food and fashion

battleship roundup

2010-04-29T14:02:00.005-04:00

I know I'm not the only one who stays up at night pondering Life's Big Question: How did we function before the internet? How did we find recipes to feed our strangest cravings, or hear about the slew of atrocities committed by our favorite D-list celebrities? Maaaaybe we could catch some of these gems in line at the grocery store, but who wants to read something that's a day old, let alone a week, or...God forbid...a month! I shudder to think.

Fortunately those days are gone. I'd like to take a moment to reflect on some of the juiciest food and fashion tidbits the internet has recently proffered with a little game called BATTLESHIP ROUNDUP!!!

MISS!
Thanks to Refinery29 for bringing some of the most heinous Photoshop crimes in history to light. The worst of the worst? Ralph Lauren's mutilation of model Fillipa Hamilton's waist, striking an inadvertent victory for feminism when adolescent girls everywhere realized that you can be too thin after all:

HIT!
Fast food is bad for you, and it's worse for your kids. Schools across the nation are revamping their lunch programs as alarming childhood obesity statistics surface. So why is it totally bananas that Santa Clara County wants to stop the practice of giving children toys with their fatty, semi-synthetic food? It's not, which is why I declare this proposed ban a hit.

You won't see this notorious burger thief
complying with fast food laws any time soon!

HIT!
Archie comics introduces their first gay guy, Kevin, giving Veronica a new shopping buddy and increasing property values throughout Riverdale.

Will the stylish new hunk turn the infamous
Betty/Veronica/Archie love triangle into a love square?

MISS!

Heidi Klum committed all sorts of faux pas the other day, from an unflattering nod to the late great Alexander McQueen to hair product abuse rivaled only by the likes of DJ Pauly D. True, a "fragrance release party" for Eva Longoria sounds like a pretty lame time, but at least try a little...

Sorry Heidi, but in fashion, one day you're in, the next you're out.

HIT!
I used to write "manscaping" off as metrosexual tomfoolery, reserved only for the most ridiculously vain of men. Unfortunately, complete body waxing for men seems to have become almost mandatory and I'd love to know why. When did the rugged, handsome man give way to the manicured pretty boy? How does anyone win in this situation? They don't, which is why this article by Simcha Whitehill is a hit!

Hugh Jackman: the last vestige of a dying breed?

MISS!
The Louis Vuiton iPad case is just a Hummer for city people. Take an impractical status symbol (iPad) and mix it with a gaudy status symbol (LV logo) and what do you have? A small penis!

HIT and SUNK!!!
At first I though that the story of Cecilia Cassini might actually be a miss. I was expecting a sickeningly cute interview, a bratty rich girl, and overbearing parents who think their daughter is more special than she is.

But no, this girl is the real deal. She designs and sews clothes for the stylish progeny of some big names and she's actually pretty good at it. Far from those unfortunate daughters of insane stage mothers, Cassini seems to foster a genuine passion and flair for fashion. Or at least that's what I gathered from her two minute profile on the Today Show.

So that's it! That makes...4 hits, which means the internet sunk our battleship!!

calle ocho

2010-03-22T11:23:00.006-04:00

My favorite part of any vacation is when I accidentally stumble into a place or an event that blows my meticulously planned agenda right out of the water, which is exactly what happened when I ran across the annual Calle Ocho Festival in Miami's Little Havana. My companion and I had no idea what were were doing, just that we should head towards Eighth Street because it, um, looked big on the map.

Who knew that "Eighth Street" was actually Calle Ocho, or that it happened to be the day of the famed festival? Well...hundreds of thousands of people. Ehhh, so what? I know now!

One of many men hawking meat on a stick...

Enjoying Cuban tamales from an open-air restaurant counter...
Fresh baby coconut water from a cigar-chewing old man...

Arepas!

Huge vats of paella being made and sold for a dollar...
...and so much more! You will love this festival if you've ever wanted to compare the rice and beans of a hundred different grandmas from all over Central America, snack on slow-cooked lechon with your beer, smoke a cigar that's been hand rolled right in front of you, play dominoes with your Cuban elders in Maximo Gomez Park, or just dance.

photos via me, except arepa lady via here.

la sandwicherie

2010-03-19T14:01:00.008-04:00

I just got back from Florida, freshly tanned and well fed. I spent a great deal of time in South Beach, surrounded by spring breakers, beautiful women, hairless men, and exhibitionist hobos. To ensure that none of these people go hungry or sober, the streets are lined with restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs with one thing in common: they're all outrageously expensive.

Broke-ness is a central component of the Lazy Hedonist's lifestyle, so I did a little detective work to find good values in South Beach and the surrounding area. Mistakes were made (i.e. a $50 tab for what was supposed to be a shared falafel sandwich), but I ultimately found that with a car, a flexible schedule, and the ability to say no, anyone can succeed in southeast Florida.

