...sometimes you end up meeting really interesting people when you least expect it. Like today, when I sat next to an almost famous Christian rock musician on the airplane who is 32 years old and has never had a cocktail.

Need I say this is about as far out of the box as it gets for me?

When I told my new friend about my deep personal relationship with cocktails, specifically endangered ones, he politely asked my advice on what he should try as, you know, his first cocktail ever. I have been delightedly puzzling over the answer since.

I can only imagine how strange our conversation must have sounded to the surrounding passengers: me going on and on about my book projects, one on blondeness and the other about cocktails; he telling me about life on the road as a Christian rock musician and his new baby. And both of us extolling the virtues of sustainable agriculture and locavore eating. I have to say, it was pretty rad.

What did you do this Saturday?

…not overly impressed with this sell-out record that will be broken on Monday at Fenway?

Given how many of those tickets that count toward all those sold out games are purchased by scalpers and “brokers”, and given how many seats go unused every game (at least every game that I’ve been at) and how many tickets scalpers at Fenway seem to be left with on any given weekday…well, I’m not all that impressed.

Yeah, in theory it’s cool…but its a bit of a false record in my mind.  I’m all for extolling the virtues of Red Sox fans when it’s appropriate…but I’m not convinced that’s the case this time.

These are the things I think about when the game in front of me is, as I wrote, a huge bag of suck.

Well, after my post yesterday, readers probably have the impression that I don't like burgers. Not true! I love a GOOD burger. Wild Willy's in Watertown has good burgers, and as I learned today, also chicken sandwiches. But burgers are their thing, made fresh when you order. And, for an extra $1.50, you can get a local, grass-fed beef burger, from Hardwick Beef in Hardwick, MA. Fries, onion rings, raspberry lime rickeys, and even their own root beer - you really can't go wrong. They also serve beer and wine.

I suppose some people may grumble about the atmosphere and service - basically, you place your order, pay, and someone brings the food to your table when it's ready. I guess I wouldn't really call it fine dining. But this place is great for lunch. We always seem to go when we are making a run to Target or Home Depot (unfortunately, today we had to visit both).

I know... I know... too little, too late. Well... better late than never!

We went to Pigalle the first Friday of Restaurant Week, Summer 2008. We went with another couple and we had a pretty good meal. The service sort of sucked, but seeing that it was RW, I feel compelled to give them another chance. Aside from that, I HATE when restaurants add an additional charge on to the RW menu. That's the whole idea of RW... a 3-course dinner for $33.08. Not $33.08 plus $5, $6 or $10 dollars! Needless to say, Pigalle had "extra charges" for multiple items on their RW menu. Not cool...

In any case, we arrived for our 8:30 reservation right on time. Our table was not ready. In fact, we had to wait a good 20 or 30 minutes... which I found a little annoying, considering we took very late ressies. This was our first visit ever -- for all of us -- to Pigalle, so not a great first impression. But as I said earlier, I like to give restaurants a little slack during RW -- b/c we all know things are not 100% during this time.

We had a few drinks at the bar and the bartender seemed very well versed (and knowledgeable) in both the wine and cocktail menu. Her recommendations were right on and the cocktails were a generous pour and quite tasty.

Once we were seated, we ordered one more round of drinks. After, we placed our orders (all three courses must be ordered at once) and waited patiently for our food to arrive.

For starters, two of us (including me) got the Tuna Martini -- with seaweed salad, spicy creme fraiche and tobiko roe (normally $21)... and an additional $5 each (on top of the RW menu price). It was VERY good; however, I'm not sure it is worth the usual $21 price tag. It was fresh and delcious, but no more than any other standard sushi restaurant -- where you could get the same amount for half the cost. The Husband got the Roasted Beet Salad -- with confit potato, granny smith apple, candied walnuts and horseradish vinaigrette (normally $13). Again, it was very good, but honestly -- nothing special and quite a skimpy portion -- given the usual price tag. Lastly, one of our friends got the Pate de Porc -- with grain mustard aoili, cornichons and Armagnac soaked prunes (normally $15). They loved it and were very happy with the portion and taste.

For dinner, I got the Pave of Salmon -- with wild rice, ginger confit, baby bok choy and a miso broth. It was fabulous. I really enjoyed it. The Husband got the Grilled Tuna -- with a potato cake, succotash of green vegetables and a basil sauce. He thought it was very good... but he didn't LOVE it. One of our friends got the Crisply Half Duck -- with blistered cornbread, steamed bok choy and a dried cherry sauce. He seemed to really enjoy it. His girlfriend got the Pigalle's Steak Frites -- with creamed spinach... an additional $6. She loved it.

