Trompe le Monde

DIY Dining on a Train

2010-04-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

My sister, Devin, and her boyfriend, Matt, just recently came to visit me in Los Angeles. Being intrepid romantics, they opted to take the Southwest Chief from Chicago, rather than flying. And they did this 40 hour journey twice in one week! Being train novices the first time, they went through their snacks too quickly and were forced to eat expensive food in the dining car. I thought it would be a good idea to forage options in my Silverlake neighborhood the day they were leaving to find ingredients they can turn into simple and healthy gourmet meals for their journey home. I have asked them to journal and photograph their edible creations so we can blog about it here. I look forward to posting about what culinary delights can be prepared entirely on a cross-country train, that were purchased from the local farmers' market, 99 cent store, Big Mac's liquor, Casbah, Silverlake cheese store and whatever falls from the trees.

Socialist Wine Drinking in Berlin

2010-03-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

Strangely, Berlin still operates of the honor system, which is apparent when riding the Bahn (no turnstyles) or at the popular wine bars called Weineri (no prices). I found out about this place when I emailed a friend of the tour manager to see if she was around to hang out with me while I was in a new city on my own. Marisa is an American artist living and working in Berlin, who is actually from Los Angeles. I met her first at St. Oberholz cafe in Mitte and then we went out later that night to Weineri in Prenzlauer Berg. There are three locations, but the one we went to, I think, was on Griebenowstrasse 5; (49-30) 4069-0951.

When you arrive, you pay 2 euro for a glass and then self serve wine, as much as you want. At the end of the night, you pay whatever you feel you should pay for what you consumed. (I think we gave 10 euro or something.) They have a surprisingly not terrible selection of wines, with a strong focus on German wines. The place was so packed, for obvious reasons, and was set up like a cozy european apartment, with rooms and nooks filled with young starving artists and backpackers. The large main room had a buffet in the back, where you could get a meal of plain spaghetti and bread included in your donation. For some unbeknownst reason, the chef brought out slices of the most delicious apple cake to only us. I love Berlin!

Rose Bakery Granola

2010-03-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

In Paris I fell in love with the famed Anglo-French Rose Bakery in the Marais. There are now two locations, the other is near Gare du Nord. This organic bakery was started by an Englishwoman, Rose Carrarini, whose philosophy is that life is improved by great food and great food can be achieved by everyone. Simplicity, freshness and the ability to choose the right things to cook are key. I freaked when I learned that Phaidon put out a book with 100 of Rose's recipes called "Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery." So far I have tried a few and they all turned out perfectly: granola, carrot cake, carrot and seed salad and the savory broccoli cake. Here is the recipe for the best granola I have ever eaten. Ever.

Rose Bakery Honey Granola

5 1/3 cups (400 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup (120 grams) whole raw almonds
2/3 cup (100 grams) raw sunflower seeds
3/4 cup (100 grams) raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup (50 grams) sesame seeds
1 tablespoon (10 grams) wheat germ
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (125 ml) sunflower oil
1 cup (250 ml) honey
1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar
a few drops of pure vanilla extract
1 handful of dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, dates, figs, and/or raisins) (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F /165 degrees C / Gas Mark 3.

In a large bowl combine the oats, almonds, seeds, wheat germ.

In a small saucepan, add the sunflower oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt to 1/2 cup of water.

Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly, then pour over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the liquid. If there is excess liquid, then add more oats. The mixture should be sticky.

Spread evenly onto a baking tray and bake for about 1 hour.

Reduce the temperature to 275 F / 140 C / Gas Mark 1 and continue baking until the granola is golden - about an hour.

Switch off the oven and leave to dry out for another hour or even overnight.

Once the granola has completely cooled, is chiseled off the baking tray, and is ready to eat, you can add the dried or fresh fruit and serve with plain yogurt, milk or soy milk.

Store in an airtight container and it will keep for several weeks, although you will most likely devour it in a matter of days.

Musical Gift Wrapping

2010-01-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

A great craft night activity is to make gift wrap with friends. My sister, Devin, is purging all her CDs so we fashioned ribbons out of liner notes for our Christmas gifts. This creative reuse of found materials is a clever way to save money on gift wrap and works especially well if one is gifting music or something related. It is also just unexpected and can be easily personalized to the taste of the gifted. All you need to make gift wrap magic is paper bags, album art or any visually pleasing paper laying about (i.e. pages from magazines), scissors, tape, stapler and glue. Here are some I made from Talking Heads CDs and a British Invasion compilation.

