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A Pizza Expert Shares 8 Tips For Making The Perfect Pie At Home

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lucali pizza brooklyn new york

Americans eat pizza at least once a week, according to Zagat's 2013 pizza week survey. That's a lot of pies. 

To help satisfy that weekly craving, we checked in with the six-time World Champion pizza chef Bruno Di Fabio to get some tips for making the perfect pizza at home.  

Di Fabio has been developing pizza dough recipes for the past 10 years of his 30-year career, and he was recently featured as a guest judge on a pizza episode of the Food Network's new season of "Chopped."

Check out his eight hacks for making a perfect pizza. 

Add Warm Water And More Yeast Into The Dough

Heat water to reach between 95 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit before adding it to the rest of the ingredients for your pizza dough. Also, add about 3/4 of a teaspoon more yeast than the recipe calls for. The warmer water and higher amount of yeast will help the dough rise more quickly so it'll be ready to cook sooner. 

Di Fabio says yeast performs at its most optimal levels around 85 degrees.

Substitute Milk For Hard Or Soft Water

Hard water (with excessive calcium carbonate content) is bad for pizza dough because it impedes the fermentation process that allows the dough to rise. On the other hand, soft water (with minimal mineral content) is bad because it yields soft and sticky dough. If you know your area has either one of these water tendencies, replace the water in the recipe with milk for dough that will rise nicely and be easy to work into a pie shape.

"I use condensed milk in some recipes to give the dough a subtle sweetness," Di Fabio said.  

Fold In Extra Ingredients

shutterstock pizza dough

After the dough is largely mixed, some people like to add personalized seasonings like oil, salt, sugar, herbs or spices. The best way to evenly incorporate these finishing touches is by using your fist to carve what Di Fabio describes as "a well" into the dough.

Drop the extras into the well and fold them into the dough so they mix together from the inside out. "It helps you get the exact amount of an ingredient incorporated into the dough, instead of it spilling off the surface," Di Fabio said.

He also advised against over-mixing the dough. Folding adds friction, which in turn adds degrees of heat to the final product. Di Fabio said too much heat makes the protein strands in the flour too stiff, so it's harder to stretch the dough out. 

Drizzle Olive Oil Into The Bowl The Dough Rises In

Not only will the olive oil keep the dough from sticking to the bowl while it rises, it also adds elasticity to the dough so it will be easier to roll into a ball then flatten into a pie.

Also, be sure to cover the bowl with a dish cloth while it rises. You don't want a completely air-tight seal.

Sprinkle Semolina Over Your Prep Area

According to Di Fabio, using too much flour can actually detract from the pizza's flavor, so it's best to avoid over sprinkling flour on the counter to keep the dough from sticking.

To compensate, add semolina to the mix — you know it as the coarse, white grains coating the bottom of your pizza at a pizzeria. 

"It adds texture and flavor for a crispier crust," Di Fabio said.

Cover The Dough With Plastic Wrap After You Roll It Out

Pillsbury Gluten-Free Pizza

The yeast is still active in the dough even after it rises. When you roll the dough into a pie shape, you push out the carbon dioxide it developed while it rose. 

For a crust with a puffier texture, Di Fabio recommends laying the dough in a steel pan and covering it with plastic wrap to let it rise again. The air-tight seal traps some heat and prevents a rough skin from developing on the dough.

Bake The Pizza On A Cookie Sheet

Pizzas cook unevenly in an oven. That's why an inexperienced chef will often make a pie with a ghostly white bottom or an overdone top. Some home cooks alleviate the problem by moving the pizza to different levels of the oven during the cooking process, but it's easier just to get a home pizza stone made of ceramic firebricks or terracotta. 

Pre-heat the oven with the stone inside so its surface temperature is the same as the oven. "Giving a pizza bottom heat at the same time as top heat cooks it evenly and more quickly," Di Fabio explained.

You can also approximate a pizza stone by rolling the dough out on a cookie sheet that's been coated with a teaspoon of olive oil and a sprinkling of flour and semolina to prevent the dough from sticking.

Follow The Rule Of Thirds

Di Fabio's pet peeve is over-topping a pizza. He likes to choose a maximum of three ingredients that pair well with one another (not including the sauce and the cheese).

