Mario Cantone at Thursday's "Sex and the City" DVD launch at the New York Public Library (Getty)

It was sex and politics last Thursday as stars celebrated the “Sex and the City” DVD release at the New York Public Library. amNY’s Julie Gordon was on the scene where she chatted with SATC star Mario Cantone about his distaste for Sarah Palin.

“If I was voting for McCain, I should just take a syringe of air and pump it into my vein and kill myself or put myself in quarantine, which is what they want to do anyway,” Cantone told us, referring to McCain’s stance on gay rights.”

Inside attention turned to the event’s drink specials which featured a vodka drink named after each of the four principles—the Samantha, a mix of grape-flavored vodka and champagne, quickly became a staff favorite. Until the next morning. Ow.

Photo: Courtesy of Advanced Style

Hats off to The Cut for giving us our latest obsession: Advanced Style. As their editor Amy Odell succinctly notes, the new blog is "like the Sartorialist, but with elderly people." Started last month by blogger Ari Cohen (this is his first blog!), Advanced Style sets about to photograph all types of advanced style looks, from the "sophisticated and well dressed to the accidentally stylish and colorful folks out on the town." We're bookmarking immediately.

You know how when you wake up in the morning you can't make a very strong fist? Our brain feels that way right now about this email we received about Prime nightclub's renovation (reopening September 20) and "new attitude," in which instead of requiring idiots to buy bottles at the door, they'll require idiots to buy $800 tables at the door, and instead of harassing and raping people at the door, they'll be creating an atmosphere of 'fun.' Uh oh, we just lit our computer screen on fire.

Actual quotes from good old John 'JE' Englebert:

" the goal is to create an environment where the customers can go out to a fun place on Saturday nights without getting raped or abused at the door while spending thousands on bottles they don't want".

 

"the business model will not be based solely on the idea of extorting bottles at the door. The business model will be based on creating a fun product where people are treated like human beings".

 

"The latest renovation will introduce ... a revamped 'fun' decor which will bring back the 'fun'. The entrance/exit situation has been fixed. This will eliminate the 'drama' of getting in, and the 'confusion' caused when leaving or during re-entry."

 

"If someone looks good enough to get in and comes with the right attitude, they will get in without bottles. ... The hassle and 'bottle' rat race at the door is now over. Bottle minimums will be replaced with 'real estate minimums', where each table (piece of real estate) will be for sale for a certain amount of money; whether bottles of grey goose or bottles of water."

 

"Of course we will still sell bottles and offer bottles to anyone who wants them"

 

Wait, what? What's happening? Who lives in New York? It's time for everyone to go home now. We've called our mom, she's picking us up soon. Until then, we're going to put our head on the table.

Even when the cameras aren’t rolling, Anthony Bourdain’s booming exuberance toward the highs and lows of the modern-day culinary scene (ah, the many lows) reports for duty.

Case in point: Prior to yesterday’s StarChef’s International Chefs Congress “Role of a Chef” panel at the Park Avenue Armory, we witnessed Bourdain struggle with the concept of the at-home espresso machine. “That absolutely looks like urine,” said Bourdain to a companion, referring to the jaundiced-hued liquid spewing from the apparatus stationed at the back of the media room. No boom mics around. No people, really. Just him and a bush-league mechanical barista. And he let it have it.

Bourdain has standards, striving to enjoy “the good stuff,” as he commonly cites. And when the stuff ain't good, somebody is going to hear about it.

Enter his friend Marco Pierre White, a legendary British chef with a quick temper and a similarly candid, sometimes curmudgeonly take on restaurants.

Pierre White and Bourdain were joined by moderator Michael Ruhlman to discuss the role of the chef: in the kitchen, as empire builder and on TV. The 45-minute talk kicked off with Ruhlman asking both about what “defines a chef.” White’s chef is somebody who works up the ranks from “boy cook to head of the kitchen,” stressing that the chef’s name on the door should be the person cooking the food—either stationed at the burner or working the pass. He referred to many chefs as “living lies” by not cooking in their own kitchens.  Bourdain stressed chef as a “leader, who can get somebody to show up to work every day.”

