The Mandarin Hotel Bar in Las Vegas on the 23rd floor has the best view

I network all over Las Vegas to build up the brand that I am representing. I am always looking for different places to go that are upscale, luxury and eclectic to attract the right clientele not hookers.

For the last six month’s I have made it a point three times a week to hit the Mandarin Oriental Bar on the 23rd floor. This is probably one of the most modern, impressive and hip bars the Vegas Strip has to offer because of a few key factors. They have the most breathtaking views of the Strip as well as modern furniture and large glass window’s mixed with comfort where you can get lost in a corner with friends and no one would ever know you were there. At night the lights of the strip illuminate parts of the bar and make you feel like you own the town because it’s literally in your lap. 

What makes a bar besides the booze, the bartenders do! The head bartender, Michael Lapenna who is and Italian Jewish guy from New York and open to any color and race, has the most amazing cocktail recipes ever.  Before you know it, your ass is firmly planted exactly where it was 4 hours prior because Michael has done his job well with making you the most amazing drinks while you are surrounded by some really interesting people who have a lot to say.  Michael has a specialty drink that’s going on the new menu that he shared with me called the Green Monster. Go figure, he named it that considering he is probably a Yankee’s fan, but it works for me because I am a die hard Red Sox fan. So what exactly is in a Green Monster?  Here are the ingredients

honey & basil

muddle with belvedere

velvet falerum

maraschino cherry liqueur

rhubarb bitters

lemon juice

ginger infused simple syrup

This drink ain’t cheap, so be prepared to spend the $20 you would pay for a lap dance for this drink. You may not get an erection but you will get buzzed and it will last longer. To be honest my favorite cocktail at the Mandarin Oriental is the Old Fashioned made by my other favorite bartender Anthony. This is a healthy pour that’s not too sour or too sweet and doesn’t knock you the fuck out! The Mandarin Oriental bar is not for those who want two for one drink specials, its a classy establishment without the dirty rift-raff, great food, better service and probably the best room with a view in Las Vegas.The only part that sucks is that the bar closes early at 1 am  on weekdays and two am on the weekends.  For more information on this incredible hotel and bar, please click here

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Jason Arasheben will host a special Give Love Charity event in Vegas with special guest Katy Perry

Tomorrow Jan 27, 2012, famed Jeweler Jason Arasheben of Jason of Beverly Hills will be hosting a special Give Love charity event in Las Vegas at the Mirage Hotel to kick off the grand opening of 1 Oak. Accompanying Jason in hosting this event will be special guest and mega star Katy Perry and designer collaborators, J Molliniari and Markus Mollinari.

Give Love charity co-founders,  Patricia Arquette and Rosetta Getty will attend the celebration. There will also be a special live performance by Jordanian-American recording artist, Ferras.

This charity does amazing things like supports temporary housing development in Haiti as well as eco-sanitation efforts. This event is part of  a three day celebration to raise awareness for these efforts and the opening of 1 Oak.

I am sure this will be a huge success, because Jason doesn’t do things half assed, he really goes for it! If you want to contribute or find out more about this incredible charity. please click here

Banksy’s 2010 Exit Through the Gift Shop is a must see art documentary

I don’t really know what it is about pop culture, the art of Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, the music of the Ramones and the spirit of 1977 in NYC that gives me a huge stiffy!  I guess it was a decadent time that is all tied together by timeless passion. I have yet to feel that with any other era, and I wasn’t even there for it. 

In the last 5-10 years, Graffiti are has been all the rage, whether it’s Shepard’s Fairey with his iconic Obey images of late wrestler Andre the Giant, French artist Space Invader, or the most notorious and mysterious artist of our time British art deviant Banksy.  All these dudes are pretty fucking young and really fucking paid. 

I have been watching a lot of art documentaries in my free time and lately I was turned on to this incredible art documentary, which is actually directed by Banksy, called Exit Through the Gift Shop, which was released in 2010.  This film was originally supposed to be a documentary of a french fat dudes obessesion with street art and the likes of Banksy, but Banksy very cleverly flipped the switch and turned this into a documentary about Thierry Guetta, the French fat dude. 

This documentary chronicles Theirry Guetta’s constant documenting of his every waking moment on film, from a chance encounter with his cousin, the artist Invader, to his introduction to a host of street artists with a focus on Shepard Fairey and Banksy, whose anonymity is preserved by obscuring his face and altering his voice, to Guetta’s eventual fame as a street artist himself. 

Exit to the Gift Shop was nominated for an Academy Award  for Best Documentary Feature and has received international critical acclaim as well as speculation to whether this film is for real or mockumentary. Either way, it’s highly entertaining, fascinating, funny, exhilerating and shows the excitement of the art world all over it! Do yourself a favor, watch this movie because it’s one of the most inspirational things you will watch in a very non conventional way!

Please click the play button to get aroused by the trailer!

