My God, Jack!! We might have met - in my previous existence, I was a restaurant consultant and one of my clients was The Bombay Brasserie in London, the Taj Group's first European venture, I went on to work with them on all of their subsequent restaurant ventures outside India - including one in Paris, which I think was on a boat on the Seine, but I do remember that the launch featured a guy and his dancing bear flown in from God knows where in India. I also worked with AW-T on Menage a Trois in the Lexington - remember the fluorescent breakfast yellow menus? If I remember, the venture lasted little more than a year. Who knew 40+ years later where we would find ourselves?
holy smokes, those breakfast menus 😂 yeah the whole thing did not last very long all told, although it was certainly my first introduction to working in a professional kitchen – I forget the Chef's name but he was a tall and intimidating presence who clearly had gone to the Marco Pierre White school of half-mad restaurant management. My first exposure to really classic French sauce-making as well. I don't think they ever really got over the major stumbles at launch – there was little to no real indoctrination or training of the service staff and by the time I'd quit it was already a shadow of itself. Fun while it lasted though.
Ah, Lord Arran--I remember how easy and enjoyable it was to "converse" with him on ThePurists.com, and wondering who he really was, since I never could find any "Lord Arran" anywhere on the 'net.
But yes, you're absolutely right about that urge, among enthusiasts, to just talk about watches. I recall, years ago, dressed like a bum in jeans and a t-shirt, wandering into the Cellini in the Waldorf lobby in NYC, nowhere near affluent enough to buy any of the watches they had on display, and chatting with one of their sales guys, I think his name was Phillip. We must've chatted for an hour, as he showed me at least a dozen incredible watches, and finally I asked him why he spent so much time with me when he knew I wasn't going to buy. I've always remembered his answer: first, maybe not today but maybe next time or maybe next year; second, it's just fun to talk about watches with someone who obviously loves them; and third, never judge. Just the other day, he said, a guy came in dressed like a bum, and said, "I just want to buy a nice watch, but nobody in the other places around here will give me the time of day. Can you help me?" So Phillip showed him a few pieces, and sure enough, the guy ended up spending about a quarter million bucks on a few watches (this was back in the '80s). Turns out he was a very big-time Broadway producer who just didn't really care about clothes.
I can (and do) go on about my 1861 Speedmaster Professional is the best wristwatch. I could have skipped buying my last 24 watches and die happy as long as I'm wearing my Speedmaster.
Well said, Jack. Another fine article from one of the finest watch writers I’ve ever had the good fortune to read.
My God, Jack!! We might have met - in my previous existence, I was a restaurant consultant and one of my clients was The Bombay Brasserie in London, the Taj Group's first European venture, I went on to work with them on all of their subsequent restaurant ventures outside India - including one in Paris, which I think was on a boat on the Seine, but I do remember that the launch featured a guy and his dancing bear flown in from God knows where in India. I also worked with AW-T on Menage a Trois in the Lexington - remember the fluorescent breakfast yellow menus? If I remember, the venture lasted little more than a year. Who knew 40+ years later where we would find ourselves?
holy smokes, those breakfast menus 😂 yeah the whole thing did not last very long all told, although it was certainly my first introduction to working in a professional kitchen – I forget the Chef's name but he was a tall and intimidating presence who clearly had gone to the Marco Pierre White school of half-mad restaurant management. My first exposure to really classic French sauce-making as well. I don't think they ever really got over the major stumbles at launch – there was little to no real indoctrination or training of the service staff and by the time I'd quit it was already a shadow of itself. Fun while it lasted though.
Ah, Lord Arran--I remember how easy and enjoyable it was to "converse" with him on ThePurists.com, and wondering who he really was, since I never could find any "Lord Arran" anywhere on the 'net.
But yes, you're absolutely right about that urge, among enthusiasts, to just talk about watches. I recall, years ago, dressed like a bum in jeans and a t-shirt, wandering into the Cellini in the Waldorf lobby in NYC, nowhere near affluent enough to buy any of the watches they had on display, and chatting with one of their sales guys, I think his name was Phillip. We must've chatted for an hour, as he showed me at least a dozen incredible watches, and finally I asked him why he spent so much time with me when he knew I wasn't going to buy. I've always remembered his answer: first, maybe not today but maybe next time or maybe next year; second, it's just fun to talk about watches with someone who obviously loves them; and third, never judge. Just the other day, he said, a guy came in dressed like a bum, and said, "I just want to buy a nice watch, but nobody in the other places around here will give me the time of day. Can you help me?" So Phillip showed him a few pieces, and sure enough, the guy ended up spending about a quarter million bucks on a few watches (this was back in the '80s). Turns out he was a very big-time Broadway producer who just didn't really care about clothes.
I can (and do) go on about my 1861 Speedmaster Professional is the best wristwatch. I could have skipped buying my last 24 watches and die happy as long as I'm wearing my Speedmaster.
The Speedmaster was my first "good" Swiss watch and like you I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have just stopped there 😂