Elicia Ye – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Tue, 08 Aug 2017 07:32:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Elicia Ye – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 The pursuit of Nobu-lity: Keeping up with the Kollection of Kardashian favorites https://stanforddaily.com/2017/08/09/the-pursuit-of-nobu-lity-keeping-up-with-the-kollection-of-kardashian-favorites/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/08/09/the-pursuit-of-nobu-lity-keeping-up-with-the-kollection-of-kardashian-favorites/#respond Wed, 09 Aug 2017 08:00:14 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1129717 On a scale of zero to Nobu, how invested have you been in keeping up with the Kardashians’ diet?

I have yet to watch an episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” and I don’t follow any of the Kardashian-Jenners on social media. But when Managing Editor of News Anne-Marie Hwang ’19 mentioned that Nobu, a favorite restaurant chain amongst the Kardashians, had opened a location at the Epiphany Hotel in Palo Alto, I couldn’t help but wonder why.

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The pursuit of Nobu-lity: Keeping up with the Kollection of Kardashian favorites
(ELICIA YE/The Stanford Daily)

On a scale of zero to Nobu, how invested have you been in keeping up with the Kardashians’ diet?

I have yet to watch an episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” and I don’t follow any of the Kardashian-Jenners on social media. But when Managing Editor of News Anne-Marie Hwang ’19 mentioned that Nobu, a favorite restaurant chain amongst the Kardashians, had opened a location at the Epiphany Hotel in Palo Alto, I couldn’t help but wonder why. Nobu has routinely garnered attention and adoration in cities that either boost the entertainment industry or serve as vacation destinations—places like New York, Los Angeles, Dubai and Monte Carlo. Why would it appeal to the Silicon Valley, home to an abundance of high-tech businesses and start-up companies, an alternative crowd?

For more context, here’s a brief glance at some recent pages of the Kardashians’ food diary: Nobu edition.

Location: Nobu in Malibu, unless stated otherwise.

May 29, 2016

Kanye West attacks paparazzi as his family leaves the restaurant after brunch with John Legend, Chrissy Teigen and their one-month-old daughter Luna. He repeatedly yells unprintable words and fends the press off “private property,” also known as Kim’s white Range Rover HSE.

 

Jan 13, 2017

Location: Nobu Dubai at Atlantis, The Palm

After going to only an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills during the past three months, Kim-Who-Just-Came-Out-of-Hiding is welcomed by eager diners taking photos of her and her crew.

 

May 24, 2017

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West celebrate their three-year wedding anniversary.

 

Additional comment: Jonathan Cheban, Kim’s best friend, said to Fox News that Kim, Khloe and Kourtney always want salad when they go out to eat, so he tends to suggest Nobu in order to avoid salad.

 

You catch my drift.

Dubbed “The Restaurant Chain of the Rich and Famous” by The Richest in 2014 and a “celebrity hotspot” by Fox News, Nobu has been frequented by various celebrities and political figures since its opening in Beverly Hills, Calif., in January 1987.

President Barack Obama and his family were seen dining at Nobu in Honolulu on Dec. 28, 2016, during their Hawaii vacation. Nobu was also featured on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” during an episode in which Fallon introduced country singer Blake Shelton to sushi for the first time.

Although Shelton thought the Sake and the tuna sushi tasted like “Easter egg coloring” and “Play-doh,” respectively, he seemingly enjoyed the pair. Fresh ginger, however, had the “texture of pre-chewed gum,” and he facepalmed after trying sashimi.

Given my apathetic, close-to-critical attitude toward the Kardashian-Jenners, I was skeptical about the quality of dining Nobu has to offer, only to realize later that the highly-acclaimed restaurant chain has humble beginnings originating with its founder, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

When Matsuhisa opened his first restaurant in Peru, he couldn’t find the ingredients he used back in Japan. To improvise, he incorporated Peruvian ingredients into Japanese dishes, the fusion of which forms the unique style of Nobu today.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1977, he opened Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, which attracted many Hollywood celebrities including actor Robert De Niro, who offered Matsuhisa to open a Nobu restaurant in New York. The two kicked off the growth of the chain in 1993 with a new location set up in Tribeca, New York City.

Not unlike the process of starting a tech business, Matsuhisa realized his vision after receiving help from an investor and partner by demonstrating his innovation, hard work and dedication. The ideas embedded in Matsuhisa’s “start-up” have since propelled the creation of a global empire and will continue Nobu’s legacy in the Bay Area, where the values held by its inhabitants align with the restaurant’s background.

But why Palo Alto instead of San Francisco, where the location will be accessible to more tourists?

