A Farewell...and a Rebirth

One of the many tenets of Buddhism relates to your after life - when you die, you are rebirthed in one of the six existing realms, based on the karmic effects of your previous life.  One can evolve into a god or a demigod, or one can descend into the animal realm, the hungry ghost realm, or the hell realm.  

You may be asking - what the hell (no pun intended) does this have to do with a blog?

Well, this post is essentially this particular blog's last rites.  When I started this blog, the main focus was the transition from California to Central Ohio, with plenty of comparison between the two places especially in the culinary field.  Also, with me on a learning curve of what food Central Ohio did and didn't have, I mused a lot on the various restaurants, cafes, breweries and other food-related establishments I happened upon.

But almost everything needs a tweak now and again, and this blog has reached that point.  Essentially, California has become over the years a place I travel to now, and the perspective is more tourist than former resident these days.  Plus, the restaurants I covered with blog posts are now covered in my Instagram feed.  Also, the pandemic, as suck-filled as that was for almost everyone, has made me realize there is a larger pastiche of pathways I can explore with the blog. Having a formula is fine, but a formula often gets tiresome after awhile, and the energy that I've gained with the more free-form posting has revitalized me quite a bit.

I see the opportunity in that evolution, and I intend to run with it as long as I can.

This blog will remain up for the foreseeable future, but won't see any more posts. I imagine at some undetermined point in the future, this blog will head to archive land, no longer to be seen again.

There was one realm I hadn't mentioned in the Buddhism rebirth cycle I did not mention previously - rebirth as another human. Similarly, this blog has rebirthed into another blog, which at first glance is just a little more easy on the eyes, with a more expansive look at the intersection of food, travel, music and culture in general.

Thank you for stopping by throughout the years, and please join me at criticalricetheory.com to continue the fun.

A Hole-y Unlikely Tale: The Donut King

Little did I know it at the time, but this Ube Ice Cream filled
donut from The Parlor Ice Cream in Sacramento, CA, was
just the tip of the iceberg of a fascinating tale

As I was watching the 2020 documentary movie "The Donut King" (which I streamed recently on Hulu), I realized I had already experienced a bit of the latter half of the film in real life.  Looking for ideas to explore on a California trip a few years back, I encountered this Sacramento Bee article on Sacramento's Baker's Donuts, which detailed not only the younger progeny's knowledge of social media to raise their profile to the public at large, but also detailed a fact I had not known previously - Cambodian immigrants own a substantial number of the state's independently owned donut shops.

Something I had brushed by at that time was the vital role that Ted Ngoy, the man who is the focus of the documentary, played in bringing those donut shops to life.  If you watch the documentary (and I highly recommend you do), Ngoy's generosity, and in some ways, his failings, proved to be the driving force in making this status a reality.

Another thing that struck me while I sat watching the documentary: this inherently American story (rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-redemption) may be among the last of its kind.

The 614ortyPlatter: The Food Encyclopedia (A through M)

More often than not, the genuine article taco trucks, like
Taqueria Las Costeñas on Columbus's West Side
have the more adventurous proteins like lengua available

Maybe I'm betraying my nerdy youth with this admission, but I still get a thrill when I see a set of old-school encyclopedias in a thrift shop.  Before the Atari 2600 and video games entered my life with a bang, perhaps my favorite way to pass the time was to pull out a random volume of our family's encyclopedia set, open it up to a random page, and start reading away.

Inspired by a recent sighting of an encyclopedia set on the television, my mind got to thinking - why not cobble together an alphabetically ordered, randomly picked out topic list related to food?  So here, without further adieu, is the first half of my list, covering the letters A through M, with some appropriate music to accompany this very educational endeavor.

The 614ortyPlatter - 14-Course Tasting Menu

A divine soup, such as this Sopa de Tomatillo from German Village's
Barcelona Restaurant, is a tasting menu staple

One thing pandemic more or less eliminated was the primo tasting menu experience.  We personally don't indulge much in the extravagant side of the dining ledger, but we must say that one of our most memorable meals was the tasting menu of Veritas Restaurant, which was then in Delaware, Ohio.

Slowly but surely, however, this ultimate method of activating the taste buds is returning as an option for diners.  The very same restaurant we mentioned prior, Veritas (now in Downtown Columbus), has been offering themed dinners for diners, moving from French and Vegan, with Nordic on deck. Chapman's Eat Market has also dipped its toes in the water with some specialty Vietnamese-themed multi-dish offerings for the adventurous diner.   The Refectory, a Columbus fine dining institution, has also opened up for the dine-in experience and has traditionally had a Chef's five-course tasting menu.

Of course, we here at this blog aren't limited by dining restrictions, restricted budgets, or number of courses. With that in mind, as a nod to the return of this culinary tradition, we present our own 14-course/song tasting menu, where we combine the most divine of tastes with the most rocking rhythms.

