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[title]While rap titans Jay-Z and Kanye West hogged the year’s music headlines with their megawatt collaboration, publishing tycoon Graydon Carter dazzled the fooderati with a similarly splashy experiment: What would happen if you created a culinary supergroup and gave it the run of one of midtown’s most historic venues? The results, like Watch the Throne, felt at once classic and assertively of the moment, with a dream team—including chef Damon Wise (Craft), cocktail doyenne Julie Reiner and downtown restaurateur Ken Friedman (the Spotted Pig)—infusing the storied space with the buzz it’s been missing. Perched at the bar with a pitch-perfect Vieux Carré or ensconced in a red leather booth with a plate of caviar-crowned smoked fettuccine (that shit cray), we were seduced time and again by that rare alchemy of old–New York luxury and new-school flair. The only question now is how long the star-power magic can last. Our advice: Get there tonight and kiss the ring. The Monkey Bar, 60 E 54th St between Madison and Park Aves (212-288-1010, monkeybarnewyork.com)
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