Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i Esquire

NOTHING WRONG WITH PASTA AT 10:00 P.M. You’ve got stale bread, cauliflower, rigatoni, and a lemon. Evan Funke of Felix Trattoria (our 2017 Best New Restaurant) says it’s all you need for a killer late-night eat. Cut the cauliflower to bits, toast it in a pan, and make a sauce using pasta water, olive oil, and wine. Cook the rigatoni and put it all together. Also: Crumble up the bread and squeeze the lemon on top. Hit page 57 for more dinner-party shortcuts—and another pasta recipe from Funke. THIS GUY, IN THREE WORDS… GO. While we had Bill Hader and Nick Kroll on the phone for “The Esquire Guide to Funny” (which you can find on page 76), a certain cover subject came to mind—who happens to have a long…

One night in 2017, William Jackson Harper found himself at a dance party with his Good Place costars. There he was with Kristen Bell, Jameela Jamil, and Ted Danson, who dances with “a lot of hands, a lot of faces,” as Harper describes. “It was one of those moments where I had to take stock of my life and just really appreciate that I’m on a set with this cast,” he says. “And I was getting paid to do it.” A few years earlier, before he was cast on the beloved NBC comedy, Harper, then a theater actor, had considered leaving the industry. He was getting work, but “I was still broke all the time, and I was tired of it,” he says. “It felt like I was going to…

Ending a relationship in 2019 involves a lot of unfollowing. To get over someone, common wisdom holds, you can’t have little reminders of them popping up on your phone nonstop. So you delete their number and you block each other on social media and you try very hard not to open an incognito window just to look at their blocked Twitter. But while I’ve done my share of unfollowing, my general approach to breaking up in the extremely online age involves surrendering to the digital footprints my exes have left in my feed. Lately, this has meant watching a lot of BMX videos on Instagram. You can’t shoot people into space once you’re done with them, and you can’t magically erase them from your brain. Earlier this year, I spent…

The leather jacket has been a rite of passage for transgressive teens since the first intrepid motorcyclists and aviators hit the throttle. And its natural durability makes it perfect for all kinds of hell-raising. But its luxury also makes it an ideal choice in any guy’s wardrobe. So if a leather jacket is missing from your rotation, it’s time to find the right fit. The style you choose—from biker to aviator to café racer—will depend on the message you want to telegraph. Just know that all leathers of reasonable quality will, like you, improve with age. And don’t worry—with what we’ve put together in the following pages, it’ll be hard to go wrong. —Nick Sullivan…

…The great thing about leather is that it gets better with age. Which means it’s not impossible to buy a leather jacket older than you are that comes with its patina preloaded. For eBay hounds like me, jackets with a researchable provenance invariably mean military flight jackets that, if authentic, come—like my recently purchased G-1 jacket at left—with military spec numbers and U.S. government contracts on the label. This allows you to authenticate and date a jacket before you buy it. World War II flying jackets command enormous prices. G-1’s from the mid-’50s on are usually more affordable. Caution: Such is the appeal of flying jackets that modern Japanese replicas are often indistinguishable from their genuine forebears. It takes experience to sniff out pretenders. One clue: The fakes are more…

You already know Tiffany’s jewelry. That iconic blue box holds an almost mystical power, whether it contains a pair of cuff links (for you) or an engagement ring (for, well, not you). But here’s the thing: The iconic jeweler doesn’t want you to think of its new line of men’s jewelry as jewelry. “I think of jewelry as more an accessory than jewelry per se,” says Reed Krakoff, chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. “It’s not about a man who wears jewelry or doesn’t wear jewelry. It adds to their own sense of style without overwhelming them.” To develop Tiffany’s new men’s collection, Krakoff drew on a team of more than 5,000 skilled artisans to refine and extend the brand’s offerings for a new generation of men while respecting…

TOASTS with the Mosts ELEVATED, BUT STILL EASY …Make all the jokes you want about avocado toast being a major millennial food group. Toasts are the perfect party starter because they are fast and the combinations are limitless. But there are some guidelines to make them feel more special than a quick breakfast. They benefit from a contrast of textures, colors, and flavors. And there should usually be an adhesive: mayo to grab the avocado, crème fraîche to secure the endive. There’s a secret, however, to making toasts even more special: Toss baguette slices with a bright dressing and bake. This trick gives you so much additional flavor and crispiness. Here’s how to prepare them, and some tried-and-true ways to top them. But really, anything you dream up will be…

KENNETH McCoy Owner, La Ventura bar, New York, 47 “As I’ve gotten older, I don’t want to have a million things. I just want to have the right things that I can play with. I cherish my Donega lover coat. It just feels like a piece of armor.” THE TAKEAWAY Athletic socks can add a retro jock element to an otherwise buttoned-up look. Jason KUSIMO Content creator, 27 “These pants were originally a 4X. I took them to a trusted tailor. He said, ‘I can’t do this.’ I said, ‘I love these pants. I’m not going to find pants like this anywhere else, especially for twenty bucks.’ He said, ‘I ’ ll do this for you this one time.’ I came back a few days later. They were perfect. I…

