dreamthrum

After lunch we took separate course back.  I wanted to stop at the book store and find a pub to sit down in and relax.  I brought the 4 book of A Song of Ice and Fire with me and didn’t realize it until I was on the flight.  So I luckily found a bookstore with a 3 for 2 sale on all paperback books.  Luckily I talked to my gal on the phone before walking up to the counter thinking that meant 3 for £2.  That would have been a large stack to take back. 

Realizing my mistake I ended up walking away with the first two books of the series and the first book of Preacher.  I walked back to the hotel and decided to try to pub directly across from the Novotel.  From the outside The Buglelooks like a vaguely tudor style building latched onto the row of shops and other places along Friar Street.  Once you get inside you are greeted by the local faces looking at your curiously.  Everything inside seemed old but homey in perhaps a dingy sort of way that I appreciate.  Being a sucker for the manual pull beers I saddled up to the bar and asked for a pint of Courage Best Bitter.

Properly armed with a pint I headed to the back of the pub through a narrow corridor and found a seat to the side.  I pulled out Preacher and started into the story.   A couple of pints later I notice that a weathered gal is looking over at the book.  I start thinking that a strange conversation was incoming.  She walked over and with a slight slur asked if really like “those” type of books.  I replied in the affirmative and she said that her late son really enjoyed them .  She continued and asked if I would be at The Bugle the next day and if I would be interested in a stack of comics that were once here son’s. 

Now if you know anything about me, I was completely amusing and fascinated by the strange turn of events.  Had I not stopped at the bookstore just an hour ago, I wouldn’t have even had the conversation.  Grinning at the serendipity of the situation I agreed to try to meet her the next day at a quarter past six.  Worse case scenario I would show up the next day and have a pint and read a bit.  Best case I would walk away with some comics but more interesting to me the story.

The London Street Brasserie

We woke up Saturday and didn’t really have any plans. We were still recovering from the last two days of work and didn’t want to do anything too strenuous. Reading has most of everything in walking distance, so we headed down to the river and wandered about. There are a number of restaurants up and down the river. In our wanderings on Thursday night we were looking for a place that was recommended to us along the River but ended up hopelessly lost … basically we were looking along the wrong river. Luckily we stumbled upon it here by chance. We walked into the London Street Brasserie and were seated almost immediately on their deck overlooking the river. The menu was right up my alley with enough choices to give me a real challenge. I ended up deciding on the lunch menu that gave a combo starter + entre for £15.

For my starter I went with the rabbit terrine with lettuce, pears, and walnuts.

Rabbit Terrine

To be extra healthy I followed that up with pork belly with a raspberry reduction sauce, potatoes, and jus.

Pork Belly

Overall everything was very tasty and I highly recommend hitting up the London St. Brasserie if you find yourself in Reading.

The first two days over here in the UK were long grueling days filled with work.  My British counterparts were great to work with and we covered all the ground that I had planned.  On Friday night we got to go out and catch dinner with an old coworker who recommended Bel and the Dragon.  It is a large fairly open pub right along the river in Reading.  We sat outside and enjoyed a pint of London Pride hand pulled from the tap.  It was perfectly smooth without much bite.  Really it was the best you could hope for in a pub ale.  It was a partially religious experience which made question why we decided that CO2 was a good way to provide beer.

A spot of rain came and motivated us to step inside for dinner.  The menu left my struggling to find the perfect choice.  I narrowed it down between a duck dish and some beer battered haddock with chips.  My obsession to have a good plate of fish and chips won over the debate.  Happily I was not disappointed.  It is amazing when you can say that a plate of fish and chips was a light meal, but they really pulled it off.  The batter was thin but perfectly crispy.  It was served with a pile of thick cut chips formed into a 3 tier jenga grid. 

