Tag Archives: Foodarazzi

January 10, 2012 · 11:05 pm

WHAT THE VICS (VERY IMPORTANT CHICAGOANS) DID FOR NYE!

…PLUS HARRIS THEATER’S PARIS OPERA BALLET/GRAFF LAUNCH PARTY, JOFFREY’S POINTE OF DEPARTURE, TOP CHEEKY CHICKS 2012, GIBSON’S CHARITABLE NYE CONTRIBUTION, “THE DINNER PARTY” AND MUCH MORE!

My, my, my…it’s 2012 already and I feel like I barely scratched the surface of 2011! We were so lucky to spend our New Year’s Eve this year with old and new friends in Florida. Newlyweds ICB’s Bob Mills and Kim Venezia Mills combined their wedding celebration with a New Year’s Eve party and the results were outstanding! An evening boat ride through the waterways of the Intracoastal eating, drinking and dancing while viewing the most magnificent display of holiday lights I’ve seen outside of the Griswold home! Every mansion was draining electricity like an alcoholic downs whiskey. And yes, we were enjoying adult beverages as well along with every other food group you can think of. Kim missed her calling as a social director but I’m sure glad she was ours! Kim, along with Bob and their respective families, made a group of around 60 guests feel so very welcome in every way. Every day, there was a BBQ, dinner or a pool get-together and I loved meeting their wonderful friends who had flown in from all across the country to celebrate with the new lovebirds. Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Mills and watch for their upcoming launch of Chicago’s Online Network, Watch312.com, now with eight shows in production! (To view many more fun Florida pics, please click here!)

I’m always so interested in everyone’s New Year’s Eve plans so I quizzed some VICs (Very Important Chicagoans) to see just what they were up to on the eve of 2012:

I have always loved Nate Berkus…he was the first person to host The Joffrey Ballet’s Couture & Cocktails at the Illuminating Company on February 8, 2007, at the request of my co-founder and friend, Helen Melchior, and he will always be a VIC in my heart. His exciting NYE was spent at Playacar Palace in Cancun celebrating event planner extraordinaire Colin Cowie’s 50th birthday. Other VIP guests included Padma Lakshmi, Niche Media’s Jason and Haley Binn, Clear Channel’s Bob Pittman, Chef Todd English and NBC’s Ted Harbert. Natalie Cole even sang “Unforgettable.” Niceeeee…

And even though this event happened LAST NYE, I certainly thought it was worthy of inclusion: I mean how many people have intimate dinners with HRH Prince Charles in his own home!!?!?! I’ll tell you who, the dynamic Natasha Isaacs and her handsome husband, Michael. Natasha was allowed to invite whomever she wanted and, of course, she invited her dearest friends (who are equally gorgeous) Eva and Cezar Jakubowski along with Bozena and Arie Zwieg. The occasion was to thank them for their fundraising efforts for the Shakespeare Theater that’s being built in Gdansk, a project they’re both passionate about. And who could ever say no to Natasha anyway? 🙂

Michigan Avenue Magazine’s Susanna Negovan and her handsome husband Tom had quite a night, too. They dined at Charlie Trotter’s and during the course of the evening, Charlie dropped the bombshell announcement that he is leaving the industry to pursue philosophy! Susanna said it made the evening even more special knowing this would be the last NYE celebration at Charlie’s historic restaurant.

Gibson’s Restaurant’s Kathy O’Malley Piccone and John Colletti, along with 75 volunteers (mostly staff) served more than 300 people for Catholic Charities at the restaurant New Year’s Day…after they had served almost 1,000 customers for dinner the night before! Special guests arrived at noon and enjoyed steaks, shrimp cocktails, garbage salads and chicken with all of the trimmings. They were also given goody bags that included warm hats, gloves, scarves and tooth paste and toothbrushes. I LOVE THIS PLACE and their staff – especially Kathy – all of whom are just too wonderful for words!

Beautiful Gayle Anthony’s equally gorgeous sister, Julie Weindling and her beau Phil Geier, spent NYE at Round Hill Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where they hobnobbed with Sir Paul McCartney and his new wife Nancy, daughter Stella and their kids including Beatrice, his daughter from Heather Mills. Also seen at this posh resort were Ewan McGregor, Ralph and Ricky Lauren and Lauren Bush. WHEW! What a hotspot!

Celebrity scribe and TV personality Bill Zwecker and his partner, real estate broker extraordinaire Tom Gorman spent an exciting NYE at Linda Johnson Rice’s spectacular mountaintop home in Palm Springs. Seen on the scene were Desiree Rogers, Neal Zucker, Julie Latsko, James Bell (Boeing CFO) and wife Mary, Sue Leonis and others. Awwww…what a life!

