Matt Lauer (Courtesy NBC)
Matt Lauer is hitting the greens again as part of his longtime association with Hospice of Palm Beach County.
The Today show host will join professional golfers Michelle McGann and Bob Murphy, as well as fellow journalist Bryant Gumbel, Saturday in the Second Annual Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament at The Breakers Rees Jones Course at Breakers West.
We caught up with Lauer to talk about golf, Palm Beach hot spots and his association with Hospice of Palm Beach County.
Stuart Sailfish Club members show off their latest catch. (Submitted photo)
More: Dock and Dine guide to dock-accessible restaurants
Editing a cookbook of fishermen’s recipes is a whopper of a job. Char Griggs of Stuart trolled through some long-winded fishermen’s tales in her attempt to organize the best recipe submissions of Stuart Sailfish Club members.
Char’s been an employee of the fishing club for 15 years: "I’m the only employee," she says of the laid-back family club. Membership is a modest $75 per year, meetings are "a real good time" and the club’s popular Docktail parties are open to the public.
Who: Blair Kirwan, 28, managing partner of It! Weddings & Events, grew up vacationing in Palm Beach with her family. Before starting an event planning business here she worked on the island for C. Orrico and Stubbs and Wootton. She is a founding member of the American Cancer Society’s Palm Beach Rising Stars and a co-chair of the upcoming Town of Palm Beach Centennial Anniversary event.
Her $100 look: Blair prefers "simple, classic clothes" paired with "fun accessories." While her closet does hold some high-fashion (and high price-tag) pieces, such as her enviable white Goyard St. Louis P.M. shopping tote, she loves to find a good deal. Here, she wears a one-piece shorts jumpsuit from Target ($19.99) that is "comfortable, yet preppy because it’s seersucker" and a Liberty of London For Target floral print scarf ($14.99). The Stephen Bonanno sandals, a Palm Beach staple, the Goyard bag, and the bright bangles, are her own. It’s a look she might wear out shopping for more deals.
Welcome to Shop Smart, where Palm Beach Post staffers are dedicated to saving you real money – and helping you look good, too.
Shop Smart will work like a smartly edited closet: Lots of practical pieces that fit your budget and lifestyle with a few glamorous accessories to keep things fun.
And as if all these ideas aren’t enough, The Post is giving away prizes – free makeover anyone? – and negotiating exclusive discounts (see bottom of page).
Two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters was in South Florida recently for the private opening of Lynn University’s new Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center.
She called from New York City where she is in the final week of filming the new movie Everything’s Coming Up Roses and chatted about everything from her beloved pit bulls, to her latest children’s book and how she keeps her porcelain skin safe from the South Florida sun.
Q: I understand the story line for the movie you are filming now is sort of bleak but singing really lifts the characters’ moods. When you’re not on stage or in front of a camera, which songs do that for you?
SAVE THE DATE! The Palm Beach Post is hosting a wedding show in September!
Who: Susan E. Riley, fashion designer and owner of an eponymous boutique specializing in clothing for mothers of the bride and groom. Where: 240 Worth Avenue, Palm Beach (Heremes courtyard); (561) 315-7828
About her line: “Mothers of the bride and groom who want to look chic and sophisticated really end up scrambling,” Riley says.“I travel the world looking for beautiful fabrics — French re-embroidered lace, Duchess satin, Silk Charmeuse — and fill the collection with extra touches — bound buttonholes, French seams, silk linings and beautiful array of special buttons.”
Customers try on for size (0-20) and then customize the details, including a wide range of colors.
Riley’s 3 tips for dressing mothers of the bride and groom:
1. Be elegant and refined, not trendy!
2. Fit and tailoring make all the difference.
3. Consider separates. “These are wonderful, as they can be worn in the future. Skirts can be worn with a cashmere sweater to a cocktail party. It’s nice to get some mileage out of your outfit”
Etiquette tip: Tradition says the mother of the bride should select her outfit before the mother of the groom, and that both women should be in harmony with the season, time and color palette set by the bride.
Palm Beach bargains.
It’s not a punch line.
Sure, multi-carat diamonds go “on sale” for tens of thousands of dollars up and down Worth Avenue. But there are also $5 lunches at the popular Italian restaurant Amici.
And a night at The Breakers between now and Sept. 30 starts at $225, the lowest one-night rate in years.
Some diners, shoppers and backyard vacationers previously priced out of the island’s toniest establishments are crossing the bridge for a taste of the Palm Beach life.
“We got one heck of a deal,” said Gary Embrey of Fort Lauderdale, who recently spent a weekend at The Colony, a luxury boutique hotel. “And we found deals in Ralph Lauren and in a shoe store on the Avenue.”
Gary Schweikhart, publicist for The Colony, says Palm Beach’s “image of high price and exclusivity” has been changing for years. “But,” he says, “it’s happening faster because of the economy.”
Restaurants: A lesson from McDonald’s
Each day at lunch, Amici’s managing partner, Maurizio Ciminella, noticed a line of cars carrying “shop girls and firemen” off of Palm Beach.
