Esquire USA April 2022

GET THE by T.C. Boyle HELL OUT OF TOWN SEX AND LOVE IN THE The Best New Hotels in North America SUBURBS Drinking with PAGE 44 Your Kids in Rome IS EVERYWHERE. DRESSING LIKE YOU DON’T KNOW A GROWN-UP WHEN YOU FLY Steakhouses, Cucumber Water, the Thrill of Airport Security Lines







“I’ve always felt like an OUTSIDER. Like I was observing LIFE and not actually experiencing it. THERE WAS guilt with that sometimes— like I WAS a vulture of my own life.” PAGE 54 Jacket, shirt, tie, and tie bar by Dior Men; bracelet by the Cast NYC. Photograph by Guy Aroch Styling by Bill Mullen





Used by permission of the Jack Kerouac Estate and The Wylie Agency, LLC. dior.com - 800.929.dior (3467)

















TABLE OF CONTENTS APRIL/MAY 2022 “There’s something my dad said, from the Bible: ‘Do what’s before you with all your might.’ ” —OSCAR ISAAC, P. 54 F E AT U R E S 54 COVER: THE DREAM 86 FINALLY, OF OSCAR ISAAC WELL DONE by Maaza Mengiste by Joshua David Stein In which the star of For ages, the steak- Moon Knight survives house and its trappings a hurricane, floats in signified success the ocean, lives in a and a good time, even model home, trips on if the food and service mushrooms, hosts SNL, could be hit-or-miss. stars in Star Wars, and Now, thanks to a hand- makes art that gets ful of chef-driven at the rich and baffling restaurants, we’ve complexity of the reached a new golden human experience. age. Here are the fresh But not necessarily in temples of beef that order. worth traveling for. Top: Oscar Isaac Hernandez Estrada and his younger brother, Mike, had truck bunk beds in their first 64 WHAT I’VE LEARNED: 90 THE THIRTEENTH home—the model house in a Florida development their parents bought fully furnished. Bottom: The house LIAM GALLAGHER DAY was almost too perfect; in 1992 it was severely damaged by Hurricane Andrew. Interview by Michael by T. C. Boyle Sebastian It’s March 2020, and the 16 EDITOR’S LETTER the tracksuit comes ber 1962, at recess, we “I like to think Oasis Beryl Empress is setting into its own. would all look up at the will get back together, sail from Japan, carrying BLUEPRINT sky. We’re looking at the but not this week.” hundreds of passen- 44 SEX, LOVE, sky again. gers—including a man 20 The rhetorical tic you AND ART IN THE 66 TRAVEL SPECIAL: THE from Wuhan. A short won’t be able to unhear SUBURBS 50 WHEN I DID TIME, BEST NEW HOTELS IN story for our times from (and what it says about by Garth Greenwell I WAS—LEGALLY— NORTH AMERICA an American master. us); reclaiming the pic- A former bohemian E N S L AV E D Architectural wonders. nic; the unlikely story comes to terms with a by Mitchell S. Jackson See-and-be-seen lobby 98 YOUNG PUNKS of the man now playing kind of life—and love— Many states still use bars. Private beaches. by Caryn Rose Kareem Abdul-Jabbar very different from language from the 13th Our favorite places to The Sex Pistols still mat- on HBO; one of the what he’d expected. Amendment to govern check into. ter. This May, a new lim- last real magazine working conditions ited series brings the shops; the anti-fashion 48 COLD WAR KIDS for prison inmates— 78 ON THE MOVE band’s incredible story fashion brand; a smart- by Charles P. Pierce some of whom still pick by Dave Holmes to life. watch for watch nerds; For two weeks in Octo- actual cotton. Let Benjamin Bratt show you how to look sharp 112 ESQUIRE ENDORSES . . . for a quick getaway. Climate change. COURTESY OSCAR ISAAC ON THE COVER OSCAR ISAAC PHOTOGRAPHED BY GUY AROCH FOR ESQUIRE. CASTING BY RANDI PECK. STYLING BY BILL MULLEN. PRODUCTION BY MAY LIN LE GOFF FOR ARTWORLD AGENCY. SET DESIGN BY MICHAEL STURGEON. HAIR BY DJ QUINTERO USING LIVING PROOF FOR THE WALL GROUP. GROOMING BY AMY KOMOROWSKI FOR DIOR BEAUTY AT THE WALL GROUP. COAT AND T-SHIRT BY HERMÈS; JEANS BY RAG & BONE; TIE, SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO. 11

