Alife Rivington Club, Lower East Side, NYC

Alife Rivington Club (ARC) is definitely the best sneaker store that I have ever seen!  I remember my first experience of Alife Rivington Club several years ago when it was just a blacked out door with no sign at all.  My boy was like, "I know its around here somewhere."  We approached the blacked out glass door and all the sudden got buzzed in.  From the outside (especially the neighborhood) you wouldn't think much of the place, until the door opens up to shoe mecca! 



They have definitely made a name for themselves in the sneaker biz.  ARC will have the most unique, up to date and rare sneaker selection that you will ever see.  You can pick up Alife's original brand or limited design collaborations with companies such as Reebok and NIke.  Also, while you're there, check out their A.R.C sports store next door.

Original Alife Nike Dunks

The Rivington Club
158 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002
212 · 375 · 8128

Store hours are:
Mon–Sat: 12PM-7PM
Sun: 12PM-6PM

I am glad that they do not have MOS Burger in America or I would be a complete fat ass.  This place definitely takes advantage of fresh local produce.  I must say I don't eat fast food in America but the service and quality of their fast food makes it a totally different story. 


Mos Burger, Ropongi, Tokyo

Mos Burgers Fresh Produce List

Here is the information of the days produce.  It tells you where your veggies where grown and the name of the farmer that grew them! 

Teuscher Chocolates is definitely the best chocolate in the world.  I will take the Pepsi challenge to any other chocolates if I have any takers?  I first discovered this heaven of a place when I first moved to NYC back in 1999.  It was right under my hair salon Toni & Guy on 60th and Madison. (Which is now a Tigi hair academy)  My stylist Kimberly gave me one of these bad boys and from then on I was a life timer!  Then Oprah opened her big mouth about this place and the rest is history.  Bit expensive but not as expensive as La Maison du Chocolat and its 10x better!  ps:  the Champagne Truffle is what you are after!

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee at Agata & Valentina

I know I featured this coffee in one of my previous blogs "I Found it in NYC!.. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee No. 1"  but that was for where I found the coffee being served in a restaurants / cafe.  I now know where you can buy this exotic coffee per pound.  Get ready to pay a hefty handful for this Jamaican treat.  Put it this way... One of Starbucks most expensive coffees is the 10% Kona Blend which runs $14.95 per lb.  I found this Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee at Agata & Valentina in NYC for $45.00 per lb.  Not only that but you can also get the real deal Kona here for $30.59 per lb.  Not that 10% blend crap at Starbucks.  On a side note: They also have an excellent Oreo Cheesecake there just in case you are looking for a lil sweet to go with your coffee.

Agata & Valentina: 1505 1st Ave. @ 79th St. New York, NY 10021 Phone: (212) 452-0690

Agata has much more then just a great selection of coffee.  Agata & Valentina is definitely one of the best places to go for high quality specialty Italian foods and is a must visit for all foodies.  The also have a wide selection of cheeses and already prepared dishes as well as all sorts of goodies.  They are also one of the few place in America that have Jamón ibérico de bellota!  ($100+ per pound) The best cured ham in the world!  I am gonna have to write about that next!  

With all the mobile meals to choose from in NYC, you have to know the know to pick the right one.  Well, this is the truck to seek out.  Dessert Truck is the creation of former pastry sous chef at Le Cirque, Jerome Chang, and Columbia Business School grad, Chris Chen.  These two decided to partner up and started serving delicious gourmet desserts on the streets of new york.  


Dessert Truck, NYC, St. Marks and 3rd Ave

So far I have tried the NY Cheesecake, Milk Chocolate Mousse and the Molten Chocolate Cake and they were all freakin awesome!  I also had this Passion Fruit special which was also damn delicious.  You can catch this truck Monday - Friday: 12p - 5p, at Park Ave and 52nd St or at night you can catch them Monday - Sunday: 6p - closing (about midnight) at St. Marks Place and 3rd Ave. 