Lastly, for dessert, I got the Vanilla Creme Brulee with biscotti. It was very good -- but it's hard to screw up brulee. The Husband got the Stone Fruit and Rhubarb Cobbler with vanilla ice cream... he really enjoyed it. Our friends both got the Chocolate Marquis with cherries. It was VERY rich and VERY chocolaty.

All-in-all, the food was very good... but not phenomenal, as I expected and anticipated. My biggest comment of the night was how BAD the service was. I've heard the service is very good at Pigalle, so I hope this was just a RW issue. After we were seated and got our first round of drinks (at the table), not ONE TIME did the server ask us if we would like another round. We would have all had another drink. That would have added $50 on to our bill... his loss. I also had to ask several times to have my water glass filled and our server was downright scarce during our entire visit. It was quite annoying.

We might try Pigalle again, only b/c of the amazing recommendations we've received. If I had to go on just this one visit alone, I would probably give it a big thumbs down. Bummer....

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Boylston Street: Worst Crosswalk Signal Ever, originally uploaded by stevegarfield.

They installed these crosswalk buttons incorrecltly and tried to make it better by using sineage. If they installed the buttons the right way in the first place, the signs would not be necessary.

The button needs to be pointed in the direction of the street. This is the worst installation I have ever seen!

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Boston Media Makers, originally uploaded by stevegarfield.

Join us at Doyle's on Sunday September 7th at 10:00 AM for Boston Media Makers!

vs. Texas Rangers
8:05 pm
Rangers Ballpark - Arlington, TX
SP: Tim Wakefield vs. Matt Harrison
tv/radio: NESN - MLB.TV - WRKO

Thurs. Sept. 25 We all know the cliched joke: If you remember the '60s, you weren't there. Ha. I was a kid growing up in the '60s in a university town, so there was plenty of hippie culture to go around: the music, the love beads, the patchouli, the pot, the protests, the ever-present backdrop of the undeclared Vietnam War. But as a kid I was on the fringe: Bought stuff at the headshop, but decorative stuff. I felt in tune, but know all that was going on was going on with the generation ahead of me. I loved it ... but it turned, and all was not peace and love. The radical left blew up buildings and innocents and ... well, that's another essay. This bit is to alert you to Psychedelic Cinema: Light Show Films (1967-1969) by Ken Brown (best known perhaps for his unique, humorous postcards). He shot these Super 8 films and projected them at the Boston Tea Party (where the now defunct Avalon once was and where House of Blues construction is now) and they were a visual accompaniment to the Velvet Undeground, Led Zeppelin and other icons of the era.

Sunday Sept. 7 marks the fifth anniversary of Warren Zevon’s death. To use the cliché, so close, so distant. I wrote something a few years back, and am revising it now to commerorate his life and death. It has nothing to do with going out to see anything. It’s just about someone I admired and respected very muchNo contemporary singer-songwriter wrote about death as much as Warren Zevon, from I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’’ to Things to Do In Denver When You’re Dead.’’ (There’s plenty more.) Those songs tended not to be morbid, really; they were more celebratory, as in Live now, because death awaits you.’’ For years, the emblem he used – on back stage passes, album covers, etc. - was a grinning skull smoking a cigarette.I once asked him about Play It All Night Long,’’ a song about a dysfunctional, incestuous family that revels in playing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama’’ – Play that dead band’s song/Turn the speakers up full blast/Play it all night long.’’ It’s how the broken family copes with its horror. Was it funny?

Everybody was worried about how Beckett would be in his return from the DL. No matter what Dr. James Andrews says, the fact that he spoke to Dr. James Andrews is enough to make fans hide under the covers in fear. But when Beckett said things like “I thought about [the elbow] before the game [...]

The no-rancor McCain campaign has seized on Barack Obama's past as a community organizer to offer another one of their sneering critiques of the Democrat, his alleged lack of experience and his commitment to what they feel is a "leftist" occupation.

Leading the charge is Sarah Palin, who says he stint as mayor of a 9,000-person town trumps him because she had "actual responsibilities." Like hiring lobbyists to bring home the pork.

But what is community organizing? The Globe speaks with one of the best, Lew Finfer, describes it as reaching out to members of disenfranchised communities, learning about them and their issues, then mobilizing and empowering them to address those issues.

Sort of like payments to the Sons of Iraq to keep the peace in the neighborhoods for a mere $2.7 million a month.

