Ryan Shea

Delicious Bonbons and more at Stick With Me in NoLiTa!

To go through life not loving chocolate is like trying to find meaning in a Pauly Shore movie. Yes that is a reference to the best movie of all time “Clueless” but it boggles my mind to really go through life and not experience the joy and effervescent love of all different kinds of chocolate. And it is available in endless assortments here in New York City, kind of like a modern day concrete Willy Wonka if I can make another movie comparison. If there is, however, one person who could be the queen of the modern day confectioneries it is no other than the lovely Susanna Yoon, formerly of the world renowned Per Se, who now heads an incredible sweet-shop in the NoLiTa area of Manhattan called Stick With Me.

Located in NoLiTA, Stick With Me sweets are carefully made by hand with Valrhona chocolate and the finest natural ingredients. Their best sellers are the 24 bonbons flavored with a variety of rich caramels, marshmallows, jams, custards, etc. I got to experience these first hand a couple of days ago with a couple of other colleagues in my office and suffice to say they were nothing short of brilliant if not mind boggling. The flavor in these bonbons literally envelope in your mouth, and has such a rich and incredible texture to them that make each individual one simply divine and worth the trip down (or the click of a button on their site) to NoLiTa to experience them first hand. Their newest creation is the Birthday Cake Bon Bon made with vanilla funfetti ganache and chocolate cake at the base in a white chocolate shell. Price: $3.40 per bonbon, which in my opinion is completely worth it based on the amazing experience we were presented with just a couple of days ago.

I sat down with Susanna to talk about Stick With Me’s history, what makes it so special, her favorite item there and hopes for the future.

Stick With Me, Ryan Shea, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Stick With Me

How did the concept of Stick With Me get started?

Since working at Per Se, I have always wanted to be able to gift friends and family chocolates created inside a 3-michelin starred restaurant. Unfortunately, the mignardises are not sold separately, and only presented at the end of an extensive tasting menu. We wanted to create a shop that makes exclusive sweets more accessible to the public. A “sweet” fine-dining experience that can be taken home, gifted or enjoyed on the spot.

Speaking of, how did you come up with the name for the location?

The name Stick With Me was created after our slow cook caramels. A variety of different flavors such as yuzu, cassis, raspberry, brown buttered macadamia nut, roasted coffee bean, etc. Hence the natural sticky characteristics of caramels, so delicious that you want it to stick, we created the name Stick With Me.

What does Stick With Me specialize in and what sets it apart from the other bakeries in the NoLiTa area?

We are one of the only chocolate shops in New York to hand shell bonbons. We specialize in 24 uniquely designed-filled hand-shelled bonbons along with a selection of toffees, brittles, truffles, caramels, cakes, nut butters, and other sweet confections. We also pride ourselves on using the highest-quality ingredients and like to think that we bring a bit of fun and whimsy to the chocolate world. Our flavors, décor, and packaging are fun and it keeps things exciting!

Given that you have an amazing background at Per Se, how did you translate your time there into preparing these amazing bonbons, truffles, cakes and more?

At Per Se, we are taught that high-quality ingredients make high-quality products and in order to produce the very best, you have to use the very best raw products. After years of using the best ingredients and making these amazing desserts at Per Se, I decided to take the knowledge and experience I had gained to open my very own sweet-shop with my unique sweet creations. At Stick With Me, we try to source the finest ingredients. We use fresh milk, cream and nuts directly from the farms. We import cinnamon from Vietnam, yuzu, matcha and sesame from Japan, vanilla beans from Tahiti and Madagascar. We run on our creativity yet focus on our attention to details.

What is your favorite item that you sell at Stick With Me?

My favorite piece is always changing, but recently it has been the Vero which is layered with a vanilla infused caramel, crushed candied pecans, and a crunchy pecan praline seasoned with fleur de sel.

Tell me about the latest creation you have made, the Birthday Cake Bonbon.

We wanted to create a fun bonbon that people can enjoy on their birthday, or even daily. We bake real chocolate cake and place it over our vanilla frosting ganache that is mixed with rainbow sprinkles. It’s like eating all the best components of a cake, all inside a single bonbon.

Anything exciting happening for Stick With Me in the fall and winter seasons for our readers?

Our flavors rotate seasonally so we always have new and interesting flavors for our customers to try like the Birthday Cake Bon Bon and plan on introducing new flavors for the fall and holiday season. We will also be participating at the Chicken Coupe event hosted by Whoopi Goldberg in October and our customers would also be able to access our products at the Columbus Circle holiday market from Dec 1 – Dec 24.

What are your biggest hopes for this location?

For this shop to be our stepping stone towards expansion in NYC.

Happy Eating Everyone!

Official Site

Get To Know The Creative & Intelligent Steve MacIsaac

by Ryan Shea

With the excitement of NYC Comic Con coming up very shortly, many comic book loving aficionado’s are bracing for what will hopefully be an epic weekend of seeing the creative art of thousands upon thousands of illustrators, artists and so much more. Something that will hopefully get some representation there is the awesome LGBT artists that represent the vast amounts of backgrounds covered by our community.