Family Xmas Project: Graham & Seaweed Houses

2010-01-03T14:36:00.001-08:00

My sister, Devin, and I have recently discovered that family holidays are much easier to handle when there is crafting involved. On Thanksgiving we cut leaves out of paper and have everyone write what they are thankful for on them. Then we go around the table and share before hanging them from the chandelier.

For Christmas this year, Devin pre-made mini gingerbread houses so everyone could decorate one. However, she was short on time so she used graham crackers instead. When she ran out of those after making the siding for 14 lil houses, she used seaweed sheets to make the roofs. Before they were decorated, it looked like a mini shantytown. Each house was different so as to choose your favorite architectural style. The case study houses of Neutra and Schindler were my favorites. My mom's and brother's turned into amazing Gaudi houses.

This is so simple to do, just mix water and confectioner's (powdered) sugar to make the paste to construct the graham cracker (or gingerbread) house and whatever nuts and candies you choose to decorate with. We just went to the bulk bins at Whole Foods for easy variety and complete edibility.

DIY Xmas Decorations

2009-12-20T23:49:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get into the holiday spirit, which is kinda difficult to do in sunny Los Angeles. I left behind all of my tree trimmings the last time that I moved and didn't want to go out and buy all new things, so my tree is full of found objects. I even used the head of a goat piñata left over from a birthday party this summer for the tree topper. Here is my inexpensive, DIY solution for ornaments and a fun craft night activity with friends.

Beer Can Diorama Ornaments
Materials:
22oz beer cans (can really be any size that you want)
matte knife
heavy duty scissors
hot glue gun
fake snow or moss
ribbon/trimmings
miniatures

Take any tall boy can of beer and using a matte knife, cut out the front part of the can. Using a pair of heavy duty scissors, clean up the rough edges or create more of a stylized shape to the opening. It would be best to hot glue metallic braiding or some type of ribbon around the edges, as they are sharp and it would look cleaner.

Visualize whatever you want for your diorama. I made one with snowflakes on the inside of the can and fake snow at the bottom, with a tree and deer miniature.

The second diorama I made to look like a moss-covered stage with miniature ballerinas. If I had more time and some fishing line, I would have hung tiny metal stars from the top.

For a third one I would turn the can on its side and put cellophane water and a little canoe with an animal in it. When you are finished with your diorama, simply tie a ribbon around the beer top and it is ready to hang on the tree. I used the leftover aluminum scraps to cut out hearts and star ornaments for the tree. All you have to do is drill a small hole at the top and hang with an ornament hook. So easy, so sharp!

Holiday Mantlepiece
A simple and festive way to spruce up a mantle is with a wintry scene. I just put some miniature evergreens on the mantle with a heavy dusting of fake snow and added mini deer and candlelight for dramatic effect. So easy, so flammable!

What to do if you don't have a Mantlepiece
If you do not have a fireplace, you need not fret. There are festive ways to fake it. I made another holiday display out of hand made xmas stockings and tacked them to the wall in my entryway. Last year my big crafting project (besides hand-sewing 30 felt owls on a xmas tree skirt) was making a fabric advent calendar, which I hung between the stockings. It is fun to hide notions into the little pockets or bigger things in the stockings for when guests come over. So easy, so thoughtful!

Red Velvet Snowman Cupcakes
I saw these little sweeties at a party last night and thought it would be wonderfully clever to make. You would just need to garnish the frosting with coconut flakes for snow and use two large marshmallows for the snowman. The junior mint cap was a nice touch. So easy, so edible!

When you want winter in a place that doesn't snow...
A Can of Magical Snow from Berlin

When you are really creative and have time on your side...
Giant Luchador Sculpture at KGB Studio Party

Party like the French Do: St. Germain 6eme

2009-12-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

After the Grizzly Bear/St. Vincent show at La Cigale, I got my second wind and we rode over to a party in le Marais for Julien's friends' PR company, Just a Kiss, 9 rue Charles-Francois Dupuis. It was really crowed full of gorgeous young French people. I don't speak much French, but for some reason on this trip I did not let on, and tried my damndest to understand first before asking for an English translation. In France, this works particularly well because people use a lot of body language. So this girl says something to me and I nod politely. I thought she said she something about my look. I was wrong. Thank you to Julien's sweet friend, Guillame, who happened to see the exchange, for telling me that she said I was pretty. How embarrassing that she probably thought I was a conceited little twat! The party was so good, though. There was a band playing (I wish I knew who they were), then karaoke and a dj. We left after it got way too crowded to move and so we went out to a club in St. Germain, the literary and artistic district on the Left Bank, packed with great cafés and night clubs.

