Bulletin Board

what i'm fixated on this week

In the interest of serving you all a little better, or at least more frequently, I have decided to create the Bulletin Board, which I’m aiming to put out twice a month. It will be more rapid fire (easy recipes, obsessions, finds, and some great stories from the archive), and then I’ll continue, with paywall content, to do deeper dives into some more varied topics (how tos, interviews, black books, etc).

THE ESCAPE

I first heard about Bern’s, a steak house in Tampa, from my French vintner friend who comes from a very big Bordeaux wine family. He said to me (insert Bordelaise accent here) “Have you ever been to Bern’s in Florida—it is known to have the largest wine cellar of any restaurant in the world and many fantastic wines are in that cellar?” But the problem was, it was in Tampa, and going to Tampa just to eat in a steak house, even if it was an epic one with the best wine cellar in the world—well…it would have been a buzzkill to end the night in some random character-less hotel. I finally did end up getting there on my daughter’s winter break, when we ended up in St. Pete, and drove the 45 minutes into Tampa for the experience. It was over the top as only Florida can do—red velvet dining rooms, Roman statues, an upstairs dessert floor with private dining booths complete with phones to call in your order. Think old Vegas in the best way. They dry-age their steaks in-house, and as my French friend predicted, the dining experience and the wine list is epic. And now that the Edition Hotel opened in Tampa, you actually have a nice place to stay for your weekend of dry aged Porterhouse and a bottle or two of Bordeaux Grand Classe. So Google that Spirit Air flight right now, book a table at Bern’s, and get a room at the Edition to recover from your food coma. It’s a pretty good winter blues cure I’d say.

SECRET WEAPON

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and I love me some good kitchen gear. With knives, pots, cast iron and plug-ins I am really set, but my biggest challenge has always been finding the best nonstick sautè pan. Nonstick is important for a few things, namely perfect fried eggs and fish. I have bought the cheap throwaways that scratch up and all that god knows carcinoma causing chemistry flakes into your cooking. I have tried ceramic and what some brands have labeled “safe nonstick”, and while they have worked fine on the short term, I eventually end up tossing them out for failed performance or more of the chipping and flaking. I HATE disposing of things and throwing out kitchen pans really irritates me. But…I am happy to report I think I have FINALLY found the perfect nonstick sautè pan FOR LIFE! On a recent tutorial in the test kitchen of Buchinger-Wilhelmi (where cooking with as little fat as possible is a priority—more recipes from this experience later, stay tuned!), their chef walked me through a couple of their fantastic recipes using these pans and literally sautéing dishes to beautiful caramelization with less than a thimble of cooking fat. The nonstick properties were very impressive as well as the simple design, weight, and of course, clean up. A Swiss company called Spring makes the Volcano Intense Pro pan that has a 5-layer multilayer material made of stainless steel with aluminum core that distributes the heat evenly. The scratch-resistant, high-performance nonstick coating has particles of genuine Swiss rock crystals ensuring that nothing burns! How about that!!! I have been using the pan regularly—from omelets to sautées—and it performs incredibly well. I think I have finally found that nonstick for life.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: YOU SHOULD MEET  

I was so excited to meet and photograph the legendary editor and producer George Folsey Jr. (of Animal House and Trading Places fame) but I never expected to take the most viral photograph of a watch I ever shot. It was at lunch at the Bel Air Country Club and Peter Cooper (who made the introduction and penned the story for WMB) asked George to show me his watch. Yes, it was a beautiful Cartier Tank, but it was the engraving on the back of the watch gifted to George by Director John Landis after they made Trading Places (one of my favorites). FUCK EM IF THEY CAN’T TAKE A JOKE. I get why people liked it. And below is the complete story written by Peter J. Cooper in our Spring 2020 issue:

It’s often been said that men can be divided into two groups – the Deltas and the Omegas. Whether you subscribe to this Animal House overview or not, within moments of meeting film producer and editor George Folsey Jr., it’s clear he’s a Delta. There’s an immediate warmth one feels when sitting down with him over lunch or dinner. And in seconds his dry humor and wit begin to gain ramming speed. Every question you ever had about John Belushi or Eddie Murphy – or what it was like to work with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd on Spies Like Us – would be gladly answered with specific details.  But before the stories can begin, an important step would have to be taken: ordering a Negroni. Like so many things in George’s amazing life, there’s an important story that goes with his favorite cocktail: In 1965, George took a girl on a date, but on the very next day she left town to study abroad in Perugia, Italy.  Upon her return, she introduced George to Italian aperitifs – in particular Campari and Punt e Mes. George was hooked – and since then has been a devoted Negroni drinker. As for the girl? George and Belinda have been married for 51 years. The conversation continues with George freely admitting it doesn’t matter what brand of gin you put into a Negroni because the Campari and Punt e Mes steal the show. He gladly declares, “The Negroni is bulletproof – it’s three equal parts that lead to perfection – and there’s no gin that can screw that up.” But if pushed, he’ll tell you his gin of choice is Nolet’s – a handcrafted gin made by the Dutch. And from there, it doesn’t take long to understand that “handcrafted” and “handmade” are important words to George. He explains, “My dad grew up poor in Brooklyn and became a successful cameraman who worked hard to become one of the best at his craft.” George Sr. was a pioneer cinematographer at MGM who was nominated for 13 Academy Awards. “He saw beautifully crafted things as art – and he passed on that appreciation to me.”

In 1965, George walked into Hornburg Jaguar on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills and bought a stunning 3.8S sedan in opalescent golden sand. He was 26 years old. He says, “It’s one thing to own nice things throughout your life – but it’s the way they were made that makes you want to hold onto them.” Now repainted in the Rolls-Royce color moorland, George continues to drive the Jaguar daily – 54 years later. To further illustrate the point: an original Otey Crisman mallet-style putter was created in the 1940s and used by the greatest golfers of a by-gone era to win major championships. Recognizable by its hand-turned hickory shaft and its meticulously balanced head with its soft metal brass insert – not only was it beautiful, it was cutting edge design and craftsmanship for its day. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of playing golf at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles, this is the putter you’d find in George’s hands. “There’s a feel you get when the ball strikes the club face – you just don’t get that feel from today’s putters.” When it comes down to it, he simply has an appreciation for the craftsmanship of things – and it’s this same level of craftsmanship he tried to bring to his filmmaking career. George edited or produced, or both, some of our favorite movies such as National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and Coming to America. “Filmmaking is very much a handmade process,” he confides.  “And it’s a process that isn’t entirely different from the process that goes into making anything – from watches to bench-made shoes. It’s all about the craftsmanship and the pursuit of quality.” It’s this pursuit of quality that’s led George to wearing suits made by Alan Flusser and shirts from Harvie and Hudson. He has over a dozen pairs of A. Testoni shoes he’s purchased over the years at Carroll and Company in Beverly Hills (now Carroll Custom). As for his choice of wristwatch – just like with the Negroni – it comes with a story. “Getting the movie Trading Places made was a difficult experience. I had to fight a constant battle with the Paramount executives, but in the end we won. We got the movie we wanted.” To show his gratitude to George for all the slings and arrows he withstood, director John Landis bought George a Cartier tank watch with a special engraving on the back: FUCK’EM IF THEY CAN’T TAKE A JOKE. 

At age 80, it’s evident George Folsey Jr. isn’t slowing down – still involved in making movies, and generously sharing stories over food and drinks with friends new and old. With our time coming to a close, I couldn’t resist asking George something I wondered about him from the moment we met. The conversation happened just like this:

Me: “In the film Animal House, with which member of the Deltas do you identify the most?”

George: “I’d say I identify the most with Pinto.”

Me: “Pinto? Why Pinto?”

George (without missing a beat): “Why not.”

And with that, we finished our cocktails. Thank you, sir, may I have another?