Darling freelance writer and Chicago magazine nightlife reporter Amalie Drury always has fun wherever she goes and this night was no exception! Her friends Megan and Alex Menocal hosted a dinner party at their Albany Park apartment where they all enjoyed a “beautiful” grilled rib roast, smoked salmon and butternut squash Wellington. They drank countless bottles of champagne, played board games and danced in the living room and, at midnight, Alex played “Auld Lang Syne” on his guitar while they all sang along. Sounds like a perfect night with friends! Love you, AD!

Man-about-town-but-with-a-serious-job Paul Iacono spent NYE with a “triple header” beginning with a dinner at Piccolo Sogno with Elizabeth Brodsky and her family and friends at 7 p.m. sharp. At 10 p.m., he was off to ring in the New Year with bottle service at the Pump Room at Public Chicago, where he and his buddy Brian Thompson occupied Booth One, of course, which was reserved for eight and included Brian’s girlfriend Kristin Atchison, Cindy Burns and Spiro Megremis, Kevin Wright, Emily Greenaway and Rhea Lyn. Restaurant Director Jay Schuster was “spot on” and the evening included a midnight champagne toast..but Paul’s night wasn’t over yet! He concluded his NYE at the home of Shabbir Helaly with glam girls Monika Dixon, Saira Cooper and their cute hubbies…life is good in the World of Iacono! Maybe this could be a ride at Universal?

CheekyChicago.com founders Erica Bethe Levin and Jessica Zweig know how to party, too, of course! Erica (along with handsome Terry) dined at NAHA for their annual tradition, enjoying Chef Carrie Nahabedian’s magical dinners that included lobster risotto this year. Jessica hosted a party with 15 of her best friends at her home. Her “date” for the night was Lisa Frame, founder of MugShotMonday.com. After, a stretch limo (courtesy of Uber) took them to Whistler, a mixology-focused hipster bar in Logan Square, where they danced their cheeky cheeks off!

Biz Bash’s Jenny Berg and her BF Dustin Berta spent NYE at Playboy’s party at the Hilton Chicago where they rang in midnight with a confetti
explosion, a kiss and a Bunny at the turntable. NBC’s handsome Marcus Riley also attended the Playboy party but not before making dinner for his glam model girlfriend, Nicole Townsend, accompanied by a couple of bottles of champagne. After, they attended friend Justin Jacobson’s Hard Rock Chicago event before the final stop at the Hilton to party with the Bunnies.

Reality star and Edrop-Off’s Corri McFadden rang in the New Year with her love Spiro Tsaparas and friends for a simple, low-key dinner at Le Colonial. Although NOTHING is low-key in Corri’s world including her Louboutins that she’s rockin’ in this pic!

Auctioneer extraordinaire Leslie Hindman spent the New Year in style in Paris with long-time friends Mary Lou Gorno and Ann Tomlinson with her charming college-aged kids at Le Grand Colbert. (BTW, Leslie is opening more auction houses around the country so more good things to come for Leslie Hindman Auctioneers!)

CS Magazine’s Samantha Saifer Berngard, along with her hubby and friends, dined at Tony Mantuano’s new restaurant Bar Toma. Afterwards, they headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel where they listened to their wedding band, The Gold Coast All Stars, perform with a few special guests including Hey Champ, American Idol’s Lee DeWyze and O.A.R.’s Chris Culos. CS sponsored the event and they all danced the night away!

Foodarazzi blogger/XA’s Amanda Puck kicked off the night with BF Jerome Weitzel and friends at Big Star for some tacos and bourbon. Then they returned home for their second annual French Onion Soup Fete where they prepared a soup recipe from the October issue of Bon Appetit. (Watch for Amanda’s new internet show, “Dish It,” coming soon on Watch312.com!)

Fabulous in every way designer Pamella Roland (DeVos) has just become a VIC having recently bought a beautiful new home here! For NYE she and her glam family, along with their friends, sailed the seas near Cabo on her luxury yacht.

(For space reasons, I wasn’t able to include all of the exciting NYE happenings so to see what ALL of the VIC’s did for NYE, please check out my jam-packed Chicago Now column here!)