After reopening during the Spring fashion week of 2009, le Montana, 28 Rue Saint-Benoît, is once again the place to be in Paris. A collaboration between Le Baron's André and Purple Magazine's Olivier Zahm - le Montana is a hot spot for designers, models and celebs. Basically Paris’s 21st century answer to Studio 54. Follow Zahm's photo blog for a glimpse of the half-naked action that you're missing. http://www.purple-diary.com/search/le+montana

Of course, I noticed none of this when I was there. I just drank my champagne like a good fille and the only thing I took off was my high heels. I had the best time with Julien and his friends Guillame and Arthur. It was easy like old friends. At some point we left and rode the motorcycle in the rain back to Julien's apartment in the 10th arrondissement. The light rain kissing my cheeks and the swishing of the black streets was like a lullaby and I slept like a baby.

American Music in Paris: La Pigalle 9eme

2009-12-14T22:38:00.000-08:00

Pigalle is an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9th and the 18th arrondissements. It is named after the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785). Pigalle is super touristy, with many sex shops on the main boulevards and prostitutes operating in the side streets. The neighborhood's raunchy reputation led to its World War II nickname of "Pig Alley" by Allied soldiers. The Divan du Monde and the famed Moulin Rouge are here. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's studio was here and Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Maurice Neumont also once lived here. The works of artist Salvador Dalí can be seen at the nearby Espace Dalí. (I once hitchhiked through Spain to get to Figueres, the town in which Dalí was born and where he had an amazing surrealist museum built, but did not make it to this one in Paris.)

The area to the south of Place Pigalle is where tons of little music shops are. A section of the rue de Douai solely consists of stores selling guitars, drums, and musical accessories. How a store selling only saxophones can survive, I do not know, but my heart warmed when I saw a shop called California Bass. It was unfortunately closed when we were walking around between sound check and the show. The venue Andrew Bird played at, Casino de Paris, was a beautiful theatre and the staff was extremely friendly. In addition to the upstairs dressing rooms with bathrooms nicer than mine at home, there was a full bar/lounge behind the stage. After the show they brought in champagne. How very French!

The funniest thing was that they told us about the set from Oui Oui was on the stage. Being a huge Michel Gondry fan, I freaked out and ran out to photograph it, thinking it was from his band and that they were playing there. It wasn't until the next day, that I was told it was actually a French children's show, which Gondry named his band after, that was doing live performances there. :(

After Berlin, I went back to Paris for a couple of days and met up with a friend of a friend, Julien, whom I had just met. After he took me around shopping, I took him to see Grizzly Bear and St. Vincent at La Cigale. We got there an hour after doors, thinking we would be just in time to see Annie play, when we saw a huge mob of people milling about out front. Signs posted on the doors said that there was some sort of problem with the bus and that the show would be late. The crazy thing about this is that I had just talked to a member of Wilco in Amsterdam who told us the story about Grizzly Bear missing a show they were supposed to open for them in Italy due to their tour bus getting totaled. (Sure enough, it was posted the next day on Pitchfork.) Unbelievable that they had accursed Euro bus problems twice in the span of a week! As we were deciding what to do, a huge orange bus pulled up to the front of the venue and they all got out and started loading in. I spotted Annie and asked her what happened and she said it was something with the axel.

Julien and I were famished and ran down the street to get something to eat before the show. He took me to a place that he frequents and djs at, Sans Souci, 65 rue Jean Baptiste. It was cozy, with a simple menu and we just ordered wine and croque monsieurs to be quick. Some of his friends were there, which we made plans to meet up with after at a party. We got back just in time and were able to get seats in the reserved section. (They banged it out so fast because Paris has strict curfews at music venues, apparently.) At this point I got so sleepy because I had been going non-stop since I arrived back in Paris earlier that morning and did not sleep the night before on my last night in Berlin, so it was kinda good that it was a short set. Feist was at the show so she came out and sang on a couple of numbers. When we got up to leave, Julien had a piece of paper stuck to his back from his seat, see above. Wrong Julian. Funny...

Joyeux Noël la fête

2009-12-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

I had a few friends over for a last minute holiday cocktail party. I often like having some sort of theme to my dinner parties to make a consistent menu, decorations and music. (One of my favorites was for the Euro Cup finals in 2008, Spain vs. Germany, as you can imagine.) I was happy to be able to play my records from the Paris flea market alongside the modern French sounds of Charlotte Gainsbourg and Phoenix.