The 614orty Platter: Fit for (Non-)Human Consumption

Can you believe I've been doing these playlists/blogposts for seven-plus-months now?  Or for that matter, that this blog has reached seven years of age?

To be honest, I thought both these things would fade out after awhile - as pandemic stretched onward, I didn't know exactly how to continue the blog, at least as it had been run previously.  The playlist was something of a last-ditch experiment (the result of working from home and a paid Spotify subscription) to keep the blog going, and to be honest, I thought that wasn't going to hold my interest for long either.  

Right now, things are moving along swimmingly - my Instagram feed basically has taken over the function of my blog in terms of exposing the latest and greatest eats and sights in the Columbus area, and beyond.  And the playlists have been a great to not only discover some great music from all around the world, but also really exercise my creative bones in terms of conjuring up themes.  So thus, the blog rolls on, maybe not the same in the same format, but still written with enthusiasm. As author C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Onward and upward!"

Chomp, chomp, chomp - as this Cheetah at the Columbus Zoo
demonstrates, we're not the only creatures that love to eat

Now this week's theme struck me during a National Geographic show - up until now, we've focused on human-related experiences in terms of food and beverages.  But as we all well know, we're not the only living beings on this planet, and what individual members of the various five kingdoms consider food is about as diverse as the number of members themselves.

So why not?  What delicacies are on their plates?  There might be one or two on this list that humans would at least consider, but for the most part, these things would fall under the "unfit for human consumption" label.

The 614ortyPlatter: Trending Upward

Sadly (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), Polish
Ham did not make our first ever list of trending foods

Not surprisingly, foods and beverages spike in popularity, seemingly from nowhere at times.

Gourmet coffee cafes and micro-roasters are pretty ubiquitous nowadays, but that was hardly the case just a mere sixty years ago, when Alfred Peet opened up his namesake store in Berkeley, CA in 1966.  As it turned out, his shop's beans provided the kindling for the company which broke lattes and cappuccinos into the American mainstream, Starbucks out of Seattle, WA.

How about what goes into a coffee?  While many swear by black, dairy milk and non-dairy creamer were your only options for the longest time, until the arrival of alternate milks such as soy, oat, and almond.  Now, those alternative milks are easily findable at your average grocery store, and are commonly used in baking as well.  Artificial sweeteners are also a bit of a recent arrival, with Nutrasweet, Stevia and Monkfruit joining Sweet 'N Low as options for those trying to avoid sugar-based substances.

Keeping in that mindset, we thought we'd look at some of the notable food trends of the past several decades, with a corresponding playlist that we hope will never fall out of fashion.

The 614ortyPlatter - A Trip To The Farmer's Market

Farmers Markets proved to be a bright spot for us during
the pandemic year of 2020

One aspect that helped make 2020 much more bearable for us was the continued operation of a few select various Farmers Markets around the area. While some farmers market within the 270 Loop of Columbus decided that it wasn't feasible to run the usual market festivities, Clintonville and Worthington, with the assistance of local businesses and entities, were able to modify things enough to keep running their markets running, as well as markets in the suburbs like Reynoldsburg, Granville, and Canal Winchester. While the markets didn't have the bustle which makes these events so enjoyable, we were simply happy that they were an option to begin with throughout the prior year.

2021 has seen the return of farmers markets around the area as a whole.  A few markets are operational now (Clintonville, Worthington, Westgate, North Market and Granville come to mind), with many more coming back online by the end of May/beginning of June (for a convenient handy online guide, check out this Columbus Monthly article detailing what's open and when.)  With that in mind, this week's blogpost and associated playlist pays homage to the farmers markets around the area, highlighting both of the products and associated vendors that we've encountered as well as those you'll encounter at events throughout the next several months.

The 614ortyPlatter - Columbus Restaurants of Yore (Vol. 1)

It was great while it lasted - the bar at the gone-before-it-deserved-
to-be-gone German Village restaurant Ambrose and Eve

According to an article published on Modern Restaurant Management in 2019, 80 percent of all restaurants go out of business within five years. Many disappear from the landscape without much of a care by the dining public, but a select few stay around long enough and/or put out such great food during their relatively short lifespans to elicit (hunger) pangs of remorse by local diners.

When you add up all the losses over the years, keeping track of all those eateries which have since departed the scene is an impossible task. However, for Central Ohio diners, authors Doug Motz and Christine Hayes helped make reminiscing about some of these restaurants easier with their two-book series, the 2015 "Lost Restaurants of Columbus" and the 2017 "Lost Restaurants of Central Ohio & Columbus", published on the Historypress.net label.