Or the $48 billion spent to renovate 3,000 schools, train 30,000 teachers, distribute 8 million textbooks and rebuild irrigation infrastructure for 400,000 people, as well as fund projects to improve drinking water, bridges, roads, sewage treatment, airports and, of course, oil pipelines and refineries.

All the while the Iraqi government is sitting on a $79 billion oil-fueled surplus.

Imagine if that money was spent in American cities and small towns. To build schools, hospitals and bridges to somewhere. Yes even local hockey rinks.

By sneering at community organizing and community building, Palin, Rudy Giuliani and the cast of non-rancorous Republicans have actually been sneering at the American men and women during community organizing in Iraq. You know, the ones who wear camo and body armor.

But I must admit, this T-shirt design says it best"

"Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor."More blogs about Politics.
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Fri. Sept. 12 - Sun. Sept. 14 The ICONS Festival held in Canton every year has become one of the more delightful outdoor fests of the summer. Yes, it's still summer. It emphasizes Irish music, from the traditional to the avant-garde, and offers at three day pass (Fri. Sept. 12 - Sun. Sept. 14) for $60. This year's highlights include Liam Clancy, Lunasa, Sola, Luka Bloom (in photo), Crooked Still. There are 11 areas - stages and the likes - where peformances start at 7 p.m. Friday and 12:15 Saturday and Sunday 'til 11:30. They shut down at 8:30 Sunday. Our former colleague at the Globe, Steve Morse, does the writing for ICONS and he gave JSink persmission to pluck a couple of pieces off for this site. Which we have done, on Bloom and Crooked Still. But you can read more of Morse's takes and about the Festival's layout, aim the dozens of acts, and all the rest at its comprehensive website, www.iconsfestival.com (http://www.iconsfestival.com/) Single day pass: $25.200 New Boston Drive, Canton, 617-931-2000 www.ticketmaster.com

The MexiCali burrito at MexiCali Burrito Co. at $6.25 comes with 1 filling, 2 toppings, rice, and beans. This allows for what may be my most frequent burrito ordering configuration: meat, beans, rice, salsa, and guacamole. That means no sour cream, no cheese. Lactard style.

Eyes: This wasn't the best looking burrito. Poor ingredient distribution shows the rice on the right, meat and beans on the left, and the guacamole folded in the lower part of the photo with tortilla on both sides. And a lack of structural integrity.

Taste Buds: I really liked it. I ordered their chile colorado, which is spicy pork in guajillo chili sauce. I devoured this thing.

I'll have to return for a second opinion to settle the eye / taste bud dispute.

Today, I received a very nice email from someone. In order to protect their privacy, I won't say who it is or quote from it, but it did make me think. It was respectful and really just showed me what a class act this person really is. I appreciate that they took the time to express their feelings.

The essence of the email was that they disagree with many of Obama's policies and that they are far more conservative in their beliefs. They said that they weren't commenting on my political posts because of this. I hope my response did not seem too curt, but I basically said that we can agree to disagree and that we all do need to express our opinions.

I know that it's pretty clear that I'm a liberal Democrat. This election is very important to me and I will be blogging about it a fair amount. I hope that I do not offend anyone, but one of the main reasons for this blog is for me to express my opinions. That doesn't mean that I don't want any conservatives here. We liberals and conservatives certainly can all appreciate some good food! There's baking in addition to the politics! And I won't delete someone from my blogroll just because they are conservative.

I admit that I don't read many political blogs that are conservative, but I guess I never really thought about the political leanings of those who don't necessarily write about politics. I may be babbling at this point, but I just wanted to say that I hope we can all get along here and I want people to feel welcome even if we have different political views.


Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2008. All rights reserved.

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I absolutely adore that Boston has become such a foodie city… I seriously never tire of reading restaurant news, plotting out my next destination, and chatting with friends about the next big thing, what’s overrated, what’s undiscovered, and where they simply must go for the best steak in the city – a topic that’s easily more controversial than anything discussed at the recent conventions.

However, Boston’s booming restaurant business poses one very serious challenge: how can one keep on top of every hot new place in the city and still make time to give due to the Hub’s most venerable institutions? Some of which – let’s face it – put the newbies to shame. I have a somewhat shameful admission to make in this regard – though I profess to be a major foodie and something of an expert in Boston restaurants, I have not been to many of the places upon which our restaurant culture was built…Pigalle, No. 9 Park, Icarus, Hamersley's Bistro… the list goes on.

