Sneakeater

VOYAGER: Doctor it hurts when I do this. DOCTOR: Don’t do this.

@SethG Totally agree. That’s EXACTLY the way I feel about it.

You know what I barf at even more than Disco Demolition Night? The Clash fans throwing shit at Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five when the Clash chose them to open for them at Bond's in Times Square in the early '80s. Of course, I'll bet NOW some of those racist pieces of shit are boasting they saw Grandmaster Flash back in the day.

It shows the rot at the heart of White Rock. (As does Eric Clapton.) I still barf at the thought of the Chicago Disco Demolition Night.

Smoked bluefish (smoked by me) with a tomato-chili sauce. In addition to the mild chili I put into the sauce, I put some tiny bits of Ghost Pepper into the brine for the fish. I figured that if any food could stand up to a Ghost Pepper, it's bluefish. And I was right! At last the intense heat of the Ghost Pepper (imparted only through brining) became an accent rather than the dominant flavor (I mean, in previous uses, it wasn't even a flavor: it was more like a sensation -- and not a pleasant one). I'll confess something: this was the first time I bothered to brine anything other than tongue before smoking it. It makes a difference! This fish developed a proper pellicle. And it was like twice as flavorful as previous bluefish I've smoked. (Because I know you all care, I put salt, sugar, Old Bay, pepper, bay leaves, tiny bits of Ghost Pepper, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Crystal into the brine. Maybe I should have invited Guy Fierri over.) Roasted okra on the side. I did a Happy Dance when I thought of the pairing earlier in the day. 2018 Les Vin Pirouettes Le Brutal!!! de Jean-Marc As I'm sure I don't have to tell you, the Les Vins Pirouetts "Brutal!!!" project is a loose group of hipster producers in Alsace, spearheaded by Christian Binner, dedicated to furthering Natural wine culture in that region. The wines are consistently fun with a bullet. This is an Orange blend of Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. You can see how, in theory, this would be a great pairing. And so it was in practice. Definitely leads with Gerwürtztraminer lychee, then some nectarines and some Rosh Hashana honey (no apples, though). Often in Orange wines, you can't really identify the grapes on the basis of the way the wine tastes. That is DEFINITELY not the case with this one. Some fizz. Lots of salt on the finish. On the way to the salt, a healthy sour tang. Fuck this was good with that fish.

I read somewhere that the reason Asian-market potato chips are suddenly available in New York is that pot has been legalized. It makes a lot of sense. But I'm doing it a good job of craving them on life.

My supermarket has started stocking these Asian-market Lay's potato chips and some of them are like insane!

Thank you!

I got some buttered matsutake flavored potato chips today! But that's as close as I can come.

They'd love him in Malba.

That interview pissed me off more than the new Stones video.

Also to be clear -- cuz I wasn't -- I "complained" that the hypothetical new Frenchette restaurant was a cash grab, not the Stones video. The Stones video is a promotional tool; nobody's expected to pay anything for it. Instead of being a cash grab, I'd say it's a desperation move. I knew it was unclear to insert that "cash grab" language into the Frenchette hypo when I wrote it! The song is still fine (albeit lyrically empty). I'd be happy to hear it on AM radio -- if there still were such a thing.

When I first moved to Prospect Heights, you could still see the trolley tracks around Grand Army Plaza!

I read something somewhere about how totally derelict it was, and I had to see for myself.

To be clear, I'm complaining about the video, not the song. The song is fine.

I would have said the song is lyrically empty -- these are the guys who wrote "Get Off of My Cloud" and "Sympathy for the Devil"? -- but I like the guitar a lot. And the production style seems very on-point. But everything that's offensive about the video has zero to do with the song. Which is actually part of what's offensive about it: the video has zero to do with the song.

Not sure where complaining stops and criticism begins?

I double dare you not to watch this.

I spent a few hours walking around The Hole ten or 15 years ago. It was . . . interesting. I didn't know (I mean, I guess I knew, but I didn't know, if you know what I mean) that there was such brute governmental neglect in New York City.

BTW, this two-part essay by my fellow Commie Arts Writer Ben Davis, while only barely pertinent here if at all, is well worth reading: https://news.artnet.com/opinion/sean-tatol-negative-reviews-part-1-2353302 https://news.artnet.com/opinion/sean-tatol-negative-criticism-part-2-2353305

Are you saying that if I take a book out of the library, I don't have the right to form a judgment of it because it didn't cost me anything?

It's not the cash. The video was free, obvs. But if they're making art, I get to criticize it.

A college friend lived in Malba. His parents' house didn't look like that.

(It is, of course, deeply traditional for Jews to have Old Roman Tomato Pasta dishes on Rosh Hashanah.)

One thing I did over the Summer was build a repertoire of incredibly rewarding dishes that are very easy to make. And the easiest -- easier, in its way, than making a sandwich -- is the old old Roman Penne with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes dish. It involves no active cooking: you just toss it into the oven for 20 minutes, and ecco qui. But the beauty part is that if you use the grape tomatoes I became addicted to this Summer rather than the cherry or plum tomatoes the recipe calls for, you also don't have to do any slicing. You just throw the tomatoes into a baking pan, toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper them, then top them with breadcrumbs and grated Pecorino Romano and toss them into the oven. That's the entirety of the prep work. (I mean, sure, you have to cook the Penne -- which involves nothing more than boiling some water.) But this pasta dish isn't only easy: it's delicious. It's so pure. It's tomato heaven! (As this Summer was. The tomatoes came a little late -- but they came strong. And they're hanging around.) As a contorno, some Spigarello sautéed with some early garlic I found at the bottom of my crisper, salted and peppered and drizzled with balsamic. Last time I had this pasta, I did the A-Number-One perfect wine pairing: a Lazian Sangiovese clone. You don't come across a lot of such wines. So tonight I reverted to the Tuscan Sangiovese clone. 2015 Fattoria Corzano e Paterno Chianti "Terre di Corzano" This is a producer whose bottles I usually have around, but whose wines I don't love. They're a little too smooth, too suave -- not the way I like my Chianti. But this, their entry-level cuvée, is by far their least polished. Instead of being pure Sangiovese, or blended with Merlot (although don't get me wrong: as much as they offend me in theory, in practice I'm a big fan of Sangiovese/Merlot blends), it's a trad (if quite simplified) blend of Sangiovese and Canaiolo. This wine evokes such damning-with-faint-praise adjectives as "pleasant" and "lovely". But it really is pleasant and lovely -- with that spoonful of pepper that makes it go down in a more delightful way. So not great by any means. But perfectly nice for modest dinner (and less than $20 a bottle -- OK, only a little less -- if I remember correctly). This is at the end of its window. It's beginning to get some old-wine goop at the very end. OTOH, that goop unsmooths things even more, so in that sense it's welcome. Nevertheless, if you have any of this, I'd recommend drinking it up.