Thirty Ain't Too Shabby

In January, I turned 30. In what has become an annual tradition, my buddy Andy & I took a bus up to Chicago to stay with our old roommate and man-of-fine-taste, Tyler. We feasted with the most solid dudes around upon hams and other hooved delicacies at Publican, which is where this stein set recessed and noble. Oh, and then we were accosted by a unstable fool, and nearly stranded by a polar-vortex-induced ice/shitstorm.

But that's another story.



Bread. I kept making it. And, I was able to eat some of the country's finest loaves. Tartine. The Mill. And stumbling upon Cellar Door Provisions. To be continued...

 

After Amelia got back from England and her grandmother's funeral, we took some day trips around the area, including her first visit to Turkey Run State Park, on one of the most astoundingly beautiful days of the year. Indiana, you clean up well...when you're surrounded by microclimates and funky, ancient moss-encased canyons.

In June, we moved. For the second time in three years, just a few blocks away to a two-story pad with a *ahem* baller *ahem* kitchen. I used the opportunity to set-up a new listening station (Pro-Ject deck, NAD amplifier, used Cerwin Vegas) in the living room. And yes, the speakers reside on the floor. Just outside the frame was our bedframe, waiting to be taken apart, carried upstairs, and put back together again.

 

Everything, Now! only played two shows this year (and one was a ten-minute set at the 13th annual Tonic Ball). The other? A mind-opening set before our psychedelic-pop heroes in Circulatory System. The night flew by in a dream-state, though their set (and new long-player) was phenomenal.

I got wrapped up in World Cup fever, again rooting for the squad while nervously watching the early rounds. Despite a terrible draw, we made it through to the knockout round, which necessitated the donning of my American flag shorts (courtesy Tyler) and a bike-ride down to Mass Ave., which had been closed off to watch the game on projection screens. We lost, but after a late goal and an impossibly near miss, hope was thick in the air.

Last year, I journeyed West for a thirtieth birthday gathering of dudes. Such an epic time was had driving south down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Fran to LA...that I had to go back. Had to. Plus, Amelia had to hear all the tales and see none of the sights. This time, we ventured north up the PCH to the Lost Coast and redwood country. 

It is simply the most stunning landscape, and raw, sun-showered coastline imaginable. I have to go back. Have to.

(Somewhere near Mendocino.)

(Punta Gorda, Lost Coast.)

(Amelia atop San Fran's Twin Peaks.)

 A few weeks later, my elbow randomly swelled up. Then it got hot. Then I got a fever. Then I went to urgent care. Then I went to the ER. Then I went home. Then I went back to the ER. Then I was in the hospital for three nights. I think this was the day I got out, before collapsing into a pile of exhaustion.

To celebrate being alive (and, I had already bought the tickets) – Amelia and I drove to Chicago to see the reunion tour for Slowdive, one of my absolute favorites (peep Souvlaki for hazy pop gems). The show was stellar, as much so as staying and eating breakfast (and drinking whiskey) at Longman & Eagle. To whomever planted that seed in my brain...good work.

---

Day #1 of Think Kit!

Think Kit #3: I Yam What I Yam

(part of SmallBox's Think Kit project. ya can view it here, too.)

I don’t have a long history with sweet potatoes or yams, beyond the almost-runny, traffic cone orange Thanksgiving casserole that was (absurdly) topped with marshmallows, nuts, and maybe even brown sugar, just to make sure that any sweetness left in the potato was cloyed out of existence. Though, I did start eating them in other ways after turning vegetarian, diced and roasted, occasionally baked, shredded up in various ways.

To be clear, a sweet potato is different than a yam. Duh. A sweet potato is a root vegetable, while a yam is an “herbaceous vine” that produces edible tubers. Tubular.

This all doesn’t seem very strange, but don’t worry. On a recent sojourn in Chicago, we were looking for some unique eats. My friend Andrew shared a Vice video with me, wherein they follow star chef (and seemingly, low-key cool dude) Paul Kahan around town for some “munchies.” The crew stopped at a Korean BBQ joint, Kalbi.



Grilled meats at your own table? Decision made.

In the video, Kahan greedily consumes one of the least appetizing dishes I’d ever witnessed. A raw-beef dish with minimal garnish, served with a near-liquid goo that piled at the bottom of a shallow bowl.

MAH-DUPPI-YUKHWE–seasoned raw beef with mountain yam.

I’ve eaten raw beef before, spread thin over bread in a Belgian pate; ground coarse as tartare with a quail yolk nestled gently in its meaty nest; sliced thin as an envelope, drizzled in herbed olive oil. But never ground and submerged in a substance that, in the nicest possible way, looks like snot. I won’t even share a photo–check out the above link if you need convinced. After the video, Andrew was convinced he would order and consume Mah-Duppi-Yukhwe.

Here, the mountain yam looks innocent and potato-like.