Staying simple in the toppings department also helps the natural flavor of the dough and tomato sauce shine through, which will leave the biggest impression on the eater. 

SEE ALSO: 12 Baking Hacks That Will Seriously Improve Your Cookies

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Ex-Sharper Image CEO's San Francisco Mansion Can Be Yours For $11 Million

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sharper image HOTD

The San Francisco home of Richard Thalheimer, founder and former CEO of The Sharper Image, has nearly everything you would expect from the domain of a tech mogul. 

Touch-screen monitors in each room control the home's sound system, security cameras, and window treatments. Nine flatscreen TVs situated throughout the house mean that you can get a high-definition movie experience in almost every room, and an internal elevator provides easy access to all three floors. There's even a C-3PO statue in the living room. 

The 7,750-square-foot home is located just off San Francisco's Billionaire's Row, where Oracle's Larry Ellison, Apple's Jonathan Ive, and Zynga's Mark Pincus all own homes. 

After initially hitting the market for $11.95 million in October 2013, the home is asking $1 million less. It's now listed for $10.95 million, Curbed SF reports.

The Mediterranean-style home was built in the 1920s and renovated in 2004.



Pass through tall hedges to get to the glass-paned front door.



In the Great Room, spaces for eating and lounging flow together in one communal area.



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A Wal-Mart Corporate Office Was Just Named One Of The Best New Buildings Of The Year

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Brazilian WalMart 9

The São Paulo, Brazil, headquarters of Walmart.com— full of beach chairs, game rooms and a rooftop golf course — recently won ArchDaily's Building of The Year award for best interior architecture.

The architecture news website had its readers vote for the best buildings in 14 categories, choosing from hundreds of spaces constructed in 2013. 

Brazilian architects at Estudio Guto Requena designed the Walmart office based on interviews with company employees, who answered questions about digital culture, the Walmart.com brand and Brazilian identity. That led to an office filled with primary colors and inspired by the outdoors.

The Walmart.com headquarters in São Paulo occupies five floors and close to 11,000 square feet.



Each floor has a different color scheme. The yellow floor has Walmart's logo hanging from the ceiling.



Each floor uses a different predominant wood: Pine, OSB, Eucalyptus or Masisa Zurich.



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Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Marc Lasry Bought A $33 Million Penthouse In The 'Ghostbusters' Building

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55 Central Park

Billionaire hedge fund manager Marc Lasry purchased the famed penthouse at 55 Central Park West last week, the New York Times reported. 

Lasry, who runs Avenue Capital, paid $33 million for the Upper West Side co-op. The listing price had been $35 million.

The 55 Central Park West building is famous for its role in "Ghostbusters."

We can expect that Lasry will have a great time decorating this place for Halloween. The Lasry townhouse on the Upper East Side is known for having some of Manhattan's spookiest Halloween decorations.

The apartment has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and one half bath.



The previous owner, music entrepreneur Steve Gottlieb, told the New York Times he had been using the space for parties.

Source: NYTimes



The glass enclosed apartment offers grand views of Central Park and the New York City skyline.



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The Terrible Reality Of Dining In The British House Of Lords

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House of Lords

Few countries are as linked to the concept of the class system as the United Kingdom, and there's no greater symbol of class within the U.K. than the House of Lords.

The Lords, as its referred to, is the upper house of Parliament in the British system. Originally composed only of hereditary peerage (the dukes, the marquesses, the earls, etc), it was once the most powerful part of parliament. Nowadays, however, the upper house wields far less power than the lower, and the hereditary members are slowly being phased out, replaced by Lords appointed by the Prime Minister or the House of Lords Appointments Commission, an independent body. There's even been talk of elections.

Even so, the Lords is still a remarkably fussy place, as evidenced by a recent investigation into their taxpayer-subsidized restaurants published by the Independent. Using a Freedom of Information request, the British newspaper was able to obtain a "steady stream" of complaints about the restaurants being sent to Lord John Sewel, the Chairman of Committees. Notable excerpts include the Lord who complained that a 15-minute wait led him to lose “some of the finesse of the afternoon." Another said that when their dinner reservation was cancelled, he and his wife were at a loss for somewhere else to dine — because she was wearing a tiara.