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MICHAEL SEBASTIAN CAROL A. SMITH VANINA SORRENTI/ASPESI (TOP LEFT). VICTOR TORRES/STOCKSY (CLIFFS). TRINETTE REED/STOCKSY (TREES). EDITOR IN CHIEF SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHING DIRECTOR NICK SULLIVAN_Creative Director JACK ESSIG_Senior Vice President, Publishing Director ABIGAIL GREENE_Executive Managing Editor ANNE WELCH_Vice President, General Manager BRENT WILLIAMS ALLEN_Vice President, Marketing ROCKWELL HARWOOD_Design Director JEANINE TRIOLO_Executive Director, Advertising Business Operations JOHN KENNEY_Managing Editor LISA PIANA_Group Executive Marketing Director & Sales Strategy KELLY STOUT_Articles Director CHRIS PEEL_Vice President, Sales KEN DOWNING_Chief Brand Officer, Luxury Collection E-commerce KEVIN SINTUMUANG_Culture and Lifestyle Director RON SABATINI_Group Finance Manager JONATHAN EVANS_Style Director DANA WENTZEL_Executive Assistant/Business Associate RANDI PECK_Executive Director of Talent INTEGRATED ADVERTISING SALES MADISON VAIN_Digital Director ERIC SULLIVAN_Senior Editor JOANNA NOWACK MELISSAKIS_Group Executive Director, Beauty & Lifestyle JACK HOLMES_Senior Writer AARON KRANSDORF_Group Executive Director, Fashion & Luxury KATE SLAVIN_Senior Executive Sales Director, Luxury ADRIENNE WESTENFELD, BRADY LANGMANN_Assistant Editors PAULA FORTGANG, JOHN WATTIKER_Executive Sales Directors, Fashion JUSTIN KIRKLAND_Staff Writer CARYN KESLER_Executive Sales Director, Luxury ANGELA PARAUDA, JILL SCHLANGER-SLIVKA_Executive Sales Directors, Beauty BARRY SAMAHA_Style Commerce Editor R. W. HORTON_Executive Sales Director, Travel MAVERICK LI_Assistant E-commerce Editor TAMMY COHEN_Executive Sales Director, Lifestyle JOHN CIPOLLA_Senior Sales Director, Lifestyle GARRETT MUNCE_Grooming Editor LAUREN DEL VALLE_Senior Sales Director, Beauty LAUREN KRANC_Assistant Editor MICHAEL RIGGIO_Senior Sales Director, Fashion ANGELA HRONOPOULOS_Senior Sales Manager, Direct Media ART OLIVIA BENSON, AALIA MEHRA, AMANDA SHEERIN_Sales Assistants DRAGOS LEMNEI_Deputy Design Director INTEGRATED MARKETING MIKE KIM_Digital Design Director ELAINE CHUNG_Digital Designer SARAH CLAUSEN, ALEXANDRA KEKALOS, DANA MENDELOWITZ, LINDSAY SABLE_Executive Marketing Directors CAMERON SHERRILL_Lead Motion Designer AIMEE COUTURE_Senior Marketing Director REBECCA IOVAN_Digital Imaging Specialist SARA OLDMIXON_Marketing Director DEAN FRYN_Associate Marketing Director FASHION BRIANA ROTELLO_Senior Marketing Manager GINNY DURKIN, EMILY LYNCH_Marketing Managers TED STAFFORD_Market Director ISABELLE ADLER, KENDRA WILLIAMS_Marketing Coordinators ALFONSO FERNÁNDEZ NAVAS_Market Editor MCKENZIE SUTHERLAND_Marketing Assistant RASHAD MINNICK_Fashion Associate BRAND DEVELOPMENT HEARST VISUAL GROUP NICOLE SPICEHANDLER_Executive Marketing Director, Research & Brand Development ALEXANDRA STETZER_Senior Marketing Director, Research & Brand Development ALIX CAMPBELL_Chief Visual Content Director, Hearst Magazines MELANIE SINGER_Associate Marketing Director, Research & Brand Development JUSTIN O’NEILL_Visual Director CREATIVE SERVICES JAMES MORRIS_Contributing Visual Director KELLY SHERIN_Visual Editor THEA KARAS_Executive Creative Director JESSICA TSOUPLAKIS_Senior Art Director SAMEET SHARMA_Associate Visual Producer FRAUKE EBINGER_Creative Director GIANCARLOS KUNHARDT_Visual Production Coordinator ALICE STEVENS_Art Director HEARST VIDEO GROUP EVENTS & PROMOTIONS DORENNA NEWTON_Executive Video Producer KAREN MENDOLIA_Executive Marketing Director, Events and Promotions ELYSSA AQUINO_Video Producer JESSICA HEINMILLER_Associate Marketing Director, Events and Promotions DOMINICK NERO_Senior Creative Producer ADVERTISING OPERATIONS COPY MICHAEL NIES_Advertising Services Director MICHELLE LUIS_Senior Advertising Services Manager ALISA COHEN BARNEY_Senior Copy Editor PATRICIA NOLAN_Operations Account Manager CONNOR SEARS, DAVID FAIRHURST_Assistant Copy Editors LOGAN BISSETTE_Billing Coordinator TREVOR CZAK_Business Assistant RESEARCH BRANCH OFFICES ROBERT SCHEFFLER_Research Chief KEVIN MCDONNELL_Senior Research Editor MARJAN DIPIAZZA_Executive Sales Director, West Coast AUTUMN JENKS_Executive Sales Director, Midwest EDITORS AT LARGE LUCINDA WEIKEL_Executive Sales Director, Southwest ([email protected]) JASON YASMENT_Sales Director, West Coast DAVE HOLMES, DANIEL DUMAS RITA WALKER_Sales Director, Southeast ([email protected]) WRITERS AT LARGE CIRCULATION CHARLES P. PIERCE, KATE STOREY RICK DAY_VP, Strategy and Business Management WILLIAM CARTER_Executive Director, Consumer Marketing CONTRIBUTING WRITER PUBLISHED BY HEARST MITCHELL S. JACKSON STEVEN R. SWARTZ_President & Chief Executive Officer CONTRIBUTING EDITORS WILLIAM R. HEARST III_Chairman FRANK A. BENNACK, JR._Executive Vice Chairman ALEX BELTH, BEN BOSKOVICH, JEFF GORDINIER, A. J. JACOBS, MARK E. ALDAM_Chief Operating Officer JOHN J. LENNON, MIKE SAGER HEARST MAGAZINE MEDIA, INC. OTHER CONTRIBUTORS DEBI CHIRICHELLA_President, Hearst Magazines Group, and Treasurer HITOMI SATO_Contributing Art Director KATE LEWIS_Chief Content Officer ABIGAIL COVINGTON_Contributing Weekend Editor KRISTEN M. O’HARA_Chief Business Officer CATHERINE A. BOSTRON_Secretary ESQUIRE INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS GILBERT C. MAURER, MARK F. MILLER_Publishing Consultants China, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Middle East, Philippines, Qatar, Saudia Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom JONATHAN WRIGHT_President, Hearst Magazines International KIM ST. CLAIR BODDEN_SVP, Global Editorial & Brand Director CHLOE O’BRIEN_Global Editorial & Brand Director, Young Women’s Group, Wellness Group, Enthusiast Group, Lifestyle Group FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, CALL: 800-888-5400 EMAIL: [email protected] VISIT: www.esquire.com/service WRITE: Customer Service Department, Esquire, P.O. Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593 Published at 300 West Fifty-seventh Street, New York, NY 10019-3797. ® www.esquire.com. Printed in the U. S. A.



