Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Robb Report

Sometimes called pizza omakase, the idea for a pizza-tasting menu isn't entirely new—check out what Small's was offering in Singapore back in 2020, or what a handful of Naples shops have been doing for the past few years—but it's finally now catching on in the States. “There's been a renaissance of pizza in the last 10 years,” says Tony Gemignani, chef-owner of Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. “Sometimes people didn't think pizza could be fine dining, and now it's changed. It's evolved.” If you're up for the challenge (really, these experiences aren't for the faint of stomach), here's where to find some of the country's best and most innovative takes on the ultimate high-low gastronomic adventure. Razza | Jersey City, N.J. At Razza, Dan Richer's tasting experience is so…

Kitchens play a pivotal role in the timeline of Piero Lissoni's life. From childhood conversations around the dinner table regarding his creative ambitions to the small apartment in Milan where he set up his first studio, the architect followed his passion for creating spaces through classrooms, offices, and studios around the globe before landing, in 1986, at Boffi—a purveyor of (go figure) luxury kitchens. “For me, it was like a special trampoline jump,” Lissoni says of the move, made when he was just 30 years old, which would help launch his career and cement him as one of the most prolific designers of our time. “I was very young, and Boffi was not in a fantastic situation in terms of creativity, economy, or credibility.” Lissoni, along with Roberto Gavazzi, Boffi's…

An extreme example of civilian aircraft being drafted into military application is the EA-37B Compass Call, an attack plane whose purpose is to electronically disrupt enemy air defenses by blocking their ability to transmit information between weapon systems and command networks. While the role was previously filled by the aged Lockheed C-130H, its replacement is the Gulfstream G550—a favorite of the jet set that becomes nearly unrecognizable in its military guise thanks to the extensive modifications. The twin-turbofan G550 is a notable conversion for numerous reasons, including speed and range capabilities that are a massive leap beyond what Lockheed's 40-year-old quad turboprop can achieve. “What made the G550 attractive was that, unlike the G650, the 550 has a spare engine pad which can be utilized for extra generators” to power…

FIELD NOTES Being a fashion writer and a style consultant, the biggest gripe I hear from men has always been some version of: Sure, I understand what to wear to work, but how about dressing elegantly outside it? What splits the difference between my custom suits and silk ties and my old khakis and a T-shirt? Except now it's worse, because even the codes around dressing for the office have collapsed. The frustration at not being able to nail “smart casual” is palpable-and understandable: As the phrase itself suggests, it's an in-between approach that requires dressing comfortably yet also stylishly (or is it the other way around?) and without looking like you've made much effort. No wonder guys throw up their hands and reach for what they already know. But…

After an impressive debut, HBO's critically acclaimed social satire The White Lotus returned for a second installment, offering viewers more dysfunctionally affluent guests and put-out staffers and a serious case of travel envy. The immensely popular series has amassed a cult following within the luxury world, many of whom have strong opinions about where the show should film next—and who could possibly fill the Jennifer Coolidge–size hole in their hearts. Ahead of season three's arrival next year, we asked top designers, travel advisers, jewelers, chefs, and sommeliers—plus a casting director, a mafia expert, and even a former mobster—to take a turn in the showrunner's chair. After all, who better to weigh in than those who spend their time catering to those “challenging” clients the show so successfully sends up? If…

ROBB RECOMMENDS… IN 1903, LA A URORA debuted as the first premium commercial cigar brand in the Dominican Republic when it released a hand-rolled puro called the Preferidos No. 1. To celebrate the 120th anniversary of that moment, company president Guillermo León, a fifth-generation member of the founding family, recently introduced a limitededition re-creation of that very smoke. Not to be confused with the 120th Anniversary Toro, Gran Toro, Churchill, and Robusto (all regular parts of the La Aurora portfolio), the Limited Edition Preferidos No. 1 replicates the figurado shape that launched the company. Like the original Preferidos, it's an all-Dominican 6 x 58 double perfecto. However, the contemporary version boats a vastly improved new blend consisting of a Dominican-grown Cuban-seed Habano ‘92 wrapper, an Olor De Valle Cibao binder,…