That’s why, when we somewhat inadvertently ended up at Oleana last night, I considered it a blessing in disguise. I am not sure that we can yet label Oleana as an “institution,” but it’s certainly not too far off. Oleana has been lauded by both the local and national press since practically the day it opened its doors in 2001. I think that due to the incredible volatility of running a successful restaurant, we should measure their years sort of like dog’s years. By that math, Oleana is nearly 50… institution here it comes.

I’ve always wanted to go to Oleana, but it’s not at all where we set out for last night. We’d intended to go to the new spot, the Hungry Mother, which is becoming increasingly popular for its southern fare. Now, I need to make another embarrassing foodie admission – I pretty much never remember to make reservations. No reservations, no Hungry Mother. Sad. So, I quickly tried to come up with something near the Hungry Mother’s Cambridge location and, thus, remembered Oleana. Having learned my lesson, I called before we drove over and was told it would be about a 45 minute wait for the patio – given that it was a gloriously warm, dry Friday night in September, I couldn’t help but feel like the gods were smiling down on us.

Oleana’s menu has heavy Middle Eastern influence and the restaurant’s interior décor reflects that, with ochre-colored walls and distressed leather chairs and bar stools, all making for a very pleasant environment to have a pre-dinner cocktail. Seats at the bar also provide a view into the open kitchen where, I was immediately stuck by an almost all female staff. Now Boston certainly has its share of female food luminaries with the likes of Lydia Shire, Barbara Lynch, and Oleana’s own Ana Sortun – but it was still awfully refreshing to see the tradition being carried on in her kitchen. No more than 20-25 minutes after arriving, the hostess came to collect us and bring us to our table.

Oleana’s patio has been named “best alfresco dining” in Boston at least 458 or 459 times. Ok, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but only by a little. Last night, I got the chance to fully understand why… the patio is nothing short of spectacular. A brick terrace dotted with bistro tables is softly lit with lampposts and spotlights, trimmed with tall grasses and delicate bushes, all set to the music of a small fountain. In my version of heaven, I would eat every meal in a place that resembled Oleana’s patio.

The only thing that outshined the ambiance of the patio was the menu. Now I am super biased on this front, as Middle Eastern cuisine is my absolute favorite, but there was not a single thing on the Oleana menu that I would not have eaten in a heartbeat. While generally very decisive, I must have read the menu a full five times before narrowing down my choices to two or three options. To complicate matters, there were also several specials to choose from. I ultimately ended up selecting the pork belly appetizer from the list of specials and the striped bass for my entrée; Paul opted for two “small plate” appetizers of deviled eggs and a bean-nut pate, and the restaurant’s signature lamb for his main course.

Let me be brief – every single dish was amazing. Incredible. Full of flavor, spice, and heat. Delicate plays of light herbs and scents, with more heavy-handed combinations of unexpected ingredients. It was truly fabulous. Again… this meal came within just a hair of being my first-ever A+ rating. Only a few elements of the experience fell short; unfortunately, one of them happened right out of the gate. We waited and waited and WAITED for our first course – a good twenty minutes. Considering that both of Paul’s appetizers were served cold, this seemed beyond excessive. Luckily, once they came they were sublime.

The pork belly was caramelized to sweet perfection, with a crispy coat and tender interior, served with a shot glass of yellow tomato-husk tomato gazpacho, which was smoky and smooth. It was also served with a small salad of cherry tomatoes, cilantro, green olives, sprinkled with almond slivers. The eggs were a star – with the yolks blended with tuna and a healthy dose of Moroccan spice, giving them great depth of flavor, but also brightness from the tang of the fish. The bean and walnut pate was very dense and almost sweet and made for a tasty spread for the fresh loaf of French bread we were served. Immediately I was impressed with the creativity and adventurousness of the food. I was definitely looking forward to our next course.

Happily, our entrees arrived in a much more timely fashion and were beautifully presented. My bass was served in a large pocket of parchment, artfully opened to reveal the fish. It was perfectly prepared to a moist, flakey consistency. It was served with a drizzle of tahini and topped with small pieces of salty, toasted pita, on a bed of peppers and onions, with a side of what resembled salsa fresca (the restaurant refers to it as spoon salad). While all of the elements of the dish were delicious, the peppers were simply too spicy for my liking. I have a moderately high tolerance for hot food, but this far exceeded my liking. This was the only weakness of the meal; first, I felt that the menu should have prepared me for the high heat and, secondly, I felt that the spice diminished the rest of the dish’s flavor. Paul’s entrée was excellent, with lamb cooked expertly, served with sort of a fava bean “mash” and moussaka, which was meaty and flavored with cinnamon.