L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R ___________________________________________________________ just go! IN NOVEMBER 1971, MY NEWLY MARRIED MOM AND dad flew from Chicago red-eyes to California in the back of the plane and 6:00 A.M. flights to New GROOMING: LOSI FOR HONEY ARTISTS + MARTIAL VIVOT SALON to Florida for their honeymoon. Halfway through the flight, the pilot pointed Orleans; road trips up the eastern seaboard with five friends packed into a out a landmark below them, and the passengers on the left side of the compact car; twelve-hour drives to Nashville, hungover for the return leg. plane, where my parents sat, rushed to the right side for a glimpse. My dad I slept on friends’ couches and floors or in cheap hotels. stayed in his seat, afraid the plane might tip over like a canoe. The feeling of leaving a place, of stepping into a city you’ve never been That was his first and last airplane ride. to, preoccupied me. Climbing the stairs from the metro in Madrid on the All of our family vacations were road trips. Each July, we’d drive an hour first day of my own honeymoon, the centuries-old buildings revealing to a lake house in Wisconsin. Each August, we’d drive four hours to Iowa themselves to me and my wife through our jet-lagged eyes, is etched in for a family reunion. Each March, we’d drive eighteen hours to Siesta Key, my memory. Florida, for spring break. My dad would pack the car like it was a game of Tetris. Then we’d pile in. My brother lost himself in a Walkman; I flipped Then came my mid-thirties and children, when planning trips became through my book of baseball cards or stared out the window at the vast less about where we’d eat and drink and more about the pool, the play- sea of midwestern corn, listening to the Top 40 radio coming from the ground, or the friends or cousins who had come with. Which makes those front seat; Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” provided the times when my wife and I get away, just the two of us, seeking the sense soundtrack for one of those summers. of discovery we experienced in Madrid and the moments of luxury we My memories of those trips are coated in a thick nostalgic glaze. At the couldn’t afford as newlyweds, so incredible: A first-class flight. A stupidly time, though, I just wanted to stay home to play baseball with my friends expensive bottle of wine. A great hotel. Maybe it’s getting older and know- and watch television. ing the responsibilities that await me at home, but now a trip can be as Then a shift happened. rejuvenating, as transformative, as watching a Prince cover band play in a Actually, a break: I snapped my left tibia playing high school football Memphis nightclub until 4:00 A.M. and had a blue cast up to my crotch. Couldn’t leave the house if I wanted to. Whether by coincidence or fate, someone gave me a copy of On the We’re celebrating moments like these in this issue’s travel package, Road to help me kill the time. It was my gateway drug to the open road. “Let’s Get the Hell Out of Town,” starting on page 66. It includes Esquire’s Next I read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, first-ever collection of the Best New Hotels in North America. The list is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. . . . They ignited a sense of ad- composed of not only extraordinary places to lay your head but also the venture, and by my late teens I was accepting every invitation to travel: restaurants, bars, pools, spas, and vibes that will leave you feeling like a new (and extremely well-cared-for) man. To say the least, you’ll have fun. Wang Chung wouldn’t want it any other way. —Michael Sebastian 16 APRIL/MAY 2022 PHOTOGRAPHS BY JENNIFER LIVINGSTON



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blueprint Why Are You Talking in _ dave holmes’_ america the Second Person? The way we tell stories has changed. It might be an annoying tic—or a USC English professor Karen Tongson agrees: total shift in how we experience the world. “We’ve become so attuned to being online, on social media, essentially just on all the time, that we never see ourselves as completely alone, never singular in what we experience. Our expe- riences are always going to be seen, read, felt by THERE’S A LINGUISTIC HABIT I’M HEARING of being highfalutin. “I get uncomfortable when others, so the slippage from the I to the you is the a dozen times a day, and now so will you. Some- people ask me questions about being a musician,” narration of that blurring of perspective between one is telling a first-person story, talking about he says, “so I go to second person. They ask, ‘What the self and a witness.” Maybe this is a good something that’s happened to them or they’ve do you do when you’re about to go onstage?’ and thing, a small acknowledgment of a collective witnessed. The action begins: I opened the door; I say, ‘Well, you warm up a little bit.’ ” Doughty’s consciousness. “Yeah,” Tongson says, “but it’s I picked up the phone; I turned right. But then, decades in the business entitle him to falute at any also a bit sad, insofar as we can’t value experi- when the story gets dramatic, the narrator is no level he chooses, but he resists. “Maybe the you ence without imagining someone else’s recep- longer the protagonist. is a way to deflect the grandiosity of it.” tion of it.” You are. Or maybe the slide into second is a way for peo- I opened the door, and you could see everyone ple to disassociate—maybe it would be too real for IN A TIME OF WIDE BUT SHALLOW CONNEC- running. I picked up the phone, and you could that school-shooting survivor to say, “I opened tion—at, God willing, the end of the Zoom happy hear him laughing. I turned right, and you saw the door, and I saw blood everywhere.” hour—maybe the slide into second is an expres- smoke in the distance. It is an unconscious sleight “In trauma, people do tend to distance them- sion of the need to relate. I just saw something of hand, a conversational do-si-do we don’t do on selves,” psychotherapist Peter Stuart says. “Retell- incredible; now you come see it with me. “In a purpose: We sprint away from first person and ing traumatic events is hard to do in the first lot of cases, the second person strikes me as an slide right into second. person. It tends to re-traumatize.” Stuart notices us, like all of us are experiencing this now,” Stu- Survivors of school shootings tell their stories: it in therapy sessions. “A person will begin a diffi- art says, “like a royal you.” John August, a screen- “I ran out of the classroom, and you could see cult story and get more and more vague, and I’ll writer and a cohost of the Scriptnotes podcast, blood everywhere.” Or athletes say, “I watched the have to point that out—like, who got locked in puts it in Hollywood terms. “It’s like the WE HEAR ball go through the goalposts, and you could hear the basement?” and WE SEE in scene descriptions,” he says. “I’m the crowd lose their minds.” Sometimes people go If some slide into second to edit themselves out not telling you a story. We’re in this present all Inception on it: Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn of a scary situation, then others use it for a differ- moment together.” described his experience during the January 6 insurrection to Michael Barbaro on The Daily with “You’re seeing all of this, and in your mind, it’s like TALKING HEADS’ “ONCE IN A LIFETIME” wouldn’t I cannot believe what I’m seeing right now.” Back to an I, but still filtered through you, an added degree work nearly so well if David Byrne sang,“I MAY of separation between the teller and the tale. TELL MYSELF: THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE.” The use of second person deepens the listen- er’s engagement in a story. It’s verbal 3D, conver- sational Smell-O-Vision. Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” wouldn’t work nearly so well if David ent and equally modern reason: to show off. “I After two long years of not being in moments Byrne sang, “I may tell myself: This is not my beau- wonder if it reflects the way in which people are together, I think that’s the desire that drives the tiful wife.” But the shift in mid-story, in mid- now so used to seeing themselves, as if from out- slide into second. In a particularly stressful time SEAN LOCKE/STOCKSY.COM sentence, feels new. The slide into second might side, at the center of a narrative,” says Catherine to be alive, we’re unconsciously updating our lan- be a tic, or it might tell us something about our Heaney, chair of the National Museum of Ireland guage to trick ourselves into feeling less alone. relationships with ourselves in 2022. and daughter of the poet Seamus Heaney. “A Or maybe reality television and podcasts have reflexive impulse that has grown up with our use exposed me to more people with questionable MUSICIAN MIKE DOUGHTY FINDS HIMSELF of social media and selfies and stories, turning the storytelling skills. Hard to say. I only know this: I doing the slide as a way to avoid the appearance gaze back on oneself, so that the I becomes a you.” hear it everywhere, and you wonder what’s up. 20