“I hate people who drop names—and Lady Gaga agrees with me!” says Michael Chow, better known as Mr. Chow, the name of his global network of fine-dining temples. Joking aside, memories involving A-listers are always within reach for the restaurateur. Chow was just 12 when he left his native Shanghai to attend boarding school in England. Both his mother and his father, a leading Beijing opera performer, fell victim to China's Cultural Revolution. He wanted to be an artist but was told that Chinese men in the West faced a stark choice: “restaurant or laundry,” as he put it in last year's HBO documentary aka Mr. Chow. He turned to acting, scoring roles in films including You Only Live Twice, before his entertainment-world contacts helped finance his first restaurant in…

WHEN IVOR TIEFENBRUN debuted the Linn turntable in 1973, he sent shock waves through the music world. The device quickly won favor among audiophiles due to its superior sonic qualities, among other attributes. Plus, it was purpose-built for modularity: Customers who bought an LP12 in the ‘70s can still improve their machines with any of the more than 50 mechanical and electrical upgrades released over the past half century. That legacy led former Apple design chief Jony Ive to contact Gilad Tiefenbrun, Linn's current CEO and Ivor's son, proposing a collaboration with Ive's company, LoveFrom. The two firms teamed up to create a limited-edition record player in honor of Linn's 50th anniversary. While other high-end turntables can resemble kinetic sculptures, Linn's Sondek LP12-50, only 250 of which will be made,…

In the hills of eastern Tennessee, on an 800-acre plot of land, a small army of construction workers is hustling to finish a $250 million gated community. On the day of our recent visit, the place was little more than a 3.5-mile loop of pavement—albeit one that jinks across the land like a back road in the Great Smoky Mountains, with 127 feet of elevation change from beginning to end. The facility will be one of just 13 permanent stateside circuits to meet FIA Grade 2 standards. The vision of Knoxville developer Rusty Bittle, Flatrock Motorclub is a private racetrack and luxury residence community rising about 45 minutes west of the city. Collaborating on the project is Tilke Engineers and Architects, the German firm behind numerous Formula 1 tracks around…

Riding in a speedboat on the Red Sea, 34-year-old Major League Soccer striker Jozy Altidore is observing his new sailing team as it races a highly technical 50-foot catamaran in the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix. The contest is part of the SailGP race series, now in its fourth season and comprising 13 events in 10 countries. As for Altidore, he represents the winds of change. Such ownership has typically been the province of elderly billionaires who selffund America's Cup and other entries more for yacht-club bragging rights than for profit. “There's a sexiness to it. SailGP is not far off from Formula 1 and other similar properties.” Many in this elite club grew up in the sport and have dedicated decades to competing, often spending tens of millions of…

Hollywood is famously awash in irony and blood feuds. So perhaps it's fitting that, after locking horns for decades in Europe over Gucci, Hedi Slimane, and the finest Champagnes, Bernard Arnault and François-Henri Pinault have exported their Gallic rivalry across the Atlantic, each billionaire now determined to conquer the epicenter of film and television just as he has vanquished the world of luxury. The dueling titans are building foundations in Hollywood that could be transformative not only for their many brands—which are chockablock with unplumbed archives—but also for the entertainment business, which knows how to tell a compelling tale. Last September, Pinault, chairman and chief executive of Kering, bought a majority stake in the CAA talent agency for a reported $2.8 billion through his family's private-investment group, Artémis. Kering, a…

Host cities of modern-day Olympic Games have gotten into the competitive spirit by trying to stage the most spellbinding, over-the-top opening ceremony on record. Beijing enlisted 2008 drummers. London featured James Bond escorting Queen Elizabeth II. All Rio needed to wow the crowd was Gisele, who turned the stadium into her personal catwalk, strutting the length of the field solo. But only Paris could make the unprecedented gamble that the city itself is spectacular enough to be the star of the show. If all goes according to plan when the Summer Olympics alight in Paris this July, the opening ceremony will play out like a Hollywood epic: Timed to coincide with the sinking of the sun, an open-air flotilla of boats will ferry the athlete delegations on the Seine, sailing…

