Latest news with #LeVeaud'Or
New York Post
08-08-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Wealthy New Yorkers say Amex Black Cards have lost their cache
Have credit cards lost their cache? A few years ago, whipping out an Amex Black Card was the ultimate status symbol — so much so that the hip hop collective A$AP Mob even wrote an entire song about it. But that was 2017. Now? It's all about practicality, not ego. A wealthy subset tell me they are increasingly choosing cards that either offer a suite of banking features — like the Chase Sapphire Reserve — or act as your dream assistant that can get you into Le Veau d'Or and plan your entire trip to San Sebastian — like Atlas. Advertisement 4 Credit cards like Atlas can get customers reservations at the toughest doors like Le Veau d'Or. Olga Ginzburg for NY Post While companies like American Express and Capital One don't break out the numbers for the cards targeted at high-net worth clients, it is clearly still an alluring space for companies. Popular trading app Robinhood unveiled a limited edition 10-karat gold card last year. Amex Platinum, Citi Strata Elite, and Capital One Venture X, have also invested in heavier metal cards that have more weight and gravitas than the plastic 'starter credit card' you get in college. But the cool factor just isn't there any more. People tell me high-end credit cards aren't a signal of wealth the way they used to be. (That's what Instagram is for) Advertisement 4 Popular trading app Robinhood unveiled a limited edition 10-karat gold card last year. Part of it has to do with the fact that people aren't pulling cards out of their wallets as much due to the rise of alternative payment methods like Apple Pay. A growing number of restaurants are even sending customers a link where they can pay the tab online and of course everyone is online shopping. The other reality many people are realizing is it's no good to whip out a black (or gold) card if you're eating at a second-rate restaurant. And that is where other companies are trying to swoop in to win over consumers. Advertisement Atlas has developed a devoted following of yuppy types since its launch in 2019. CEO Patrick Mrozowski told me that he believes that people are choosing his card because he provides a valuable service. 4 A black card had so much cache that A$AP Rocky and the A$AP Mob wrote an entire song devoted to it. Getty Images for MTV 'We are a concierge company first and a credit card company second,' he said. 'We've been focused on building an amazing concierge service, hiring the best travel agents, and building personal relationships with restaurants.' Those relationships have resulted in members getting some of the most competitive reservations in the city, like The Corner Store. Advertisement This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). Other cards, like the Centurion, do provide perks — complimentary hotel and airline upgrades, free access to airport lounges, a club in New York City, the promise of aspiration reservations, and annual credits at Saks Fifth Avenue — but not typically at the level of Atlas. Meanwhile, the Bilt Rewards card has distinguished itself by emphasizing community engagement over traditional credit card offerings and has partnerships with local restaurants like Delmonico's and fitness studios like SoulCycle. Another trend that is complicating things for high-end credit card companies is the fact that big spenders are spreading out purchases between multiple cards. 4 Consumers are opting to use cards that are more specific to the purchases they are making. Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Zach Perrett, the CEO Of Plaid, which provides technology to help connect bank accounts to fintech apps for over half of banked Americans, told me he is seeing people using half a dozen cards. 'People are connecting four or five, six or seven credit cards into a budgeting application,' Perret told me. 'Some of this is because you want to spend money on the card that is relevant to the thing that you're purchasing — let's say you have a Delta card, you want to put your travel on your Delta card.' Advertisement One person who recently canceled his black card and is now splitting purchases between a Delta card, a Chase sapphire card and a handful of other cards said it was like paying for a club you never use. 'The only benefit was the airport lounges, but now those have fallen off a cliff … I never used any of the other benefits they touted like personal shopping,' he explained. 'I paid more for this than most of my private club memberships in the city — I couldn't justify it anymore.'
Time Out
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
A24's new theater will feature food from one of NYC's hottest restaurant groups
You don't usually expect duck rillettes with your night at the theater, but then again, this isn't just any theater. A24, the indie film juggernaut behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Babygirl, is transforming the West Village's historic Cherry Lane Theatre into a buzzy new hub for screenings, performances and cultural happenings—and they're bringing in a serious culinary co-star. Enter Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, the powerhouse chefs behind Frenchette, Le Rock and the recently rebooted Le Veau d'Or. According to Eater, the duo's latest project will be a full-service restaurant and bar in the theater's lobby, slated to open this fall. City filings show that the restaurant will be an intimate 60-seat space that will allow theatergoers to arrive early and linger long after the curtain call. It's a savvy match. A24 already dipped into the food game with its own line of chocolate bars and the Frenchette team is no stranger to pairing fine dining with culture (see: Frenchette Bakery inside the Whitney Museum). At Le Veau d'Or, they've shown a flair for honoring historic spaces while turning out food that feels timeless, not tired, a promising preview of what might be on offer at Cherry Lane. The 1923 theater, tucked along winding Commerce Street in the West Village, has long been a haven for off-Broadway experimentation, with a résumé that includes Beckett, Mamet and even Bob Dylan. But after years of financial woes, it was sold to A24 in 2023 for just over $10 million, per The New York Times. The studio plans to breathe new life into the venue with a mix of film, theater and community programming. Though A24 has been tight-lipped about the specifics, adding a chef-driven bar and restaurant suggests the Cherry Lane reboot will go beyond popcorn and playbills. Think more aperitifs, fewer intermissions. Whether you're there for an avant-garde play or an intimate film screening, one thing's clear: this will be dinner and a show—emphasis on the dinner.