The car, especially, turned out to be a critical factor in finding good food. Little Havana in Miami Proper and infinite seafood along Rte. 1 in the keys had some of the best eatin' available. My personal favorite, though, was from a little sandwich stand called "La Sandwicherie," between Collins and Washington on 14th Street, right in the heart of South Beach. They're open from 8am-5am so there's absolutely no excuse to skip out on this gem. It doesn't really matter what kind of sandwich you order, so long as you get it with the works (lettuce, tomatoes, green and hot peppers, black olives, onions, cucumbers, cornichons, mayo) and for God's sake, don't skip the dressing. I didn't know what a big deal it would turn out to be, so I didn't take any pictures. Fortunately for everyone, their website has many.

A word to the wise - the sandwiches are not conducive to eating on the go and the French guys who serve them up are as tasty as the food, so grab a stool and enjoy your meal at the counter.

let's hear it for the boys

2010-03-04T14:31:00.007-05:00

I don't know what it is, but I love when men ditch their socks and ties and still manage to look...dressed. Maybe because it looks European? Eh...I don't really care as long as they keep doing it.

all images via the sartorialist, who taught me that men can be fashionable too.

life is a beach!

2010-03-03T17:20:00.012-05:00

I don't want to sound ungrateful -- I'm not! I'm glad that the dark months are over and March is finally here. It's just that I'm kind of over this lion phase and totally ready for the lamb. But as luck would have it, I'm leaving for Florida next Sunday and all of this dismal cold will be but a distant memory...which has me thinking lustful thoughts of paradoxically modest but ultra-sexy swimsuits and rompers...

top row: topshop
bottom row, left to right: j crew, j crew, anthropologie

The icing on the cake is that they go for $150 or less a pop. Style one of these puppies with cheap sunglasses, flip flops, sunscreen, a cooler of beer, a smutty novel, plus maybe a friend or two and you're set for the summer!

milan

2010-03-01T15:23:00.004-05:00

Milan showcased everything Italians do best. Classic materials, beautiful tailoring, and of course tons of sex appeal.

Alberta Ferretti defines pretty with sweet dresses...

...and Moschino Cheap and Chic confirms that flowery patterns paired with tweedy fall staples will make the cold months tolerable...

These graphic Marni sweaters are an instant classic...

...Dolce & Gabanna blur the line between underpinnings and outerwear...

...and remember all those disparaging things I had to say about leather? None of it counts when it's Italian. Moschino reminds us how perfect leather can be...

all images via style.com

Birkin stock

2010-02-24T18:20:00.011-05:00

Overwhelmed by four straight weeks of new trends flying down the runway? Take a quick break to to channel the effortless and timeless chic manifested in the Birkin/Doillon/Gainsbourg legacy.

Click on photos for sources

Amanda Wakeley

2010-02-24T14:45:00.005-05:00

Leather and vinyl seem to rule London's runways this week, which I find irksome on multiple levels. My main problem is that I don't find either of those materials aesthetically pleasing, especially when they're cut and draped to look feminine. They are not feminine materials and dressing them up as such is ugly, not edgy.

I will concede that some girls pull off the leather skirt/t-shirt look quite well, and some can even achieve success with the increasingly ubiquitous leather shorts. Which brings me to my second gripe about London this week. The leather dresses and skirts that are being shown are old news! Designers seem to be piggy-backing on a trend rather than blazing their own trails. Fashion bloggers and retail outfits like Forever 21 and H & M have done us a great service by democratizing fashion, but perhaps at too great a cost. Fashion outsiders have become front-row insiders, pushing runway shows to gear towards commercial viability rather than towards innovation.

That's why one of my favorite shows this week has been Amanda Wakeley. The flawless cut of every garment she presented makes the collection impossible to replicate with cheap knockoffs. She even showed some femininely draped leather that came across as beautiful and timeless rather than ugly and trendy. When asked about her inspiration for this collection, she had this to say for London's fashion week website:

Capturing the visual impact of the works of J.W Waterhouse and the use of richly coloured and seductive canvases….a palette of charcoals to pebbles, contrasted with rich pansy, ruby, kimono, powder, nude and midnight. Luxurious layers, weights and textures of grey marl play with silhouette and proportion….contrasting structured looser shapes with draped layers and contoured, seamed structure.

Yup, that about sums it up. Well done.

via London Fashion Week

spring interiors

2010-02-23T15:05:00.004-05:00

We're still oscillating between winter storms and 50 degree weather in the Northeast, but I have faith that spring will stick soon. I'm all for expediting the process by ditching clunky furniture and throwing on a fresh coat of paint. "Organized clutter" and deep hues can be cozy in the winter, but in the spring and summer months, minimalism seems ideal for keeping cool and letting in tons of light.

