Not to toot our own horn or anything, but we think we've got this party thing pretty nailed by now. We've figured out just what makes one worthwhile, whether it's a playlist to die over, a guest list to envy, or key cocktails to lubricate the social setting. That's not to say though, that we're opposed to doing some research on how to make the next event even better.
And for this, who better to ask than our FOKs, who range from DJs to editors to social media and party experts. We asked a few key members of the Kanon family to fill us in on what they consider party essentials. Turn up their recommended music picks and let the good times roll, because now you're in the know too.
Connie Wang, Global editor for Refinery29
Party games: a do or a don’t?
A huge don't. I find that extreme, drunken, competitive concentration always leads to hysteria on my part, and that's not a good look.
Best party theme you'd most like to attend or throw yourself?
Literary villians was a good one. The costumes ranged from Moby Dick to Lolita.
What would be in your ideal goody bag?
A vitamin water, a DVD of some cheesy sitcom, and an Extra-Strength Advil
CONTINUE READING KANON FOKS ON THEIR ULTIMATE PARTY ESSENTIALS.
Immaculate Infatuation Attempt Rubirosa's Famous Vodka Pizza
Immaculate Infatuation's Andrew Steinthal (left) and Chris Stang (right)
After sending Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang of Immaculate Infatuation to an Armory Arts Week dinner, then to Ward III to craft their own personal cocktails and THEN asked them to come up with their own version of Friday Fives, we had one final challenge for our FOKs to complete: attempt to make our favorite Rubirosa vodka pizza…by hand. Apparently tossing dough isn't as easy as it looks. But you should probably get the scoop from the guys themselves. Here's what they had to say:
In coming up with some fun concepts for our Kanon guest blogs, one of the ideas that came up was to throw us behind the counter and learn how to make Rubirosa's well-known vodka pizza, which is often made with Kanon. Since we're always down to get our hands dirty, this was a no brainer. Also because Stang worked at Sbarro for like three weeks in high school and he wanted to re-live the glory days.
If this was an Infatuation competition, Stang and his high school pizza skills would have won hands down. Steinthal's pie was a mess and wound up tearing into pieces before it actually made it to the oven. Oh well. Despite our amateur attempt, the Rubirosa vodka pies came out tasting incredible. Without a doubt, this is the best vodka pizza we've ever had (and we made it ourselves). Even better than our former favorite, Pomodoro, the original Nolita vodka pie pioneers.
FÖK: Immaculate Infatuation
Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang are our friends behind laid-back restaurant review site, Immaculate Infatuation. As music industry folk by day, the pair take on the task of tasting their way through New York in their spare time... more
Reverse Friday Fives with Immaculate Infatuation
Chris Stang and Andrew Steinthal of Immaculate Infatuation
Since our latest FOKs, the guys behind blog Immaculate Infatuation, last introduced us to our new favorite spot Ward III, we’ve been eager to hear about all the other locales in the city they frequent. While Andrew and Chris are used to asking their famous friends just these questions on the section of their blog called "Friday Fives," we thought it would be fun to do a switcharoo and let them do the answering for once. Here's what they had to say:
Every Friday, we run a popular feature on Immaculate Infatuation called Friday Fives. We ask famous, Infatuation-approved personalities to pick their favorite places to eat in NYC and match them up with one of our many Perfect For categories like Action At The Bar, Laughing At Euros In Crazy Outfits, Drunk Hook Ups etc. Kanon thought it would be fun to turn the tables this week and have us do our own Friday Fives for the blog. Good idea.
Andrew Steinthal's "Perfect For" Picks
After Work Drinks
Marlow & Sons
God damn, I love Marlow & Sons. When I talk about my all-time favorite restaurants, Marlow & Sons is always one of the first places I mention. Discovering good vibin' oyster bars like this is exactly what the Infatuation is all about. It's the perfect place to go with a group of friends after work; get a little drunk, enjoy good company and eat some quality food.
Date Night
Momofuku Noodle Bar
What can I say, my wife's a cheap date. Actually, it's really not that cheap. We're real into sitting at the back bar and watching all the action in the kitchen. Nothing says romance like a big bowl of ramen.
