Blake Lively

Last night I attended the Joel Schumacher movie Twelve. Joel and I met last year when he was scouting locations with his team. My dear friend Liam McMullen was amongst some of the very talented actors, such as Chace Crawford. The movie was about kids growing up on the fast track, doing drugs and partying hard.

I had the chance to meet Nicole Miller, the designer, after wearing her dress to the Sex and the City premiere. She was so much fun to talk with and we discussed some ideas. After the movie, I met friends at 60 Thompson at the private roof deck. It was pretty chill and relaxing. Charlie Walk popped over as well as David Goldberg. The roof closed at around one. I didn’t want the evening to end so hit up my favorite  spot in the city, the Rose Bar. Eric Otero was so hospitable and offered us all drinks. I couldn’t believe it was almost two thirty by the time I left and realized I had to get some rest for the long weekend ahead.

Chace Crawford and 50 Cent

Singer Eve performed at Venus Pool Club and LAX Nightclub and also dined at the all-new Social House while she made the rounds in Las Vegas last weekend.

Dressed in a black and purple mini dress with a gold one-piece swimsuit underneath, Eve spent the afternoon at Venus Pool Club at the Garden of the Gods at Caesars Palace, where she sipped Champagne and snacked on fruit, a quesadilla and chips with guacamole before performing some of her hits including “Let Me Blow Your Mind” and “Who’s That Girl.”

That evening, Eve dined at the all-new Social House at Crystals at CityCenter were she sampled a variety of the restaurant’s Pan-Asian menu items before heading to LAX Nightclub at the Luxor to take over hosting duties for the night.

Sporting a black mini dress, leopard print heels and bright pink lipstick, Eve performed some of her most popular songs for the crowd at LAX Nightclub and also treated club goers to a preview of material from her new album. She then joined friends at her booth in the VIP section, where the group enjoyed Grey Goose vodka cocktails and Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. In his past 13 years as chairman of The New York Times Co. and 18 years as publisher of The New York Times, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has led the newspaper’s digital transition and maintained the publishing company’s globally prestigious stature.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

Category: Thinkers

Company: The New York Times

Industry: Media

What Made Him Haute: Chairman and publisher of The New York Times has been running the paper’s day-to-day operations since 1992. Say what you will about the newspaper industry; during his tenure as publisher, the paper has earned 39 Pulitzer Prizes.

What Makes Him Haute Now: What made him haute when he became chairman of The New York Times Co. in 1997 is still making Sulzberger haute today. As the company’s senior executive, he is responsible for its long-term business strategy as well as running the company’s flagship enterprise on a day-to-day basis. Sulzberger’s innovation during his tenure has led the company’s print, broadcast, and online initiatives to withstand the 21st century global media marketplace’s survival of the fittest and repeatedly come out on top. The New York Times Co. posted its first quarterly revenue growth in two years at the end of June.

The Ochs-Sulzberger family continues to control about 80 percent of the publishing company’s voting shares and doesn’t plan on relinquishing its reign anytime soon. The company steadied itself with a jump in digital ad revenue rather than previously employed cost-cutting measures and expects to see the same results in the third quarter. Tapping into the Web, Sulzberger has focused much of his efforts on the paper’s digital transformation; The New York Times recently adopted a metered approach to its online content on NYTimes.com. Sulzberger has been part of many of the company’s major ventures such as its partnership with Apple’s iPad and its minority ownership of the Boston Red Sox, the first billion dollar baseball club in history, an ingenious move that is said to have booked the company a $9.1 million gain selling its shares to Boston-based venture capitalist Henry McCance.

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. On our Haute 100 Miami list is Craig Robins, he reinvented Miami and now he is on his way to give San Diego a hand.

CRAIG ROBINS

Category: Originators

Company: Dacra Development

Industry: Real Estate

What Made Him Haute: Craig Robins helped to reinvent Miami. From South Beach, Lincoln Road and Española Way to the Design District, Robins breathed new life into all of them. They were ghost towns until he saw their potential and Miami is all the better because of him!

What Makes Him Haute Now: The San Diego Contemporary Art fair will be hosting a one-day conference on Sept. 4, 2010, on cultural growth and innovation. Speaking at the conference are some of the nations most forward-thinking entrepreneurs and community leaders. Miami’s own Craig Robins is among the three speakers selected. He was asked to speak about his passion for art and how it has shaped Miami’s Design District. He will be speaking with Jonathon Seigal and the two will be discussing whether their works could be applied to San Diego. What a great honor for him and Miami to be seen as such an avant-guard city!