With that in mind, I thought I'd put together a blogpost and associated playlist that reference some of those memory-inducing establishments of the past.  While info for the restaurants which disappeared from the scene are referenced from the Motz and Hayes' books directly, the info related to some of the more recently lost restaurants on this list integrate our own experiences and knowledge.

The 614ortyPlatter - Movie Night!

"Ulam: Main Dish", a documentary looking at Filipino-American
Restaurants around the United States, is but one of the
food-related movies that we've found entertaining.

If nothing else, pandemic living made us realized how much of a role entertainment plays in our lives.  Obviously, the absence of live, in-person events was felt by everyone, from the performers to the venues which hosted them to people who attended them as a matter of everyday living. And it wasn't merely an economic effect; the toll of not having these options to help release the stress of sometimes dire circumstances was substantial on a mental basis too. Even going to the theater to catch a matinee wasn't available for much of the last year.

With many people hunkered down inside, cable and streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Sling and similar received a humongous boost to help keep people in good spirits.  From "Tiger King" to "Ted Lasso" to "The Mandalorian", plus movies of all sorts (even a few which skipped the normal theater-only release), many people, including us, got to catch up on some of our backlog.

Keeping with that notion, this latest 614ortyPlatter playlist hits on a baker's dozen movies where food played a key role in the plot.  The average viewer will probably recognize a few titles, but there may be a few others you may not have heard of that may pique your interest.  And just based on my initial research, there are quite a few more movies out there that would make perfect candidates for future playlist renditions.

1) "Tortilla Soup" - This movie proves to be a great example of how food often plays a role in the family, and likewise movies related to family relationships.  This 2001 dramedy stars Hector Elizondo as a veteran chef who is slowly losing his sense of taste, and features his sometimes contentious relationship with his three daughters as well as a divorcee (played by Raquel Welch) to stir the pot in unforeseen ways.  Take directly from the movie soundtrack itself, with Brazilian singing star Bebel Gilberto contributing her soothing vocals with her 1999 song "Sem Contecao."

2) "Estômago – A Gastronomic Story" Staying with Brazil, this 2007 film directed by Marcos Jorge finds the main character Nonato making his way through an unforgiving world using the one talent even he didn't know he had - his abilities in the kitchen. Representing this movie here is "Coxinha" (a Brazilian Croquette and one of the first dishes with which he showed off his talents) by Trio Chappahall's, one of the country's purveyors of Forró, a style of music which originated in the Northeast sections of the country.

3) "Pressure Cooker" - Featuring notoriously Philadelphia-area teacher Wilma Stephenson, this 2008 documentary looks at her and the journey of working-class students, as they try to both acquire the skills to become capable chefs as well as responsible in life-at-large.  A song featuring the so-called "Philadelphia Sound" (characterized by lush orchestral backing and a blend of R&B and jazz stylings) seemed perfect for this one, and The O'Jays' "Give The People What They Want" seemed a perfect song for what chefs all over the world try to do.

4) "Ulam: Main Dish" - Filipino cuisine has been on the "next big thing" cuisine list for quite awhile, but after some false starts, this prediction seems to be taking flight, as noted in this 2017 documentary which focuses on a number of Filipino restaurants from around the country. One such restaurant featured was "Maharlika", opened by entrepreneur/author Nicole Ponseca, which proved to be a trailblazer in its decade of operation; we figured the Tagalog-language pop romance song "Hanggang Sa Muli" by Kenyo (off their 2009 "Maharlika" album) was the perfect tune for this slot.

5) "Today's Special" - Some say the story behind this 2009 release is a bit cliched, but the story (a young Hindi sous chef with grander plans is forced to take over his family's restaurant when his father suffers a heart attack) is a fairly easy one to swallow.  Indian cuisine does tend to sport a little more heat and savorines with their masalas (spice blends), so we figured Penn Masala (an South Asian a capella group formed at Penn University) and their mashup of pop and Bollywood demoed by Cake by the Ocean/Gunghroo/Stronger from their 2020 Musafir (Abridged) album is the right blend here.

 

6) "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" - Directed by David Gelb, this exquisite 2011 documentary examines the dedication that many chefs strive for; in this case, it is master sushi chef Jiro Ono as well as his sons' attempts to create their own legacies. to follow in his father's footsteps. Offering up a dish of equally tasty music is none other than Neneh Cherry, stepdaughter of jazz musician Don Cherry and accomplished musician herself, with her biggest hit "Buffalo Stance" from her 1989 "Raw Like Sushi" debut album.

7) "The Search for General Tso" - Inspired by the research of journalist Jennifer 8. Lee, this 2014 film offers up details on this ubiquitous Chinese-American Restaurant dish and sprinkles a good dose of the Chinese-American immigrant experience on top.  Interestingly, this film did have an associated soundtrack, and "Enter Tsandman" by Ben Fries & Simon Beins is offered as a tasty side dish here (from what it sounds like, though, the tune is nothing like the similarly pronounced "Enter Sandman" by metal music stars Metallica.)