Time Out
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
These two NYC spots were just named the best new restaurants in the world
Once again, when it comes to the best of the world, you don't have to travel far if you already live in NYC. Yesterday, the award-winning travel magazine and website Condé Nast Traveller released its 2025 Hot List. The annual series calls out the best new things all around the world, encompassing newly minted hotels, places to stay and more. As for what's shiny and sparkling in food, two new-ish New York restaurants caught the eye of the publication, both receiving a spot on the list. Ranked in no particular order, chef Vikas Khanna's Bungalow made the list. Cited for being one of the hottest tables in 2024, the East Village restaurant received its dues for its unapologetic celebration of Indian culture and food. Global Digital Director at Condé Nast Traveller Arati Menon called out its 'melt-in-your-mouth dahi kebabs with a seviyan (vermicelli) crust' and its 'Goan shrimp balchão served in cones reminiscent of the 'cream rolls' at traditional Indian bakeries.' It seems we agree with CN Traveller, as Bungalow also made our best new restaurants list last year. The Upper East Side's second act of Le Veau d'Or also topped the survey. According to writer Kyle Beechey, the revival of the 1937 restaurant led by Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson (of Frenchette, Le Rock and Frenchette Bakery) received the honor for its classic menu of French fare, 'executed with a precision that even some of Paris's best restaurants fail to command.' Beechey went on to call the pommes souffleés 'magical' and the martini as 'pitch-perfect,' finishing with the sentiment: 'In a city obsessed with the new, it's refreshing to be transported to a glorious past.' Here is the full list of best new restaurants in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveller: 19 Saint Roch, Paris Acamaya, New Orleans AngloThai, London Arami, La Paz, Bolivia Clandestina, São Paulo Clara, Quito, Ecuador Saint Peter at the Grand National, Sydney Banng, Delhi NCR, India Bar Vitrine, Copenhagen Bungalow, New York City Caleña, Ávila, Spain Ciel Dining, Ho Chi Minh City Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi, Washington DC Esperit Roca, Girona, Spain Il Carciofo, Chicago Jan Franschoek, Franschoek, South Africa Jee, Hong Kong Kaia, Boston La Tapa del Coco, Panama City Le Veau d'Or, New York City Mr Panther, Lagos, Nigeria Notori, Mount Fuji, Japan OpenHouse, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Osip, Bruton, UK Rua Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda Somma, Singapore Stüvetta, St Moritz, Switzerland Sufret Maryam, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Supernormal, Brisbane, Australia Terrāi, Hyderabad, India Vinai, Minneapolis Voraz, Mexico City Sunny's, Miami
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Is New York's Chez Fifi Bistro Worth A Six-Week Wait For A Reservation?
Chex Fifi is the new big hit on New York's Upper East Side. New York's current bistro boom was joined in January by a place that has, for reasons not entirely clear, turned into one of the biggest hits of the year. It's easy enough to understand why the new bistros Le Veau d'Or, Frenchette and Le Rock are so extremely popular––the owners, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, are the darlings of the food media and fashionistas––but Chez Fifi hasn't that kind of pedigree: It is the latest production of the Miami-based We All Gotta Eat Group that runs nearby Sushi No, which, with 12 seats, is full every night. Even on the Upper Est Side, the name Chez Fifi sounds a bit twee, but given its polished 1920s townhouse looks (previously the Italian restaurant Vivolo) and only 40 seats downstairs and 12 in the upstairs salon, one can understand how easily it fills up each evening, largely with people from the neighborhood, some of whom have already become weekly regulars. Yet beyond its cozy refuge appeal for the locals, Chez Fifi has become the kind of place that those who can't get in beg those who can to work a small miracle. There's no telephone number to call. It took me six weeks to get a mid-week table. A Basque Txangurro crab dish is one of the best starters at Chez Fifi. It certainly is one the most handsome dining rooms in the area, with dark mahogany bathed in light from sconces and shaded overhanging lamps, with flowered half-curtains above the booths. In such soigné places one might expect an icy reception, but instead a lovely young woman with a big smile greets you with unfeigned delight that you've arrived, and the waitstaff is every bit as friendly. The restaurant's website reads, 'To ensure a comfortable dining experience, we ask that our guests present themselves at Chez Fifi with consideration to the ambiance of the space. Overly casual attire, such as athletic wear, pajamas, loungewear, t-shirts, and baseball caps, is not permitted.' If only the management kept to that requirement, for on the night I visited, along with a full cadre of well-dressed women in black outfits seemingly plucked from the racks of Madison Avenue boutiques like Morgane le Fay, Vuori and Agnès b., and most men in jackets, there was also more than one eyesore sporting a hoodie and sweat pants, hunched over his table. The decibel level is, unfortunately, high. A well-seasoned steak tartare at Chez Fifi The tables are well set with linens, the stemware pings at the touch, and the complimentary bread and butter are as good as