Photo from www.newyorknotes.dk
And, related to that last post, a beautiful blog by Rilke Lunau Storm called New York Notes: The Best of New York from a Danish Perspective. Some of my favorites are included (plus ones on my to-do list) with beautiful photography—ready to transport, lure, inspire.
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Photo by Florian Holzherr for Louis Vutton.
I’m going to Las Vegas soon, and I have an appointment to see this James Turrell installation. In Las Vegas style, it is in a Louis Vutton store, and only available for viewing by appointment. More details on it all in this helpful Medium post.
CommentVideo by Jason Lee and Devon Knight, for nytimes.com
I find this recipe interesting, because it skips using bread, something I always thought was integral to the creamy Andalusian gazpacho I know. Julia Moskin’s story behind it is fascinating. Excited to give it a try. Also, the video above – love that there is no need for words or explanation. The future of cooking videos?
CommentI’ve been on a documentary kick lately, and there are many good ones on Netflix. Here’s a list of some that I’d recommend.
Chef’s Table
This is a six part documentary, with each 45-minute segment focusing on a chef. I have to admit, I’m a tad over watching food shows. I wasn’t hopeful when I started it, but the first episode blew me away. Created by David Gelb, the director who did Jiro Dreams of Sushi (also on Netflix), the first episode on Massimo Bottura was less about the beautiful food shots and so much more about the story of the chef’s life and his relationship with his wife. Episode two on Dan Barber also offered an honest portrayal that not only shows his untiring drive to make the world a better place, but also a father and manager vulnerable to not being and doing enough.
Twenty Feet From Stardom
I just watched this Academy winner, a dive into the world of back-up singers, singers who arguably have more talent than the lead vocalists on the pop charts. Also, you may not have realized that your lament for what is happening to the music industry was not at a maximum.
Buck
The story of Buck Brannaman, a horse whisperer. Trust me on this one.
Man on Wire
If you haven’t yet watched this documentary on Philippe Petit, I have to ask, what have you been doing? Do not, I say again, do not confuse this documentary with the Robert Zemeckis adaptation that is slated to release in September.
Bill Cunningham New York
A story about the passionate and humble man behind the On-the-Street column for The New York Times. Also, this, and this.
Central Park Five
A Ken Burns documentary that tells the story of five black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park in 1989. As relevant as ever.
Ai Weiwei Never Sorry
The power of artist as activist is so interesting, if not purely for the idea of art communicating with clarity. Ai Weiwei’s work is powerful, and realizing the depth of his lack of freedom in China is terrifying.
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
A Werner Herzog film on the people who live in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. The narrative focuses on the story of a few hunters. It’s a fascinating slice of life from a distant part of the world.
On MJ’s Netflix queue:
How to Make a Book with Steidl
The Thin Blue Line
Objectified
The Unbelievers
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay
Paris is Burning
10 Questions for the Dalai Lama
Sunrise/Sunset
Design is One: Leila and Massimo Vignelli
180° South
Cosmos
Inequality for All
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Naqoyqatsi
A round-up of some interesting shops in NYC, noted for their specialized inventory.
Images from tenderbuttons-nyc.com
Tender Buttons
“The only shop in America devoted entirely to the sale of buttons.”
143 East 62nd St.
Photo by Jed Egan, for nymag.com
Just Bulbs
When I first visited this shop many years ago, they screwed in a bulb into a grid of sockets to show me exactly how it would light up. It still makes me smile.
220 E. 60th St.
Photo from www.saltnews.com
The Meadow
This shop sells chocolate, fresh flowers, and bitters, but I especially love its selection of salt.
523 Hudson St.
Photo from ourprinceofpeace.com
Casey’s Rubber Stamps
Rubber stamps, also takes custom orders.
322 East 11th St.
http://www.caseyrubberstamps.com
Photo by Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times
CW Pencil Enterprise
This is no joke.
100a Forsyth St.
Photo by Phil Kline for nycgo.com
Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.
An incredible storefront (designed by my friend Sam Potts) with a hidden writing center for Dave Egger’s 826NYC.
372 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn
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Photos from www.davidzwirner.com
On view at David Zwirner gallery until June 13!
519 & 525 West 19th Street
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 6 PM
Photo from www.robataya-ny.com
One of my favorite NYC dishes is the salmon kamameshi, at Robataya in the E. Village. It is a very subtle dish, with steamed rice infused with the salmon cooking on top, and topped with salmon roe just before serving. The menu gives you fair warning that it takes time. When it is ready, the server comes over and asks politely if you would like for him/her to stir and serve. The answer here is yes. I once brought my uncle who stirred his too forcefully. He even admitted it was a mistake.
I took my friend Ana to have the kamameshi when she was last visiting NYC, and it’s a bit of a dream and a curse, since it’s a dish that one might start to seriously crave. On a mission, she tried a few techniques and recipes and landed on the following. (On a sidenote, I tried a version of this in the rice cooker, and while it was not as good as Robataya’s, it did help ease my hankering.) I’m excited to give this one a go!
Recipe: Salmon Rice with Ikura Salmon Roe
Ana writes:
This is the winning recipe with a few tweaks: I just used all short-grained sushi rice instead of two rice types, I used mirin instead of sake, no shiso (didn’t have any), and I used the most gorgeous, fatty, King salmon fillet I could find. I lightly placed the salmon fillet (skin side down) on top of the boiling pot of ingredients before lowering the heat and covering it all up for 13 minutes. When I opened it up after cooking, the salmon just flaked away into the rice with a fork and was rare in the middle. Delish!
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Photos from http://gibbsfarm.org.nz
Adding Gibbs Farm in NZ to my to-do list.
Makes me think of one of my favorite places on earth, Storm King Art Center. A magical place for many reasons, but especially for the Andy Goldsworthy installation.
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Looking forward to this career retrospective of Tomi Ungerer at the Drawing Center, Jan 16 – Mar 22.
On my netflix to-do list is watching this movie:
Need an intro to Ungerer? Try this interview with Teri Gross.
This quote by Maurice Sendak on Tomi Ungerer captures why:
“I’m proud of the fact that we helped change the scene in America so that children were dealt with like the intelligent little animals we know they are.”
And, this. Kitty-Shaped Kindergarten, which he references in his interview, was designed by Ungerer with architect Ayla Suzan Yöndel. A building where kids walk into the kitty’s mouth and there is a slide in the back for the tail.
Photos by Adriano A.Biondo, for milkmagazine.net
CommentAnd, speaking of the School of Life made me think of this interview with its founder Alain de Botton on Krista Tippett’s On Being podcast:
Listen to it here.
Which is also making me want to re-watch this documentary that I originally saw on Bill Moyer’s Journal:
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