Greetings from NYC,
I’m here for the next three days…mostly to see Robyn (!!!), but also to check out some restaurants, catch up with some old friends, and get my yearly injection of actual autumn weather. It’s not quite fall here, but I’m pretending it’s in full swing despite today’s high of 85 degrees. Fashion Week starts today, so there are all manner of fabulous people gallivanting around the city right now (and way more traffic, naturally).
Last week in L.A., I checked out a friends and family preview of the new Hotel Lucile and its forthcoming restaurant, Sous Sous. Set inside a 1931-era Romanesque church, the hotel has been in the works for nearly 15 years. Originally, it was purchased by businesswoman and real estate mogul Dana Hollister (former owner of the Paramour Estate where Noma staged its infamous pop-up). Despite resistance from locals, Hollister obtained permission to convert it into a hotel in 2014 but filed for bankruptcy in 2018 due to a legal battle with Katy Perry and some nuns over another pious venue, a convent in Los Feliz. (You know, the usual.) Casetta Group (The Surfrider Malibu, Casa Cody, etc.) stepped in around 2020 and started developing the property into Hotel Lucile. Now, after six years of delays, the hotel opens this week and its restaurant Sous Sous opens on September 14.
