death of the entree?

In Is the Entree Heading for Extinction?, an article in today's NY Times, I found myself scratching my head. Small plates and tapas are trendy in the US and have invaded modern American dining, but to claim the death of the entree is a farse.

This article is informative, especially when giving respected chefs like Colicchio and Batali there dues. Speaking of dues, let's take a look at the Batali reference:

“As a diner, the idea of me chewing 17 bites of one thing and another 17 bites of another is absolutely boring, and not how I want to eat,” said the chef Mario Batali. “At the lower end, people are looking for options.” Two of his New York restaurants, Otto and Casa Mono, have no main courses at all.

Otto is definitely more of a "share all" sort of dining experience with really loud music and a really cool bar, but there's no way that this idea isn't driven by, (guess what?), money.

It's a fact that restaurants monitor via computer spreadsheets and tally programs which of their items they are selling the most of. Looking at the numbers, it makes sense that week after week, if you change your starters, they'll continue to sell because they are more of sought after commoddity than a larger, pricier entree. So, let's abolish the entree, and why not boost our sales on dishes that are easier to prepare, produce, and consume. It makes sense. The fire time for most apps is significantly less than the care produced of most entrees, even in the most high-volume establishments. These small plates, starters, entrees, etc. are faster, unique, and tasty. I love them, but not at the expense of the entree. There are times when a big bowl of pasta, a well prepared fish or pork tenderloin are just what I'm in the mood for. Not all diners have the stomach for a sampling of small plates to suffice for their meal.

I love the social aspect of dining that the author mentions, but couldn't agree more with the Hamilton quotation at the end, that a meal is only as good as the sum of it's parts -- or as she put it, appreciating a meal is like listening to a full album, not just two of it's songs.

Trends may come and go, but the entree ought to always remain. It's always been there. It receives the most care and is usually the highest quality piece of your dining experience. Pass some of it around the table if you must, but the pairing of protein, starch and vegetable ought to remain on everyone's table. Appetizers are great, and in fact essential. In some social cases, a meal full of appetizers is appropriate, I admit this.

Well, maybe I'm just a traditionalist. Slow food, I say, not just fast food.

This is a bit dated, but thought it deserved another look.

Happy Monday

14 American Apparel Models Freed In Daring Midnight Raid

Deflation

I used to lift weights. I doubt this is a secret to many who know me. I got into it, made it a regular practice, but didn't work at it nearly as much as people assumed. Things got weird when guys I was loosely affiliated with began to ask me about "programs" and what I do to maintain, and what my diet consisted of. These really did happen to me, I'm aware of how strange it is.

Well, the maintenance has derailed a bit. I haven't worked out regularly in nearly a year. I look at as another piece of growing up, but perhaps that's taking the easy way out (even though that I learned in Rocky IV, there is no easy way out. anyway-) No, there's got to be more to it, so let's analyze it:
In looking back at my image, through photographs and my current mirror, I've concluded that I did it for fun, to see how far I could push myself, to see what I was capable of, and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I also did it so I didn't have to watch what I ate that closely, knowing that my calories would be burned up after an hour of good repetitions. I liked it, too, because it gave me an added confidence boost. I think anyone who lifts weights regularly will admit to this. As a student, I thought it would be a super idea to have a strong mind, and a strong body, and it's safe to say I attained at least one of the two.

Yes, I even kept the Henry Rollins short story entitled "Iron" posted on the inside of my closet door, like I would have done with my football locker or something. I used a yellow highlighter on the opening that says "I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself. Completely." I still like this quotation, and use it for reference when I'm looking for inspiration. But these days, there's no time. I look at guys now who are huge, and think to my self, man, if I had the time...
-or-
Man, that guy must have a lot of fucking time on his hands.
But I'm still myself: Tony v. 2.0, perhaps.

I wasn't Schwarznegger or anything, but I was big, and I realized that I had outgrown my tshirts and nothing American Apparrel could offer would suffice for proper skin coverage. Vintage stores are not kind to anyone who wears more than a size M, so it was always a struggle to stay in post-adolescent fashion. Due to working long hours and finding time for personal interests and social engagements, I've deflated, and I'm cool with it. I ride my bike a lot now. Not in the Chicago cold, but usually. I'll have to pick up some treadmill during the 8 month winter here. I pay $80 per month for a gym membership that I actually use once a week, if I'm lucky. And when I'm there I can't wait to leave. It's funny how we outgrow things.
I never want to be perceived as vain, and I suppose these words are some sort of explanation for my previous image. Yet I forever want to be healthy, so I'll continue to work out. Just with less time spent pumping the iron.