you'll find in Manhattan. If, during the dinner, the tablecloth is spotted or soiled, a fresh napkin is immediately placed over it. There are no salt and pepper shakers on the table, but none of the dishes I tasted needed them. I don't know how sommelier Tira Johnson put together such an extraordinary wine list, but overnight it ranks with the most comprehensive in town––though very expensive, with only a handful of bottles under $120. A half chicken with foie gras jus is a good dish for two people. Indeed, many people have commented on how expensive Chez Fifi is, especially by comparison to other chic bistros like La Goulue and Orsay. I'm sorry to say that it is, especially when charging $162 for a Dover sole––at least $40 to $70 more than its competitors. But prices are in many cases not quite what they seem, because portions are generous and easy to share. Take, for instance, the half-chicken with frites and salad and a bland foie gras sauce at a whopping $82; at La Goulue it's $44; at Orsay, $34. Yet only a trencherman could devour it all, and a whole chicken at $160 could feed four, in which case each portion comes out to $40. A reasonably priced filet mignon au poivre for $69 is hefty, and a big slab of cȏte de boeuf is listed at 'Market Price,' which may well come to $300 or more. Chef Zack Zeidman's menu is not large by any means: A selection of charcuterie, four first courses and five main courses. The best of the appetizers is called txangurro, a Basque-style crispy deviled crab nicely seasoned. A salad of endive, dates, walnuts and Fourme d'Ambert cheese was pleasant, but the tartare de boeuf Classique was richly flavorful and seasoned with panache. A filet mignon au poivre comes with excellent French fires. Omelettes as a main course at dinner are not as frequent on Paris bistros menus as they once were, but Chez Fifi's with mushrooms and Périgord truffles that somehow survived winter was not as buttery as I'd expected. And let's face it, with just five main courses on the menu, how many people are dying for an omelette at eight o'clock at night? Among the main courses is a fine Montauk black bass in beurre blanc, served with cabbage. Baba i soaked with good rum at the table. There is a selection of cheeses at an eye-popping $38, but desserts are far more reasonable at $14 for crème brûlée, chocolate mousse with Chantilly cream, and a delicious baba au rhum at $16. Despite its noise––after nine PM is a quieter time to go––Chez Fifi oozes charm and, though it must be hell for them to balance reservations, a night here runs as smoothly and amiably as a neighborhood bistro should. And if you go with friends and share à la carte dishes, the high prices come into better focus. Still, even with access, one can get quickly tired of a menu with so few dishes to choose among, when its direct competitors' offerings are so much more expansive, enticing and less expensive. Maybe the current buzz will die down at Chez Fifi, in which case it would a delight to drop in now and then for one's favorite dish after visiting the Guggenheim or the newly opened Frick Museum. Right now, just getting in at all is a head-butting chore. CHEZ FIFI 140 East 74th Street No telephone number Open for dinner only.
New York Times
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Broiled Fish Tacos, Buttermilk Pancakes, Chicken Adobo
Good morning. I woke up chuckling. I'd eaten the night before at Le Veau d'Or, Manhattan's oldest French restaurant, brought back to life last year by the chefs and restaurateurs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr. The meal had unspooled like a series of magic tricks. Among them: ethereal clouds of fried potato with caviar; crisp nuggets of headcheese with sauce ravigote; frog legs sizzling in butter and garlic; a ruddy duck breast positioned above tangy-sweet stewed cherries. The menu is prix fixe — $125 a head — and the savory portion of it ends with a simple green salad. It was the salad that had me grinning, eight hours after I'd consumed it. I'm a pretty good cook, a more than passable mimic. I've built a career of sorts eating in good restaurants, asking lots of questions and then coming up with cover-band recipes for my favorite dishes. But I realized that morning after my meal at Le Veau: There is no way, no earthly way, that I could ever cook anything on the menu at that restaurant myself, no matter how many questions I asked, no matter how many times I practiced the dish. Even that salad. I wouldn't even try. This wasn't humbling. It was awesome. That's what restaurants like Le Veau d'Or are for. Instead, I'll embrace minimalism this weekend, simplicity, bold flavors easily coaxed from good ingredients, and make Sarah Copeland's fine recipe for broiled fish tacos (above). I'll use mahi-mahi or halibut, if I can find any — or flounder or swordfish, if I can't. (Truthfully, it'd be pretty good with industrial tilapia, if that's all you can get. The spice rub of salt, paprika and coriander goes a long way.) Sarah serves the fish with warm corn tortillas, a brilliant salad of lime and herbs and a drizzle of crema. You should as well. Featured Recipe View Recipe → I could go for some buttermilk pancakes this weekend, too, and classic tuna salad sandwiches for lunch. There's not much easier than a five-ingredient creamy miso pasta for dinner on Saturday night, with a freestyle fruit salad with yogurt to follow in the morning: orange, pineapple, banana, mango, under a shower of lime juice. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