3G iPhone kicks much ass but many of you are wondering where in the world to go and get ringtones for your phone.  Well, I definitely found the best site to go and get your favorite ringtones as well as make your own. 


www.audiko.net - ringtone website

Audiko.net has almost every song and artist you can think of.  The cool thing is you can also add to the extensive library of music by creating your own ringtone.  All you do is choose a song on your computer, upload it to audiko, select the section that you would like to use and bam!  You created your first ringtone.  Super easy.  There are some other cool features on this site like being able to send ringtones to your friends on Facebook.  They also give you the codes for you to post it on some of your favorite sites.  Here is a ringtone that I created with this track my boy Agallah (INgrooves/Universal) sent me.  He just got done with this remix of Led Zeppelin's hit "Immigrant Song" which will be out very soon. 

by audiko.net — ringtones.

"Where we from 4th verse" by Agallah

Here is the ringtone that I am currently rocking on my phone by MGMT.

by audiko.net — ringtones.

"Kids" by MGMT

Pandora Radio

For those that have not checked out Pandora Radio.  This is a must.  Do it now!  Ok, I know that I have been gone for while but I am back and I have tons of Blogs lined up so keep you eyes open.  Back to Pandora.  This "free" radio site is awesome!  Check out one of my station now on the Tanaka Report sidebar.  I know similar sites such as Rhapsody that charge for this kind of service.  You basically pick one of your favorite artist or song and create a station that will only play music similar to the artist / song that you selected.  You can also play a lil "Ebert & Roeper" or in my time.. "Siskel & Ebert" and thumbs up and thumbs down the song playing.  As well as bookmark the song and or artist.  You can even buy the song or album from Amazon or iTunes from a direct link off Pandora.  You can create a Profile and network and share your music and stations with others.  You can even download the Pandora app on your iPhone and on some Sprint phones.  I swear you can do everything with that damn iPhone!  The GPS is a lil scary as well.  The other day "The Man" was tracking me way too accurately! 

24hr. Apple store 767 Fifth Ave.24hr. Apple store 767 Fifth Ave.

To me it is a no brainer!  Mac is the winner by a land slide.  Sure PC is what I started with, but Mac is what I use now and will always use forever.  I have a dinosaur G4 desktop and a iBook G4 that is barely hanging in there.  I will eventually have all the new Mac products.  I think the only negative thing I can think of is that some smaller websites and programs are not so old Mac friendly.  Now with the new Intel Mac's most of those problems are solved.  Hell, the best of both worlds!  Why would you pick another computer?  The best thing about Mac is that your dealing with one technical support team which is "Apple Care."  P.C's support can vary greatly from each company because every company has there own technical support team and their performances are based on the size of the company.  I just bought my father the new iMac and it is awesome and now my sister and I both want one!


24hr. Apple store 767 Fifth Ave is basement level and is the coolest store ever.

If you live here in NYC, then you have to get a Mac.  What other computer can you buy that has a 24hr. store and personal technical support or better known as the "Genius Bar".  The Apple Store on 5th ave. is awesome.  Not only does it look cool as hell but the 24hr. genius bar is a life saver.  I have totally brought in my computer at 3am all freaking out because of some hardware failure.  That's because like a dumb ass, I set down a magnet on the keyboard for just a sec.  My hard drive started making this awful grinding noise and I took it off immediately but it still fried my hard drive.  I called Apple care and they told me that it was a goner and I lost all my info.  So I jumped in a cab and went straight to the Mac store, which luckily was open in the middle of the night.  I totally recommend going during those times.  Other wise is a freaking zoo.  It's actually their fault in a way because it was a magnetic attachment for my iSight.  Why would you even make a magnetic attachment for a computer add on anyways?


24hr. Apple store 767 Fifth Ave in the middle of the day is crazy packed!

The Genius Bar completely saved my life and computer!  They really lived up to their name "genius" there.  Apple care told me over the phone that the error message that I was receiving meant that my computer was unrecoverable.  The guy at the Genius Bar took my computer and hooked it up to his computer, did a couple of things and BAM!  My info was saved!  So I immediately bought an external hard drive and backed up all my info.  For those of you that haven't done that yet.  I highly recommend that was well!  You can buy these lil hard drives that will hold hundreds of GB's now a days for really cheap.  Don't worry if you do not live in NYC.  All Apple Stores have genius bars, just not 24hr. ones. 


24hr. Apple store 767 Fifth Ave at 3am is all yours!  Skip the chaos and come at night!