Of course, bad service is always annoying. But when you consider that the House of Lords' restaurants are said to cost the British taxpayer £60,000 ($100,000) a week, it seems a little ungrateful; a subsidized Sirloin steak goes for £16 in the House of Lords' Peers' Dining Room (not a bad price in London).

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PHOTOS: Pineapples Are Growing Out Of Microsoft's Walls (MSFT)

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Microsoft's newly designed Building 44, part of the company's massive headquarters in Redmond, Wash., has a whole bunch of cool and wacky features.

For instance, it has something called an "organic plant wall" filled with various plants, including actual pineapples.

It's pretty wild. Microsoft's Scott Guthrie tweeted a picture:

Microsoft 44 pineapples

This isn't the first organic plant wall at a tech company that we've seen, either. That honor would have to go to SuccessFactors and the gorgeous new headquarters it built in the Bay Area after it was acquired by SAP. Here's that wall o' plants:

 

SuccessFactors office

Why create a wall out of plants? For one reason, it's a space-efficient way to have a cheery indoor garden. Then there's the other reason: because they can.

Microsoft's Building 44 also has a few other fun features, Guthrie shared. Like a bright-blue spiral staircase in honor of being the building that hosts part of the Microsoft Azure team. Azure is Microsoft's cloud that competes with Amazon.

At the bottom of the staircase is the organic plant wall.

Microsoft blue staircase

And if plants aren't your thing, there's the skee-ball machines in the first-floor meeting room.

Microsoft skee ball

 

SEE ALSO: Here's the Microsoft Surface 2 tablet Delta bought 11,000 pilots instead of iPads

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11 Teenagers Who Could Be Breakout Stars At The Olympics

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You may have heard of The Selfie Olympics, an absurd trend sweeping Twitter and Facebook in which teenagers compete to take the most ridiculous and dangerous selfies.

Fortunately for the future of this nation, there are some Millennials with brighter ambitions.

A handful of under-21-year-olds are drawing attention for their outstanding performances in the U.S. Olympic qualifiers. These whippersnappers will be forces to be reckoned with when they take on their older competitors at the Winter Games in February.

Let's meet the up-and-comers heading to Sochi.

Aaron Blunck, 17

Gus Kenworthy, Aaron Blunck, Kevin Rolland slopestyle

Event: Men's freeskiing, halfpipe

Why you should watch: Blunck was the only U.S. freestyle skier to win a medal at the first Youth Winter Olympics held in 2012. Now he's in the big leagues, challenging his top rivals and teammates Lyman Currier and David Wise in Sochi.

Polina Edmunds, 15

polina edmunds

Event: Women's figure skating, singles

Why you should watch: The pint-sized high school sophomore obliterated the competition at the junior level, posting six victories in 2013, including the U.S. junior championship. Her silver medal at nationals helped Edmunds cinch Olympic berth in her first season at the senior level.

Nick Goepper, 19

nick goepper

Event: Men's freeskiing, slopestyle

Why you should watch: Goepper is ranked No. 1 in the world for the second consecutive year in slopestyle, and secured his ticket to Sochi with a win and a second-place finish in the first two qualifying events. The Olympic first-timer could lead teammates Bobby Brown and Gus Kenworthy in a U.S. sweep in slopestyle.

Gracie Gold, 18

gracie gold

Event: Women's figure skating, singles

Why you should watch: Besides having the punniest name of all the Olympians, Gold has good reason to believe she will medal at Sochi. She captured her first U.S. Championships in January, earning a personal-best score of 72.12 points for her short program.

Taylor and Arielle Gold, 20 and 17

taylor arielle gold snowboarders

Events: Snowboarding, halfpipe

Why you should watch: The Gold siblings are the dark-horses of the men's and women's halfpipe events. Both had unspectacular résumés, but shattered expectations with breakthrough performances at the five Olympic qualifying events this season. Taylor reached the podium in the first four events, winning at Copper Mountain, where Arielle turned in a second place run. They pair will urge each other on as they prove their worth at the Games.

Sarah Hendrickson, 19

Sarah Hendrickson

Event: Women's ski jumping, which makes it's Olympic debut in Sochi

Why you should watch: Five months after blowing out her right knee in a training crash, Hendrickson returned to the slopes just one week before the U.S. women's team was named. Despite being out of commission for most of the season, the reigning world champion made the cut based on her reputation for consistently killing it in competition.