Ciminella, who says he has not seen business so “off” in his 20 years on the island, took heed.
“I decided to focus on the working people,” he said. “They are the heartbeat of the town and these people need to eat every day.”
He visited fast food chains and came up with a Palm Beach breakfast deal: an egg sandwich “cooked in a pan, not in a microwave” with a cup of Italian Lavazza coffee for $3.99. They also started a $5 take-out lunch menu featuring a smoked turkey and brie panini.
“We … are trying new things instead of just saying it’s a bad economy and being sad,” he said.
Fourteen Palm Beach restaurants are offering three-course prix fix lunches for $20.09 and dinners for $35 in June as part of Palm Beach Restaurant Month. A similar meal deal lasted just a week last year.
“Disposable income drives our business,” says organizer Zach Bell, executive chef at Cafe Boulud, “so restaurants are changing and restructuring prices.”
He says the promotion is bringing new customers to Cafe Boulud.
“Ninety five percent are first timers every day at dinner,” he says. “We emphasize to employees that these are our new VIPs. These are the people you want to make regulars, or at least regulars on special occasions.”
Legendary luxury hotels, too, are doing what they can to entice newcomers to the island.
At The Breakers, free unlimited golf and tennis is included in the “unprecedented” $225 rate, says Ann Margo Peart, public relations manager.
And the goal of The Colony’s summer deal – two-night stays for $159-$195 per night: “To get anybody we can get in the front door,” says Schweikhart, “including people who have never even come over to Palm Beach before.”
Worth Avenue typically offers deep discounts in the summer, and this year is no different, says Worth Avenue Association President Sherry Frankel. But don’t expect panic sales.
“In January … there were steep discounts,” says Frankel. “But now there are values of the sort we always see this time of year.”
That means discounts now of 30-50 percent, with the deeper deals coming in July and August, as merchants make way for fall collections.
Some luxury retailers are stepping up their efforts to get more shoppers in the door. At Max Mara, spring and summer collections are the usual off-season 50 percent off, but this year, says store manager Jennifer Bailey, the sale began sooner.
And at David Morris jewelers, where one can inquire about the price of 26-carat emerald earrings, “this year, for the first time, we have included more than half of the season’s current collection in the 50 percent off sale,” says sales associate Lori Kolfenbach.
Luxury brands, though, have to walk a fine line, retailers say. They can’t “devalue” their brand.
“If the client wants our luxury brand they are (willing) to pay for it,” says Sally Chandler, manager of Salvatore Ferragamo, where shoppers will find the typical 35-40 percent off.
Ferragamo may cut prices further in July, she says, but 40 to 50 percent off is as low as they will go. They can’t risk conditioning customers into expecting lower prices.
Says Chandler: “We believe everything is going to get better.”
PALM BEACH PROMOTIONS
RESTAURANTS
Amici Palm Beach — Egg sandwich and cup of Lavazza coffee to go, $3.99 from 7:30 – 11 a.m. weekdays. To-go menu, $5 from 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Three-course dinner with wine, $29 daily until 7 p.m. 375 South County Road; (561) 832-0201.
Cucina — Small-plate versions of regular menu items available at the bar only from 4:30 p.m. until close for $6-$18. 257 Royal Poinciana Way; (561) 655-0770.
Michael R. McCartys Restaurant — Two-course (appetizer and entree) dinner for $29.95 with unlimited wine from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. weekdays and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 50 Cocoanut Row; (561) 659-1899.
Nick and Johnnies — Three-course Sunset Supper for $25 from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. daily. Small-plate versions of regular menu items available at the bar only from 4:30 p.m. until close for $6-$18. 207 Royal Poinciana Way; (561) 655-3319.
Testas – Early bird menu from 3 – 6 p.m. daily from $13-$18. Coupon available at www.testasrestaurants.com make all early bird entrees $14. Thursdays from 5 p.m. martinis are $5. Breakfast specials with a cup of coffe daily for $7.25. 221 Royal Poinciana Way; 832-0992.
PB Restaurant Month: Fourteen restaurants are offering three-course prix fix menus (appetizer, entree and dessert) for $20.09 at lunch and $35 at dinner. Beverage, tax and gratuity not included. Participating restaurants include:
Bice — 313 1/2 Worth Avenue; 561.835.1600.
Café Boulud at The Brazilian Court — Three-course Sunday brunch is $25. Other specials daily. 301 Australian Avenue; (561) 655-6060.
Café L’Europe — 331 South County Road; 561.655-4020.
Charley’s Crab — 456 South Ocean Boulevard; 561.659.1500.
The Leopard Lounge & Restaurant at The Chesterfield — 363 Cocoanut Row; 561.659.5800.
COCO Palm Beach — 290 Sunset Avenue; 561.832.3734.
The Flagler Steakhouse at The Breakers — 2 South County Road; 561.659.8488.
The Italian Restaurant at The Breakers — 1 South County Road; 561.659.8488.
The Ocean Bistro at the Four Seasons — 2800 South Ocean Boulevard; 561.582.2800.