USA vs. Argentina, Sunday June 9th at Giants Stadium

Wow, what a game!  Over 78,600 people came to support their countries last night at Giants Stadium.  You could feel, see and hear the excitement in the air.  Even port authority was packed with soccer jerseys and fans all trying to get to the game.  I could not wipe the smile off my face immediately after I entered the parking lot.  People were all tailgating and gathered around starting their per-game chanting and cheering.  I was at the Red Bulls vs. Galaxy game with 66 thousand people but the support of the national team was a different world. 


USA fans chanting while entering the stadium

For those of you that have not experienced a national team game, I highly suggest it.  It is an incredible display of national team spirit.  Everyone is wearing their national colors and flags were flying everywhere.  People are chanting and screaming for their country and even a lil friendly opponent heckling was going on last night. 


USA's fan section

For me the real excitement was seeing Messi in action.  Seeing the whole game live is a totally different experience.  You really get to see the skills of the players shine through.  You get to see the whole field as the players sees it and you also get to see how they run off the ball.  Which is what really sets the better players above the rest.  I also got to see some other great players in action for the first time like Mascherano and Heinze.  I was upset to see that Riquelme and Tevez were not on the roster last night.  Would of been awesome and probably a different outcome if those guys were on the pitch.


USA vs. Argentina, Sunday June 9th at Giants Stadium


USA vs. Argentina, Sunday June 9th at Giants Stadium

Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay: "Justice"

For those of you that know them as Justice, the French duo Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay are more then just your average musicians.  Justice broke out in the music scene in 2003 with their remix of Simian's track "Never Be Alone," which later was renamed "We Are Your Friends" in 2006 for the commercial UK release.  This track won Justice the MTV Europe Music Award in 2006 for (Best Video).  After that, they remixed songs for many top artist such as N*E*R*D, Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim and even Britney Spears.  They didn't personally get noticed again till 2007 when "D.A.N.C.E" got nominated for (Video of the Year) at the MTV Video Music Awards.  Justice achieved their highest notoriety for their 2008 Grammy nominations for "D.A.N.C.E" (Best Dance Recording) and their album "†" for (Best Electronic/Dance Album).  They have even hit mainstream success with one their tracks "Genesis," which is the song that is featured on the new Cadillac Escalade commercial "If my Cadillac had a bathroom, I would live in it."


Justice: "D.A.N.C.E"



Besides making great music for the modern ear, they are also trying to appeal to your eyes with fashion as well.  Justice is teaming up with Surface to Air to come up with their own line of jeans and leather jackets.  They first linked up with Surface to Air when they worked on the "We Are Your Friends" music video together.


Justice: "We Are Your Friends"



Now working together in fashion, they came up with a limited edition series of 3 jackets (150 pieces) and 2 jeans.  Their new line should be hitting the stores this June and can be found at Surface To Air Paris, Surface To Air Brazil, Colette, Barneys, Lane Crawford, Isetan, Le Bon Marché, Paris Texas, Asylum, Le Shop, Incu. 



Although when I asked Barneys about the Jackets and Jeans a couple weeks ago, they looked at me as if I was on crazy pills.  One of the employees overheard me and mentioned that I wasn't the only one asking for them, so if you are interested in owning your own Justice apparel then you better act fast.


Cadillac Escalade commercial:  featuring "Genesis" by, Justice

Two days after winning the Champions League finals, Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of Manchester United, come to the U.S. for a lil R&R and house music.


Cristiano Ronaldo.  Soon to be 08 FIFA player of the year.

Holy crap!  I do not get star struck at all!  But, Cristiano Ronaldo! and other Manchester United players were in NYC last night on Friday May, 23rd at our event at Mansion with Bob Sinclair!  This is the second time that Man U. has come to one of our events.  Last time I got to see EPL players in NYC was when Giggs, Scholes and Smith came to Suede around 6 years ago.  


