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With a loyal following of guys that just can’t help themselves from spending their hard earned Euros on Polo shirts and Rose bottles, Merkato has become the top dog in Meatpacking.  The Koch’s Saturday brunch parties are the stuff that water cooler chit chatterings on Monday mornings are made of.  Enjoy my favorite photos from last Saturday’s brunch below… More»

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Want to see what a birthday brunch in Meatpacking can look like?  To help head us off into the weekend, take a look at the Merkato 55 brunch from last Saturday. There was more than one birthday girl in the house popping champagne bottles.  The Koch brothers are back from their trip to Miami and their annual brunch party welcomed them back in full force.  This might have been the most colorful photos of the place we’ve seen…

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• London’s been calling all week long.  The opening of the highly anticipated Soho store, Topshop brought 3 (count em) THREE nights of partying this week.  Read up on all of our coverage:

[Topshop Dinner At Balthazar #1]
[Topshop VIP Night One]
[What's It Like Sharing An Apartment Building With Kate Moss?]
[Waldo Crashes Topshop Parade]
[Wearing Kate Moss' Clothes Will Not Make You Look Like This]
[Third Night's A Charm: Topshop At The Box]  More»

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If anyone’s concerned about the death of big spending brunches like our favorite, Merkato 55,M don’t be.  This weekend was as crazy as ever.  With Francesco Civetta spinning for the first time before DJ Serebe took over his regular post, the crowd was up and dancing ahead of schedule, over their eggs benedict and french toast.  Congrats to the brunch, who, besides recently being featured in NYMag’s “Best of NYC” issue, more recently got a write up in the NYTimes!

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Which “Young Manhattanite” made this claim in regards to a certain favorite social past time? Answer below… More»

[Bamboleo!  The Gypsy Kings at Merkato 55 this past Saturday]

More Photos by Steven Ekerovich can be found here.  Tag yourself and your friends!

What better way to celebrate Spring Fever than with some Latin music and rosé?  Saturday’s 70 degree weather brought out every Merkato “regular” to watch the Gypsy Kings perform their musical magic .  The special event started early (1:30 pm) and within minutes the room was exploding with energy.  After their set, resident song master DJ Serebe took over at 3pm and kept the table tops full while Derek and Daniel Koch delivered magnums of sparkler laced champagne. It was the Gypsy King’s second trip to M55and based on the reaction of the crowd, definitely not their last…

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Last night, a very special “Wrestler” stopped by Merkato 55 to wish Sofia Vassalo, the half Portuguese/half Brazilian PR beauty a very special “Happy Birthday!”  He was not alone, Sofia had 200 of her closest friends come to party with her friends, the Koch Brothers, at Merkato for a private celebration.  Steve, who is as resourceful as he is charismatic, convinced the “Comeback Kid” who was dining downstairs with Sean Penn to join in wishing the Birthday Girl a special Happy Birthday.  Around midnight Mickey Rourke moved down to Bijoux and took over the room. The party was still raging around 4 am.

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According to the Koch Brothers, the rumor of troubles brewing at Merkato 55 are untrue. The restaurant itself may be experiencing some recession related differences (is there a place in Manhattan that isn’t?), but the brunch itself on Saturday continues to bring in lines out the door, and provide us with classic “Best $2k” photos.  This weekend was no different.

[Merkato/Bijoux, Not Going Anywhere]

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Word from DBTH has been all about the end of one of our favorite best $2k spots, Merkato 55. According to “sources”, Megu has been negotiating a move to take over the space, home of those infamous brunch gatherings. I went straight to the horse’s mouth, and asked Daniel and Derek Koch, the masterminds behind the brunch to get the scoop:

“The Megu plan was an idea about a month ago but not anymore. I believe they met with Hiro and his team but the negotiations went south, end of story. The brunch is here to stay and Bijoux isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I agree, times are tough but the Merkato/Bijoux families are strong operators and it’s going to take a lot more than a few bad months to get them to go. However, be on the look out for a new concept (food/design) at Merkato very soon. “

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What photographer said this about which song at which party?  Find out after the jump… More»

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Last Saturday, we sent one very lucky reader, Amanda Scherr, and her boyfriend to the Koch Brother’s infamous (Valentine’s themed) brunch. (They are pictured with Daniel in the first thumbnail photo below).  We gave them a free bottle of Rosé and left them to get carried away in the magic of Merkato. And, judging by the text I got from them around 7pm, they stuck around for the entire party, good sign…

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