Happy Easter {via Irving Penn}

our Easter morning 

and an Irvin Penn’s image 

The Cypress Room: where eating meets all senses

That sense of walking into a world of its own, somehow reminiscing of Woody’s “Midnight in Paris”. Get ready to fox trot.

The door of The Cypress Room opens into an inviting quaint room with not so many tables but enough to be so closed to each other that you can almost taste your neighbor’s order, very sexy French bistro.

Unexpected feminine touches like crystal chandeliers and toile wallpaper, tables set with mismatched china. A manly speakeasy-esque wine bar accessorized with a ladder rolling like an old library and a cypress [what else?]-lined wall decorated with antlers and a line of mirrors expands the room and lets you see the action by the bar. although for a second you could be in a man only club in San Francisco. oh no wait, how about the wall covered by B&W vintage original pictures of old Miami? anything else that the eye has to take? because here guys we gotta seat and go down to business. and if these are the premises, wait until you meet the roster of geniuses behind the scenes of another “Genuine” approved masterpiece.

Seating on the pastel baby blue tufted banquet certainly gives you that retro feel of a Riva on lake Como. The oversized marlin across the room reminds you though you are still in Miami.

The menu is an exquisitely concentrated profusion of delicacies that tease you enough to wanting everything. now. really, what to choose? 

‘The beverage book’ is not a joke with its eleven pages worth a magna cum laude graduation of a sommelier. The ‘Barrel Aged’ aperitifs are house made and a must to prepare your taste buds to what’s coming up. Maps guide you through the Chablis to the Nebbiolo and finally to the after dinner regions of Madeira. FYI, who knew that in Madeira they were making Malvasia? In my Ante-The-Cypress-Room times, la malvasia was that wine we drink at night after dinner in Stromboli and we bring home as a memento of another fantastic mediterranean summer vacation. There’s never an end to learning.

Appetizers. What to say about the pairing of the soup a l’onion with a sherry? Nothing but so perfect that you would never want it to finish. Not to mention la bagna cauda: last time I had it it was 2001 Italy, so yes another 1000 points bravo. The lamb tartare tender and soft like a baby’s butt (rather graphic but true).

Entrees. Chicken, rabbit and antelope are like a boom, boom, boom in your face, I have the moves like Jagger. Of course you gotta love them. Being born and raised on il lago Massaciuccoli, Tuscany where hunting and game eating is a Sunday tradition, helps. 

Desserts & master pastry chef Hedy may come as last in order but never with another bang. ‘Toasted Oregon Hazelnut Parfait’ says the paper and a sense of abandon tells you that it’s OK to indulge and yes there’s still room to stimulate your senses.

My grand father, great gourmand, used to tell me that when you eat a lot and don’t feel overwhelmed or drunk or disgusted by the quantity of food is when your eating is perfect: perfect produce, recipe, portions, wine pairing, company and music. According to his rule of thumb The Cypress Room has got it all: a celebration of all senses that leaves you with a sense of happiness and satisfaction.

5 surprising reasons to adopt the new 'in with the old'

THE INSPIRATION. The Cut this week came out with  a series of unseen pictures of thespian icons Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor (and more) . Vintage, behind the scenes stories, the unpublished, biographies, or just plainly knowing anything that happened but nobody ever knew it did, always intrigue my curiosity. Antique markets in Tuscany and flea markets in Miami stimulate my adrenaline, yes that little I need. I mean, little until it comes to looking for that ideal leopard coat that Ann Bancroft is wearing in 'The Graduate'.  [fbcljcreations.tumblr.com] The secret is keep searching for inspirations.

THE PROCESS. Start the walk with the greatest expectations. You know how they say “do not build expectations or you will be disappointed”? Well you’ll have to bypass that rule for flea markets. There’s so more to be surprised with than money can buy. The secret is the more you exercise your eye the better you become at it.

IT’S IN THE GENES. You’ll have to weed typhoons of crap to find that rare pearl that goes ignored by the most.  Something like that Roberta di Camerino that I vividly remember playing dress up with when I was a kid (where did it go, btw?), that felt hat that looks very sheperd-ish but everybody is telling you that "you are the perfect person to wear it", tons of lace sleepwear like the “one that my grandmother has in her closet”. It works as a therapeutic session to me, it reinforces my roots, those are all things I have lived with and it’s not because I am old (I am still “vintage” for that matter) nor that I feel old, it does make me proud to have been raised with that sense of respect for the past, history, stories of our great grand parents, closets to open and dresses to wear, books and diaries that smell like old dusty library (as they are old). The secret is keep trying, there are decades to work on.

PROUD MAMA. Just the knowledge of having transmuted this gene of ‘digging the old’ to my baby girl fills me with joy. She indeed got infatuated with owning a record player (her birthday last year) and an Olivetti Lettera 22 (this past Christmas). The secret is perseverance. Sooner or later it will come out. 

THE FASHION LINK. “I couldn’t help but notice” the resonance of vintage, the past, the inspiration in the latest collections. 

The secret here is a no-secret: if you have done all the steps above it will come natural.