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This week’s dispatch takes us to a smart seafood counter in New York’s East Village and a lavish neoclassical residence off the Champs-Élysées that recalls the iconic avenue’s golden years. Plus: we visit 200-year-old vines on the Cycladic island of Naxos and meet the stunt professionals advertising their A-list services in a handy printed compendium. But first off the aircraft, here’s Tyler Brûlé with some aerial observations from a week abroad.
The Faster Lane / Tyler Brûlé
Last Saturday felt like one of the best days of summer – albeit a bit on the tardy side. The morning was sunny and crisp but you could smell an approaching change of season as the air was just that little bit more tingly fresh, with the faint smoky aroma of leaves starting to change in the breeze. Zürich hasn’t had the best summer but as I wandered along the lake and then up through the forest it seemed as though the city and heavens were working extra hard to make this particular morning my lasting memory of the season. After my swift circuit it was time to pack, sort some paperwork, excavate receipts from the start of the week in Toronto and Paris, and then head to the airport for my flight to Bangkok. Here are a few snippets from the past seven days.
1
Shortly before we pushed back from Zürich’s E-gates the captain came by to say hello and we discussed the fine weather, the conditions en route over Southeast Asia and other aviation bits and bobs. Before he returned to the flight deck he invited me up for a visit. “Now?” I asked. “Anytime you want,” he said before disappearing through a curtain. I followed the progress of our flight and when we were almost across the Black Sea, I asked the crew member in charge whether I could go up. I settled into the jump seat as Trabzon was coming into view and for the next hour or so I was given a masterclass in no-fly zones, the ever-present danger of surface-to-air missiles and why our 777 was allowed to follow a very specific corridor over Iran while other carriers had to skirt the region. I can promise we’ll have much more on this topic in an forthcoming edition of the magazine.
2
Bangkok was a bit gloomy on arrival. For the past ten years the drill has been a polished exercise in perfect Thai hospitality but a recent murder suicide in my regular room prompted me to pause on my usual booking and I checked in down the street. Wouldn’t you? I’m not particularly squeamish and don’t believe in ghosts but I think that I made the right decision. I managed a good night’s sleep and the only thing that went bump in the night was me hitting a table as I was still working to the old layout I was familiar with.
3
My record for making it from the aircraft door, through immigration and into the backseat of the car at Hong Kong airport is seven minutes. I was all set to smash the record but my colleague had renewed his passport and needed to reset his frequent-visitor card. I waited and waited and waited and by the time he made it past customs, our round of nightcaps with colleagues at the Lobster Bar & Grill at the Shang was in danger. Thankfully some speedy co-ordination by another colleague, already positioned, saved the evening. If you do business frequently in HK, I highly recommend signing up for this handy little travel accessory.
4
HK home carrier Cathay Pacific is about to unveil its new long-haul cabin. It seems that the rollout will be all honey and camel tones that tie in with its Ilse Crawford-designed lounges. When a particular airline is an essential part of your business life, you want to see it evolve and do well. I have high hopes for this forthcoming reveal.
5
Should there be an environmental tax on plastic plants? I think that the time has come. I’m far from an eco-warrior and understand that plastic has essential uses in almost all aspects of daily life but not where decorative greenery is concerned. I was in the lobby of a major energy company at the start of the week and was assaulted by messages about all kinds of sustainability goals while surrounded by a jungle of dusty plastic ivy, palms and bamboo. Why? This is where corporate comms, brand management and good intentions derail in an instant. Given that we were in the most tropical of settings, this could have been a breathing, lively and fragrant jungle. Instead I felt as though no one in this company really believes what’s flashing on their LED screens.
6
Is HK’s Repulse Bay set to become the funkier version of Pacific Palisades? The arrival of Curry Up from Tokyo and a Wonderwall-designed branch of Human Made suggests there’s about to be a race for shop space as this stretch of the territory gets a retail upgrade.