blueprint _ design FRANCOIS HALARD/TRUNKARCHIVE .COM (OSAKA SOFA). COURTESY SOTHEBY'S (OURS POLAIRE). COURTESY GUBI (PACHA SOFA). COURTESY BRANDS (REMAINING). THROW A CURVE The New Power Couch Go Original . . . The fun, sensuous, tailored yet curvy furniture of fancy ’60s homes is back. And if comfort and making a big statement are your thing, it’s time to have a seat. _ BY LAUREN GOODMAN THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE CURVACEOUS, UNDULATING seating of the mod era could only be found in the most outré and louche cinematic interiors. Think Bond villains, Barbarella, A Clockwork Orange. These days, however, you can’t gawk at a high- end property without seeing it. These nonlinear scene-stealers have emerged in all the cutting-edge interiors that matter. Kanye West sold his Maybach to bankroll a Jean Royère polar bear sofa. “My favorite piece of furniture we own,” he tweeted. (A 1947 original sold for $1.1 million at Christie’s in November.) Supermodel Elsa Hosk perched on her bouclé circular sofa for 7.3 million Instagram followers. Mega designer Yves Béhar an- chored his manse in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow with four Ub- ald Klug for de Sede couches contoured in cognac leather waves, plus a pale turquoise Luigi Colani pool sofa upstairs. “I loved the sensuality that each piece brought to my home,” Béhar shares. “The forms are free-flowing and speak to the body rather than the domestic rules of the past. They were definitely made to be enjoyed barefoot.” What’s going on here? You could argue that we’ve been crav- ing a sensuality a casa to replace the shiny nightclub we were invariably missing. And from a practical perspective, comfort has taken top priority. Where better to lounge in Gucci joggers during a Zoom? Plus, originals have become a status symbol, driving up prices. Kim Kardashian has three Royère polar bears. Fortunately for the rest of us, others have taken notice of the demand and created inspired pieces at less astronomical prices. (See below.) This is more than just a piece of furniture. “A sculpture sofa makes a room come alive,” says interior designer Rodman Pri- mack of the firm RP Miller. “After the last two years, no one needs another nondescript one. Why shouldn’t a sofa be cool?” Pierre Paulin’s Osaka sofa. Or Newly Inspired . . . JEAN ROYÈRE, OURS PIERRE PAULIN GWYNETH BOUCLÉ CLAUDE HOME MUSE SOFA BY HORNBAKE SOFA POLAIRE, 1947 PACHA SOFA LOVESEAT BOUCLÉ SOFA SARAH ELLISON BY EGG COLLECTIVE Originals can go for $10,175; dwr.com $1,499; cb2.com From $4,000; From $2,546; dwr.com Price available upon re- more than $1 million. claudehome.com quest; eggcollective.com 22

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blueprint LOAF OF THE PARTY The picnic doesn’t have to mean a fussy affair with a gingham blanket and some Pottery Barn basket set. It’s time to rethink it as a fun and funky warm-weather pursuit. Here are some tips to guide you, from this deliciously weird sandwich you’ve never heard of to the portable bar that will please all. _ BY JOSHUA DAVID STEIN

_ esquire _ entertains Though it will be the central element of your PICNIC ETIQUETTE picnic spread, the Party Loaf is itself a democratic and flexible institution. What is put onto the RULE 365: bread is up to you—see the chart below for some spreadable inspiration. In 1986, Betty Crocker Double dipping recommended shrimp salad, deviled ham, and is acceptable as long olive-nut spreads enshrouded in a half-and-half- as you re-dip the and-cream-cheese frosting. But Ashley Rath, the unbitten portion chef behind the Venice-inspired Saint Theo’s in of the chip. Manhattan, and a fan of the Party Loaf on her few days off, layers hers with homemade mor- RULE 366: tadella mousse, a spicy, creamy pasta salad, and an egg-and-anchovy schmear. (Go to Esquire. Triple dipping is one com for the full recipe.) Like our rights, the dip too far. spreads that make up a Party Loaf are unenu- merated. The power belongs to the people, but the party undeniably belongs to the loaf. FOOD STYLING: SUE LI @ HELLO ARTISTS. COURTESY BRANDS (FOOD PRODUCTS). IF YOU BUILD IT, FISH + GAME Spread ’Em! THEY WILL COME ’NDUJA A few top mail-order picks for your Party What you put in a Party CHOPPED-LIVER SALAD Loaf or some grippin’ and dippin’ Loaf is your call, but RILLETTES here’s a banquet to get WHITEFISH PIMENTO CHEESE the ideas started EGGS + DAIRY SWEET GRASS DAIRY PLANTS Georgia’s Sweet Grass PIMENTO CHEESE Dairy substitutes its own OLIVE TAPENADE HERBED GOAT CHEESE Tomme for the more MACARONI SALAD PUB CHEESE traditional cheddar, but BABA GHANOUSH DEVILED-EGG SALAD with Sir Kensington’s MUSHROOM PÂTÉ mayo and piquillo peppers, the pimento How to Assemble Your Loaf holy trinity is all present and accounted for. $9; 1 2 3 4 5 sweetgrassdairy.com Cut a Pullman loaf Add a 1/4-inch Stack the layers Remove from the Slice, serve, party. SMOKED horizontally into spread of your and refrigerate for fridge and spread It’s probably WHITEFISH SALAD four equal slices, choice to each an hour. cream cheese easiest to eat with with no crust. Milk layer. (Pictured evenly over the a fork and knife, RUSS & DAUGHTERS bread would also at left is mortadella loaf. Optional: but you do you. The OG smoked-fish be ideal. mousse, pasta Garnish with merchants from the salad, and anchovy hard-boiled egg, Lower East Side add and egg salad, but anchovies, or some a touch of kippered you can do what- pickled zucchini. salmon to their wildly ever you’re feeling.) popular, nationally shippable spread. $26; russanddaughters .goldbelly.com ’NDUJA TEMPESTA ARTISAN SALUMI The Fiasche family has perfected its ’nduja— spicy spreadable salami—over five gen- erations, first in Calabria and now in Chicago. $33; tempestaartisan- salumi.com PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFFREY WESTBROOK