To bring the first Nobu to Northern California, Matsuhisa partnered with Oracle Corporation founder Larry Ellison, who bought the 86-room Epiphany Hotel for $71.6 million in September 2015. According to Eater San Francisco, “Ellison is already an investor and partner in Nobu Ryokan, one of Nobu’s other hotel properties in Malibu,” so Palo Alto naturally became a more realistic location choice than San Francisco or any other city in the Bay.

At 180 Hamilton Avenue, Nobu in Palo Alto is a smaller version of the original restaurant, with an intimate dining room, covered patio and bar. On the Sunday afternoon that I visited, the place was filled with mostly middle-aged couples and families. As posted on its website, signature Nobu dishes like Black Cod with Miso and Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño will be served at the new location along with other locally-inspired dishes.

Like any other restaurant on the pricier side, Nobu is not a place I would go to regularly, but rather for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries (four dollar sign price range, according to Yelp). With a three and a half-star rating, its future in the Bay Area is yet to be determined.

 

Contact Elicia Ye at eliciaye ‘at’ gmail.com.

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Women swimmers’ achievement at National Championships earns spots on U.S. Worlds team https://stanforddaily.com/2017/07/11/women-swimmers-achievement-at-national-championships-earns-spots-on-u-s-worlds-team/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/07/11/women-swimmers-achievement-at-national-championships-earns-spots-on-u-s-worlds-team/#respond Tue, 11 Jul 2017 20:19:38 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1129354 After bringing home a combination of six gold and three silver medals from the Summer Olympics in Rio last year, three members of Stanford’s women’s swim team placed in the 2017 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis to grab spots on Team USA for the World Championships this month.

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After bringing home a combination of six gold and three silver medals from the Summer Olympics in Rio last year, three members of Stanford’s women’s swim team placed in the 2017 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis to grab spots on Team USA for the World Championships this month.

Katie Ledecky ’20 and Leah Smith ’18 earned first and second place, respectively, in the 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle. Smith also placed first in the 400-meter individual medley (IM) and 1500-meter freestyle.

Women swimmers’ achievement at National Championships earns spots on U.S. Worlds team
(Casey Valentine/isiphotos.com)
Sophomore Katie Ledecky placed first in the 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals.

“A lot of people said they expected me to die on certain strokes,” Smith said. “Back and breast [stroke] were the two legs I was worried about because I knew I’d have easy speed on the [butter]fly, and I didn’t want to use my legs too much on the back[stroke] and not be able to do anything on the breast[stroke].”

Smith, who usually swims in freestyle events, decided to try out the 400-meter IM this year and worked to overcome her misgivings with backstroke and and breaststroke.

Head coach Greg Meehan is pleased to see the team’s overall results and especially the “phenomenal” performance from Leah Smith, whom he said “stood out as a hammer and is a good one-two punch with Katie [Ledecky] in Free events.”

As with any post-Olympic year, the team for the 2016-2017 season consists of a blend of veterans and youngsters getting their first real international experience, and the coaches are discovering how each individual fits in on the team.

Just as teams and players evolve year by year, Meehan expects Worlds to be “very different” from the Olympic experience of chasing gold at Rio. In order to effectively lead the team, Meehan looks to select captains before swimmers leave for the pre-Worlds training camp in Croatia.

“We rely a lot on our captains because they’ve got a ton of experience,” he said. “Some of them have been on more international trips than I have.”

In preparation for World Championships, Team USA will be leaving on July 11 for their training camp in Opatija, Croatia, prior to arriving in Budapest, Hungary, where they will be competing throughout the week of July 23.

“The camp will feel like a trainee camp to some, a maintenance to others and a resting camp for the rest,” Meehan said. “[Co-head coach] Dave [Durden] and I hope to get all the personalities together as the team starts to build towards Budapest.”

The Stanford women’s swim team was glad to have seniors Lia Neal and Nicole Stafford, along with junior Lindsey Engel, as captains for the 2016-2017 season. They led the team to its first D1 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving title since 1998.

“NCAA was a really remarkable meet for us this year as it is the first time Stanford has won it in 19 years,” Neal said. “It was such a surreal moment and experience with teammates, coaches, athletic trainers, family, alumni and former teammates that all came out to cheer us on.”

However, in order to have ample time to get in shape for Nationals, which took place from June 27 through July 1, winning the NCAA title didn’t earn the swimmers a break after the collegiate season had ended. Those hopeful of making the World Championship team headed straight for the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs during spring break and had been training since March until two weeks before Nationals.

A two-time Olympian and co-captain, Neal placed third in the 100-meter freestyle, qualifying for the relay team at Worlds but falling two-tenths of a second short of making top two to swim the individual event.

“For me, my times were pretty good, but I also wasn’t completely ecstatic either because we wanted to make it individually in the 100,” she said. “I had my moment of disappointment but still made the teamI get to go to Budapest!”

Nonetheless, Neal maintained an optimistic outlook and a positive mindset. “For every disappointment, there’s something I learned about myself,” she said. “I like to think that I could take all these opportunities to become a better swimmer, a better person.”