Movement

From time to time I feel compelled to preface statements, offering my reasons for posting particular things. I think I'll eliminate this practice, and just start posting. Expect this blog to pick up steam as I find it somehow necessary to communicate my thoughts.



I met the (to some) legendary Alice Waters and had a brief conversation with her, not to perster her and praise her, but just to see if she was as genuine as she is portrayed to be. It was my finding that she is, a passionate, intelligent woman who has the ability to transform the way we think by way of food. Food is her medium, yet her ideas communicate a broader message of creating a better quality of life by being in tune with our bodies and our environment.



In http://http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/17/FDMSSNQDP.DTL&hw=alice+waters&sn=002&sc=673, it covers the setting of my meeting with Alice. I explained to her that I had actually once made helped make her dinner while working in SF, and that my fellow cooks were all enamored by her presence. She was flattered, and said when I make it back to the Bay I ought to come to Chez Panisse, to which I said, "I'm sure you can have any cook you want." She noted that she would remember me, and that she doesn't forget enthusiastic, young cooks. It was pretty cool, and I immersed myself in her book later. But back to the issues:

"In the Midwest, there are other obstacles as well. I was able to coerce
two people from my original e-mail to forgo the Cubs pre-game to attend Waters'
lecture. As the crowd filed out, they voiced their frustrations. "It's really
inspiring," said 25-year old teacher Carly Leavitt, "but how are we supposed to
get fresh fruits and vegetables all year-round here?"
Dana Abrams, a 24-year old social worker, added, "This is a very urban city, and it's hard to have access to the produce from rural areas."
Both agreed that while they saw the value in educating younger kids, it was difficult to find the motivation to change their own eating habits, especially given the expense of buying local and organic ingredients.
Throughout the weekend, others voiced similar concerns, but Waters was ready with an arsenal of rebuttals. Winter? No problem. Plan ahead. Can tomatoes, pickle vegetables, preserve fruit. Enjoy nuts, dried fruits and grains. Start a greenhouse. It's all possible.
Most would call this an idealistic fantasy. Maybe, but in the 36 years she's been fighting for her cause, she's seen enough progress to keep her going, and her message hasn't changed. She wants a healthier, happier America, accomplished by eating
delicious food, and eating together.
"Good food sends positive ripples through the community," says Waters, and she's intent on providing the means and ideas to make that happen."

As far as this being an "idealistic fantasy," it's not. It's something that certainly would not happen overnight, but it's something that work and education could develop. It's about making food part of your life, not simply treating it as something to remedy your hunger. You put it in your body. How much more important could it be? With proper practice and effort, eating naturally produced fruits, vegetables and meats can happen year 'round. I firmly believe that all it comes down to is effort. Starting a greenhouse in your backyard may be unfeasible for many, including myself, yet the ideas can be done on a smaller scale of self-sustainability. You can learn how to preserve fruits, how to can things - maybe even utilize that freezer! The cost of organics are high in supermarkets, which is why non-supermarkets are so essential. If you're lucky enough to have any of these in your town, visit them to find high quality produce for low prices. Learning to eat in season has great rewards for your health, and it makes you appreciate what nature has to offer throughout the year.

If you think of what's been going on throughout time, people have been eating organically for CENTURIES. It's only since the 50's when fast-food began, unnatural preservatives started to be used, that as food-consumers, we thought we were headed toward the future with microwaveable dinners and bags of potato chips. How we lacked progress. There's much that can be done, and although Waters has been called a crusader, leader of a cult, and so-on and so-forth, she's got undeniable points. No, she wasn't the first person to discover organics, but why isn't anyone else raising as much awareness as she is? The earliest steps in a movement are creating consciousness (Eric Hoffer verified)

From my own experience, I've seen, and been a part of what food can do on a larger scale:

http://www.nopasf.com/pdf/nicolenopa.pdf

Read into it. Interpret it. The result of a conscious food-based community speaks for itself.

The Shape That I am In

Life's a ball these days. No worries, like Bobby McFerrin. Well, there are always worries, but none that are giving me aches and pains. I've taken the LSAT, and the anticipation of my score arriving has given me headaches from time to time, and I mean this quite literally, so I guess we can disregard much of what's just been written. I don't feel like erasing it, and my writing here can be perceived as a conscious stream of thought, albeit in the most Un-Kerouac way you will find. I'm also not on drugs.

Tangents aside!

