Michel de Guilhermier's Blog

Great Concept, Perfect Execution : Ted's Montana Grill !

As an individual, I very much fancy good food and great products. As a customer-driven entrepreneur, I pay attention and admire those concepts which are both well tought-over and perfectly executed to deliver a great experience with a flawless service to customers.

Thanks to my friend Fabrice Grinda I enjoyed a lunch a Ted's Montana Grill on 110W 51st St at 6th av which perfectly illustrates the above.

Fresh, good and tasty hamburgers, excellent service (quick, professional and friendly), spacy restaurant, inspirational design, and very decent prices ! When a hamburger at "l'Atelier Renault" on the Champs Elysées in Paris costs €18, ie $28, one will end up paying about 50% less here in the heart of Manhattan at Ted's Montana Grill 51st !

This 50-unit chain was co-founded and launched just 6 years ago by Ted Turner, the well known media entrepreneur, founder of CNN among other ventures and husband of Jane Fonda. In his Montana ranch, Ted Turner raises bisons whose meat you may eat at his restaurants (you will also find beef and chicken).

Have a look here at the founders' video where the roots and directions of the chain are thoroughly explicited. Pretty inspirational !

Concept looks right and execution just seems flawless ! Retail - which includes the restaurant business - is detail, and I could feel at Ted's Montana Grill that they have thoroughly thought over all issues. Well done, a great address in the crowded theather district where good and decently-priced restaurants are in extreme scarcity.

New York, by the Pictures (Part II, Inspirational Stores Biased) !

"Rain & Shine", 45th St, 45 East, claims to be "New York only umbrella and parasol shop". Truth be told, it's no competitor to Alexandra Sojfer's high end fashion umbrellas which simply are the best in the world. Nothing wrong about Rain & Shine, simply not in the same league.

Macaroons have become a hot and fashion product here in New York. Here's the recently opened "Cafe Macaron" on 36th St between 6th and 7th Av. Thruth be told, despite a hefty price tag ($1.75 each), it's no competitor to Laduree's fabulous macaroons. Dear New Yorkers, you may expect a Laduree store sometimes in 2009 !

Truth be told, the Noukies' department at FAO Schwarz on 59th St, just opposite the Apple "Cube" Store, yields one of the best $/sq  ft ratio !

New York, by the Pictures !

June 21st Yoga in Times Square !

Someone asleep in Bryant Park (9 AM) !

Another one asleep, at Herald Square (9:10AM) ! People work hard over here, sometimes with 2 jobs at once, no unemployment security as we have in France - with the abuses one may regret as I mentioned here, and employees seeking to be fired !

True piece of art isn't it (Apple Store Union Square) ?

It ain't a lipstock ad, just Belvedere Vodka's "glamorization" !

Jean Nouvel Gagne le Prix Pritzker !

Le Prix Pritzker (du nom de la famille fondatrice des Hyatt qui l'a crée) est sans doute la plus haute distinction en architecture. Qu'un architecte français gagne ce prix américain est un sacrée performance qu'il faut saluer ! Il a été décerné hier dimanche à Los Angeles.

Jean Nouvel, 62 ans, dont j'ai la chance de posséder chez moi une magnifique table design (j'en ai notamment parlé ICI), fut propulsé au 1er plan en 1987 avec l'Institut du Monde Arabe. On en a parlé plus récemment avec le musée des Arts Premiers, devenu depuis le musée du Quai Branly.

A New York, Jean Nouvel entreprend actuellement 2 magnifiques ouvrages, l'un de 23 étages au niveau de la 11ième rue (photo tout en bas) et l'autre à quelques mètres du MoMA (qui en occupera d'ailleurs 3 étages) à hauteur de la 54ième rue, qui lui s'élèvera de 75 étages (ci-dessous).

Dans les 2 cas, on retrouve l'usage intensif du verre et les jeux de lumières caractéristiques de Jean Nouvel. La tour de la 54ième est par ailleurs appelée la "Glass Tower".

In New York, There's No Such Thing as a "Small" Job !

I'm always fascinated by the vitality here in New York. The city is living at 200mph, people are working hard, sometimes cumulating jobs to earn a decent living and climb the social ladder.

The above ad was shot in the subway.

Would you imagine such an ad in France, "changing your life" by parking cars in Paris !?

Shooting a Little Detail, Before it Disappears !

Quite amazing to still find near Ground Zero a board with details on the Twin Towers, as they still were standing up.

I guess it will not stay further very long, so I had better shooting it for the posterity !

New York Trip : from the 7th to the 10th of September !

Back to Big Apple from the 7th afternoon to the 10th, late plane. I'd be happy to meet all of you who wish to share a beer and a friendly discussion. Just drop an email at my regular address and we'll find a spot.

Dolce Vita at Colombus Circle !

Another photo with no artistic pretention, but I was lucky enough to cross Colombus Circle with my Canon 400D ready at the very moment a red Vespa was driving by. Nothing relevant in Paris or in Italy, but in Manhattan scooters are a very rare species, especially with this flashy red !

The color contrast with the yellow/orange cab is nice and if you pay close attention you will notice that the driver wears red gloves !

What's the Name of this Street Again ?

Well, I'm supposedly at the crossing between 52nd Street and 6th Avenue, but call it the way you want !

Should I ask a New Yorker "where's the Cousin Brucie way", I'm not sure he would know !

My Favorite Bar in NYC : the Mandarin Hotel !

This really is by far my most favorite place to have a drink in the Big Apple, with its gorgeous view on Central Park and the skyline : the bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel located on the 35th floor of the Time Warner Center.

I usually have my meetings there.

A few years ago, the area around the Colombus Circle was going nowhere, despite its proximity to Central Park. It is now one of the hottest spot in town.

The Time Warner Center which opened early 2004 gave a big momentum to the whole area but it had started 10 years ago in 1997 when real estate and media star Donald Trump completed the renovation of the Gulf & Western office building and transformed it into a hotel and residential tower, now known as the "Trump Hotel and Tower".

While walking in the Park, I shot that picture of the south west corner area, with the Time Warner Center, the Trump Tower and the newly built Hearst Tower on the left side. Just right of the TWC one can see a new construction under way which will host luxurious condominiums.