Pink seems acceptable in a bathroom:

Ditching a huge media stand and replacing it with a simple wooden crate can open up a room:

Consider light grey as an alternative to white, and a small ottoman or unobtrusive Lucite bench as an alternative to a space-hogging coffee table:

all images via 30elm, effineff and delight by design

NY F/W 2010 faves

2010-02-19T15:59:00.004-05:00

Metallic/Glamour

erin featherston, alice and olivia, anna sui, l'wren scott

Girly/Ethereal

rodarte, zach posen, marchesa

all images via style.com

The Style You Haven't Done Yet

2010-02-18T14:30:00.006-05:00

Did you see the latest episode of 'Ugly Betty,' where Amanda tries her hand at designing but Marc doesn't think she'll cut the mustard...BUT THEN tragedy strikes, Amanda come through in the clutch, and earns her stripes as a stylist? No, I doubt you saw that one, and thanks to you, 'Ugly Betty' has been canceled.

But don't worry, I'm not here to admonish you. I'm simply reminding you how important styling is. If it weren't, every magazine would simply publish photos from runway shows in lieu of fashion editorials, and the world would be an empty, empty place indeed. Think, for example, if we didn't have Lula Magazine's superior take on Moschino's S/S '08 jumpsuit...Ok, ok, both takes are lovely, but they say two different things...which is why it's so crucial NOT to take ready-to-wear collections literally as they come down the catwalk. While many shows are beautifully styled, it's important to translate these looks into something that is our own. Then, penny-pinchers that we all must be, we can zero in on one crucial element of a look and say to ourselves, "gosh, self, if I spurge on that one key piece, I can put together a million different looks with stuff I already have and BLOW that runway look OUT OF THE WATER!"

Conversely, some looks that come down the runway are exactly what we want but know we can't afford. Then we can say, "gosh, self, I can put that look together with stuff I ALREADY have in my closet!" Take this highlight from Alexander Wang's F/W 2010 show...

I love it! But most of us already have a long, structured work skirt that we can hike way up, layer over some lacy top or lingerie, pair with wool AA thigh-highs, and VOILA! A perfect look for the...I don't know...club? Office? Brothel?

Of course many of Mr. Wang's looks just can't be replicated, as is the case with much of what the runway produced in New York this past week. Stay tuned for some of these highlights and the much anticipated follow-up on terroir.

images via Lula Magazine & style.com, inspiration via KRS One

terroir, Part 1: Cheers to Dirt!

2010-02-03T14:51:00.007-05:00

Let's pretend for a moment, shall we, that I am not someone who has eaten Cup Noodles for breakfast two days in a row, but rather someone who savors the effect of terroir on whatever she drinks and eats. Pretending is fun!

The concept of terroir is somewhat familiar to most of us as it applies to wine. According to The Bible, is it "[a]t its core...the assumption that the land from which the grapes are grown imparts a unique quality that is specific to that region." It's a romantic notion, if nothing else. Unfortunately, it may not hold much weight. According to people like Alex Maltman, professor of dream dashing, the effect of soil on wine is not significant enough for humans to taste.

Fortunately, terroir is about more than just soil. Going back to more reputable sources (Wikipedia), it refers to "the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the manufacture of the product." The jerk-of-a-blog (actually a pretty good blog) that told me that soil is not directly related to taste redeemed itself by concluding with this:

I think consumers can be led down a path that connects soil and climate to taste in a very direct way. It's at this micro level when the interplay of soil composition, aspect of the land, micro climate, vine density, vine age, cover crop, irrigation routine and winemaker interaction can be explored in detail and some very good estimates can be made on how they affect the final wine.

Hooray! Romantic notions win again!

There is a case to be made that some people get a bit carried away with their ideals concerning soil and taste. Take Laura Parker, for example. Her "Taste of Place" installation is meant to explore two questions: "How does soil touch our lives and affect our food; and why does it matter?"

In the installation, participants are given samples of soil to which water is added, apparently simulating new rainfall. They take a big whiff of the dirt, and then eat food grown at the same farm. I was initially very intrigued by the whole concept after reading about it in the New York Times Magazine's most recent year in ideas issue. Intrigued, that is, until I watched this video. The participants are just too heavy a mix of pretentious and hippie for my taste.

Still, it does seem like an installation worthy of participation. At worst, it would be an opportunity to taste for oneself that there really is no connection between food and the dirt from which it sprung. At best, it can help the participant gain an understanding of the relationship between farm and plate (or at least justify his trendy claims that this relationship is palatable).

This would be interesting to try at home. I hope the folks at my local community garden don't mind if I play a little Peter Rabbit in their plots this summer...

Anyway, everyone raise their glasses and stay tuned for Part 2: Happy Pigs and Laughing Cows!

click on pictures for sources

2009 charlotte ronson campaign

2010-01-21T13:20:00.003-05:00

via fashion squad

2010-01-19T11:14:00.006-05:00

I've lived in my apartment for over a year and the walls are still almost as empty as the day I moved in. I'm tempted to blame a limited budget but the reality is that I just don't know where to start. The wall space seems so endless that whenever I do buy a painting or a photograph to hang, it just looks lonely and out of place. It ends up serving no purpose but to highlight just how blank the rest of the wall space is.