More than 100 of Chicago’s arts and civic leaders joined presenting sponsors/co-chairs Caryn and King Harris and Alexandra and John Nichols along with Gala Presenting Sponsor, GRAFF, in celebrating the announcement of the Chicago debut engagement by the Paris Opera Ballet coming in June. This event has been described as “one of the most significant projects for Chicago’s arts community in decades.” The launch party was held at Graff on Oak Street and included VIP guests Anne and J. Christopher Reyes, Suzette Bulley, Consul General of France Graham Paul, Margaret Unetich, Paul and Kelly Kaiser, David and Luann Blowers, Sandy and Jack Guthman, Lori Gray Faversham, Ken Norgan, Maya Polsky and Nicolas Bridon, Maria Zec, Dori Wilson and Elton Dixon among others. The Gala, on June 26th, will debut the Paris Opera Ballet’s “Giselle” and mark the company’s first return to America in more than a decade. Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be Honorary Chair. For tickets and more info please visit www.harristheaterchicago.org. (Photos by Bob Carl.)

I mentioned the CheekyChicago.com founders’ NYE plans a bit earlier and now I am thrilled to announce the Top 10 Cheeky Chicks of 2012! They include *drumroll please* Kiran Advani (Programming Director, Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture), Bridget Albert (Mixologist, Southern Wine & Spirits), Maryilene Blondell (Development Director, The ALS Assn.), Leah Chavie (Leah Chavie Skincare Boutique), Jackie Chen (Exec. Chef Chicago Cut Steakhouse), Allison Cooke (Marketing Mngr. CS Mag), Charity Gonzalez (Founder UrbanFitClubs.com), Melissa Muoio (personal stylist) and Ashley Zisook (owner Sofia Boutique). What a great list of CHEEKY CHICKS – congrats to ALL!

The Auxiliary Board of The Joffrey Ballet presents their second annual Pointe of Departure event on Thursday, January 26th from 6 – 9 p.m., at a NEW venue this year, Venue Six/10 at the Spertus Institute, located at 610 S. Michigan Ave. Joffrey dancers including Temur Suluashvili and Matthew Adamczyk will again be contributing amazing artwork as well as man
y other artists. Fab fotog/artist/jeweler Mila Samokhina will also be donating an exquisite piece entitled “Illusion.” The after-party will be at TZAR (215 W. Ontario), another new venue for this unique and much-loved event. Besides the original artwork, the evening will also include DJ Sadie Woods, cocktails and Wolfgang Puck’s tasty hors d’oeuvres plus a silent auction! Tickets can be purchased here or by calling 312.386.8979. Congrats in advance to co-chairs Diane Crary and Andrew Caravella and their dynamic committee! See you all soon!

Congrats to Fear No Art’s Elysabeth Alfano, one of the hardest working women in show business, on the birth of her latest production, “The Dinner Party.” This live artist talk show takes place at the Mayne Stage Theatre and will launch on January 30th. “The Dinner Party” happens onstage over wine and appetizers created by celebrity chefs in front of a live audience and will stream live on the internet at www.FearNoART.tv. MOTO Chef Homaro Cantu will be featured in the first production along with guest artists Tony Fitzpatrick, Jon Langford and Rachel Rockwell. Get your tix here!

So 2012 is off to a roaring start! I hope all of your wishes come true this year and that you keep enjoying Candid Candace!

Love,
Candace
Candace@CandidCandace.com

P.S. Thanks to CS Magazine for including this blog in their "Best of the City 2012" book (the "Follow the Leaders" article). I am honored and thrilled!

FASHION FLIES “LIKE A G6” AT GLAMORAMA PLUS FAR EAST MOVEMENT AND CEE LO GREEN!

