Daily Front Row

2011 November 17

Bon Appetit Kitchen Heats Up 4 Times Square

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Adam Rapoport, ?uestlove
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(NEW YORK) The storied Frank Gehry-designed Condé cafeteria officially has some culinary competition, and it isn’t Hearst’s lunchtime spread or a local 4 Times Square EIC haunt (Lambs Club, we’re looking at you). Last night, Bon Appetit’s EIC Adam Rapoport got cooking with a little help from his famous friends to christen the BA Kitchen.

The crack team of consultants for the project? From some of the city’s finest kitchens, Eric Ripert, Tom Colicchio, and Marcus Samuelsson emerged to offer their sage insights for the handsome AvroKO-designed space. The latter two were on hand for the evening’s delicious festivities, as were Solange Knowles, Olivia Munn, Wyatt Cenac, Zoe Kravitz, plus a duo of dashing blokes in off-duty chapeaux—Ryan Phillippe (baseball cap) and Penn Bagdley (newsboy number).

Now, onto the food and bevs, of course! The Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson provided more than just rhythmic accouterments for the evening, less than 48 hours after he sent ripples through the Twittersphere by breaking news of Monday night's police raid at Zuccotti Park, earning the moniker of "Paul Revere for the Occupy Wall Street movement." He also devised the “Love’s Drumstick” for the BA Kitchen's debut: poultry battered in buttermilk, doused in Creole seasoning, and adorned with a flourish of freshly-made crimson origami. What a week for The Roots’ renaissance man! For dessert, the crowd of journos and foodies devoured petite cups of cereal milk soft serve by Momofuku Milk Bar pastry whiz Christine Tosi (who also devised a menu of special dessert concoctions for the BA Kitchen’s series of gleaming Sub-Zeros) and chunks of salt-studded Lindt chocolate, washed down with fluted Campari Negronis concocted by Employees Only mixologist Robert Kruger.

Festivities stretched past the 11 p.m. party curfew listed on the event invite (already seemingly generous, considering the Conde Nast tower quarters, non?). The sign of a swell shindig: when the party people are still tippling and schmoozing way past the point at which each and every “Love’s Drumstick” had been devoured, well, lovingly; the cute Bon App-labeled lunchboxes-as-gift bags were snatched up long ago (preview item from the mag’s HSN line, perhaps?!); and the Campari is kaput. The verdict? A delicious new haunt for mag-savvy gourmands in the midtown ‘hood. The only lament? They don’t seem to take dinner reservations or private party requests. Yet…
ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV