The 3 P.M. Brunch With the 4 A.M. Vibe By BEN DETRICKNOV. 16, 2011 Continue reading the main story Share This Page Share Tweet Pin Email More Save Photo An enthusiastic reveler parties to a performance by Roxy Cottontail, a promoter, at Eat Yo Brunch at Yotel on 10th Avenue, where the $35 brunch allows patrons to eat and drink for two hours. Credit Deidre Schoo for The New York Times BRUNCH, an occasion for flapjacks, Bloody Marys and meandering conversation, is traditionally the most sluggish of meals. But a smorgasbord of clubby New York restaurants have transformed lazy midday gatherings into orgies of overindulgence with blaring music, jiggling go-go dancers and bar tabs that mushroom into five figures. No, boozy brunches aren’t new. Inspired by the daytime debauchery on Pampelonne Beach in St.-Tropez, where jet-setters arrive by Ferrari and yacht, early iterations began at Le Bilboquet on the Upper East Side in the early ’90s, and spread to meatpacking district flashpoints like Bagatelle and Merkato 55 in 2008. But more recently, these brunches have been supersized, moving from smaller lounges to brassy nightclubs like Lavo and Ajna. The party blog Guest of a Guest has taken to calling it the “Battle of the Brunches.” “Not everyone gets to run to the beach or jump on a plane,” said Noah Tepperberg, an owner of Lavo in Midtown, which started its brunch party a year ago. “If you want to leave your house on the weekend, brunch fills that void.” On a recent Saturday, Mr. Tepperberg stood in Lavo’s basement kitchen, surrounded by meat slicers and employees readying confectionary “poison apples” for a Halloween party for a pre-split Kim Kardashian. Upstairs, patrons in costumes danced atop tables and chairs, bobbing to the carnival syncopation of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Paris.” Confetti and blasts of fog filled the air. Continue reading the main story Related Coverage slideshow The Brunch Party Takes Over Clubs NOV. 16, 2011 Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was 3 p.m. “People walk in and say, ‘I can’t believe this is going on right now,’ ” Mr. Tepperberg said. The brunch bacchanalia shows no sign of running dry. The Mondrian SoHo is starting Scene Sundays this month at its Imperial No. Nine restaurant. In Las Vegas, the original Lavo started a Champagne brunch a few weeks ago. Similar affairs have bubbled up in Boston, Los Angeles and Washington. For those looking to replicate the formula, here’s a guide to some of New York’s frothiest. Day and Night Ajna Bar (25 Little West 12th Street, dayandnightnyc.com); Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. This extravagant French-themed party landed in October at Ajna Bar in the meatpacking district, after dousing the Hamptons, Art Basel in Miami and the Oak Room in the Plaza Hotel with rosé. Beneath an industrial skylight and fluttering flags from the United Kingdom, France and Israel, well-heeled patrons pumped their fists and posed for purse-lipped Facebook photos, racking up huge tabs every Saturday. “I understand there’s a lot of people out there going through hard times,” said Daniel Koch, the promoter who helped start the Day and Night parties at Merkato 55. “But what you want to do with your money is your business.” SIGNAL TO DANCE ON TABLES “If you’ve been sprayed with Champagne, make some noise!” a hype man will shout between piercing dance tracks from Robyn, Calvin Harris and Oasis. Dancers in orange bathing suits will emerge; pipes will blast jets of fog. In a dangerously drunken take on a bar mitzvah ritual, a man spooning dessert out of a giant bowl will be seated on a chair and lifted high into the air by his cronies. BRUNCH SET Club-savvy guests seem piped in from Miami, Monaco and Merrill Lynch. “I’m from the South, so drinking during the day is not new to me,” said a woman who wore a Diane Von Furstenberg dress but not the necessary wristband to enter the V.I.P. area. Outside, near a black Aston Martin coupe, a young man wearing paint on his face and sunglasses delved into socioeconomics. “We’re the 1 percent,” he said to a woman, matter of factly. THE BUFFET The Nutella-stuffed croissants ($12) cater to Europeans, while a gimmicky $2,500 ostrich egg omelet (with foie gras, lobster, truffle, caviar and a magnum of Dom Perignon) is for aspiring Marie Antoinettes. Champagne bottles start at $500; packages with several bottles of liquor and mixers for mojitos or bellinis are $1,000. The check can be sobering. “You didn’t look at the price of the Dom bottle!” a man barked into his iPhone, to a friend who apparently ditched before paying. “It’s $700!” STILL-HOT ACCESSORY Slatted “shutter shades” live on at Day and Night. DID THE D.J. PLAY “WELCOME TO ST.-TROPEZ”? Yes. Lavo Champagne Brunch Lavo (39 East 58th Street, lavony.com); Saturday, 2 to 6:30 p.m. Smog guns. Confetti cannons. Piñatas. Masked masseuses. Dancers in Daisy Duke shorts (some on stilts, obviously). Since last November, this Italian restaurant has roiled with the energy and pageantry of Mardi Gras. At the recent Halloween party, Slick Rick, an old-school rapper with an eye patch and glinting ropes of jewelry, lethargically performed several ’80s hits. Some of the younger “Black Swans” in attendance were unsure of his identity. “Is he big in London?” asked an Australian woman wearing a top hat. SIGNAL TO DANCE ON TABLES Caffeinated anthems like Pitbull’s “Hey Baby” and Roscoe Dash’s “All the Way Turnt Up” are accentuated by processions of bouncers carrying women above them in tubs, like Cleopatra on a palanquin. Polenta pancakes taking up precious square footage? Just kick them aside with your stilettos. