45. Want to know whose hand is in those Wildair donut videos?
Spoiler: he also put Fradei on the map.
Today’s letter includes: $12 mini martinis for a trying time, the Pan Am stewardess who built the Angelika, history at the Oscars (and it only took a century), the agnolotti have relocated to Midtown, a brand activation that actually makes money while spending it, a Korean shaman reality show, and more.
Once we were at Ruschmeyers in the Hamptons and Christina saw a sign that said, “Ask us a question,” with a phone number written below. They grabbed their phone and typed in: “Am I Irish?” A minute later, the mysterious hotline responded, “Are you drunk?”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I am indeed wearing green and headed to Carnegie Hall tonight to see some Irish fiddle. While I'm out honoring my 1/8th Irish ancestry, here's where you should be eating.
First, Printemps, the buzzy luxury department store, is having an Anniversary Dinner to commemorate their first year. It’s Saturday, March 21st in the Red Room Bar and you can attend for $310 per person. That price includes 5 French-inspired courses, wine pairings from Bouchaine Vineyards, or zero proof pairings from French Bloom. Zero proof pairings getting top billing at a $310 French dinner is its own kind of cultural marker.
Robbie Cox is popping up at Briscola Trattoria in Crown Heights on March 24th. He cut his teeth in Paris at Septime and Le Rigmarole, then came back to New York and put Fradei on the map — before leaving to lead Contra and Wildair. Yes, that was his hand in the donut videos.
The event is called Bocconi Tra Amici — “bites among friends” — and it’s a collaboration with Briscola’s Chef Silvia Barban, whose pasta knowledge Robbie describes, without hesitation, as “unmatched.” The two met years ago at Blue Hill at Stone Barns during a pizza pop-up by chef Pam Yung.
“New England seafood was such a big part of my tables growing up,” he told me. “Getting a chance to showcase that with Silvia’s pasta knowledge is a true privilege.”
À la carte menu, starting at 5:30pm. Reservations are on Resy.
P.S. I’m in the thick of planning a little trip to Provence after a friend’s wedding in Portugal. If you have any recommendations, I’d welcome them! We’ll be near Gordes.
Rumor has it that Substack is suppressing free content. If you’d like to resist the algorithm pushing paid content only, then liking, sharing, quoting and restacking this newsletter will help! <3
I signed up for this “free” course so you don’t have to. Class starts this week. Will report back.
Founder of David protein bars claims, “I don’t know the Live Nation tea” — he would have if he read last week’s newsletter.
Anne Hathaway x Charli — a pairing I never saw coming. The first single from the A24 film Mother Mary is out. It’s a dark electro-pop track called “Burial,” co-written with Charli XCX and produced by Jack Antonoff.
Da Toscano is moving to Midtown. After five years on Minetta Lane, Da Toscano packed up its agnolotti and relocated to the historic Iroquois Hotel on 44th Street, where it will now also serve breakfast and lunch to the power-lunch set.
Good job to Workday’s social media manager. This is a fairly fun and engaging social campaign for a software conference.
In case you wanted to learn every type of velvet from Jenna Lyons, here it is. “Learning more here than 4 years at Parsons,” a person named Trevor commented.
She was a Pan Am stewardess. Then she built the Angelika. Angelika Saleh — a Munich-born, former Pan Am stewardess turned indie film producer — died last month at 90, and her NYT obituary is genuinely fascinating: she and her husband converted a SoHo cable car power station into a six-screen arthouse cinema in 1989, where Pulp Fiction, Clerks, and Kids all had early runs. Great read.
A brand activation that (almost) pays for itself. Sleep gummy brand OLLY built a fully sleep-optimized retreat in Joshua Tree, made a gummy purchase your ticket to enter, and cast Summer House stars Amanda Batula and Ciara Miller — two women genuinely famous for being in bed — as the faces of it.
Here’s why it works:
The purchase barrier is low enough that it doesn’t feel like a barrier at all. $9.99 is an impulse buy.
The timing is locked to National Sleep Month, so the cultural hook is already built in.
The talent isn’t just aspirational — it’s on-brand in a way that feels earned rather than paid for. Batula and Miller are practically unpaid spokespersons for bedrotting.
Requiring a purchase for entry is the standout for me - most experiential marketing lets you enter for free and cost a fortune to produce. This one does the same thing a free sample does — gets the customer to try your product — except it wasn’t free! Someone at OLLY is doing their job.
Oh sh*t. There’s a Korean shaman show. It’s called Battle of the Fates, it’s reality.
The old Kickstarter office is now a “Soho House for Creators.” IDK why, but it sounds kind of dystopian to me: “Lighthouse was designed so members can shoot everywhere.”
The coffee shop that counts Chappell Roan and Lorde as regulars just landed in Brooklyn. Canyon Coffee, the L.A. cult roaster known for its one café in Echo Park where Harry Styles and Zoë Kravitz just pop in, has opened its first East Coast location in Prospect Heights. It’s so new, its Google Maps location is basically empty.
Women make up the majority of workers most at risk from AI. According to new research from GovAI and the Brookings Institution, women make up about 86% of the workers most vulnerable to disruption — largely those in clerical and administrative roles who have few options to pivot to new careers.
I think I feel bad for Lululemon’s co-CEOs. Following the resignation of CEO Calvin McDonald earlier this year, interim co-CEOs Meghan Frank and Andre Maestrini inherited a company under pressure from activist investors, a carving-up of market share by rivals, and now pointed criticism from founder Chip Wilson — a triple threat nobody asked for. Nothing says “critical juncture” quite like running a billion-dollar athleisure empire by committee.
Huge congrats to Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who took home the Oscar for Best Cinematography for Sinners, becoming the first woman ever to win in the category — and the first woman of color ever to be nominated.
$12 mini martinis for a trying time. It’s tough out here. Luckily, Layla in Williamsburg is having $12 mini martinis paired with bite-sized pinxtos on March 25th. A yuzu martini with shiso-infused vermouth and a little scallop crudo will cheer anyone up.
Thanks for reading!