Fashion is intimidating; its runways overrun with rail-thin waifs flaunting sunglasses the color and size of a pomelo and outrageously oversized collars hewn from some combination of beaver pelts and tablecloths which threaten to swallow the wearer whole. Ensemble after impractical ensemble, the question is begged: Who would actually wear that; that outfit which would be out of place at even the most lavish of galas? In most of the especially outlandish cases, the short answer is that no one would. Despite the admirable efforts of Project Runway to enlighten the unwashed masses, much of high fashion remains a purely artistic and aesthetic endeavor, as impractical as a John Cage composition or Jackson Pollock painting, though potentially as powerful.
But while the rarefied world of fashion may be inapplicable to everyday life, style is ambient. For better or worse, you've got to wear clothes. And while we often fancy the romantic notion that one aught live wholly free of concern for what others might think, a more thorough examination shows this to be rather rude behavior. We care what others think just as we hope that others might value our own thoughts and opinions and, like it or not, our outfits inevitably reflect certain inward aspects of ourselves. Call it shallow if you must, but there's a lot to be said for looking good. The every-day fashinistas of The Sartorialist and the smartly-dressed celebrities of Nerd Boyfriend strike a comfortable balance between the aspirational and the attainable. While the former blog tempers the often elaborate ensembles of its subjects with the simple fact that they are found not on the catwalk but on the sidewalk: quite literally the People Who Actually Wear That. On the other hand, the latter web log captures the timelessly keen styles of various classy and well-known men, from Albert Einstein to Jack Kerouac to Conan O'Brien. It also thoughtfully provides links to purchase comparable ensembles, ostensibly to aid in the process of dressing a real-life boyfriend as such.
We are adventure types, so we're very picky about our boots. Danner stands among the most coveted bootmakers in the world, especially due to their dedication for bringing worn Danner boots back to life. In an era where new is always better, Danner's recrafting philosophy has gained our respect. With impeccable standards in materials, craftsmanship and durability, they understand that a pair of boots should last a lifetime, so in addition to crafting new boots, they also repair old ones. Their revamped website offers a unique glimpse into their world with a series of short videos touring the factory, its craftsman and its boots. In their words, "We are craftsmen. We pay attention to details. We understand there may be similar ways to craft a boot but there are not similar standards. And, true to the Danner name, we pride ourselves in crafting the highest standards." To see this dedication first-hand, take a minute to watch this video from their website.
If you're anything like us, every meal you eat is a lavish feast, a celebration of all the finest things in life, boasting an abundance of bold flavors and fresh ingredients. A meal in which all food groups are dutifully represented and a tableful of good friends are close at hand. Well, most of our meals are like this. Quite a few, at the very least. But I suppose there are those rare moments when it's just you. And you're pretty hungry. And no one's gonna see you pour that can of chili into that pack of Fritos and proceed to eat it straight from the bag. Or see you pull a chair up to the fridge and start picking away at various Tupperwared leftovers and takeout containers, supplemented by the odd olive or pickled pepper. Then again, this peckish moment of peace might well be an opportunity to enjoy a little me time; a chance to indulge in a meal as thoroughly luxurious as the aforementioned feast, sans the tableside compatriots.
These very sundry acts of solitary sustenance are the subject of Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarland's "What We Eat When We Eat Alone." It's a refreshing take on cookbookery, exploring a cuisine every bit as practical as a tome like The Big Fat Duck Cookbook's is aspirational, while treating its titular meal with enough deference to make for a rewarding read rather than a mere novelty. At times it feels like a grown-up version of the Typical College Freshman's Guide to Feeding Themselves, with the cans of black olives replaced by tapenades, the english muffins swapped for levain bread, and aged gruyere standing in for pre-shredded cheddar. The recipes themselves are certainly appealing, but the real draw is the insight into the solo noshing habits of various food pros; the chance to see, as though through a hidden camera or two-way mirror, just what these chefs prepare when the goal is to impress none but themselves. What We Eat is a charming and intimate meditation on the meal that typically receives the least amount of reflection, but can often prove to be the most revealing.