7
Japan’s immigration agency and its customs colleagues need to benchmark from the best and stop cooking up homemade schemes that are complete cack. Controlling borders effectively is one thing but doing so chaotically and with unnecessary complications is simply bad for brand Japan. A visit to HK might help.
8
One thing that the Japanese border authorities could do is stop all adults dressed as toddlers from entering the country. Teenage Japanese girls can still get away with dressing up as Holly Hobbie; 42-year-olds from Melbourne and Boston cannot.
9
The Toyota Crown sedan has started showing up on the streets of Tokyo and it’s a handsome set of wheels that needs to be a new challenger to the Mercedes E-Class.
10
Most of Helsinki airport’s works are finished at long last and connecting is once again a smooth affair. Now the Finns just need to solve the overflight issues with their neighbours to restore speedy connections to Asia.
New opening / Penny, New York
First there was Claud, the French-inspired East Village wine bar that became an instant hit thanks to the delightful craft of its menu – think nutty chicken-liver agnolotti and rich tomato mille-feuille (writes Sophie Yun Mancini). Now lightning has struck twice. A few months ago, the team opened Penny, a raw bar and seafood counter, upstairs. Designed in collaboration with Ian Chapin of Philadelphia-based Edsel, the space has a quartzite oyster bar and is all cool, silvery tones.
“The restaurants might appear different – Claud has warm, natural finishes, while at Penny there’s a blue tint – but they intersect in spirit,” says co-owner Chase Sinzer. The menu’s highlights include the Ice Box (raw oysters, clams and mussels), the lobster and the feathery brioche, which is baked daily. In terms of drinks, Penny offers not just wine but also saké, sherry and Suntory Premium Malt on draught.
penny-nyc.com
Bottoms up / Ekho
Lefteris Anagnostou studied winemaking in France before returning to his native Greece to put his skills to use at some of the country’s most highly acclaimed producers. In 2020 he branched out with his own winery, Ekho, on the Cycladic island of Naxos. Here, he grows heritage grape varieties in rugged mountainous plots where his crop must be cultivated by hand. He works exclusively with old vines, some of which were planted about 200 years ago.
“In terms of production, these kinds of vines usually give lower yields,” says Anagnostou. “But the result is more depth and complexity. These varieties are truly adapted to their environment, so they express a sense of place and the particularities of their terroir.” Today, Anagnostou produces a trio of wines: a sweet rosé, a zesty white and a light, floral red. “The Greek wine scene is flourishing," he says. "It’s important to develop different expressions and share them.”
Recipe / Ralph Schelling
“I used to make this delicious salad while working in Corsica, sometimes with small mirabelle plums and sheep’s cheese from the region,” says Swiss chef Ralph Schelling. Add croutons to create a Tuscan panzanella salad.
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 peaches
200g mixed green salad or rocket
100g feta or fresh sheep’s cheese
1 avocado
1 red onion
4 tbsps roasted pistachios
4 tbsps olive oil
4 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp coarse mustard
Pinch of salt and pepper
Method
1
Halve the peaches and remove the stones. Roast lightly on a grill rack.
2
Rinse the greens and dry well. Crumble the feta or sheep’s cheese, or cut into cubes. Cut the avocado into chunks and finely chop the onion.
3
Arrange the salad with the avocado and onion on plates, then place the grilled peach halves, cheese and pistachios on top.
4
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard, salt and pepper, and drizzle over the salad.
ralphschelling.com
Weekend plans? / Hôtel de Balzac, Paris
Novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac lived in a neoclassical residence off the Avenue des Champs-Élysées (writes Claudia Jacob). Some 25 years after his death in 1850, the townhouse became the Hôtel de Balzac, a homage to the novelist’s life and work. In June this year, Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay of Festen Architecture completed a thoughtful revamp, confidently updating the 19th-century spirit of the original building with neutral fabrics, refined décor and bespoke wooden furniture.
