a week.  We walked back in and introduced ourselves.  Never met face to face.  It was one of the highlights of the trip.  We got a full on tour of his building.

We also met Michaels wife, Marianne Courville, who is the founder of The Hudson Standard Shrub…coming soon to a store near you.

Another treat was the John Davis Gallery.  He was closed but the door was open so we walked in.  He could not have been nicer.  He gave us a full on tour.  He has been up in Hudson for the past 20 years.  The gallery is a front building and a carriage house in the back with this yard in the middle to show sculptures.

The carriage house still has a large hand powered elevator shaft that in the day was used for hay but now for art.

Loved the Olde Hudson Market, a speciality gourmet store full of crackers, cheeses, supplies, meats, ice cream and coffee.

Our last stop was the Spotty Dog.  What a great concept.  A book store with a bar.  The bar has a variety of local beers on tap.  Such a great concept.

We went back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation before walking downstairs for dinner.  The restaurant has a great vibe.  Whoever designed the hotel and the restaurant did an incredible job.

We split a few things on the menu, this is a shot of the hanger steak, and then we walked up the stairs and went to bed.

What’s great is you can take a train up there and back with ease.  We drove but love the train concept.

 

 

It is with a heavy heart, we bring you this sad news. Unfortunately, WeFestival can only sustain itself with sponsor support. And while we had fabulous, supportive sponsors for our April event in NYC — this time around we could not get the backing required to put on the event we all cherish.

That said, we aren’t finished with the fight just yet. We are currently working on alternative forms of support that would allow the organization and our events to continue. We love WeFestival — as many of you do too — and are hoping we can find the means to forge ahead. We‘ll keep you posted as we have news to share.

To all those who have supported WeFestival through the years, a BIG THANK YOU from us. Your excitement and passion for WeFestival has truly inspired us.

Fifteen years have passed since the day the world changed on 9/11/01.  Our kids were 10, 8 and 5.  We lived in a different home.  We didn’t live in fear of terrorism.  We didn’t have TSA at the airports.  We didn’t have Twitter.

We had zero idea how the next 15 years would change how the world lives from decisions made by our Government that day.  The anger and fear that has been unleashed from that day is overwhelming.  Did it have to be that way?

Downtown NY has been transformed.  Lives have been changed.  It is a day that is etched in my memory like no other.  I don’t think about it often but when I do I can go back in my mind like I am re-watching a film.  I recall the morning, watching the second plane hit the tower while I stood with others on 5th Avenue in shock, walking up 6th Avenue with our kids in tow answering questions that we couldn’t answer, seeing people covered in ash who had made their way from farther downtown, sitting in front of the TV all day with people from a company that no longer exists, walking down to the hospital after the call that they were in need of clothes for the survivors when they arrived.  They never arrived.

Tears still come to my eyes and a slight chill goes up my spine when I recall that day in my mind.  We live in a very different world than we did 15 years ago.  Time passes, wounds heal but that day will never be forgotten.

For Josh’s last hurrah before taking off for school we went to Rebelle for dinner.  I have been to Pearl & Ash next door (same owners) but this is was our first trip to Rebelle.  Josh takes food seriously so it was fun to go there with him.  We ordered a bunch of different plates and discussed them all.

The room is bigger than I expected so maybe 100 seats.  The whole vibe in their is soothing and minimalist.  The walls look and feel like concrete but they aren’t so although the coloring is there the material softens the room.  Each of the waitstaff wars a light blue/grey button down shirt so they almost blend into the walls.

The plates are for the table, appetizer and main but all meant to share.  We began with Comte.  Comte is a cheese.  They must take a huge roll of this cheese and slowly pull the cheese off to form into a round curl.   Very creative and good.

We paired that with ham.  This was more gristly than I was expecting but flavorful.

The anchovies were excellent.  A hint of orange zest mixed with the olive oil makes the dish light yet zesty.

Our next course was a variety of the appetizers.  Beef tartare with sunchoke, horseradish and garlic.

Seared scallops set in between sliced yellow and green squash with a touch of basil.

Cured fluke in brown butter.  The brown butter really takes it to another level.

Roasted red and golden beets with fennel and chervil.

Small pieces of leeks that melt in your mouth with pieces of hard boiled egg over the top, a dijon dressing and leek ash.

We had two mains.  Half a de-boned roasted chicken with confit potato and lemon preserve.  It is made for two.

Veal Porterhouse with Kennebec potato that were like a gnocchi.

We bagged dessert but completely enjoyed ourselves.  The food was good.  It is not an easy place to go back to again and again but I believe that they continue to change the menu which makes sense.  Have to wait for the next selection of plates.

Nice touch downstairs on the doors of the bathrooms.  One is Julia Child.

The other is James Beard.

One of the things that I love about what I do is the people I meet.  I am fortunate to sit in a spot where I get to meet the entrepreneurs, the angels and the VC’s.  I met Shanna Tellerman when she was at Google Ventures.  When she came through NYC we had breakfast.  I loved her energy, her smarts and her passion for building businesses.  She had already built and sold a company and ended up on the other side of the fence as an investor.

Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur, and Shanna decided it was time to build another company capitalizing on the skills she already had in 3D design.  I would have backed anything she did….and so I am an investor and supporter of Modsy.  They launched today.

Leveraging 3D modeling, Modsy is transforming the way customers shop for their home.  It isn’t that seamless taking a couch home to try on.  In fact it isn’t easy to take anything home from a chair to a carpet to a piece of art on your wall but through Modsy you can imagine all the possibilities with their visualization tools. All these photos shows what you can do by taking an empty room with different angles and put in various designs and pieces.  They have spent plenty of time in Beta before launching it to the world to make sure it is user friendly.

When Shanna told me what she was going to build I thought it was pretty genius.  Nobody is better suited than her to build this.  Check it out today.