92 Calyer St.

I stayed away from Calyer after friends gave it like warm reviews. I don’t often get to go out to dinner, so like warm doesn’t cut it. But a recent birthday party (which the staff was graciously accommodating to such a large group with little notice) brought me to the neighborhood spot and made a believer not only out of me but my friends that were disappointed the first time round.

Easy going but upscale, Calyer feels vaguely nautical and features an ever changing eclectic menu. Dishes are meant to be shared but I found that works best with three or so people and only with the appetizer type dishes. The delicious brussel sprouts, for example were served brimming over a large bowl with plenty to go around.

My arctic char, which was really wonderful with each component adding something special was not very large and I was miffed to give any of it away (not that it stopped people from asking). In return, friends traded bites of their steak which has to be one of the richest and most tasty steak dishes I’ve had in a very, very long time.

In all, everything was a huge win. The service, the space, the beverages (they made a sparkling lemonade for me) and oh yes, the delectable food.

A great date night spot.

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Posted on April 16, 2012

from A Year of Slow Cooking

I’m still exploring the crock pot and with the seasonal chill in the air I decided on a Salsa Chicken and Black Bean soup. It’s a reader favorite from the A Year of Slow Cooking site and understandably so.

It’s mild though flavorful and could please most palettes, though personally I was glad to have some chipotle Tabasco on hand to spice things up.

I made the mistake of skipping the step of rinsing my canned beans. It meant a “soupier” soup rather than the slightly thickened one I was expecting. Still a great easy recipe that will please a wide variety of people raised on Tex Mex (Americans).

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Posted on April 14, 2012

by Shudder to Think featuring Jeff Buckley (1998)

Jeff Buckley makes me sigh. Has since I was in 8th grade getting my heart constantly broken.

Today I sighed anew after finding I Want Someone Badly, a song by him I’d never heard before. It reminds me of Terence Trent D’arby (in a great way).

Thanks to Daily Sound Fix for introducing me. A look through the site, which features forgotten music, promises more gems are waiting to be found. Too bad it hasn’t been updated for a year.

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Posted on April 11, 2012

by Suzanne Collins (2008, 2009, 2010)

I couldn’t resist seeing what all the fuss was about and besides a young adult romance set in a dystopian future where kids are forced to kill one another sounds exactly up my alley. There’s a prevailing and annoying habit of people, mostly men, around my age to flat out despise anything too popular (usually without ever having read or seen the offending pop hit) but I like to read before judgement (I even gave Twilight a chance) and found The Hunger Games spectacular.. Mostly.

The first book is riveting with well written action (usually hard to write and the part in most books that loses my interest) and the romance is nothing short of brilliant. I can totally understand how this captured the hearts of teen girls everywhere and frankly, it left me feeling a bit like a teen girl myself.

The plotting is smart, the heroine is complex and pishaw! to those complaints about similarities to the Korean gore fest Battle Royale. I’m a big fan of that too but feel they’re very different. Besides I ask you to name one sci fi theme that hasn’t been explored by more than one author.

The first book is intimate, exciting and heart breaking and left me very curious about book two, Catching Fire which surprised me by being equally great if not better. Collins moves the story forward in unexpected and inventive ways. After a whirl wind it ends in a cliff hanger which leads us to book three: Mockingjay and the downfall of the series.

I can’t help but wonder if Collibs was severely depressed while writing the final installment. With my love for dark material I’ll rarely say something like this but: couldn’t she have kept things a bit lighter? Given our beloved characters more satisfying justice and more romance? I mean really, this book is bleak.

Still, it’s worth reading the trilogy which takes about three days – you just may want to fabricate your own happy ending.

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Posted on April 10, 2012

Excuse our brief absence.We’ve been hunting Easter eggs. Back soon!

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Posted on April 9, 2012