8) "Beer Hunter: The Movie" - Yes, there was a day when craft beer was not a thing, but thanks to the work of the early pioneers/brewers who forged the way post-Prohibition, as well as its promoters like journalist Michael Jackson (whose efforts are acknowledged in this 2013 documentary), the craft beer industry has never looked stronger, growing to nearly 8,800 breweries in number despite pandemic headwinds.  I thought briefly about throwing in a singer Michael Jackson song, but frankly, a beer-related song was far more appropriate. The origins of the song "Beer:30" are somewhat uncertain, but it's performed quite energetically by The Reverend Horton Heat, one of the leaders of the psychobilly sound.

9) "Big Night" - The late movie critic Roger Ebert said of co-directors' Joseph Campbell and Stanley Tucci's 1996 film that this film was "their labor of love. Their perfect risotto. They include just what is needed and nothing else."  Featuring two struggling Italian immigrant brothers who are trying to save their restaurant by cooking a marvelous meal for famed bandleader and musician Louis Prima, "Big Night" is said to have some of the most reverential food scenes of any movie, including the unveiling and slicing of the baked Timpano, essentially a pasta-bake in a dough casing.  Here, "Timpano" by Martijn Ten Velden, a Dutch Ibiza/House DJ/Producer based out of Haarlem, provides us with music to sigh to.

10) "God of Cookery" - Director/Actor Stephen Chow has made a living at Mo Lei Tau (rough but not quite complete translation: "Makes No Sense") comedies that, amazingly enough, have found success in the U.S. as well, especially with the movies "Shanghai Soccer" (2001) and "Kung Fu Hustle" (2004). The 1996-released "God of Cookery" sports a similarly wacked-out premise, featuring Chow as a fraudulent "Iron Chef" type food personality who gets found out, and with the help of female street food vendor and an unexpected encounter with a Shaolin temple that happens to specialize in both Kung Fu and Cooking, attempts to regain back his title. ) Chow's character comes up with the best dish in the grand finale, dubbed Sorrowful Rice; providing the musical backdrop is Country/Bluegrass singer Patty Loveless, whose "Sorrowful Angels" can be found on her 2001 "Mountain Soul" album.

11) "More Than Frybread" - Well, if Christopher Guest can make a series of mockumentaries, why not others?  In this case, 2012's Travis Holt Hamilton's "More Than Frybread" fits the bill - we admit we pulled this film up at random thinking it was a serious documentary about Arizona tribal members in their annual frybread competition, but soon figured out that the tongues were firmly planted inside the actors' cheeks (the final climax battle involves what looked to be a fun fisticuffs involving flying frybreads.) Keeping in the spirit of tongue-in-cheek, we offer up the hip-hop beats of "Frybread Snackin'" by Pawnee rappers Lil Mike & Funny Bone (off their 2018 "Beat of the Drum" album.) 

12) "Ratatouille" - Rats and fine dining don't normally pair up well, but Disney's animated dive into the culinary world made that unlikely pairing come to life and proved to be a box office smash, earning over $200 million in 2007 and hinting that "anyone can cook."  Representing this movie and French peasant dish is none other than Herb Alpert, who assembled a new version of his Tijuana Brass Band for his rendition of "Ratatouille" (which added a "Rata Too Ee" subtitle to help listeners pronounce the word right), located on his 1976 "Coney Island" album.

13) "Soul Food" - We finish out this playlist with a bookend family dramedy centered around the dinner table styled movie with 1997's "Soul Food." Featuring an all-star cast, the movie centers on the close-knit Joseph family, whose traditional Sunday soul food get-together dinners and family-unity are threatened when their matriarch Mother Joe passes away after her surgery goes awry.  We figured after all this feasting, a song you can wind down to while slumped on the couch would be perfect, and Isaac Hayes' 12-minute cover of the Burt Bacharach composition "Walk On By" (off Hayes' landmark 1969 album "Hot Buttered Soul") seemed to be an ideal closer for this playlist.

The 614ortyPlatter - Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Beer and baseball is a natural match, like here in Cleveland
where Great Lakes Brewing is a popular destination

One of our favorite pastimes is baseball - we have planned trips both to Cleveland to watch the home team as well as to Cincinnati (to watch the team that I grew up with, the San Francisco Giants.)  And as much as we do like our Major League games, our true love is with games at the minor league level.  Despite the realignment that the minor leagues underwent which resulted in the loss of a number of minor league teams, many towns and cities are still home to a pro ball team within their boundaries.