Even Chuck Bass wears Paul Smith

                                 Chuck Bass wearing the Paul Smith Top Coat

                                         The PS Paul Smith Top Coat retail $965

These days it’s hard to find a top coat that fits over a suit that doesn’t make you look like a frigging lawyer. Top coats have been a staple for businessmen for years and to be honest I have been looking for that right one that isn’t to plain and isn’t ungodly expensive.

For the last 5 month’s I have been obsessing over the most incredible top coat from Paul Smith at the Crystals Mall in Las Vegas where I first saw it. The coat is grey with an oh so cool faux leopard fur made out of pony hair around the collar which gives it that edge but with class and distinction. When I first saw it, I was like Fuck, this is going to be at least $2,000. Then when I finally had the nads to try it on, to my surprise the coat was less than half that at $965. Even for me that was a bit pricey because I am cheap.

So before leaving for my vacation for London, I was like screw it I am definitely getting it, even if it doesn’t go on sale. but something held me back. I think it was my wallet. A few days ago, I was watching my biggest guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl, OK I know it’s tres gay, but what can I say I have been watching it from the beginning and now I am hooked. As I am watching the show, I see one of the lead characters Chuck Bass, played by English actor Ed Westwick as pictured above wearing my coat. I was like, shit I have to get that coat if it’s still available because it looks outstanding on. I was shocked to see it on the show because usually a lot of the clothes worn by Chuck Bass are custom made because he is a fucking billionaire on the show, so there’s no way you would think you could actually afford to buy it.

So yesterday I went back to Paul Smith at the Crystals Mall in Las Vegas and I almost sharted because not only is the coat still available in my size, it’s priced at half off! It’s a fucking sign, I have to buy it now obviously because even Chuck Bass is wearing Paul Smith. Haha, Ya right!

2012 Golden Globe queen Meryl Streep rains supreme wearing the Jaeger- leCoultre 101 Etrier

At the most recent 2012 Golden Globes, the most elegant lady of film. Meryl Streep won her eighth Golden Globe. Meryl has been nominated a record breaking sixteen times for an Academy Award and has taken two out of the sixteen Oscar’s home. This year I predict it will be three for her role as Margaret Thatcher in her most recent movie, The Iron Lady.

I can tell you from first hand experience of my brief encounter with her almost two years ago now at a prestigious Hotel in Beverly Hills, that she is one of the most gracious and warm women I ever met besides my own mother. She couldn’t have been nicer, and I will say she deserves all the success she receives and I really hope it continues, because I have yet to see anybody in Hollywood today who has her humility and timeless elegance.

She also has impeccable taste, because adorned on her wrist while she was receiving the award was the smallest and most elegant timepiece that watch manufacture Jaeger- LeCoultre makes for women. This watch is known as the 101 Ertier.  This watch houses the smallest mechanical movement in the world that Jaeger-leCoutre originally started manufacturing in 1929.  This watch fits Meryl perfectly because like her it’s sophisticated with a beautiful black satin strap, subtle because of it’s size and yet highly evolved because of it’s mechanical movement. The case of the watch is white gold and is set with only the best top Whesselton diamonds.

In the movie Iron Lady, Meryl wears a vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso in yellow gold, part of Jaeger-LeCoultre Heritage Gallery. With all her fame, critical claim, elegance and popularity, it’s nice to see a women like Meryl Streep doing so well because she is so down to earth and relatable and yet has the most subtle and exquisite taste.

Please check out Meryl Streep’s interview on the Today Show after winning her eighth Golden Globe by clicking the play button below to see how incredible she really is.

The Barrymore is one of the swankiest places in Las Vegas

Last week, I was on my way to an event at The Royal House on 99 Convention Center Dr. I was with my friend RT, who drove us in his mother of sperm colored Cadillac. RT, a pimp in his own right, and he kind of looks like a bald version of the dad in the movie American Pie. You know the bushy eyebrows and that perverted smile, which is so endearing.

So, we enter the Royal House Hotel, which has been in Vegas for over fifty years and RT looks like he’s going to crap his pants immediately because of the location and surroundings. I think he thought his precious pimp Cadillac was going to get spray painted. I mean seriously it wasn’t that bad. So after laughing my ass off at what a women my friend was being, we finally parked in the back lot of the hotel, where RT made sure he parked under a giant light, so we could find his car. I was like dude you car is almost bright white, it sticks out like a dick without pubic hair, WTF are you worried about?  After RT got his regular heart beat back and his balls dropped below his dick where they belong, we walked in to the hotel and I have to say it was actually quite nice.

It was very loungy and boutique feeling atmosphere.  There was a very colorful piano in the center as you walk in that looked like something out of Elton John’s early Rocket Man tour days. A very cool modern bar with a very dark lounge next to it. That was the scary part. It wasn’t well lit and it definitely felt like either you were going to get killed or you were there for the gang bang!