There is something about the winter months that stir up summer travel wish lists. The tinkering of itineraries usually begins on those cold days when visions of summertime dance in our heads. While in destination-discovering mode, we'd like to give a nod to America's backcountry - which in some cases is easier to access than you may think. Leave the noisy, communal, drive-in campground scenes behind (oh, the stories!). Come summertime, we often opt to go backcountry, where the only sounds you may be competing with are roaring rivers and curious wildlife. By forgoing a few creature comforts, you can practically have the whole park to yourself. Our first stop is Wyoming's Teton Crest Trail in the heart of Grand Teton National Park. This trek is not for the faint of heart, but its unbelievable landscape is worth the sweat. Pick any thread of this 39-mile trail, and follow meadow after meadow with the stunning spires of the Tetons overhead. The Teton Range is unique; its jagged peaks appear to have been dropped from the sky onto a vista of meadows as far as the eye can see. This trail is definitely a summer expedition, as the winter can get fierce. Aside from the multitude of wildflowers and alpine lakes, you may spot a bison, moose or even a bear or two. Ansel Adams was also in awe of the Tetons and the meandering Snake River; featured in this photo by Adams taken in 1942. Find more information about Backcountry Passes from the National Park Service.
John Lennon’s words ring true: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” After a year of prepping for life on the Inca Trail, we faced a very hard decision. As you might have heard, the area of Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru received heavy rains in late January and early February. While neither Machu Picchu nor the Inca Trail itself were affected, the railroad running from Cusco to Machu Picchu was washed out in half a dozen places. This means there is no transport to or from Machu Picchu. The railroad is being repaired, but the tentative April completion date put our April 17-25th tour date in jeopardy. We knew we had to make the call (and quick!), so we went straight to our Pathfinder Brain Trust: Pathfinder Margie Tosch, guest Chef Rodelio Aglibot, and Allan Wright of Zephyr Adventures. Late Wednesday night, we came to a decision.
In keeping with our Firestone Wines spirit of adventure, our Pathfinder and guest Chef will completely change their plans, instead traveling to Italy to undertake a self-guided, eight-day hiking tour of Tuscany, also organized by our partner Zephyr Adventures. That’s right, we said “self-guided,” meaning this journey is about to get interesting, and certainly open to its own series of discoveries. Pathfinder Margie Tosch will be blogging daily about life on the Terra di Siena, while chef Rodelio Aglibot will be preparing delicious Italian meals paired with Firestone wines for the group along the way. Better yet, you can join the crew on this trek! To read up on all the amazing trip details, or to reserve your spot on the trip, head straight to Zephyr Adventures.
Our sincere thanks to Margie and Rodelio for their sense of adventure and readiness to pick up and change routes!
The thing about the montage is, you've gotta have a great song to back it up. Rocky had Gonna Fly Now (the given name of Rocky's iconic theme song). Karate Kid had Joe Esposito's classic You're The Best Around. Footloose had Footloose. But, when it came time for us to cut together a montage of our Pathfinder finalists' epic ascent to glory and greatness, Kenny Loggins just wouldn't return our calls. Same deal with Esposito. So we did the next best thing. We called out to a couple of really great young bands who haven't yet had a huge inspirational movie's success go to their heads.
Providing the soundtrack to Kim and Chana's epic adventures was San Francisco's Roy G. Biv and the Mnemonic Devices. Originally a two piece consisting of Dan Paggi and Ben Lang, the group has recently solidified its status as a quartet and is now taking to the Bay Area stage like Rocky Balboa took to those stairs. Their debut album, "The Blue Orange," is a roots-rockin' collection of catchy ruminations on the simple joys and workaday struggles of ordinary life, from punching the time-clock to hanging out with the cat, hitting the open road to being left all alone. The songwriting manages the impressive feat of fusing such unassailable touchstones as The Kingston Trio, The Band, and Simon and Garfunkel with contemporary artists like The Magnetic Fields and Built to Spill, while maintaining a unique voice that never descends into mere pastiche. It's a truly fantastic record front to back, full of soaring multi-part harmonies, infectious melodies, and enough ooohs and ahhhs to fill a 60s surf record. Give a listen to a few of our favorites, but keep this moment in mind two days from now when you just can't figure out what that song is that's still stuck in your head...
Download "Lucy" Eureka at Dawn (From The Blue Orange)
The backbeat to Tim, Scott, Margie and Rodelio's
journey came courtesy of The Amblers, an up-and-coming band formed by four veterans of Chico, CA's vibrant music scene. As catchy and approachable as their songs are, the band seems to take a certain pleasure in playing a game of cat and mouse with anyone unwise enough to try to classify their sound. They lay the bait with a sweet and twangy alt-country undercurrent that runs throughout. It's just enough of a through line to let you get comfortable; to think you've got them all figured out. But then, between whiskey-soaked breaths, they unveil a dense wall of fuzz, a fleeting wisp of jazz guitar or abrupt tempo change, before launching into an icy a cappella anthem or barn-burnin' hootenanny. Next thing you know, you're floating along with a twilight take on the Beach Boys' summer surf sound before the harmonicas break out and you're back home in Whiskeytown. Luckily, The Amblers are as much a joy to listen to as they are impossible to peg, with rock-solid songwriting chops and an abundance of juicy, "haven't I heard this before?" hooks. You haven't. They're really just that good. They recently logged some hours in San Francisco's venerable Tiny Telephone studios and have plans to release their newest album, "Pattern Parts," in mid-April. To learn more, check out thesehere articles from Chico's local press and give a listen to these splendid jams.