As I am forever in love with France, here is Le Menu from last night:

St. Germain Cocktails
St. Germain, if you have never had the good fortune to partake in, is the nectar of the Gods, made in small handcrafted batches (production is small enough that each bottle is numbered) from the elderflower, hand-picked in the French Alps. It can be added to any cocktail to give it a sweet little "je nes sais quois." Since I was busy cooking, I kept it simple with a St. Germain Champagne Cocktail. For this you can use brut champagne, brut rosé or a dry sparkling wine, like cava or prosecco.
*1/2 parts St. Germain to 1/2 parts champagne.
*Pour the champagne first so the liquor mixes better and then top off with champagne.
*Drop a few pomegranate seeds in the glass for a festive garnish.
If you have ever had a lychee mimosa, that is what St. Germain with champagne tastes like. Heavenly!

Cheese Plate
*Brie and Camembert with fruit and nut bread.

Bacon Wrapped Dates
*Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
*Pit the dates.
*Finely chop dried apricots and stuff with goat cheese inside the dates.
*Cut apple-smoked bacon into thirds and wrap each piece around the dates.
*Spear with a toothpick and place on a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes or until crispy.
*Drain on paper towel before serving.

Asparagus with Toasted Pine Nuts
*Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
*Place asparagus on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, pine nuts and a little bit of honey.
*Broil for 10 minutes.

Endive Boats with Micro Greens and Mandarin Oranges
*Fill endive leaves with micro greens or shaved fennel, mandarin oranges and pomegranate seeds.
*Drizzle with basalmic glaze or a mixture of basalmic vinegar and olive oil.

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding - I wanted to do a souffle, but this was easier given the time constraints.
4 cups (1/2-inch) fresh bread cubes (preferably brioche or challah)
1 1/2 pounds mixed fresh wild mushrooms such as chanterelle, cremini, and oyster, trimmed
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups half-and-half
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
*Pre-heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
*Bake bread cubes in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan until golden-brown, about 10 minutes.
*Cut mushrooms lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.
*Cook shallot in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
*Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until liquid mushrooms give off has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
*Add parsley and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
*Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
*Stir in mushrooms and bread cubes until coated well and let stand 10 minutes for bread to absorb some of egg mixture.
*Butter baking dish, add mixture and bake until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes.

Mini Croque Monsieur Croissants - For this I bought pre-formed frozen dough, which you leave out for 9 hours to proof (rise). You could also use pre-made croissants from the bakery.
*Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
*Once croissants have risen, brush with an egg yolk before baking. This gives it a nice glaze.
*Bake for 20-25 minutes.
*Once they have cooled enough to touch, slice them in half and stuff with ham (I used rosemary ham) and gruyere cheese.
*Place back in the oven until, cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

For dessert, I originally wanted to serve canelés, but I ran out of time so I cheated with store-bought Parisienne cookies and a yule log cake or "Bûche de Noël". Bûche de Noël is a traditional dessert served during the Christmas holidays in France, Belgium, Quebec and Lebanon. The traditional bûche is made from a sponge cake, frosted and filled with chocolate buttercream. The one I had was chocolate ganache with bits of shaved chocolate to simulate bark, powdered sugar to resemble snow and mushrooms made of meringue. So rich! Bon appetit!

Paris Shopping via Motorcycle

2009-12-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Having only four days in Paris was not nearly enough time for shopping, but Julien zipped us around on his motorcycle which allowed me to see much more than I would have on foot or by metro. It was a thrilling experience seeing the city this way and I felt so happy I could explode. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing at the wonder of all the action in the streets. There was a guy walk-bouncing on the back tire of his bike across the street (I forgot what that is called), someone dropping water balloons (water bombs they are called there) from a rooftop to the sidewalk below and so much more. I wish I could explain it, but it was like being in a film.

We first went to a famous old taxidermy shop, Deyrolle, rue du Bac, in the 7th arrondissement. It is an awe-inspiring, magical place that has been around since 1831. Last year, a terrible fire severely damaged the Cabinets of Curiosities (also known as Wunderkammer or wonder-rooms) as well as the entomology room and a large part of the historical collections. Deyrolle was saved because of the enthusiasm of so many of its fans including Hermes and numerous artists worldwide that contributed artwork for an auction done by Christie’s last November. Lucky for me, the reconstruction of the entomology room is completed and just reopened. Today, the store is as beautiful as ever, with still a collection of large mammals, magnificent mounted birds and other beautiful and astonishing natural wonders. There was a haunting photo exhibit of some of the burned animals, which was amazing and a clever way to salvage art from the charred remains. Photography in the shop is not allowed, but I managed to sneak in a few shots with my iPhone. www.deyrolle.com