I feel liberated after having taken this exam. I've been preparing off and on since April, after mounting a spectacular debt on one of my two credit cards for a Kaplan study course. Can one really justify paying $1400 for a few paperback textbooks and 14 class sessions? Normally I would say yes, but only for an accredited course. However, if my score comes out as I want it to, I'll be shouting Kaplan's name in praise from atop the Sears Tower!

Everyone had been asking me, "what are you doing when it's over?" or "Dude, how blacked out are you going to get?" as if there are cognizant variable levels prescribed to this condition. I have only shared my post-test efforts with a few people, and here's what I did. I went directly to a specialty spice store, and bought 1lb. of pink curing salt, also known as Prague Powder #1. After this I shopped for some records, and bought an original VG+ LP of New Order's "Reel Life" featuring Love Vigilantes, a great song. Next, I went to a butcher in my neighborhood and purchased 3.5 lbs. of pork belly, and I went home, and created a dry cure so I can make bacon. It's all very exciting, and the belly is about 3 days from smoking. I met up with Nora as my girl and I bike-shopped our way around Chicago, having one of the best days we've had in a long time; and it's all because I am stress-free, and now, a great obstacle has been closed out, and I can stop worrying about actually taking the test and preparing. A worry over my score has incurred, but I'm reminded that there's really nothing I can do about it now. So, move forward, I say. Nora has helped me with this, and I owe her so much.

I wish I could say that I feel the seasons changing, and despite what new fall colors Banana Republic has introduced (could this be burnt orange's year?!), I am not feeling it. This 80-something degree weather with July levels of humidity is absurd. It's October, Football season is in full-swing, and the MLB playoffs have begun. Where is my October? Doesn't that sound like it ought to be a collaboration between Green Day and Pink? The Fall is great not only because Brad Pitt stars in a movie mentioning it in the title, but because it's a reminder of some of my favorite times in life. I love the crisp air, leaves falling, the comfort of sweaters, flannel, and excuses to curl up and watch movies or football games. When the hell else can flannel be as cool as it is in the Fall? That's really it's time to shine. I like a good beer during the Fall, too. I notice that my music preference changes too, as I listen to more string-oriented music, yet I think this is common. My earliest memory of the fall dates to a trip to Dartmouth for a football game in which my dad was coaching. A beautiful campus, enchanting scenery, an indescribable view of the foliage, a fun college town, and a football game are all the roots of why I love the fall so much. The trip to Hanover with my family left such an impression on me, and my idea of fall has been shaped upon this very visit. Fall, I await your arrival.

Great things that happened today:
I woke up with Genesis songs in my head, after receiving free tickets to the show last night (thank you TJ)
I realized that I'm going to see Phil Lesh, Jackie Greene, and co. tonight
It's my dad's birthday
I found this article on my record player:
http://www.antiqueradio.com/Mar06_Hayden_Kloss.html
My parents are happy

I'm happy, and my world is also. This is the shape that I'm in, and it's good. I'll write soon after my bacon has cured.

Numero Uno: Interrogatories of the Heart

This shall be something I look back upon, and question, "My God, what was I thinking?"

What better way to introduce my first blog to the masses? I don't know whom I am writing to, I'm unaware of my audience, and perhaps most eminent, if I do have an audience, does anybody care? Indeed, what am I thinking?

It appears that the blog will unveil itself as a means to an end. While Kant is cursing me, my argument stands that the blog is not a person, and I am justified in my act.

Like a classical philosopher I have taken a roundabout way in getting to my point. I'm attempting to get closer.

But how can I fully express myself with so many other issues at hand? The first issue that comes to mind is the self-incriminating factor of a blog. For this reason I have to remain largely anonymous, something the internet has been made famous for allowing. Secondly, what if I express a novel idea in the midst of my sporadic thought process and, without proper expressed intellectual ownership of these ideas, someone takes them and uses them to their benefit? Our friend Kant would indeed frown at this point.

There are many risks, few rewards, but the single reward of a blog is for the allowance of peace of mind. I feel that I will be able to clear my head and my heart by writing, and whomever decides to read, comment, or blaspheme my name in their own blog will do so. I write for myself, and no one else. Unless, of course, I express a piece to be persuasive literature. In which case, take action!

I'll write about my interests. I love to spread music, good books, good movies, good articles, and good food. The blisses of life ought to be shared, and I'll do my best to ensure that this happens. I will not spread hatred, grumble about trivial woes of daily life, nor will I single out individuals as bad people. I will write in fairness and as objectively as possible. I'll write about my experiences, and maybe you'll find that you can relate. Or maybe I'll discover more about myself in describing my actions.

I look forward to this engagement of blog and blogger, and I will see you next time.