blueprint _ esquire _ entertains USE THE Going on a picnic doesn’t Two Ways to Jam THE ULTIMATE REAL STUFF have to mean Solo cups and on Your Picnic PICNIC BAR (BY ABV) paper plates. Adding some real items from the bar or According to Michelle Whether you’re on the alcohol-free kitchen can make things feel Zauner, author of Crying side of the bar or slumped over the a little more proper. So we in H Mart and lead singer vodka bottles on the blanket, this collaborated with the of Japanese Breakfast crop of seven are here to serve you. party-in-a-box experts at Social Studies to make a JAM: MUSICAL 0% ST. AGRESTIS picnic kit we have dubbed There’s a song called PHONY NEGRONI Field Day Fete. You bring the “4th of July” by my friend The same herby bitterness food and drink; they provide Meg Duffy, known as that helps a negroni cut all the plates, silverware, and Hand Habits. They’re an through late-afternoon other accoutrements for a incredible guitar wizard heat is here but sans picture-perfect setting. You and one of the most alcohol in small, handsome don’t even have to do gifted lyricists. It starts batch-made bottles. dishes–just put everything off as a softer folky song back in the box and send it and it explodes into an 5.5% BAJA BREWING back. But our kit features a entirely different kind of ESCORPION NEGRO few cool things you get to jam. It’s genius. Over IPAs but also don’t keep, including these cheese want a boring lager? Go knives and coasters that will JAM: CULINARY with this just-bitter-enough elevate anything from To be honest, I don’t black ale from Mexico. Champagne to a simple can really fuck with jam. of Bud. social-studies.com I’m definitely more into 12% HANA HWAJU dips like this Yumm! MAKGEOLLI PICNIC ETIQUETTE Sauce from Eugene, Makgeolli, slightly effer- COURTESY BRANDS (ALCOHOL). COURTESY NOMA (MUSHROOMS, GARUM). GETTY IMAGES (JAPANESE BREAKFAST). COURTESY SOCIAL STUDIES (PICNIC KIT). Oregon—they ship vescent Korean rice wine, RULE 750: nationally—that’s made is pearlescent, florally with almonds, garbanzo noted, and eminently Shirtless picnicking is okay as long beans, garlic, and lemon sippable. Huge in Korea as you’re near a body of water. juice. I’ll dip toast and and rising in the States, tortilla chips into it. It’s this is a rare Brooklyn- and RULE 751: my all-time favorite dip. female-made version. Pantsless picnicking is pushing it. 12.5% ASHANTA WINES “UNDER CURRENTS” Secret Sauce CARIGNAN Out of the wreckage of the Noma’s Smoked Mushroom Garum pandemic and wildfires, winemakers Chenoa Ash- For nearly 20 years, Noma’s René Redzepi and ton-Lewis and Will Basanta his merry band of weirdos have been deep into founded Ashanta. Their fermentation. A visit to the Copenhagen restau- first vintage includes a rant wasn’t complete without a tour of shipping breakout Carignan, tasting containers filled with old stuff getting better with of good times and ripe age. Now you can try some of that at home. cherries. Smoked Mushroom Garum is the first of Noma’s pantry products. Garum is an ancient Roman fer- 18% MULASSANO BIANCO mented fish sauce. This version, however, is Hot day. Vermouth. Tonic made with mushrooms, fermented with koji for on ice. Unbeatable. Espe- six to eight weeks, then cold-smoked and cially with this bartenders’ strained. It’s an umami superfluid, turning every- favorite, an herbaceous thing at your picnic, from a pasta salad to chili, and citrus-forward liquor tangibly more delicious. It isn’t the Mick Jagger, from Turin. but it is the Merry Clayton. That is to say, the secret, soulful, and best part. $24 for 250ml; 25% DON CICCIO & FIGLI nomaprojects.com LA PERLA CHERRY MANHATTAN 26 Forgo the intricate mea- suring of a manhattan with Don Ciccio’s all-in-one cherry manhattan. Slightly jammy—all you’ll need is ice and a twist. PLANTATION JAMAICA 2007 Shame to use such a good rum as the new Jamaica 2007—13 years in Jamaica, two in France—in a rum and coke, but a picnic is not a picnic without rum and coke. And if it’s a good picnic, it deserves the best rum.