We polished off all the food and decided to stop off at a local pub on the way back to the hotel.  One of the more popular ale pubs in town is a little place called ‘The Hobgoblin.’  It’s on Broad Street right across from the Oracle.  Inside there is hardly room for more than a couple dozen people packed in, but they offer a great selection of local ales.  They have a strict rule against cell phones believing that people should talk to those there rather than being on the phone.  We scooped in and ordered some pints and then quickly retreated to the street.  The weather was a wonderful 65 or so.  People spilled out into street sharing beers and chatting.  There was no rope or gate around the outside of the pub to cordon people off.  When they were done with their beer, they just left the glass sitting up against the outside of the pub.  Occasionally one of the bartenders would snag the empties. 

So that was it for our first night on the town.  Looking forward to more!

After a full week two days of frenetic work to ready to head overseas, I had all my bags packed and ready to go.  My lovely lady dropped me at the airport and I made my way to gate E of Hartsfield Airport resigned to the fact that I would likely be eating at TJI Fridays or some other equally abysmal chain restaurant. 

'treuse or dare

Coming up the escalator I happened across a restaurant/bar tauting sushi and a number of other items I would expect from a gastro pub.  Intrigued I strolled into One Flew South and saddled up to the bar.  I was greeted warmly by Tiffany and asked if I wanted any wine to start off.  Not being a wine type of fellow I kindly declined and said I was more interested in a cocktail.  The cocktail menu inlcuded a good variety of classic cocktails ranging from Old Fashioned to Pisco Sour to Aviations.  I quickly got more interested when I saw some of the custom drinks they put together and realized they were doing some infusions locally. 

After much debating I decided to try out the ‘treuse or dare.  Plymouth gin, green chartreuse, lime, sugar, and egg white shaken and served in a martini glass.  Clean and sweet the unique punch of chartreuse. 

While sipping away at that I ordered a Pulled Duck Sandwich comprised of duck comfit, fig and toasted peanut relish, and scallions.  It was accompanied  by a small plate of mild but tasty slaw.  The duck was tender and really melted in your mouth. 

I cleaned that up with little effort and decided to try out another cocktail.  I was in the mood for something more down the whiskey road and decided to try out the Vieux Carré.  Sazerac rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, benedictine, peychaud & angostura bitters with a twist of lemon peel as a garnish.   It was rich and layered with enough kick to nearly unseat me. 

Overall all the drinks and food were an excellent find.  If you drop by make sure to ask for Tiffany to be your mixologist.  She has a great passion for trying new things and is knowledgeable about the craft.

September Subscription

Notes from the bag … 

• Origin: Finca Mauritania – Santa Ana, El Salvador
• Tasting Notes: Intoxicating flavors of butterscotch, pastry, and sweet chocolate infuse the cup and create a profoundly complex, satisfying coffee experience.  The heirloom Bourbon variety is renowned for producing sweet, rich coffees — and this coffee is a stellar example of this tradition.

Notes from me …

• Strength: Medium 
• Reccomended Brewing Method: Manual Drip or French Press
• Tasting Notes: These beans produced a smooth cup with a nice balance of sweetness and nutty undertones.  The layers of the coffee linger after drinking leaving a pleasant after taste that allows the flavors to separate a bit.  I am about halfway through the bag already and have noticed that I drink this at almost twice my normal rate of coffee intake.  I contribute that to the lack of any bitter or harsh elements.  Overall this is a well rounded bean that I would prefer to enjoy completely in the absence of food, as I believe that would only take away from the experience.

September Subscription

Notes from the bag …

• Origin: Las Delicias – Santa Ana, El Salvador
• Tasting Notes: In the cup, the brute savory strength unique to Pacamara is tempered by a sweet fruitiness, and leads to characteristics of flowers, plum, dried fruit and a mouthwatering savoriness.

Notes from me …

• Strength: Medium Bold
• Reccomended Brewing Method: Manual Drip
• Tasting Notes: I think the word that struck me most in their description was savory.  This blend has a full bodied taste that makes me long for winter by the fireplace.  It has a smoky/earthy taste that would I would associate with a good Scotch minus any of the sweetness.  If brewed via French press, I would limit time as the strength could quickly become overpowering.

For the past year I have been waiting for Imogen to crank out her new album.  Throughout the process of working on the album she ran a series of video blogs detailing the progress of each song.  As a fan I watched pieces of songs captured, cut, recreated, and finally placed on the album. 