RT and I decided to GTFO (Get The Fuck Out) and check out the restaurant on the other side which is called the Barrymore. This place was fantastic! I have heard such amazing things about it. It has the most rave reviews and the coolest interior, which is a combination of old school New York charm mixed with the modernity of today’s chic. The Barrymore is the latest creation of restaurant and club mogul Billy Richardson.  Even thought the bar only has 6 bar stools, it’s one of the most inviting and comfortable bars I have been to. The outdoor patio space is a modern day living room outside with a giant wrap around sectional couch with a glass enclosed fire pit above it. There are also little nooks of comfy chairs and couches with tables that make you feel like your home. Even if your cold, it’s worth sitting outside, sipping on your favorite single malt beverage and sucking down a stogie.

The two dining rooms one better than the next, but cool in their own ways, have old film tins all over the ceiling surrounded by the coolest furniture inviting you to stay for hours, sit back enjoy your meal and the person you are with. The menu is quite eclectic, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.  RT and I stayed had some appetizers and cocktails, ditched our event, met some really classy people and got one of the best service experiences ever.  This place is so great and what I have been looking for that I have since been back 3 times and have been blown away each time.

If your looking for something to do slightly off the Vegas Strip and want a new experience with charm, swank, sophistication,great food, good prices go to the Barrymore, I guarantee you’ll be back because once is not enough!

To check out the Barrymore’s menu and reviews, please click here

Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey is the best Wiskey ever!

Jack Honey (the most amazing whiskey you will ever consume)

The Baccarat Crystal Glass Get yourself one of these. It will taste better trust me

I like really simple shit and have very simple needs. Being a punk rocker, Jack Daniels has always been a staple drink for me, not that I am an alcoholic or anything. The only problem is I find to drink good old Jack, I found myself mixing it with a big glass of Coca Cola which is probably one of the most iconic drinks ever, but hella sweet and not really that good for you.

I guess, I wanted something more out of Whiskey, and last year my prayers were answered when I tried Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey for the first time. I felt like I had stumbled upon the liquid of the god’s! I was amazed by how smooth the taste was, still very distinct Jack Daniels, but without the burn and a little sweeter. It is quite possibly the best whiskey you will ever consume. The best part is you can drink it neat, on the rocks, or shake that shit in a cocktail shaker and poor it cold, and it taste’s perfect in every variation. Shit, I even bought a single $150 Baccarat Crystal Glass to drink it out of.  Go figure, you can buy a whole bottle of Jack Tennessee Honey for under $20 if you can find it. I know it’s retarded, but this is the only way to drink it because you feel like a king!

Wrist Shot of the week 1/16/12-1/22/12

Original IWC Big Pilot Watch released in 2002

                                             

The wrist shot of the week comes to me from a good friend from San Francisco. My friend SH who recently purchased a brand new original Big Pilot Watch in stainless steel with Pellaton movement.

Even though this watch is mammoth 46.2 mm , this watch screams vintage, masculine, cool and don’t fuck with me! SH has a pretty small wrist and he is rocking this watch with confidence and it looks really good on him.

The watch has a in house 7 day movement, is on a brown buffalo strap with deploymant buckle, classic IWC arabic numerals and date at the six o’clock and large onion crown. This watch is almost an exact reproduction of a watch that IWC originally made in the 50’s. Pilots use to strap the watch around their thy when they were flying, so when they looked down they could read it at a quick glance because of it’s size. In my mind not only is this watch one of the ultimate watches to have for your collection, but it just shows you,  you don’t have to be a silver back ape to wear it!

IWC kill the MARK 16 for SIHH 2012 with the new Pilot’s Top World Timer

I really don’t understand what IWC is doing? I mean they really don’t get it! I am all for evolving and changing and staying fresh and exciting, but this is a horrendous attempt at trying to diversify your product mix.

World timer watches were really big like 5 years ago, I know shit is cyclical and comes back, but this is a really desperate move on IWC’s part to be noticed. This year for SIHH 2012, IWC chose to release this poor excuse they call , The Pilot’s Top World Timer. Can you say disgusting in 50 languages? That’s exactly what this watch reeks of. I am actually offended. They basically took the Mark 16, made it bigger by going to a 45 mm  case and then turned it into the biggest tranny ever by adding the world timer function to the dial. It’s way too busy and way too big of an eye soar, especially when you know it’s really a Mark 16.

The beauty of an IWC Pilot’s watch is it’s simplicity and elegance at the same time. To turn a classic like this into a world timer is absolutely heart breaking. It’s like taking a piss on the Mona Lisa. What gets me heated, is that IWC is the one who pioneered the classic simple aesthetic and made it famous with introducing the most incredible pilot’s watches to the world and now they almost don’t even care any more.

Here are the details

Ref. 3262 


The case, in stainless steel, measures 45mm x 13.5mm. It has an AR-coated sapphire crystal. 


It shows current local time and can be advanced or turned back in one-hour increments to show the new local time, even when crossing the International Date Line.