Speaking of LGBT and comic books, there is someone that I recently was given attention to on my Facebook page due to his incredible comic strip line called “Shirtlifter”. This happens to be produced and made by Steve MacIsaac, who resides in the heart of Long Beach, California. Not being a stranger to comic book writing, Steve has had a lush and quite incredible history and backstory in this particular world of art. From his sex positive and very successful comic called “Sticky” to his successful completion of his 5th series of “Shirtlifter”, Steve has done and seen a lot in the comic world and has a lot to talk about regarding it. I recently sat down with Steve to get to know him a little more. I learned about his first interest in comics, inspirations, how “Sticky” and “Shirtlifter” came about, his thoughts on the LGBT comic world today and his incredible upcoming event taking place this Friday. Take a peek into his world.

Steve MacIsaac, Ryan Shea, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Steve MacIsaac

At what age did you discover that comic books were something you wanted to make a career out of?

I guess it depends on how you parse the question; I began drawing on my parents walls when I was about four years old; I learned to read from Peanuts, became an aficionado of superhero comics when I was eight years old, and started making my own strips and stories when I was about 10. So I am a long term cartoonist, in terms of interest, but gave it up in my teens because I was frustrated with my drawing ability. I didn’t come back to it until my late 20s, when my somewhat lapsed interest in comics came raging back, and I actually had something to say.

Did you have any inspirations in terms of authors, series, or illustrators that got you to this point?

I think everything I have ever read has influenced me in some way. I try not to have direct influences – I try and solve problems by coming up with a “Steve MacIsaac” way to do it from all the things I have internalized, rather than cribbing directly from other artists. I hate making lists because I will mail this and immediately hit my head because I have left someone obvious off of it, but people I admire and have been influenced by: Charles Schulz, Jaime Hernandez, Eddie Campbell, Dylan Horrocks, Dan Clowes, Dave Sim, Alex Toth, Tom of Finland, Gengorah Tagame, Fabrice Neaud, Alison Bechdel, Maurice Vellekoop, Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O’Connor, David Sedaris, David Lynch, Roman Polanski, Derek Jarman, Edouard Manet, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Barbara Kruger, The Velvet Underground , Coil, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, The Fall, The Magnetic Fields, The Mountain Goats, Judith Thompson, Brad Fraser. I could go on and on.

From “Sticky” to “Shirtlifter”, your comics have a huge gay theme to them. Was this the arena you wanted to work in from the get go or was it something that found its way during your career?

I didn’t particularly set out to do gay comics, at all, but the biggest stumbling block I had to becoming a cartoonist when I was younger was not really having anything to say. It wasn’t until coming out, which I did rather late (I was 26) and being rather confused by the gay scene, being somewhat shy and clueless and not really fitting like I fit in (which, to be fair, was also true of me when I was trying to be straight). Doing STICKY was a way of me coming to grips with sexuality, with who I was and who I was attracted to, while the SHIRTLIFTER material is me coming to grips with gay culture, with what that means in the early part of the 21^st century. I was interested in comics, formally, and I didn’t see any material out there that was addressing gay issues in a way that I felt was representative of how gay men are currently living their lives. And in any medium, when you see a gap that is not being served, that is an opportunity.

For people who don’t know, what is the premise of the comic “Sticky”?

Dale and I wanted to do wordless, sex-positive comics, in the vein of Tom of Finland, that showed real people having meaningful sex, in a real world context and with the personality of the guys coming through, in contrast to the dehumanized, stock going through the motions that is more typical of erotic work. “Carnality and sweetness” was a tag line that we thought up to describe the work – sex with a smile rather than a sneer.

You have also developed a line of comics called “Shirtlifter”. Can you tell our readers what those are about?

SHIRTLIFTER is my catch all anthology title where I write about whatever comes to mind. The stories in there explore the intersection of culture, identity, and sexuality: how gay men strive, succeed, and fail to make sense of the paradoxes and opportunities that present themselves in contemporary gay life, particularly the construction of presentation of masculinity. The first issue was a 32 page short story about American ex-patriots living in Tokyo; the second was a collection of 10 autobiographical short stories. Issues 3 – 5 have all formed one continuing story, “Unpacking”, exploring the relationship between a commitment-phobic gay man and a straight, married businessman. The stories are a mixture of funny and serious; I try to make them feel as real as possible, to the point where some people have accused me of spying on them and their friends. That always makes me feel good; the characters, even when they are not behaving as well as they should, are still fairly relatable.

You created and were successful in your Kickstarter for the 5^th series of Shirtlifter. How awesome! Do you plan on doing any more crowd funding for upcoming novels?

I’m not sure – I’d rather not rely on Kickstarter too much, as it is a well you can’t go to too often. But the truth of the matter is that print runs are expensive, and my sales, while consistent, take a long time to recoup their initial outlay. So I wouldn’t rule it out, at least for number 6.

What is your hope with the Shirtlifter series? Do you hope that it can be transformed into a television series for LOGO or something?

I do comics because I like the form, and I think they express my ideas in a way that would be hard to duplicate in other media. Comics allow for both the rich subjectivity that is possible with prose, and the objective distance provided by film or theatre. The observer is both observing and being, depending on the cues that the cartoonist is providing. That an being able to speed up or slow down the pace of consumption, depending on the layout and design that you use, gives me a pretty big toolbox that I am happy to explore. I don’t consider my work to be a jumping off point to something else. Which is not to say that if someone was interested I would say no – I love film and TV as medium, and did a lot of theatre when I was in my 20s. So I am interested in other media. But the reason I do comics is because of their unique ability to present and form ideas. When the medium is firing on all cylinders, I think it is the narrative experience provided is unrivaled.