Over the years she has become one of my absolute favorite artists.   She has such a beautiful knack for understanding story and rhythm without taking a straight forward approach to song writing.

Ellipse has a number of pieces that I find stereotypical Immy, and a few that stray.  It is interesting to hear the final versions of a lot of songs that you’ve seen grow up.  Some ended up better than ever expected, other’s were changed and compeltely different than the original feel.

I hate to say it, but overall I am a little dissapointed.  After waiting four years I just wanted a little more.  I applaud her for adding some new elements, but ‘Speak for Yourself’ and ‘I Megaphone’ really had a lot more power for me.  I will still hunt her down and look forward to her next show in town.  For more info, go check out her site.

I’ll give a quick run down of the songs:

1. First Train Home: Nothing much to see here.  Cute song, just didn’t find anything particularly striking.  Had all the usual Immy elements.
2. Wait It Out: This was the track I was most looking forward to hearing in the final version.  In construction, this was such a beautiful and simple song with heart-wrenching lyrics that are accessable to almost anyone.  The final version ended up being a little too overproduced for my tastes.  I look forward to hearing it live to recapture that raw feeling.
3. Earth: Perfect example of Immy’s ability to sample and overlay her voice to act as both melody and percussion.  It’s a fun flighty song .
4. Little Bird: A strange floating tune with eerie undertones.  It plods along in a create fashion but lacks any real drive.
5. Swoon: I always like to describe immy as an overgrown Faerie.  This captures her whimsical and passionate side.  It has an upbeat dance-like rhythm that is extremely playful.
6. Tidal: This feels more like some of Immy’s older material.  There is a strong surge at the end of this tune that creates a wonderful climax.  This is the element that I feel much of the rest of the album lacks.
7. Between Sheets: Simple.  Clean.  Sweet.  I listen to this and it makes me smile.  I can hear the joy and laughter in every note.
8. 2-1: This had the strongest emotional pull to me the first time I listened through the album.  I feel this has a lot of the dynamics that I love in her music.
9. Bad Body Double: Fun and cute concept that anyone can relate to.  The rhyme of “bad body double trouble” get’s a bit worn by the end of the tune, but it’s a fun jaunt.
10. Aha!: This song I love for the story.  It leads you through this strange mystery only to reveal itself at the end.  The harsh ending juxtaposes nicely to create a strong effect at the end of the song.
11. The Fire: My only complaint was that this song wasn’t longer.  It is a beautiful instrumental the summons up images of sitting by the fireplace in the dead of winter.  It reminds me of the strange silence that accompanies the falling of snow.
12. Canvas: This was a perfect follow up to ‘The Fire.’  It keeps that snowy feel, but steps out of the quiet into a steady march.  The video for this one captures the song beautifully. 
13. Half Life: I usually skip this tune.  Nothing really caught me.  Normally by this time I’m ready to just skip back to the beginning of the album.

Sept 1st, 2009 Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe Tour

After 25+ years together, Depeche Mode still makes me shake my ass live. At 47, David Gahan still manages to operate as a gyrating, mic standing dancing, pelvic thrusting, crotch grabbing machine. He started off in his familiar black pants and suit, and then quickly dropped the suit jacket for his standard issue black leather vest. In old Gahan style he twirling about the stage with the mic stand taking turns has his dance partner and lover.

As a counterbalance to Dave’s flamboyant jaunt around the stage, Martin Gore kept up his stoic / tortured appearance and made only the slightest of movements. As compensation for his lack of motion, he was garbed in a sparkling iridescent silver lame suit. His clear haunting voice sounded as delicate as ever.

For me personally, I couldn’t have picked a better setlist without removing a few obligatory songs from the most recent album Sounds of the Universe. Short of that I believe it was a brillant selection. I’ll note the entire setlist below, but there are a few that I’d like to comment on that really stood out for me. ”

Wrong” did for the croud what I thought “In Chains” would have done; it completely engergized the audience. Its simple pounding backbeat got people up and moving around

“Home” has always been one of my favorite DM songs that I think of as underrated. I think the beauty in this song was well emphasized by stripping it down to just simple piano and vocals. It was a brilliant variation to the album that was even more powerful.

