May my soul's love
Make its way unto thee
May my love's inmost sense
Make its way unto thee
That they sustain thee
That they enfold thee
In realms of love.
- Rudolf Steiner
dimanche 3 octobre 2010
lundi 10 mai 2010
Little Havana
The main justification of my weekend in Miami this past February was really to visit and explore the area of Little Havana, a neighborhood filled with Cuban restaurants, cheap knick-knack shops and voodoo boutiques.
After attempting to get information on the area from our hotel and miserably failing, (the concierge unhelpfully told us that the area was unsafe and that we would be much better to take a tour on a bus offered by the hotel), we decided to go it alone, hopping a cab and telling him to take us to the neighborhood and drop us off on the street.
A $30 cab ride later, we found ourselves on a large, busy street with no real idea of where to go. So we started walking.
Little Havana turned out to be a fascinating cultural experience. Sure, the wide streets, cars and architecture were all very American, but the people, the shops, and overall experience were not. Signs in English were few and far between, and a real highlight soon into the adventure turned out to be a Cuban pastry shop where two delicious sweets cost a mere $1.
I could describe in detail all of the adventures, but I feel the pictures speak better for themselves.
Who would want to pay $5 for shoes when you can pay... $3?
Flower Power
When asked for a recommendation for the best Cuban restaurant in Little Havana for lunch, Peter Hernandez ruefully told me that the building in which I was currently standing used to be it.
These days Peter helps his parents run their fruit market in Little Havana, a largely Cuban enclave in Miami Florida. Los Pinareños Fruteria, a bright yellow structure along Calle Ocho has been touted as the ‘last open air farmer’s market in Miami.’ The business has been in the Hernandez family for over 45 years, started when Peter’s parents, young and rebellious at the time, had to escape Castro’s rising regime in Cuba.
But the popular tour bus stop that offers fresh papaya smoothies didn’t use to be just a fruit market; in the 1990s Los Pinareños was a burgeoning restaurant, serving, as Peter says, “some of the best Cuban food in Miami.”
A devastating fire ripped through the building in 1995, destroying everything the Hernandez’s had worked so hard to create. A lack of insurance meant that the space they had paid $68,000 for in 1968 and from which they made their livelihood was gone.
It took three years to rebuild, the money mostly earned from the sale of flowers, the likes of which can still be seen in the forms of beautiful, bright tropical colors.
Now that Cuban Americans are allowed to return to Cuba to visit close relatives, I asked Peter if he planned on going back to his parent’s country. “Out of respect for my parents, I don’t go back to Cuba,” was his response. Elaborating, he told me that his parents were originally farmers, born in the Pinar del Rio region.
“My parents, even though they were uneducated farmers, had to leave their land at the age of 17,” he said. “They were participating in anti-Castro movements, such as throwing rocks at governments buildings in protest.” The couple ended up escaping Cuba for the United States, arriving around 1958. “They wanted a democracy,” Peter simply explained.
Every day, Peter and his parents work at the farmer’s market, telling their story to those who ask, while selling what they have to offer.
Peter hopes that through the sale of fresh fruit smoothies, sandwiches made with a small panini maker and of course flowers, that he and his parents will eventually be able to save up enough money to re-open a restaurant like they once had.
dimanche 14 mars 2010
Miami Series: Buenas Tardes, Señora Martinez!
Tapas Design at it’s best in the Textile Neighborhood
Located at 4000 NE 2nd Ave, the Spanish influenced Señora Martinez tapas bar and restaurant is located a happy distance from the over the top glitz of South Beach. Opened in 2009 and set in an old stone building amidst art galleries and design centers in Miami’s textile neighborhood, Sra Martinez has once again done herself proud with this new venture.
Traditional in appearance from the exterior, the interior is anything but. High, vaulted ceilings with dark wood beams accent the décor in black and white: black wooden bar stools with bright silver tacks, black and white floral patterned tiles on one wall, black wooden shutters on another. Along the left hand side of the room runs a modern glass and steel staircase, stealing much of the focal point of the interior. The staircase leads to an upstairs dining area, a grey brick wall with red Kartell ghost chairs.