On top of that, my eye for art is relatively underdeveloped compared to my eye for...stuff. Whenever I go to a boutique, art gallery, flea market, etc, i end up going straight for the knick knacks, housewares, books, records and even furniture while avoiding the wall art all together.

Fortunately there is inspiration for turning this kind of "stuff" into decor, simultaneously solving the bare wall crisis and preventing one's apartment from turning into an episode of "Hoarders."

via the thinking tank, coco + kelly, and the city sage

clever shelving + thoughtful (and fastidious) organization = design for the art challenged.

saturated

2009-09-14T12:35:00.008-04:00

I take pleasure in having no formal training in cinematography. I can make an aesthetic judgment of a film without getting caught up in the minutiae or the process, but rather sit back and allow the film to transport me.

The best films bring me to an entirely different world and leave me dreamy and disoriented when I leave the theater. I often won't even be able to recall the plot, but the visual impact will haunt me forever. There are a handful of directors that do this to me with everything they produce, and Wong Kar Wai is certainly near the top of that list.

cocktail du jour

2009-06-22T10:37:00.005-04:00

rain and clouds may persist (at least in the northeast), but calendrically, summer is in full gear! so let's celebrate with a drink. today's cocktail du jour is sure to satisfy your every anglophilic and post-tennis whim. cheers!

PIMM'S CUP NO. 1

Pimm's
lemonade
ginger beer
club soda
sprigs of fresh mint
lemon and/or lime slices
cucumber ribbons or slices or both

mix, garnish to death with the lemons, limes and cukes, and enjoy! when i play a particularly bad match i like to ramp it up with a little extra gin.

model as muse

2009-05-18T15:13:00.008-04:00

for anyone who loves fashion, well designed and crafted clothes are like pieces of wearable art. but anyone with enough money or status can wear beautiful clothes...it takes talent to use one's wardrobe to tell a story, to push fashion forward, and to inspire.

this is essentially the premise of the met's current exhibit, "the model as muse: embodying fashion." the exhibit chronologically explores "the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty," through original pieces, video footage, and photography.

the exhibit is geared towards an audience with an interest in fashion, but anyone with an open mind can appreciate good fashion photography. a photographer can take the clothes and the muse and give them depth. this is a unique feat in an industry known ultimately for its superficiality. so if for no other reason, check out the exhibit at the met for its iconic photography.

as a good supplement to the exhibit (which was partly and blatantly sponsored by conde nast) the may issue of british vogue ran a piece called "my inspiration," in which fashion insiders "describe the shot that altered their perspective forever." my short list:

melvin sokolsky for harper's bazaar

jean shrimpton by david bailey

paris, simone daillencourt, rinascenti by william klein

penelope tree by david bailey

kate moss

guy bourdin

the list could go on, and it does here.

diner, williamsburg

2009-04-21T16:43:00.003-04:00

you either love williamsburg or you hate it. both are probably warranted. anything that soars in popularity suffers equal backlash, and usually there's a little truth to both sides. so yes, williamsburg can seem a little stale and a lot overwrought, but it's fun. and last time i checked, people still go there. so i'm going to come out and say that i like williamsburg. by admitting such, i am automatically disqualified as a hipster, which leaves you with a predicament: now you don't have to hate me, but you probably won't trust my opinion either. the mind reels.

if nothing else, go for the food. well, go for the food if you're the type that enjoys cuisine of the free-range-grass-fed-hormone-free-organic-grown variety, which fortunately i happen to be. every elitist liberal buzzword can be found on the menu, unless the restaurant happens to be too trendy to have a menu, like diner.

like many restaurants across brooklyn, diner achieves its lofty status by serving great food while channeling the aesthetic properties of a dump. nooo, just kidding, diner -- you don't look like a dump, you look like a diner, natch!

creativity points: +2; williamsburg cliché penalty: -2.

i visited this fine establishment at around midnight on a friday. the kitchen stays open until 1am on weekends, (+1 point) and although it was crowded we were comfortably seated at a booth right away. (+1 point) our waiter was extremely friendly and attentive (+2 points) and we had our wine list, menus, and water right away.

there wasn't a wine under $32 (-4 points), and i don't remember what we ended up getting because it wasn't very memorable. i am of the school that encourages restaurants to put together thoughtful but affordable wine lists, and diner falls short on this point.

but it makes up for it in other areas. the dinner menus we were given listed one appetizer, one side dish, and a burger as the entrée. the recovering vegetarian in me suffered a wave of panic and started praying that, although we were in a diner car, the rest of the menu changes daily. and halleluja! a moment later the waiter was seated next to me, writing out the day's specials on the tablecloth. (+2 points) he described each dish as he wrote, starting with a sorrel soup and finishing up with the $36 steak of the day. we opted to share the soup, and ordered risotto and pork chops.