In the post-Olympic year, the coaches’ goal for the women’s team isn’t to recreate the experience in Rio. Instead, they work to make sure the younger swimmers get a full experience on the International A-Team and do not take the opportunity for granted.

“We want them to have the experience of putting on the American flag cap and realize how meaningful that is, regardless of the type of meet,” Meehan said. “In the end, the goal is to win as many medals for Team USA as we can.”

 

Contact Elicia Ye at eliciaye ‘at’ gmail.com.

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Gifts from contemporary artists add depth to presentation of the Anderson Collection https://stanforddaily.com/2017/06/27/gifts-from-contemporary-artists-add-depth-to-presentation-of-the-anderson-collection/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/06/27/gifts-from-contemporary-artists-add-depth-to-presentation-of-the-anderson-collection/#respond Tue, 27 Jun 2017 08:00:44 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1129259 The Anderson Collection recently welcomed an additional 11 artworks by Manuel Neri and a painting by Mary Weatherford to the museum, just after receiving Bill Jensen’s watercolor and gouache Study for Denial at the end of 2016.

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The Anderson Collection recently welcomed an additional 11 artworks by Manuel Neri and a painting by Mary Weatherford to the museum, just after receiving Bill Jensen’s watercolor and gouache Study for Denial at the end of 2016.

Mary Weatherford’s Black Painting—gifted by Debra and Steven Wisch ’83, whose Wisch Family Gallery is located on the first floor of the Anderson Collection—was the first of her works installed in the collection, along with three drawings on paper by Manuel Neri—gifts from the artist’s trust.

Jason Linetzky, director of the Anderson Collection, was  delighted to see positive reactions to the new pieces of art from visitors.

“We are just starting to get that campus reaction now with the announcement,” Linetzky said. We certainly see a lot of visitors spending time looking at the Weatherford’s Black Painting and talking with each other about it.”

After the opening of the museum, prospective donors presented artwork to the Anderson Collection, which has an approval and review process for acquiring new works.

“The first two years of our existence was dedicated to sharing the collection almost exclusively with the public and with the Stanford community to make sure we introduce properly the family’s gift,” Linetzky said. “We saw an increase in interest from many people in the community to think about how the collection might be able to grow.”

During the selection process, the artwork is expected to be consistent with the type of art presented at the Anderson Collection. The focus of the collection is grounded in modern and contemporary American art with concentration in New York and California.

According to Linetzky, the Bill Jensen work on paper Study for Denial—a preliminary, working study for the oil on canvas painting—directly relates to Denial, 1983-86 a painting already in the Andersons’ original collection. (Jensen later produced Etching for Denial, 1986-88 demonstrating his continued interest in this composition. That work is not in the museum’s collection but does belong to the Anderson family.)

Similarly, the three additional sculptural works by Manuel Neri relates to his work in the original collection from the Andersons: a plaster sculpture of a standing figure on the second floor in the Bay Area Figurative Gallery.

“Gifting us eight art pieces on paper by Neri [allows] us to offer a deeper understanding of his works since his work on paper is something we haven’t had in our collection before,”  said Aimee Shapiro, director of programming and engagement. “His three sculptural reliefs we received also provide a more in-depth way  [of] looking at an individual artist and his process.”

Linetzky shares a similar perspective that bringing in the additional works by Neri allows the museum to add both more depth and breadth through the artist’s consistent style with the museum and the way he works across different materials.

“Our hope is that we are always home for the Anderson family’s gifts, but that at the same time we are able to keep the collection dynamic both through exhibition as well as addition to the collection,” Linetzky said.

Even though Mary Weatherford is “totally new” to the Anderson Collection, she has several connections to Stanford through her grandmother, grandfather and mother, all of whom are alumni of the University. This fact, in Linetzky’s opinion, made the presence of her work at Stanford all the more inspiring.

Shapiro is grateful for Steven and Debra Wisch for being “big supporters of the arts at Stanford” and for gifting Weatherford’s painting, as the Collection is working to incorporate more contemporary works. Weatherford, an established and well-known contemporary artist, is influenced by different movements presented in the Anderson collection.

The new thirteen artworks are the first gifts the museum has received since the opening of the Anderson Collection, and the move to expand the collection has been growing ever since.

“As part of opening some real doors and opportunities for the museum, we hope to further expand the reach and what the museum can provide to not only the campus community but also the local community and the art world,” Shapiro said.

The Anderson Collection staff intends for the museum to be a place that welcomes all types of visitors, regardless of their level of understanding of contemporary or modern American art.

“The collection is continuing to evolve in a way that allows us to both share the collection with the community and have the community respond to it,” Linetzky said.

 

Contact Elicia Ye at eliciaye ‘at’ gmail.com. 

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