Legends of the Food

Two weeks ago I attended a clandestine meal...guerrilla dining at its finest.  Supper clubs, closed door restaurants...if you are not familiar with this culinary movement let me enlighten you.

This was the situation for attendees:  The guests receive an invitation to a dinner.  There is a day and time, but no location listed.  The cuisine is unknown.  The day of the event guests receive a note with the location.  They arrive and the meal begins.  An underground feast.

Fifty or so people, mostly strangers, all seated at one long table nestled between giant steel vats draped in twinkle lights set in a brewery near the train tracks. Twice during the meal I watched a train roar by over the shoulder of the person sitting across me.  The effect was marvelous.

Underground culinary movements are springing up all over the world in infinite variations.  Its philosophical roots reminiscent of the French Situationist Movement...a social movement of Europe during the 60's that revolved around creating spontaneous situations within the context of everyday life.  Every moment is infinitely different from the next, no matter how mundane. To keep reality fresh, spontaneity reminds us that existence is exceptional.

This subversive spread did just that.  I present the menu:

1.

Roasted marrow bone, Braised oxtail marmalade, brioche toasts

wine: 2001 Campo Viejo Grand Reserva / beer: The Factor Scotch Ale

music: Mussorgsky Bydlo (The Ox) from Pictures at an Exhibition

2.

Strauss lamb sweetbreads, Romesco, Tuscan Kale

 wine: 2007 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Reserva "Unica" Rioja / beer:Triad Belgian Tripel

music:  Hugh Maskela, Grazing in the Grass

3.

Roasted saddle of rabbit stuffed with rabbit confit and prunes, Sformato, natural jus.

wine:  2000 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado

music:  O'Conner, The Road to Appalachia

4. 

Veal braised in Intuition Ale Works Quiet Storm Belgian Quad,

Potato puree, Piquillo pepper, Marcona Almonds

wine:  2005 Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco Reserva / beer: Quiet Storm Belgian Quad

music: The Pixies, Where is My Mind?

5.

"Soup & Sandwich" a la Indochine. Pho, Banh mi, Assorted preparations of wild boar

wine: 2005 Maetierra Dominum Quatro Pagos "QP" / beer:  Dubbel Helix Belgian Dubbel

music: Theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Cheese Course...Cabrales, Aged Gouda, Epoisses, Manchego, Brillat Savarin

That is right people.  Exquisite Spanish wine and craft beer paired with food from this region's top chefs and a specific musical composition individual to each course that was performed the brilliant violinist Philip Pan, Concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

 No small potatoes here. No small potatoes.

Yes, I said Spanish wine and craft beer in glorious harmony.  Look at them...Vibrant Rioja and Intuition Ale. Such an unlikely pair, but totally perfect together.

We all eat.  We all dine out, sometimes even on a whim.  There is nothing unexpected about that, nothing original.  It is what people do.   To eat is a common goal of all humans, to eat is to live.  But when people get together in an effort to truly transform one of life's most simple acts and share that transformation with others for one brief moment...it is not just an exceptional experience, but a communal gift.  Spontaneous art.

Jacksonville, bless her heart, may be The River City, but in many ways she is a backwaters kind of gal. It is renegade events like this that will mark her as The Bold New City of the South.  Put your feelers out, and maybe you will stumble upon one in your region. Friends, who live in my neck of the woods go here for a taste of creative subversion to open the mind and the palette.

Wake up that brain and belly.

Waffa and Mike's

The first few weeks of the New Year have been nuts.  Nuts as in crazy.  Nuts as in hard, crunchy. Nuts as in fruitful.  I began grad school, helped install a garden at Lil' Bit's preschool and got the six classes started on spring crops, and of course the hubbub of everyday life. 

Speaking of the mundane, moving to a new city one must always search out a trustworthy mechanic.  I began my search inquiring from friends, but no recommendation was to be had.  My parents happened to be in town and my mom said "Check out the Car Talk Radio Show website.  They have a list."

So I did and the first name on the list A & A Auto Diagnostic Repair on N. Main seemed to have the best reviews so I gave them a call and they told me they could see me in 30 minutes.  I set forth to Springfield, an up and coming area of Jacksonville to get an oil change and two light bulbs replaced.  Minor issues, make the best starting point to get a feel for a new mechanic.

I found the place, and the owner Mike was warm and friendly. I handed him my keys.  He pointed to a glass door and told me that there was a couch in the office where I could wait if I liked.  Now I have been to many a mechanic, but this office was special.  The couch he spoke of had one beige floral pillow that was propped up cockamamie on the arm, while the other two were firmly in place.  The other customer, a man was standing next to the couch texting.  I sat down and felt a need to straighten the pillow, but then I took a look around and noticed that the office waiting room was all jacked up with stuff.  My mechanic was a hoarder.