Do you feel that LGBT comic book artists get the credit that they deserve in that particular world?

I’m on the fence about this question. On one hand, Alison Bechdel is unquestionably one of the comics industries best cultural ambassadors; she is up there in with Chris Ware and Art Spiegelman as being a serious cartoonist with strong public awareness. At the same time, she has gone on record as feeling very out of place and ignored within the mainstream comics community for the first 20 years of her career. She was carried in LGBT bookshops and mainstream bookstores, but not comic shops. She became successful despite the comic book industry, not because of it. I think things are definitely changing; there are more LGBT titles than ever before, and many superhero comics are including queer and trans characters. But most comics shops don’t carry indie titles, and many of those that do don’t carry many queer indie titles, mostly due to lack of promotion or resources than internalized homophobia (though that honestly plays a part as well). Hopefully the success of Anne Ishii and Graham Kobekin’s Massive book, as well as Ed Luce’s Wuvable Oaf book (both from Fantagraphics) are helping increase queer visibility in comics shops.

Tell me about your Long Beach event that is happening on September 11^th?

It is taking place at a store called MADE, which is at 236 Pine Ave, just down the street from my house. I’ve never done a reading in my own city before, so I am kind of excited. It’s a new shop that’s opened up, featuring locally made clothing, food items, arts and crafts, and also has a shelf allocated to local authors. So it seemed like a good fit for the venue. The evening will start as a mixer, people can browse the store and the books and art while having some beer and wine and snacks, then I will do a reading from previous work, the newest SHIRTLIFTER and a few stories that have not yet been published. I’ll have books available and will sign throughout the evening.

What else is next for Steve MacIsaac? What is your biggest hope for your career?

Now that it’s done, I’d like to collect “Unpacking” in a single volume, revising a few things and making some layout changes to give it more room to breathe. I’m also working on the next issue, which will be another suite of short autobiographical pieces, similar to what I did in SHIRTLIFTER number 2, with an eye to eventually collecting all those short pieces together in a single volume. Beyond that, I am not sure. I’d like to continue to do work that reflects the culture around me, as well as possible expand my horizons. I’m kicking around an idea for an science fiction story, but that’s still pretty gestational. So far, the world around me has proven to have more than enough material for me to turn into comics, fictional and otherwise.

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My First Time Encounter At The Electric Zoo Festival

by Ryan Shea

Guest contributor- James Teal

My first encounter with the Electric Zoo Festival was on opening night of the three day electronic music festival- Friday, September 4, 2015. The theme of this year’s zoo was “Transformation” and they really did need a transformation after the backlash the festival received from the last two years after reports of multiple drug overdoses, including one death, and last year’s shut down on day 3 because, contrary to popular belief, the cause was lightning storms, not drug use. This year saw an increase in overall security- in the crowds, by the bars, by the portable toilets, and especially at the front gate.

James Teal, Manhattan Digest, Electric Zoo Festival — Credit to: Jay Johnson

I was greeted by friendly people wearing their best smiles and their bright pink T-mobile shirts, one of this year’s festival sponsors. Immediately after the friendly T-Mobile smiles came the search dogs and the legion of security guards at 2 checkpoints. We stood in line for a good 15 minutes while dogs were forced to walk around us. After the awkward drug sniffing police dogs, came the harassing TSA–like pat-downs. A security guard asked if I had drugs and I responded “Nope, no drugs on me.” Then again with his finger in the air, security said “I’ll give you 1 last chance. Do you have any drugs?” This time I was more annoyed and said in a pointed tone “Do I look like I have any drugs on me!?” He gave a half frown and rolled his eyes while he patted me down and let me go. From that point on, the “Transformation” began.

We walked to the MasterCard hut (another sponsor of this year’s Electric Zoo) picked up VIP wristbands, and went straight into the hilltop arena where MasterCard holders had a VIP stage overlooking the entire arena with our own bar. The MasterCard Hilltop Arena provided the best performances I saw the entire festival.

James Teal, Ryan Shea, Manhattan Digest, Electric Zoo Festival — Credit to: Jay Johnson

We started with Snails, a DJ from the Skrillex label OWSLA. Snails’ set placed the performance level bar so high that the rest of the day we were looking for someone with even more energy to beat his performance. One highlight from the Snails set was when the crowd exploded into fist-pumping cheers at his Backstreet Boys remix of “Everybody”. Snails manipulated the bass hook in the original song into a 2015 dance-floor ready dubstep anthem, unquestionably one of his specialties.

After the high energy of Snails, we were ready for a drink. The Electric Zoo Festival creators were smart to make wrist bands with RFID chips that hold money which you load at specific huts marked in the festival. This year’s festival saw even more food vendors, including taco trucks and Jamaican patties (yum!). However, to buy anything you MUST exchange your US Dollars for EZ Bucks (EZB) at an exchange rate of $2.22 USD for 1 EZB. At that rate a 16 ounce can of beer costs 4.5 EZB (or $10 USD), and the tacos cost 2.5 EZB ($5.50 each). The high cost of food and drinks at music festivals is not anything new, but to the average drunk-twenty-something a taco worth 2.5 EZB looks more pleasing to the eye than a small taco for $5.5. A very tricky, and very smart way of making us spend more money at the festival, not to mention it was fun to wave my wrist in front of the machine to pay for my food and drinks. I might have to invest in one of those Apple Watches soon…

Festival highlights from the main stage included eclectic afternoon sets from Don Diablo, Slander, Audien, and the hyper-exciting high-energy 3LAU. These DJs mixed and mangled, twisted and re-tuned familiar popular music with new electronic drops, including original songs, which literally made all of our hearts jump with excitement and obviously faces melted.

