Renovating One's Convictions

I was scolded by S about not posting for a long time earlier this weekend (sorry S!) when he was in the city with D visiting M and Me for the Coffee and Tea Festival. S is right of course, I should return to the habit of posting on here. If only for my own sanity.

But there are many habits I should start getting back into.

Like running.

I haven't really run with much regularity since I left Boston in early December which is of course a problematic situation. But I guess I should get on about what has happened since I felt Quito almost four months ago.

So first things first. The Oscars are over. As a dutiful filmmaker, and staunch Meryl Streep supporter (GO MERYL!), I watched them last night. The fact that Billy Crystal, who is always perfect, was hosting didn't hurt either. What a difference from last year! Sorry Anne and James, you're incredible actors, but you can't really outdo the master! This year I kept my 60% correct prediction streak and won myself a free dinner last night in the Oscar ballot against M and my roommate LY. Although to be fair, I did miss Best Picture (I did think The Descendants would get it on account of 'The Artist' being a good and solid, but in no way extraordinary film) but as the brilliant Meryl Streep (can you tell I'm a fan?) said, whatever.

So second things second. I guess you can say that my time in Brooklyn so far has been interesting. It's had its ups and downs. Brooklyn itself I love. There's something incredible about this borough that makes it so alive and vibrant. It makes me feel like I'm in the middle of things that are happening, without actually being in the middle of things that are happening. The heavy Manhattan traffic is absent and far away. Instead I open my window and hear birds chirping, the leaves (or right now the dry branches) of the trees in Prospect Park (right across the street) rustling, maybe the occasional piano emanating from my neighbor's apartment. I walk out and meet people who are actually friendly. I go to the YMCA down the street and chat with the old ladies that are more fit than I am about how the flowers are blooming, but the weather predicted for this weekend is unfortunately sure to kill the young blooms. How much of a shame that is because of this nutso warm winter we've had (warm being of course, relative). I will admit I even enjoy commiserating about the blasted G train and how damn slow it is (seriously, it left me waiting at Classon Ave for 45 minutes at 2:00 am two weekends ago!). I've been told that it is the mark that you are a true New Yorker if you're commiserating about some train or another. Or about the MTA in general even though, of course, you forget what it is like to ride to work on the Green Limousines (the buses) to work in Quito. During rush hour I've seen sardines packed into cans that seem more comfortable than those passengers...

On the flip side, I'm consistently approaching broke. This week I think I actually came to having $17 in my bank account. That's really sad. I mean, I've done a very good job of budgeting and stuff, but working a paid internship and a part time job and an unpaid internship wasn't really cutting it. I quit my paid internship for a variety of reasons. The primary being I got a gig directing a short institutional doc which will require the bulk of my time these coming weeks, and the secondary being - well, they're an incredibly cool company but it wasn't quite my thing. My job, on the other hand, I love. I work at a small fair-trade, organic, but hip tea company with a small team of young people. There's six of us and I think the oldest is 27 or 28. And we run a fast-growing small business, which I find absolutely incredible and empowering. I've been doing a lot of their graphic design and advertising, and just general administrative work. But I feel myself growing and learning in that environment, and most of all, I feel like part of a team, which is incredibly important to me. Lastly, my unpaid internship is pretty awesome too. I log footage for a freelance editor that works on animal welfare documentaries, which is always cool and fulfilling as well.

As for my personal life - well that's always hard to gauge. Admittedly, it feels nice to be able to call up friends and see if we can grab lunch, or a comedy show, or scout out a new bar in the neighborhood. We're all equally broke, and equally overworked, so there's no threat of going someplace we can't go to. Although we have been known to splurge for brunch on occasion. Brunch is a big thing here in NYC. I'm still not quite sure why, but it is a thing. If you live in NYC, you brunch on weekends. Even if you just brunch at home. I've found new friends including CC and W who were M's friends initially. I've made new friends of my own - like the jazz-playing Bartender I met at an event which I oddly I have friends in common with , and just been more adventurous in general. Which I like. I feel that at the core of my being, I am a bit of an adventurous person. Being here brings that out since there are so many great opportunities that come by, I just have a hard time finding a reason not to take them and try something new.

So, here's to a new stage in life, and to more regular updates. I promise S!

Categories: Brooklyn, NYC, update

Cello Wars

When two of my greatest passions come together:

BEST. VIDEO. EVER.

EVER.

Categories: cello, star wars

What Do You Mean having a Vassar Degree Isn´t Good Enough to Be a Barista?!

It´s that time of year again...at least for me. I´m back to being hunched over my computer swamped with 10 Word files and what seems to be fifty billion Safari windows open as I simultaneously work on cover letters and just finding more jobs. Today I successfully applied to a few cool jobs that I´m hoping to get interviews / callbacks for, but immediately decided to apply to a couple of easy backups just in case. My backups usually amount to applying to work in retail or food service and I´ve been eyeing a couple of Barista jobs posted on GoodFoodJobs.com for a while so I figured I might as well just apply to that.