To offset the low lighting and dark colors, the restaurant tapas bar is lit with two naked orange light bulbs. Flanking the bar are beautiful bouquets of tulips and roses of all hues and shapes, accompanied by bright tropical fruits artfully displayed in glass jars.
The servers were all friendly and efficient. My waiter, Marcello helpfully recommended items off of the tapas style menu. The Spanish and South American inspired menu offers dishes such as the Shrimp Tiradito; a delightful combination of jumbo shrimp, soy sauce and aioli, with some freshly popped corn to decorate the plate, and the Garbanzo Stew; a hearty bean stew with chorizo and a raw quail egg to add some adventure to the mix.
The vibe in the restaurant is fun and upbeat, with lounge type music in the background. On a Thursday night, the crowd varied widely; from a business dinner in the upstairs quarters, to couples and groups of friends spread out among booths and bar style dining.
Out of all the Miami restaurants in which I ate, Sra. Martinez was by far a favorite. And no wonder... the restaurant was named in Esquire Magazine’s ‘Best New Restaurants 2009’. The only downside was the $30+ cab ride to and from South Beach... Although I did have Ralph as my cab driver on the way back!
lundi 1 mars 2010
Crazy Pirates
As I found out during a long weekend in Miami, a trip in a taxi differs substantially from that in New York. To begin with, the cabs in Miami are driver and rider friendly - in that they encourage conversation between both companies due to the lack of what I assume in New York is a bullet-proof (and thus mainly conversation-proof) partition. A description in an article by New York Times writer Sewell Chan from 2005 aptly describes the job of said partition in NYC cabs: “It emerged in the 1960's as an invention born of fear: the taxicab partition, meant to spare the lives of drivers at a time of gunfire, armed robberies and murders.” Chan best captures the loss of human to human contact with his observation, “with the partition closed, the classic cabbie conversation - the one about politics and local lore, current events and competing theories about the best way from, say, Midtown to Kennedy - would become all but impossible.”
Well my friends, in Miami the ‘cabbie conversation’ is fully alive and kicking. Almost every taxi trip was filled with colorful conversation, covering wide ranging topics, including; true to Chan, politics, local lore and current events. One particularly engaging man was Raphael, or ‘Ralph Taxi;’ accompanied by ‘Professional Service’ and ‘WE GO EVERYWHERE,’ as his business card reads.
Ralph is from Peru. In his home country he worked as a musician, composing and compiling pieces for advertisements and screenplays. Ralph loves to talk, and talk he does.
I learned that he has family members in far reaching places such as Paris, Germany and yes, even one starting school in Toronto next year.
Ralph takes his job very seriously. And he’s good at it. He drove at a comfortable speed and took the corners gently as he told me about what he does. “So many of the taxi drivers are nuts here,” he said. “They’re like crazy pirates on the road.” (He should go to New York).
As the Olympics were going on during my stay in Miami, I asked Ralph if he watched any of the sporting events. He said he didn’t, adding that he felt that it was his responsibility to “organize the other crazy pirates” on the road and make sure they were in the right locations.
It’s always so fascinating talking to cab drivers when you get the chance - often their stories are so interesting and filled with insightful anecdotes. Sit back, or forward, rather, and engage in conversation and share in a 5, 10 or 15 minute chinwag with a perfect stranger. What is there to lose?
WELCOME TO MIAMI
Miami: pronounced \mī-ˈa-mē,-mə\ is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida in the United States (Wikipedia definition)
A long weekend in one of the Sunshine State's famous cities yielded some colorful characters and curious cultural adventures.
jeudi 28 janvier 2010
(A Place To...) Get Your Daily 'Bread'
Bread. Situated on the ground level of a townhouse on Spring Street in Soho there's a quaint little restauant. But it is after you pass through the thick, leather curtains guarding the interior from the stiff winter winds that it hits you: this place is cool. The layout of the restaurant in itself is unique; the first room is thin and long, with high ceilings, and all the tables are round or square two-seaters. What makes it stand out even more is the whitewashed brick wall interior, accompanied by a pressed tin ceiling and numerous one of a kind pieces of décor combine to give the space a real New York vibe.