He walked in and told me it would be about 30 minutes, and seeing me on the couch he offered "I own the restaurant next door, you are welcome to wait over there.  I will tell them to take care of you." I had almost passed the garage upon arrival because I was so distracted by the sign for the restaurant: Waffa and Mike's painted in yellow letters on the giant red cinder-block walls of the building that housed both businesses. 

I took him up on it and went next door.  Waffa and Mike's Cafe is clean with high ceilings and has the warm smell falafel in the fryer.  It was ten a.m and I had a lunch date so I went for 3 for $1 baklava and coffee.  I sat down in a large booth with a book and began to read.  This cafe at the mechanic's was such a wonderful turn of events, and a brilliant concept mind you.

The baklava was honey sweet and the coffee strong.  A man walked in and ordered a wrap of some sort that smelled incredible. Before I knew it an hour passed by. I thought Is there something wrong with my car?  Maybe I should go see what is taking so long?   I went back to the office and the car was ready and when Mike handed me the bill I was thrilled.  An oil change for less than $30 with baklava.  Yes. 

A New Happy Year

 

I took this picture months ago just for today.  It is a black eyed pea from our garden at 29 South.  It was maybe September when I plucked this pod and weeks later when it had dried I thought...wow.  

This is a beautiful plant.

 

Even the word legume has a certain elegance to it don't you think?  A plant with edible seeds.  Each seed harboring its own individual potential to grow into a plant, comfortably nestled in a pod with its kin.  That is the thing...peas in a pod, when faced with the future, they are in it together. 

As a species we all have different resolves, but one thing is for certain...like all species on earth when it comes to our survival,  our future, whether we like it or not we are in it together.

Happy New Year!

Luck in Life and Love.

Lighten Up

We moved to this neighborhood six months ago, knowing that it was a great area of Jacksonville...but little did we know that our choice of street address would land us in a Christmas light spectacular!  There is always that one street where folks go all out come the holidays, and during the month of December their neighborhood is full of people cruising by in wonder of the twinkling bulbs, and the power bill.

The opposite side of the street from us happens to be such a dazzling display of electricity...lets just say that this joyful discovery is just one more affirmation that moving off our little island to the big city was a grand idea.

The girls and I go on evening strolls to admire our neighbors' handiwork, and on one such occasion we happened to meet the man with the grid plan.  I asked him how it all worked...did he have a generator?  He told me in an unexpectedly sheepish manner that he had two computers, one in the garage and one in the closet under the stairs that powered the operation.  Angels and candy canes dangling 20 feet up in the air, words projected on the side of the house, giant crosses and evergreens, snow ball fights, sparkling deer, stars, inflatable penguins...this man went all out.  In mid-conversation Lil' Bit became suddenly very upset and began to whimper.  "Look mommy!  Look at Frosty!  He is dying!"

"Maybe he is taking a bow?"  Our neighbor interrupted my ridiculous response and expertly explained that Frosty was melting and would soon be back upright.  Lil' Bit was greatly relieved as he re-inflated and we continued on our walk.  I am not a religious person, but I appreciate the homage to light during this dark time of year.  Speaking of...Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah is a holiday that calls for oil...aka fried food.  Chef made jelly donuts the first night of the holiday...the beginning of a barrage of sweets to lighten life during the holidays.  This week we received what I call "the holiday diet fucker package."  Chef and I always vow to go on a crazy diet between the Thanksgiving feast and the Christmas feast, but inevitably a DF package arrives and ruins our good will.   Rum balls, truffles, sugar cookies, peppermint bark...a  towering smorgasbord of sinful delights compliments of mom.   I know one day I will too send my brood tins full of empty calories, and they will eat them dutifully with great gusto. 

The idea that we don't have to indulge over the holidays is poppycock.  There is no better way to celebrate the richness of life and the end of a year than with rich delicious food.  So my advice to you this last week of December, this first official week of winter is to go for it.  

Eat as if you are about to enter hibernation...enjoy all food and libation without guilt or shame.  There is no better way to celebrate a year of life well lived.  Besides, New Year's is next week...save your resolve of deprivation for next year.  Just say screw it and indulge in the now!

Peace

This morning on the other side of the world at 7:37 am the last US combat troop crossed over the border to Kuwait ending our nine year war in Iraq...officially.  My mind returned to the day we began the Shock and Awe campaign.   I was at a friend's warehouse studio listening to the reports coming in on the radio when I went to use the restroom and realized that I had unknowingly been wearing my underwear inside out and backwards all day.

I remember three years later after I had moved back to Florida and went to a craft store to buy some art supplies.  The war was far from my mind until I walked past the aisle that held the Flag boxes on sale.  I stood there and my heart sank.  It hit me that unlike previous generations of war, my generation, in this age of petty distraction, could go days or weeks without a thought about our soldiers abroad because as civilians we have not been asked to sacrifice anything.  

