morning at marlow & sons
I’d been meaning to visit Marlow & Sons in the morning for their breakfast sandwich but, being one of those relatively attainable, non-urgent life goals, the actual doing of it didn’t happen until today - two years and many urgings (“You have to get the breakfast sandwich…”) later.
I walked in and sat in the front room-cafe-boutique shop to wait for my friend, photographer Clay Williams, to arrive, and took stock of all the linen towels, tote bags, cutting boards, notepads, leather goods, t-shirts, vintage footballs (behind the counter), rain boots and fancy hand soap on display that I wanted to own one day. Aspirational lifestyle for sale at one of Williamsburg’s most popular restaurants.
Guess my next relatively attainable, non-urgent life goal: (more) meals involving butter-laden food and a home filled with handmade custom goods.
Marlow & Sons, 81 Broadway, Brooklyn (718) 384-1441
“
Ever get that feeling that it’s too late to begin?
With three weeks to go before my twenty-eighth birthday, I’m reminded of the person I thought I’d be by now and, turns out, it’s someone who I’ve never even met and whose name, now, escapes me. I was 20 at the time when I learned about her; these were pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter, pre-LinkedIn days, so the information that surfaced on Internet Explorer pointed to text that existed in print first, web second. What I found was the woman’s marriage announcement in the Times that said she was the associate editor at Vanity Fair at 27. Just married. Working at Vanity Fair.
And so that became my measurement of where I wanted to be in seven years.
”
next stop: mexico
I’ve visited many countries, but never Mexico. So, on the recommendation of my world traveling best friend, I’m off to Tulum to change that tomorrow. Excited to abandon the Internet (no offense, Internet), do cartwheels on the beach, read, write, play in the ocean and eat authentic Mexican food…
Chipotle Shrimp Quesadilla from South Congress Cafe
1600 South Congress Ave, Austin, Texas (512) 447-3905
early morning in austin with chris connolly
I spent a lot of time with my BFF and Foodspotting designer Chris Connolly at SXSW this last week, dragging him to places like the Whole Foods flagship and taking pictures in and around Austin.
I took the top photo while waiting for our food at South Congress Cafe; he ordered migas and I got chipotle shrimp quesadilla and cheddar broccoli soup. We were sleepy from waking up at 7:30am (three hours after getting in after a late night) to drive to Hamilton Pool, 45 minutes outside Austin, hoping to photograph it during “golden hour” before daylight got too harsh and bright. Sadly, the pool was closed due to hazardous rain conditions, but he did get an awesome shot of me in the middle of the road. (And we returned the next day to find the pool open, where he took this photo.)
Chris is a great designer, photographer and a good friend who I got to know while traveling together in Ireland last November. Don’t miss him on Instagram and follow him on Tumblr.
South Congress Cafe, 1600 South Congress Ave, Austin, Texas (512) 447-3905
cool new thing: cardflick
I’m off to SXSW Interactive today with the Foodspotting team to help host our Street Food Fest on Saturday!
For those unfamiliar with SXSW, the first week is like spring break for nerds (self included) where tech people from all over descend on Austin to meet and eat and drink and cure hangovers with free brunch sponsored by companies like Groupon. It’s an opportunity to network and, usually, a great escape from the cold still plaguing New York City and Silicon Valley at this time of year. Except for this weekend, of course, with blue skies and high 60’s projected for New York and rain and humidity in Austin. Ah well, what can you do…
So, you know all that moving around I did back in November and December? No? Well, let’s just say I moved three times in thirty days and, somewhere in the shuffle, left my Foodspotting business cards at my cousin’s apartment where Mittens and I were staying for a few weeks.
Enter CardFlick to save the day. I just learned about these sexy - free! - digital business cards from Foodspotting CEO Alexa yesterday. You can design your cards however you’d like, but even the stock templates are pretty good looking if you’re feeling lazy. CardFlick lets you link to all your social networks and allows you to display everything you would expect from a paper card except it’s all hyperlinked and you can email the card to anybody. (Muy importante because not everyone has a smartphone, but most people have email addresses.)
Sign up at cardflick.co and then download the iPhone app to share your contact deets easily without having to trek all the way to Queens to retrieve the boxes of business cards that you abandoned at cousin Lily’s.
my boys in the morning
We had a hard time falling asleep last night, so for a change of scenery, we set up camp on the L-shaped sofa in the living room around 2am. Being the less tall, more considerate one, I took the short end of the couch and woke up bent out of shape having slept all crookedly. For a disoriented moment, I became sad thinking about the cats, who like to sleep on opposite corners of the bed like stuffed gargoyles. But then I looked over and saw Monkey lounging at Chris’s feet and found Mittens with arms outstretched, holding down the comforter. The human bean* was asleep.
