Life Updates For the End of Summer
Kernels, May 2 - September 15, 2024.
Activity on this newsletter was rather… sporadic this summer. As much as I would have liked, I couldn’t focus on writing too much. I had a few vacations and also moved apartments in July, so I spent nearly all my free time either packing, unpacking, or putting my furniture in every possible configuration before settling on what I have now. But even though I’m still decorating my walls, I’m devoting more time to this newsletter from here on out. Like Jinro soju, Buttered Popcorn is back.
Before we fully venture into autumn, here’s a quick recap of a few things I ate, drank, and watched this summer…
The Bloody Mary alla Vodka
I usually hate Bloody Marys, but this recipe from bartender Brian Bartels is terrific. It’s genuinely spicy, and the combination of Worcestershire and soy sauces add an umami depth. I made a couple bottles of the mix for a tomato themed dinner party that I hosted, and there was a lot leftover. A couple days after the party, my friend hosted a cocktailing meetup where everyone brings something that they’re working on, so I brought the Bloody Mary mix to show off some fun garnishes.
Another friend who was there had made fried penne pasta, inspired by a viral TikTok/Instagram video (there’s a recipe here), and also brought a vodka cream sauce. The similarities between our two creations were obvious.
After building the Bloody Mary, which is simple as combining the mix with vodka and pouring over ice, we dolloped some vodka sauce on top of the Bloody Mary, which was then garnished with celery, various herbs (such as lemon balm and basil), and flowers. Then, we speared some of the penne with a toothpick and put it on top. Voilà, the Bloody Mary alla Vodka (alternate name: Red Russian). Now that’s having your cocktail and eating it too.
About those flowers
Those flowers came from Farm One, a hydroponic farm and brewery in Prospect Heights that grows herbs and greens. Their primary clients are restaurants, but they also retail boxes of salad greens and flowers. They are very expensive, but it’s worth the occasional luxury. Adding a few flowers to a plate instantly makes them look more beautiful. They’ve recently converted the front of the building into a very lovely bar, where they make cocktails that incorporate what’s grown on-site and pour their beers. It’s located on Bergen and Vanderbilt, a prime location if there ever was one, and definitely recommended. All drinks $2 off weekdays before 7 PM. A farm tour is very fun and would make for a good work team event.
Summer Beans
Going on four summer trips and buying furniture really made a dent in that bank account! This summer I’ve been cooking at home and hosting friends for dinner instead of going out to a restaurant. For some reason I don’t find writing about my cooking to be particularly compelling (Instagram is a better medium for food pics anyways). But I’ll occasionally share some recipes that I’ve been using and provide some tips if you decide to try them at home.
As a proud member of the Rancho Gordo Bean Club, I’m cooking something with beans practically every week. (There are a LOT of beans to get through!) It’s rare for me to cook the same recipe twice within a few months, but there were two bean dishes I made this summer that were so good (and leftovers friendly) that I made each of them twice.
Rancho Gordo’s recipe for a Summertime Chili Sin Carne is as meatless as it is terrific: the beans are stewed with chili powder, zucchini, and fresh corn. Like most chili recipes, it’s very flexible. I no longer had Rancho Gordo’s chili powder blend, so I used an Al Pastor spice mix that I got in Mexico last year. Both times, I made the chili with Good Mother Stallard beans.
A fun thing about the Bean Club is getting varieties that I had never heard of. Their most recent shipment included Green Baby Limas, and the included recipe for Spanish-Style Baked Butter Beans showcased them beautifully. It’s a riff on the Smitten Kitchen pizza beans, but with roasted bell peppers and olives and manchego. It’s a delicious thing to serve to a crowd.
(Email me if you want the recipes for either dish, as I’m not sure if it’s kosher to share them publicly.)
And during tomato season, basically every week I’ve been making spaghetti with cherry tomatoes. It’s a simple recipe from Six Seasons, a cookbook I use so much that the spin has fallen apart. Half of the tomatoes are cooked down into a light sauce, and the other half are tossed in with the cooked pasta so that you can get that nice burst of tomato joy. There’s a version of that recipe online, but skip the sugar.
Occasionally I Did Eat Out
It’s an adjustment, going to sit-down restaurants three or four times a month when I used to do it three or four times a week. I’ve had to be choosy!
A couple years after opening, Persian hotspot Eyval remains one of the city’s best restaurants, with traditional cuisine served in a shared plates format. My bimonthly Rosella visits have remained tradition, and seasonal tweaks keep things interesting — a lightly broiled Spanish Mackerel nigiri, the addition of fresh sweet corn to the ceviche — but it’s equally nice to order the spicy avocado roll and revel in familiar pleasures.
On the subject of seafood: after seeing dozens of my friends share photos of their Rice Thief deliveries, I finally tried gejang (seasoned raw crab) at their new-ish brick and mortar location in Long Island City. The spicy crab had that classic Korean flavor of gochujang, but the sauce was a distraction; get the “normal” blue crab instead, if you really want to bring on the brine.