One of our favorite things to check out is to see what food items might exist at every ballpark we visit.  While we generally rarely stray from the good old classic hot dog and a beer combination, we do like to see what decadent treats might reside on the menus of the ballparks we do visit.

With that in mind, this blogpost and our accompanying blogpost focuses in on ballparks that are within a relatively modest drive away from our current residence in Central Ohio, and a select eye on some of the delicious eats you might find before you take your seat for a good nine innings or more of action.

The 614ortyPlatter - Musing on The Museum

You might not truly appreciate the breadth that canned
luncheon meat can achieve until you visit the Hormel SPAM
Museum in Austin, Minnesota

Whenever you travel anywhere, we've found a that museum is almost always a safe bet to spend a solid couple of hours or so.  Perhaps the best thing we've found is that museums can cover the gamut of topics, from the serious and sophisticated (random examples from our travels include the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Denver Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum) to the quirky and fun (e.g. The Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, CA, The Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, WV, and The National Funeral Museum in Houston, TX.)

With an eye to future travels, we thought we'd dive into the world of where food and museums intersect (my spouse and I have actually visited two on the list here, but would love to visit every other one mentioned) and give you a playlist based on that unique conjunction.

The 614ortyPlatter: Kitchen Island Discs Vol. 3 (Angelo Signorino, Barley's Brewing)

Ohio's longest-tenured head-brewer, Angelo Signorino of Barley's
Brewing knows his way around a wort and a musical playlist

As I've written before, we've had a long relationship with Angelo Signorino, the longest standing head brewer for any brewery in Ohio.  Most of that lies with my spouse's side of the family - her brother, who has done quite well for himself as a homebrewer, got his first home brewing kit from Angelo, and Barley's was just a hop, skip and a jump for him when he used to live in Victorian Village in the 1990s.  

Some of my wife's first samplings of craft beer involved Barley's beers, and the family at large have always tried to stop in whenever possible, whether it's to enjoy a lunch with beers and menu staples like their Sauerkraut Balls and Turkey Burger, or to fill up a growler or two of their Blood Thirst Wheat or Scottish Ale to bring up to the family for a celebration.

As a paying customer and guide for the former Columbus Brew Adventures, quite a few of my tours involved Angelo's brewery as a stop.  And as the years have gone by, we've gotten to know Angelo a bit on a personal level - there's not too many nicer people you'd want to talk with, whether it's beer or music or life in general.

I consider it an honor and pleasure to have Angelo featured on this month's rendition of Kitchen Island Discs, which features the music of some of Columbus's most prominent food and industry members.  So, if you got it, break out your Barley's pint glass (preferably with a cold beer inside) while we explore some of Angelo's favorite musical tunes.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

1. "It's Oh So Quiet" - Bjork: Starting with the Sugarcubes, lead singer Bjork quickly proved she didn't need any bandmates to forge out on her own, coming out with the wildly popular 1993 "Debut". Not willing to settle for the ordinary, the Icelandic native went even more eclectic on her 1995 followup "Post", in which her unique vocal stylings provide the glue in songs that alternate between varying extremes - "It's Oh So Quiet" sounds as if it could have been taken from an old-school Warner Brothers cartoon short.

2. "Rhythm-A-Ning" - Thelonious Monk: One of the godfathers of modern jazz and bebop, the North Carolina-born Monk took awhile to find his audience, but once he did (starting with his 1956 album "Brilliant Corners"), there was no looking back.  His future work with fellow legend John Coltrane is seminal, and Monk himself was one of only four jazz musicians to be ever on the cover of Time Magazine.  Interestingly enough, "Rhythm-A-Ning", based on chord changes to George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm", similarly took its time in becoming a signature Monk tune - Monk was identified as early as 1941 on one version of the song, but Monk didn't put it on wax until 1957, as part of a recording session with drummer Art Blakey.

3. "Wristband" - Paul Simon: Simon's "Stranger To Stranger" album, released in 2016, shows Simon not dabbling in the past but firmly in the present, and not seemingly in any hurry to move to the future - not surprising, with Simon approaching 75 years of age for this 13th solo album release.  On "Wristband", Simon relates a tale of trying to get back into his gig without the precious wristband, and expands the experience in the last stanza to members of society at large who can never seem to land that wristband to proceed further in their lives.

4. "Living in America" - Sault: The first of two songs that are distinctly NOT like the more familiar James Brown tune of the same title, the British music collective Sault has received acclaim for their their distinct musical pistache, which combines trip-hop, Afrobeat, old-school soul and other elements into something that goes way beyond categorization. Notoriously reluctant to speak to the media, the band has let their music speak for itself, including their dire view on the country across the pond on their 2019 album release "7".

