tidbits

the ny times featured santa fe, nm in its travel section ("adobe walls, but fare beyond the southwest." by henry shukman. 11/20/05). i'd like to visit santa fe one day, so i'm always interested to hear about the food scene there. shukman focuses on 3 new restaurants: aqua santa, trattoria nostrani and kasasoba.

funny thing, of trattoria nostrani (the second word is venetian slang for "ours"), he says, "the decor is cozy and unobtrusive", but the owners are much more authoritarian:

"the restaurant is serious not only about its no-smoking and no-cellphone policies but also about its fragrance restrictions. One foursome were recently turned away because one of their number had simply too much scent on."

i love the no cell-phone policy, but the fragrance restrictions? i guess this wouldn't be rated a date-friendly spot--could you imagine the double humiliation of first, wearing too much perfume, and second, being refused entrance by a restaurant because of it?


what else...

i love oddball architecture--called variously "roadside vernacular," "programmatic architecture," or "architectural kitsch"-- basically anything like the brown derby, the tail o the pup, randy's donuts , or the donut hole. internet chatter about the possible demise or relocation of 2 of the most famous and beloved establishments, the brown derby (which i've posted about) and the tail o' the pup in california, has brought more mainstream attention (via usa today, the la times , la weekly to name a few) to the issue of preservation for these unusual sites, and, one would hope, inspired dialogue about their "value." i'm on the side that considers them an essential part of our cultural history--not just for los angeles, or southern california, but for us cultural history.

i bought jim heimann's book, california crazy & beyond, during my last visit to la, and love flipping through the collection of photos that he has assembled in the volume. before reading the book, i couldn't imagine why people would want to destroy these kooky, charming, iconic structures...and after reading his volume, which to my mind validates their importance in a larger cultural and architectural context, i'm even more perplexed. in any case, if you're interested in americana, california history (architectural or cultural), or even restaurant and food history, or advertising, his book is worth checking out.

also...

i love marimekko...my aunt used to have a hanging lamp in the classic unikko design, and i thought it was the coolest "home" thing i'd ever seen. my sister and i went to exhibit at the bard center last year. i couldn't afford the catalogue, but luckily the website is pretty comprehensive. i could spend hours looking at all of the new and classic designs on the site. the designs don't actually fit in with what i have going on here at my apartment design-wise, but it is nice to know (thanks to the folks at daily candy), that if i ever move to a place that has, oh, more than one room, i might be able to put together my very own marimekko wall hanging!