nomadreader

The basics:  "Twenty-two, and knowing no one, Tess leaves home to begin her adult life in New York City. Thus begins a year that is both enchanting and punishing, in a low-level job at “the best restaurant in New York City.” Grueling hours and a steep culinary learning curve awaken her to the beauty of oysters, the finest Champagnes, the appellations of Burgundy. At the same time, she opens herself to friendships—and love—set against the backdrop of dive bars and late nights."--publisher My thoughts: I am not often a reader who makes much of first lines. I don't know if that's a trait unique to me, or a result that the first lines of books I read aren't remarkably good or bad. But when I started Sweetbitter , I read the first paragraph, put the book down, added it to my favorite passages, and texted it to Mr. Nomadreader: "You will develop a palate.  A palate is a spot on your tongue where you remember. Where you assign words to the textures of taste. ...

The basics:  "In the fall of 2009, the food world was rocked when Gourmet magazine was abruptly shuttered by its parent company. No one was more stunned by this unexpected turn of events than its beloved editor in chief, Ruth Reichl, who suddenly faced an uncertain professional future. As she struggled to process what had seemed unthinkable, Reichl turned to the one place that had always provided sanctuary. “I did what I always do when I’m confused, lonely, or frightened,” she writes. “I disappeared into the kitchen.”"--publisher My thoughts: I am not typically someone who reads cookbooks. I may skim through and read recipes, but I have never before read a cookbook cover to cover. Admittedly, My Kitchen Year  is not a typical cookbook. It is filled with recipes, but there are also lots of other things in it: breathtaking photographs (of food, nature and city), memoir vignettes, and Tweets (yes, Reich's actual tweets.) It feels like more of a memoir than a cookbook, ...

Welcome to Loving the Des Moines Life , my ongoing series of exploring my new hometown. Mr. Nomadreader and I had been hearing wonderful things about Alba, a restaurant in the East Village, so we decided to try it out on a Thursday night. A tasty summer martini! As usual, the first thing I want to explore at a restaurant is the wine list. Although Alba has their food menu (albeit an outdated one) on their website , they don't have their wine list. The wine list is long, but it's not terribly impressive. There are two major shortcomings. First, some of the price points are exorbitant. Of the wines I was familiar with, the lower-end wines tended to be 400 to 500% of the retail price. I balk at anything over 200%. The higher-end wines were priced appropriately. Even more odd to me were the prices of glasses. Typically, the maximum a bottle should cost is four times the glass price. At Alba, it was four times the glass price plus $2, which doesn't encourage diners to o...

Welcome to the first installment of my adventures around my new hometown of Des Moines! I'll bring you restaurant reviews, theater reviews, and re-caps of other cultural events as I explore and make myself at home here. Friday night, Mr. Nomadreader and I set out on our first Des Moines date night. We opted to have dinner at Proof , which overlooks Western Gateway Park. Proof is an interesting restaurant. It's open for lunch Monday through Friday. They only open for dinner on Friday nights, and they serve a $35 three-course meal with a different menu each week. There were three options each for the appetizer, entree and dessert. Thankfully, Mr. Nomadreader and I have remarkably similar taste in food (and almost everything, really), so we were able to enjoy two of the options for each course. Appetizers The heavenly gouda and garlic bisque For our appetizers, we opted for the gouda and spring garlic bisque, which ended up being my favorite dish of the evening. It wa...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night date with myself. This week I'm back to my usual location: the Spectrum 8 Theatres and New World Bistro Bar. The back story: As someone who grew up on the c'singles (cassette singles) of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I was immediately interested in learning about her early years in rock and roll with the all-girl rock band, The Runaways. Feminism and music? Yes, please. Also, after being pleasantly surprised with how good Kristen Stewart was in Twilight ( my review ), playing a character I disliked in the novel, I was eager to see her act again. The basics: Although it was billed largely as a Joan Jett biopic, it's more of a Cherie Curry biopic. Cherie was the lead singer of The Runaways, and the script was based on her memoir Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway . The film focuses on Jett and Curry, and the band's other three members are barely included.  The verdict: Floria Sigismondi managed...

After almost two years of living in Albany, my Midwestern self is finally realizing how many things are nearby. Yes, Boston and New York City are less than three hours away, but so are many other places. Faced with three days off in a row, I pulled out an old issue of Bon Appetit (my favorite food magazine) with a list of the ten best farm to table restaurants . I was hoping for one in New England to help me decide where to spend a few days. Thankfully, Bon Appetit told me about Gracie's in Providence, Rhode Island. I love a good road trip, and I love to explore the Northeast, so I set off with The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris on audio and avoided interstates. The drive took four hours instead of three, but I saw small towns along the way and had fun. I got a great deal on a hotel, and the view from my room was pretty spectacular. The food . Gracie's offers an a la carte menu, but the better deal is the three-course meal, which starts at $30. Unlike most prix fixe menus, ...