Bob Sinclar at Mansion


So you wanna know what people do with a extra $450,000 bonus for winning the most watched finals besides the world cup?  They come to listen to great house music in NYC!  I loved him before hand, but the fact that he was at our event, out of all the places in the world, let alone at Mansion with Bob Sinclair is way too cool!  For all you Manchester United fans, they are staying at the..... hahaha.  Should I tell you?  At the "W" Hotel!  (I am not going to tell you which location)  They probably came to NYC because it's the only place in the world that people would hardly even recognize them!  The soon to be the FIFA 08 player of the year and winners of the Champions League come to NYC to have fun without being hassled.  Now the big question is..  Is C-ron gonna stay at Manchester United now that they won the Champions Leauge?  Or is he gonna follow the last great Man U player David Beckham and go to Real Madrid?  Hopefully he will follow Becks shoes and come to MLS.  We can always dream can't we?


Bob Sinclar:  "World, Hold On"

For those of you that were wondering how to embed music to your favorite networking sites like Myspace and Facebook, then Imeem's is the way to go.  Actually, the cool thing about this social networking site (yes, yet another one!) is that it is the mixture of Myspace, YouTube and Photobucket into one site.  Plus you get to upload music which is a feature that these other sites do not offer.  Especially with all the download capabilities attached to it.  With the addition to uploading your own music, you can go check out the official artist profiles which has tons of videos and songs that you can view and listen to.  Plus you can check out the other artists that they are interested in, plus their friends and networks and so on. 


Imeem's player.

This is what the player looks like.  At the bottom of the player is where you can download the song via iTunes or Amazon, straight from the Imeem's player.  This site is a great one stop shop.  You can check out the artist profiles, look at videos and even purchase the music directly from Imeem's.  Plus, Imeem's gives you the HTML code so that you can embed it on your other favorite sites.  It's just a matter of time before Myspace adds this feature to their site. 

Sotheby's barely trickled over the estimated $360 million in contemporary art sales this past evening on Wednesday, May 14th by only $2 million to mark the highest total in the company's history. 


Francis Bacon "Triptych 1976" sold for $86.3 million @ Sotheby's

I had to feature this because not only is it astonishing that a record breaking $362 million in art was sold during these times but two artist that I have mentioned before broke personal and Sotheby's records as well.  Artist Takashi Murakami jumped for joy and screamed "bonzai" when his piece "My Lonesome Cowboy" crushed the estimated $4 million to a telephone bidder for $15 million.  You know you got it like that when you can purchase a $15 million piece of art over the phone!  Especially when it's a life size sculpture of a person masterbating!  When I was at his exhibit, I was wondering how much one of his sculptures would go for.  If his smaller sculptures go for that much, I wonder how much his bigger pieces would go for?


Takashi Murakami:  "My Lonesome Cowboy" sold for $15 million @ Sotheby's

Coincidentally, Marakami did a homage to Francis Bacon, who's work "TripTych 1976" was the highest sale of $86.3 million, which was a Sotheby's record for a contemporary piece of art.  On the other hand, Sotheby's found buyer for 88% of the pieces and out of 12% two Warhol's did not find owners that night.  One of Andy Warhol's works "Detail of the Last Supper (Christ 112 Times)"  only got $9.5 million which was a lil less then the estimated $10 to $15 million.  You know times are changing when Murakami can out sell Warhol. 


Andy Warhol:  "Detail of the Last Supper" sold for $9.5 million

Wanna know what Madonna's husband Guy Richie's is doing now a days?  He is making sick ass commercials for Nike, that's what!  It's no wonder they got so many uberstar players to make a cameo in the commercial.  (besides Nike's deep pockets)  For those of you that haven't seen it.  This is the best commercial I have seen in a while.  This is what commercials are suppose to be like.  It makes me want to go out and play soccer right now!  Guy Richie takes his film talent to the commercial media with his new Nike soccer commercial  "Take it to the next Level"  featuring everyone and their mother from Wenger, Gallas, Fabregas, Rooney, Ronaldo,  Materazzi, Ibrahimovic, Marquez, Ronaldinho and Van Nistelrooy.  It is a 1st person view of the career of a soccer player starting from the first division, premiership, and  all the way to the national team.  Of course he gets owned by Ronaldo!  Wow, what a insane production for a commercial. 