Next we hit the latest and greatest (just opened in June) in Parisian concept stores, Merci, 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais in Le Marais. You can find unique pieces by Isabel Marant, Jérôme Dreyfuss, Marni, Paul & Joe, Stella McCartney, Swildens, Christian Tortu, YSL, to name a few, and apparently their profits go to charities in Madagascar. The Charity books section, lines the wall of the cafe where you can have a tea or coffee while reading. Books are second hand, in many languages and come from donations. There is also the Annick Goutal laboratory to create your own fragrance, an old fashion haberdashery shop where you can buy top buttons, ribbons and zippers and a flower shop by Christian Tortu. The home goods are amazing and they have the greatest selection of notebooks, which I tend to go overboard with. What more could you ask for? Except maybe records... www.merci-merci.com

One night of walking around window shopping, I found myself in the middle of a huge crowd for the grand viewing of the holdiay window displays at Printemps (a high end French department store), 102 Rue de Provence, in the 9th arrondissement. It reminded me of the mania of big movie premieres in Hollywood. There was red carpet and velvet ropes, a dj and a massive fireworks display to kick off the occasion. The windows were gorgeous and arty. My favorite was the one with mini Andy Warhols jumping around, playing music. Galeries Lafayette was the poor man's Printemps and had funny scenes with a cute gingerbread man. www.printemps.com

I have been on a hunt for French pop from the 60s, chanson française, from artists like Francoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot, Jacques Dutronc... After scouring record shops and flea markets all over Europe, I finally struck gold at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, 48 rue Jules Vallès (Marché des Antiquaires, between the Porte de St-Ouen and Porte de Clignancourt, just outside 18th arrondissement). This is the world's biggest flea market and has literally everything you could dream of that Julien took me to on my last day in Paris. He warned me that it would be expensive. (Which it was!)

We went to the Marche Paul Bert, 18 rue Paul Bert or 96 rue des Rosiers where there were the most extraordinary antique furnishings. One of our favorites had really gorgeous old film lights and massive tables and light boxes. Rosiers Market, 3 rue Paul Bert is the place to find many Art Deco items.

Le Petite Maison Antiques is a shop on rue Paul Bert was very high end with more natural curiosities for sale and a beautiful garden. Serpette Market, 110 rue des Rosiers, is in the former garage of France's first Citroën dealer. Serpette has developed a reputation for fashionable goods and art nouveau of the highest quality, at prices regarded by some as excessive. Vernaison Market, 136 avenue Michelet, is a real maze of alleyways — some covered, others open to the elements and slightly more affordable than some of the neighboring markets.

Malik Market, 53 rue Jules Vallès, has more than 100 traders' stalls and is a mecca for clothes, attracting a younger crowd. Here, you can find military surplus, vintage leather jackets, incense, records, etc. The atmosphere is more like that of the Forum des Halles in Paris than that of a second-hand goods market. At the first stall we popped into, a couple of Nancy Sinatra records I have at home that cost me $5 US were 30 euros here. Yikes! There was a Brigitte Bardot record I wanted at the second stall that was 50 euros. Pass. Third time's a charm and there was a larger and well organized selection of chansons and I scored three great records--Francoise Hardy, Jane Birkin and Jacques Dutronc--for 10 euros each, plus the guy was friendly. So happy I could burst again! Paris, si bon!

Day at de Warande

2009-12-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

From Amsterdam, we drove through Belgium in a tour van. Jonas, the driver/merch person was a nice lad from Ghent, the city they were playing the day after Turnhout. Uneventful drive + two nights out in Amsterdam + rainy grey weather = sleepytime. The only scenic part of the 2 1/2 hour drive was when we got off the main motorway and wound through the Flemish countryside with thatched roofs, mini horses that wore blankets and spotted deer.

The venue, de Warande, was also a cool modern arts complex, complete with cafe and Bib (library). The backstage spoils were delicious: fresh meats and cheeses, rustic multi-grain bread, fruit, fancy chocolate with ginger, kombucha, all manner of juices and of course plenty of wine, beer and coffee. We ate dinner in the cafe and I had a delicious pot pie with a side of something like polenta balls and a salad with no dressing. This time, coffee was served with baby chocolate croissants rather than the requisite cookies. The next morning I did get my cookie with coffee, which bore an uncanny resemblance to my hand. (P.S. Look how giant my hand looks next to Andrew and Jesca!)

