Dear Internet Puppies,
for those of you who're visiting New York, or stuck here during this frigid and rather schizophrenic winter, who wish to discover a chic kind of New York restaurant experience, I highly recommend that you make a concerted effort to try to get into, or try to get a reservation at one of the most sublimely "cool" and terribly elegant restaurants on the UES (Upper East Side) at 81st Street between 5th & Madison, aptly named CROWN. Psst, Madonna had her holiday party there a few weeks ago...CROWN is frequented by the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Phil Donahue, Marlo Thomas, Anna Wintour, blah, blah, blah..... shhhh.... and me.
CROWN is housed in a 1930's townhouse, a stones throw away from the METROPOLITAN MUSEUM. This limestone townhouse was previously owned by former notorious Le Cirque maitre'd, Bruno Jamais, who transformed it into his namesake club, Brunos. Many years ago, Brunos was a swanky, high tone, members-only oasis for the uptown swells who didn't like to mix outside of their own zip codes, I know, because I was one of those lazy swells too, who didn't like venturing downtown, pre-Meat Packing District craze! In fact, I recall once attending an intimate dinner party there for former President, Bill Clinton, oh and did I mention The Gypsy Kings used to perform there on a regular basis? Brunos was terribly HAUTE then and I often made the "scene" with my close pals, Randle Doss, (Donna Karan Boutique Sales Manager) and Steven Jauffrineau, (GM of Andre Balazs's Sunset Beach, on Shelter Island). But towards the end of its rather successful run, it lost its favor with the "smart set" and unfortunately became infiltrated and frequented by more Russian hookers than you'd find in Gorky Park, all surprisingly named Svetlana and Irina, looking for rich, overly tanned, balding, creepy kinda guys from "Boca" (do you get the picture?) who in turn were looking for those same Russian hookers named Svetlana and Irina! They were matches made in chincilla HELL.... exit "The Image Guru".
Fast forward, many years later, enter CROWN, encrusted with taste & style.
It just goes to show you that with the proper sense of sophistication, the right address, an imposing doorman, a renown Chef (John DeLucie) who prepares sumptuous creations, a French maitre'd named Phillipe, some English bartenders, a thriving bar scene, a manorly "old guard" interior in rich stained cherry wood paneling accented with artsy etchings, photographs and paintings, high ceilings, cozy lighting, comfy banquettes, a grand main dining room decorative fireplace, an attentive and personable wait staff and last but not least, a hard to get reservations line. In other words, you can't just walk in off the street and expect to get a table tout suite... unless you're SOMEBODY PROMINENT, or as they say in Vogue and W, A-LISTERS. Be prepared to be turned away if you have the slightest bit of arrogance or attitiude sans sous reservations. But if you have the "look" , are cool, are in the know, spend money with elegance and not vulgarity, have celebrity friends, or are just plain good people who appreciate the sublime elegance of CROWN, then you'll find that you'll be welcome and will definitely fit in and get in just fine! Crass people need not bother...TRUST ME ON THIS!
I considered myself very fortunate to have received a rather coveted "friends and family" invitation to the grand opening & tasting this past Fall. CROWN, which is described as a restaurant-residence, comes to us from John DeLucie (the Waverly Inn/the Lion) and upon entering this jewel, one immediately feels SPECIAL and very New York. My longtime friend, Marc Amadei, who I've literally known since he was a kid, is the dashingly handsome and oh so charming co-owner and one of the Managing Partners. He was kind enough to include me in the select group of New Yorkers (apparently we're considered "influencers") who got the opportunity to be amongst the first to experience CROWN. On that occasion, I took my beautiful gal-pals Randle Doss and Suzanne Latapie, who owns Bistro Chat Noir,(another one of my UES haunts) to accompany me! A fun time was had by all that night and the "magic" at CROWN still continues to enchant me!
BTW The owners are the same owners who own THE LION, DELICATESSEN, CAFETERIA & MAC BAR, all popular downtown restaurants. Like Andre Balazs, the team behind these restaurants have a formula that works; a cool vibe, celebrity sightings, tasteful decors, great service, moderate pricing, delish food, and extensive out of this world wine selections and selectivity in clientele! What more could you ask for as a discerning Manhattanite?
So last night when I called my new chum James Cecil from Cadence Communications, the PR firm that handles the press for The Clinton Foundation, to join me for a holiday cocktail, I thought why not drop in at CROWN? So after a couple of excellent very dry and extremely dirty Grey Goose martinis, I said "James, why don't we just eat here?". "Okay, can we get a table without a reservation? or we can just eat at the bar" he responded....."Are you f---in' crazy?" I snapped, "I never eat at the bar, I just HATE that!" "Let me see if I can coerce them into seating us without a reservation". Now why did I just put my head on the chopping block by suggesting this? What if I couldn't get a table?.....How embarrassing it could be for me, especially with a new work associate. BTW James is in the process of facilitating an interview for me with Chelsea Clinton for the March issue of ZINK Magazine, which I've agreed to be a contributing writer for in 2012, so I didn't want to embarrass myself with him.