Nike soccer commercial "Take it to the Next Level" Directed by:  Guy Richie featuring "Don't Speak(I Came to make a Bang) by Eagles of Death Metal

Well I guess I am a lil bias because I play soccer and Guy Richie has made some of my favorite films.  For those of you that haven't seen his films, you have to check out "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch".  In case you were wondering what song and group he featured in the commercial and how do get it.  You can download it directly from here via iTunes and Amazon.  "Don't Speak (I Came to Make a Bang)" by Eagles of Death Metal.  For those of you that haven't heard of Imeem yet.  You should definitely check it out. 



To view in higher quality.  Go to Nike's direct page:
http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikefootball/en__EMEA/

Did you know that right here in NYC was the first pizza restaurant in America?  I have been living here for 9 years and have eaten it a couple times before at friends homes and during jobs.  But it took me watching a Food Network show about the history of pizza to find out about Lombardi's history.  Lombardi's was the first restaurant in America to make and serve the original Naples style pizza.  That is pretty crazy considering that pizza is now basically a food category.  They started off in 1897 in Little Italy as a grocery store and in 1905 was established as the first pizzeria in America.  It wasn't till after the war, that pizza really took off.  When all the soldiers came back from overseas and were looking for that Margarita pizza.  Which name originated in Naples when a chef made this flat bread treat for Queen Margherita.  By the way that's the only way that I have had it there so if you stray from that and are disappointed, then it's not my fault.  I love pizza with everything on it as well, but the simple traditional style is the way that it was meant to be enjoyed.


Lombardi's 32 Spring St. (corner of Mott)  212-941-7994

Man, if you have not had coal oven pizza before, I highly recommend it!  This is what pizza is suppose to taste like.  In order to really enjoy Lombardi's, you have to eat it there.  You can't get it delivered or take it out.  It's just not the same once you get home.  When you eat it in the restaurant, the crust is so crispy and crunchy, it's delicious.  The only other place that can even compete is Grimaldi's in Brooklyn.  Who's going to go all the way to Brooklyn for pizza?  Well to tell you the truth, I tried to go the other week after I went to the Takashi Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum and there was a line out the door of 30 deep!  I just could not wait that long and decided to head to my other favorite restaurant in Brooklyn, Peter Luger's!

Tokyo Flash Pimp

So if you're looking for a interesting watch, then the Tokyo Flash is definitely a watch to check out.  They specialize in telling time in the most unusual way.  This particular watch is called the Tokyo Flash Pimp (Pimpin aint Easy)  Seriously, that's the name of it!  I found out about this watch when I was placing an order on the Giant Robot website.  I was actually ordering some Takashi Murakami and Simone Legno stuff and ran into this watch on accident.


Tokyo Flash

They put this great material on the back of the band which makes it extremely comfortable.  This watch is a great conversation piece and is definitely a looker.  The thing about this company is that if you see something that you like, then you better pick it up.  Once they sell out of the watch, they discontinue the production of that particular model.  The one negative thing is that since this watch features 72 LED lights and does a lil light show from 6p - 11p, the watch uses two lithium batteries and only last up to a year if used regularly.

Tokyo Flash Operations Video

What does Whoopi Goldberg and Kid Rock have in common?  Believe it or not, they use the same jeweler. 


Lazaro, 54 Mercer St. New York, Soho (b/w Broome and Grand)  212-219-8494

When it comes to men's jewelry, you have many designers to choose from.  Of course, the most well known would be Chrome Hearts, you have Good Art HLYWD, King Baby, David Yurman, John Hardy and all the usual big name fashion designers have dabbled in their attempts at jewelry.  If you ask me who makes the best men's jewelry, I would have to say without a doubt, it is Lazaro.  I was put on to him about four years ago and had a major problem back when I was first introduced.  My good friend Eros mentioned this new designer that did all the jewelry for the Blade movies.  That alone caught my attention and I had to check him out. 


Some of my Lazaro collection

As you can see, I have my fair share of Lazaro jewelry.  Like I said before, I had a slight Lazaro addiction when I was first introduced.  The best thing about Lazaro compared to the other designers is the personal touch that Lazaro's pieces have.  He literally has anything that you can imagine to fit your tastes.  From exotic skins to precious stone, from rare coins to fossils, he has the right look that you are after.  If he doesn't have what you're looking for, the best part is that you can get Lazaro to customize his jewelry or even come up with something completely original. 