Possibly my favorite eatery in all of New York. I can pretty much close my eyes, point to anything on the brunch menu and know that whatever the finger lands on will wind up making me happy. It's cheap, down and dirty, and they've got the best crack-cocaine (aka Mexican corn) north of the border.
CONTINUE READING REVERSE FRIDAY FIVES WITH IMMACULATE INFATUATION.
FÖK: Immaculate Infatuation
Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang are our friends behind laid-back restaurant review site, Immaculate Infatuation. As music industry folk by day, the pair take on the task of tasting their way through New York in their spare time... more
Mixing Cocktails at Ward III with Immaculate Infatuation
Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang
Apparently the guys from Immaculate Infatuation, one of our favorite food blogs, aren't scared off by us (or David Ellis for that matter) quite yet, so we invited them back for round 2. If you missed their review of our Armory Arts Week dinner at Bottino last week, then you should probably go back and read that first. But here, we sent them on a journey to discover their inner cocktails, with the help of a certified professional, of course. Here's what happened and what they had to say:
Kanon recently asked us what our favorite vodka drinks were and, truth be told, we had no answer. We've pretty much avoided the stuff since the days in our early twenties when we used to suck back ten vodka sodas in one night because we thought we were "hydrating." We decided we were up to the task of creating our own signature Kanon Vodka cocktails and we called up our buddy and master mixologist Michael Neff to help us out. Michael owns one of our absolute favorite drinking establishments in the city, Ward III, in Tribeca, and he made custom drinks for both of us. Check the pics above.
Steinthal's drink: Ol' Fashioned Schmoo
Steinthal's favorite cocktail is a good Old Fashioned, so we had Michael concoct a play on that, with vodka. Curious, but it actually tasted pretty damn fantastic.
1 Sugar Cube
Regan's Orange Bitters
Orange twist
Lemon Twist
1/4 Oz. Averna Amaro
2 Oz. Kanon Vodka
To Make: Soak sugar with bitters and pulverize in a rocks glass. Press both
twists into glass with a muddler. Add spirits. Shake and serve.
CONTINUE READING MIXING COCKTAILS AT WARD III WITH IMMACULATE INFATUATION.
FÖK: Immaculate Infatuation
Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang are our friends behind laid-back restaurant review site, Immaculate Infatuation. As music industry folk by day, the pair take on the task of tasting their way through New York in their spare time... more
Immaculate Infatuation's Favorite New Party Guest
Artist David Ellis (middle)
Chris Stang and Andrew Steinthal have turned their love of eating into a full-on side career through their blog Immaculate Infatuation (their day jobs are in music). What we love most about them is that they don't claim to be something they're not: drop-dead-serious, nose-in-the-air food reviewers. They just like to eat good food and share their experiences doing so with their friends and followers. We invited them to join in on this weekend’s Armory Arts Week dinner at Bottino. Here’s what they had to say:
We were recently invited out to one of Kanon Vodka's In Good Taste Armory Arts Week dinners, in which artists participating in the show are paired up with a host and a restaurant, food is served, and good times are had by all. We're not much in the way of art connoisseurs, but we do know how to eat, and are always looking to expand the Immaculate Infatuation horizons. So we attended Saturday's dinner at Bottino, which featured artist David Ellis. What did we know about David before this dinner? Absolutely nothing. What do we know now? That we want to bring him along to every serious dinner event we attend for the rest of our lives. Allow us to explain...
The night started off pretty tame. We strolled into Bottino and happened upon some other friends in the room, all of whom know far more about the art world than we do. This would prove useful throughout the evening. We shared some Kanon and sodas and pleasant conversation, mostly centered around the Armory Show, other In Good Taste dinners that Kanon put on throughout the week, and the fact that David had just won this year's PULSE prize. That's apparently a pretty big deal.
CONTINUE READING IMMACULATE INFATUATION'S FAVORITE NEW PARTY GUEST.
FÖK: Immaculate Infatuation
Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang are our friends behind laid-back restaurant review site, Immaculate Infatuation. As music industry folk by day, the pair take on the task of tasting their way through New York in their spare time... more