Back in the Hilltop Arena, Keys N Krates left people in awe after their jaw dropping live trap music performance on stage with drums and synth/keyboard. Keys N Krates is definitely a band worth catching live if you ever have the chance. The Galantis set came right after Keys N Krates.

The one and only performance which stood out from the rest on opening night was the popular Swedish production duo Galantis. The group, famous for their hit singles Runaway (U & I), You, and Peanut Butter Jelly, is comprised of Christian “Bloodshy” Karlsson and Linus Eklow aka Style of Eye. Bloodshy is famous for his Grammy winning hits with artists like Britney Spears, JLo, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue and Madonna. And his partner, Style of Eye, co-wrote Icona Pop’s “I Love It” ft. Charlie XCX. We stood under the hot sun, in the 80 degree tent, with crowds overflowing outside of the tent (a venue too small for the duo), when the lights went down and Galantis came out to the biggest crowd the MasterCard Hilltop Arena saw all weekend. We were lucky enough to beat the crowds to get on the VIP deck and watch the action unfold before our eyes. Thirty minutes into the performance we were all dripping with sweat, and soaked! The thousands of people under the tent jumped around, danced, and watched as the Swedish duo’s performance included a pair of drum high-hats for each of them to bang on while they themselves jumped up and down and off of their turn tables. Their music transitions were less seamless and more like a pre-selected playlist strung together with awkward modulations between the sets. The awkward modulations weren’t too obvious, but enough for me to mention and for a group who will probably make even bigger hits in the future, I’m curious to see how their live sets transform after this small and intimate performance at Electric Zoo.

Most people will argue that EDM festivals are all the same and won’t matter who is on stage (because they all play the same music), but I am here to say those people are all wrong. If they’ve been to the Electric Zoo Festival – Transformed they would have seen that not all DJs are one in the same. Big-name, multi-day festivals around the world offer bigger stages and bigger crowds, while Electric Zoo focused on the smaller names, which allowed smaller stages, and in turn brought out smaller crowds. At the end of the day what every single festival does right is bring the right audience. Everyone shows excitement, dresses to impress, and shows the utmost respect for each other. The morning after opening night the intense sense of FOMO kicks in, and you absolutely must go back and experience day 2, and 3 just so you can say you saw it all. I can’t wait for the next festival.

For more info on Electric Zoo Festival, check out the official site.

New Era Drops Limited Edition Made In America Festival Cap

by Ryan Shea

Budweiser’s “Made In America” festival is coming up shortly on September 5th and 6th. The annual festival, held in Philadelphia, is boasting some of the biggest names in music from Beyonce, Modest Mouse, The Weeknd and J. Cole just to name a few. Well famed hat maker New Era is putting their two cents into the mix by exclusively dropping a one of a kind hat for the festival.

Roc Nation teamed up with New Era Cap to create the Roc Nation 9Fifty snapback. With great American colors with an awesome black background, it is an essential for any hat loving aficionado to rock during this festival and well beyond it. What is even better is that it is listed only at $45, which is a steal for the hat wearing community. It is being made available to people showing up to the festival but can also be purchased on Roc Nation’s official website and their store Roc N Sole in Brooklyn.

Hope you all have a great time at Made In America for any of the Manhattanites who are making the trek there this weekend, and if you wanna rock a stylish hat that will grab attention then go out and get it!

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

Cocktails On Demand? Check Out Instapour’s Launch on Sept. 5th!

by Ryan Shea

Here are three fun words put together “Cocktails On Demand”. Now that sort of thing usually exists at a bar usually when you are celebrating your birthday, a friends engagement or had a rough day and need to pound back a few, however there is this amazing new service that promises this- “We’ll bring you the drinks, you enjoy responsibly”. This awesomeness is called Instapour, which is being touted as a premium, on demand cocktail delivery service to connoisseurs who enjoy the delicious and tasty concoctions that cocktails really are.

This service is being offered to people in the New York City and Los Angeles area starting on September 5th, just in time to kick of the Labor Day Weekend celebrations. Residents be able to order Caliche Rum and Casamigos Tequila cocktails and mixers, to bring happy hour straight from the bar to wherever you are.

Mixed and prepped by 15 year NYC veteran mixologist Warren Hode (Bond St, The Summit Bar, White Street), Instapour provides cocktailians a chance to enjoy the craft cocktail experience at home without having to take a mixology class. The care package includes a bottle of either Caliche Rum or Casamigos, a pre-batched cocktail mixer, and garnish and bar tools to add the final touches to the drink. Whether it’s a Friday afternoon at the office, rooftop brunch at your apartment or a picnic in the park, Instapour is made for any occasion and is delivered with a click of a button within the hour. The menu for this unique summer cocktail experience offers The Casamigos Spicy Cucumber Margarita, InstaSoul Reviver with Casamigos, Picasso Palomas with Casamigos, The Caliche Rum Mojito and Caliche Rum Strawberry Daiquiri.