After the show we all went out for a drink when Josh turned 33 at midnight. We tried a melange of Belgium beers, my favorite being Leffe Blonde over Corsendonk, our hotel's namesake and made by a Priory in Turnhout from 1398 until it was closed in 1784. (Now it is apparently made elsewhere.) I wish I remembered the name of the bar we were at since it was a Monday night and well past midnight in a pretty small town 26 miles from Antwerp. The barmaid was a crazy lady with a smoker's voice who was spinning obscure European records from a vault in the back. The bar was empty save for the five of us and three lecherous older men, one of which kept saying to me, "Drink for Englishwoman." I respectfully declined.

The next day I took a train to Brussels where I then caught a flight to Berlin. The guys drove to Ghent for a show and then flew out of Brussels to go play in Poland. So far, the Belgian people in general not my favorite. They were cold and a little weird. Maybe they were scared of my yellow tights. All I'm sayin' is that there were an awful lot of baby shops in this town, but no babies in sight. Hmmm... Suspect. And this sign at the airport raised a red flag:

The Wacky Dutch

2009-12-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

The day after the Casino de Paris show, we took the Thalys train to Amsterdam. It was windy, cold and rainy when we arrived that night and it remained that way the entire two days we were there. We stayed at the sexy Park Hotel near the venue, which was a nice respite from the rain, with its super fluffy bouncy double beds, double rain shower and The Teaching of Buddha in the bedside table. P.S. I love how all the coffees in Paris, Amsterdam and Belgium come with mini cookies.

My favorite bar that we stumbled upon was called Kop Van Jut on Leidsekruisstraat 24, a cozy and traditional bar with delicious beer and silly shots like "Pull up the Shirt" for when you are nervous on a first date and "Hans in the Basement" for when you find out that your lady is preggers. Cute, right? What's not so cute is that the place was named after a Dutch murderer from a hundred years ago.

The day of the show the owner of a record store across from the Paradiso was telling us that Sinterklaas (also called Sint-Nicolaas or De Goedheiligman in Dutch) was coming that day. Sinterklaas traditionally arrives each year in mid-November (usually on a Saturday) by steamboat from Spain and there is no schedule for when he arrives. He is then paraded through the streets, welcomed by cheering and singing children. His Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) assistants throw candy (in this case potato chips) and small, round, ginger bread-like cookies (which I through was dog food) into the crowd. The children welcome him by singing traditional Sinterklaas songs. When the guys were sound checking, I found myself accidentally in the middle of the parade, in a sea of black face paint. Kind of shocking, especially on the kids.

The show that night was great. Melkweg was a super modern, state of the art venue, with a cafe and art gallery attached. There is even a truck elevator to drive the gear straight up to the 3rd floor where the stage is. Wilco was in town to play a show the next night at Paradiso, a beautiful old church turned music venue, and Pat Sansone played piano on a couple of songs with Andrew. My friend Anthony, who had just moved to Amsterdam from Los Angeles a couple of months ago, came to the show and hung out with us after. Such a fun night!

Don't Fall For the Ring Scam

2009-12-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to put this one out there... Really, the only touristy thing I did while in Paris was to photograph the Eiffel Tower because of my interest in its architecture. Walking along the banks of the Seine on Quai D'Orsay between the Tour Eiffel and Esplanade des Invalides, I came across a big outdoor temporary photo exhibit. (These are big here, I just missed one from the Parisian street artist, JR, by a couple of days.)

After wandering though the oversized photo maze, I saw a young guy out of the corner of my eye beeline towards me. He picked something off the ground and presented it to me, a simple gold men's wedding band. He said he just found it and wanted to give it to me. I kept saying no and shaking my head and finally he retreated for a minute. I quickened my pace to put distance between us, when I heard him yelling, "Miss! Miss!!!" Then he came running after me. He made a show of the ring not fitting him properly and then he grabbed my hand and shoved it into my closed fist. As I was walking away, he said he needed money for food so I threw the ring at him. He FINALLY gave up. The whole thing was bizarre, some kind of subversive street theatre where an invisible director calls action over and over to this wind-up streetwise kid and all his potential prey. Not that I would actually be daft enough to fall for this, but thanks to a scene in Zombieland, I knew immediately that this was a scam and now you do too.

Dixieland Jazz Redux

2009-11-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have noticed everywhere in the world I have been, Dixieland Jazz is back en vogue. From the Hollywood Farmer's Market to a basement speakeasy in Berlin, it is not just for New Orleans anymore. (Three sentence Wikipedia def: Dixieland, an early style of Jazz that developed in New Orleans in the 1910s, is the earliest recorded style of Jazz music. The style combined earlier brass band marches, French Quadrilles, ragtime and blues and with collective, polyphonic improvisation. It was most popular during prohibition era of the 20s, until the swing era of the 30s took over.)