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Open Thread Newsletter A look from across the New York Times at the forces that shape the dress codes we share, with Vanessa Friedman as your personal shopper. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. See Sample Privacy Policy Opt out or contact us anytime BRUNCH SET Share Champagne spritzers with willowy model types and inheritors of wealth. The scrum on an October afternoon included the son of a Mongolian dignitary, six scions of Mexican plutocracy wearing novelty somberos, and at least one supermodel. “She’s everywhere,” said Mr. Tepperberg, as the nymph, whose name he couldn’t remember, disappeared into the jungle of merriment. THE BUFFET With the emphasis on tabletop dancing, Italian trattoria offerings (margherita pizzas for $21, and lemon ricotta waffles for $19) are often abandoned underfoot and sprinkled with confetti. Proving alcohol reigns supreme here, ice buckets are carefully shielded with napkins. Bottle service rules: Moët Brut is $195 and liquor starts at $295. Balthazar and Nebuchadnezzar sizes surge toward the $10,000 mark. RISKY ROSé Alcohol and high-altitude dancing can be perilous: there was a brief hullabaloo in one corner when several women took a tumble. DID THE D.J. PLAY “WELCOME TO ST.-TROPEZ”? Yes. Eat Yo Brunch Yotel (570 10th Avenue, yotel.com); Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If spending thousands of dollars makes your stomach turn, this newish party at Yotel is more easily digested. This affably cartoonish affair, held at the space-age hotel in Hell’s Kitchen with the design aesthetics of a Pokémon, draws a gay-friendly crowd lured northward by Patrick Duffy, a promoter. “There’s a lot of pressure in night life,” Mr. Duffy said. “But I feel like Sunday is a comedown. It doesn’t have to be perfect.” SIGNAL TO DANCE ON TABLES These connoisseurs of brunch wear designer shoes too stylish for tromping atop omelets. With a D.J. spinning dance tracks from LeLe and Earth, Wind & Fire, guests sip bellinis at the bar or banter at long communal tables. The performers are looser. One afternoon, Roxy Cottontail, a pink-haired promoter, vamped around the sunken dining area with a microphone. “Don’t make kitty pounce,” she rapped, before climbing atop a table. BRUNCH SET Clusters of trim men wear leather motorcycle jackets or shroud themselves in patterned scarves. “It’s an eclectic, downtown vibe,” Ms. Cottontail said. “We have the most fabulous gays in New York City.” When a platinum-blond waiter in skintight jeans pranced in front of a wall decorated with pictures of sumo wrestlers riding Japanese carp, it seemed straight from an anime cell. THE BUFFET For an egalitarian $35, patrons receive unlimited grub — options include chilaquiles, halibut sliders and seaweed salad — and a two-hour window of boozing. “It’s not bougie,” said Mr. Duffy, who bounded across the room hugging guests and hand-delivering shots. “You could be a poor, starving artist or someone that doesn’t take a client for under $20 million.” COLOR CODE Wear purple if you hope to be camouflaged by the staff outfits, chairs and ceilings. DID THE D.J. PLAY “WELCOME TO ST.-TROPEZ”? No. Sunset Saturdays PH-D Rooftop Lounge at Dream Downtown (355 West 16th Street, dreamdowntown.com); Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Despite a happy hour time slot, this sunset party atop the Dream Downtown hotel is not for pre-gaming. After funneling in brunch crowds from elsewhere, 8 p.m. has the frenzied atmosphere and intoxication of 2 a.m. The offbeat timing may deter conventional weekend warriors. “No matter how cool the place, some people feel Friday and Saturday nights are for amateurs,” said Matt Strauss, a manager of PH-D. “We’re not for amateurs.” SIGNAL TO DANCE ON TABLES The D.J. rapid-fires through tracks from C+C Music Factory, LMFAO and Rick Ross, but booze-lubricated guests scramble on couches with little hesitation. Those grappling with bursts of existential angst after six hours of brunch can gaze pensively at the spectacular views of Midtown Manhattan. BRUNCH SET Attractive women and affluent men knot around tables; hotel guests gawk from the bar. On a recent Saturday, Mark Wahlberg danced with a few friends, and David Lee, a former New York Knick, enjoyed downtime provided by the N.B.A. lockout. “We saw an angle,” said Matt Assante, a promoter. “People spend more money than at nighttime.” THE BUFFET Brunch is thankfully over, but crispy calamari ($17) and guacamole ($12) could constitute a light dinner. A bottle of Veuve Clicquot is $475. Cîroc vodka is $450. Cocktails like the Cloud Nine (Beefeater gin, Campari, grapefruit) are $18; a Bud Light is $10. WINDING DOWN After the rigors of daylong gorging, relax with the help of an on-site masseuse. DID THE D.J. PLAY “WELCOME TO ST.-TROPEZ”? Obviously.