This sounds like an awesome opportunity for this who are going to be hella busy this weekend to save themselves the energy and time for going out and getting all the necessary items and for it simply to come to you, beautifully packaged and ready to drink in minutes. Its something that I would definitely recommend for any of my readers to try out. Want more information and recipes on the Caliche Rum and Casamigos Tequila? Read below! Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone and enjoy safely please!

Instapour, Manhattan Digest, Ryan Shea — Credit to: Instapour

WHAT: Instapour Launch featuring Caliche Rum and Casamigos Tequila

WHEN: Begins Saturday, September 5 in NYC between 9am-8pm EST and LA between 9am-8pm PT

HOW: Readers can enjoy this unique cocktail experience and order cocktail hour for delivery within the hour at: www.Instapour.com (mobile friendly)

SOCIAL MEDIA: @Instapour.Cocktails, @CalicheRum, @Casamigos, #DrinksOnDemand, #InstapourFavor, #DaiquiriDelivery

PRICE: FREE Delivery | $39 – $59 Monthly Cocktail Box Subscription | $59 Start an Instaparty per-hour

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Instapour x Caliche Rum will also be available through the holidays for a festive AND convenient holiday season (holiday cocktail recipes TBD)

Instapour, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Instapour

Caliche Rum Strawberry Daiquiri

2 oz Caliche Rum

1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

¾ oz Cane Syrup (preferred) or Simple Syrup

1 Fresh Strawberry

Garnish: Strawberry

In a mixing tin, combine all ingredients, lightly muddle the strawberry (do not shred to pieces). In ice shaker shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into an ice filled rocks glass and garnish with Strawberry.

The Caliche Rum Mojito

2 oz Caliche Rum

1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

¾ oz Simple Syrup

8 Mint Leaves

Crushed ice on top

Garnish: Mint Sprig

In a rocks glass, combine all ingredients, lightly muddle mint leaves. Top with crushed ice or preferably nugget ice. Garnish with a mint spring.

Get To Know The Hilarious & Dynamic Trio Called The Under 5ers

by Ryan Shea

Even though I consider myself to be quite the funny person, especially my lack of dieting and amount of men I’ve been with lately at the height of my comedy/f my life mentality, it takes a lot for me to really find something out there in the universe that is really fucking funny. Ramona falling asleep on the Real Housewives of New York City reunion? Hilarious. That crazy white lady pretty much asking Donald Trump to eat her baby? Hysterical, and probably factual. But I found something so much more funny, silly, sexy and so many more adjectives in the Under 5ers, which is a web-series about three friends just trying to make it in New York City and all the issues that 20 something’s face while being here.

The Under 5ers is Matthew Wilson, Alexandra Nader and Sami Horneff. All three of them have an incredible background when it comes to theater and arts in general (American Musical And Dramatic Academy, London Dramatic Academy and Upright Citizens Brigade just to name a few) and that training really shows in just how incredible their comic timing and acting is in each episode. Subway issues? Dating issues? Job Issues? Brooklyn? COVERED! And done brilliantly. If there is a “next” in terms of what is next in comedy, these three are it.

Now they are diving deep into season two of their incredible show which just premiered on August 13th. Lucky for me, I was able to sit down with the three of them over dinner and get to know them a little more. They each talked to me about how this all came about, what The Under 5ers actually mean, comedy inspirations and what they are hopeful in their next steps. Take a look!

The Under 5ers, Manhattan Digest, Ryan Shea — Credit to: The Under 5ers

How did you three crazy people find each other in the first place?

The short answer is that we all met in an acting class. The more interesting answer is that not only were we all in the same acting class, but we all happened to be collaborating on a musical at the same time. The musical was the brain-child of our acting coach who aimed to get a group of artists together to develop, write, and star in a show. The three of us ended up writing a good portion of the score, and, in doing such, discovered our passion for creating new material and developing our personal style of comedy. Our acting class met till 5:30pm and our musical rehearsal started at 7:00pm, so in that hour and a half, those of us involved in both would go out to dinner. With Patron, a fabulous Mexican restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, around the corner, the three of us quickly separated from the pack and bonded over our mutual love of margaritas. At Patron, we started brainstorming ways to create our own content. We’d write ideas on napkins or dialogue on bar tab receipts. And thus, The Under 5ers was born.

For each of you, was comedy that was always something instilled in you and something you wanted to do?

Matt: Growing up in McMinnville, Oregon and being a son of a truck driver…hell yes, comedy was instilled in me. I didn’t always want to “do comedy” but comedy was always there for me.

Sami: I actually got my start in Musical Theatre, where timing is essentially everything. From there, comedy came naturally, and the more I trained, the more I discovered my passion for both writing comedy and performing in it.

Alex: “Your features are too big.” This is the comment everyone always told me in my professional life. I was a small ethnic girl with a big smile, big eyes, and an uncomfortably loud way of speaking. Comedy was and is the only field that lets me be who I am and feel proud of it.

Similarly, who were your comedy inspirations growing up?

Matt: I grew up watching and mimicking Jim Carry and his many facial expressions. Then later in life I was touched and moved by Robin Williams. The honestly he brought to his comedy was unlike any other.

Sami: Because I grew upon the stage, funny theatre woman were my inspiration. Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, and Kerry Butler have understated comedic strength and impeccable timing- I grew up attempting to emulate that.