as soon as the soup came, i had forgotten about the wine. after the first slurp i decided it was too salty, but i was wrong. The sorrel and potato base was complimented by fennel and crème fraîche on top. once everything melded, a perfect balance had been achieved. (+2 points)

the risotto was risotto...there's not much you can do to make it better or worse than normal. the highlight was the use of ramps, which gave it that local/seasonal quality the restaurant strives for. (+1 point)

the great victory was the pork chop. i don't recall ever having enjoyed a pork chop before (remember, recovering vegetarian) but this was phenomenal. it was served with home fries, greens (with shaved fennel, of course) and tied together by an egg over easy. my fellow diner fell into some sort of eating trance from the first bite to the last, and then talked only of that pork chop for the rest of the night. without the egg, this would have been a very good meal, but because the runny egg yolk added so much to the texture and taste of the meat, it was worth (+5 points)!

overall i would say that diner is a good place to go with a small group of friends, maybe for a special occasion. it's a little too low key and noisy for an intimate date, but the noise level was low enough for good conversation over really good food.

total score:10
meaning of scores: undetermined.

avant garde + icp (not the clowns)

2009-02-04T12:24:00.004-05:00

when i grow up i want to have an apartment in the city and an estate in the country, preferably in europe. i also want to dress ridiculously inappropriately and traipse about industrial landscapes and the countryside, milking cows and riding subways in couture. that's the life!

unrelated: if you live in the new york area, check out the international center of photography. they will be featuring fashion photography all year, so i'll be there practically every day. i haven't gone yet but i will be there anon. one of the exhibits, "weird beauty" will feature photography by steven meisel, cindy sherman, mario sorrenti, nick knight, steven klein, miles aldridge, paolo roversi, and sølve sundsbø...

the weird beauty exhibit is just one of four fashion exhibits. i am so freaking excited.

sushi

2009-01-30T21:07:00.002-05:00

i don't usually get sushi for dinner. i always feel like it's not enough food, especially for the price. but everyone in new haven raves about miya's, and i finally tried it tonight.

i've always heard about how delicious and innovative the sushi at miya's is, but i'm of the school of thought where sushi is just sushi. yes, i understand there's a little room for creativity, but it's usually the same ingredients assembled into a roll. don't get me wrong, i love good sushi, but it's pretty standard fare.

not so at miya's. the chef draws from several types of cuisines to create his sushi and it makes it worth the price and the hype. here's the meal, in reverse order:

we ordered the japafrican queen roll, which is, according to the menu, "sushi created by african bushman to nourish them during their seasonal migrations. eggplant, goat cheese, apricots, avocado, pickled radish, scallions & ethiopian berbere spice mix, wrapped in our freshly made teff grain crepe." that's that spongy ethiopian bread! we also got a kimchee seared tuna roll, which was very simple, not at all expensive, and out of this world. it was made with tuna that was spiced with kimchee spices and seared at high heat to seal in the flavor of the kimchee but keep this inside raw. it struck a perfect contrast in texture between the seared outside of the tuna and the melt-in-your-mouthiness of the inside.

we started with tokyo fries and "it's the great pumpkin, miso" soup.

those are the toyko fries. they're really skinny and crispy fries served with spicy curry and tomato alioli sauce. the pumpkin miso soup was like miso with actual flavor.

we got a small bottle of the dragon lady sake, which is "ginger, lemongrass & clover honey sake. victory drink of lesbian chinese pirates of the south china seas. also popular with sorority girls everywhere." it was unfiltered, so it was cloudy, and came with a stick of lemongrass in it, which gave it an orangish color. it was amazing, but the sweetness overpowered the sake flavor a little too much. it was great with the meal, though, and i can understand how it could get you girl drink drunk, as advertised. next time i want to try the chinese firecracker sake, which is "aged hot chili pepper & citrus sake. painfully euphoric; contains over a thousand secret flavor components. the perfect sake to sake bomb. not for the meek."

the whole dining experience was very fun, and i would definitely go again next time i have a big budget and a small appitite. as far as creativity goes, miya's outshines every other place in new haven. as far as actual quality of sushi goes, though, i'd have to say that the jury is still out.

dior couture

2009-01-27T12:51:00.005-05:00

christian dior jump started 2009 couture in paris this week. couture designers may have spent as much time defending their trade as they did executing it for these shows, due to the current economic climate, blah blah blah. whatever! couture has never, in my world, been something that people buy and wear. it's more like art and escapism, which people need in "times like these." dior's line was a perfect silver lining to the recession cloud. everything looked like cakes and old fancy wallpaper or fine china. it's like eating macaroons, drinking tea, and reading baudelaire in your rich aunt's upper east side apartment. scroll back up!

home improvement

2009-01-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

if anything says more about a person than the clothes they wear and the food they eat, it's the place they live! (or perhaps the things they say, the way they treat people, their ambitions, their insecurities? ...nah.) anyway, my apartment needs a lot of work before it says anything remotely flattering about me. there are a few things i love...

other than a few great tables from craigslist, a fake fireplace, my jewelry, books, magazines, and a few other little things that i love, my little dwelling needs a lot of work. the place is wall to wall hideous carpet, there are no shelves in the "pantry," so all my food is on the windowsill, and there are drop ceilings. i didn't include a picture of those, because it's just too painful.

