Sinanation

I accidentally ran into this exotic patisserie in the Rockefeller Center and took the plunge in with the urge to try something new. Minimoto Kitchoan is a Japanese confectioneries store (“wagashi”) for tea ceremonies.

With numerous weird, but delicious looking deserts showcased inside separate glass displays, the place reminds one of an exquisite candy store. Make sure you talk to the ladies and read the descriptions inside to make the best selection among numerous tiny deserts made with chestnuts.

This is where I become a fan of Claire Danes. The movie portrays the life of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who breaks all the barriers to become one of the most well-known scientists in humane livestock handling. Danes does an exceptional job in playing Grandin and Juliette Binoche puts it all out as the mother, completing the ingenious acting apparent in this movie.

Watch it to learn about the extraordinary life of a unique woman. Watch it to learn that autism should not be viewed as a weakness, but an extremely fast and sensitive way of thinking that can be bended to unlock the genius hidden inside. Watch it to see the movie where Claire Danes finally breaks out of her shell to become a truly gifted actress.

I am not going to deny that I go to Cipriani Downtown for the scene (but I also love the food). I haven’t written about it until today because of its obvious popularity. From locals to tourists, this place is always packed with more fur, jewelry, make-up and attitude than any other New York restaurant you can think of. Multiple languages blend into one another somewhere around the high ceilings of the dining room. The extremely happy Cuban mister with a huge cigar and smile winks at the tables from his over-sized frame. The famous carefully-suited managers of the place are always welcoming and courteous. Outside seating is available as long as there isn’t a rain or snow storm. Everyone has a story here. Some are easy to write and others take further investigation to put together. One day you might be eating next Arturo Di Modica (the sculptor of the famous Charging Bull on Wall St.) and the next you might be rubbing shoulders with an emerging model testing her “trophy wife skills”. You are at a pretentious museum of people and you are also on display. You detest the idea but you can’t resist the stalking and the attention.

The menu might not compete with the scenery but it is still good enough to make you want to come back for your favorite dish. The prices are obviously unreasonable, but should be expected from Italians who know how to play the flashy fame game so brilliantly. The Bellini is the best in the city, but make sure you know when to stop. The fried calamari, the artichoke salad, the baked tagliatelle and the seafood risotto (with a portion comfortably enough for two) are delicious.

You can do without the deserts. A single shot of espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side should do the trick.

Cipriani Downtown is located at 376 W. Broadway (between Broome and Spring).

I took my seat behind the white screen with great excitement and expectations. What else can you do when you are getting ready to watch a movie with Anthony Hopkins and Benicio del Toro? With a great cast and an intriguing mythical story, Wolfman was everything I wanted it to be  (or so I thought).

I remember a few jumps when the creature made its first few appearances around the village and chopped a few victims. Yet as the movie progressed, the story became so obvious that I no longer had any excitement. Great expectations also ended in disappointment, seeing that Hopkins had no more than a few minutes of dialogue to portray his ingenious acting.

If you can’t resist to see Wolfman (like me), I recommend that you wait for the DVD or On Demand. Then you can at least focus on other stuff while finishing up the movie (especially if disappointment knocks on your door halfway through it).

Name: Cem Ciprut

Nickname: Cipo

Notable Appearance: Shaved beard, short hair, green eyes. Unique and very enthusiastic laughter.

Can’t do without: V-neck sweaters on top of dress shirts, jeans, bright black leather shoes, Panerai Watches, Osmancan Ongun, knee-length black coats, Saturday Brunch by Sinan

Notable Hobbies: Clubbing, traveling, solving mathematical equations

Weakness: Banana milkshake, alcohol shots

Last Seen: Eclipse Bar London, Bijoux London, Anjelique Istanbul, Le Cave St. Stropez, Pisarou Beach Mykonos, Turkbuku Bodrum, Eftelya Istanbul, Lucca Bar Istanbul

I tend to be an extremely curious consumer when it comes to buying a new product. From clothing to technology, I start by picking out the stuff I like and then learn more about the brand and the founder behind its creation. I know there is a story and reason behind the formation of every product and I try my best to learn about it. This was yet again the case when I picked out a ski jacket for the new season last week.

Indecisive between North Face, a brand I have been happily using for more than 10 years and Rab, a brand I have never heard of, I tried to put the facts together. Rab felt great on. It was waterproof just like North Face, but it came with a much better built collar and hat. Yet, it was as light as a feather and that made me question if it would be warm enough for rough ski conditions.

It turns out Rab was founded by the famous British mountain climber Rab Carrington. His main objective was to manufacture extremely light but warm sleeping bags for rough mountain conditions. He was so successful in that area that he took his innovative design to jackets and pants. The Momentum Jacket was a result of this expansion.

I took the new jacket for a test-drive on the slopes and I can easily say that I made the lightest best choice. I am glad  to know that the mountain clothing technology advanced so much.