IT’S 106 Month 2017_Esquire often said that celebrities thrive in front of an audience, but with Naoki Kobayashi, it’s another arena. Literally. As a member of two popular Japanese boy bands (yes, two), Kobayashi regularly entertains crowds of more than fifty thousand people. He’s been singing and dancing on global stages since 2009, when he joined the third generation of the nineteen-member Exile, which has sold more than twenty million records in Japan alone. He also belongs to J. Soul Brothers, a group with more than ten million in worldwide record sales. “J-pop fans are like beasts,” he says of performing for screaming, sold-out stadiums on annual tours. “But they and the guys are my family. I love them.” Kobayashi, who’d acted onstage for years in between tours, decided in…

This month, we’re doing a little comedy thing. To kick things off, I’ll tell you my favorite joke: A grasshopper walks into a bar and hops onto the stool. The bartender takes one look at him and says: “Hey, we’ve got a drink named after you.” The grasshopper says, “Me? Leonard?” Is that a dad joke? Yes. Am I a dad? I am! But I’ve been telling that one for fifteen years, which is eleven years longer than I’ve had children. I first heard it from my friend Brett. It was his go-to joke, and telling it always made him cackle. Brett tragically died fifteen years ago this September, at the age of twenty-three, a few weeks before the U.S. Marines were to deploy him to Iraq. I tell that…

I have visited thousands of restaurants in my lifetime, but over the summer I got an early peek at the strangest one I’ve ever seen. This happened in Copenhagen. The Danish city has been a vortex of culinary innovation for about 15 years now, thanks to the ripple effect of chef René Redzepi’s Noma. But nothing could have prepared me for Alchemist. I met 28-year-old chef Rasmus Munk out-side what appeared to be a warehouse. We stepped inside and beheld a Roy Lichtenstein–style tableau of New York City street scenes from graffiti artist Lady Aiko. Then we moved into a wine cellar that looked like something out of The Matrix—8,000 bottles stacked three stories high in glass towers with transparent glass floors. Then we ambled into what resembled the interior…

Unlike bourbon, which is distilled from corn mash and has a sweet, full-bodied flavor, rye whiskey is made with predominantly more rye grain in its mash—at least 51%—which results in a spicier, drier profile that really complements the sugar and bitters of an Old Fashioned. In fact, many classic whiskey cocktails, including the Old Fashioned, Sazerac, Manhattan, and whiskey sour, were originally designed to be made with rye because the dryness of the rye helps balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients. It can also be paired with club soda or ginger ale, while purists enjoy it straight, neat, or on the rocks. And did we mention it goes great with everything from ribs to pecan pie? Because it’s a little brighter and more complex on the palate, rye…

One of Seiko’s most sought-after timepieces was originally made to solve a diving problem. On saturation dives, helium buildup inside watches would blow the crystal off and wreck the watch. Seiko prevented this with the Ref. 6159-7010, featuring an outer case that protected the timepiece underwater from insidious gases. It was dubbed “the Tuna Can” for its resemblance to a five-ounce tin of Bumble Bee. What a nickname. To top that, when Arnold Schwarzenegger wore a model in the ’80s, this edition earned the moniker “the Arnie.” Seiko’s 2019 solar “Arnie” is an inspired reissue that tops off its battery using sunlight absorbed through the dial, and with a 47.8mm diameter, it’s even beefier. Which should please Arnie, too. —N.S. RING OF THE FUTURE …The Black Gold V3 ring looks…

When Franco Loro Piana’s family sold its legendary textile and fashion business, he and his brother, Giacomo, sought to define something intensely personal to them: surfing, sailing, and sport. The result is Sease, a new label that fuses luxury and performance, two things the Italians are historically pretty good at. The coat shown here is made with a cloth customarily used in Milanese suits, but it comes in a very nontraditional blend of wool and bio-based nylon for breathability and waterproofing. “We didn’t set out to make a purely sport collection—these pieces work just as well for you in your city life,” says Loro Piana, who keeps a surfboard in his office in Milan. “It makes you feel a bit happier.” Find Sease online (sease.it) or in its New York…

ALEX ONE OF EIGHT CHILD ACTORS SITTING in a circle with John Mulaney, has a grand unified theory about blooper reels that he would like to share right this second. “Before I see a movie, I always watch the blooper reels,” he explains. “If that movie has no fun moments, like, so that means they didn’t even have fun doing it? So then I’m not gonna watch the movie.” Mulaney’s eyebrows fly upward—Alex’s logic is a touch cockeyed but impressive. “That’s brilliant!” he says. It’s a Tuesday afternoon in July, and he and the actors—ages eight to twelve—are gathered in a fluorescent-lit rehearsal space in Manhattan’s Theater District, here to rehearse his next, as-of-yet-untitled comedy special. A couple years ago, on the same block, he starred with his friend Nick…

