Restaurant brand Momofuku began life with its New York Noodle Bar in 2004 and in the two decades since, has opened more than 15 restaurants across North America, each building on founder chef David Chang’s vision of boundary-pushing cuisine. Since its naissance Momofuku “became known for reshaping Asian-American cuisine and challenging dining conventions with a bold and innovative approach,” according...
Located on the corner of Park Avenue South and East 30th Street in Manhattan’s Midtown, Hotel Park Ave is the artist formerly known as the Mondrian Park Avenue. Its change in name is thanks to its change in owner: international hospitality company Lore Group announced its acquisition of the site and mooted its subsequent rebrand late last year, and to...
Olive + Gourmando is a Montréal bakery, café, and restaurant that opened its doors in 1998 and has since become something of a culinary institution. With its expansion to a second location, Caserne – a design studio also based in Montréal – was brought in to refresh its identity. The aim of the project, according to Caserne, was to “support...
If you’re reading BP&O, you’re more likely than most to be the type who knows their counters from their stems; their terminals from their tittles, and so on. In short, a TypeNerd – categorically one of the best kinds of nerd. And what do nerds like? Hyper specific ‘injokes’ that aren’t exactly striving to be funny, perhaps you might call...
Ideas around the ‘new codes of luxury’ have come up a lot lately; an updated, contemporary take on what makes something look special, valuable, covetable, and ultimately, expensive. The long and short of it is that it’s out with the old – lavish foils, gold everywhere, bling and ornamentation and ostentation – and in with a quieter, more subtle aesthetic...
I could be totally wrong, but it really does look like New York-based branding agency The Working Assembly had a lot of fun working on the branding for Pinky Swear. A restaurant and cocktail lounge on Chrystie St on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Pinky Swear opened earlier this year as a fascinating concept unlike anything we’ve really encountered before: yes,...
If New York really is the city that never sleeps, that’s in no small part thanks to coffee – and now, increasingly, a newer entrant to the socially acceptable uppers scene, matcha. Capitalising on the growing interest in the sludgy green pick-me-up is 12, a new-ish matcha-centric café and retail store that opened last year in Manhattan’s NoHo area. Sited...
The social and cultural activity of sharing stories has been, and continues to be, an essential part of human experience. Storytelling contributes to the cohesion of, and sometimes control over, individuals and groups, preserving and passing on knowledge, and instilling moral values. Many of us live by the values and knowledge established over thousands of years through stories. With improvisation...
Over the past few decades, high-street menu-scribbler Wagamama has become a rare beacon of actually-very-nice-food among a sea of uninspiring spicy chicken, Giraffes, and Five Guys (arguably, simply too many guys). It turns out Wagamama has some pretty big-name siblings: Mayfair’s Michelin starred, celebrity-beloved Hakkasan; Thai stalwart Busaba; Cantonese eaterie Yauatcha; and Turkish restaurant chain Yamabahce all sit within the...
LES Tigre – not to be confused with seminal electroclash/riot grrrl combo Le Tigre – is a cocktail lounge in Manhattan’s Lower East Side area, which opened at the end of last year and apparently combines ‘sophistication and refinement in drink, sound and ambiance’ with an entrance that boasts ‘an original graffiti-worn door’. So far, so hip, amirite? It all...
Having been a vegan for almost 20 years now, various tropes have come and gone. In the early days, for the health conscious it was pretty much all about brown paper packaged Holland and Barrett goods, and references to the Young Ones cooking lentils. For the not so health conscious (hello!) it was ketchup sandwiches. Gradually the Quorn contingent came...
Who doesn’t love a cheeky cocktail, especially one designed to grab and go? According to WEEKEND drinks, its cocktails are eight times faster to serve than it would take to make the same mix from scratch. With ready-made drinks – that’s ‘RTD’ in marketing slang – becoming increasingly popular, WEEKEND aims to ‘cut through the noise’ with a ‘laid back...