Coaxed into covering a chocolate show involving fashion made of chocolate, I cast aside my inhibitions. “Unleash the chocoholicism!” is what this event invites. Throngs descend upon the West Side Highway, a sight I’m more accustomed to seeing in the daylight, for the Armory Show. West 50th Street is a desolate strip between 10th Avenue and now, all FedEx and horse stables and double parked cars. I stop over the Amtrak rails, my favorite spot in Midtown, it reminds me of Manhattan’s history as a hub of industry and trade, the grand connector between far off lands and the heartland, the mountains, the desert, the Pacific Coast…now Doritos wrappers and Burger King bags line the rails, probably needles and condoms and shit, too. Well that’s history, too. “What opera is like a railwayline? —The Rose of Castile. See the wheeze? Rows of cast steel. Gee!”
It’s October, and that means pumpkins. As a child, I hated, hated, cake for my birthday. So my mom made me pumpkin pie instead. Oh, the thrill of being the first pumpkin pie eater of the season, a full month before Thanksgiving trotted into town.
Let me tell you about a most surprising salad that I ate at my beloved Marlow & Sons, where I go to remind myself that there is nothing in the world more worth fighting for than food. This salad: the daily market salad, composed of vegetable scrapings, swirls of olive oil and good, strong parmagiano. Those vegetables: Here’s where things must take a bow. Thinly shaved raw pumpkin with a carved crunch in the mouth the equivalent of a spoon scraping pumpkin flesh for seeds. This mixed with pungent broccoli greens possessing an honorable, wholly charming overbite.
Imagine, if you will, a plate that resembled the topography of a New Mexican mesa in winter: Dry, earthen desert parsed with summer’s last green shrubbery. A fine layer of powder precipitates the dish with salty sweetness.
Two of my favorite things, dancing and eating, artist Agathe Snow tackles in her life-as-art work. One of the artists behind Chop Shop, as part of this year’s Whitney Biennial she’ll be hosting a couple of performance-based projects at the Armory, the Biennial’s new annex this year. The first is her version of a dance-a-thon, Stamina: Gloria et Patria, starting this Sunday, March 9th. After you’ve won that contest and burned about a million calories, check out her gypsy feast, Abat-Jour, that she’ll be producing in collaboration with another Biennial artist, Rita Ackermann.
Stamina, via Whitney.org, March 9-15:
“Snow holds daily dance sessions throughout the Armory over the course of a week, culminating in a twentyfour- hour dance marathon in the Drill Hall. Visitors are issued time cards to record their participation, and at the end of the week the winner—whoever has danced the longest—is announced. Time cards are available at the Armory Information Desk and at the Information Desk in the Museum Lobby.”
Abat-Jour, March 23, 2008:
“Ackermann and Snow host a gypsy-themed feast, in which food, drink, and decoration—as well as the guests themselves—become materials in the work of art. A play on the French word for lampshade, Abat-Jour refers to bajour, a traditional gypsy confidence game. Using bartering and chance as a central themes, Ackermann and Snow explore issues related to gender, community, and celebration. At 9:30 pm all visitors are welcome to dance in the dinner hall. Please visit whitney.org/biennial for registration information. ”
[Image courtesy Chop Shop.]
Layne [Crispin Glover] in “River’s Edge” [1986]
V’S
Ritchie White [Matt Dillon] in “Over The Edge” [1979]
Both brownhaired anti-heroes in sensitive young people’s films with kicky soundtracks and fashion flair.
A 1950s self-help book, or the definition of the enjoyment of smoked sable?
The fur coat of smoked fish.
Get thee to Russ & Daughters pronto for this, the “poor man’s sturgeon.”
Charming, earnest, homespun, scientific.
Diner Journal is the quarterly food magazine published by chefs/restaurateurs behind Diner, Marlow & Sons and Bonita, that trinity of Williamsburg restaurants at the forefront of the seasonal-local-farm food movement in the area, well ahead of the curve.
To enjoy oysters & prosecco at Marlow & Sons is to escape the cesspool. Attend regularly.
Diner Journal is essential reading for those curious about Old World cheese caves in the New World or deceptively simple, but overwhelmingly flavorful recipes worth their weight in Mayan gold, such as Chocolate Shortbread with Sea Salt (see the version I made in the above photo), featured in their latest issue, No. 6: Winter 2007. To die for.
Freezing rain covered the shiny grey boots, powdery rubber sloshing through dampened streets and sleet-ridden sidewalks.
There was no other alternative than to assemble this stew, a simplified version of traditional bouillabaisse based on the ingredients I had on hand and/or could carry home under such pitiful outdoor circumstances.
1 fennel head, thinly sliced with stems and core removed
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
1 shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 small potatoes, diced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 can diced plum tomatoes
4 cups stock, preferably fish stock but chicken can be used instead
2 cups sauvignon blanc
3 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 sprig of rosemary, needles removed from stem
a few sage leaves, chopped
¼ teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in ¼ cup warm water
Sea salt and pepper to taste. Start with 1 T of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper and go from there
Sprinkling of red pepper flakes, also adjust according to taste
Handful of Italian parsley, chopped (optional) for garnish
1 ½-2 pounds your favorite fish, cut into small pieces, and/or shellfish
In a large stock pot, heat oil and butter on medium heat and add garlic and shallots. Sprinkle with sea salt. Saute for about 2-3 minutes, lowering heat if necessary so that garlic does not fry. Add the leek and fennel, dust with more sea salt, and stir frequently for another 3 minutes, until leeks and fennel soften. Add the stock, potatoes, sauvignon blanc, rosemary, sage, saffron, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cover pot and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
Return heat to medium and add fish/shellfish. Give pot a stir, and cook fish for 3 minutes.
Serve immediately in bowls and garnish with parsley.
Garlic-rubbed toast made from a Balthazar boule goes nicely with the soup, as do quesadillas made with a sharp, aged cheese.
Pair with the leftover sauvignon blanc.
Okay…might as well open another bottle.