I had the same thoughts every time I saw a soldier in an airport.  I wondered if they were coming or going, and if they were on their way home how difficult the adjustment must be for them.  I witnessed the small ways they were honored in transit:  the rounds of applause at the baggage claim, or on a plane after a pilot had honored them over the intercom, or the smiles and quiet thanks given by individuals to soldiers on terminal trams.

I recall the six months I spent worrying about my little brother while he served in Iraq in his position at the DOD.  I swore an oath to him and myself that if anything happened to him I would devote the rest of my life making sure that the terrible story of this particular war would be impossible to hide through the retelling of history.

We spent Thanksgiving this year with my brother in Washington D.C.  It was his first time hosting the holiday as a young adult in his new apartment.  I was so grateful he was home. We feasted the way only a family with a Chef in its fold can do.  During dinner he told us about the USO volunteers that he encountered all over the world and the platters of baked goods and comfort foods of home that they provided to all personnel serving in the wars abroad.   My brother twice returned from war without family to greet him, and for the kindness shown to him by these folks I will be eternally grateful.

A nine year war ended today.  The last soldiers are now racing the clock home to be with their loved ones for the holidays.  I can't even imagine the relief and strangeness of the new life the Iraqi people are faced with now they are no longer occupied.

Anytime a war ends is a time for joy.  This upcoming few weeks there will be many toasts to be made.  This holiday season the word "peace" is more than some sentiment followed by the word "joy" on a card.  Peace is the epic struggle for our slowly evolving species.  During the holidays as we light our candles lets do so in dedication of peace and hope for the end of the war in Afghanistan.  The cost of war is too much for any people to bear.

Lets give thanks to all the people across the world who bring peace in ways both big and small, and reflect on the meaningful ways that we can follow in their footsteps.

Authentic Celebration

You know you live with  a chef when it comes time to clean out the garage freezer and this is the list of stuff you are going to keep:

pork fat

salmon

rabbit legs & quarters

pork belly

oysters

24 quails

steam buns

cranberries

whole rabbit

whole duck

fruit purees

boneless short rib

pork scraps/neck

corn tortillas

japanese noodle with Uzu sauce?

gyro meat

I am not even going to get into what we threw out.   Lets just say that according to Chef, there is plenty of room now. The idea to catalog the freezer came about in a discussion about what to cook while entertaining over the holidays. I think our stash has the makes for some serious wining and dining.  Flock of quail anyone?

Feasting as a means to celebrate is a tradition that binds humankind.  It is as relevant now as it was in ancient times...perhaps even more so today given that so many of our personal interactions happen in cyberspace.  From the preparation of the food, to breaking bread...every aspect of a feast feeds authentic relationships.  I dare say we could all use a little time devoted to authenticity this holiday season.  

For real.

Ohhh Honey!

This time of year I like to drink.  Well, truth be told I like to drink most times of year.  It is genetic.  But during winter I like to drink things that warm.   I am not a Scotch person.  My parents, they are Scotch people.  As a child, I used to hound them for a sip of whatever adult beverage they had in hand.  They would cave knowing that the burning taste of Johnny Walker would make me gag.  It did.   To this day that first sip of Scotch always triggers churning chills down my spine.  I can drink it if duty calls in certain social situations, but it is not preferred.   I am an American girl when it comes to whiskey.

Bourbon whiskey is made from corn and is unique to the American South, distilled mainly in Kentucky but also Tennessee.  Ironically enough the invention of bourbon is attributed to a Baptist minister named Rev. Elijah Craig.  The term "bourbon" comes from the county in Kentucky where the distillation process of American whiskey was created.  American whiskey producers are mandated by trade agreements to label their booze bourbon, but Tennessee whiskey producers refuse to label their bottles as such.  Instead they use "sour mash whiskey" to disassociate themselves from their brothers in Kentucky, in true bootlegger moonshine feud style.

This week Chef and I were introduced to Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey.  It was given to him as a gift to nurse an upper respiratory infection.    Like a true southern bell she is warm, inviting, a real sweetie but if you take advantage of her good graces she will bite you in the ass.  She made her debut to society this summer and has had five star reviews from anyone who has taken her for a ride.  

Let me tell you something...this is one of the most sippable liquors Chef and I have ever tasted.  I am not kidding.  This beverage will now be a staple booze in our home. There is nothing syrupy about this drink, just whiskey warmed with honey.  It is extraordinary.

Do yourself and everyone around you a favor and go buy a bottle.  Maybe two.  One for you and one as a gift to someone who needs a drink more than most. This year, this climate, this world we live in now demands too much from us, and there is nothing like a little southern comfort to provide relief from the cold.  A little liquid courage to face the all consuming holiday season.  I am telling you if cheer had a flavor, it would be Tennessee Honey.

Cheers to one of America's finest exports, and congrats to Mr. Daniels for landing himself such an incredible lady!