List 80

Love: The Joey Roth ceramic speakers Erich gave me/us, which sound as lovely as they look.

Like: On the Gwyneth scale, I count myself as an occasional eye-roller as opposed to a full-time hater, but it's hard to deny the utility of last week's Goop feature on how to arrange flowers by vase type.   
http://goop.com/newsletter

Discovery: Rodeo Beach, a beautiful spot tucked away on the coast next to Sausalito, at the old Fort Cronkhite, which we only just found out about, despite having lived here for nearly 20 years.  Now that a drive all the way up and over to Muir Beach or Stinson beach isn't required for a sand-and-Pacific day, it's likely to happen a whole lot more often.

Obsession: Spice Kit's Asian breakfast sandwich - a steamed bun with Hobb's applewood smoked bacon, spicy egg, ginger glaze and scallions - made by guys who used to don toques at places like The French Laundry and Per Se.  

Complaint: Camping. It's just never been my thing, what with all the roughing it and outdoorsy-ness. I was excited to read about a new pop-up lodging service called Shelter Co, who'll set up luxury camp sites - tents with beds, fire pits complete with a s'mores kit, even an outdoor movie theater option - at the location of your choice. Many may no longer count this as camping, but for some of us it makes a night outdoors appealing. For once.

Their site:

http://shelter-co.com/index.html

Their gorgeous tumblr with imagery to get you in the mood:

http://shelter-co.tumblr.com/

List 79

Love: Vanity Fair's look back at The Sopranos, with the cast and creator David Chase, which makes me want to dive into the series all over again, from start to finish. The oral history has lots of interesting behind-the-scenes detail, not the least of which is the seemingly intense feelings James Gandolfini and Edie Falco had (have?) for each other.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/04/sopranos-oral-history

Like: Lounge-height cat's cradle bases for Eames chairs. I'd sure like to get a pair for the living room, in part to add a dash of color (red? green? yellow?) to our otherwise stark and dark palette.

(Late) Discovery: It took me WAY too long to make it to Mission Chinese Food, but it lived up to the hype.  Salt Cod Fried Rice was indeed worthy of 7 X 7's Big Eat list, and it's hard to find fault with Thrice-Cooked Bacon.

Obsession: Pouring through the banquet of stunning images that is the Lyla & Blu blog.
http://www.lylaandblu.com/archive

Complaint: Why is there so much television goodness on Sunday nights, and not enough on the other nights? I know one can DVR everything, but it's hard to avoid spoilers if you can't get through it all on Sunday night. Right now, it's a choice of what to watch first: Mad Men, where the glamour of the earlier 1960s has all but vaporized; Game of Thrones, with the great Tyrion as the King's Hand and a dozen other balls in the air; and, starting next Sunday, the promising-looking Girls. Sunday, don't be so greedy. Can't we spread the good shows around a bit more?

List 78

Love: The Boxcar Children was a childhood favorite of mine - to read and endlessly play act - so it's been lovely to re-read it this past week with Stella. The idea of four resourceful kids fending for themselves while living in the abandoned train car in the woods (storing bottles of milk in their cold creek "refrigerator", gathering mis-matched cracked dishes and pots from the town dump, finding eggs in the woods for supper, etc.)is as appealing now as ever.

Like: Tasting Table's Year of the Dinner Party series, which promises to provide ideas and inspiration for entertaining for the coming year.  Based on the first two entries, I'm hooked.

http://www.tastingtable.com/multipart_article/national/121

Discovery: Friskies' brilliant Cat Fishing app, which played a small part in keeping our poor cat Clara sane during her 8-week confinement following surgery (she was hit by a car in January.)  As of today, she's a free girl and authorized to be a normal cat again. 

Obsession: The current post-advertising fantasy gig is owning a small, modern urban inn above a bar or restaurant. Not unlike Longman and Eagle in Chicago or Detroit's Honor and Folly.

Complaint: That I don't have a picture of the finished dish to help convey this, but I swear this recipe for Guinness-Braised Beef Brisket is the easiest and most delicious centerpiece to a St. Patrick's Day dinner, if you are so inclined this Saturday.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/guinness-braised-beef-brisket-10000000577146/

List 77

Love: Cocktails at Aviary, where the science and imagination of molecular gastronomy is applied to alcoholic concoctions. Of course, I had to go with the Negroni-based option, called the 2-in-1. You start with a glass vial of carbonated Negroni and a tall glass with a white lady, all frothy egg whites and gin.  After a few sips you mix them together and a new drink emerges.  When I'm next in Chicago I want to try the 7-course cocktail tasting menu for sure.

Like: Ruxbin, a down-to-earth but gourmet Chicago BYOB, named one of the 10 best new restuarants in America by GQ.  Run by a brother, sister and friend trio, all surnamed Lee, we had delicious stuffed calamari,hanger steak, and a chocolate pot de creme topped with bacon cotton candy.

Discovery: That Bill Cunningham is pretty much the sweetest man on the planet.  Such a rare and unusual character, and such a lovely documentary. 

Obsession: Take Shelter, a terrific small movie from late last year, with Boardwalk Empire's Michael Shannon (decidedly non-Agent Van Alden-ish) as a working class family man in rural Ohio who becomes obsessed with his dreams and visions of an apocalyptic storm.  Is he prophetic or descending into paranoid schizophrenia?

Complaint: Hotel room service – how long it takes, the awkward standing around in a robe while someone brings the tray in, deciding how much to add to the 2 gratuities already on the bill.  Thankfully, this complaint has been solved at Public, Ian Schraeger’s new stripped-down hotel concept in Chicago, which aims to offer everything you need and nothing you don’t at a surprisingly affordable rate.  The best part of the stay: 6-minute room service left outside your door in a stylish bag.