Places to Visit »The Liberty Bell

brixpicks at the liberty bellThere's not a whole lot to it, but even if the line is long, it moves quickly, so there's no excuse to not see The Liberty Bell at least once while in Philadelphia. It is after all, a part of our history, and they gave it a nice home where it's kind of fun to freak out the mean old men who are worried you're going to get in their shot of the bell.

The bell was originally commissioned to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges. Penn was a civil rights activist who had forward ideas about equality and religious freedom. He also advocated citizens involvement in enacting laws. Eventually, as the bell rang out to summon the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, it became a symbol of freedom and liberty in general.

And for free, and just a little bit of your time standing in line, you too can get a photo with it.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Drinks »Zubrowka

zubrowkaIn the primeval Bialowieza Forest that straddles the border between Belarus and Poland grows the bison grass that eventually finds it's way into each bottle of Zubrowka vodka, giving it a pleasant, crisp autumn flavor.

The traditional beverage, which has been made the same way since the 16th century and was absolutely loved by the Polish royalty, was forced to change their recipe in 1978 when the FDA banned it for it's toxic compound, coumarin. You can still buy the updated, non toxic version and while it's not the “real deal” stuff that Poland enjoys, it might be a good thing that we don't hallucinate on our alcohol. I happen to live in the neighborhood where you can easily find it in every liquor store on the block.

In Poland, it's traditionally mixed with apple juice (known as a Tatanka). I used local, fresh apple cider and instantly found a new favorite. It's also excellent alone and chilled.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Desserts »Marzipan Banana

marzipan banana bruno bakeryI was craving a sweet after lunch, something that doesn't happen with nearly the frequency of my early, Lick-M-Aid days of college, but I really needed some sugar and I found it in the cutest form possible.

Bruno Bakery is pretty highly praised online and super close to work, but this was the first time I've paid them a visit. The gelato, pastries, cookies, and tarts all looked like they warrant another visit but the cute, bright, multi shaped marzipan were what caught my eye. I opted for a banana one.

Not on sale in the shop? The two foot high mitre marzipan owner Biagio Settepani made for the Pope's dessert.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Restaurants »Kanoyama

kanoyama nycRule number one with neighborhood darling Kanoyama is to make a reservation, from the minute we sat down there were at least five people waiting for tables. Often the eager crowds spilled out on to the street. It's a small space and tight quarters with no real decor to speak of, but that's completely beside the point. Who needs fancy ambiance when the sushi is so pleasing to look at?

We all ordered the omakase sushi dinner which gets you eight pieces the freshest chef choice and a roll for a little over thirty dollars. The day we went, tuna heaven was offered on plate in the form of two different kinds of sushi and a roll which were all exceptional. The octopus was superb and the unagi was presented beautifully in a long fillet with just a bit of the sweet basting sauce.

The unagi probably most represents the exceptional difference between Kanoyama and cheaper sushi joints. The fish was fresh and smelled amazing, and it was prepared simply so you could actually taste the freshness. I usually like eel, but the overcooked, over sweetened typical versions will never taste the same after this experience.

I wish I could give you more information on the other types of sushi we sampled, but it was all really tasty and made me feel like I should have beens paying through the nose (which you would be at other places of this caliber).

Beware of the wasabi here, it is potent stuff, not like the weak stuff you find in take out deli boxes. Also beware the carafes, they hold a whole lotta sake and before you know it, you're swimming in Masumi or Oyama (both really good lower priced options). They also serve Ginga Kogen Beer, which is nice crisp beer served in a blue bottle with a deer on it and Hitachino when available.

If you're tired of deli sushi and want to remember what it's really supposed to taste like without spending a fortune, have a blast discovering Kanoyama.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Style Icons: Male »John Rambola

john rombolaWhile it's possible to dig up some information online about artist John Rombola, museums will be happy to hear that I probably would have never discovered his whimsical work without them (Cooper Hewitt specifically). His books are sadly out of print, though the blog Dear Ada has posted this great scan of his book Rombola by Rombola and this flickr embroidery artist has found inspiration in his Bullfight Scene painting.