Oh wait. I can´t.

Stupid fine print.

So today I discovered a really really ridiculous phenomenon going on in New York City. It turns out that some of these presumptuous coffee places actually require you to have experience serving coffee for you to serve coffee. And not just "some experience" but one of them requested 2 years of experience serving coffee in NYC.

TWO YEARS.

I have a hard-earned double degree in Film Production, and Chinese Language and Culture from Vassar College, one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States if not the world, I speak three languages fluently, managed to become the youngest Assistant Director in Ecuador after only 5 months, and you are telling me that I am not qualified to serve coffee? An action so simple, so mundane that I perform it every single morning half-asleep to wake up?

Does anyone else see something wrong with this?

Some pretentious corner coffee shop in NYC telling me that my college degree is worth doodlysquat.

It just seems like these places lack perspective in general. I do understand that some seemingly easy retail jobs might require some experience for the same job in a different store. For example, it is not the same to be Sales Associate at a Chanel Boutique or at your local K-Mart. Just as it is not the same to bus tables at your nearest highway diner or The Standard in NYC. Someone working for a high-end retail boutique or restaurant requires a certain amount of tact, grace, stress management, and a different set of skills because of the different standards and clientele at these establishments. The difference often being a 15% tip on a $50 bill versus 15% of a $600+ bill.

But some jobs in customer service really don´t have that difference. A cup of joe is a cup of joe whether you get it at the pretentious coffee shop or a big chain. My experience drinking coffee (and I have a lot of it) tells me that a barista will take the same amount of time making your expresso, and will do it with the same amount of cheeriness at either place. What´s more, Baristas in large chains such as Starbucks often are nicer and warmer and more pleasant that those in smaller places with a few notable exceptions. The other thing about that is that usually when I go to a smaller coffee place to sit down and write/think it is because of the ambience itself or because they serve some product I would prefer to spend my money on (such as fair-trade coffee). Thus, as a coffee consumer, I really can´t tell or really care if your Barista is experienced or not and it doesn´t factor into my choice of coffee supplier. The only thing I care about is that your employee serves me a hot cup of coffee that hasn´t been burnt. A feat that, as I said before, I can accomplish every morning while half-asleep.

So really, little pretentious corner coffee place in NYC, does a Barista with 2+ years of experience really make your coffee better or your customer´s experience at your establishment better? I think not.

And maybe I´m a bit of a disgruntled post-grad that is tired after spending the whole day applying to jobs that mean something to me that happened to come across this ridiculousness of yours. Or maybe I just don´t appreciate you telling me that my college degree is essentially worthless.

Categories: Coffee, job, ridiculousness

Restaurant Review #8: Clover Fast Food

Restaurant Name: Clover Fast Food (or Clover Food Truck)

Location: Various (Clover HSQ - 7 Holyoke st, Cambridge. Clover MIT - 20 Carleton St., Cambridge....and like 6 others. You can check their locations at www.cloverfoodlab.com)

Kind of Food: I say vegetarian, but they don´t like to call themselves that. So I really don´t know. Can we settle on delicious?

Price Range: $5-$10 (seriously, if you spent more than $10, what on Earth did you order? The whole truck?!?!)

What I ordered: CHICKPEA FRITTER. Repeat with me: CHICKPEA FRITTER. And Hot cider. And rosemary fries. And Egg and Eggplant sandwich. Really, there is no end to the deliciousness that is the Clover food truck at MIT.

Comments: I eat here at an almost daily basis. Really. Mostly because my mother can´t cook/she calls to cancel on lunch at 2 pm and I´m really too cold and hungry by that point to cook/look for food. But convenience set aside, it is actually pretty fantastic food. You´d expect that food from a food truck wouldn´t be that good for you or dripping in grease. Or something...not so for Clover. Their chickpea fritter sandwich (which if you haven´t already noticed is my favorite) gives you a healthy dose of protein and vegetables and packs a neat little 430 cal. Not bad at all! I´ve also had their Egg and Eggplant which I don´t like as much mostly because it involves hard-boiled eggs, which I am not really a fan of but it is pretty good too. And if you like fries, I would definitely suggest trying their version of them - cut and fried on the spot and served sprinkled with rosemary. Yum! I also hear they´re launching their own beer this Friday at their Harvard Square location. The $3 per glass launch price is very tempting to go and check it out. The other nice thing is that they have trucks all over Boston so you´ll be able to find one near wherever you are.

Categories: Boston, foodie, Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review #7: Topolobampo

Restaurant Name: Topolobampo

Location: 445 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654

Kind of Food: Mexican Gourmet

Price Range: $25 - $90 per person (tasting menu anyone? I know I was tempted....)