Started in 2001, Bread is a family run business, and the recipes of simple, contemporary Italian food originate directly from extended family in Italy. Originally encompassing just the front room and offering only salads and panini’s, the restaurant eventually expanded into a back room, complete with a larger kitchen offering more dishes. Indeed, it was a general Google search for the ‘best salad in New York’ that led me to ‘Bread’ (the very food I was trying to abstain from!).
After speaking with the two owners and an assistant in the business, I learn where the flair for the unusual décor originates: the wife, and co-owner of the restaurant also works as a set designer and found many of the various pieces of art and other works from Italy. The neighborhood is constantly changing, with new shops and restaurants and I learn that in order to keep pace, no longer being a new restaurant, and especially in the vicious food world of New York, the décor is also constantly changing. The latest look was to aim for simplicity; white walls with a hint of colour here and there, but to really ‘let the food speak for itself.’ (While the food certainly does speak for itself, the décor is without a doubt noticeable, not obsolete, and was a large part of my dining experience).
Now to the food. The large lunch menu offers everything from appetizers of grilled octopus, to ten different salads, to a multitude of pastas and sandwiches. I opted for a butternut squash soup (made without cream), and a shrimp salad. Everything was delicious and wonderfully seasoned without being overwhelming.
The crowd is eclectic, from two French speaking people at the table beside me, to a colourful man with long, curly hair, bell-bottom jeans and a fedora hat with a band of feathers encircling the brim. The music was a solid choice of Motown hits, the Supremes and Marvin among the mix.
The restaurant was definitely a positive experience; I hadn’t even planned on blogging on it; luckily I had a camera on hand to document the event, as well as the luck to chat with the owners.
The restaurant from Spring St.
The long, narrow front room
Whitewashed walls and eclectic art surround the tables for two
mercredi 20 janvier 2010
Fun with Vintage: Linde Gallery St Barth
Located in les Hauts du Carré d'Or in Gustavia, the entrance to Linde Gallery is fringed by palm trees and comfortable lounge chairs, creating an oasis away from the busy bustling world of shops below. Guessing correctly that I had come to do research for a blog as I was armed with a large SLR camera,Jerome was only too happy to show me the back closet, filled with vintage treasures to satisfy any junkie. First and foremost upon entrance into Linde Gallery, the most noticeable aspects of the boutique are the sunglass cases. Upon closer inspection, you realize that all the sunglasses are vintage. Delve deeper, and Jerome will provide the full story: Back in the 1970s in Biarritz there was a lady who owned an optics shop. Upon closing the shop, rather than selling off the remaining stock of sunglasses, she chose to store them; complete in their boxes. Eventually, the sunglasses were slowly listed on eBay, where they caught the eye of the owner of Linde Gallery, who initially purchased small amounts of five or six. However, realizing the incredible opportunity to procure such a unique collection, the owner gradually purchased all 800 pairs, half of which today can be found in St Barth. From sunglasses, we moved on to vintage clothes, where I was able to try on stunning outfits, from a black tie cocktail dress to a mohair YSL piece. It turned out to be an extraordinary evening in what I wish was my own adult dress-up play room!
The pink pair of glasses are vintage Courreges in a style called 'The Mask' from the 1970s. One of, if not the first in its kind in this particular style, 'The Mask' inspired collections that can be found in stores today.
What makes these Givenchy shoes unique is that while worn on the runway, they were never mass produced for the public.
The photos in the background are the work of Parisian society photographer Philippe Morillon.
A white, faux fur vintage Courreges jacket complete with another look found among the hundreds of sunglasses.
Upon first glance, I thought that this incredible knit dress was just another YSL work. However, upon closer inspection, Jerome informed me that it is in fact a piece from the Tricot line, a branch from the designer that has been discontinued for quite some time.
Accompanied with the YSL are another pair of Givenchy shoes never produced for the public. They were so comfortable, too bad they were a size too big!
This fabulous party frock is designed by 'Tutto,' a fairly unknown Italian house and is believed to have originated in the 1970s. The sunglasses in the photo below are vintage YSL.
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