The crowd was flying “like a G6” at the 13th Macy’s Passport Presents Glamorama Friday night. The Far East Movement along with singer/rapper/writer/producer and Grammy Award winner Cee Lo Green headlined this fashion extravaganza that was one of the best Glams I’ve ever attended. The producers for this year’s event outdid themselves in every way. A special shout out to choreographer extraordinaire Myron Johnson! The dance numbers were out of this world! Young dancing sensations Bailey and Sharlese were so fabulous that Macy’s asked them to walk the Media Line after the rehearsal! I coveted almost every single style that was presented along with their perfect accessories. Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs showed looks reminiscent of the 1940’s with little pillbox hats, ¾ length skirts and dresses and romantic silhouettes with fur shrugs thrown casually over the models’ shoulders. Gaultier even went so far as to describe its collection as a “nod to middle age declaring gray is beautiful.” Hallelujah to that!! Even the hairstyles, designed by Sally Noblett and her team from Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa, were stylized and sleek as opposed to the loosey, goosey look of recent years. I loved it ALL! Since the theme was “Artrageous,” national Lancome makeup artist Alex Sanchez created looks inspired by painter’s palettes. The models were all so GLAM and beautiful! Elegance was the watchword for the evening except for some of the menswear lines. Armani Jeans showed rapper inspired fashions with cut-up jeans, bomber jackets and skull caps. Papi, a men’s underwear collection out of Miami, was a huge hit with the ladies as the models strutted their six-packs to the wild applause from the audience. The colorful underwear seemed to be a crowd pleaser and, why not, when you have famous boxer Evander Holyfield’s son Jr. in the lineup!? And he was as nice as he was cute (I had the privilege of interviewing him for Social Circles). The show opened with a heartfelt video featuring Ronald McDonald’s Ambassador family, the Van Fossons. Alisha, at age 12, had been through 32 surgeries and tearfully explained how thankful she was to the Ronald McDonald Houses for “giving her family such a wonderful home away from home.” Her mom, Patty, put it bluntly. “If it wasn’t for the House, Alisha would still be in a wheelchair or on a respirator.” The fashions were fabulous and wearable on the runway. Here is my roundup. Sonia Rykiel showed a great mix of textures, fabrics and colors. Not for me, but looked great on the models, of course! Kenneth Cole showed sporty, yet professional looks for men while Tracy Reese’s line focused on flirty skirts and dresses in the colors of fall: brown, toffee, black and gray with metallic and jewel undertones. For the first time, Karl Lagerfeld’s Impulse collection debuted in Chicago. This line features limited-edition women’s apparel including a blend of dresses, airy tops, tweeds, tees and jackets all with a rock n’ roll edge. Bar III’s collection appeared onstage with Far East Movement (not a bad position and the crowd loved the mix) and showed a contemporary line featuring men’s and women’s clothing (they have a growing home collection as well). I loved the entertainment this year, too! Far East Movement is the first Asian-American group with a #1 song in the country, “Like a G6.” Their stylish, modern looks were a winner and their friendly manner with the fans won me over completely, especially with their kind attention to Alisha. Candid Candace has eyes and ears everywhere. And even though I loved Cee Lo Green, especially since two of his top songs, Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” are two of my favorites, let’s just say he was great onstage. He performed both of these songs and the latter one with his own clever lyrics. When he asked the crowd, “Don’t cha wish your boyfriend was rich like me?” the crowd exploded. He also performed his latest chart topper, “F*ck You.” Thankfully, he didn’t do it as graphically as it sounds. After the one-hour show, the chic crowd high-tailed it over to the 7th floor at Macy’s for its “Artrageous After-Party.” And the name sure applied because there was something colorful, inspiring and fun in every corner! There was an interactive Patron Tequila Photobooth, silhouette artists in the American Express Lounge, Lancome makeup touch-up stations, 18 fully stocked Patron bars featuring signature Glamorama cocktails like the Glam Grapefruit, Patron Pomorama or the Patron Pineapple Couture. Food stations included Grilled Panini Comforts, American Graffiti, Late Night Breakfast and Asian Food Art with a Sushi Bar. The OfficeMax Lounge featured fashion sketches by designers-in-residence of the Chicago Fashion Incubator. It was so nice to know that, for the third year, this event benefitted Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana in the building of the world’s largest Ronald McDonald House in Chicago near Lurie Children’s Hospital which is located in the Streeterville neighborhood. There are so many people to thank in the creation of this massive event – and I know I will leave some names out, so forgive me! – so special thanks to Andrea Schwartz, Martine Reardon, Robin Reibel, Robin Hall, Mike Gansmoe, Greg Moore, Kamal Bosamia, Mardelle Gundlach, Christina Thomas, Alyssa Hock, Laura Schara, the Van Fosson Family, Myron Johnson, Sally Noblett, Alex Sanchez, the Amazing Dancers, Models, Entertainers and Backstage Helpers, Jamie Haberkorn, Ralph Hughes, the Sponsors and Everyone Else who was involved!!!! I was so proud to be the Honorary Chair for this sensational event, along with my illustrious Host Committee, that raised more than $350K for RMHCCNI. It was also one of the best Glams attended so far with 3,000-plus people in attendance! (To view ALL Glam pics by Mila Samokhina – whose photos also appeared on “Windy City Live” this week – plus Steve Starr, please click HERE!)