His name pops up in auction sales and the books Twentieth Century Pattern Design and Off the Wall. At one time he worked for Piazza Prints. It's his work for them, a trippy Alice in Wonderland wallpaper to be exact (on display at the Wall Stories: Children's Wallpaper and Books) that caught my eye (and the eye of Cookie Magazine) and made me so curious about him. Unfortunately more information is spotty. Though according to this photo, (which may or may not be the same John Rombola) he may have also designed costumes for the (now defunct) Harkness Ballet and was totally suave looking and surrounded by leopard ladies.

I am just finding this guy more and more intriguing, the harder and harder it is to know a thing about him. I even tracked down one of his books Rombola by Rombola (found on ebay, woo hoo) and bought it for myself for Christmas.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Albums »Ame Debout

catherine ribeiro and alpes ame deboutImagine if Nico went on a Primal Scream retreat with Amon Duul II and suddenly began singing in French and you get some idea of the mysterious, sometimes cacophonous, experience of listening to gorgeous hippy woman Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes's 1971 release Ame Debout (which means, I believe, “I am Standing”).

It's definitely a mind expanding album that takes some getting used to, but the more you listen, the more addicting it becomes. Her crazy wails over the guitar stylings of her magnificently bearded partner, Patrice Moullet, sound doomed, urgent, and spacey. This band was at the forefront of the French counter culture in the 70s and their lyrics (I have read) are politically poetic and strongly leftist.

They never attained world-wide popularity, in fact this record can be difficult to find (big thanks to Brian for tipping us off to this blog that features the album), but if you're a fan of psych/prog/folk rock, which it seems like more and more people are these days, it's worth seeking them out, possibly on eBay. I'll also be seeking out the films from Ribeiro's brief career, including Godard's Carabiniers (now on my Netflix que).

Plus the album cover features the most intriguing middle of the woods picnic I've ever seen, sorry Manet, while your scene may also include fruits, crazy hats and bread, these guys have long hair, wine and the potential to break out into an insane prog song at any moment, which takes the cake over shocking nudity (but just barely).

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Songs »Nightime is the Right Time

Night Time is the Right Time Cosby ShowNight Time is the Right Time began playing recently in a restaurant and I automatically thought of the Back to the Future Enchantment under the sea dance. Of course, as you probably already know I was wrong; as in pop culture moron who barely deserves to claim she grew up in the 80s wrong. That particular song was Night Train originally performed by Jimmy Forrest and this one (that everyone seems to remember as “holiday” even though they're actually singing “night and day”) is of course from that famous Cosby Show episode, where the family performs for grandma and grandpa's anniversary.

Theo is looking quite dashing in an overcoat and fedora (and I haven't been a fedora guy girl since my freshmen year in college) and Cliff pulls out all the funny faces, but it's Rudy's show when she mimes the soulful solo of the underrated and nearly forgotten Margie Hendrix.

She was played in the movie (which I haven't seen) by Regina King, who had a hard time finding any real information on the singer, who gave birth to Ray Charles son before he kicked her out of the band and she died tragically young a few years later, most likely of a drug overdose.

While it was Charles and Margie that made this song a hit, previous recordings were by Roosevelt Sykes and Nappy Brown. Later it was covered by The Animals, CCR, and Tina Turner.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Laughs »Cool As Ice

cool as ice vanilla iceIt's up to you how much of this thing you actually want to watch. I say “thing” because it in no way qualifies as a movie. It's more of a mash-up of mildly multi-racial 90's breakfast snack commercials, C + C Music Factory videos, and total nonsense, with a little Steven Seagal thrown in, e.g. lazy man's fighting in customized jackets.

In Ice's case, whose character in the film is a “teen” called “Johnny”, the jacket is over sized black pleather with the words “Lust”, “Danger”, “Sex”, “Dancer” and, Jim Jarmusch will be happy to learn, “Down by Law” appliqued all over it. Oh, yeah — and it also says “Yep Yep” on the shoulder, which is apparently a catch phrase of the man's because he says it many times throughout the film.