5. "Living in America" - Fontaines D.C.: Formed in Dublin, Ireland in 2017, Fontaines D.C. made a big splash with their post-punk debut "Dogrel" in 2019, earning themselves an "Album of the Year" nod by Rough Trade and BBC Radio 6 Music.  Produced while on their debut album tour, the 2020-released "A Hero's Death" didn't quite hit the heights of their initial release, but contains some strong songs in its own right such as the title track and Angelo's selection, which infuses a sense of dread and foreboding with its ragged, buzzsaw roar.

6. "Lost in the Supermarket" - The Clash: Universally acclaimed as one of the best rock albums period, The Clash's 1979 release "London Calling" was a double album which deftly injected punk aesthetic with a number of musical styles and sported one of the iconic album covers of all time (a riff on the cover of Elvis Presley's 1956 eponymous release.) "Lost in the Supermarket" shows off a softer side of the band, combining Joe Strummer's perception of the rough childhood of fellow band member Mick Jones and their despair over the increasing commercialization of society.

7. "In Heaven There Is No Beer" - Brave Combo: prominent in Texas music since 1979, Brave Combo has entertained their fans over the decades with their unique blending of polka, Tejano and other Worldbeat sounds. Despite the seemingly depressing title, the song, initially written in 1956 in German by Ernst Neubach and Ralph Maria Siegel, is actually an ode for getting your beer drinking done before you pass from this world, and Brave Combo's energetic rendition definitely gets one to raising their steins in quick order.

8. "Know Your Chicken" - Cibo Matto: If there was an album that was the ultimate combination of food and music, Cibo Matto's 1996 album "Viva! La Woman" might land the the number one slot. Created by Japanese ex-pats Miko Hatori and Yuki Honda, Cibo Matto (Italian for "Food Madness") unleashed the full platter of treats on their debut release, blending their trip-hop sound with spicy samples (Ennio Morricone and Duke Ellington, among others) to serve up songs like "Birthday Cake", "White Pepper Ice Cream", and Angelo's selection, which relates the tale of some fancy-colored chickens in Brooklyn.

9. "Not Just What I Needed" - Car Seat Headrest: Originally from Leesburg, VA, Car Seat Headrest has emerged as one of the more popular and prolific lo-fi/indie rock bands to emerge during the 2010s, releasing a dozen albums on Bandcamp prior to their first major label release on Matador Records in 2015.  "Not Just What I Needed", released on the 2016 "Teens of Denial" album, has its own fraught history - the original recording contained a sample of The Cars' "Just What I Needed", but permission to use the sample was nixed just days before the album's official release.  Maybe that's part of why the band's singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Will Toledo dislikes the song so much, despite the rewrite becoming one of the band's standout tracks.

10. "Something You'll Never Forget" - William Onyeabor: a return visitor to our Kitchen Island Discs segement, Onyeabor is actually mentioned in the lyrics in the previous song.  The story of Onyeabor is a fascinating one indeed: born in Nigeria to a poor family, Onyeabor managed to make it over to Europe to study record making; some sources say he also studied cinematography in the old Soviet Union. When he returned to Nigeria in the 1970s, he set up his own film and music recording studios, and released a series of monster funk-oriented hit songs, including this track off the 2013 compilation album "Who Is William Onyeabor?"

11. "Worry" - Songhoy Blues: If the description "African Desert Blues-Rock Band" doesn't make you take a few minutes out of your day to listen to this Mali-based band, then nothing will.  Or maybe this band's story might do that, being forced out of Mali as refugees with government unrest and "retaliating" the best way they knew how using the country's musical traditions as a means of protest.  Despite the title, the anthemic "Worry" is actually a hopeful song to those fighting the fight, with lyrics like "Work hard is the best way/Let your hope come from fight/And go through your darkness/You’ll find your light" reflecting the mood.

12. "Stoned and Starving" - Parquet Courts: The initial album release from the NYC-based Parquet Courts has been described by lead singer Andrew Savage as "The Fall meets Neil Young." Indeed, that unique mix of influences can be found in this playlist closer "Stoned and Starving", which describes a completely New York experience pretty straightforwardly - wandering around a neighborhood full of bodegas trying to figure out what snacks will satisfy the singer's cravings.

The 614ortyPlatter - Hopping Down The Bunny Trail

Easter Munching with Rum Hot Cross Scones from
Worthington's Sassafras Bakery

Growing up in a Catholic household as a kid, Easter and the period leading up to it was something of a "weird" observance from a food perspective.  Yes, we did observe the fish on Fridays deal (though the very-Midwest fish fry was not a thing), but we didn't necessarily observe the fasting portions of Lent.  Easter itself would sometimes have a celebratory meal, though it was never seemed as big as Christmas.  We did the Easter Egg hunting thing for awhile, but eventually that faded out and was revived with my siblings and their kids.  Chocolate eggs and bunnies were a little bit of a thing, but Easter Peeps were definitely not.