Mikaela Shiffrin, 18

mikaela shiffrin

Events: Women's alpine skiing, giant slalom and slalom

Why you should watch: She's been called the next Lindsey Vonn, but this skiing prodigy is a whole other beast on the slopes — excelling in the technical disciplines whereas Vonn dominates in speed. Shiffrin won her second World Cup slalom in January, becoming the first American to top that podium twice before the age of 18, and consolidating her status as the favorite to take slalom in Sochi.

Maggie Voisin, 15

maggie voisin

Event: Women's freeskiing, slopestyle

Why you should watch: Voisin is the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team, snaring a ticket to Sochi based on the freeskiing coaches' discretion and not by her placement at qualifiers. The slopestyle phenom earned her stripes by placing in the top three in multiple U.S. Revolution tour competitions, and is ranked number four in the world by the Association of Freeskiing Professionals.

Tucker West, 18

tucker west luge

Event: Men's luge, singles

Why you should watch: Another record-breaking youngster, West became the youngest male to qualify for an American Olympic luge squad. The three-time USA Luge start champion has been called "the Backyard Olympian," because when he was age six, his dad built him a wooden luge track in the family's backyard.

Jason Brown, 19

jason brown 3

 Event: Men's figure skating, singles

Why you should watch: The 19-year-old wowed the crowed at the U.S. National Championships where he won silver and secured a spot on the Olympic team. Brown's routine was so entertaining, and he has so much presence, the crowd was on its feet cheering before he even finished.

The Opening Ceremony beings Friday, February 7 on NBC.

SEE ALSO: What 19 Olympic Athletes Do For A Living

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'SHOULD I PUT DOWN MY BEER?' What Facebook's First Office Looked Like

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keg stand facebook

Today, ten years after Facebook launched, the company has a sprawling campus in Palo Alto and it's building a mini town for its employees.

What did its first-ever office look like, back when it was a tiny startup in a crammed space?

The Huffington Post dug up an old video interview with Mark Zuckerberg from June 2005. The interview took place in the company's first Palo Alto office on a day when Facebook was celebrating its 3 millionth user (now it has more than 1 billion).

The office was in downtown Palo Alto on Emerson Street.  It had 5 or 6 offices, one conference room, and a large common area.

Zuckerberg was interviewed in the designated office "lounge." He was barefoot, sipping a beer.

The whole early Facebook clan is in the video, including YouTube founder Steve Chen and early employee Ezra Callahan.

The old Facebook office was located on the 2nd floor, above a Chinese restaurant. You can see the staircase on the left.



Executive Administrator Susie Stenson had just started working for Facebook in June 2005. There she is watching over Zuckerberg's desk.



There's 20-year-old Zuckerberg at his very first desk.



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The Hamptons' Hottest Homebuilder Tells Us What Wealthy People Want In Their Mansions

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farrell building hamptonsThe Hamptons' many hamlets have been a popular retreat for the wealthy for decades. The summertime months tend to bring well-heeled members of New York City's "it" crowd, who fill beautiful homes situated along the coast. 

But now the work of one homebuilder has the potential to dramatically change the look of Hamptons real estate. Former oil commodities trader Joe Farrell began building mansions in the East End of Long Island in 1996, and the area hasn't looked the same since.

Blue "Farrell Building" signs seem to pop up everywhere, advertising the multimillion dollar homes with gambrel shingle roofs that have come to be the builder's trademark.farrell building hamptonsIt's a takeover so apparent that some have even started referring to the process as "Farrellization," The New York Times noted last simmer. 

Part of the appeal of building with Farrell is the rapid speed with which his company can complete a project. A full-time staff of architects and contractors have established a system that allows them to finish a new mansion in under a year. These homes aren't cheap, either — before the recession, Farrell typically built huge houses that could sell for up to $20 million. Now the homes tend to be a bit smaller, averaging in the $3 million to $6 million range. 

Farrell's own home is a testament to the luxury living one can find in the Hamptons. Known as the Sandcastle, the 31,000-square-foot home in Bridgehampton comes complete with a slick underground bowling alley, skate ramp, movie theater, and wine room. Farrell has never had problems finding high-profile summer renters, with Jay-Z and Beyonce reportedly spending $400,000 to spend a month there in the summer of 2012. 

