Kernels, February 2026
What I did last month feat. Olympic osso buco, Sam Rockwell’s Twinkies, and a weekend in Phoenix.
The brutally cold weather of January continued well into the next month. I’m stingy with turning on the heat so my power bill was “merely” $200. February started off fairly quietly for me, at least before I spent a long weekend in Arizona where it was very warm and very lovely. When I came back I immediately began planning my annual Oscar’s dinner parties and that has taken over my life for the past two weeks. I’ll be putting together a full recap next week!
In the meantime, here’s a selection of what I was up to in February. As this is basically a journal, everything is loosely written, mostly just lists, and nothing is meant to be taken seriously.
Desert Special
In the middle of February I flew to Arizona for a joint bachelor/ette party. I used to be skeptical of the very concept of a combined bachelor party but came around to it pretty quickly. I’m equally close with both bride and groom, and their respective friends mostly all knew each other. I did eat out a few times, mostly before and after the main event.
Dog Haus Biergarten (Phoenix)
It was decently cheaper to fly in the night before and get a motel room than it would have been to come on Friday, so that’s what I did. This was one of the few places open past 10 PM, and a couple cold beers and a pair of desert dogs was exactly what I needed after the flight.
Used to snack-sized glizzies, I ordered two hot dogs and quickly found out that this was a mistake because they were absolutely loaded. The dogs are served on a bun of three King Hawaiian rolls, left unseparated. I’m gonna have to steal that innovation.
Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix)
An exceptionally popular pizza spot in downtown Phoenix with a James Beard Award. A couple friends told me I absolutely had to go here, even though fancy pizza isn’t hard to come by in New York. Since I was by myself I was seated almost immediately, while families of four had to wait an hour.
I got the Rosa, a white pie topped with red onions and pistachios. And it was indeed excellent, though I did get tired of the very oniony flavor two-thirds of the way through. To be fair, it was a 12-inch pie and I ate the entire thing. I should have asked for a 50/50 with something else.
Fry Bread House (Phoenix)
Also a James Beard award winner. I would lovingly describe the fry bread here as an upgraded Taco Bell: the slightly sweet bread is topped with your choice of protein along with cheese, refried beans, and various other accoutrements. Your hands will get messy. I loved it.
In-n-Out (Phoenix)
God bless the west.
El Pollo Suprema (Tempe)
A half mile or so from ASU is a cash-only Mexican joint. The combo plate is the thing to get here: roast chicken and tri-tip, Sonoran style, served with pinto beans and salsa. Absolutely delicious and reminds me of the kind of Mexican food I’d eat back in California.
Pedal Haus Brewery (Tempe)
Closed out my time in Arizona with more cold beer, and paired with a green chile burger, because you gotta stick to the regional specialties. Then I took a Waymo for the first time (it’s weird) and flew back home to New York.
Miscellaneous Things
Finally finished Heated Rivalry and yeah it’s terrific! Keith hosted a marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, and the last episode ended just in time to watch the halftime show. I went home right after Bad Bunny and had never seen the subway so empty since COVID.
For his birthday, my friend organized an ikebana class! Very much outside my wheelhouse but it was very fun.
Moments at the Winter Olympics that nearly moved me to tears (these are almost all figure skating lol)
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier’s ice dance, complete with Starry Night dress.
Alysa Liu’s short and free skate programs, obviously.
Side note, this is something I thought of way too late but there were quite a few film scores/songs used bv various skaters, and that would have been fun to analyze. The evil French duo skates to the score from The Whale, an equally evil movie.
The extremely unserious figure skating exhibition gala, though the tears were from laughter.
One non-skating moment: snowboarder Choi Ga-on going from being stretchered off the halfpipe to coming back and getting the Gold. An incredible storyline. I love the Olympics.
Did you know that you can change the color of the spires on One World Trade? There’s an app (invite only apparently) that lets you take over the colors for a couple minutes. It costs $10 each time you do it, which sounds ridiculous until you’re at a party and you and your friends are controlling part of the Manhattan skyline.
The most consequential thing to happen to me last month was that I lost my water bottle and had to buy a new one. I did a bit of research but stuck with my trusty Contigo, as it fulfills my very specific requirements: I have to be able to drink it one-handed while walking, and it can’t have a straw attached to the lid, because the attached straw gives me the ick. Usually I’m filling my water bottle also with one hand (like at a non-automatic water fountain) and am scared of the straw touching something.
Movies
Too busy preparing a movie-themed dinner to actually watch a lot of movies, much less write about them.
Funny that February saw two movies prominently featuring pup play. I thought Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights was very messy but I couldn’t help but be swept up in all the tortured romance and yearning. The Charli XCX songs do a lot of heavy lifting. Pillion was quite lovely, but you can feel the constraints of a low budget indie production. This film is a good example of how these kinds of films may lack certain insert shots or interstitial scenes to really underline the emotional arcs of the characters.