Custom Lazaro Bracelet

This bracelet was actually two different rings which I then added to a plain bracelet.  I would not go so far as to say plain, the bracelet itself is gynormous and heavy as all hell.  I originally had the snake and lion rings and then, bought the custom dragon ring that I currently wear.  I felt like I had animal kingdom on my fingers so I stopped wearing the lion and snake.  So I bought this chunky bracelet and asked him to take the lion and make that into the clasp and take the snake and wrap it around the bracelet.  I must say that it came out pretty hot.  I get tons of compliments on it, as well as most of my Lazaro jewelry.


Custom Lazaro Dragon Ring and Necklace

Both of these pieces are also custom jewelry by Lazaro as well.  I had some old jewelry that had some stones in them that I was never going to wear again.  So I took all the stones out and added them to some of Lazaro's jewelry.  I took a couple diamonds that I had from previous rings and jammed them in the eyes and mouth and all along the crest of the dragons head.  I also put black diamonds going down the body of the dragon. 


Custom Lazaro Dragon Ring

I went into the store the other day and he had the dragon pendent with rubies on the tongue!  Although I like the minimal look, I could always use some more stones on my jewelry.  I feel that I could never go over the top with his stuff.  Of course you can if you really wanted to, but the great thing about Lazaro is that he has something for everyone.  He even has an amazing women's line.  Actually, he started off in women's jewelry and still does an amazing women's collection but his men's line is certainly the hottest men's jewelry your money can buy.


Lazaro Chain Wallet / Necklace

Another cool thing about his jewelry, is that he has several pieces that are versatile and multi functional.  This is a chain wallet that can also double as a necklace.  I must say that the chain wallet has saved me from pick pocketers a couple times.  I highly suggest getting a chain wallet for the city.  It's not only fashionable but it will save your ass.  I even wear mine with my suits.  I wouldn't of even gotten a chain wallet because I always thought it was not my style and a lil too rock and roll for me.  Then I was watching Dolce and Gabbana's runway show and they both came out in the end wearing suits with chain wallets on.  If D&G can wear it on the runway, then (so can I damn it!) I have to say it's not just for rockers.  I actually thought that was pretty cool that they were wearing chain wallets.  I was reading this article about them and they were saying that Armani brought the Italian style to America in the 80's and D&G wanted to bring the U.S style to Italy.  Influenced by our rock 'n' roll culture, they brought the American rock style, into Italian high fashion.    


Lazaro Chain Wallet / Necklace

He puts incredible attention to detail in all his work.  You might of seen his talent and art on some of his credits like the "Blade" movies, "Steven Tyler" on the cover of Private Air, "The Notorious Betty Page" movie,  "John Varvatos" and "Joseph Abboud" runway shows, "Kid Rock" on Rolling Stones cover, and even Shaggy's new album cover and "Bonafide Girl" video.  As you can see he has been placed in a wide variety of different styles, and can match the look for any occasion.  From the runways, movies, rock stars to hip hop, Lazaro has managed to branched out his style in the entertainment world.  He is even working on a artist collaboration with John Varvatos as we speak.  I can't wait to see what they come up with.


Shaggy's new album "Intoxication" / featuring Lazaro Jewelry


Shaggy "Bonafide Girl" / Intoxication / featuring some Lazaro's Jewelry


Kid Rock: Rolling Stones wearing Lazaro


Steven Tyler:  Private Air Magazine wearing Lazaro


Steven Tyler:  Private Air Magazine wearing Lazaro

His unique style has found its way to wide range of celebs from Kid Rock, Steven Tyler, Shaggy, Jamie Burke to Whoopi Goldberg.  The thing about these guys are that they actually own the pieces that they are wearing.  Instead of some stylist just putting it on them, this is what these guys are personally spending their money on.  Even Whoopi gave a shout out on "The View" the other day and mentioned that all the jewelry that she was wearing was Lazaro.  Whoopi Goldberg wears and owns tons of Lazaro jewelry.  She is even going to be wearing his jewelry when she hosts the Tony Awards next month on Sunday June, 15th on ABC.  You should definitely check out his website but in order to get what you are really looking for, you have to go to his store in Soho.  His jewelry is exclusively sold there and only there for what I know of.  I am sure that you could make an order over the phone but you have to go by the store because not everything is featured on the website and he is continuously coming up with new designs. 