•It’s twilight at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, and the curtains glow a dim blue. Jim Boeheim stands on his heels at the lectern, the night before his annual charity golf tournament. Weight back, hips supinated, eyes down. The thunderheads are in. The bad weather is jammed in to the west and headed this way. Golf tomorrow is probably off. But this is upstate New York, the Mohawk Valley, east of Syracuse. People know the weather doesn’t make any guarantees as to your happiness. Boeheim smiles and addresses the room from the cockpit of his trademark what-are-you-gonna-do shrug. Then he sets about his business for the night. He’s wearing a sport coat over a logoed golf shirt atop expensive khaki pants and some kind of boat shoes. The hoops…

There never was a woman who, seeing a man directly after he had simply plastered down his hair with a little water, shaved himself and rubbed a little witch hazel on his face… didn’t secretly wonder why all the vast trouble she herself goes to, both in and out of beauty parlors, does not produce the same effect. “ THE MORE PRE SENTABLE SEX,” FEBRUARY 1935 Credit where it’s due: You guys were onto something here. I prefer a man who just uses water to style his hair. Pomade makes you look like a Ken doll who fell into a cup of clam chowder. This headline is proof that Esquire’s staff used to drink on the job. A sober person did not write this headline. I’ve read it six times,…

The existential question will come at some point in life: Am I a sports-car guy? For many, the answer is an unequivocal no. Got my crossover and I don’t need to compensate for nothin’. I get that. And I’ve heard of these Uber-only teens who don’t care about driving, let alone getting behind the wheel of anything with an ex-haust note. I’m a little sad about these developments, because the universal urge for fast freedom and instant independence that bubbles up when we’re teenagers, and again manifests itself in midlife—is that all there is?—is most viscerally fulfilled by a low slung, high-revving automobile. This form of therapy seems to be falling out of favor thanks to overly sensible autos and our mobility-app overlords. But if you have a genuine lust…

The first pickle juice I ever drank straight was at a horrendous dive bar in the East Village called Continental—a place where crusty bartenders doled out five shots of anything for $12, the sting of which you could mask with $2 picklebacks. A bargain! Continental filed for bankruptcy (twice), then closed last year. The pickleback, usually a shot of Irish whiskey followed by a shot of sour brine, lived on. And not only is it still a shot-taking staple in New York, where it was christened more than a decade ago, but it has also improved its lot and become something you actually want to drink rather than something you begrudgingly accept as your punishment for trying to “go out” and “have fun.” The thing about the pickleback that sets…

When Frank Bennack got his start in journalism as a classified-advertising salesman in 1950, it was a different world. The newspaper was king, and the publishing industry had deep pockets. As an adman in San Antonio, Bennack couldn’t have anticipated the challenges he’d later face as the CEO of Hearst (the parent company of Esquire), where he thrived in an era of big disruption. Under Bennack’s leadership of almost three decades, Hearst increased its revenue 14 times, grew its earnings to more than 30 times their original size, launched three cable networks (A&E, History, and Lifetime), and invested in the ESPN family of networks. To mark the publication of Leave Something on the Table, a memoir of an extraordinary life in business, Bennack sat down with us to share insight…

HOW TO WEAR IT LEADING LEATHER • • • The first step in any hero’s journey? Throwing on a leather jacket, of course. Why is it used by so many of our favorite film characters? It signifies a kind of easygoing ruggedness. Especially if you wear it with a twist. Let some of our cinema favorites inspire you. —Emma Carey…

Dressing the modern man is like trying to eat soup with a fork, a vexing business. It used to be simple, if a designer made elegant clothing well and men subscribed to the stereotypes of male style. But a change has come over us in the past decade. Now designing for men means creating clothing that responds to the needs of a wider customer base, of broader ages and backgrounds, with none of the old stereotypes in their minds. We’re concerned with looking good, but feeling good is paramount. For Italian men’s-wear leader Ermenegildo Zegna, the challenge is to tap into the altered psyche of the 21st-century male. As a global brand with century-old roots in making the finest cloths for tailors, Zegna must produce designs that are timeless, but…

NO 1 GREAT NEWS EVERYONE’S A COMEDIAN! Don’t be fooled by the guy on this issue’s cover. Comedy has never been home to so many different voices. The new platforms—streaming, podcasts, social media, and more—are expanding, reshaping, and, to a degree, leveling the landscape. Here, our highly subjective survey of what’s funny now, and where to find it. No 2 TERRIBLE NEWS EVERYONE’S A COMEDIAN! With so much hilarity, in so many formats, the options can be overwhelming. Consider this: On the first day of the year, Netflix released forty-seven stand-up specials. FORTYSEVEN. Amazon is entering the game, releasing specials by Jim Gaffigan and Ilana Glazer (her first). And that’s just standup. The glut of comedy means there’s that much more to sift through. Guess what: We did the sifting…

I. CASE #0383 Case #0383 was pulled from a plywood box by the gloved hands of three researchers wearing white Tyvek suits and medical masks. It was a May morning, and the air was damp and heavy under a hot iron of clouds. The rest of the team moved quickly around them, before the sandy soil could collapse the hole. Grasping the corners of his white body bag, they lifted the man’s crumpled form to the surface, where a new bag, a clean white sheet to cover it, and a small bouquet of flowers waited. The sound of the long zipper mixed with the scuff of boots in the dry dirt and the steady inhaling and exhaling of the workers in the heat, the only other sounds in the Sacred…