List 63

Love: Dirty Beach's melancholy, low-fi "True Blue." Alex Zhang Hungtai, originally from Taiwan, has claimed Wong Kar-Wai as an influence, and it's easy to imagine this song playing in the background of one of his films.

Like: Saigon Export beer, which I had for the first time at Oakland's Hawker Fare, Commis chef James Syhabout's newish Southeast Asian street food spot. It merited being tracked down at BevMo the next day.

Discovery: The Walrus & The Carpenter oyster bar in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. The interior design was spot on and they offered a great oyster selection, not to mention a very yummy steak tartare, with plenty of roses, sparkling wines, and cocktails like The Porch Swing to wash everything down.

Obsession: Cold summer soups. Aside from a traditional gazpacho (the Barefoot Contessa's version is really nice), I had a wonderful Chilled Sweet Corn Soup with Avocado & Cilantro at Solage in Calistoga, and in Seattle, from a Farmers' Market, a Cool Cucumber & Melon soup, spiked with coconut milk, mint and chili oil. These soups can be the very definition of refreshing and I want to develop a good repertoire or recipes to try when the summer whether finally arrives in the Bay Area this month.

Complaint: I tore through Dances with Dragons, the fifth book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and am deeply distraught that it will likely be half a decade before another volume is published.