there's not enough room for my clothes and shoes, so soon all this crap may be homeless...

my mission in 2009 is to make this place better than just livable on a verrry tight budget. pretty soon i'll have a lot more time than money. maybe i can film the process and strike a deal with tlc or hgtv!

holidays gone wild

2008-12-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

after a certain age, the main appeal of the holidays is the amount of food one is allowed to consume free of judgment or restraint. the downside is that the menu never changes and the staples of that menu are generally pretty bland.

fortunately for me, my aunt is a chef and she hosts christmas. she makes christmas dinner exciting again, while still serving the comfort food that even the biggest food snob ultimately craves for a holiday meal. it's not really possible to explain how my aunt's dinner trumps any traditional meal, so i'll just have to illustrate my point with a small battle:

ROUND 1: hors d'oeuvres

vs.

the verdict: the picture on the left is cocktail shrimp. i love cocktail shrimp, but they don't taste like...anything. the picture on the right features mussels and tomato tapenade. unlike their crustacean counterparts, mussels have sort of a sweet and briny flavor that my aunt was really able to showcase with her marinade. they were served with the tapenade and a hard, mild cheese. the result was too sacred to put into print, but trust me...my aunt's hors d'oeuvres win this round.

ROUND 2: main course

vs.

the verdict: the photo on the left depicts a meal served on parents' day at a summer camp -- not as gross as the usual food but not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination. it features a limp salad, cubes of unseasoned potatoes, and slices of ham. the picture on the right features the same components of meat, potato and vegetable, but the similarities end there. the green beans were crisp and delicately dressed. one sensed that the duck that died for this meal was grateful to have met such a delicious demise. and my aunt's equivalent to yams was a pumpkin puree spiced to perfection, the sweetness offsetting the savoriness of the duck.

the highlight was the cheesy latke. the only way to improve upon a latke is by adding heaps of cheese while frying the pancake, resulting in the world's most perfect manifestation of the potato. i think we all know who wins this round.

ROUND 3: dessert

i don't have any pictures of the dessert, but we were lucky enough to have two choices. the first was a chocolate pie. it featured a crunchy, oreo-like crust with a chocolate mousse filling topped with whipped cream. it was sweet but not overwhelmingly so, as she was able to maintain the bitter edge that gives chocolate it's aphrodisiacal quality. the other dessert was a cranberry pie. the cranberries in the pie were whole, giving the pie an uncommonly juicy tartness.

but...my younger cousin made a pumpkin pie for thanksgiving that was out of this world. so we're calling this round a draw.

FINAL VERDICT:
my aunt's meal is the decisive victor! hooray!

seasonal depression

2008-12-11T19:15:00.000-05:00

i love winter when it snows. everything seems good in the world when it's blanketed in white. but after the streets are plowed and the sidewalks are salted, the harsh reality sets in: winter is horrible. we're left with a grey mixture of salt, dirt and slush that slows us down as we freeze to death on our miserable, treacherous commutes. it's dark when we leave for work and it's dark when we get out. and some of us (namely me) work in a windowless office with no heat and a lighting scheme that evokes an insane asylum.

fortunately there are ways to cope. obviously drinking is a quick solution, but to compete with the harsh winter elements, drinks need to be extra indulgant.

egg nog

6 eggs
2 + ½ cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup caster sugar
½ cup brandy
½ cup dark rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon nutmeg, ground or grated (fresh is best)

eggs: beat 'em!
sugar, nutmeg and vanilla: beat in!
slowley add whipping cream to the beat.
add milk a little at a time and beat it!
rum and brandy really can't be beat.

serving suggestion: chill and serve cold. garnish with nutmeg. dust off your xmas vhs collection and sip eggnog whilst watching such classics as santa claus conquers the martians and the preacher's wife, starring whitney houston.

mulled wine

pour a bottle of wine into a saucepan and put on low heat. zest half an orange and crush the zest with the back of a knife to release the orangeyness. add the zest to the wine and a little of the juice for good measure. add half a cup of brandy, cinnamon sticks, cloves, sugar, cardamon pods and any other spices that strike your fancy. let it simmer until it's steamy and hot, but for the love of god, don't let it boil!

serving suggestion: strain into mugs so you don't get pieces of cardamon floating about your drink. bring out your old wolverine pelt and sprawl on it, nude, in front of the fireplace reciting keats to your lover.

if hot wine or raw eggs aren't your bag, be creative. mix peppermint schnapps and hot cocoa and top with whipped cream: it's an excellent alternative for the kids! a good irish coffee will really jump start your morning! just draw the line at tea. there is no good way to spike hot tea.

thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

thanksgiving is the time of year that we take a step back from our hectic lives and reflect upon the basic things in life for which we are grateful. it's also a time to eat large quantities of food and debut holiday wardrobes. i am thankful for the following elements of food and fashion:

thrift stores/flea markets
the shoes, sweater, accessories, etc. that i'm wearing with today's little thanksgiving outfit cost what may as well be a million dollars, considering my budget. fortunately the dress that makes it all work cost me five bucks at the goodwill. if you have more time than money to invest in clothing, you can always turn to thrift stores, flea markets, e-bay, tag sales, etc.