Download "Not as Good, But Easier" What a Joy (advance mix from the upcoming Pattern Parts)
So Long (From The Ottoman Empire)
P.S. We never actually called Kenny Loggins or Joe Esposito. That was a complete fabrication. Sorry.
Probably best known as Bret and Jemaine's best mate Dave from HBO's The Flight of the Concords, Arj Barker is a Bay Area comedian who recently released his new album and Comedy Central special LYAO.
He displays a hilariously impressive range of humorstyles, from the standard observational humor about global warming and pirates, to a bit of delightful absurdity in which a merry band of vaguely British toiletries garner assored censures and commendations. There's a joke for everyone who's ever sent a text to a friend suggesting that they dine together at a fine pervazedum, and of course it wouldn't be a true comedy album without a good old-fashioned font joke.
At times he threatens to moralize, taking a hard line on hot-button issues. He boldly sets aside the humor, if only for a moment. His stern tone assures you; this is no laughing matter. It is, of course, a laughing matter, and he deftly acheives a few sublime moments where the suspense of enduring his faux-soapboxing while awaiting the inevitable tension-relieving punchline is every bit as funny as the joke itself.
Other times, he makes no pretense of sincerity, as when he again ascends the soapbox to declare his controversial stand against water. Admittedly, it's a joke that works much better in person or on video, as watching him pace back and forth, berating the hapless bottle of water that rests innocently on the stool in the middle of the stage is half the fun, but it's nonetheless satisfying to hear someone finally take on agua once and for all.
Arrowtown Club House, hidden deep in the valleys of New Zealand's South Island, is an attitude, rather than a building, according to its architect Andrew Patterson. Truly one of the most stunning examples of harmonizing building with breathtaking landscape, this golf course and club house take careful cues from nature. A philosophy of being part of this world and this world being part of us is thread through Patterson's design. Built from local rock, wedged from the earth, and covered with native grasses, its evident that Arrowtown Club House respects its gorgeous new home. Cruise over to the South Island via video, produced by Wallpaper Magazine.
We all experience random acts of kindness from time to time, even in the midst of our most Oscar The Grouch moments (not to discount Oscar, we're also very fond of his, well, blunt approach). Anyway, in most of those instances, there's not a real good opportunity to say thanks. The folks at Just Made My Day have created a forum to express those feel-good moments to the world, and hopefully spread that lovin' feeling while you're at it. In their words, the website is "meant to be an oasis of niceties and a chronicle of kindness on the web. Visit, read, and let the kindness wash over you." Sometimes we all just need a little sunshine, right?
Lee Fields and the Expressions - Love Comes and Goes
More often than not, Lee Fields' name is preceded by a qualifier such as 'deep funk legend' or 'Southern soul stalwart,' but on his 15th studio record, 2009's My World, he's not content to let his legacy do the lifting. Fields delivers such an impassioned performance on this spirited soul slow-burn that you'd hardly guess it was recorded nearly 40 years after he first start cutting records.
Ofege - It's Not Easy
Recorded by a band of Nigerian high schoolers in 1973, this Velvet Underground homage more than makes up for it's striking similarity to Oh! Sweet Nuthin with so much bright-eyed vigor and optimism that you can't help but see the world as a slow-motion summer road-trip sunset to a land of satisfied smiles and arms around shoulders.
The Dirtbombs - If You Can Want
While Lee Fields serves up his R&B/Soul cocktail neat, The Dirtbombs include a generous splash of brine in their mix, as they hijack a Smoky Robinson classic and take it up to 11, running it through a filter of high-voltage garage riffs and belted-from-the-diaphragm vocals.
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Gibbous
These eight brothers from Chicago give the traditional brass band sound an infusion of funky hip-hop beats and weave a complex web of intricately woven melodies that makes it as satisfying on headphones as it is irresistible on the dance floor.
