Wilfrid

I didn't expect a cricket documentary series on Netflix, but I guess there will be a big audience for "Greatest Rivalry: India v Pakistan." I nearly gave up at the end of the first (of three) parts. So pointlessly stylized. Rapid cutting, random slow motion, dramatic music, silly shots of Sehwag standing on a beach with a cricket bat looking out to sea. It was worth persisting. The makers had a great interview with Shoaib Akhtar in the can, even if it was cut into countless bite size pieces. Fascinating to see Javed Miandad and Inzamam-al-Haq in recent interviews. I would never have recognized Javed. Plenty of Ganguly and Gavaskar from the other side, the latter looking almost ageless. And they do let us watch some cricket. @mongo because he will like the result.

Oooooooh noooo. Long live "mock rock."

Oo-ee-oooooo.

Interesting cut of lamb from Foster Sundry, a saddle chop. I scored the wrapper of fat with a sharp knife to crisp it up. Pan red wine reduction. Very good and enough left over for a few small tacos.

Hi, How Are You? The Ana Garcia Perrote Story.

His daughter is quoted as backing the carbon monoxide theory.

Rebecca Mead has upset me again. "The Flirt Behind 'Chicken Shop Date'" is an engaging piece. I had never heard of this YouTube show, shot on location in "chicken shops," but it sounds funny and I will take a look. But "chicken shop"? Not a familiar phrase to me, but it does seem to be well-established in the UK. Fried chicken outlets, apparently largely run by South Asians. Here's Rebecca's take: Emphasis added. Apparently Morely's first outlet opened in 1985 (I looked it up). When I left the UK in 1997, I had never heard of it. KFC, however, first opened an outlet in the UK in 1965. I looked that up as well, but I didn't really need to. I know with absolute assurance that it was some time in the late 1960s that KFC opened up near where my mother was working. KFC brought samples to local businesses for the staff to try. My mother brought some home for me. It was the first time I had heard of, let alone tasted, fried chicken. I didn't know you could do that with chicken. I guess all I'm saying is that KFC isn't a "parallel" to the UK chicken shop. It predates the chicken shop in the UK by some twenty years. (Rebecca, if you didn't know, is British.) I think Rebecca's piece is subscribers only.

I thought that too, but at 95? And the dog?

Hopefully they'll serve it on a plate too. Happy to have contributed to rising prices. 😉

Right, I remember that. I was puzzled to see the review because I thought it had been around forever, but as Rosner explains it's more complicated than that.

That might well be the first wine bar but Kafana has been around longer and I think they always had an orange selection.

And another masterpiece, Toute Une Nuit on Criterion. Chantal Akerman's reputation just keeps growinjg and I hadn't seen this one. Apart from the final scene, all filmed udring a very dark night. Not much continuity of plot or character (a bunch of people running into each other after dark), but it's visually unbelievable.

Fabulous Palava 2022 from Donatus (Czech), all peach and apricot but still dry, lurking here behind a huge Toulouse sausage from Foster Sundry. Wine from Orange Glou on Broome.

If you want to hunker down in your chef worship zone that review is a safe space.

I asked Ana about New York shows. She says come to Austin.

April 5 doesn't seem far away now. Hinds, Austin. Hmm. I like Austin.

This is better. Sitting in Bryant Park.

Well I did not know that Leopold von Sacher-Masoch was her great uncle. Thank you, London Review of Books.

I am liking meats from Wegmans. A 1.5 lb chuck roast for $13? Okay. Slow braised with carrots, shallots and turnips. The marbling broke down beautifully to soft streaks of fat. Two days eating the slices with the broth reduced, then the last parts cut into chunks for a soup. Not photogenic but very good.

Saturday 2/22 is the last day to see the extensive Morandi show at David Zwirner. Much the show you would expect (jugs!) but with the addition of some late landscapes. It's also the last day to see an amazingly curated show of Irving Penn's photographs (Pace, 508 West 25th). Hank Willis Thomas has picked pairs and trios of paintings from different periods in Penn's long career and from wildly different locations and has highlighted common formal properties. I think this is a show that would have startled the artist. In good news, there's all the way until March 1 to see Louise Nevelson (Pace, 540 West 25th). I seem to see a Nevelson in every museum I visit, but this is different: the show ("Shadow Dance") includes a lot of very large-scale works and it's beautifully and soberly lit. No religious themes, but some of these would look great in a cathedral. Recommended.

That very long piece by Lawrence Wright about women on death row was very good and utterly harrowing.

That's hilarious. There are perhaps two or three paid restaurant review gigs in the city. I guess you can pay to be a better blogger (do restaurant blogs still exist)?

Today is the 28th anniversary of my residence in New York City. Happy anniversary to me.

"We're in the twenties not going to make it above freezing like ever but with those barely sub-hurricane wind blusters it's going to feel like minus 80 might want to wrap up."

Lovely tribute to him. I'm very sorry too.