My mom sent a pack of the deliciously citrusy SporTea and we've been enjoying pitchers of iced tea ever since. I?ad the energizing beverage often growing up in Colorado where a “well known herbalist” developed the special recipe.
Drinks »SporTea
Be the first to leave a comment →
Desserts »Homemade Tiramisu
My friend Grace impresses me greatly with her home made from scratch treats that she often brings to office parties. The latest and greatest was a Tiramisu, which comprised of home made lady fingers for goodness sake!! (pictured).
It's not a dessert I tend to gravitate towards, but this was certianly the best I've had and I loved it. You can really taste the care that went into making it. She combined recipes from allrecipes and the Joy of Baking.
If you want to impress like Grace, take a page from her book and enroll in the Institute of Culinary Education.
See more: Desserts Cakes Homemade Puddings/Custards
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Restaurants »Stone Park Cafe
I almost never order boring old chicken at a restaurant but I had a hunch about the menu offering at Stone Park Cafe: roasted farm chicken with homemade tagliatelle, chanterelles, and garlic jus. Oh my, if all chicken tasted like this, I'd never order anything else. It was really just perfect. Warm sourdough bread and an inviting, dimly lit, bustling environment was equally nice and I can understand why this place is a staple for my friends that just moved to the area.
They enjoyed a fresh heirloom tomato salad and Jim's cod special was also yummy. The menu is updated frequently based on what ingredients are in season. It was pretty busy the night we ate there and I do recommend reservations, but I've heard it's easy to get a seated on off hours. The two owners, Josh Foster and Josh Grinker who grew up in the neighborhood, have previously worked at Tribeca Grill and Le Bec Fin.
See more: Restaurants American Park Slope
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Style Icons: Male »Peter Som
I love Peter Som's Spring collection! It's like an eccentric old lady meets her feminine socialite of a granddaughter. The unexpected combination of fabrics, silhouettes, textures, colors, and print is delightful.
I look forward to approaching my own wardrobe with his whimsical eye and dressing to the tune of overall directive of “extreme happiness”.
See more: Style Icons: Male Designers
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Albums »Eccentric Soul Vol 7: The Deep City Label
At Numero Group, “The mission was simple: to dig deep into the recesses of our record collections with the goal of finding the dustiest gems begging to be released from their exile on geek street.”
For all their endeavors to bring forgotten soul to my ears, I am eternally grateful.
Eccentric Soul Vol 7: The Deep City Label compilation has brought me so much joy in the last few days. I found it after my old friend Billy said he was touring with the Eccentric Soul Review (which comes to New York in November). I downloaded this volume because it features one of my personal favorite obscure soul singers, Betty Wright, whose two songs Paralyzed and Good Lovin' are particular stand outs in the amazing collection.
Other exceptional tracks are “Am I A Good Man” by Them Two, Paul Kelly's “The Upset”, and “I am Controlled by Your Love” by Helene Smith. Also love the lyrics from “Stay Away from My Johnny”: “There's only two kind of girls that he loves and I'm both of them”.
Numero describes the label as “Possibly the most influential of all the 60s Miami soul label's, the Deep City sound not only changed the Metro-Dade area, but set the tone for disco powerhouse TK's impressive run in the 70s.”
That none of the singers featured ever gained substantial fame is a shame. That Numero has several more compilations to dig through is a blessing.
See more: Albums 1960s 2000s Compilations R&B
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Movies »The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The definitive message behind the enthralling but dreary The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which stars an aged Robert Mitchum as a career small-time criminal, is that crime does not pay.
Far from the usual glamorized Hollywood image of criminals, everyone here is a snitch, a backstabber, a thief or about to go down with barely a penny to their name. It's a tough, unsentimental look at the world of crime, the shots are somewhat bleak and harshly lit, and even the action sequences, while still tense, are non-stylized.
Mitchum, who I adore in anything, is superb as the weary and desperate Coyle. Director Peter Yates, whose resume is uneven (he helmed the iconic Bullitt, the weird Mother, Juggs and Speed and Krull but later served time on a sentimental D.B. Sweeney vehicle), is also at his best.
The film is based on a best selling novel by George V Huggins, who was a major influence on James Ellroy.
See more: Movies 1970s Crime Drama Noir
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Laughs »Hardbodies
Undoubtedly, the images I posted over on RC are going to make Hardbodies look like a lot more fun than it is. The film is no B-movie delight like Joysticks, mostly because of an overwhelming grossness factor.
The plot concerns a homeless surfer named Scotty Palmer who gains employment as a sort of pimp to three “sex geezers”- old men who have moved in together to a summer beach house to get laid. Scotty's best friend is a horny monster face of a kid named Rags who has beef on the beach with a roaming gang of sexual predators (see man in the “Boogie Til You Puke” tee).
Watching said men get mesmerized by boobs and suffer from nauseating blue balls (see after the jump) is perhaps less exciting than it sounds. But on the other hand, there is an all girl band called Vixen who rocks my world in leg warmers with a song called “Computer Madness”, there are performing bodybuilders, there is a car water bed sex palace, and there are numerous fake breast antics that you just can't find in comedies anymore.
Oh, and some photos after the jump are not safe for work – and one in particular (which includes a feather boa) is likely to give you nightmares. I apologize.
See more: Laughs 1980s Bad Movies Comedy
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Style Icons: Female »Yoko Ono
While for a good long time Yoko Ono has been known mainly as the woman who broke up The Beatles, lately the petite radical has been remembered more for her contributions to avant garde art and the peace movement.
Ono and her 1964 performance Cut Piece was the inspiration for and earned an homage from the threeasfour runway show.
See more: Style Icons: Female Artists Muses
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Songs »If I Had No Loot
While the vintage quality of the vocal stylings of Raphael Saadiq's solo career were a new discovery (and a wonderful one), this feel-good song by Tony Toni Tone (the band which Saadiq fronted) has been a favorite of mine for years and years.
I was a fifteen year old sophomore when it came out and was probably watching Dazed and Confused, eating cake batter, and hanging out with my girlfriends in one of their basements while listening to it.
See more: Songs 1990s R&B
Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009
Books »The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
I'm not entirely sure what I expected from the internationally popular mystery, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it wasn't what I got. I thought, based on the title, it would be kind of arty, off kilter, or exotic (though the setting in rural Sweden is, admittedly, pretty neat) but it's fairly straight forward, though quite complex in plot.
It's half in the tradition of “cozy” mysteries and half a pretty gruesome tale of severe sexual abuse. It's light and dark in turns and while I'm not sure that I truly loved it, it is a page turner.
A journalist and a social pariah become, through a semi unbelievable turn of events, partners in crime. Their assignment: to uncover the truth behind the decades-old disappearance of a young girl from a seemingly secluded island. Along the way, they unearth sinister secrets far more grisly than they expected.
It's at times ludicrous, and the language is a bit clunky, but that could just be the translation. Author Steig Larsson, a Swedish journalist turned novelist, (sadly) died right before his book was published and became a world wide sensation. Undoubtedly a film version will follow.