blueprint _ culture _ tv LONG 33 SHOT 33 Imagine teaching at Stanford and then portraying your idol, 533 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on HBO’s Winning Time. That’s exactly what 33 happened to Solomon Hughes, the year’s most unlikely star. 33 _ 33 BY BRADY LANGMANN 33 BEFORE YOU ASK, SOLOMON HUGHES gigs.” Then a casting director called. SERGIO GARCIA/HBO (HUGHES). FOCUS ON SPORT/GETTY IMAGES (ABDUL-JABBAR). WARRICK PAGE/HBO (WINNING TIME). Wanted: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 33 is three inches shorter than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Yes, he played basket- A few months later, Hughes is at a 33 ball professionally, and his sky hook 24-hour gym, launching 100 sky hooks is nearly as effervescent as the origi- per arm. He’s interviewing legendary 33 nal. No, actor Kareem hasn’t spoken trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. (Abdul- to real Kareem. No, you’ve never seen Jabbar famously loves jazz.) He’s think- 33 MORE TEAMS Hughes before, because HBO’s Win- ing of his father, who’s the same age 33 THAT SHOULD BE ning Time: The Rise of the Lakers as Kareem. “My dad grew up in the 33 HBO-IFIED Dynasty, on which he plays Abdul- South, went to segregated schools. Jabbar, is his very first acting gig. And When I think about the conversations 33 sure, he felt a tiny bit of pressure when I’ve had with my dad about his life and his very first acting gig required him then the things Kareem has written? ’50/’60s to become arguably the most influen- You’re talking about the darkness of 33 YANKEES tial basketball player who’s ever lived. humanity.” The work paid off. The 33 Sorry, A-Rod, we need a Abdul-Jabbar we meet on Winning 33 true period drama. Give us With that out of the way: It’s the Time has learned the lessons of Lew 33 Mantle versus Maris, morning after the debut of Winning 33 a DiMaggio-Monroe fling, and Time—the über-stylized series about 33 Steve Carell as Yogi Berra. the Showtime-era Lakers—and Hughes, 43, is telling me how a man goes from 33 ’85 BEARS D-I baller to Harlem Globetrotter to 33 Pull up YouTube, type in “Super Stanford lecturer to would-be actor 33 Bowl Shuffle,” hit play. The wondering what to do in an audition 33 series writes itself from there. when Adam McKay shouts, Improvise! It started when he realized, actually, 33 that he wasn’t all that passionate about basketball. “I had a mentor who said, 33 ’90s BULLS ‘While you are someone who had some 33 Obviously. Bonus points if the talent, I felt like you just liked basket- ball.’ It’s liberating to hear that.” series picks up on a downbeat: Hughes left hoops for a career in 33 higher ed, writing a dissertation on how athletic recruits choose their col- MJ’s baseball year. leges and, later on, mentoring Ph.D. students. “I knew if I’m going to stay in 33 education, I need to go after what I really want to do: teaching. I left Stan- 33 ’90s/’00s U. S. WOMEN’S ford the summer of 2019. My plan was 33 SOCCER TEAM to spend time looking for teaching 33 Is a faithful adaptation of Nine 33 for IX’s “The ’99ers” too much 33 to ask for? 33 ’90s ISLANDERS 33 Everyone’s up for a good true- 33 crime yarn nowadays. Let’s see 33 the story of John Spano, who 33 managed to fraud his way into 33 owning the team. 33 33 33 Alcindor but doesn’t yet know how to turn pain into art. Hughes adds all the necessary weightiness, temper, and heart to Kareem’s crisis of faith. “Act- ing has been one of the most spiritual things I’ve ever done,” he says. At the end of our talk, I ask Hughes a question he may or may not be ready for, the great existential conundrum of our time: The GOAT—who is it? “Ooooh, man,” he says, as if LeBron, MJ, and Kareem were holding a glass to his door. “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pri- marily shot two-pointers. And he holds the Mount Everest of basketball records. I’ll let the numbers make the case for that.” Passed the test. From top: Actor Solomon Hughes; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his heyday; Hughes 28 as Abdul-Jabbar with his Winning Time costar Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson.



blueprint _ being _ there The Last of Its Kind A BOOK THAT FINDS HOPE Casa Magazines, a Manhattan hole-in-the-wall that attracts a famous clientele, is one of New York City’s IN THE PAST last remaining magazine shops. It’s a place that exists out of time. In Lift Every Voice: A BEFORE IT WAS INSTAGRAM FAMOUS Celebration of Black Lives, a storied gen- and got write-ups by The New York Times, eration becomes Vogue, and the BBC for its efforts to sur- immortal. Featuring vive the pandemic, Casa Magazines was 54 interviews with a place you happened upon. Perched on Black elders, ranging the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twelfth in age from their Street in New York’s West Village, Casa is early 70s to 111, this among the last magazine shops in the hardback volume city—a shrine to print, a place that is truly is a patchwork analog. It’s tiny, maybe 400 square feet, of remarkable lives, and smells delightfully of fresh paper heroes both sung thanks to the thousands of magazines lin- and unsung. Lift ing the walls and piling up on the floor. Every Voice reveals There is every title you can imagine and the enormous debt many you can’t, like August, a beautiful, of gratitude America coffee-table-sized travel magazine about owes these men places like . . . New Jersey. The owner, and women. It is a Mohammed Ahmed, and manager, Syed book with the poten- Wasim, aka Ali (pictured here), know tial to change and exactly where to find each one. They also inspire you. —A. W. know the locals who stop by frequently, including boldfaced names like Julianne Moore and Sarah Jessica Parker. To stay in business in the depths of the pandemic, Casa started an Instagram account that quickly gained attention among New York media types, leading to collaborations with Vans, Valentino, and Wes Anderson. Today it is a destination. Whether you stumble in from out of town or uptown, you will most certainly leave with an arm- ful of magazines. Bring your kids and they will leave with a free candy bar courtesy of the proprietors. And if you’re in search of an N. Y. C. souvenir, nothing beats a Casa T-shirt. —Michael Sebastian FIT TO PRINT SWEET PICKLE CAFE CON LIBROS, RIZZOLI, BOOKS, MANHATTAN BROOKLYN MANHATTAN Three more New York City If you’ve ever thought, This indie, Black- Located in a dreamy hangouts This book would pair owned staple beaux-arts space, that will rekindle well with an artisanal in Brooklyn has an Rizzoli is the mecca your love pickle, then have we got eclectic, curated of coffee-table books. of bound paper the bookstore for you. selection of everything: Not in the market for The Lower East Side antiracist children’s a showstopping art gem sells gently used books, one-of-a-kind book? Have no fear: books, rare volumes, greeting cards, and, You can pick up Euro- and housemade pickles. as the name indicates, pean magazines, too. Be sure to snag some top-notch coffee. —Adrienne Westenfeld merch—Sweet Pickle’s tees sell out quickly. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SABREEN JAFRY