The Parisian design duo has created a subdued interior that belies the grandeur of the city’s eighth arrondissement. The 58-key address is also home to the Ikoi spa, which offers ancient Japanese treatments, as well as chef Pierre Gagnaire’s French-Asian fusion restaurant. The property is in safe hands with hotelier Olivier Bertrand of Groupe Bertrand, who has been running hospitality ventures around the Champs-Élysées for more than 25 years.
hotelbalzac.paris
Sunday Roast / Jess Shadbolt
British chef Jess Shadbolt trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School and The River Café before founding southern Italian brasserie King in New York with two friends in 2016 (writes Claudia Jacob). Here, she chats to us about introducing New Yorkers to Yorkshire pudding, cultivating her miniature garden and buying lobsters from a fisherman’s hut when she’s back home in Suffolk.
Where will we find you this weekend?
Usually, you’ll find me waking up in Fort Greene in Brooklyn but at the moment I’m at home in Aldeburgh, a small seaside town on the Suffolk coast in the UK, where I grew up. The pebble beach is lined with ice-cream-coloured houses and the small high street has a fabulous butcher and a seasonal market. It’s quite a different pace of life to New York.
Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle start or a jolt?
The chatty seagulls tend to wake me up as the sun rises but it beats waking up to an alarm.
What’s for breakfast?
I’m not typically one for breakfast but when I’m at home it’s hard to say no to my dad’s scrambled eggs. They’re custardy and rich, just how I like them.
Lunch in or out?
I’ve enjoyed introducing my American friends to the joys of a good British Sunday lunch, which tends to start at about 15.00. I love a full house, so it’s always a case of the more the merrier. I now get almost weekly requests for Yorkshire puddings, even if a roast isn’t on the menu.
Walk the dog or downward dog?
The restless and raggedy Suffolk coastline provides endless windy walks, no matter what the time of year. I often find that a good walk leads you to a good pub.
A Sunday soundtrack?
Ella Fitzgerald. My grandpa had a bit of a crush on her, so he used to play her records a lot when I was growing up. It’s a tradition that has been passed down to me. It has a definite Sunday sound.
Sunday culture must?
Gardeners’ Question Time on BBC Radio 4. I tune in every Sunday, whether I’m here or in New York. It has taught me a lot. I’m yet to own a garden of my dreams, so I’ve started with some pots in my small plot out back in Brooklyn.
What’s on the menu?
I’ll buy a couple of lobsters from my fisherman friend, Mr Fryer, who sells a daily catch from his hut every morning. I’ll poach them and serve them cold with some samphire and boiled courgettes with saffron and aioli.
Will you lay out an outfit for Monday?
If in doubt, wear a chef’s jacket.
The Stack / British Stunt Register
The careening progression of CGI and AI in the world of film suggests that the human touch might soon be lost – but one organisation flies in the face of that theory (writes Sophie Monaghan-Coombs). The British Stunt Register has just celebrated its 50th anniversary and continues to publish weighty directories known as the Yellow Pages of the stunt world. The volumes detail the measurements, credits and skills of the association’s members, who have been tested across different disciplines and approved by a committee. The skills catalogued vary from the everyday – such as holding a driver’s licence or being a confident swimmer – to impressive expertise in vehicle crashes or sword-and-shield work.
“We mustn’t forget that even the simplest stunt can go wrong,” says Nicholas Daines, a British Stunt Register director. “Some people don’t make it home from the job. It’s not to be underestimated – it’s an incredibly dangerous profession.” While such a book might not be immediately useful to anyone except a casting director, the decision to put such profiles on the printed page is significant: if someone is willing to jump through flames or off a building for you, it’s certainly worth committing their details to paper. To all the stuntmen and women, Monocle salutes you – break a leg.
thebritishstuntregister.com
For more stories and observations from Monocle’s editors and correspondents, pick up a copy of theSeptember issue, which is on newsstands now. Have a super Sunday.
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