Out of the Humidor: La Vérité

While there are many parallels between the premium cigar industry and the wine industry, there are some glaring differences.  Perhaps the most substantial one is that the cigar industry does not generally utilize the idea of a vintage.  While wine connoisseurs understand and embrace the idea that every year a particular house’s product will be different than the year before, cigar enthusiasts come to expect the same flavor and same experience from a cigar year after year.  In order to do this, cigars are manufactured in a non-vintage style similar to the way many whiskies and NV Champagnes are; in the case of cigars using tobaccos from different regions, years and leaf positions in order to maintain a consistent experience over time.

Occasionally though, cigar manufacturers will flirt with the Vintage concept for small run projects.  Davidoff of Geneva released a “Vintage 2000” limited edition in 2003, Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana has released his “LG” series now as an annual vintage, but Pete Johnson has taken it to a whole new level by really embracing and paying homage to the wine industry with his new La Vérité line of cigars.  These beautiful puros are made up entirely of tobacco from a single farm and a single harvest year, specifically the 2008 harvest from a farm in Esteli, Nicaragua by Jose “Pepin” Garcia; the star cigar maker who’s responsible for Johnson’s Tatuaje and Cabaiguan lines.

The finest of the tobaccos (a Habano seed Criollo) were rolled into Churchill sized cigars bearing the name La Vérité.  The one size one blend special release was made in 2009 and has been aging ever since.  The total production of La Vérité is 20,000 cigars packed in 4 styles of boxes; boxes of ten and 25 cigars as well as cabinets of 50 cigars and a full collector’s cabinet of 100 cigars.  Only 100 boxes of 50 and 30 boxes of 100 were made, making these particular packaging options even more rare and collectible.  Each cigar retails for $20 per cigar.

And like many great “houses”, he’s also launched a “second line” the “L’Esprit de Vérité” in a robusto format.  These smokes (20,000 in all) are also from the 2008 harvest and available in either boxes of 10 or 25 cigars for $16.00 each.

The Farmer’s Market movement has been one of the most enjoyable and successful food trends over the past decade but local markets don’t always offer the most convenient way to shop.

A new grocery retailer, Union Market, has just opened its flagship store, offering everything Londoners love about the farmers’ markets from fabulous choice, to first-class provenance, inspired know-how, and an opportunity to buy from traceable British growers and food suppliers. Yet, this all comes with the conviences of a supermarket: long operating hours, daily opening, a regular product range, free delivery, and parking.

The new store on Fulham Broadway is a huge 5,000 square foot food hall set in the 105-year old listed building, originally built for London Underground by Harry W. Ford. This impressive building boasts a double-height glass atrium and has retained much of its architectural character, including the original, and very sizeable ‘To the Trains’ signage.

A state of the art kitchen is visible through the old ticket office counters, where fresh food is prepared for the Union Market Kitchen, situated at the very centre of the store. Weekend brunches, cream teas, full English breakfasts, healthy light lunches, salads, and snacks are available throughout the day, and the chef’s recipes will be drawn from every continent; whilst the ingredients come from closer to home.

Chefs, farmers, and foodies are on-hand to share their know-how on a regular basis and there are also cookery demonstrations and tastings. A programme of cookery lessons and pop-up dinners given by a celebrity chef is planned to start in the fall.

Union Market’s company is closely involved with all its suppliers, large and small.  Cheeses come from one of the UK’s leading cheese specialists, Neal’s Yard Dairy, and there are goods from dozens of smaller producers such as artisan breads from the Flour Station, which began life in the kitchen of award-winning restaurant Fifteen, and Trealy Farm Charcuterie, which is situated on the edge of the beautiful Welsh border country.

Tony Bromovsky, Founder and Commercial Director of Union Market says that the company’s proposition is about traceable, natural, regional, high quality, best practice British food.  “We want to deconstruct the old drab supermarket model and replace it with the fun of shopping and eating in a beautiful food hall that reflects timeless rural values and practices.”

Union Market, 472 Fulham Road, London, SW6 1BY

Open Monday to Saturday from 8am–8pm. The bakery is open from 7am for coffee and morning baked goods.  Sunday: 2–6pm.

On Sunday, Aug. 1, confectionary king Richard Ruskell will make his 11th appearance on Food Network Challenge, which brings together the biggest and best food battles from around the world. To commemorate his record appearance, Montage Beverly Hills is engaging America with its first-ever Twitter contest.

For a chance to win, follow Montage Beverly Hills on Twitter and tweet: I want to taste #ChefRuskell’s creations @MontageBH! http://bit.ly/9liWxc through Aug. 3. One lucky Tweeter will come away with a Superior Guestroom stay for two at the Forbes Five Star hotel for three days and two nights, as well as private pastry lesson with the renowned chef.