The first movie I saw at home: zi, to kickoff the at-home virtual Sundance marathon I did with a couple friends.
The first movie I saw in a theater: Send Help, which was a fun if fleeting time at the movies. What if there was a beach that made you bold?
The last movie I saw at home: Oscar Nominated Short Films, probably the worst crop in a few years.
The last movie I saw in a theater: Log in Belgium (2021), a pandemic diary in which Past Lives star Teo Yoo inadvertently reveals why most actors are not good filmmakers. He strives towards the New Wave but stays firmly planted in navel gaze. It’s just as (un) insightful as every celeb vanity project these days, but at least there’s no pretense that any of this is unmediated.
Food & Film Pairings of the Month
Send Help — Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are marooned on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, and somehow they eat very well. This movie would make for a very fun themed dinner: snapper, sashimi, Thai banana tostones, baby octopus skewered with coconut chunks. And don’t forget the smoked barramundi topped with lemongrass relish, mango salsa, and poison berries! It’s a big upgrade from the sad desk lunch that Rachel McAdams would prepare for her office job: smearing tuna salad on multigrain bread while talking to her parakeet and glugging white wine straight from a one-liter bottle.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die — The opening scenes of Gore Verbinski’s anti-AI time-loop sci-fi thriller are set in the iconic Norms diner on La Cienaga Boulevard (you may recognize it from that Ed Ruscha painting), with a bottle of Cholula hot sauce prominently displayed in one shot. If you want to re-enact Sam Rockwell’s entrance, you only have until the end of the year because they’re going to turn the building into a Raising Cane’s… I personally would not replicate this, but you could assemble the “last supper” of Twinkies, Hostess Snoballs, and red wine that segues us into the third act.
Log in Belgium (2021) — This film is most effective when it captures that early moment of cursed, unhinged quarantine meals. Marooned in Antwerp, Yoo heads to the grocery store only to find every shelf empty (except for the vegan stuff, which is hilariously untouched). In his rental apartment he manages to make mandu, but lacking ingredients to make a proper dipping sauce, he improvises one by combining vegan mayo and ketchup (my friend audibly gagged). We next see him assemble a bagel sandwich with red bean paste and cream cheese.
After a few weeks he’s back in Korea. Unlike the restrictive lockdowns in Europe, people are free to gather, and his in-laws throw a massive welcome home feast. It’s incredibly enviable. Odeng soup, bulgogi, kimbap: all the Korean classics. Later Yoo shows off his home chef abilities, preparing bossam for his friends. I would love an invite.
Dining In
Cooking for Friends
Sunday 2/1 (Virtual Sundance Marathon)
Recipe tests for Oscars dinner: Carne asada tacos, Pão de queijo
Watched the two highest rated movies out of Sundance: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! And Josephine, and the two lowest: zi and Run Amok. Surprisingly… I liked the latter two more, but all four were very good.
Friday 2/6 (Olympics Opening Ceremony)
Indulged in classic Milanese cuisine to kick off the Olympics!
Osso buco (with some beef cheeks swapped in because I had some on hand), served atop Risotto alla Milanese
Wine pairing: Barolo “La Morra,” Ciabot Berton 2020
Sunday 2/15 - Ben & Sravya’s Bachelor+ette Party (in Arizona)
The Food Lab’s No-Boil Baked Ziti
This is a terrific recipe if you’re in a rental home and making food for a crowd. Doesn’t require a sharp knife or even a large pot (the pasta is soaked before baking). You can use jarred sauce. Just have to buy some aluminum baking dishes at the supermarket.
On the grill: pre-marinated carne asada (thank you Safeway), summer squash, onions, bell peppers, corn.
Monday 2/23
Poultry Pho
Followed Andrea Nguyen’s recipe for pho ga, but used the turkey, duck, and chicken bones I had saved from Thanksgiving. With 10 pounds of bones I had enough broth for 12 big bowls and had 7 people over, which gave me five days of leftovers. It was nice to do a casual, low-key thing the week before the massive production that is my Oscars dinner.
“Having friends for dinner” means enlisting guests to pick the meat off the bones, prepare the herb plate, and put side dishes together.
Tuesday 2/24
Okonomi-Latke recipe test for Oscars cocktail workshop (plus salt-broiled mackerel)
For Myself
I didn’t really cook anything just for myself, as I had intentionally given myself tons of leftovers from when I had friends over. In practice this meant a whole week each of eating tacos, osso buco, and pho. Which sounds fun until reaching day five.
Dining Out
There were three times I made set plans to eat at a restaurant. Incidental meals like pre-show dinners don’t count.