Bourdain did slightly defend the Ducasse and Boulud global-franchiser ethic (aka those not always working in their three-star institutions), noting that it was “cruel and snobbish” to expect somebody at 52 to be in the kitchen 90 hours a week, half-joking that he “sure hasn’t worked in nine years.” Pierre White countered that is was a chef’s “duty to be there working the pass.” Later during the Q&A session, White straight-up called Ducasse “soulless.” 

A sort of stalemate was reached and both unilaterally bitched about the absurdity of the 24-course, three-hour tasting menu. Bourdain is apparently over it, unless it featured really great sushi. He also added that the “pastry chef always gets fucked in the process, because nobody wants to eat four types of desert at the end.” There was a loud pop of applause from the pastry contingent in the auditorium.

Onto chefs on TV, a meta-topic (given the audience) and a boring topic—OK, The Food Network has some crap on-air talent, we get it. So what’s the point of the television chef? “TV is a way to inspire people to cook. People don’t learn to cook from others, they teach themselves to cook,” said Pierre White. And about Gordon Ramsay—whom White recently took over for on the British version of “Kitchen Nightmares”? “The last thing you should be doing in the kitchen is belittling people,” said Pierre White adding the barb that Ramsay even made himself cry on TV. Bourdain took the requisite Sandra Lee shot and added that Mario Batali was the most qualified stand-and-stir host the network has seen. The event’s host, Ted Allen, looked on uncomfortably during the extended lashing of chefs working in the medium. —Matt Rodbard

Photo by Jason Ough
 

Last night's New York Brewfest, where thousands gathered at South Street Seaport to taste 300 beers for five hours (5-10 p.m.), was three parts frat party, one part nightmare. Interpret according to how you feel about frat parties. Imagine a picture of hell that you've seen, except it was raining instead of on fire, and it was all guys in their late 20s, and no one had to do any labor. The lines were claustrophobically dense, like someone dumped a rush-hour subway train full of yelling, wet people in front of each and every beer tent.

Except around 8 p.m. it magically stopped raining, and maybe it was because we were on our fifth or seventh 4-ounce glass of triple pilsner, or chocolate stout, or whatever it was that kept us from stabbing every junior Wall Street monster who bumped us in the eyeball with his oversize umbrella... Anyway, it cleared up, kind of, and we made our way far enough down the pier that the beer-waits were only a couple minutes long and you could occasionally stretch out your arms without ever touching young bros in plastic-bag Yankees ponchos bellowing at their bros. And it was all right for a while.

Highlights: Zotler's Bier, Kelso of Brooklyn's Chocolate Lager, Keegan Ales' Mother's Milk stout and a pumpkin ale from a brewery we can't recall... but then again, we mostly just went for the lines that looked wait-able. Leaving was another highlight, as was our Spanky's BBQ pulled pork sandwich and the commemorative Brewfest glass we got to take home.

Lowlights: Arriving. Realizing we would have to stay for at least a half an hour. Seeing the gray, undulating and unending carpet of drunken masses slathering Piers 16 and 17. Almost wetting our pants because of our refusal to use the shadowy, rain- and urine-drenched Port-o-Potties. Seeing puke puddles in the middle of actual puddles (of rain). Trying to find a cab.

 

 

Spotted: Jay Manuel looking like a gothic Scottish doctor on the way to make a house call. We had to blink a few times to make sure our eyes weren’t deceiving us. Alas, they weren’t and the America’s Next Top Model regular was experiencing some sort of sartorial insanity. What would Tyra say?!?

Finally National Chocolate Milkshake Day is here. Sometimes it feels as if it will never come. How will you celebrate? "I don't know, I guess maybe I'll have a chocolate milkshake later, but probably not, I don't really drink milkshakes anymore."

Nope, think again.