Lazaro, 54 Mercer St. New York, Soho  (notice the necklace is the same link as my chain wallet)

Here is a picture of one of his cases in the store.  Check out the 15 million year old Megalodon Sharks Tooth with black and white diamonds on it!  If you're not into big pieces like that, you have the Fleur de les with black diamonds on it right next to it.  Or you can go all out with the skull and cross with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.  If jewelry just is not your thing, and you are still interested in obtaining some of Lazaro's designs, you can also decorate your room with some of his home furnishings.


Lazaro's home furnishing (check out those hot candle holders)

He recently started carrying clothes from other various designers that really fits his style well.  The last time I went down there I noticed that I found myself buying two shirts instead of jewelry.  He has everything from dress shirts to belts to complete your look and makes a great one stop shop.  It's also a great place to come for gift ideas because of his wide range in men's and women's jewelry as well as his home furnishings.  So, get off your butt and head down to Soho, and stop by Lazaro's and take a peek.  Mention that you read this article from the Tanaka Report and he will definitely take care of you.  I am sure if you end up going down there, you will not leave empty handed and you will be returning for more.

Dolce & Gabbana's artist theme for iGoogle

Ok, you have to check out the new artist theme pages for iGoogle.  Some of them are pretty damn cool.  You can change the look of your google page with several of your favorite artists and mentors like Beastie Boys, Coldplay,  Philippe Starck, Todd Oldham, Tezuka Osamu, Lance Armstrong, Dolce & Gabbana, and Jeff Koons.  Speaking of Jeff Koons, you should definitely check out his new exhibit Jeff Koon's on the Roof (Weather permitting) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from April 29th - October 26th.  I will be going this week so keep your eyes out for his article soon. 


Jeff Koon's artist theme for iGoogle

I personally chose Tezuka Osamu for nostalgic purposes.  Tezuka Osamu was basically the Walt Disney of Japan and is sometimes credited as the "Father of Anime."  Instead of Mighty Mouse, Japan had it own character of equal popularity called Tetsuwan Atomu or better known to us in the U.S as Astro Boy.  He was before my time but he was big during my fathers era so he would get me Astro Boy stuff all the time. 


Tezuka Osamu's arist theme for iGoogle / Tesuwan Atomu aka: Astro Boy

iGoogle was formally known as Google Personalized Homepage.  I think everyone agrees that the name change was for the better.  Google Personalized Homepage been out since 05 but relaunched its self as iGoogle in 07 and has been gaining popularity ever since then.  Basically you just get to customize your Google search page.  For those of you that have not checked it out and converted, should definitely look into it.  It sure does beat a big blank white page!  A super cool thing about the new artist pages, is that it changes accordingly to the time it is in your location.  All you have to do is put in your zip and you get your local time, date and weather as well.  You can set up your page however you like.  It even has YouTube section on there.   Then again... YouTube is everywhere!

Ok.. who doesnt like steak?  No, I am not talking to you vegans and veggie heads.  I am talking pure USDA Prime meat!  Which now a days is harder to come by then you think.  If you are ever looking for a spot to eat in Brooklyn (or any place for that matter) then you might wanna stop by Peter Luger's Steakhouse. 


Peter Luger's Steakhouse, Brooklyn NY

This uber famous place has been serving the best steaks in NYC since 1887!  Zagat rates this place a 28 out of 30 and has ranked Peter Luger's as the number one steakhouse in NYC for 24 years in a row along with several other fantastic reviews.  You can even take a lil Peter Luger's home with you buy purchasing some of their original steak sauce which can be overnight FedEx to you anywhere in the United States.

This place is definitely one of the best places to come and get a great porterhouse steak.  They bring the steak over on a super hot plate and it come to the table sizzling of goodness.  Be careful and make sure you have some cash and or a ATM card with you because this place does not accept credit cards.  Also, if you don't have a RSVP, then plan on waiting up to an hour or even more on the busy nights.