Renato’s — 87 Via Mizner – Worth Avenue; 561.655-9752.
The Seafood Bar at The Breakers — 1 South County Road; 561.659.8488.
The Temple Orange at The Ritz-Carlton — 100 South Ocean Blvd., Manalapan; 561.533.6000.
Ta-Boo — 221 Worth Avenue; 561.835.3500.
Trevini — 151 Worth Avenue; 561.833.3883.
HOTELS
The Breakers — From May 26 to Sept. 30 prices from $225. Free golf, tennis or kids meals with some packages. One South County Road; 1-800-273-2537.
The Chesterfield Palm Beach — Starts at $149 with continental breakfast for two through Sept. 30. 363 Cocoanut Row; (561) 659-5800.
The Colony Palm Beach — Weekend rates start at $195 with a full English breakfast for two from May 6 to Oct. 15. Weekday rates start at $159 for two-night stays. 155 Hammon Avenue; (561) 655-5430.
The Brazilian Court Hotel and Beach Club — One night luxurious studio accommodations and three-course dinner for two at Cafe Boulud is $249 through Aug. 31 (a 20 percent savings off in-season rates).
The Omphoy Ocean Resort — Opens July 31. From $149 through Sept. 30. 2842 South Ocean Blvd; (561) 540-6440; www.omphoy.com
Four Seasons Palm Beach — From $225 with a $50 resort credit. 2800 South Ocean Boulevard; (561) 582-2800.
Ritz — From $269 with breakfast for two and a $50 resort credit. 100 South Ocean Boulevard, Manalapan; (561) 533-6000.
RETAILERS
Christofle — Until July third, spend $250 and receive a gift card for $25; Spend $500 and receive a gift card for $75; Spend $1,000 and receive a gift card for $200. 150 Worth Avenue; (561) 833-1978.
David Morris — 50 percent off select merchandise through July. 305 Worth Avenue; (561) 655-3401.
Dea Luxury Linens — Bedding is 75 percent off. 341 Worth Avenue; (561) 366-1203.
MaxMara — Spring and summer collection is 50 percent off. 216 Worth Avenue; (561)832-0069.
Off Worth — Bead rack, including semi-precious stones, 50 percent off. 325 Worth Avenue; (561) 835-0383.
Rene Caovilla — Shoes are 60 percent off. 150 Worth Avenue; (561) 459-1712.
Saks Fifth Avenue — From July 3 – 10 purchase $75 or more in cosmetics or fragrance and receive a beach tote and a coupon for $50 off any sunglass purchase of $300 or more and a coupon for $100 off a $1,000 vacation booked on LuxuryLink.com. 172 Worth Avenue; (561) 833-2551.
Salvatore Ferragamo — Womens and men’s apparel, handbags, briefcases, shoes, accessories. Spring collection 35-40 percent off. 200 Worth Avenue; (561) 659-0602.
Patti Esbia Antique and Estate Jewelry — Owner Patti Esbia says she keeps a box of jewelry in her safe that is for sale “at or below cost.” Examples include a 14-carat garnet broach for $60 and platinum and diamond chandelier earrings for $2,500. 326 Peruvian Avenue; (561)833-9448.
Chicken Noodle Soup Hong Kong Style; thin egg noodles, chicken, roasted garlic, spinach, bok choy, carrot, bean sprout, mushroom in clear broth ($10.95) at Joy Noodle and Rice in West Palm Beach. Gary Coronado, The Post.
Try the Thai Fried and a Thai Iced Tea.
Strips of roasted sweet potato dipped and fried in a funnel cake-style coconut batter and served with a refreshing cucumber and rice vinegar dipping sauce, and the iced tea flavored with tamarind, sugar and honey and topped with heavy cream, are two terrific ways to start your meal at the newly opened Joy Noodles and Rice in West Palm Beach. Read the full story
My Florida baby loves to wear her swimsuit.
She loves splashing in the pool and will tolerate a life jacket just long enough to motor over to a sandbar where her favorite outdoor activity is eating sand. I’m always on the lookout for cute suits for her, but I would rather let her wear her birthday suit than dress her in some of the pint-size versions of skimpy adult swimsuits I’ve seen for sale.
Read the full story
A Durango burger at Grease Burger Bar laden with cheese and grilled onions. (Bruce R. Bennett/The Post)
Grease Burger Bar chef Jason Fallmann of Boca Raton is more than a burger-flipper. He has worked at several Wolfgang Puck restaurants.
Even so, he says preparing the perfect burger shouldn’t be an overly complicated process.
Here, in celebration of National Hamburger Month, are his simple steps to getting a burger right:
1. QUALITY MEAT — “It all starts with the quality of your meat,” Fallmann says. “That’s the most essential part to a great burger. You want aged and marbled meat.”
2. SEASONING — “You don’t even need a lot, just salt and fresh ground pepper, if you have the right meat. You want the flavor of the meat to come through.”
Note: “Don’t over-handle the meat,” Fallmann warns. The temptation to pat may be strong, but doing so will cost you juiciness, he says.
Read the full story
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