We caught up with Steve Pryzby, vice president of Farrell Building, to find out more about the company. 

Business Insider: What do people tend to look for in homes in the Hamptons?

Steve Pryzby: Location, views and proximity to the local beaches are the first items of discussion in the decision process. After that decision is made the home and its design fall into place rather easily but bedroom count and open floor plans play an essential role in creating the ultimate Hamptons getaway.

BI: Are there any features that you would say are typical in a Hamptons home? 

SP: Five+ bedrooms with a floor plan that emphasizes either the surrounding views or the rear property.  Customers expect the "wow factor" and we provide this by designing homes with a grand two-story high foyer which has unobstructed views through the great room overlooking the property as you enter the home.

farrell building hamptonsBI: Have you ever received any crazy requests for a home?

SP: Not really anything far from ordinary. The majority of customers come to us to build a Farrell house based on the design and finishes they saw in other homes we’ve had on the market, and most importantly, the time frame in which we can complete a project.

BI: Who are some of your buyers? 

SP: The majority of our buyers are New York City residents with careers in the finance industry while we do have a few celebrities we are currently building for.

BI: How many houses do you typically work on at once? 

SP: It is not at all uncommon for us to have 25 to 30 projects going at any point throughout the year. We currently have 35 projects under construction with the capability of handling many more.farrell building rendering

BI: How was business in 2013? How is it going so far this year? 

SP: 2013 was a busy year but 2014 is shaping up to be even busier. We usually see a slight dip in activity around the holidays and month following naturally but it has been an extremely active time in comparison to previous years.

BI: How does it compare to business before the housing crash? 

SP: Prices for land are fairly equal to if not surpassing pre-crash prices depending on location which has driven up the end user price, but we’ve been purchasing wisely and offering terrific product in very attractive price ranges.  The average size home currently is in the range of 5,000 to 6,000 square feet compared to earlier years where the average was 8,000 to 9,000 square feet.

Jeff Cully of EEFAS shot the video below highlighting some of Farrell's homes from 2013.

SEE ALSO: Architects Say These Are The 14 Best New Buildings Of The Year

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The Rooms In The Sochi Olympic Village Are Ridiculously Plain

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sochi olympic village bed

Amid accusations of waste, corruption, and overspending, the Sochi Olympics went $39 billion over budget.

It's the most expensive Olympics ever by far.

There is one area where you can't point to any obvious waste: the decor in the Olympic Village.

Click here to take the tour >

The rooms where the world's best athletes will stay during the games are as plain as plain comes. No fancy chairs. No ornate light fixtures. Just four walls and the bare essentials.

Olympic Village rooms have always always pretty basic. But this could use something. A splash a color. A throw pillow. A painted drawer.

Russian journalist Pavel Lysenkov did a video tour of the standard room today. Based on his tour, each athlete gets: 1 twin bed, 2 bath towels, 1 hand towel, 1 bedside table, 1 lamp, 1 chair, 1 wardrobe, and 1 wire stand to share.

No-nonsense stuff here. The balcony and nice views are great, though.

The room from the entryway.



The beds. Most rooms are doubles, but we've seen some triples.



What each athlete gets.



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How A Pair Of 20-Something Real Estate Hotshots Sold New York's First $100 Million Townhouse

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Tal and Oren Alexander

A New York townhouse is in contract to be sold to the nation of Qatar for $100 million, which, when completed, would make it the most expensive townhouse ever sold in the city.

We caught up with Tal Alexander, half of the 20-something sibling duo who represented Qatar in the sale, to find out how the record deal went down.

The story dates back to last year's United Nations Week, in late October, when representatives from Qatar reached out to Alexander, 27, and his brother Oren, 26, of Douglas Elliman's Alexander Team. Despite their age, the pair had made waves for the sale of the most expensive mansion in Miami, and had a number of other big-time deals under their belts.

Qatar had actively been searching for a location for their New York consulate for at least a year by the time they reached out to the Alexanders.

"I think they understood from day one that we were able to show them things they hadn't seen before," Tal Alexander told Business Insider. "We worked for our reputation of being able to make things happen. We have relationships with all the top brokers and focused on showing them off-the-market properties. They had been working with other brokers and they'd seen everything on the market, basically."