Ridgewood’s flagship restaurant, Rolo’s, is excellent and comforting; they don’t try too hard to impress, and that’s what makes it impressive. The corn pasta was my personal fave; the burger is very good but there’s a ceiling on how good burgers can be.
I wrote a somewhat lukewarm review of Theodora when they first opened, but a few months later I made a second visit and had a much better time. The dry-aged steelhead trout, which I critiqued before for being so charred that it tasted burnt, was much better (and less charred) this time around. Theodor’s sous chef is Brazilian, which explains the picanha steak special, which doesn’t fit with the rest of the menu but has become very popular nonetheless. I highly recommend it whenever it’s available; the fat cap is divine.
Closing out this segment: I really loved this piece on the rise of the restaurant influencer and a defense of authoritative, informed criticism. It’s written by Mahira Rivers (a food critic and former Michelin inspector), who notes that professional restaurant critics will eat somewhere multiple times before filing a review, while social media posters form opinions off of just one bite.
I’ve found that a lot of restaurant-focused social media accounts are fans with a day job. It helps to earn a real paycheck to fund a hobby of eating out in New York City, but the coverage starts to feel like rote documentation… I have yet to find an influencer who provides real meaningful feedback in the form of a critique.
Movies Too
Your lovely comments and feedback on last week’s reflection on Dìdi was really heartening, thank you for reading it! I shared a link to it on my Instagram and got way more replies than I ever have when I post my newsletter there. So I guess the lesson is to write about more Asian stuff 🤣(or put these films through my personal perspective, which can’t always happen, but whenever it can, I will!)
The fall/winter movie season is about to kick into gear, and I’ll be spending most of my free time in cinemas and screening rooms. There will be a lot of film-related stuff coming (special announcement coming later this week 👀). I’ll try to incorporate food in film coverage wherever I can; there wasn’t too much this summer that was particularly inspiring on that front besides Challengers.
I have some quick words on some late summer releases: Good One, Sing Sing, Trap, Longlegs, and Blink Twice. If you are so inclined, you can read about them here:
Other things I did this summer that were really fun
Had a great weekend at the Newport Jazz Festival, where I saw some of the best jazz musicians perform in a very relaxed, chill setting. And there was a terrific, big lobster roll that was $24! This is a very good price IMO especially given that it’s at a festival.
Ate a California burrito in Santa Cruz. Missed these so much. French fries in burritos are better than rice!
Hosted a weekly series of “housewarming dinners” that will probably continue well into next year.
Didn’t see too many older movies, but some great films that were new to me were Paper Moon and Harakiri, and a 70mm screening of North by Northwest was a blast.
Toured the Faccia Brutto facilities, getting the inside scoop on how they make their wonderful liqueurs.
Flew to France to see a Taylor Swift concert and dine at Troisgros (more on that later).
KitKat Has Settled Into the New Apartment Nicely
She rotates her sleeping spot every few weeks. For awhile, it was on my couch. Currently it’s on the corner of my bedroom rug.
Grog Logs
I’ve still been keeping track, for the most part, of the first thing I drank every day. So for posterity, here’s the lists from the past few months.
May Grog Log
A glass of Alemany i Corrió Principia Mathematica 2022, at Fiskebar (Copenhagen)
Carlsberg draft, at airport lounge (Copenhagen)
Glass of Chianti, at Cafe Fiorello
Nothing
A plastic cup (!!) of Guinness, at Beckett’s
A glass of Danamia Sauvignon 2022, at home
“Sesame Street” cocktail, at KYU
A glass of Brooklyn Kura “Grand Prairie” saké, at home
A glass of Field Recordings “Salad Days” Sparkling White, at Olivia’s
“Fortunela Sazerac” cocktail, at Ye’s Apothecary
A can of Sixpoint “The Piff” Hazy DIPA, at home
A bottle of Côtes-du-Rhône, Dom. des Fées - 2021, at home
A glass of Montelliana Pinot Grigio 2023, at home
A bottle of Paxton “Tiny Paradoxes” Shiraz - Grenache 2021, at Fort Greene Park