The story is as thin as an episode of Zack and Cody: the Suite Life, Lizzie McGuire, Boy Meets World (take your pick depending on your generation). There's a kidnapping sub-plot that Vanilla solves in both the laziest way possible (by brilliantly managing to recognize a sound he heard mere hours before), and the most inexplicable way possible (riding his crotch rocket up several flights of stairs — silently).

Most of the running time is devoted either to musical montages (some quite romantic) or a critique, from the artist's point, of nerdy and up-tight white Americans, all of whom stand around dazed and slack jawed at the very sight of Vanilla Ice and his crew of neutered urban dancers. It's very hard to take criticism leveled at the “squares” too seriously when it comes from a shirtless man wearing unbuckled shortalls emblazoned with the words “Oh Yeah” on the butt (“Oh Yeah” is purposefully stitched upside down on the inside so that it's readable when the shortalls are unbuckled at the top and hang from the waist) and a black fanny pack. Yep, yep.

I believe that this really is how he viewed the world, only he assumed that everyone was staring in awe and respect rather than complete dumbfoundedness. If you don't believe he was delusional, just take a look at the poster. It's almost cute the way it says, “Starring in his First Motion Picture” as if there were actually more to come.

I want to say I'm sorry to Kristin Minter who plays the love interest “Kat” A/K/A “College Girl”. What a horrible way to begin and end a career; between the fleshy legs of Robert Van Winkle on a neon yellow crotch rocket in the desert clad in a stone-washed jean jacket and a sunflower dress with a pair of biker shorts underneath (remember when girls used to do that?).

I want to expressly say that I'm not sorry to Naomi Campbell, who opens up the “movie” with this “song”. I think it's unfair that this performance is never brought up in articles about how she beats up hired help.

I'd like to conclude this entry the same way Vanilla Ice ends the movie — no not in a suit that cannot be explained, but with these profound words of wisdom: “I am O-U-T, out and forget all that peace stuff cause I ain't wit it!”

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Spend a Couple Minutes »Wall Stories: Children’s Wallpaper and Books

cooper hewittI found myself back again at one of my favorite places in NYC, The Cooper Hewitt last week. The main exhibit was not quite up my alley: House Proud: Nineteenth-century Watercolor Interiors from the Thaw Collection, with the exception of the “Library Interior at Townshend House” by a sixteen year old Anna Alma Tadema. This painting (the only link I can find is poor quality, sorry) made me want to crawl inside it and take a nap in bear skin after sipping absinthe and reading the latest Robert Louis Stevenson.

It's actually the smaller scale show Wall Stories: Children's Wallpaper and Books that's worth the admission and trip.?It's a delightful show with so many inspiring books and pieces. Among my favorites were the crazy fun sixties wallpapers of John Rombola (see this week's style icon) while working for Piazza Prints, the inexplicably gorgeous Winnie the Pooh frieze, Walter Crane's illustrations, the work of Tony Sarg and Ilonka Karasz.

The collection of pop ups is tons of fun with Popeye, Dick Tracy and my two favorites: the quirky pop up etiquette book “The American Toilet” and the wild Jolly Jump-Ups Journey Through Space complete with wiener roasting fey martians.

The show is up until April 5th.

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Posted on November 24, 2008

Hunks »The Mast Brothers

mast brothersDreamy young beardos who dress like the lost members of The Band and make handmade chocolate from scratch, or “from bean to bar” as their website states. That's all I need to know to put The Mast Brothers on my major hunks list.

Here's to hoping their sweets are as impressive as their facial hair, their far away pensive eyes, and their Walt Whitman quoting lips. And, yep, they are really actually brothers, so feel free to have your own female, foodie, handcrafted, hipster version day dreams of living the life of Hugh Hefner.

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Posted on November 24, 2008