An Ocean of Support

Law and Order star and crusader for the environment Sam Waterston headlined a benefit reception this evening for Oceana. Founded to heighten awareness about the environmental dangers posed to the world's oceans as well as the dangers to humans who consume contaminated seafood, Oceana has enjoyed great success in effecting real change in the way countries and companies regard the high seas. The setting for tonight's event, Christies New York, was a particularly fitting one, given the house's major auction of vintage ocean liner memorabilia, taking place tomorrow evening, at 5:00. As guests milled about among vintage deck chairs, oil paintings of steam ships and even a life jacket from the Titanic, the enduring allure of ocean travel demonstrated yet one more reason it's high time we tossed the sea a lifeline.

Because We Love the Louvre

They were a world away from the Mona Lisa, but the smiles were much broader this evening at Soirée au Louvre, an event at sponsored by the Young Patrons Circle of the American Friends of the Louvre at Espace, in midtown. With a high glam quotient (after all, the invite called for "French chic"), the festivities were co-chaired by Olivia Chantecaille and Kipton Cronkite also included a silent auction, dancing and joie d'vivre to spare.

Caviar Guaranteed To Get You Tipsy

Daniel Boulud, one of the most famous members of New York's restaurant royalty, has never been one for serving up molecular gastronomy in his restaurants. Instead, the concept of cuisine created through chemistry has been the provenance of chefs like Ferran Adrià, of Spain's El Bulli, and Grant Achatz, of Chicago's Alinea. But last night, the hallowed walls of restaurant Daniel, on East 65th Street, shimmered with the gleam of "caviar beads" made from gellified Cointreau. Created by head bartender Xavier Herit, (above) the new cocktail—a strawberry margarita with a side of perfectly shaped pearls made from strawberry-infused Cointreau—took its place among Daniel's bar offerings. For $29. Steep for a margarita—even at Daniel—but what you're paying for here is the preparation, which is done right before your eyes. Syringes, strainers and all. Needless to say, it's a lot more involved than pouring a perfect Guinness. And a lot more colorful. INSIDER TIP: Ask nicely and bartender Herit may just show you the supersized silver briefcase containing all of the tools a would-be master mixologist needs to create Cointreau magic. INSIDE TIP #2: The caviar beads also go well with a glass of Piper Heisieck Champagne (pictured left).

Bye, Bye Columbus Circle, Hello Madison Square!

"We started out twenty years ago overlooking one park. Now we'll spend another twenty years on a different park," said Tony May during a farewell luncheon yesterday. If there was any sadness in the words of the owner of restaurant San Domenico, a Central Park South institution since 1988, it was difficult to detect. Rather, the Italian entrepreneur, along with his daughter, Marisa, is viewing his eatery's move downtown, to 19 E. 26th Street, as an opportunity for reinvention. Long gone are the days, says May, when patrons of a fine dining establishment should be denied entry if they arrive for meal without a jacket and tie. "Now, we let almost anybody in—as long as they have a pair of pants," he jokes. Along with the changing dress codes since 1988 has come a relaxation of the overall dining experience, where the focus is less on fussy fashion and more on ingredients. Therein, May says, will be the mission of the new San Domenico. Indeed, the new restaurant will even have a gift shop where diners can buy some of the very same ingredients they enjoyed on their plates. We'll have to wait until at least next spring to experience it all for ourselves, but suffice it to say, the one thing that will not to change at SD26 is the trademark May hospitality—as long as you wear pants.

Fantastic Founders

"It's like 1999 all over again in here... Except that I don't recognize any of the faces." New York Insider overheard this baffled comment in the Hearst Tower last evening, on our way to the pre-summer cocktail party for the Founder's Club, the periodic gathering of Silicon Alley's most enterprising personalities. The speaker should be forgiven for feeling déjà vu about the pre-bubble-burst Internet era. However, this, as we all know, is the age of Web 2.0 and happy (if slightly less heady) days are here again. Somewhat ironically, get-togethers of the Founders Club have taken place in some of the most iconic halls of old media—from the set of Saturday Night Live to the studios of Good Morning America. Last night's event, held at the Hearst Tower, home of magazines from Esquire to Town & Country, was no exception. Still, by the end of the night, the consensus in the room was that the new media types are the ones really know how to have a good time.