Montage Beverly Hills is located in the sophisticated epicenter of the Golden Triangle, where premier shopping and dining mingle within an exclusive neighborhood. The Spanish Colonial Revival is reminiscent of the Golden Age of California. For a touch of classic Hollywood with modern day luxury, Montage Beverly Hills is an urban oasis of elegance in the heart of Beverly Hills.

For more information, visit www.montagebeverlyhills.com/ruskelltwitterpromo.php.

Sapphires Model Mangement Launch Party

Sapphires Model Management hosted their London launch party last night at the Billiard Room of the Sanderson Hotel on 50 Berners Street.

The event was packed thick with the industry’s finest from Sapphires’ managing partners Neely Reyes and Ian Warren to models, fashion stylists and editors, film directors, designers, and artists.

The two-hour event, commemorating the opening of Sapphires’ Soho office, spilled over into nearly five hours as guests chatted to background music mixed by internationally renowned DJ, Jeffrey Louis-Reed and sipped cocktails made from Aussie Spirits’ Vodka O & Kinky Rum, and Jameson Irish Whiskey.

Guests countered the cocktails with Mojito, chocolate-banana and coconut-lime cupcakes from Sweetie Darlings.

 The VIP gift bags were overflowing with beauty products, drinks, sumptuous vouchers, a lovely handwritten scroll from Neely and Ian, and even clothes!

Neely and Ian were delighted at the overwhelming turnout. “We’re very grateful to have the support of so many leading industry figures,” says Neely, “Sapphires’ move to Soho is a big step for the company and we can’t wait to see where this new adventure takes us.”

Many of us should have car washing on our resumes. Aged 10 it was the quickest way to get the extra pocket money to buy whatever candy was flavor of the month.

These days however it seems you can a charge a little more than the 50p that parents had to fork out in the eighties. £7,200 extra to be exact.

Working out of his parents’ garage which has been converted into a hi-tech workshop, Gurcharn Sahota, 30, takes a month to clean each vehicle with up to 100 different cleaning fluids and wax that costs £8,200 per tub.

He even uses a computerized microscope, normally used by forensic scientists, to examine the bodywork for the minutest scratch not even visible to the naked eye.

Mr. Sahota, who drives a clapped-out VW Golf himself, started the business five years ago by washing his neighbor’s cars with a bucket and sponge. He has since cleaned hundreds of supercars and now boasts a string of celebrity clients including footballers, actors and musicians who have flown him all over the world to clean their grimy motors.

Nearly all of the cars that get the special treatment are supercars and since starting out, Gurcharn has hundreds Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches. Gurcharn says: “If you’re spending £150,000 on a car, you want it to be perfect. The cars I clean are world class motors that deserve a world class wash.”

His proudest moment cleaning the world’s most expensive car – the McLaren F1 GTR worth up to £3 million. He said: ”The McLaren F1 GTR is without doubt my favorite car. It is so exclusive you hardly see any of them on the roads.

Asking Gurcharn of his special tips when started to clean a supercar he explains that every wash starts with buckets of soapy water and a cloth. Proof that the simplest of moneymaking skills are often the most profitable.

Single-game tickets for the 2010 Arizona Cardinals home games become available this Saturday, and if this season will mark your first foray into the University of Phoenix Stadium (shame on you!), here are all the need-to-know details to help you snag some seats.

Be sure you don’t accidentally sleep in Saturday morning, because individual game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. exclusively through Ticketmaster, and there are three ways you can make your purchase. Log on to Ticketmaster.com, call Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000 or visit a participating Arizona Ticketmaster ticket center in person (check here for locations). Note that you’ll be limited to eight tickets per transaction, so plan accordingly. A few days later, on August 2, fans will be able to purchase remaining available tickets at the Tempe training facility and the University of Phoenix Stadium box office.

Also important to know before you try to get your hands on tickets: Tickets for the Arizona Cardinals’ two most anticipated games – against the San Francisco 49ers on November 29 and against the Dallas Cowboys on December 25 – will only be available via “Protect the Nest” plans, outlined below:

“The White Plan” – Sept. 26 vs. Oakland, Oct. 31 vs. Tampa Bay, Nov. 29 vs. San Francisco

“The Red Plan” – Aug. 14 vs. Houston, Oct. 10 vs. New Orleans, Dec. 25 vs. Dallas

Prices for “Protect the Nest” plans start at $150 and went on sale online to season ticket holders starting July 22, and to the general public July 24. On July 26 the three-game plans became available for purchase at the Tempe training facility and the University of Phoenix Stadium box office.

Get ‘em while they’re hot – and before they’re gone!

The Official Site of the Arizona Cardinals