Peter Luger's fantastic Zagat rating record

If venturing out to Brooklyn just to eat seems a lil much.  (the steak alone is enough reason to go out there!)  You can also make a lil day out of it by walking across the bridge during sun down.  Or even going by and checking out Takashi Murakami's exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, beforehand.  If you do not have time for Brooklyn and you are still looking for a good steak in New York City.  My personal choice of steak house in the city is definitely Quality Meats.  Quality Meats is the new and more modern sister restaurant of Smith and Wollensky and is one of the Fourth Wall Restaurants.  The cool thing about Quality Meats is that they come over and make this fresh steak sauce right in front of you with a lil Salt and Pepper, Tomato Paste, Raisin Puree, Garlic, Rosemary and Thyme.  As you can tell, I have been there a couple of times.  Now I have to go Quality Meats and write about this place!  Well, at least it gives me an excuse to go there.....

Peter Luger's 2 locations:

Brooklyn, NY
Peter Luger, Inc.
178 Broadway
Brooklyn, N.Y.  11211
Reservations:
(718) 387-7400

Great Neck, LI
Peter Luger of Long Island, Inc.
255 Northern Blvd.
Great Neck, N.Y.  11021
Reservations:
(516) 487-8800

For those of you that have not been to a hookah bar yet, its definitely a fun time if you got the right place to go.  Hookahs have been used to smoke herbal fruits for hundreds of years.  Hookahs originated from India but has gained popularity among most European and Middle Eastern countries and has even began to gain popularity in Japan and the U.S.  Hookahs were designed by using water filtration of smoke to cool or sooth the experience.  Earlier Hookahs were made from coconuts and tubing.  Todays hookahs can be hand made and run up to hundreds of dollars. 


Hookah development

Hookah bars have caught a bad rap because most people associate hookahs with drugs, which is a misconception.  Yes some older cultures did use Hookahs to smoke Opium and Heroin but that is not the intended use of the item.  Most people still today smoke the traditional herbs and even flavored tobacco.  But the stereotype still gives the Hookah a bad reputation.


Hookah Tobacco flavors from Sultan Tobacco Company

There are so many brand and flavors of Hookah tobacco to choose from.  I personally like the Sultan Tobacco company.  They have all sorts of flavors to fit your tastes.  Some of my favorites are Egyptian Pharos, Abu-Samra and Green Apple.  The Egyptian Pharos has this great nutty smell and flavor and the Abu-Samra is a mixture of 13 different flavors and has a great combinations of different sensations. 


Hookah Case

Mine came with this great case.  It came with all the essential hookah tools that you need.  Like the coal thongs and hookah poker.  Some hookahs are really cool and are even hand made and painted like this one. 
You can also have them up as a piece of art in my opinion.  They actually look pretty cool and you can get them in all shapes, colors and sizes.


Hand painted Hookah

This particular one cost around $350 but can get much cheaper ones without all the hand painted designs or removable parts.  Although, I suggest getting one that does have removable parts like this one.  You can unscrew most of the pieces on this Hookah for easy cleaning which is a huge plus.  The hand painted craftsmanship was definitely a factor as well.

Packing the Hookah is not a easy task.  You have to get the right technique for your Hookah, which is different with all the models and brands of tobaccos that you can use.  Some tobacco is more wet then others.  For those of you that use the wet flavored tobaccos.  I would suggest flipping your container upside down every now and then because the top will tend to get a lil dry if kept too long in one position.  When packing (wet) tobacco into the bowl, don't put too much in there nor pack the tobacco in there too tight.  Fill the bowl and then gently pack the tobacco and cover with tinfoil.  Then use a poker to poke through the tinfoil and pierce through the tobacco as well to create an airway.  Place the hot coal on top of the tinfoil and you are ready to rock.



The reason that I got mine is because of this great Hookah bar I go to in NYC called Lesouk.  Great place to go for listening to great music, atmosphere and good Moroccan food.  And of course Hookah's as well.  I would suggest going there on a Sunday or a Monday.  The Sunday house party has been the hottest Sunday party in NYC and has been propelled by Dj's Gaby and Jason of Astro & Glyde (bedrock) and Jason Swamy.  They have been rocking out the Sunday party at LeSouk since 2002.  I will have to write up a more in depth article about this places some other time.