Why don't you put alcohol into it? Here's a vodka-spiked chocolate milkshake, courtesy an email from Three Olives Vodka (because including the word "olives" anywhere near this recipe adds an exciting twist):

To make: Put 2 ounces vodka, 2 ounces milk, vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup into a glass, then pour it into the trash.

One great place to have a vodka-spiked chocolate milk shake is at a child's party, if you brought vodka with you, or alone in your house.

 

A description up on the Knitting Factory's website this morning, for a show on Friday:

 

What it says:

Ghost Cock @ Knitting Factory (via Knitting Factory)

Look-alike-alert: Joe Biden and Karl Lagerfeld. 

Today marks not only the sixth day of New York Fashion, but also Karl Lagerfeld’s 75th birthday. And although the exact date of the Kaiser’s birth is widely disputed, the glaring resemblance between Lagerfeld and Biden seems sound. Don’t believe us? Perhaps this Photoshop depiction will convince you, or at least get you dreaming of Lagerfeld in office.

 

Miss USA poses with Luca Luca designer Raul Melgoza

Photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage.com

It’ll be a meeting of the tiaras today at Vivienne Tam’s evening show. According to sources, Miss USA Crystle Stewart, Miss USA Stevi Lauren and Miss Universe Kuara Thibana will be in the Tents. We chatted with Miss USA yesterday at the Luca Luca show. When asked what shows she was looking forward to seeing, she exclaimed, “Oh my god Luca Luca.” We sure Tam is up there, too.

Although the Muppets haven't been nearly the same since the death of Jim Henson nearly two decades ago, it appears Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang will be making another appearance in our lives, as recent filming in Brooklyn shows us.

Muppets take Brooklyn Heights (via Brooklyn Heights blog)

 

 

A model walks in Thuy's first Bryant Park show
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Last night's Thuy collection marked the designer's first Byrant Park show. Pre-show enthusiasm was high, but we were distracted by swag stealers. One gent sat down next to us, stuffed the bag in his large tote and then disappeared. A few minutes later, a lady behind us weaved her hands threw the chair's back to take the freebies. The top item inside was only hair gel, people!

Sure, gift bags are always something to smile about, but we'd recommend waiting until after the show. This way, you don't screw over the person assigned that seat. You are happy, random stranger is happy.

-Click here for photos of Thuy's Spring 2009 show highlights

— Jessie Pascoe

To read more about Thuy, click here.

See inside THuy's Soho studio, click here.

Popular in the indie and emo circles, Portugal. The Man (playing NYC on Halloween) have something more to hang their hats on than just being critically acclaimed art rockers. Two of the band's members, John Baldwin Gourley and Zachary Scott Carothers, hail from Wasilla, Alaska, the hometown of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. 

In their recent blog posting, the duo rip the Republican Governor and discuss what being a "real Alaskan" is all about. BTW, yes, we're posting this also to have an excuse to show this (now dismissed as a Photoshop creation) photo once again.

Palin, Because We Don't Need It (Portugal. The Man)

It's begun. Champagne bottles are popping; models are descending, celebrities are endorsing and PR reps are Starbucks chugging. Yes, New York, it's Fashion Week. To start making sense of the seven days of clothing chaos, we've assembled a guide to help you navigate the fashion, the gossip and the parties.

There's nothing more classy than pouring a stream of wine straight into your mouth from a narrow-spouted pitcher held two feet high in the air. It's called a porron, and it's a Spanish tradition that can be experienced at the tapas restaurant Las Ramblas on West 4th Street.

Las Ramblas offers a wide array of authentic Spanish small plates, including classics like patatas bravas, croquettes with jamon, and tortilla espanola. But the best deals are to be found in their happy hour wine program, where from 5–7p.m., several Spanish wines by the glass are available for $5-7. The tastiest is the Basque region's Getaria Talai Berri Txakoli 2007, which is purposely poured from way up on high (Tom Cruise in Cocktail–style), so that the subtle, natural fizziness of the wine comes through.

Or just go right for the porron (skipping a glass entirely), and try not to spill the wine all the way down your shirt.