Tumbling Over Tumblers

I visited San Francisco over spring break, spending a week in the city. The food scene, while quite ostentatious at times, was inspiring. The meals were delicious and at times nostalgic. Yet, I found myself enamored more with the interiors, glassware, and plating used at these restaurants. 

San Francisco is a foodie city, driven by both its roots and wealth. Meaning, tons of eateries open to meet the people's demand. The first thought that crossed my mind was, do all of these new eateries truly exhibit unique ideas, both in decoration and cuisine, or are these just traps for those who have money to spend and think they have "good taste"?

A motif in most restaurants that I ate out at (more specifically: PRIARE, Bon Voyage, and Louie's Gen Gen Room), was the smaller than usual tumbler. I hadn't encountered glassware like this since traveling to Scandinavia and France. In European bistros, restaurants, and cafes, wine + water are served in these tumblers. The "do it all" cup, really. The tumbler in other cultures is seen as a casual alternative to the stemmed wine glass or classic water glass.

My first reaction to the abundance of tumblers at all of these newly opened restaurants was, "Man, this is pretentious" and "Why do I have to pour water so often". After the third restaurant or so, it grew on me. These annoying little cups forced me to take my time with my beverages and the constant pouring paced conversations and meals. It seems fitting that these glasses are abundant in European culture, given the laid back, no frills dining culture some cities have.

They’re stackable! A plus

I'll continue to experiment with these while having people over and investigate how they react, adapt to a somewhat foreign experience. Sitting here, sipping from my tumbler, I can start to appreciate the experience a lil bit more.

Weekday Muse: Pasta alle Vongole

It's been a pretty slow week and it's only Monday. My strategy at the grocery store has always been to go through every single aisle, regardless of actual grocery-related needs. While it can lead to impulsive purchases, it can yield some great finds.

When I saw these clams earlier today, I instantly was reminded of my cousin Ed's cooking. The last time I was in San Francisco we went on a run to buy clams amongst other sea creatures at this seafood store called Wing Hing on Clement Street. We walked away with 10 pounds of clams and muscles.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been creeped out/skeptical of clams in general. No particular reason. Upon getting home Ed steamed the clams and muscles in salt, water, and some fresh herbs. Poof. Done. Within 10 minutes, Ed was scarfing down shell after shell. Something I'll never forget.

Anyway, tonight I decided to take a swing at it. I began by steaming the clams in salt water with a couple bay leaves, saving a bit of "clam juice" from the pot. After cooking pasta to a little under al dente, I tossed olive oil + Calabrian chilis + garlic + clams + clam juice + pasta. And...poof! Thanks Ed.

Avestra Interview + EP Review

I’ll usually pounce on any chance to grab some tea, regardless of who it’s with. Last week, I got the chance to sit down with Seattle’s own, Avestra, for, well, tea and one iced coffee. For those who aren’t familiar with Avestra, the electronic duo consists of vocalist Savannah Johnston and producer Zach Troupe. The duo reminds me of a combination of electronic/tropical house artist Alina Baraz (especially her EP Urban Flora) and electronic duo Marian Hill. While Johnston, when young, was trained classically in music, and playing all types of instruments, Zach only began experimenting with production and sound more recently. Genuine curiosity has pushed him from downloading music production software just for fun to contributing heavily to Avestra’s sound and vision.

In the past year, Avestra has churned out single after single, most notably songs like “Come My Way,” as well as “Mind’s on You.” When asked whether the pace at which the two have been releasing music at seemed maintainable, the duo replied, “We keep on waiting for the low or creative block to hit, but, surprisingly, we haven’t hit it, and don’t see it being anytime soon.” Full speed ahead, Avestra’s pushing forward into their new EP Niche release. We sat down to talk about their plans for their new music, as well as Avestra’s ambitions moving forward into 2019, with no speed bumps in sight.

It’s easy to assume that the lyrical perspective mostly stems from the vocalist: I mean, they’re the ones singing, right? Being naturally curious about an artist’s perspective (especially in a group), I decided to ask the duo about how they interweave the stories of both members into their music. According to the duo, Niche draws more so from Savannah’s personal experiences, but at the end of the day, feelings of infatuation and relationships across the board, are innately easy to sympathize with.