While identifying a suitable building for a consulate was a new experience, Alexander said he was used to dealing with similarly demanding clients.

Qatar had some particular requirements for a consulate building: The nations' Consul General Ahmed Yousef Al-Rumaihi sought a property that had substantial width — hard to come by in a city of slim townhouses  and a good set-up for security. Alexander reached out to the Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang, who he had worked with in the past.

wildenstein townhouseAs Chiang explained to The Real Deal, “I contacted my long-term clients, the Wildenstein family, to explore any possible interest in selling their mansion although the property was not on the market ... After reviewing the buyer’s request, my client agreed to the sale and the deal was consummated very quickly."

The five-story Wildenstein Building, formerly an art gallery at 19 E. 64th St., has a steel frame and reinforced floors built to accommodate the weight of vaults. It is ready for the consulate to open this spring, shortly after the deal is expected to close in April. 

"They jumped on it," Alexander said, "We got them to the right product in the right timing."

The sale will result in a loss of nearly $400,000 in annual taxes to New York City because foreign governments don't pay real estate taxes, the Olshan Luxury Market Report noted this week. Nonetheless, closing the record deal represented months of work for the Alexanders.

"It was very exciting, from the showings to being able to get the deal done," Alexander said. "Opportunities to work with a client like that, to find this type of property, don't come about every day in our business."

In part to celebrate the milestone sale, Tal and Oren accepted an invitation to spend five nights in Doha, the capital of Qatar, later this month. They'll receive a tour of the country and meet consulate members and their families.

"I'm sure now that we've secured this property for the state of Qatar, if any other consulates are in the market, I think they can consider us," Alexander said "Going through every single townhouse on the Upper East Side, our knowledge of that market is excellent, and if any other parties are interested in this, we have opportunities to present."

SEE ALSO: The Most Expensive Homes You Can Buy In New York City

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De Blasio Trolls Upper East Side On The Daily Show, Says He'll Unleash Locusts On The Neighborhood

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NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio went into his first appearance on The Daily Show swinging.

"I just wish we'd done a better job getting that snow up to the Upper East Side," he said.

Residents of the affluent neighborhood complained that city cleanup crews — no longer under the management of one of their own, billionaire Michael Bloomberg — had ignored the "snow-torn" area during recent winter storms.

De Blasio apologized for their inconvenience the first time, but after storms two and three the Mayor seems less willing to entertain their complaints.

"Under Mayor Bloomberg, 12 years, never snowed once," host Jon Stewart joked.

"I think he paid the right guy... he had the money," de Blasio retorted.

After bantering about filling Mayor Bloomberg's "teeny tiny shoes" and how City Hall is reacting to Che Guevara posters everywhere, Stewart asked, "what else can we do to the Upper East Side?"

"We have an experimental effort to get locusts up there," de Blasio joked.

Upper East Side, consider yourself nationally trolled.

Watch the video below:

 

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WELCOME TO 'LITTLE ODESSA': Inside The Brooklyn Neighborhood That's A Miniature Version Of Russia

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brighton beach woman fur coat

With the Sochi Winter Olympic Games less than a week away, all eyes are on Russia.

Russophiles in New York can get a taste of the Motherland in Little Odessa, an insular neighborhood just blocks from Brooklyn's Brighton Beach boardwalk that's a perfect microcosm of the former Soviet Union.

Once a summer getaway for wealthy New Yorkers, Brighton Beach saw an influx of Jewish immigrants escaping Facism and Nazism in Europe around the time of World War II. The 1970s brought a second wave of Ukrainian Jews from the time the Soviet Union relaxed its immigration policies, through its dissolution.

The neighborhood was filled with young families once again, and it became known as "Little Odessa," after the port city on the Black Sea.

Today, the culture thrives in its odd shops, food emporiums serving traditional delicacies, and colorful, Russian-speaking characters. 

Brighton Beach is located in the southernmost part of Brooklyn. It's one of the last stops on the Q line headed to Coney Island.



The main strip, Brighton Beach Avenue, sits under a subway trestle. It's lined with boutiques, grocery stores, restaurants, and salons.



Everyone seems to speak Russian. It's the dominant language used on signs and in conversation.