What I ordered: Trio Trio Trio (cebiche fronterizo, cebiche yucateco, seaside cocktail), Eggplant enchiladas, Classic Margarita.

Comments: I was REALLY tempted by the tasting menus. They sounded incredible. The price for one of them (around $90) was offputting, but the thing that really drove me away from them was the amount of pork in the dishes. Really, my allergies can be a pain in the butt sometimes when out on culinary adventures. I settled instead on the Trio Trio Trio as an appetizer and the Eggplant enchiladas as an entree. The Trio Trio Trio was absolutely fabulous. Spicy and infused with lime, the seafood tasted and felt fresh and refreshing - sending me on a 5 minute culinary vacation to the Mayan riviera even though I´ve never really set foot in Mexico. I was also big fan of Trio Trio Trio because it reminded me of traditional Ecuadorian cebiche and some of the interesting haute cuisine variations I´ve tasted on it (kiwi-based cebiche is surprisingly blissful) and so it tasted a bit like home. The Eggplant Enchiladas, while less exciting, were innovative and flavorful. I got nothing in the semblance of a tortilla anywhere in the dish. The eggplant was cut to slices so thin that they themselves were the tortilla keeping a small pile of vegetables and eggplant and mole in a little roll. Delicious and just the perfect size to be full but not stuffed. I must say the Margarita helped with the experience. While the flavor of it was nothing really exceptional, it packed a punch, and delivered - and I can also say that I could tell it was quality tequila, which is something that the average Margarita usually lacks.

Topolobampo was a fantastic experience in Chicago, although I would recommend making reservations in advance.

Categories: Chicago, foodie, Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review #6: The Palm

Restaurant Name: The Palm

Location: 837 Second Ave, New York, NY 10017

Kind of Food: Steakhouse

Price Range: $30-$50 per person

What I ordered: Signature crab cakes. Ceasar Salad

Comments: First of all, let me clarify that I´m a bit of a certified idiot. I went to a steakhouse and ordered the crab cakes, which were honestly not that great. There is very little food that I´ve encountered that I´ve had trouble actually eating and those crab cakes were definitely one of them unfortunately. Everyone told me to get the Chicken Parmesan (which would have been the intelligent choice) that was notoriously excellent. I was put off from it when I glanced at the caloric count next to the choice - I´ll skip the 1200 cal Chicken and stick to the 560 cal crab cakes thank you very much. I really should have gone with the chicken. Of course, it was a bit of a fish out of the water situation - a semi-vegetarian at a steakhouse isn´t exactly the best idea. However, the party I was with enjoyed their food enormously. And to be completely honest, even I was wishing I had ordered their steaks. Cooked to crispy perfection on the outside and juicy and tender inside. The smell of meat and sea salt and pepper wafted through the air, annoying my stomach that was stuck with the bland and gooey crab cakes. The sides were pretty amazing as well, with the breaded onions being my favorite. Crispy and stringy, they reminded me of the nests of fried noodles served over kobe beef at Quito´s prime sushi eatery Noé. After the main course, we ordered a small buffet of decadent desserts that included cheesecake and a mouthwatering carrot cake. The thing that impressed me the most, however, was the quality of the service. Really, the best restaurant service I´ve ever encountered and the first time I´ve wanted to overtip someone in a long time. The waiter was attentive, polite, and efficient. They even were nice enough to remove a dish that a member of our party didn´t like entirely from our check. They changed our cutlery quietly and unobtrusively and observed proper serving etiquette and were very helpful in accommodating a large party of 9. Well done!

All in all, a pleasant experience. I daresay I would definitely go back, but this time I will stay the hell away from those awful crab cakes.

Categories: foodie, NYC, Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review #5: Psari

Restaurant Name: Psari

Location: Suiza N34-41 y República de El Salvador (www.psariquito.com)

Kind of Food: Mediterranean Fusion

Price Range: $15-$25 per person

What I ordered: Grilled octopus. Lady Psaritini.

Comments:

Best. Grilled. Octopus. EVER. I´m usually really picky about Octopus and tend not to order it because it is unusually chewy. I think that if not well prepared, it is easier to chew on an eraser than a piece of octopus. But Psari´s octopus is grilled to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. The grilled octopus is so good that I don´t even remember what I ordered as an entree (the octopus is an appetizer). Unfortunately, the charm had worn off by the time dessert arrived. Dessert was ok. But the creme bruleé wasn´t really creme bruleé and that bothered me and my dad. The Marchesa Chocolate cake was pretty fabulous though. The guanábana ice cream creates an interesting combination with the dark chocolate cacao cake served with it. Another slam dunk at Psari is their Lady Psaritini cocktail. A delicious vodka-based martini with an infusion of cherry and chile. Spicy, sweet, and strong in one small bottle. One of the best signature cocktails I´ve had in a while.

Categories: foodie, Quito, Restaurant Review