Spots to Hit: Swine NYC - 531 Hudson St.

SWINE NYC

Time is Illmatic Trailer

Illmatic came out a couple of days before my sixteenth birthday. The album took my life by storm. The streets were buzzing a few years prior to who this dude was kicking these rhymes, let alone saying the things he was saying, it just seemed so far ahead of its time. 20 years later the album to me is still untouched by any other hip hop album that has been released and until years of recent, has yet to have received the level of respect it so rightfully deserves.

Here is the trailer, if you haven’t caught the flick on tv or in the movies, you’re sleepin’. And as the album says, “Never Sleep, ‘cause Sleep is The Cousin of Death.”

With age comes wisdom, and with wisdom come great memories of things long gone. This album should take us all back to the days of quality boom bap Hip Hop and rhythmic patterns unheard before.

Action Bronson - F*ck Thats Delicious *NSFW*

Meyer Lansky

Meyer Lansky “The Mobs Accountant” 1902 – 1983

Food Inspired Art from a Legend... Nicer TATS Cru

Ok so this isnt about Food, but ya can't lie and say it isnt DOPE.

Much Respect to King Nicer & the entire TATS Cru, hands down the OG Mural Kings.

Sinfully Delicious Summertime Cocktails, Las Vegas Style. (Courtesy of MGM Grand Resorts International)

This summer, the pools at MGM Resorts International properties are offering thirst-quenching libations that are anything but ordinary. Edible alcohol-infused fruit cocktails, exotic mojitos, twisted lemonades and low-calorie concoctions deliver tasty ways to combat the desert heat. Everyone deserves an escape from the mundane routines that we all get stuck in, whether it be handling business to get the bills paid or the taxing responsibilities that come with being a parent or caring for a loved one. 

What better way to take your mind off all of the stresses being thrown your way than to relax poolside in Las Vegas sipping on some of the finest cocktails to ever be poured on the face of this planet? Read along to see who is pouring what and where you need to be as the Summer heat begins to become unbearable.

Exquisite Edibles

Edible libations break the boundaries to quench thirst and calm hunger during the hottest summer days. 

Available at Bellagio’s Cypress pool, the Doriae is equal parts cocktail and snack. Fresh watermelon slices vacuum-sealed with Tanteo jalapeño tequila, raspberry syrup and lime juice are presented with a martini glass full of the sweet and spicy mixture. Guests may dip their fruit in the cocktail for an extra burst of flavor or sip the libation as an accompaniment to the infused watermelon slices.

Snow cones are all grown up at Bellagio’s pool with offerings like Simple Cherry, which is crafted with Skyy cherry vodka, cherry syrup and house-made salted caramel sauce. Guests can grab a spoon and escape the heat with this intoxicating blend.

(For more Cocktails & Photos, click Read More)

Recipes To Get Your Mind Right: Mixed Drink Recipes from the Great Googa Mooga, in Brooklyn

Last weekend, New Yorkers relished the opportunity to take in the best the city had to offer in the way of music, food & drinks at the annual Googa Mooga festival in Brooklyn.  Despite a rainy backdrop, thousands of adults packed Prospect Park to listen to the likes of Matt & Kim and The Flaming Lips while sipping on some top-notch cocktails made by a few premier NYC mixologists.

Knowing that our readers love strong drinks, one of our good friends shot us a few recipes they had booming in their booth at the event. With names like Quiet Storm & One More Chance, yeah the groups performing might have been a bit on the rock side, but the drinks sounded all Hip Hop. Over all the 3 day event saw over 50 food vendors and 75 beer and alcohol manufacturers do their thing for the lovely people of BK. Heavyweights from the big East Coast in the form of food and drink on hand serving up everything from duck sausage to grilled Maine lobster and Guiness stout brownies to fois gras doughnuts, this years food line up was something to behold.

Check out these drink recipes for new ways to kick up your next back yard function, picnic or whatever you choose to call it.

Enjoy Responsibly.

Uncle Buck

Ingredients:

1 ¼ oz Tequila Don Julio Blanco

¾ oz Pineapple Juice

½ oz Fresh Lime Juice

1/3 oz Ginger Syrup

1 tsp Green Chartreuse

Directions:

Combine Don Julio Blanco, pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, ginger syrup and green chartreuse in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Shake well

Strain contents into Collins cocktail glass over fresh ice.

Quiet Storm

Ingredients:

1 oz Bulleit Bourbon

¾ ounce lemon juice

1 oz extra dry vermouth

¼ oz simple syurp

Top with ginger beer

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing tin

Strain contents into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish with 1 mint sprig and lemon

One More Chance

Ingredients:

1 ¼ oz George Dickel Rye

¼ oz Gran Classico bitters

¼ oz maple syrup

¾ oz lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing tin

Strain contents into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish with 1 orange half wheel

Questlove to open Hybrid a Fried Chicken, Dumplings & Cupcake Stand

?uestLove / QuestLove is without a doubt, one of the most amazing musicians of my lifetime, do your homework if you do not know who this man is, right now. When we heard awhile back that he was going to be opening a restaurant of some sort, we new it would be different than your average eatery who gains its fame from the celebrity name attached to the spot. 

The Brother Question has always strayed from blending in, as evidenced by the maintaining of his Afro when the trend has come and gone multiple times over the span of his 20+ years on the music scene. So when it began to be rumored that Questo of The Roots would be opening “Hybrid” a Fried Chicken, Dumplings and Cupcakes stand in New York’s Chelsea Market, it went without saying that the final result would be something flyer than your average kiosk. 

Teaming up with the highly acclaimed and accredited, Stephen Starr to open Hybrid was a genius move as well because if there is one thing Questloves partner Stephen Starr knows, its how to create a successful brand and maintain its presence in a constantly changing market.

[Source: Philadelphia Foobooz] 

HybridNYC

Rao's Heads West & Prepares To Take Over Hollywood

For the last 100+ years in East Harlem, a restaurant known for its notorious clientele (and the fact it only seats 10) has been putting out some of the most incredible & traditional Southern Neapolitan meals one could ever imagine eating. And imaging eating their food is most likely what you would do, simply because its nearly impossible for you to get a table there unless your name holds weight in the streets or your willing to shell out a few thousand bucks before you even sit down.

Straight Outta Brooklyn - Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (Video)