HOW WE GOT STARTED

Wolfgang Puck's dining revolution

Interview by Dinah Eng   @FortuneMagazine November 21, 2013: 7:32 AM ET

Wolfgang Puck with his staff at Spago in Beverly Hills

(Fortune)

It's impossible to think of California cuisine without thinking of Wolfgang Puck. The man who popularized open restaurant kitchens, Puck, 64, introduced fine dining to the masses on TV and became one of the first celebrity chefs (a term he despises). Through his privately held company, whose revenues exceeded $400 million last year, he has parlayed his name into restaurants, frozen pizzas, appliances, cookbooks, and more. His story:

I was born in Austria, and my mother was a professional chef at a resort. Every summer I would visit her at work and spend time in the kitchen. I liked pastries more than anything. When I was 14, I wanted to become an architect, but my parents were poor, and we decided I should get a job in a pastry shop. So I left home when I was 14, to apprentice in a hotel kitchen in Villach, Austria, and never went to high school.

Three weeks into my apprenticeship, we ran out of potatoes in the kitchen, and the chef decided to blame me. He fired me and told me to go home. It was the darkest day of my life, and I decided to kill myself in the river. But as I stood by the water, I thought, maybe I'll go back tomorrow and see what happens. The owner of the hotel took pity on me and sent me to his other hotel to work.

I fell in love with the way the French cooked with wine and decided to seek work at a three-star restaurant. In 1968 the first one that said yes to me was L'Oustau de Baumanière in Provence, where Raymond Thuilier became my inspiration. He was the chef-owner, wrote cookbooks, and cooked with fresh vegetables and fish from the market.

After that, I worked in Monte Carlo and at Maxim's in Paris. In 1973 the dollar was high and the French franc was low, so I decided to go to the United States. I found a job at La Grenouille in New York City, but after working in all those fancy three-star restaurants, I didn't want to cook in a bistro making French fries. I wanted to do fine dining.

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I had always wanted to go to California, so after getting my green card, I took a job at Chez François in downtown Los Angeles. It was 1975, I was 26, and I wanted to open my own restaurant. So I took a second job to save money for that. I worked 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Ma Maison in West Hollywood, jumped in the car to go downtown, and worked till midnight at Chez François.

Guests started coming into the kitchen at Ma Maison, saying the food is suddenly so good. Patrick Terrail, the owner, asked if I wanted to work there full-time, but I thought two jobs would get me more money, so I said no. But when the manager at Chez François presented me with a new menu, I said, "I am the chef, not you," and I left to work full-time at Ma Maison. It was in such bad shape, my first paycheck bounced.

I sat down with Patrick, and he agreed to give me a lower salary and 10% of the restaurant. We did $18,000 a month when I started, and when I left in 1981, we were doing $330,000 a month. Ma Maison became well known, and I was serving celebrity guests like Jack Lemmon and Orson Welles. But I wasn't the principal owner, and wanted to be in charge. In 1981, I found a place on Sunset Boulevard and told Patrick that we needed to form a new company. We couldn't come to an agreement, so I left.