Alex: I could not shout Lisa Kudrow’s name loud enough. She was everything I wanted to be. She is funny, sharp, honest, and most of all- weird. She doesn’t apologize for who she is or what she does. She marches to the beat of her own drum, and that is all I can hope to do as an artist.

How did you come up with the name The Under 5ers?

People ask us this question all the time and there are multiple answers. The nice answer is that we “aim” for all of our episodes to be under 5 minutes long…but we failed at that.

So the real answer is, we all started to see a particular pattern among our friends on Facebook. They would post any and all exciting casting victories (including but not limited to first round callbacks and extra work). With these “big name TV” opportunities, many ‘likes’ would follow. “Oh my God, Tracy you got a part on Blue Bloods, we cannot wait to watch”. When we finally did, turns out Tracy was the dead body in the corner. In our industry an “Under 5” is an actor that is hired for a guest spot of less than five lines. It’s a very ‘down on your luck’ concept that we wanted to extract and input into other life scenarios outside of the acting business.

The Under 5ers, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: The Under 5ers

For people who don’t know about you guys, what is the web series all about?

The professional answer is: “The Under 5ers is inspired by the lives of three twenty-somethings living in New York City. It is a new web series about struggles, survivals, and hilarity along the way.” … so basically it’s a Three’s Company dynamic with Girls content. We KNOW there are a lot of shows out there about twenty-somethings not knowing who they are, and we don’t pretend to be anything but that. However, what’s unique about us is our commitment to letting our stories and our characters be as weird and honest as life is.

You are currently in the 2^nd season of The Under 5ers. Let’s take this back to the first season. What was that experience like and what have you learned the most when it comes to developing a webseries?

The first season was an experiment- one that we are very proud of. It was a labor of love. We had absolutely no budget, no experience, and no crew, only a camera and a commitment to making something funny. We were truly shocked when we started getting recognized on the street and our peers who we looked up to kept asking when they could make a guest appearance. We knew we had something that we had to continue. Season One taught us to have confidence and conviction in our writing ability no matter what the financial obstacles were.

When it comes to developing a web series the biggest lesson we learned was consistency. It’s about being organized, scheduling meetings and sticking to them, and having back up plans even for your back up plans.

What exciting things are in the works for season 2?

Alex: Plot!

Sami: Character development!

Matt: HOT GUYS!

Your tagline is “One city. Three Friends. A whole lot of problems”. What do you think is the biggest struggle for 20 something’s in NYC and how can they alleviate that?

Figuring out who the hell you want to be. For the first time, twenty-somethings have the luxury of being what Aziz Ansari calls “emerging adults,” which means they can take the time to make mistakes and experiment with careers, relationships, and identity without fear of peril. We’re living in a revolutionary time, but with the amount of choice that we have, we’ve found it’s hard to make one.

What would you say is your biggest hope for this show going forward?

Once a week, we would get together and fashion our own writers’ room at Sami’s kitchen table. It was as close to church as the three of us would ever get. Our hope going forward is to keep collaborating and to invite other, more experienced artists into our circle. #JudeApatowPleaseLoveUs

Anything else exciting coming up with the show that you would like to add?

We don’t want to give away any spoilers, but we think our audience will be happily surprised with the direction this season will take after the first two or three episodes of exposition. We introduce re-occurring characters, and you’ll be able to see real development in the three friends as they experience the pains of growing up. As for Matt, Sami, and Alex as creators…..whelp, we’re still trying to figure that out.

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Why You Should Check Into The Hotel Belleclaire

by Ryan Shea

Here at Manhattan Digest we are always on the lookout for some of the best of the best when it comes to hospitality in the best city of the world. That of course includes the best hotels to stay at upon your visit to NYC or if you just need a place to crash for the night. Most recently I discovered the delightful Hotel Belleclaire, nestled in the heart of the Upper West Side on 250 West 77th Street. A short trip away from the 1, 2 and 3 subway lines, Hotel Belleclaire offers a classic & elegant touch in an area that has a similar feel upon entrance.

Hotel Belleclaire, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Hotel Belleclaire

Something that I really loved about the Hotel Belleclaire was that you felt like you were transported to a different era and time, circa 1920’s and 1930’s. At the same time, there are modern touches throughout the hotel that really give it such a great duality on just that mixed with retro that I think would attract any type of customer. The hotel itself has been opened for over 100 years and has attracted visitors from Mark Twain and Babe Ruth just to name a few. It was also once referred to as a skyscraper on Broadway and was considered to be one of the most luxurious buildings in the city. Several years later, this landmark has stayed consistent in its appeal and charm and after my stay I can definitely see why.

The room I stayed in, otherwise known as their Parlor Suites, was spacious, colorful and beautifully decorated with upscale furnishings. They also have family suites, city view and Broadway King where you literally feel like you are being treated as such. One thing to check out if you are a Yankees fan is the Babe Ruth Suite which is adorned with memorabilia and art about the legend himself. Hotel Belleclaire, which is part of the Triumph Hotels brand, also offers complimentary walking tours to explore the various neighborhoods in partnership with Streetwise New York, one of the most knowledgeable tour guide companies in the business. The tours are available Tuesday – Sunday at each of the seven properties and are available to hotel guests and open to the public. More information on that can be seen here.

Kristine Chu, who is the director of marketing and sales for Hotel Belleclaire, was nice enough to sit down with me so I can get to know more about the hotel a little more.

How long has the Hotel Belleclaire been around for?