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11 Reasons Why You'll Never Quit Facebook


9 Things We Just Learned About The Liquor Industry

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whiskey drinking ocean

If you want evidence of the whiskey renaissance, look no further than Suntory's recent acquisition of Beam Inc.

The Japanese liquor giant coughed up $13.6 billion for Beam — which distills the flagship Jim Beam and the higher-end Maker's Mark — making it the world's third-largest maker of distilled drinks.

There's a major appetite for American whiskey these days. In 2013, bourbon and Tennessee whiskey exports broke the $1 billion mark for the first time ever, according to new data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).

"There's a bit of a taste for American heritage," said DISCUS CEO Peter Cressy. Not to mention, "Cocktail culture continues to grow."

DISCUS, a trade organization that represents American distillers, outlined the booze industry for reporters and Wall Street analysts at an event this morning. And booze is booming.

Here's what we learned.

1. Bourbon has absolutely exploded in recent years and has now crossed the $1 billion mark.

bourbon discus

2. Emerging markets can't get enough of American spirits.

discus EM booze

3. Exports to the EU have spiked ever since the U.S. and Europe eased tariffs in 1994.

discus alcohol

4. Exports to China have also jumped.

china discus alcohol

5. For decades, whiskey was on the steady decline.

whiskey decline discus

6. But since 2009, whiskey is back. It's hard to attribute this to one thing. Tastes change. Just as "Sex and the City" brought back the Cosmo and cocktail culture, shows like "Boardwalk Empire" and "Mad Men" have propelled whiskey and rye in a big way.

discus whiskey 2009

7. And when you break down the whiskey category, you can see how bourbon is leading the pack.

discus whiskey

8. Purists may despise flavored whiskey, but the category accounted for 45% of whiskey volume growth in 2013, according to DISCUS. Still, traditional whiskey accounted for 80% of revenue growth.

9. Other categories have seen impressive growth too. Tequila revenue was up 7.9% in 2013, while cognac volume grew 3.7%.

SEE ALSO: Check Out Distiller, A New Startup That Gives You Personalized Whiskey Recommendations

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8 Russia-Inspired Snacks To Serve At Your Olympics Opening Ceremony Party

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The long-awaited 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi officially kick off Thursday. After all that talk about expense, security and if people will actually go, it's time to see how the Games will shake out.

With NBC nixing a live-stream of the Opening Ceremony for a replay during primetime on Friday night, there's even more reason to gather all your friends around the TV for a viewing party. Here are eight traditional Russian foods you should be serving at your killer Russian-themed Olympics party.  

Pickled cucumberssour pickles, lots of vegetables, bad news, sept 2011, nyc, dng

Basically just pickles, you'll find these on every Russian table before the start of a meal. They're a common appetizer, and tradition even dictates you should drink pickle juice if you're looking for an effective hangover cure.

Pirozhki

A yeast-based bun with a variety of stuffings, these little pies make great finger foods. Traditional stuffings include boiled meat and sauteed onions, boiled eggs with dill, fish and hard boiled eggs, sauteed cabbage or sauteed mushrooms with onions and carrots.

Olivier saladRussian Olivier Salad

This party favorite is like a Russian potato salad. It includes boiled potatoes, hardboiled eggs, dill pickles, peas and mayonnaise. Depending on your taste, you can also add wurst or chicken breast.  

Blini

These thin pancakes are super versatile. You can stuff them with anything from cheese to chocolate and fruit. If you fry them in oil, they cross over into blintze territory. They're readily available in the frozen foods section for reheating in a pan or the microwave, making them an easy addition to your party menu. 

White Russian cupcakesWhite Russian Cupcake

While White Russian cocktails have no origin in Russia, they do require a hearty dose of vodka. To make an edible version of this drink, you can add an ounce of vanilla vodka and an ounce of Kahlua to regular cupcake batter. Also, add four teaspoons of Kahlua to butter cream icing to finish off the dessert. 

Tea

Tea culture is huge in Russia, ever since a 17th century Tsar received tea leaves as a diplomatic gift. If you want traditional Russian tea, prepare concentrated black tea and boiling water in a samovar (heated metal container that sort of looks like an urn or a trophy) and stir in some strawberry jam.   