*human bean: first discovered while reading Roald Dahl’s The BFG, though I should point out that the people in ‘The Secret World of Arrietty’ from Studio Ghibli were also referred to as ‘human beans.’
lazy coworker
photo taken with Instagram at home
cracker barrel & pjs
I’m having a bit of a slow day, but feel somewhat more alive after digging around in the kitchen for an afternoon snack. To be frank, there is a lot of food in the fridge because Chris is on a permanent Mexican food kick. (Tacos, specifically.) He made all the meats and sides on Sunday: braised beef, roast chicken, cilantro-based tortilla soup, guacamole… I’ve been sneaking small bites of everything, refraining with all my might from eating it all in one sitting.
So, I made myself a snack of cheese and crackers instead. It was either that or eat Nutella with a spoon because I don’t have bread on hand…
photo taken with Instagram at home
looking for a good food job?
In December, I met Dorothy Williams-Neagle, co-founder of Good Food Jobs in New York. We were both being interviewed for a food publication so we didn’t get the chance to chat, sadly, though we sat on couches across from each other. Before I had the chance to properly introduce myself and ask Dorothy about her work, I had to peace out to get to another meeting…
Thankfully, Dorothy followed up with an email to say hey (it’s so nice when people do that!) and we’ve been exchanging emails since. If you’re not familiar with the organization, check out the Good Food Jobs mission -
“Good Food Jobs is a gastro-job search tool, designed to link people looking for meaningful food work with the businesses that need their energy, enthusiasm, and intellect. We post opportunities with farmers and food artisans, policy makers and purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs, economists, ecologists, and more.”
This Friday, Good Food Jobs is hosting a job fair in conjunction with the Just Food Conference 2012. The Good Food Jobs Fair will be a physical manifestation of the Good Food Jobs website. Go to gain ideas for employment while meeting with real-life food businesses and potential employers. Talk with leaders in the sustainable food movement and ask questions regarding hiring and recruiting practices. Get information on how to volunteer, and learn about new initiatives and projects the organizations are involved in to propel the good food movement.
Entry fee is $15. For more info: goodfoodjobs.com/jobfair
february 24, 2012 5:30-7:00pm
the food & finance high school
525 west 50th street, new york city
Asked by
catsbeaversandducks
Thank you! I’m always surprised to hear people know about Mittens, but I guess it makes sense seeing he has taken over my food blog. Believe it or not, he’s even cuter in real life.
P.S. I love your blog, too!
in honor of fat tuesday
Late last year, I had the chance to visit New Orleans with American Express Travel’s NEXTPEDITION program. NOLA is a fabulous place for those who love spices, seasoning, sauces, dishes loaded with flavor, and deep-fried beignets. And while Bourbon Street isn’t usually my cup of tea, you still gotta experience it. Drunk, preferably.
next stop: sxsw
If you’re heading to Austin next month for SXSW Interactive 2012, join me and the Foodspotting team at the 3rd annual Foodspotting Street Food Fest on Saturday night, March 10th. Save the date and don’t forget to RSVP.
The poster was designed by our illustrator Cat Oshiro. It’s so cute I could eat it.
via foodspotting
williamsburg at dusk / lamb at dressler
I snapped this photo just as daytime faded while crossing the intersection of Berry and Grand on Saturday. After an afternoon of apartment hunting in Williamsburg, Chris and I made a beeline to Dressler because we love it and were in the area. On previous visits, the chicken dish blew me away but, this time, it was outshone by the lamb. We asked for medium rare; it arrived with a center that was deep red and so raw it was nearly sashimi. Intentional or not, lamb, cooked rare, is delicious.
dressler, 149 broadway, brooklyn, new york (718) 384-6343
dear nyc, meet the new role models in food
I am hosting a panel for New York Social Media Week tomorrow on The New Role Models: Chefs, Cooks, Bloggers and You with New York Times food columnist Amanda Hesser; Robyn O’Brien, author of The Unhealthy Truth; and my friend Bun Lai, chef-owner of Miya’s - the first sustainable sushi restaurant in the world.
If you happen to be around Columbus Circle tomorrow, come! It is free and you can RSVP here.
When Friday, February 17, 12-1pm Role Models session / 1-2pm Food Trends session (which I’m also participating in but not hosting)
Where Art & Culture Content Hub at Hearst Magazines, 300 W. 57th Street Urban Theater
Hope to see you!
photo via