Hotel was built in 1903 by Emery Roth.

The hotel itself has a very early 20th century-late 19th century appeal to it. Is that what you and the staff are trying to convey?

Our 10 story Beaux Art style structure was designed by famed architect, Emery Roth. Our recent renovation of the hotel convey a perfect blend of Classic Charm and Stylish Comfort.

What separates the Hotel Belleclaire from other hotels in the Upper West Side?

Location aside, our Service level and value-add amenities are the most mentioned & sought after attributes from our hotel guests.

What kind of amenities are guests treated to when they stay at your hotel?

Here are some highlights of our hotel features and amenities for your reference:

Complimentary Wi-Fi
Complimentary Media Lounge with over 10,000 arcade games, 3 computer work stations and Flyte tracker screen.
Complimentary overnight shoeshine
Complimentary newspapers on weekdays
Complimentary 24-hour fitness center
Deluxe C.O. Bigelow bath amenities
Luxurious Frette linens
Mini refrigerator
Mille-Feuille Bakery Cafe

Any events coming up at the hotel that would be of interest to our readers?

With Fashion Week coming up, our parent company, Triumph Hotels usually partners with a vendor for mini-makeovers or massages. For this September’s upcoming Fashion Week, we will be partnering with Pucker offering 15 minute make-up, make overs which include eyes, lips and foundation. We are developing lipstick colors named after our hotels to pair with our nail polish color. We will giving out some of these nail polish/ lipstick sets to our VIP and female travelers.

Ultimately, why should people choose Hotel Belleclaire for their next hotel stay in Manhattan?

Offering a great location close to Central Park, Lincoln Center and easy access to midtown without having to pay the deep pocket midtown rate, loads of value-add/complimentary amenities and the opportunity to experience a genuine NYC neighborhood living are few of the compelling reasons to choose the Hotel Belleclaire for a NYC visit.

Check out Hotel Belleclaire’s official site for more information. Happy Travels everyone!

Check Out What’s Happening At Morton’s Grille

by Ryan Shea

Morton’s Grille, located on Park Avenue South between 18th and 19th Street, already has a lot going for it. On top of being part of the world famous Morton’s brand, the brand new location has already received great fanfare and accolades such as being named Best Steakhouse by yours truly here at Manhattan Digest. With all of the buzz surrounding Morton’s Grille itself, the restaurant wants to pay it back by providing its customers with some really great incentives that you should try the next time you show up to dine.

Morton's Grille, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Morton’s Grille

Between now and September 12th, Morton’s Grille is closing the summer out with their “Summer Finale”. What is the Summer Finale? Essentially it is a 3 course meal all for $30. That is beyond a steal in any type of restaurant in Manhattan, let alone Morton’s. So you can do a combination of great appetizers from Buffalo Chicken Meatballs to their Crispy Veggie Roll, then make your way towards the entree selection that includes top of the line delicacies like Chicken Chop Diane and a 6oz Center-Cut Filet Mignon as some examples. You also get to choose a delicious side such as their incredible Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Green Beans and finish off your meal with their great line of desserts like Key Lime Pie and New York Style Cheesecakes.

Something else that Morton’s Grille is doing that is super awesome is their Power Hour, taking place Monday to Friday from 3-6:30 PM and then from 9 to close as well as Sundays from 3 to close. Available only at the bar, you can come and bring your friends for some great drinks as well as fantastically priced Bar Bites like their delicious Steak Tacos and Bacon Fat Braised Ribs. BACON!!!! Just another good reason to stop on by.

And of course, they have an out of this world Wine List where you can find any type of domestic or imported wine of your choice at a highly discounted price. So if red or white wine strikes your fancy, Chardonnay or Cabernet is your way to go, Morton’s has it all for a deliciously low price that is sure to entice and enjoy. Basically, just go there and have a good time no matter what the occasion is. It really is a beautiful and great place to dine at and you will enjoy it now or anytime of the year. For more information, check out their official site.

Otto’s Tacos In Hell’s Kitchen Opens To Great Flavor & Taste

by Ryan Shea

Let’s be real here. If you don’t like tacos of any kind then quite frankly we cannot be friends. Tacos are to me what Peanut Butter is to Jelly, or what water is to your livelihood. It just needs to happen and for anyone living in Manhattan you know that is a fact as we are always on the lookout for the next best thing in Tacos, Tacos, TACOS! One delicious and yummy solution for that is Otto’s Tacos, which just launched its third location last week in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen on 9th Avenue between 48th and 49th Street.

Otto's Tacos, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Otto’s Tacos

Otto’s, which already has two very successful locations in the East and West Village, in an LA inspired grab and go taquiera, with the food itself being as fresh as can be. Founded by Orange County native Otto Cedeno, the three locations are simple as can be- delicious and filling Tacos and more at a beyond reasonable price. It is a great place to grab a quick bite for lunch, lounge with some friends over dinner, or grab something delicious and filling after all the beer you consumed late one night. Regardless, this is the place you should go to.

The tacos themselves are to die for, coming in varieties of Carne Asada, Carnitas, Chicken, Shrimp and Mushroom for those who don’t eat meat or shellfish. They may look small in size however they are quite filling and tasty with the fresh tortilla placed under the variety of toppings. If you want to come for just the tacos that is fine, however I do recommend trying some of their delicious sides from their incredible Masa Fries with an awesome dipping sauce, Chips with their homemade Guacamole or a classic like rice and beans. Save room in your belly for dessert because their Churros are freaking awesome, fresh and taste great. Overall a 10 out of 10 in my book. Oh and there are Star Wars murals adorned throughout this location. Retro and cool :).