Some things do persist - we do generally observe the non-meat Fridays, and we do occasionally indulge in some Easter-themed candies.  We may or may not grab a fish fry before this year's Easter is here (we've got one weekend left to do that), and we're definitely contemplating where we can land some delicious Hot Cross Buns (or, as pictured above, a very delicious alternative like Sassafras's Rum Hot Cross Scones.) 

But perhaps more than anything, we're awaiting what comes beyond Easter this year - the warming weather that Spring brings, and all the food explorations that await.  With that in mind, here is my latest playlist, which encompasses everything Easter, Passover, and food traditions from around the world.

1) "Butter Lamb" - Julie Byrne: Unsurprisingly, Eastern European countries have a slew of traditional culinary creations on the table for this traditional Holy day, and the Butter Lamb (basically, a slab of butter molded like a lamb, traditionally adorned with a red ribbon symbolizing the Blood of Christ) can be found in numerous households.  Buffalo, NY-based Julie Byrne lived in once such household, featuring the creation on her 2016 album "Rooms With Windows and Walls."

2) "Because the Night" - Patti Smith: Seemed like we should directly mention Easter in one of our selected tunes this week, and influential female rocker Patti Smith seemed like the ideal candidate. Her third album "Easter" saw her still trying to balance out art vs commercial considerations and balanced each nicely, helped out immensely (on the commercial side) by "Because the Night", a tune co-penned by The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.

3) "Heaven Sent" - Maamoul: A cookie traditionally made in Arabic countries before Easter and Eid, Ma'amoul consist of semolina flour and typically flavored with various nuts and dried fruits. Hailing originally from Germany, the Barcelona-based Maamoul offer up an appealing funk-pop pastiche in their music, like this track off their debut 2018 album "Funky Beast."

4) "In My Own Time" - Bee Gees: Once specifically associated with Good Friday, Hot Cross Buns are a tradition in many countries for the Easter holidays, and have a number of origin stories (the most accepted stories center around it being a monk's creation, though the century differs depending on the tale.) Featured on their 1970 debut album, the Brothers Gibb mentions the baked good in their song "In My Own Time", singing "Sitting selling hot cross buns/Thousand suckers everyone/Sounds just like a nursery rhyme/In my own time."

5) "Dolma" - Tenzin Phuntsok: Don't discount the Greeks when it comes to creating Easter-related culinary dishes: everything from the traditional Tsoureki bread to Myaritsa Soup (created from lamb innards), roasted whole lamb and Tzatziki sauce can be found on the table at various times, as well as Dolmas, stuffed-grape leaves which are a staple in many big meals. Hailing from Tibet, Tenzin Phuntsok creates a slightly different interpretation of "Dolma", fitting in with his preferred dwelling in Tibetan-language pop/love songs.

6) "My Mother's Brisket" - Rick Moranis: while they don't always overlap, the Jewish Passover period and Christian Easter observance generally are seen as happening at the same time by the average layperson. Our little Passover segment starts off with none other than actor Rick Moranis, who waxes eloquently about her mother's brisket on his Seder table on his 2013 album "My Mother's Brisket & Other Love Songs."

7) "Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Op. 65 (Hymn)" - Ernst Toch: Symbolizing the harsh treatment the Egyptians gave to their Jews during their enslavement, bitter herbs are a Passover Seder must. As noted in the Milken Archive, the "Cantata of the Bitter Herbs" originated in 1937, via collaboration with Toch and two Reform Rabbis in Los Angeles to create a classical work based on the Passover story.  As it turned out, Toch generally ignored the traditional songs associated with the holiday, creating a classically-based work that "(transcended) the confines of Jewish history and experience to express a universal theme: the equal injustice of all human oppression throughout the world, the natural longing for freedom by all such victims, and the legitimacy of struggle for liberation in all such cases."

8) "Still Playing For Latkes" - Kugelplex: Hailing themselves as the West Coast's "most rockin’-est purveyor of klezmer and old-world party music" this San Francisco-based outfit has been knocking out traditionally-styled rhythms for weddings and concerts for two decades.  Both Latkes and Kugel are both Passover food traditions, and here we get the double-dose with Kugelplex's rendition of "Still Playing For Latkes."

9) "Let Me Get a Large Pizzelle (No Sausage)" - The Not Fur Longs: Italians have their own Easter-oriented food traditions, from Colomba (a dove-shaped almond bread) to Casatiello (a salty cake filled with all sorts of goodies like salami, cheese, and eggs) to Pizzelles, sweet wafer-like cookies which are popular with many throughout the world, and not just for Easter either. In some ways, the Jersey-based Not Fur Longs and their song aren't the story here, but rather the album it appears on. Included on the "Arbor Christmas 16" album, the "Arbor Christmas" collection was inspired by an idea by Jon Montague to mirror the old Christmas specials of the past, where a band would come by to perform a song with him. Montague died after the second year of this undertaking, but the series has continued (now on its 20th iteration) both in memory to him as well a charitable venture.

