A seafoam green-hued Grasshopper, laden with cream, isn't the most common of cocktail requests. This retro crème de menthe and crème de cacao concoction -- which, legend has it, was spawned in pre-Prohibition New Orleans before becoming a popular tipple during the '50s and '60s -- is, as Eben Freeman, director of bar operations and innovation for chef Michael White's Altamarea Group describes, "a paradigm of mid-century drinking habits." Made incorrectly, he warns, the results are thick and cloying.
At The Butterfly -- Chef White's upbeat Tribeca homage to a Wisconsin supper club -- Freeman's well-edited list of playful, classic concoctions includes a revamped take on the Grasshopper that's a crystalline beauty poured over crushed ice. The drink is bright and minty with elegant chocolate undertones -- a far cry from its debased, milkshake-like past. Here he shuns "flavorings, colorings and high-fructose corn sweetener," instead using Tempus Fugit's authentic crème de menthe and crème de cacao, which use real mint and cacao.
"By using an age-old trick of milk clarification, I was able to remove the heavy cream but retain the lactic quality of the original," he explains. "And by adding some dark, aged rum for backbone and a bit of Branca Menta for mystery, I think we were able to make a Grasshopper that is light enough to drink two of without sacrificing the attributes which made it such a hit a generation ago."
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Each week in our Chefs Off Duty series, we talk to some of our
favorite chefs and industry folk around the country to find out their
secret late-night spots where they like to grab a bite and a pint when
their kitchens are finally closed. Next up: Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, the Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef Award Winners and James Beard Award-Nominated chefs behind Memphis' 
Cozy Corner
Las Tortugas
Carey: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. We've returned that winter castle overlooking the grey lake, spotted with gold, half-dead sunlight, built atop some ancient, terrible thing. In case you missed it, the Gorga/Giudice/Wakile/Rosie/Bread/Bread/Bread/Bread/Wine/Bread/Bread/Bread clans have converged at a "retreat" house on Lake George in order to (according to Teresa) "heal holistically" as a family unit; to put aside their past rivalries and bad blood and come together as a giant, scalding calzone. At the end of 
Carey: Back in their individual rooms, the three parties recapped the extremely disturbing display of violence, and each noted that just about every person involved in the scuffle was covered in a strange tar-like substance. This sooty, sticky blackness coated their house sweaters and jeans. "What's this black s**t?!" Rich asks. The black s**t -- that same black s**t that seeped through the earth below the castle ballroom, hearing the vibrations of mounting tension above like moths to a dim lamp above the door of a barn -- hearing the pain, the anger, growing thicker, stickier, oozing through the ballroom carpet, onto the clothes of Joe, and Joe, and Teresa and Melissa, and Kathy and Rich and Rosie, passing through the sweater wool, onto their flesh, into their blood, their bones, starting a humming sound, first uncertain -- maybe some distant train horn beyond the hills around them, soon becoming louder and louder. Rich tries to unsuccessfully coax Teresuh and her bro into patching things up post-fight. Kathy maybe says the best quote of the night: "I was just worried about my nose job." Melissa says, "Saddam Hussein was someone's brotha, too!" to Joe Gorga (and I died), and then Teresuh and Juicy Joe Giudice take a bath together and some waiter with a ponytail who was probably found wandering around the castle grounds by a cameraman, comes into the bathroom and serves them rosé that Teresuh and Joe lick off each other's bodies.
Carey: The best part of this episode was the transition shots between scenes, with a shot of one of the castle's many towers and fast moving clouds above, like you're watching a blend of Requiem for a Dream and a Henry James story. The morning after the fight, Teresa enlists Caroline to come up to the lake and try to tawk some sense into her bro. Caroline pretends to be like, "Oh my god whaaaat why" but is secretly so, so happy that Teresa is asking her for help. SO HAPPY. She runs into her secret room inside her walk-in closet where she digs another tally mark into her "Times I've Helped People" wall, throws on a Sherpa sweater and heads upstate. As her SUV charges up the Northeast Extension, Kim D the crow flies above, trailing her, making sure she finds her way.
Carey: Meanwhile, another guest pulls up to the castle. DR. V, the therapist! Dr. V is a therapist from L.A. She was also seen on another Bravo show, LA Shrinks, and of course, The Real Housewives of OC, where her legitimacy as a therapist was in question. ANYWAY! She's JUST in from L.A., give her a break. She tells Teresuh she's "Italian" where it matters, and puts to her crotch. Okay. They sit on some couches and talk loudly and Dr. V cusses, cause she's a real loose cannon! And from L.A.! I do have to say, though, that she does make some coherent points, especially when talking about Teresuh's possible wrongdoing with the rumors that Melissuh was a strippa. At breakfast, Dr. V tries to get Melissuh and Teresuh to have an open dialogue about it, and they yell s'more. V-dawg invites Joe Gorga for a private therapy sesh, away from the riff-raff.
Carey: The real good stuff happens when Teresuh and brudda Joe sit down together with Empress V to talk it out. Joe flat-out tells V that he wants to leave this retreat weekend and never see his sister again. The good doctor is sort of like, "Ya that's prob a good idea," and then she tells Joe that Teresuh was used to taking care of him when they were young, and has been struggling to let her baby brother go into the arms of another caretaker/woman. Joe agrees. Then V FINALLY says, "That is kind of f*cked up, Joe," and the collective viewership breathes a sigh of relief that someone has finally said it out loud. However, when Teresa joins them, V suggests that the two of them need to spend some time alone together, away from their spouses, and for whatever reason, she completely changes her mind in agreeing that Joe should leave the castle.
After its 
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Internet-themed crayons. Love www.purple and plug & play pink. [via 
New king! Sorry, Harry. [via 
Jay Z's 
You can't unsee this shit. [via 
Psychedelic Brit-rockers Palma Violets
Electro-pop superstars La Roux
Rock god Johnny Marr
British R&B chanteuse Jessie Ware
Rapper (and leggings lover!) 2 Chainz
Sir Paul's guitar-playing progeny James McCartney
Aussie retro-rockers Tame Impala
Indie-turned-chart topping twins Tegan and Sara
'90s alt-rap collective Jurassic5
Canadian indie-pop vets Stars
Buzzy Brit punks Savages
Swedish dance pop duo/queens of not giving a fuck, Icona Pop, have announced that their much-hyped debut album, This Is...Icona Pop, will arrive on September 24. In the meantime, you can listen to their brand new single, "All Night," a glittery dance track with thumping bass and catchy hooks that are almost as ear worm-y as those in "I Love It," below.
This is an Emergency Best Friend Request to whoever is behind the genius Tumblr "
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Plop. [
L-R: Artist Petro Wodkins and his fake Armani diaper ad
Name? 
Our very own Mr. Mickey is featured in Levi's® 501® Interpretations, a new, limited-edition coffee table book coming out in August. The book's premise is simple: cool, stylish people rocking a look complemented by some classic 501® jeans. Along with MM, there's a slew of other NYC fashion heavyweights in the book -- check out a few more below. [
Alan Cumming
Jane Herman