Do not be deceived.

While waiting for a booth with a grilling apparatus, the small restaurant filled with meaty smoke that half-obscured the entryway filled with autographed baseballs and photos depicting some of Asia’s best stars in Major League Baseball: Ichiro, Matsui, and more. This seemed a good sign.

After choosing our meats to be grilled (some regular cuts, some organs) and dumplings, Andrew ordered the mountain yam dish. The owner laughed and insisted we try something else, “No,” she said, “that’s not the one you want.”

Andrew gracefully handled her refusal and impressed our wishes, “No, we really want the mountain yam dish.”

“Okay…” she said, trailing off, “but most people do not want.” She was off to the kitchen, and returned a few minutes later with the dish, gleaming with yam goo, fatty raw beef, and a sprinkle of julienned seaweed. Chopsticks in hand, we dished out a small heap onto each small plate, and began the trickiest part–transporting a slippery, gelatinous mass into your mouth.

The taste was completely unique–the fattiness of the meat and gentle, oily marinade playing off the earthy, smokily-sweet yam and salty seaweed. The overall effect was bracing–a heightened sense of umami and surprise.

The owner returned with our raw meats to grill, and many small bowls of banchan (traditional side dishes). She observed our empty bowl and asked, “What did you think?”

Andrew replied, “It was very good! We enjoyed it!”

She smiled, asking, “Very good! Are you chefs?”

“No,” Andrew considered, “just some weird guys.”

weekly list, vol. 3

was in chicago all last weekend, so this is a two-for-one!



saw:
--tulpan--
two yurt-based movies in a number of weeks....i may have yurt fever. is that a thing? anyways, this is a kazakhstan-set film about the trials and tribulations of ex-sailor asa, looking for his path, and a wife, on the steppes of kazakhstan. just as desolate (maybe even more-so) than the weeping camel--but with more human elements. really enjoyed this movie, too. something about the deliberate pacing and austerity of central asian/eastern european movies that i really dig on. the people have everything at their fingertips, but in a real, inverse-of-the-internet way.
--30 rock--watched the pilot & first few episodes on the last afternoon in chicago. show is by far the funniest thing on TV, and alec baldwin possibly the greatest laugh-stifler around.



read:
--still working on dos passos' U.S.A. trilogy--
finished the first volume in transit to chicago via (highly-recommended!) megabus. still entranced. while rolling around on chicago's public transit system, feeling the vibrations of the track, the slow shuffle-sway of bodies, the mechanically-timed announcements: i began to sense dos passos' feeling of america as a strange, living & breathing machine, full of irregular cogs in the infinite shape of humanity. to sense the present-palpable at a time so far in the past...

heard:
--tons of Stereolab--
particularly mars audiac quintet, which is as full of kraut-grooves that get-in and get-out as i could've hoped. i also snagged the following thangs, all used, in chicago (reckless is the new bane of my existence):
rolling stones - hot rocks 1964-1971 2xLP
rolling stones - december's children (and everybody's) LP
rolling stones - get yer ya ya's out LP
rolling stones - it's only rock and roll LP
alice coltrane - Huntington Ashram Monastery LP
CD's:
stereolab - mars audiac quintet
stereolab - the groop played space age bachelor pad music
stereolab - switched on stereolab
phantomband - nowhere
irmin schmidt - anthology: soundtracks (1978-1993) 3xCD
pelt - s/t
cast king - saw mill man
v/a - nigeria 70: the definitive story of funky lagos
more words on a lot of these later as i digest them...

consumed:
haven't ran the last 2 weeks, after being sick, then the parents being in town. it may be known as my "meat"-cation.
--in chicago: corned-beef encased "teuben" dog at hot doug's, the YOB at kuma's corner, and some pork belly brisket at fiddlehead cafe. top ratings to all three.
--in indy: steak sandwich at chatham tap, jockamo's pizza prior to superb indianapolis indians game & prior to superb show at the vollrath. introduced the parents to the best cajun food at papa roux. dinner for my grandma's 80th b-day at romano's macaroni grill---which was actually more than dece.
--on the homemade front:
wes & i cooked up 6 lbs. of pork shoulder BBQ in my pressure cooker, along with a mountain of potato salad, and refrigerator pickles, for a get-together on friday at our house. amelia also made some amazing rhubarb cobbler which will now be called "rhubarb delight". this was washed down with growlers of every standard sun king brew, and some sides & desserts brought by other swell folks.
quaffed some ridiculously delicious smoked ribs at aunt deb's on race day, along with leftover potato salad, macaroni salad, beans, two other salads (fruit vinaigrette & layer salad), amelia's cookies, mom's scones, and more. also spread the word of sun king ESB, and my homebrewed ESB to share.
bottled the wit w/ bitter orange peel & white pepper with alex on wednesday. hope this is the best brew yet!


next time, many more words on records!