When the waitress asked if we would like to see a dessert menu, I didn’t even need to. Earlier in the evening when we were being seated, I saw the baked Alaska being carried to a nearby table and knew I had to have it. Baked Alaska is a good dessert, but not one of my favorites. But it was such an unusual option the presentation of it was so impressive, we just had to go for it. Besides, for everything that’s been written about Sortun’s food, there’s been equal attention paid to the restaurant’s pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick. She’s considered one of the best in the city and recently opened her own bakery, Sofra. Yeah, dessert is a must at Oleana. And the baked Alaska didn’t fail to delight with an extra thick coating of darkly singed meringue, hiding a dollop of coconut ice cream on chewy bar of coconut and caramel, finished with pungent swirl of passion fruit sauce. It was the flavors of the Caribbean meets a dish named for the artic – fun (there might have been a moment where I was eating sticky meringue peaks off my fingertips), deeply sweet, and delicious. Paul was so full that he gave up half way through. I preserved and suffered the tummy ache. It was worth it.

I’d give Oleana at 134 Hampshire Street in Cambridge an A. Try to get there before the leaves turn and enjoy some of Boston’s freshest, hip tastes at a place pushing middle age.

Depending on how nerdy a person you ask, MexiCali Burrito Co. is near the Cambridge intersection of:

• Main Street and Portland Street
• Technology Square and Galileo Galilei Way

Seriously (Map).

With hours of 11am to 8pm, open weekdays only, MexiCali Burrito Co. caters to the office workers in Kendall Square.

They opened in the spring of 2008. The menu consists mostly of burritos and tacos, but also has some plates and offers whole wheat tortillas.

With burrito names like Watsonville and East LA, I knew something was strangely familiar. MexiCali Burrito Co. is the step brother of Baja Betty's in Brookline Village.

You can find their menu on the official site here.

This sauce was born very quickly out of the desire to eat only what was on hand.


It turns out what was on hand was at least quality home grown ingredients. We had an abundance of tasty cherry tomatoes I used for this sauce in addition to field tomatoes and home grown oregano and basil.

Oven roasted pizzaiola sauce

2 large field tomatoes sliced
20 or more cherry tomatoes halved
half an onion sliced thin
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 small shallot diced
large handful of fresh oregano finely chopped
5 large basil leaves finely chopped
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is heating lay out all of your tomatoes, onions & garlic on to a large baking sheet. Sprinkle your diced shallots and herbs on top of the tomatoes. Aggressively brush everything with plenty of olive oil. Season with sea salt & black pepper. Place the tray in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until everything is just starting to crisp up with a nice golden brown color. The kitchen should smell amazing at this point.


Transfer all of the roasted goodies into a food mill over a large bowl and grind away. Taste what you have, it's pretty good. Super fast sauce, tons of fresh flavor with oregano breaking through screaming at you for attention. This batch was just enough for 1 pound of pasta. We had a little oven roasted crispy kale as well with this.

So good.

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ATM Envelope Art, originally uploaded by stevegarfield.

I just created a new group over on flickr, ATM Envelope Art.

I saw this art on an ATM envlope yesterday at the Bank of America on Centre Street. I thought it was cool so I took a picture and uploaded it to flickr.

Then I wondered, has anyone else seen or made ATM Envelope Art?

The search is on.

Join the group, ATM Envelope Art.

I'd love to find out who drew this too. ;-)

Gov. Sarah Palin by buddhakiwi, on Flickr CC BY ND

MadeByMark.com: What Sarah Palin Stands For: "The other night, we found ourselves engaged in a political conversation with a chatty waiter, a young gay man who had just watched the Republican primary. 'Did you see Sarah Palin's speech?' he asked us. 'She's really pretty, and I loved her attitude. Maybe she's just what this country needs.'

For him, it wasn't relevant that Ms. Palin was ignorant of the world, an advocate of censorship, a person who does not hesitate to borrow God's authority for herself and her causes, a person incapable of distinguishing between the personal and the political, and an inexperienced (and, apparently, fiscally irresponsible) leader. It didn't matter, either, that Palin is a member of a church that advocates that gay people need to be cured of their homosexuality in order to be considered acceptable to God [Source - AP Wire Reports].

All that mattered to this young man was her looks and her attitude. 'She seems spunky,' he said.

In the end, as responsible citizens, I suggest we need to focus less on a candidate's apparent spunk and sparkle, and more on what she has achieved ... and how she has achieved it."Head over to Mark's blog to read more on Sarah Palin's Ignorance of the Outside World, Censorship, Borrowing Authority from God, Making the Personal Political, and Inexperience.

Very clearly written. Scary.