THE GOODS THIS MONTH'S WHO, WHAT, AND WEAR Consider the domed and turreted palaces that took 22 generations to complete, their walls inlaid with rubies, jade, jasper, onyx, and cornelian. Or the thrones hewn from single blocks of serpentine, the porcelain tiles studded with diamonds, and the lifesize white-marble elephants standing sentry in jasmine-scented gardens. Few monarchies have ever matched the opulence of Rajasthan's royal courts at their peak. For more than a millennium, these unimaginable riches drew marauders from all corners—Arabs, Seljuks, Chalukyas, Mamluks, Mughals, and eventually, the Brits. Finally, in the early 1970s, an independent India stripped the royal dynasties of the last of their titles and much of their wealth. To endure, a few former maharajahs took the hotelier route: Jaipur's Rambagh Palace went on to host…

If you think highbrow vs. lowbrow tiffs are relegated only to film, literature, and music, you need a refresher on the intransigent hierarchies and petty snobberies of the art world. “Sometimes there's a little bit of a suspicion of work that is ‘too popular,’” says Marina Isgro, associate curator of media and performance art at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Which may be one explanation for American museums’ sluggish acceptance of graffiti-based art, a.k.a. street art. Though Basquiat famously got his start as one half of the tagging duo Samo and respected artists from Barry McGee to Banksy have emerged from this form of urban rebellion, curators have been likelier to embrace artists’ (seemingly) more mature studio art. But this month, the Hirshhorn will seek to…

DREAM MACHINES A DEVOTION TO MOTION At first glance, private jets and military aircraft couldn't seem further apart. But in the gray area between coddling luxury and mission-based efficiency, there's a rich history of innovation exchange that has helped both categories stay on the bleeding edge of aviation. The trend started in 1909, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps bought a Wright Military Flyer from the Wright brothers for $30,000, and has kept apace for more than a century as dozens of aircraft types were converted for the armed forces. Military-technology transfer is now advancing even more rapidly into the civilian market, with the latest generation of electric aircraft currently undergoing flight testing in preparation for certification in the next few years. The white space tackled by eVTOLs has brought…

THE DAY I ARRIVE outside the Los Angeles compound of husband-and-wife producing team David and Jessica Oyelowo, the Santa Anas-known as the devil winds for their heat and fury-have been lashing the city, felling trees and power lines and leaving plenty of disaster grist for the local-news mill in their wake. But once I am inside the gate, where first a boisterous Goldendoodle named Chappelle and then the view of a verdant hillside dotted with olive trees greet me, the meteorological chaos beyond the walls seems to disappear. Two Mediterranean-style homes sit on this generous plot in the San Fernando Valley, and David is hunkered down in the one closest to the street, which houses the couple's production company, Yoruba Saxon, its name a nod to their respective cultural heritages.…

Many elite lounges double as upscale eateries, serving bistro-style menus curated by notable chefs. JACK NICHOLSON AND DENZEL WASHINGTON AT THE LAKERS. Jay-Z and Beyoncé rooting for the Nets. Bad Bunny, well, everywhere. Seating celebrities courtside is downright de rigueur in the modern NBA, but you don't have to be an A-lister to relish the royal treatment at today's games. America's premier arenas offer high-rolling sports fans stylishly indulgent experiences that go beyond covetable tickets to include hidden enclaves, gourmet cuisine, collector-worthy wine lists, and, in at least one case, all the candy you can eat. BARCLAYS CENTER: COURTSIDE CROWN CLUB While the Brooklyn Nets didn't exactly set the league ablaze this season, the VIP program at the team's home court, the Barclays Center, rivals any in the Association. Members…