Yesterday, I went to the farmer's market in Hollywood, where many terrible, terrible folkies perform. However, aside from the crazy asian man, rastafarian and girl that looked like she was having a poop in her pants, there was one special gem in the sea of crap, Petrojvic Blasting Co. Two adorable brothers from Tennessee playing Balkan street music in Los Angeles. Luckily I was walking by as they announced they were playing a free show at Bar 107 in downtown Los Angeles. So I went. Although the Balkan stuff was good, the real deal was the second set of Dixieland Jazz. Hard to get a crowd going in this town, but everyone in the place was having some ol' fashioned fun. http://www.blastingcompany.com
http://www.laweekly.com/2009-04-23/la-vida/la-people-2009-the-petrojvic-blasting-co-street-sonic/

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself running around with a local to various bars in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin. We walked into a cute, nondescript bar at the end of the night and he kept walking to the back. I followed him down a dodgy set of wooden stairs to a hot crowed basement swathed in red light and velvet curtains, where another young Dixieland band was performing to a very enamored hipster German crowd. It was amazing and random and reminded me of the cantina scene in Star Wars. I am pretty sure we were at Das Ä on Weserstraße 40 in Neukölln, near Sonnenallee. That was an all-nighter... http://www.ae-neukoelln.de/

In Paris at the Casino de Paris Andrew Bird show, I met Ben Jaffe, tuba player and current director of Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans. About them: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue in the French Quarter, founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe, Ben's parents. The band has traveled worldwide spreading their mission to nurture and perpetuate New Orleans Traditional Jazz. So lucky that he happened to be in town and stopped by to play a couple of songs with Andrew. He was so friendly and so passionate about music and his native New Orleans, it was wonderful to be around! Plus I always like anyone who is a fan of Polariods... If you are in Los Angeles on December 23rd, Preservation Hall Jazz Band is playing a Creole Christmas at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
http://www.preservationhall.com

Intro to Paris: Le Marais 3eme

2009-11-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

I got into Paris at 6AM and had 9 hours to wander the streets until the boys arrived from London and checked into the hotel. Luckily I met a nice New Yorker on the plane over, who has been living in Paris for the past year. I met up with him for lunch and he showed me around le Marais. A good shopping street in this neighborhood is rue des Francs-Bourgeois and a wonderful food market, Marché des Enfants Rouges is on 39 rue de Bretagne. It is the oldest food market in Paris, built in 1615 under the rule of King Louis XIII. The name means “ Market of the Red Children” and comes from a nearby 17th century orphanage where the children wore red uniforms. I loved that you could drink champagne and eat oysters right on the street, if one were so inclined. I wanted to buy an old viewfinder with these beautiful old slides of France, but I didn't.

There are quite a few interesting and free museums in Paris. We stopped into Musee Carnavalet near Place des Vosges, a museum dedicated to the history of the city of Paris. It is literally hundreds of rooms, bursting at the seams with a random collection of the most amazing paintings and objects, old signage and miniatures and even the bedroom of Proust. Thank you to kind strangers!

Also in the 3rd arrondissement was a dining experience unlike any I have ever had. Upon a friend's recommendation, I went to Derriere on 69 rue des Gravilliers. Being a Thursday night without a reservation, they were only able to seat us in one of the intimate upstairs rooms, which was fine with me. This restaurant is in an apartment so there are tables in the courtyard, on the main floor and then upstairs in the bedrooms, where I sat on the bed. One thing they don't tell you is that if you walk to the end of the hallway, open the wardrobe and press on the back, it opens into a secret smoking lounge filled with old books and taxidermy birds. What better reason to smoke is there?

Thanksgiving Clafoutis

2009-11-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Being the Francophile that I am since returning from Paris a couple of days ago, I opted to make a cherry clafoutis over pumpkin pie. I think this is a lovely fluffy and light dessert option that still goes with Thanksgiving dinner and is super easy to make (aside from the tedium of pitting cherries). You could even substitute cranberries for cherries, but I kept with the traditional French version (although I pitted the cherries, whereas the rustic French recipe keeps the pits, which supposedly lend an almond flavor to the dish). This dish can also be served for breakfast.

Julia Child's Clafouti
serves 6-8

1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon real vanilla or half of a vanilla bean
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
2-3 cups cherries, pitted
1/4-1/3 cup sugar
powdered sugar for dusting

*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
*In a blender, blend the milk, 1/3 c. sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour.
*Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in a buttered 7 or 8 cup lightly buttered fireproof baking dish.
*Place in the oven until a film of batter sets in the pan (less than 10 min).
*Remove from oven and spread the cherries over the batter. Note: It is important to use cherries that are not bruised.
*Sprinkle on the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. (The recipe calls for another 1/3 c. here, but I use a little less.)
*Pour on the rest of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about for about 45 minutes to an hour.
*The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean.
*Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm. Bon appetit!