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blueprint _ style High & SEA SHEPHERD Dry CAPSULE A new Italian sportswear COLLECTION brand and a fearless JACKET BY nonprofit collaborate to SEASE. bring bold, high-tech style to the fight against illegal industrial fishing _ BY NICK SULLIVAN SEASE IS A LABEL THAT COULD ONLY HAVE EMERGED FROM ITALY. ITS ers at Sea Shepherd. The nonprofit organization takes to the ocean to disrupt—often at great risk to its crew—the operations of illegal industrial founders, Franco Loro Piana and his brother Giacomo, are sons of the fishing fleets. It also retrieves nets, which are recycled into usable yarn famous cashmere dynasty, but their approach is far from traditional. before being transformed into pieces like the spray top here. The reflec- Sease fuses performance and elegance for skiers, sailors, surfers—just tive skull-and-crossbones logo emblazoned on the chest and back is a about anyone with a passion for the outdoors. This spring, the brand declaration of support for the cause. (And all profits from the collection has created a collection of high-spec sportswear made from recycled benefit Sea Shepherd.) It also happens to look damn cool. ocean plastics in partnership with the maverick environmental crusad- PHOTOGRAPH BY BEN ALSOP



blueprint Back on Track Thanks to a new breed of designers taking it just as seriously as any other style staple, the once humble tracksuit is ready for its renaissance _ BY JONATHAN EVANS THE TRACKSUIT HAS LIVED MANY LIVES. IT’S BEEN A PIECE OF ing back to its heyday or reimagining it for the future, established labels and upstart designers alike are breathing new life into the tracksuit by rendering genuine athletic gear. It’s been a B-boy uniform. It’s also been a punchline, it in updated cuts and ever-more-luxurious materials. The right one might something your Sopranos-loving neighbor from North Jersey would wear to not replace your go-to two-button—or, hell, maybe it will—but it’s absolutely take out the trash and sneak a cigarette. And while it never really went away, poised to become your off-duty uniform. it did fade into the background for a minute there. No more. Whether hark- 34 P H OTO G R A P H S B Y S I LV E R C H A N G

_ style THE THROWBACK London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner has a knack for channeling the best of ‘70s style in her interpretation of the tracksuit. The jacket is cut short and slim and is finished, like the lightly flared pants, with a crocheted side stripe. Feel free to lean into the vibe with a striped sweater vest underneath. Not only is it a pattern-mashing power move—it’s era appropriate, too. JACKET ($715), VEST ($540), AND PANTS ($570) BY WALES BONNER; SNEAKERS ($149) BY MORAL CODE. THE REMIX THE SARTORIAL TAKE For some, modernizing the tracksuit means Tod’s, the maker of slimming down. For Priya “weekend on the Amalfi Ahluwalia, it’s all about Coast” driving shoes, nailing that just-boxy- also happens to turn out enough shape approved a pretty mean tracksuit. by certified Cool Kids The feel is all upscale the world over, including Italian, the sort of thing in her native London. The you could absolutely impression, like the cut, bring on that same is louche and loose. You weekend away. As for could wear it with how to wear it, though, a sneakers to turn up the pair of western boots will casualness, but pairing it give it a little devil-may- with loafers lends it a care edge while an genre-straddling open-collar polo shirt will versatility that could ensure Dickie Greenleaf even work at the and Tom Ripley would (dress-code-free) office. still approve. JACKET ($640) AND PANTS JACKET ($1,045) AND ($600) BY AHLUWALIA; PANTS ($795) BY TOD’S; LOAFERS ($135) BY G. H. POLO ($89) BY COS; BASS ORIGINALS. BOOTS ($255) BY TECOVAS; SUNGLASSES ($720) BY JACQUES MARIE MAGE. STYLING: RASHAD MINNICK. GROOMING: JESSICA ORTIZ USING JAXON LANE. MODELS: DOMINIQUE HOLLINGTON AND JISLAIN DUVAL FOR WILHELMINA; JULIAN CARDONA FOR MAJOR.

blueprint _ style The Anti- Fashion Fashion Brand Aspesi isn’t trendy.That’s the whole point. _ BY NICK SULLIVAN THOUGH IT MAKES CLOTHES, calling Aspesi a fashion brand isn’t quite right. “Anti-fashion” is more accurate. From its founding in 1969 by designer Alberto Aspesi, the label has re- fused to be pigeonholed by any- thing as shallow as trends. American-born, Milan-based designer Lawrence Steele knows a thing or two about that approach. After logging time at Aspesi cre- Moschino and Prada (not to ative director mention his own eponymous la- Lawrence Steele. bel), Steele worked as a consul- tant for Aspesi from 2004 to 2017, helping the team fine-tune everything from the shirts the company has made since the very beginning to the military-inspired outer- wear that’s become a modern-day Aspesi specialty. And over those 13 years, Alberto became not just a boss but a friend and more out of the fabrics,” he says. mentor. “Mr. Aspesi was all about the au- For spring 2022, Steele worked with pho- thenticity of the process,” Steele explains, tographer Vanina Sorrenti on a series of “about things that last in time.” portraits that would convey the mix-and- When Steele returned to Aspesi in 2020 matchable, highly personalizable nature as creative director, he was charged with of Aspesi. And to keep the freedom of ex- MAX VADUKUL/COURTESY ASPESI (STEELE). VANINA SORRENTI/COURTESY ASPESI (REMAINING). balancing that heritage with relevance for pression going from one season to the next, a new generation. Things like strict gender Steele is making another anti-fashion move divisions and old-school production meth- and rejecting newness for its own sake. ods were, naturally, out the window. “The “For me, a great win is when we’ve de- pieces had an appeal independent of the signed something that we don’t want to take gender they were designed for,” says Steele. out of the collection,” he says. “You know, “Customers just bought the pieces because the next season comes along and we’re like, they were well-made and fit perfectly into ‘Let’s do it again.’ My dream is to get to a their lives.” And as for how those pieces point—and I think Mr. Aspesi also arrived are made? “We figured out the sizing so there—where we’re not actually designing. that when we make stuff, we’re producing We’re kind of just creating issues of items CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SHIRT ($365) AND TROUSERS ($435) BY ASPESI. TROUSERS ($745) BY ASPESI. less, getting more out of the garments, that people love and respond to.” JACKET ($710), SHIRT, AND TROUSERS BY ASPESI. 36