“I Feel You” has never been one of the songs that I would pick out as a favorite, but the rendition they put on was powerfully intense. Building on the foundation of “In Your Room,” this continued to push the energy of the show.

When “Enjoy the Silence” kicked in, I took a moment to look around the crowd. The span of people was an odd blend. I saw all the eyes smiling while listening All I ever wanted, All I ever needed, Is here in my arms. In that moment you could see the people in the crowd with all their different memories of a song made 20 years ago. All in all, the second half of the main set is where I found my sweet spot.

The encores rocked and “Personal Jesus” is always a brilliant crowd pleaser. All in all, I was thrilled to get another chance to see Depeche Mode live. If you still have the chance to catch them, I highly recommend it!

Full Setlist
In Chains
Wrong
Hole To Feed
Walking In My Shoes
It’s No Good
A Question Of Time
Precious
Fly On The Windscreen
Jezebel
Home
Miles Away / The Truth Is
Policy Of Truth
In Your Room
I Feel You
Enjoy The Silence
Never Let Me Down Again

Encore #1
Somebody
Stripped
Behind The Wheel

Encore #2
Personal Jesus
Waiting For The Night (Bare Version)

August Subscription

Notes from the bag …

• Origin: Zaragoza, Mexico
• Tasting Notes: The classic Oaxacan flavors characteristic of sweet chocolate permeates every cup, and is supported by savory fruit and spicy notes.  It’s a beautiful, rounded coffee; perfect for breakfast and dessert alike.

Notes from me …

• Strength: Medium Bold
• Reccomended Brewing Method: Manual Drip
• Tasting Notes: I’m always curious when I read lavish labels filled with hyperbole of all the various hints of flavors and aspects delicately hidden within a product.  In  this case I’ll have to somewhat agree and disagree with the notes listed above. I can certainly note a hint of the chocolate, but I don’t get the spicy at all.  In fact the most noteworth point of this coffee for me is the robust chewy nature of this brew which is tempered by being perfectly smooth.  I certainly can enjoy a bold, bitter, smack you in the face cup of Joe, but this is more of a firm push moving you along your day without being harsh. 

  This could be brewed via French Press, though the lazy side of me finds that the manual drip provides excellent timing and perfect strength.

Had some spectacular company over tonight to subject to another round of food experimentation. I tried out 3 completely new recipes that all came out mostly awesome. I decided to go with a Tapas style meal because I feel that everything that I’ve had recently has been too heavy. I tried to pick a few things that would allow me to pre-prep.

So the gazpacho I made the night before … and I had planned on making the filling for the mushrooms the night before, but time didn’t allow. Had I done that I believe that it would have been easy to pull off the three at the same time in about an hour’s time the night of serving.

Portabello Mushrooms stuffed with cheddar and prosciutto
Served this up first since this was the only temperature dependent item. This was a lot of work but over was amazing. Made one small error by not cutting the stems before cooking. The recipe had an excellent idea of slicing the mushrooms and baking them before starting to remove extra moisture. Also making fresh bread crumbs really made this awesome!

Ceviche
This might be the most wonderful thing ever.  Super simple to make and does it’s magic in the background while you work on other items in the kitchen.  The recipe called for a jalepeno and I only had an anaheim.  If I did this again I would certainly want the jalepeno for the extra kick.  When I get to review the Gazpacho …. I’ll let you know why this ended up on being crucial.  I decided on Talapia for the fish which was a great blank slate to start from. 

Spicy Gazpacho
Soups are one of my specialties, and I thought that this would mix well with everything else.  I had to do a couple makeshift moves to get this to work which had interesting effects.  It required sherry vinegar … which I’ve never heard of and forgot to look for in the store.  In lieu of that I did half cider vinegar and half cooking sherry.  It also called for 2 1/2 tbls of chilies in adobe sauce minced.  That was the kicker … it ended  up just being a bit more spicy than I would have like for a soup.  Interestingly enough, I think that I could adapt the recipe by reducing the amount of tomato juice and changing a few other items to make a really kick ass salsa with a uniquie smokey flavor.