kangaROOS

these sneakers, which debuted in the late 70s and made a recent revival, are awesome! they only come in about one style, but tons of colors (from basic black to the borderline tacky lamé look shown above). the highlight is the zipper pocket on each shoe. never go running again without your spare change or house key. and if you live on the dark side, you won't have to go without your drugs and prophylactics.

gnarly head old vine zinfandel

this wine is perfect. their website doesn't lie:

"Robust berry flavors and exotic spice notes from the small grape
clusters are balanced with French, American and Hungarian oak, which
creates heady layers of vanilla and chocolate and a lingering finish.

This luscious wine pairs well with raucous fun at barbecue or pizza
parties, a family dinner of hearty pasta or chili, and on its own to
celebrate personal triumphs."

raucous fun? personal triumphs? perfect! also, reasonably priced.

napa valley harvest honey truffle mustard

truffles and truffle oil add this indescribable savoriness to anything. they're also indescribably expensive. this mustard has the same effect, with the added bonus of a mustard-y kick. and it's about 5 bucks.

french new wave cinema

the women in these films are incredibly stylish and defiant. if you need proof of this, please buy me the coffee table book "french new wave" by jean douchet. you're welcome to come over and look through it any time!

i'm also thankful for leftovers, and am now going to show my gratitude by eating them. cheers.

winter

2008-11-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

now that we know what to look for next spring, it's time to snap back to the present. there's a frost advisory for tonight and i am ill prepared. in the winter, warmth and survival trump all current trends, which is why it's important to have a few reliable basics that you can whip out year after year once the temperature drops. this is a lesson i'm just learning now. every year i reach for my cheap boots from the previous year, only to find that they have disintegrated in my closet. or i'll need a warm coat, only to recall that last year i was "off coats" and that my ridiculously huge sweaters from that year would be completely inappropriate this year. well that stops now. this year i will buy real boots, a real coat, real gloves, etc. here's the shortlist:

hunter rain boots. when i first started seeing everyone wear them i was outraged that people pay $115 for the plainest boots in the whole world. but they're classic. or maybe i'm just a sucker. but i'm buying them.

nordstrom cashmere fingerless gloves for $68. please don't tell me that fingerless gloves will go out of style, and definitely don't tell me that they are not nor ever have been in style. because i will not listen to you. notcot.com posted a nice array of gloves i could never afford:

i can't only wear grey this winter. that's why scarves were invented. scarves are the one element of winter gear that i'm never in short supply of. This year, though, i went crazy buying summer scarves (which probably are just a passing trend) and somehow lost a lot of my winter scarves. this means i have to go out and buy a pashmina in every color.

i did find a really awesome summer scarf at a thrift store and would like to find something equally unique for winter, but that's a story for another day.

as far as coats go, i actually planned ahead. i have 3 very basic winter coats that should last. that doesn't mean i can't have another. it's by peligrosa for $240. apparently it's made of organic wool and has coconut husk buttons. you can buy it on environmental fashion sites, which i usually avoid for fear of alpaca adorned ponchos made from hydroponic hemp. but this coat successfully evades hippy cliches and meets my approval. look!

i'm starting to go broke just thinking about all of this so i'll leave it at that.

best of s2009rtw

2008-10-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

spring 2009's fashion weeks were held in an economic climate where even the richest among us are scaling back. for the less rich among us however, fashion week has never been -- and never will be -- a shopping guide. it's pure fantasy, which is a joy in and of itself. so if you're part of the growing ranks for whom the runway and the closet will never coincide, don't fear. fashion week can still have a purpose for you. that being said, following the shows can be a little overwhelming and tiresome if you don't actually get to buy anything. so to simplify things for you, i've compiled a handy guide of fashion week spring 2009 highlights.

best runway show: sonia rykiel. nothing topped this show.

best designer i've never heard of: ann demeulemeester. maybe she should consider changing her name if she wants it to become household.

line i would purchase all of, had i any money: burberry prorsum. considering how much i love fashion, i'm not really very adventurous. burberry's line featured very wearable pieces that no one can mess up. i'll leave the avant guarde to someone else.

scariest: comme des garcons.the entire collection was black. every model's face was covered. it was spooooky!!!

best little black dress: viktor and rolf. everything in this collection that was remotely wearable also happened to be a little black dress. but they nailed it.

most suitable for spring: luella. kind of hurts my eyes.

most ethereal: erin featherston. to the point of nausea. i usually really like erin featherston, but this is a little much. it's like the entire collection was swallowed by clouds and fairies.

least wearable: gareth pugh. as always, nothing in the entire collection is commercially viable. one day i will understand how people make any money designing clothes for no one. until that day, i'm just going to roll with it.