So why was I trying to be be a big shot? What if Phillipe, the CROWN's velvet rope wrangler and maitre'd, didn't know me or remember the few times that I'd already been there? Should I mention that I'm a friend of Mark Amadei's? Hmm, a precarious situation, to say the least, and one that could have backfired. But for my sheer balls and "Image Guru" presence, and thanks be to GOD, Phillipe couldn't have been more gracious and accommodating because he deliberately game up to me, whilst we were sipping our martinis at the bar, and welcomed me back and I introduced him to James Cecil! This was a good sign! So I asked Phillipe, "do you think you could squeeze two losers in tonight, without a reservation, s'il vous plait? We're small and won't take up much space and we eat like little mice", I jokingly said. "Of course, but it might a few minutes" he replied. Well my mouth almost fell to the floor in amazement. Thank GOD I'm polite to people, because they will invariably remember you if you're an asshole or pretentious, or just plain tacky! So a lesson for all of you internet puppies, always be polite to the people who can make your lives easier, a gracious disposition and a good "look" does pay off!
"Yes James, we have a table". Now because we literally did come in off the street, so to speak, without a reservation, I thought we would be relegated to some obscure table by the kitchen, or by the stairs down to the toilets in the back room. Off we were ushered to our table which was on a chic deuce banquette, centrally situated in the impressive stained cherry wood main dining room, strategically adjacent to an old friend and MTV ex-pat, Tony DiSanto,(who incidentally was the guy who green lighted the massively successful MTV phenomenom, Jersey Shore). Tony is one of the many investors in CROWN & THE LION and he was hosting what he said was his annual holiday dinner party. His friends included,'Footloose' and 'Rock of Ages' actress and girlfriend to Ryan Seacrest, Julianne Hough, (whom I was introduced to when I walked over to say hello to Tony) NBC's 'Last Call With Carson Daly', Carson Daly, CNN's Anderson Cooper (who incidentally looked pretty darn buff in his tight,white t-shirt) and one of my absolute favorite comediennes, Kathy Griffin, and those were just the faces that I recognized. I deliberately did not ask Ms. Griffin what designer she was wearing as I generally might have done in different circumstances, but she did look flawless, and I didn't look at any of the other dinner guests too because I didn't want to come off like some intrusive "fashionista", galking at Tony's celebrity dinner guests. But, if I'm not correct, I believe that Carson, Anderson and Kathy are all doing some sort of New Year's Eve Countdown show in Times Square. I actually emailed Tony DiSanto today to ask if he was producing Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve Countdown Show, but he wasn't. I guess he's got his hands full with all of the new shows he's producing thru his one year old company, DiGa Production Studio with co-producer Liz Gately and partner Ben Silverman, from Electus and formerly of NBC, whose many accomplishments included 'The Office'.
But back to ME, (haha). James and I caught up and discussed some potential business collaborations, namely the Chelsea Clinton interview for ZINK and ILS:2012:Scotland (International Lifestyle Studio) which is a new creative fashion/lifestyle event that I'm involved with Scottish Industries, scheduled for November 2012. Then we ordered the most delicious dozen oysters, drank our potent martinis, ate the most incredible pasta special, which I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but it was amazing...oh did I mention it was amazing and then we finished our meal off with a palette cleansing triage of sorbets, which I also can't recall what the flavors were.....maybe I was a bit tipsy...I don't recall...did I mention I was tipsy? hicccup!
By the way, I need to reiterate that our service was superb. In fact, we had all the wait staff, the maitre'd, the hostess and the even the manager (who made the initial suggestion of ordering the excellent what's it called pasta special) coming up to our table asking if we were alright and if we were enjoying our meal! They ALL made us feel very special and very welcoming.....I simply love that place! I give CROWN two thumbs up from "The Image Guru". But then I had a totally positive experience there and they made me look good to my business associate, James Cecil, which I am always appreciative of.
So I would recommend that you make the journey uptown to this quietly situated, UES, 1930's townhouse that houses that most experiential delight, CROWN, a throw back to days of yore, where smart New Yorkers sought smart conversation, in a smart setting, for the smart set. I'll see you at CROWN because their image is just right for me!
So again, do something great for humanity and humanity will do something great for you!
Montgomery Frazier "The Image Guru"
MONTGOMERY FRAZIER "The Image Guru" SCRIBES!....... Read What's On The Mind And In The Heart Of New York's Preeminent Image Guru