Doesn’t the name “Burscott Park” evoke memories of some ancient, English hunting grounds reserved for royalty? Well, in a way, this is true. Especially since you consider the fact that it is the summer home of culinary royalty, George Jewell. Recently, George graciously lent his elegant estate to Common Threads for a “BBQ Unlike Any Other.” And boy, was this ever the case since five of Chicago’s top chefs cooked an outdoor feast the likes of which I probably won’t see again! The weather tried hard not to cooperate but nothing could dampen the spirits of the many supporters who showed up to eat, drink and put the fun in fundraising! Host Committee members Mary Cameron Frey, Greg Cameron, Greg Thompson and Karen and Marvin Herman enlisted incredibly talented Chefs David Blonsky (Public House/Bull and Bear), Jessie Oloroso (Black Dog Gelato), Ryan Poli (Tavernita), Patrick Sheerin (The Signature Room) and Scott Walton (Markethouse/Greenbush Brewery/Froehlich’s Bakery). Specialties for the day included charred cuttlefish, grilled Dietzler Farm beef shoulder sandwiches, Becker Lane pork belly sandwiches with seedling farm jam, Pin Oak’s lamb ribs with tomato jam BBQ sauce, grilled oysters Rockefeller, panzanella with fried kalamata olive bread and Green Acres red Pontiac potato salad among many others. Dessert consisted of a chocolate and manchego grilled cheese sandwich with smoked date gelato and a blackberry compote! DELICIOUS!!! There was also a lively auction led by Judd Malkin who stood on a chair to get the guests’ attention while his gorgeous wife, Katherine, looked on watchfully and lovingly. George’s guest house was chic in every way and, if he hadn’t chosen to be the world’s top caterer, he would’ve been the world’s top designer. The lighting was so dramatic yet the furniture and antiques were definitely there to be used. There was nothing precious and I noted he even burned the candles on his wall sconces instead of just keeping them there for decoration like I do! A walk around the spacious grounds revealed a large pond inhabited by four gorgeous white swans. All of the property was perfectly manicured, of course, except for the huge vegetable garden and some large patches of wildflowers. A dinner at George’s must be one very special occasion! A walk in the other direction revealed peacocks and peahens in an enclosure. Staff told me they would normally be roaming the grounds except for the party on this night. Ahhhhh, what a perfectly delightful day and night in the country, made even better by the fact that it all benefitted Common Threads to the tune of $22K! This amount of money is enough to completely fund groceries for 14 out of their 18 Chicago 10-week after-school programs for this coming fall, bringing over 225 kids together to learn to prepare meals themselves! (To view more pics, please click here.)

Didn’t you just love The Temptations? Hello! Who didn’t!? Well, now you get a chance to relive this glorious past at “The Temptations Revue!” on Friday, August 19th, at the Park West, located at 322 W. Armitage. This event, beginning at 6 PM with cocktails, benefits the Zoe Foundation which is dedicated to the research and cure of atrial fibrillation. Dinner begins at 7:30 PM with a live auction followed by a 9 PM concert and dancing, dancing, dancing! Tickets are $150 and can be purchased by calling 630.790.2687.

CANDACE RECOMMENDS: Tickets ($200) are still available for the 47th Chicago International Film Festival honoring Martin Sheen with a premiere of his new film “The Way.” For more info, please call 312.683.0121 or visit www.ChicagoFilmFestival.com. Also, “Taste of the Gold Coast” is coming to the Sutton Place Hotel, located at 21 E. Bellevue, on Tuesday, August 23rd, from 6 to 9 PM. Over 13 neighborhood restaurants are participating and there will be live entertainment plus a silent auction benefitting the North Dearborn Association! For tickets ($80-$100), please call 312.730.8262. “Shine & Dine,” benefitting the Step-Up Women’s Network, will be featuring “Windy City Live” darling, Valerie Warner, at Galleria Marchetti, 825 W. Erie, on Thursday, August 18th, from 6-9 PM. Tickets begin at $75 and can be purchased by calling 312.235.3277. I also hope you can attend the “The Rooftop Party at Studio Paris,” located at 59 W. Hubbard, on Thursday, August 18th, benefitting Ronald McDonald House Charities from 5 to 8 PM. Tickets are $150 per person and include hors d’oeuvres and cocktails plus a chance to be a part of the world’s largest Ronald McDonald House’s history. For tickets and more info, please visit www.RonaldHouseChicago.org.

If you haven't already received my terrorist demand in an email earlier, please take note! I am SO thrilled to be a finalist in CBS’s “Chicago’s Most Valuable Blogger Awards 2011.” I need your vote! You can vote every day until September 9th! (It IS Chicago after all!) It’s really easy, too…just click and vote for Candid Candace HERE! Other finalists I will be voting for include Amanda Puck’s Foodarazzi, CTA Tattler and Julie DiCaro’s “A League of Her Own.” May the best blogger win!!!

Thanks again to “Windy City Live” for having me on again this week! If you missed the show, please check it out HERE… 🙂

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I will have lots of info on some great September events coming up next week so I hope you stay tuned plus the usual recap of some other exciting happenings around town! I hope you enjoy this beautiful weather and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

Love,
Candace
Candace@CandidCandace.com