all that being said, most of the real highlights came from off the runway. the best reference for looks from the street is http://www.style.com/fashionshows/sartorialist/.

the end

paris fashion week spring 2009

2008-10-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

paris fashion week is in full swing and the line between art and fashion remains blurred. in paris, the term "ready-to-wear" takes on a whole new meaning, as in "i'm ready to wear this outfit to my cult meeting/s-and-m party/outer space/the future!"

comme des garçons. whether you're going for chimney chic or bondage beautiful, this line has it all!

hussein chalayan. it's important to have protective eye wear when engaging in interplanetary travel.

viktor and rolf. i don't know what to think. she looks like a futuristic robo-turkey. i will be wearing this outfit to thanksgiving dinner.

instead of a live runway show, viktor and rolf made a video using one model (shalom harlow) and a virtual runway. at the end of the video, all the shaloms stand on the runway clapping until they dissolve into pixels. are live runway shows going the way of the 8 track?

here are some highlights from the real world:

viktor and rolf's collection isn't all insanity and turkeys.

ann demeulemeester.

sonia rykiel's show was amazing. the models had dance parties, the audience interacted and there were birthday surprises. the line is very feminine and french and her attention to detail is impeccable as always. when i get rich i'm buying the entire line.

trends

2008-03-03T11:56:00.000-05:00

the fashion world constantly recycles old trends and turns them into new ones by fusing them with other old trends. Learn to combine old styles to reinvent your old, tired wardrobe without having to set foot in a store! this week's new style is called Disco-Hobo.

everyone loves disco and everyone loves hobos, so why not reap the stylistic benefits from both worlds! now you may be thinking, "gee, i thought that they already merged the two and created ravers!" yes, it's true that ravers have merged disco and hobo -- they frequent abandoned warehouses, do copious amounts of drugs, love glitter, and have pants that could serve as a tent for an entire hobo family! but there are many distinct differences that really set disco-hobos apart from ravers. take this simple quiz and test your disco-hobo vs. raver savvy!
choose a) for disco-hobo, b) for raver or c)for both disco-hobo and raver.

shiny track suit
shiny track suit with plaid polyester knee and elbow patches
huge, unnecessarily brightly colored shoes
backpack full or ecstasy
knapsack full of cocaine
lamé fingerless gloves
sweatbands
sequined cabby caps
polyester onesies
all white three piece suits from the actual 70's patched together with gold lamé
platform shoes fashioned from tin cans and recycled tires
whistles

answer key:

b
a
c - keep in mind that hobos are basically clowns without jobs, hence the big shoes.
b
a
a
c
a
a
a
a
b

if you got 7 or more correct, you're ready for the disco-hobo movement! get used to saying "i was wearing disco-hobo clothes waaay before everyone else. disco-hobos these days are such poseurs!"

this man is sort of a disco-hobo:

note how this disco-hobo looks like he's covered in soot from riding the rails but really that soot is bright green glitter!

you can't really tell that she's a disco-hobo unless you know, like i do, that the outfit is made of tin cans!

this is only the tip of the iceberg. take the disco-hobo look and make it your own!

pancake houses

2008-03-01T18:54:00.001-05:00

looks just like an ihop, except the roof is green -- the color of money. welcome to the westport pancake house, ihop of CT's elite! westport, ct is so rich that they would never stoop so low as to have an actual ihop within its perimeters, hence the westport pancake house, or "whop" as the locals call it. everything about it is exactly the same as a regular ihop. flags from around the globe hang from the eaves, there are carafes of coffee at every table, and breakfast is served all day. except at whop you can find women with diamonds bigger than any home fry, old ladies draped in fur, and young j. crew models carousing over bacon and eggs. it's pretty great.
i've never gotten anything at ihop besides smiley faced pancakes so i'm not sure how the two compare, but i'm a huge fan of the food at whop. i get the stuffed crepes with homefries every time. they have a wide variety of fruity crepes, but their crepes stuffed with egg and cheese are the shit. the home fries have actual flavor before even adding tabasco and the coffee is bottomless. so if for some horrible reason you find yourself in fairfield county at breakfast time, and for some crazy reason you want to have breakfast without cocktails, come to the westport pancake house and restaurant!

poletna and wine

2008-01-30T01:12:00.000-05:00

i was equal parts lazy and hungry tonight, so i made polenta. cook the polenta (corn meal) in a sauce pan according to box instructions. in a separate pan saute garlic and onions. add diced mushrooms (wild if possible), chopped red bell pepper, and whatever else sounds good/is going bad in your fridge. shred a ton of parmesan cheese right into the polenta, add salt, lots of pepper and thyme (dried is fine). add the vegs, stir and garnish. eat.
for wine we had almira Los Dos grenache/syrah with the polenta. it's french but grenache typically goes well with spanish food. drink.

tandoor kitchen

2008-01-29T17:10:00.000-05:00

this is tandoor kitchen. this is obviously the best place for indian food in new haven. menu and quality are fairly similar between most indian restaurants, so you have to pick the one in an aluminum diner car