Russian beerRussian Beer

Beer only just received a classification as alcohol in Russia at the beginning of 2013, but Kvass, a fermented beverage made from rye bread, is one of the earliest forerunners of beer. It only contains 1.2% alcohol, so if you're looking for a stronger brew, try Russian imperial stouts (historically British-brewed for export to Russia as a competitor to hard liquor) at 8.5% to 15% alcohol by volume. Klinskoye Svetloe, Zhigulevskoye and Sibirskaya Korona are also awesome authentic Russian beers, but they're hard to come by in the States.

Vodka 

As the signature drink of Russia, you must have vodka at your Olympics party. You'll want to serve it neat, un-chilled with no ice or water. If you're in the mood for authentic Russian vodka, try Russian Standard, based on the formula of Dmitri Mendeleev, the creator of the periodic table. 

SEE ALSO: Explore The Brooklyn Neighborhood That's A Miniature Version Of Russia

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Meet The Quirky Victoria's Secret Angel Who Is Taking Over The Brand

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behati prinsloo Behati Prinsloo has become a fan favorite at Victoria's Secret, and the brand is taking notice. 

Prinsloo has become one of the most beloved Angels at the lingerie retailer, coming only behind Candice Swanepoel in terms of search popularity. She's prominently featured in the brand's catalogs and ads. 

The model has come a long way since she was a girl in Namibia. 

See how she ascended to the top of the modeling world—and nabbed a "Sexiest Man Alive," to boot. 

Behati was born in Grootfontein, Namibia. Her dad was a church minister, and her mom ran a bed and breakfast.



Her unusual name is the Afrikaans version of Beatrice.



When Behati was 16, she was discovered at a South African grocery store by the same scout who first signed Kate Moss. She moved to New York and began walking in runway shows for Chanel and Prada.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






A Mysterious Middle Eastern Mogul Bought This Insane Megayacht With An Infinity Pool

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QUATTROELLE yacht

A 288-foot superyacht with an infinity pool, art gallery, and hair salon on board has been purchased and is headed to the Middle East.

The broker, Moran Ship & Yacht, would not disclose the new owner or sale price, but the yacht was previously available for charter for $1.29 million per week.

The Quattroelle, built last year by Lurssen, has five spacious decks and a number of outdoor social areas perfect for soaking up the sun. 

The streamlined exterior and lavish interior were both designed by Nuvolari Lenard and can accommodate up to 12 guests in six spacious suites, with space for a crew of 29.

Additional reporting by Liz O'Connor.

Designers at Nuvolari Lenard didn't want the Quattroelle to look like a small cruise ship — instead they wanted it to look "sporty" and designed the exterior as such.



The owner's deck, seen here, has ample space for entertaining. It's the largest and most luxurious of the five decks with three cabins, four full bathrooms, a day head (small bathroom), an office, a pantry, and two outdoor terraces.



Thirteen different types of stones were used when designing the interior of the ship. A sparkling white double vanity can be seen here in one of the yacht's many bathrooms.



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Spike Lee Lists His Upper East Side Townhouse For $32 Million

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Filmmaker Spike Lee just put his Upper East Side townhouse on the market for $32 million, double the price he paid artist Jasper Johns for the property back in 2000, according to The New York Daily News.

The biggest selling point of the 9,000-square-foot home on East 61st Street is its huge courtyard, not usually seen outside of schools and churches in the city. Also known as Hatch House, the townhouse has five bedrooms, three fireplaces and a library.    

Sotheby's International Realty is handling the sale. 

Frederick Sterner designed the house in 1916 for Barbara Hatch, a great-granddaughter of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. Spike Lee House 6

It features a rare courtyard.Spike Lee House 1

Hatch House has three fireplaces, including one imported from Europe in the 18th century.Spike Lee House 2

The property is 32 feet wide, almost double the average width of a New York City townhouse.Spike Lee House 3

A series of famous people have previously owned Hatch House. Modern artist Jasper Johns and burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee owned the home before Spike Lee.Spike Lee House 4

The oak and mahogany floors have a herringbone and parquet pattern.Spike Lee House 5

Here's a view of the stately townhouse from its front entrance.Spike Lee House 7

SEE ALSO: Jay-Z And Beyoncé Reportedly Checked Out This $25 Million East Hampton Mansion

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