Check out their official site for more information and if you are in either the Hell’s Kitchen, East or West Village you should go and try Otto’s Tacos. Definitely worth the visit.

Happy Eating Everyone!

Check Out Bare Beef Tees- No Pants Required…

by Ryan Shea

I’m always on the lookout for the next great thing in gay brands, especially in the fashion industry. With the summer still in full swing for another month, many gay men are on the hunt for their last big vacation to take before the warm weather makes its exit and the brisk Fall weather makes its way in. So why not try to find some really great fitted tees that show off your physique, have a great pop of color with some awesome and sexy graphics to go along with? This is where Bare Beef Tees come along.

I discovered Bare Beef on Instagram actually, where that particular page alone has amounted to 6,000 followers in a short period of time. Pretty impressive for any Instagram page. The page is chock full of super hot beefy guys modeling some of Bare Beef’s signature and great tees for the masses to enjoy (including myself). I was very curious to know more about how the brand came about and so much more, and got the opportunity to do so. I sat down with owner Al Bare who told me more about the business, how his shirts are for men of all sizes, upcoming events, and so much more. Take a look.

Credit to: Geo Honaker for Vision Video Photography

So how did the concept of Bare Beef tees start?

The idea of Bare Beef tees came about from several compliments and conversations shared with friends, followers and admirers regarding my artwork. It was our collective belief that there was a community out there that would both enjoy and appreciate fantasy images of bear and leather men on quality tees and tank shirts.

When it came to coming up with a name for them, how did you land on “Bare Beef”?

A friend and I were brainstorming with one another about a name that would both suggest and sort of be a twist for the word “bear” and the word “beef” to denote images of sexy muscular hairy-beefy–bare chested fantasy men. So we thought it was just a good marriage of words to come with Bare Beef as our company name. While there are numerous t-shirt companies geared for the bear community that featured cartoon oriented designs and phrases we however wanted our designs to feature actual images of beefy muscular guys.

Design wise; was there anything you drew inspiration on when it came to making the tees themselves?

As an artist, I drew upon images from tv, movie and photographic prints as well as everyday men I saw at the gym , bear events, clubs or just regular guys on the street with a strikingly handsome face or aspect about their bodies that I could draw and even enhance wherever i chose.

You use very bold and strong colors on your tees such as a sharp red and black for instance. Do you tend to shy away from a softer color palette due to the intensity in how the models wear the shirts?

Since the original drawings are grey from their inception and then outlined digitally, a lighter color palette would not necessarily provide as great of a contrast as it does with the bolder t-shirt colors. This way the bolder “colored fabric canvas” provides a backdrop that stands out more and shows off the artwork a little more prominently. As we continue to grow and designs become more varied we will very likely incorporate different color palettes accordingly for their respective designs.

Are these shirts designed for men of all sizes?

Currently our designs are available in Medium to XXXLarge sizes. Even though most of our customers are members of the bear community (bears cubs,otters,chubs) as well as the leather community, we have however more recently received many requests from smaller framed guys that we will of course be certainly fulfilling in the very near future.

What is your take on gay men’s fashion today. Do you find that it is a bit one note or do you think we are improving when it comes to body acceptance in the community overall?

When discussing body image acceptance as a whole within the gay community and all of its sub-cultures I personally believe that there is still need for improvement. The bear community has long been identified as one in which body image shape, size; etc has been much more accepting and less critical when compared to the other sub cultures. The other cultures have both promoted and continued to revere a more slender, fit contoured physique and thereby have not embraced nor been as accepting of fashions which were casual or otherwise.

You have amassed over 5,000 Instagram followers which is quite impressive. How were you able to build on that with your brand?

When the original idea came up to begin this line of tees and tanks we asked friends, acquaintances and models to wear a tank or tee and had a photographer take several provocative pics of the guys. Then, we slowly released the pictures one by one via Instagram exclusively and we gained an impressive following right from the start with the release of the first couple of pictures. From there it just grew and grew until the launch of the line in May. We have had several customers who have purchase a tee or tank then took a selfie of themselves in their tee or tank and then we posted those and received even more attention and more followers from those postings. We also try to keep up with our customers by liking and commenting on their posts.

Price-wise, what does an average Bare Beef shirt cost?

Industry-wise we are on the low end since some of the retailers actually sell their tees and tanks from anywhere $40-$50. Our tees are only $26.99 and tanks for only $24.99.

Do you have any events coming up with Bare Beef that my readers would like to know about?

Yes thanks very much for asking …International Bear Bash in Orlando, FL in September; Hibearnation in St. Louis, MO. in November; and North American Bear Weekend in Lexington,KY in February. There’s also a chance that we’ll have our shirts at the Mid-Atlantic Leather in Washington, DC in January although that is not yet confirmed. At each of those events, our line of tees and tanks will be available at the Vendor Market at the Torso Menswear booth.

What is your ultimate hope with the Bare Beef brand?

We hope to expand from just the line of tees and tanks and broaden the line to include items such as hats, underwear, shorts, swimwear or even gym bags. Ideally we’d like to see our line crossover into the other cultures and be worn by guys of all genres.

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