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I had started a cooking school at Ma Maison, and my students were lawyers, dentists, and doctors. They helped me raise $500,000, and I borrowed $60,000 from the bank. In January 1982 we opened Spago, and it became an instant success. I had no more money in the bank, so we were lucky to be successful right away. I didn't think it was a gamble doing it. It would have been a gamble to do nothing because I couldn't have secured my future otherwise.

Spago was casual and chic, using beautiful California-inspired ingredients in the food. We made it upscale with white tablecloths, and the pizza was made with ingredients like smoked salmon and white truffles, things that were not the usual.

I put in an open kitchen so I could greet the customers, see when they finished their first course, and prep the next course. I wanted to give the guests something of a show, not just their food on a plate, and it became popular with Hollywood people. Swifty Lazar started to do his Oscar parties with us. It took three months to be profitable.

By the fall of 1982, a Japanese company called WDI came to me and said, "We want to open a Spago in Tokyo." I hadn't trademarked the name and didn't have the money to fight them, so I said okay, let's do it together. I gave them a 20-year license, and we opened Spago in Tokyo in 1983. I owned a third of it, but it didn't make much money. It doesn't exist anymore.

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At the same time, I opened a restaurant in Santa Monica. I got the idea to open a Chinese restaurant with Western cooking techniques. We opened Chinois on Main in 1983, mixing cultures. Many say it was the first fusion restaurant in the United States.

The whole culture of food has changed in America in the past 30 years. Sun-dried tomatoes, radicchio, and arugula were novelty items. We changed the way restaurants are seen. A restaurant can be casual and have great food. It doesn't have to be stuffy.

I started to do TV appearances in the 1980s, going on David Letterman and The Tonight Show. I went into the frozen-pizza business because Johnny Carson would take home 10 to 12 pizzas at a time. I asked him, "What do you do with all those pizzas?" He said he froze them, so I started doing that.

In 1992 [developer] Sheldon Gordon persuaded me to go to Las Vegas, so we opened Spago at the Forum Shops at Caesars, the first chef-owned restaurant in Las Vegas. Unfortunately we opened in December 1992, and everything was dead. I thought I'd made a big mistake. But then, in January, it started to get busy, and convention business made it amazingly successful. It grossed $1 million that January, and we were profitable then.

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I've always had partners for each of the restaurants. But 10 years ago we started doing management contracts, usually with hotels, where we don't have to invest money anymore. We have three clear divisions now, and I have partners in each area: catering, licensing and cafés, and fine dining. I want everyone who works with me to have skin in the game, so the business is partly owned by the partners. If the business doesn't make money, they don't make money. I oversee each division and give the orders, and they execute.

I patterned my business model on how Giorgio Armani did things. He has haute couture, which is like fine dining in food, and a line below that, like our cafés in airports and Disneyland. He does licensing, and we do the same thing with our canned soups. I said if he can do it in clothing, I can do it in food.

In the early 2000s the Food Network came to me. I did 100 shows or so with them for three years. It took a lot of time. Shooting in Europe took four weeks, and being in the studio meant three weeks. After a while, shows end, so I chose to concentrate on the restaurant business.

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In 2008, I decided to expand internationally so that if there's an economic crisis here, it won't affect us as much. Now we have restaurants in London and Singapore, and will open a restaurant in Dubai at the end of the year. We also have plans to open more restaurants in the Arab Emirates and in other parts of Asia.

I'm proudest of our longevity. I've had Spago for 31 years, and I still do the Oscar parties. Outside the restaurant business, we sell appliances and products like canned soups and pesto sauces. But I like fine dining the most. I still enjoy being in the kitchen. I hate being called a celebrity chef. "Chef" alone is enough.

My advice

Talk to your customers. I feel that when people come to my restaurant, they're coming to my house. You want to be gracious to them. At home you have to feed them for free. Here they have to pay.

Stick to what you know best. I owned 10% of Eureka Brewery & Restaurant, which opened in 1990. We had so many problems bottling the beer. I had to leave. The restaurant was successful, but the brewery lost a lot, and Eureka went into bankruptcy.

Hire young people. Young people bring more ideas. There has to be evolution constantly. If we stand still and don't pay attention to what's happening today and tomorrow, we'll be in a graveyard.

This story is from the December 09, 2013 issue of Fortune.