cinghiale

Rapeman were really good, too.

He didn’t make it. https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/may/10/dennis-thompson-dies-aged-75-death-mc5-drummer?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Vividly remember a Big Black show in Hamburg in 1986. The band threw a hissy fit about the sound at the club and stomped off the stage. Someone did something, and after a spell, they came back out and tore it up.

Another depressing tale of late capitalism. Is this a real problem or just niche hyperbole? The piece does name-check big restaurants.

Had dinner there in 2005 - in fact, Christmas time, and also had the tortellini in brodo. Have a photo somewhere of him showing me partridge breasts that local hunters just brought in. Stayed at the connected albergo, something like “Design Inn”? Loved the bottega, too. I live relatively nearby now and have thought often about revisiting.

So having read this piece about Jim Gordon in today's Guardian, I decided to burn one and listen to Let it Rain (collaboration not even mentioned in the Guardian!). IMO this is among Clapton's best work, but the drum solo is right up there with Baker and Bonham. Curious: were any old MFFers going to shows at the Garden back then? I am an old yet now must realize the I was just 13 at the time. Do share.

The poet Gabriele d’Annunzio created – apparently at the behest of Mussolini – a number of neologisms in Italian to expunge foreign words from the language, particularly English ones (much like Hitler did). So “lo sandwich” became “il tramezzino”, from the Italian “to partition”. Other inventions, like for basketball and boxing, haven’t survived anglification. But a big one did: in football, the top team doesn’t win "the championship" (with a trophy, I guess), but instead “lo scudetto”, or the badge, whose design he also apparently created.

I think their version of City Slang is actually better than Fred’s.

Dodge Main has a great lineup. Deniz Tek in the Sonic role. From his website In the early '90s Patrick Boissel from Alive Records began a crusade to resurrect the Detroit Sound. He had the idea of forming a "Detroit Super Group" of surviving players who were still active in music. Deniz and Wayne Kramer were asked to lead the effort, and both agreed. Less than a week after touring Europe with The Deniz Tek Group, Deniz flew to LA to record. Scott Morgan (the Rationals and Sonics Rendezvous Band) had been recruited to sing, with Wayne's touring band Paul Ill on bass and Brock Avery on drums and percussion. Recording was done at a small studio in West Hollywood called the Music Box. Some songs were written on the spot, others in Deniz' motel room. MC5, Birdman, and Sonics Rendezvous standards were included. The entire album was done in less than 5 days. "Dodge Main" (1996), named after the now defunct automobile assembly plant in central Detroit, was released by Alive to rave reviews and a 4 star treatment in Rolling Stone. Dodge Main has gotten together for occasional live shows since then to rowdy and volatile midwestern crowds, Currently there is an unreleased live concert tape waiting in the wings featuring the band at peak power in Cleveland with bassist Gary Rasmussen and drummer Scott Asheton, with a guest appearance by Jimmy Zero of the Dead Boys.

My wife has a late model. Really likes it. But no face ID, right?

I'm not really a fan. I find them kind of cloying. My wife likes them, though, so we sometimes pick up Lacrimas from Ma.Ri.Ca when we're in the area; they're quite good. If you ever find yourself in the Ancona province in late May, you can try all the Lacrimas you want at the annual Cantine Aperte event. €10 gets you a glass, a little tote to carry it in and free tastings at something like 75 vineyards in the province, which open their doors to the public for the weekend of the event. There's also one now during harvest time, it seems. They also take place in other regions, but I haven't gotten to them yet. Umbria would be great, I'm sure.

Thanks, Ori. I’ll look into that.

Some would say that chicken liver is important, but it’s not always included. The polenta around here always seems to be sauced with lamb liver though.

Not quite. Mostly done by home cooks for special occasions in my experience. My bartender made one for Christmas, for example.

Yep. I live right next to the border of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, with the Lacrima di Morra d’Alba zone a bit farther to the east and Verdicchio di Matelica just to the south of me.

How does that work? Media reviews? Word of mouth? But what if you’re located in a, well, Michelin desert? A restaurant in my dinky town in Marche (Italy) changed owners about year ago and has since been putting out food that shows a high level of creativity and quality. It’s located in the charming “castello” part of my hill town and has comfortable, nicely appointed rooms and a friendly staff. It’s regularly drawing diners from surrounding towns (roughly within 20 km). The chef sources a lot of his products from hyper-local producers, including pasta fresca, extruded spaghettone, saffron, burrata and mead (!). Meats come from heritage breeds: Cintato Rosso and Cinta Sense pork, Marchigiana and Chianina beef. The owners don’t speak much English, meaning they have difficulty explaining the menu to guests who don’t speak Italian. So I’ve offered to translate their menu. Here are a few samples: Pork loin carpaccio – Made with Cintato Rosso pork, a heritage breed, marinated in Rosso Conero wine and garnished with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette, caper berries and crushed Bronte pistachios Cappellacci (Marche-style tortellini) – Stuffed with roast guinea hen, served in a pan sauce with chestnuts Slow-cooked squab breast – Braised in mead and dried pear, served on butter bread and accompanied by sliced foie gras Tartare of heifer beef – Made with Marchigiana beef, a heritage breed, served with mustard and sea fennel I’m not saying this is * cooking but I think it’s Bib Gourmand level. There are only three restaurants in the area with Michelin reviews, and the closest is about a 45-minute drive away. The inspectors seem to be active on the coast – Uliassi now has 3 stars. The restaurant also doesn’t have much an online presence – no website or anything. So, any ideas of how to catch the attention of the local inspector(s)? A review would also be a boost for the local economy, which it could sorely use.

Mine was Zeppelin I. My summer camp counselors from Detroit played it for the whole two weeks that year. I remember falling asleep to Dazed and Confused. Bought the record at Kresge's as soon as I got home.

Penn Jillette is also a fan: "The first record I remember buying with my own money was the Smothers Brothers. They were everything to me — everything. And from the Smothers Brothers, we’d go to the Monkees — from the Monkees, we’d go instantly to Zappa, Velvet Underground. It was only a lack of talent that stopped me from being a musician — the passion was certainly there." The whole piece is great, including about stuff we're not allowed to talk about here.

The Japanese Pantry. They seem to deal extensively with artisanal producers.

Just 76. Brand New Key was a radio staple when I was in high school.

That’s a new wurst for me. Also called a Carniolan sausage, Wiki says it’s similar to kielbasa. Would you agree?

Interesting career: The New York Times restaurant critic Bryan Miller named Mr. Fortuna best new maître d’hôtel on the scene in 1986. Two years later Mr. Miller awarded Lafayette — with Mr. Vongerichten in the kitchen and Mr. Fortuna at the door — four stars. Mr. Fortuna subsequently worked the doors and dining rooms at a succession of Manhattan restaurants, including Tavern on the Green, Lespinasse (in the St. Regis hotel), Mad. 61 and the refurbished Monkey Bar. In 1995, he finally had a restaurant of his own, the Lenox Room, on Third Avenue and East 73rd Street, in partnership with the chef and restaurateur Charlie Palmer.

Wherein Pete Townsend suffers permanent hearing loss: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-bgJC4YSNF4&si=mpR8I5o5xgxM5VlH

Yes. The last two springs, I purchased both king and sockeye from them (both Copper River). I’ve prepared both in myriad ways (sautéed, baked, grilled, in the smoker), and I prefer the flavor of sockeye. And given the price for CR king at peak season (GAS charges something like $90/lb), I personally don’t think it’s worth it. Their line-caught king is quite good (and more affordable). I can also highly recommend GAS’s halibut, black cod and, especially, their spot prawns.