TIME INSTRUMENTS FROM THE COCKPIT TO THE WRIST

blueprint _ dialed _ in A Smartwatch for Watch Nerds Still not convinced you can—or should—wear a connected watch? Consider TAG Heuer’s Calibre E4,which brings legendary Swiss craftsmanship and ingenuity to wearable tech. _ BY NICK SULLIVAN CALIBRE E4 45MM SIX MONTHS AFTER THE APPLE WATCH CONNECTED WATCH ($2,050) debuted in 2015, TAG Heuer introduced its AND ORANGE first connected watch—a bold early entrée STRAP ($200, SOLD into a market that most of the Swiss watch SEPARATELY) BY industry initially dismissed. The old guard TAG HEUER. thought the Apple Watch was a fad. Now we know smartwatches are here to stay. And while personality-free designs still predom- inate, TAG Heuer has proven that you can have all that technology in a watch that actu- ally looks stylish. There’s a hitch, though. Swiss-made watches are designed to last a lifetime. Many lifetimes. That isn’t the case with smart- watches. Apple, for instance, has put out seven generations of its watch. TAG Heuer has sought to extend the life of its smart- watch—to make it last for, if not a lifetime, at least longer than others in the market. “Even- tually, on a smartwatch, the battery will stop working,” says TAG’s CEO, Frédéric Arnault, who took over the brand in 2020. “The ques- tion is, how far away is ‘eventually’? The soft- ware can be maintained for years. We can change the battery to extend the lifetime of the watch.” According to Arnault, people who bought TAG’s first-generation con- nected watch seven years ago continue to wear it. Happily. TAG Heuer is now on the fourth generation. The Calibre E4 in 42mm is more elegant and refined than its predecessors. It’s also closer, aesthetically, to a mechanical watch, having slimmed down significantly. Its big brother, the 45mm version, leans into a sportier feel, accentuated by its ceramic bezel. Neither skimps on functionality. The crown, which in a connected watch is used far more often, has been enlarged. There’s a new altimeter in both sizes, plus faster Bluetooth connec- tivity. Both are powered by Google’s Wear OS. “The watches we are building now,” says Arnault, “we just could not have done three years ago because the technology had not yet evolved.” If you’ve balked at wearing a smartwatch, the E4 might change your mind. 38 P H OTO G R A P H B Y B E N A LS O P

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blueprint _ style STYLING: RASHAD MINNICK. GROOMING: JESSICA ORTIZ USING JAXON LANE. MODELS: DOMINIQUE HOLLINGTON AND JISLAIN DUVAL FOR WILHELMINA; JULIAN CARDONA FOR MAJOR. That Only Cost THE UNIFORM 2.0 How Much? The basic components Looking like a million bucks with a million bucks is here—blazer, sweater, nothing. Doing it on the cheap? Now that’s impressive. trousers—will be _ familiar to you. What’s not is the proportion. BY JONATHAN EVANS Everything is looser. Chiller. The feeling is IT’S BOOM TIMES FOR EVOLVED MINIMALISM. GONE ARE THE less “workaday” and more “what do you restrictive silhouettes and stark palette of days past. In their want to do today?” place are clothes in a range of hues that hang precisely—but com- The answer is anything fortably—on the body. It’s all about elevated ease, and the best you want, because part about it is that you can do it for pretty much any price. Sure, this just-left-of-center you could spend five grand on something extra fancy. But you uniform fits in, no matter can also get a “Holy shit, I can’t believe it’s that affordable” ver- the environment. sion of the vibe with around $500 in your pocket. Here’s how. And while the jacket is a little pricier, when you’re getting your wardrobe building blocks for a song, you can afford an occa- sional splurge. JACKET ($345) BY THE FRANKIE SHOP; SWEATER ($50) BY UNIQLO; TROUSERS ($70) BY ZARA; BELT ($70) BY BANANA REPUBLIC; WATCH ($200) BY TIMEX. THE ANTI- BORING BEIGE Neutral tones have a reputation for playing a little too . . . well, neutral. But when you put them together like this—with generous cuts that hang loose in all the right places, plus a heaping helping of texture— they’re anything but. The trick is to go big but stay strategic. Notice how the trousers hit right at the ankle and how the coat envelops but doesn’t swallow the body. That’s how you keep things looking special, not sloppy. COAT ($129) AND TROUSERS ($60) BY ZARA; SHIRT ($120) BY THE FRANKIE SHOP; SHOES ($125) BY EVERLANE. THE ÜBER-AFFORDABLE, ÜBER-COOL SUIT A suit for less than $150? You’d expect something fit for humming fluorescent lights and humdrum office parks, right? Well, now that Christophe Lemaire—king of high-end minimal luxury with his own label, Lemaire—is at the helm of Uniqlo U, it’s time to adjust your expectations. Shoot for a fit that skims the body instead of hugging it, and don’t be afraid to go monochromatic. A white dress shirt is never the wrong call, but in this case, a dark greenish-gray one is even better. JACKET ($90), SHIRT ($50), AND TROUSERS ($50) BY UNIQLO. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SILVER CHANG

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blueprint _ dispatches from _ the new middle age LISA KERESZI/TRUNKARCHIVE.COM SEX, LOVE, AND ART IN THE SUBURBS What happens when life doesn’t go as planned? Now in his 40s, a former bohemian comes to terms with a kind of life—and love—very different from what he’d expected. BY GARTH GREENWELL IT’S A STRANGE THING, INHABITING A LIFE YOU bought a small Dutch colonial. In many ways, our lives are typical of one kind of midwestern American life. On nice eve- never would have imagined for yourself. nings, we sit in our yard and say hello to our neighbors; in I turn 44 this spring. For the past nine years, I’ve lived in a the autumn we rake leaves. A year ago we adopted two cats. small city in eastern Iowa; for almost as long, I’ve been in a This is a life that no one I knew in the pre-Internet, pre– relationship with a man I met soon after moving here. Six marriage equality South I grew up in, at the height of the early years ago we moved in together, and three years ago we 44