A bottle of 2022 Florèz "Edelzwicker" Potter Valley White Field Blend, at Rosella
A can of Sixpoint “Stooper” Hazy IPA, at home
A taster of Grimm “Utopos” Pilsner, at Grimm brewery
A glass of champagne, at Maison Sun
Nothing
“MeloNegroni” cocktail, at Grand Army
A can of To Øl “House of Pale” pale ale, at Fort Greene Park
Nothing
The house pilsner at NYYÓ (Brussels)
Oriol Rossell Brut Nature Reserva at Hermós (Barcelona)
Ramón Bilbao Gran Reserva Rioja (Tempranillo) 2015 in Montellano
Estrella Galicia Especial in the hillsides of Montellano
Valdespino Ojo de Gallo Palomino 2021 at Casa Román (Seville)
Mas de la Dame La Stèle Rosé 2023 at Uncle Peter’s (Barcelona)
Some sort of wine at Tapas 24 (Barcelona)
Terras Gauda O'Rosal 2023 at Uncle Peter’s (Barcelona)
Celler 9+ 3r Selecció Cartoixà Vermell at Bar But (Barcelona)
June Grog Log
Terroir Al Límit Historic Blanco 2021 at Maleducat (Barcelona)
Mas Sainte Berthe Tradition Les Baux de Provence 2023 at Uncle Peter’s (Barcelona)
Manoir du Carra Marget Beaujolais-Villages at À Ma Vigne (Lyon)
L'échappée Belle Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut at La Mère Brazier (Lyon)
Self-poured beer (a scam!) at La Commune (Lyon)
Domaine de Rotisson Les Chères Bourgogne Chardonnay 2023 at the winery (Saint-Germain-Nuelles)
François Ducrot La Vie en Orange 2022 at Narro (Paris)
Clos du Tue-Boeuf Le Buisson Pouilleux Touraine 2022 at Le Châteaubriand (Paris)
L'Orangerie de Carignan Cadillac - Côtes de Bordeaux 2021 at Le Colimaçon (Paris)
Sixpoint Hopiferous at Sixpoint Brewery
A baijiu cocktail at Chinato
Nothing
Livewire “Golden God” canned cocktail, at Damrosch Park
A bottle of Miller High Life, at home
A pint of Kona Pale Ale, at Kingston Hall
A glass of Castell d'Or, Semi-Seco Cava, at home
A pint of Sixpoint “Lotus Lager”, at Sixpoint Brewery
Nothing
A pint of Smithwicks, at Dalton’s Bar
Nothing
A pint of Sapporo, at Dark Bullet
A pint of Duvel, at BXL Zoute
A pint of Deschutes Fresh Haze IPA, at Monk McGinn’s
Cocktails at Grand Army
A half liter of Weissbier, at Black Forest
Nothing
A glass of orange wine, at Saigon Social
A bottled martini, at David's
A shot of Lady Trieu Hoi An Spice Road Gin, at home
A pint of Talea Pick Me Up Hazy IPA, at Talea Williamsburg
July Grog Log
Victory Brewing golden monkey at Sixpoint
nothing
Shot of Smith and cross at home
Lambrusco at Riverside Park
Nothing
Nothing
Cocktail experiment at Eric's
Dassai 23 junmai daiginjo at Lincoln Center
Schneider Avenitus at Black Forest
Sapporo pitcher at Beats
Nothing
Lord hobo IPA at an undefined Hell’s Kitchen bar
Midori sour at Giselle's bday
Firestone Walker Sucaba 2019 Barleywine at home
Pomegranate vanilla subway series at Sixpoint
Banana Hammock at Owl’s Tail
Nothing
Faccia Brutto aperitivo at Faccia Brutto
Heineken at home
Fat Tire at 9w Market (NJ)
Shot of song Cai gin Eric's
Sixpoint Experimental IPA at Sixpoint
None
Fiddlehead IPA at central park
Talea IPA in line for meat hook
Milk punch at Aerons
Acid Granny at bar Contra
Nothing
2023 Ryme Cellars Hers Vermentino at Rosella
Pineapple Sling at home
Delirium Tremens at Goldies Tavern
August Grog Log
2022 Cirelli Vino da Tavola at Newport Airbnb
2022 Bernard vallette beaujolais at Newport Airbnb
2023 Occhipinti SP68 at Newport Airbnb
Rye old fashioned at Parlor (Newport)
Midsummer vodka shot at Gertrude’s
2023 The Champion Sauvignon Blanc at home
Half liter of Hacker-Pschorr Dunkel at DSK
2022 Palissade Sauvignon Blanc at home
2022 Tenuta Santori Pecorino at home
Beer at Focal Point Brewery
Modelo at Eric's
nothing
Gañeta Txakoli at home
Nothing
Blue Monday at Farm One
Focal Point Sushi Grade Rice Lager at home
Wine at Tess’s place
Hudson valley kolsch at Beer Street South
“Arsenic and old lace” at Francie
Cocktail at David's
Nothing
Nothing
Negroni at home
White Claw in Central Park
Negroni at home
Gulfi Rossojbleo at Olivia's
Rodeo Drive (gin, suze, cocchi) at Rodeo
Nothing
Cote du Rhone at Ba Noi’s house (Roseville)
Rubino sparkling at Rubino (Pleasanton)
Sparkling wine at wedding (San Ramon)
i’m not sure how I came across your newsletter, perhaps seeing a follow from you on IG or letterboxd (?) but as a substack newsletter feind, and lover of food in film (so much so that i have an ig acct dedicated to it….) i look forward to your posts and life updates very much so😎😎😎
LOL my Dad was at the Newport Jazz Festival too! He goes every year.