Of Course I Love NY

2009-11-25T19:31:00.000-08:00

Looks like my intention of blogging everyday about my trip has not gone according to plan. So I am still going to post about it in retrospect... I started in NYC and stayed with my friend Perrie in Brooklyn. Turns out that was a good idea since we stayed out each night until 4AM and thus, I had no jet lag when I arrived in Paris. Brilliant! We stuck to Brooklyn, which was good since I only had a couple of days there. Perrie has 3 roommates, one is a chemist, one is a mathematician and the other is a douchebag. I stayed in the mathematician's room since she was gone, and for this comfort I only had to make her bed and write her a love letter (which I still owe her). Her room was fantastical, filled with unicorns and care bears and hearts and rainbows. Jim, the chemist, came out with us one night on our Williamsburg bar crawl. I liked him because he showed me a picture on his phone of a bucket of tiny sheep's brains. I also liked Union Pool because there was an outdoor fire pit and a taco truck that was air conditioned by Satan. The next night I helped Perrie with a photo shoot of a band she knows from Philly. They played at the Bell House so we ran around the streets in Gowanus shooting away before they went on. The last day I got my Gorilla coffee (one of my favorites besides Intelligentsia) and a little vintage shopping in Williamsburg, where we found ourselves surrounded by French bulldogs and French tourists. A little foreshadowing... Too short of a trip but as Perrie says, at least I did not wear out my welcome!

C'était un rendezvous

2009-11-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

Claude Lelouch's Rendezvous... from Dat on Vimeo.

C'était un rendezvous: A 1978 short film by New Wave director Claude Lelouch may be the most thrilling single piece of driving ever filmed. The director, who had no permits to film or to stop traffic, hooked a camera to the front bumper of a Mercedes-Benz (in the only bit of film trickery, the sound of the motor was played by a five-speed Ferrari) and filmed the entire movie in a single cinema-verité take: He drove through the streets of Paris at five in the morning, through red lights, around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Élysées, against one-way traffic, over sidewalks, at speeds up to 140 miles per hour. The film ends after nine terrifying minutes when the driver parks the car in Montmartre at the stairs of Sacre Coeur. After the first showing, the director was arrested for endangering public safety. Me in a few days...

Spanish Tortilla de Papas

2009-11-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

The last few days I have been home, I have been madly trying to finish my perishable food items before heading out of town again. I had a bunch of small, multi-colored potatoes and mini onions to use up so I tried this dish for the first time and, although there was a mishap with the flipping, it tasted delicious. This recipe is great if you don't have many ingredients lying around. Really all you need are eggs, potatoes and onions. My sister is going to Spain for the first time next week so this one is for you! xo

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 pound potatoes, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Lightly salt and pepper the potatoes. Cook until golden.
2. Stir in the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and begin to brown.
3. Beat eggs together with salt and pepper and pour into pan. Stir gently to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook until eggs begin to brown on the bottom.
4. Loosen bottom of omelet with a spatula, invert a large plate over the pan, and carefully turn the omelet out onto it. Slide the omelet back into the pan with the uncooked side down. Cook until eggs are set.

Garnish omelet with tomato and avocado and serve warm. Traditionally, this dish is quite rustic and plain so I added a bit of soyrizo to the pan to give it a little kick. I think that some spicy aioli would also be a nice complement.

Hello, World.

2009-11-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

Some of my friends suggested that I start a travel blog to keep them current on my upcoming trip to Europe, so here is my attempt at blogging... This will be a place to share my love of music, art, fashion, film, design, crafting and cooking with anyone who cares to read about it. Think of it as online postcards to everyone all at once, or like the red balloons with notes attached you launched into the sky as a kid, hoping to get a new pen pal. (I'm definitely gonna try that again.)

There is also something to be said for writing and sending true postcards. It is a romantic and old fashioned notion to take ink to paper and send a message across oceans and valleys. I like sending and receiving postcards; it never ceases to amaze me how a little piece of paper actually makes it to its destination. I was astonished when my friends in Honduras received a postcard I sent them from L.A. over a month ago, since they live on a tiny island, don't have a real address and just recently experienced a government coup. So I am inspired to send more from my trip to NYC, Paris, Amsterdam, Turnhout, Brussels and Berlin. Get ready!