Karazishi Botan w/ Sravya
First bowl of ramen since visiting Japan and it was perfect for a rainy night.
House of Joy w/ Olivia, Jaidan, Marcus, Brian, Amanda
Been a long time since a proper dim sum! There was a big table of old men who had a large bottle of whiskey on the table. It was almost empty by the time we left.
Askili Orchard w/ Vickie, Daniel
Apparently Georgian food is getting trendy again? For good reason as it’s a great cuisine. Highlights: cabbage tolma and the Cornish hen from Guria, which is deboned and “fermented” (I asked the server about that process and am still unclear), then grilled and served with a sweet-smoky mix of sauces and spices.
During a Chinatown shopping run, I finally got some pastries from Elbow Bread. While the challah croissant was just messing with perfection (it’s just a dense croissant), I was much more compelled by the everything-seasoned bialy and chocolate babka.
Music
Maybe it’s just me but the past three months were not particularly compelling for new music. Bruno Mars’s new album is a total dud IMO, the anodyne production sucks the life out of every song. Bright spots were the new records from Joyce Manor and Mitski (it really grew on me, especially after seeing her play some of it live).
These are fifteen new songs I really liked this winter, plus two older tracks I heard on NTS Radio mixes, both of which happen to be covers.
Some favorite NTS Radio mixes:
Maï-Linh - Tết Special: sounds from Vietnam
“For Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar Year, Maï-Linh finally dives into the Vietnam of the 60s and 70s — soul, blues, jazz, folk, prayers and intimate ballads. A journey guided by patience, devotion, and quiet emotional depth.”
The Early Bird Show w/ Yawning Portal
Two hours of classical music!
Radio 1’s Essential Mix - Danny L Harle (BBC Radio)
You need to be in the UK or have a VPN to stream it, but would I get in trouble if I accidentally linked to a rip?
Theater
Anything I particularly liked is bolded.
Wednesday 2/4 - The Dinosaurs
Thursday 2/5 - High Spirits
Wednesday 2/18 - Hate Radio w/ David, Sam, Ben R, Rosa, Paul, Alex
Thursday 2/19 - Chinese Republicans w/ David, Alex, Liane, Jacky, Corinna, Chi, Andrew
You met me at a very Chinese Republican time in my life…
Good Things I Read
The reporter who tried to replace herself with a bot by Ella Markianos, Platformer
The Internet that Made Clavicular by Minh Tran, coulda been at the club (Substack)
Frederick Wiseman: Forced Perspective by Esther Rosenfeld, Rodent Reflections (Substack)
What Do They Eat at Awards Shows (and Why Do We Care)? by Kyle Buchanan, The New York Times
Like many, I’ve been intrigued by the photos of bad food that Buchanan would post as he attends all the pre-Oscar awards ceremonies. My dinners are certainly better quality, but not as Ozempic-friendly.
The Professor of the Lower Senses by Ruby Tandoh, Vittles (Substack)
On Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the food writing legend who inspired the fictional book that was adapted into The Taste of Things.
When ‘Anora’ Becomes ‘Anorak’: The Art of Wrong Movie Titles by Matthew Huff, The New York Times
Alysa Liu Just Changed Figure Skating Forever by Chris Schleicher, Slate
What I’m Looking Forward to in March
Warmer weather… please?
Marilyn March at the MoMA, with a decently comprehensive retrospective.
Ten years ago this month, I visited New York for the first time with Eric. We’re going to spend a day retracing some of our steps from that fateful trip.
February Grog Log
The first alcoholic drink I had every day, and where.
Vina Zorzal Graciano 2021 at home
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Rossojbleo, Gulfi 2023 at home
Tiki experiment at Steven and Minh’s (Cocktail coalition)
Brooklyn Kura Number Fourteen Aged 1.5 Years at Keith’s
Nothing
Nothing
Earthquake (cocktail) at home
Wren House Spellbinder Hazy IPA at Dog Haus Biergarten (Phoenix)
The Shop Church Music Juicy IPA at Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix)
Windmill Winery Chardonnay at Windmill Winery (Arizona)
Michelob Ultra at the Airbnb (Paradise Valley)
Backpacker NZ IPA at Pedal Haus Brewery (Tempe)
Nothing
Cantine Europa Sensale Nero d’Avola 2024
Nothing
Hennessy VSOP at Terence’s (Tet Dinner)
Neon Lights at Nomad Tea Parlor
Nothing
Tinto Tradicional, Fronton de Oro 2022 at home
Louisiana cocktail at home
Chestnut makgeolli slushie at Take 31
Nothing
Nothing
Leftover Brooklyn Kura sake at home
My friend got an invite years ago to an app that controls the colors of the Empire State Building. Very fun to play around with.