Frank Sinatra once said “I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps” and pointed towards New York. Since then New York’s lights have never faded. 24 hours a day and 7 days a week there was one city that had something to do, someone to be with and some place to have fun. Sinatra might have gone a little too far.

There have been days when I thought the whole city was asleep. I would be comfortably positioned behind the TV, desperate yet unsuccessful to find a “partner-in-crime” or an event to take on the city. This was especially the case on Monday nights. Known as the nightmare of the workers, the first work day after an extremely peaceful and lazy Sunday had to have some kind of a plan to look forward to. Sinatra definitely forgot to mention that even in “the city that never sleeps” such plans are very hard to find.

This is where my friends Daniel and Derek Koch come in.

These two unbelievably driven event managers/promoters have been on the backstage of some of the best events I have been to in this city. I met them as waiters and watched them grow into managers of their own entertainment company, Day & Night. From happy hours, dinners to benefits, they have been working hard to make sure Sinatra’s lyrics rely on hard evidence. They decorated the dreams of women who brunched at Le Bilboquet on Saturdays. They amazed the gourmets with a delicious menu at their Jour et Nuit restaurant. They made sunglasses a fashion at Merkato 55 & Bijoux to hide from the sparkles fired up on Rose and Champagne bottles.

I fell in love with their model bouncers. I climbed on tables to dance to their DJs. We celebrated birthdays and we cried to farewells at their events. I have been there because they have never ceased to value personal attention.

They are still on fire Saturdays with their brunch at Revel in meatpacking, but I have been bugging both for a while to put together an event that can ease the pain of Mondays. The happy news came unexpectedly. They prepare to take on La Zarza (166 First Ave. between 10th and 11th st.) with two DJs from Madrid, Spain and a crowd that is ready to let it loose.

Hope to see you there. Party starts March 1st.

Normally I would recommend a private residence complex with concierge services, a sports center, private parking, swimming pools and security to a buyer in Istanbul, because the maintenance of a stand-alone home is a pain. Yet, I am inclined to bend the rule this once for this amazing antique penthouse located in Tarabya.

Type: 325m2 duplex penthouse in an ancient Istanbul building on the coast of the European Bosphorus. The apartment comes with 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a sauna and a separate maid’s quarters.

The high ceiling living room houses  a mezzanine floor on top used as a home office, both overlooking the Tarabya Bay. The living room also opens to a considerably large terrace.

Price Tag: Approx. USD 2.3m

It all starts with a sympathetic nickname. It is a simple word that grabs attention and leads the other side to reply with a smiley face. It is the start of a conversation between two people thousands of miles away from each other.

How tempted we are to greet whenever he/she comes online. How driven we are to read that simple “ahahaha” on our screens. Chatting online is a tricky monster and we love it.

Assuming Skype is not around; there is no face to face or the comfort of a voice. The smiley face, the winking eye, the tongue and the red angry head can only give us a glimpse of how he/she really feels. The same goes for us. Are we falling down the chair with laughter when we type “HAHAHAHAHAHA”? Does he/she really want to hit us after typing “grrrrrr”? We love to exaggerate online. We are more daring and adventurous than we usually are. We are born with multiple senses to efficiently communicate. Yet when we are chatting online, we desperately try to get the same results by using a single sense.

We are in different settings, but together. One side can be in the bathroom doing nature’s duty while the other side can be sipping champagne at a black tie event. Who knows? One can even be hooking up with an ex-partner while flirting with someone else online. There are always a lot of variables in online chatting, but somehow both parties find a common ground to get into some of the most satisfactory conversations.

All is on record. Whatever we type and enter is saved inside the ultra intelligent computer or mobile phone. It remembers everything even if we don’t. And one can always get a full record of the cyber relationship. It is a risk we all take. We try to think a minute more before we type in anything. We think of the future implications of our answers. We are more planned than we would ever be if were to meet face to face.

Timely response is not customary. Sometimes he/she will reply within seconds and other times there won’t be a response. There will be times when the other side will text and we will not be able to get back on time. One shouldn’t wonder why. It is in the nature of chatting online to overpower one side. Sometimes a proper “goodnight” is customary and other times one party will just sign off without giving a proper warning.

It usually ends without a warning. It could be a careless “byeee” or a long farewell. It is the end of a conversation between two people thousands of miles away from each other.

Thanks to the rough winter days, I realized that I had to write about the ugliest, but still, the most successful fashion invention of our time. From a girl’s perspective these chubby boots might be the most comfortable walking gear, but from a guy’s they are a disaster. They take away the delicate silhouette of a woman’s feet and legs and turn them into chunky astronaut gears. I know they are just too comfortable to go out of fashion, but I had to put this thought out there. And to think they are worn during the hot summer days! What has this world come to?

I think the above image says it all. Part of the new season’s inspiration comes from a movie of huge and ugly monsters.