In planning the Inca Trail contest we had pretty high hopes for our winners. Gregarious and adventurous, charismatic and substantive, we envisioned a Chef/Pathfinder duo equally comfortable scaling a mountain as posting to a blog. How fortunate for us, then, to have wound up with two such individuals possessing that rare combination of style and substance. Here's a quick look at Margie and Rodelio in action at the cookoff.
Chef Rodelio Aglibot
It became clear early on that Chef Rodelio is quite comfortable holding forth on the subject of food. When a question is posed, he doesn't merely answer it. He delivers an insightful soliloquy in which he expounds such Zen-like tenets as, "Just cook," or "Just sit back and say, 'You know what? I'm gonna do a stewed chicken.'" He advises, when all else fails, to just call your mother for advice. But all this style and charisma belies a virtuosic command of his true art. And in fact, when the judges at the cookoff, faced with a masterful performance from all three chefs, decided amongst themselves to base their difficult decision solely on the food, ignoring any factors beyond the scope of the plate, one might have thought this disadvantageous for the style-heavy chef in the bright red coat, camera crew following his every move. Fortunately, as magnetic a personality as he is, Rodelio's gifts as a chef indeed outshine his skills as an orator. We couldn't have hoped for a better combination in our Peru-bound Chef, and we eager await discovering what culinary wonders the Food Buddha has in store for his fellow Inca Trail trekkers.
Margie Tosch
By the time Margie Tosch strolled into the lobby of Solvang's Hadsten House Inn to meet the gathering crowd of Pathfinder finalists and Firestone employees, many in the room already suspected that, considering her ubiquitous posts on our Facebook fan page detailing her every foggy morning hike and exquisite meal, she was the one to beat. After all, social networking is what she does. As the manager of the Wine and Hospitality Network, Margie clearly has the online thing down. But, as she amply proved at the cookoff, her skills are hardly limited to the digital realm. Whether chatting about her top-flight doggie boarding kennel (the guests have the option of a late-night snack), discussing her passion for the acrobatic arts (trapeze is more spiritual than physical), or bird-dogging the chefs, camera-phone at the ready, for a choice photo-op or insight into their intended dish, Margie was constantly engaged. When it came time to start cooking, she didn't let up a bit, making it clear that her front of the house hospitality is matched equally by her back of the house chops. Let's just say you don't want to be a bell pepper or hunk of bread when Margie's around. We're so excited to have the remarkable Ms. Tosch as our first ever Discoveries Pathfinder and can't wait to watch as the adventure unfolds further.
Though his version of "No soup for you" would undoubtedly contain a few choice words unfit for prime-time, Kenny Shopsin, proprietor of the legendary New York diner which bears his name (and which imposes a strict set of rules on its diners), does bear more than a few similarities to Seinfeld's classic Soup Nazi character. Then again, it's tough to imagine Larry Thomas' severe television personality confessing that he used to believe that only path to change was through Freudian analysis, or to extend his ongoing battle with the flies in his kitchen to a metaphor for the war in the middle east and, in fact, the entirety of human conflict. Indeed, the central figure in Matt Mahurin's documentary I Like Killing Flies is about as complex and interesting as a subject as a film could hope for.
The loose story arc of the film, which follows the Shopsin family's forced relocation, due to a rent hike, from the corner location that they'd occupied for 30 years, could have easily been milked for all sorts of juicy big-picture documentary moralizing about the sadly changing ways of the world, but the filmmaker is wise enough to know that the real story here is Shopsin himself, whose string of seeming contradictions gradually begin to make a certain odd sense the longer you sit with them. The restaurant itself is certainly unique enough, offering a 10 page, 900 item menu with idiosyncratic menu items such as mac and cheese pancakes (born when a customer who always ordered one of the two titular components one day couldn't decide between the two), post modern pancakes (pancakes, cooked up, torn up, added back to the batter, and cooked again.) and Indomalekian Sunrise Stew (a traditional dish of a country invented by Shopin and one of his sons). But the restaurant, like the film, would be just another in a long line of perfectly palatable variations on a theme without the charismatic character that drives it. With him, however, both are unmissable experiences.