Niche consists of a crisp four tracks, including “GLOW”, “WHATUWANT”, “HEART”, and, my personal favourite, “WINDOWSEAT.” “GLOW” and “WHATUWANT” are tracks where Avestra’s in cruise control, combining spacey beats with alluring, and at times velvety vocals. Where the EP really starts shining is the track “HEART.” When describing the song that he was most proud of, Zach stated that, “HEART has gone through so many changes, seeing where it started and how it turned out production wise is what makes me so proud of it.” Right off the bat, the guitar sounds luxurious yet enticing, almost harp-like. My only gripe with “HEART” lies within the end of the song, where the group manipulates Savannah’s vocals and pushes more bass into a song that naturally succeeds by being more pared down. “WINDOWSEAT” gives me more of what made HEART so sumptuous. With less bass in production and more natural vocals, “WINDOWSEAT,” with Savannah’s mother on the saxophone, delivers Avestra’s best on the EP.

While Niche establishes a base for their discography and fans, in no way do they want to be put in a box. “The hardest part is waiting to release new work and sounds, we wish we could show [you all] what we’ve been working on”. Catch Avestra this Saturday at ASUW AE’s Band Bash in Maple Hall at 7pm or at their release party next Thursday, 6pm at The Auditorium @ UHeights.

Commonplace 1: No place like home

Introducing Commonplace

Commonplace is a project that I’ve started to 1) Bring people together and 2) Explore different stories and concepts through cooking. I wanted to start this to show people the beauty and humanity in hospitality. Every now and then, I’ll invite 4 people over to my studio with the goal being to share a meal, crack some jokes, and have a stellar time. I’ll be using this blog to document Commonplace as well as other things.

It would be foolish to think that there's a single dish that can universally remind people of home. My exposition of "home cooking" serves as an exploration of the dishes that bring me back to my childhood. It's surprising how much people can resonate with tastes and feelings that, superficially, seem foreign. It begs the question, Can food be inherently relatable? Enjoy.

Hippo Campus at the Neptune

Most openers are met with mixed reviews, grumbles, and “When is the ACTUAL show starting”s. Now, Now (Also, from the Minneapolis area), the opener, was an exception Thursday night. The band reminded me of a pop-y-er, safer Paramore. Many of the vocal performances were solid, but the only songs I really gravitated towards was their performances of “Yours” and “MJ” off their new album, Saved.

They received a positive vibe from the attendees consistently through their set. This led to the band’s drummer in a addition to the lead vocalist, Cacie Dalager to constantly thank the audience for the support. At one point, the band repeated the same “Thank you so much for your support Seattle” schpeal after finishing 4 songs, four separate times. The over-thanking from the band was sweet, but took away a lot of momentum of the set itself, leaving an awkward taste in my mouth.

At around 9:15pm, Hippocampus came on. To preface this, I myself, do not listen to much Hippocampus. My friend Hanna on the other hand, is a huge fan. During the show, standing within the sea of die hard fans, the energy and excitement was unavoidable. At one point, someone in the front row started blowing bubbles at the band, dedication. While Hippo Campus’ set was mostly off their new album, Bambi, which I’m a fan of, it seemed as if they played it safe with how they presented it to their audience. Much of the set embodied their classic bubbly, light hearted vibe persona that they’ve been popular for. Their new album resembled somewhat of a change of pace with more grit and synth/electronic usage - their performance of songs on Bambi seemed to come up short of the experimental studio recordings.

That being said, Hippo Campus’ second night in Seattle was a total success. Performances such as “Suicide Saturday” and “South” carried the set along and made it worth the while.

Hippo Campus 2/7/19 Preview

Hippo Campus, an indie band out of St. Paul, Minnesota, is back in Seattle on their Bambi tour – this being their second performance in roughly the last year. Within the past year year or so, Hippo Campus has generated some waves in the indie scene: being named one of NPRs favorite new artists and accumulating over twenty seven million listens on their top hit “Way It Goes.” Hippo Campus is best known for its optimistic melodies and sunny hooks that have captivated an incredibly dedicated, majority female fanbase (my coworkers are in love). 

This time around, the band is promoting and performing their new album Bambi. Their second studio album has signified a fork in the road for the band’s style. In an interview with Billboard magazine, guitarist Nathan Stocker recalled a conversation with their producer where,  “BJ asked us, ‘Do you want to make another Hippo Campus record? Or do you want to make a record under the name Hippo Campus?’” They did just that – departing from their traditional sound and including a more expansive use of synths, and harsher vocal performances as seen on “Bubbles” off of the new album, Bambi. Other songs that I enjoy off the new album include “Mistakes” and “Passenger.”

Hippo Campus will be performing two shows in Seattle next week on February 6th and February 7th at the Neptune right here in the University District.