Think for a minute about those cold wintry weekend mornings, when all you want to do is stay in bed...or once you do happen to get up, drink coffee and read the newspaper in front of a roaring fire. That’s the kind of warm good time feeling we get from Pork & Sons, an authentic, beautifully rustic and eccentric French cookbook by chef and restaurateur Stéphane Reynaud. The 150 recipes are inspired by three generations of pork devotees, beginning with the patriarch village butcher. With its quirky pink crosshatch cover and piglet illustrations throughout, this cookbook in not lacking in whimsy and aesthetic delight. It’s the kind of cookbook you can look at over and over, each time finding new inspiration. Its an invitation to Reynaud's family dinner table, from heirloom recipes to annual pig roasts. Yes, the recipes! Although heavily influenced by Reynaud's native France, the collection manages to traverse the world through the medium of pork (always local, from farms or in the wild). You’ll find treasures ranging from wild boar and dried fruit terrine to curries, street food and Grandmother’s bourguignon. Being the grandson of a village butcher on the Ardech plateau in France and owner of Villa9trois in Montreuil near Paris, it's pretty obvious Reynaud knows his stuff.
When you're looking to adorn the walls of a humble house in the hopes of transforming it into a genuine home, the spectrum of possibilities from the thumbtacked poster of John Belushi making quick work of a bottle of Jack Daniels ($8.49 on Amazon), to a somewhat more sophisticated selection such as Picasso's Dora Maar au Chat ($100 million at Sotheby's), is a wide one indeed. Fortunately, this is the future, and we have the many-splendored thing that is the internet. The great democratizer. And this fact has not gone overlooked by the many fine curators of an ever-increasing number of online galleries dedicated to distributing great art at affordable prices. 20x200, for one, deftly navigates the chasm between mass-produced schlock and inaccessible artifacts by offering high-quality prints of carefully curated pieces in small editions for a song. Or, as they put it: (limited editions x low prices) + the internet = art for everyone. But part of the warm feeling that comes with owning a piece of a limited edition means that not everyone gets to have one. And on the internet things can happen in an awful hurry. New editions at 20x200 go online every Tuesday and Wednesday at 2pm EST, and on occasion will sell out in a matter of minutes. And once they're gone, they're gone for good. Here are few highlights, some of which are probably even still available.
Although snatched up by an early 90’s VW ad campaign and countless t-shirt designs since (somebody made out like a bandit), the German word Farhvergnugnen is the perfect expression for the joy of driving. It encompasses that abandon we've all felt at some point in our lives, whether it was that first cross-country road trip or the freedom of a lonely desert highway. Sometimes it just feels good to drive. That’s why we had to share this article from Budget Travel featuring 7 Great Coastal Drives. Although it was published last fall, it rings true right now. When temperatures are chilly and rain keeps us inside, a beautiful coastal drive cannot be beat...coffee in hand, soothing tunes, and a breathtaking view. It's really a perfect time of year to escape: the ocean on one side, the air damp with oxygen and the smell of the sea, and the restrained hum of the engine as it careens around a corner. For added vergnugen, rent the Benz.
Homesteading, back to land, old school hippies and Mongolians may have a thing or two in common...and yurts are surely among them. The tent-like circular fabric structured with wooden lattice frames are not just all rage on the steppes of Ulan Bator. They can be found (and rented) in some of the most beautiful places on earth. The great thing about these low impact buildings is that they are inexpensive to set up, and a cross between camping and going on a posh safari. What we like most is that you’re connected to the outside environment in a way that you would never be in a hotel. One of our favorite places to experience yurt life is at Treebones Resort, located just outside Big Sur, CA. Yeah, it’s hard to beat Big Sur, and Treebones is practically seconds from the ocean. The 16 yurts for rent have plush, comfortable queen beds with linens, cozy comforters and colorful quilts. There is a small table and chairs, reading lights, and plenty of hooks for hanging your gear. You have to walk 2 - 3 minutes to restroom and shower facilities at the lodge, but hey, you’re in the middle of the nowhere. We're not complaining. The yurts have generous redwood view decks with Adirondack chairs facing the ocean. Cell phone reception? Don’t count on it. We highly recommend this as a mini getaway, especially in the off season.
Is your palate is dirty? Kidding. In all seriousness, picture the scene. You and your sweetie decide it would be fun to attend a local wine tasting and try over 100 different wines in one evening. Aside from purple stained lips and a buzz, what do you remember tasting? Even the best palates in the world get something called palate fatigue, when your poor olfactory and gustatory nerves are shot. That's when you stop really tasting what's going down the hatch. We stumbled onto one company seeking a remedy that very problem. Over the course of an epic tasting, take a break, write some notes, and consider sipping some SanTásti. Try it out, and let us what you think. It's definitely an interesting concept. Started by Cal Poly Enology Program alums Andrew Macaluso and Nicole Chamberlain, SanTásti is specially designed to cleanse the palate and restore balance by moderating acidity, sweetness and astringency. We want to know how it works, but I guess that's a trade secret.
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