10) "Houses of the Holy (Remaster)" - Led Zeppelin: Hailing from Lithuania, Cepelinai (Zeppelin) are hearty meat and potato dumplings found on many Easter-time feasts.  Representing this hearty dish are the hearty chops of none other than heavy rock gods Led Zeppelin, whose "Houses of The Holy" is just one of many solid tracks from their 1975 album "Physical Graffiti."

11) "Halo-Halo" - Mikey Bustos, Bogart the Explorer: While The Philippines is one of the countries that takes its holidays very seriously (their Christmas celebration lasts for 100 days), there has never really been a dish that's been super-closely associated with the Easter celebration. With that said, Ginataang Halo-Halo, a sweet stew featuring glutinous rice balls, taro root, sago pearl, jackfruit and coconut milk, may be the closest thing that fits the bill.  Admittedly, the "Halo-Halo" here sung about by Mikey Bustos and Bogart the Explorer, relates more to the shaved-ice dessert than the stewed rendition, but no one ever said there was anything wrong with enjoying either during this holiday.

12) "Pan de Pascua" - El Wiro Cumbia: While "Pascua" in Spanish is generally associated with Passover, for the largely Roman Catholic country of Chile, their "Pan de Pascua", a fruitcake-styled creation containing things like ginger, honey, and dried fruit, is often associated with a number of holidays, including Christmas, Epiphany and Easter; here, the Chilean-based El Wiro Cumbia does the honors with the ode to this sweet tradition.

13) "Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska" - John Prine: We couldn't finish off this list without a little nod to the secular side of this holiday; in fact, some sources indicate that the holiday's observance goes back to Pagan observances related to Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and fertility.  Modern day customs traditionally involve finding eggs and bunny rabbits, with the first of our secular couplet coming courtesy of the legendary Americana/Country singer John Prine. Relating an unusual tale he had heard about how egg sellers would drop off their daughters at the roller skating rink, he turned this folklore into one of ten songs on what would turn out to be his last studio album, the 2018 "Tree of Forgiveness".

14) "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane: Peter Cottontail, The Easter Bunny, the Easter Bilby (in Australia, rabbits are considered a pest; the endangered Bilby is far more beloved) - whatever your egg toter might be in your part of the world, we give a nod to it here with this pop classic from Jefferson Airplane, which uses a Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" motif for this surrealistic number. In true Easter tradition, most holiday diners can take inspiration from the end of the song, when lead singer Grace Slick wails about Carroll's dormouse - "Feed Your Head...Feed Your Head."

The 614ortyPlatter: Top Chef Top Songs

Avishar "Danny" Barua creating some magic on the
cocktail end of things at Columbus's Service Bar

Those in the know in the Columbus area are distinctly aware of Avishar Barua, of Service Bar Kitchen, and his way with mixing the "mundane" with the magical.  Those who have seen his creative takes with lCheesy Brisket Crunch , Po' Boy, the (Not) Pad Thai, or Fish Fillet know that his creations reach levels of flavor never hinted at by their original format. 

But he shows he's not a one trick pony by any means either, delving into creations like a Burmese Tea Salad, Bucatini Carbonara, or their "Very Southeast Asian Meal Kit" (featuring things like Shaking Ribeye Steak, Vietnamese Street Corn Salad, and Grilled French Onion Potato Gratin) have helped guide Service Bar through the often rough waters of the Pandemic for restaurants in general.

Plus, he's just a cool guy to talk to in general. So when it was announced that he was a contestant on the new season of Bravo's "Top Chef" (filmed in Portland during the Pandemic months), there were quite a few people, including us, that were incredibly excited to hear the news.

Thus, a playlist, dedicated to Avishar and his fellow "Top Chef" contestants, Padma, Tom, and the all the rest. Eighteen songs representing the filming locations of the show, all food related, which we hope enhances the anticipation of the first show's broadcast, set to premiere on Thursday, April 1st.

The 614ortyPlatter: Know Sap on Tap

Maple Syrup and French Toast is a lovely pairing indeed - just
ask the folks at Upper Arlington's South of Lane

Many food traditions have made their way across the oceans to the Americas over the vast expanses of time and been adapted to the local climate, but there are a few distinct things that remain almost exclusively from this region. 

One of those traditions derives from the Acer Saccharum tree, more commonly known as the Sugar Maple. Found exclusively in Midwest and Northeast portions of the United States and the Southeast portions of Canada, the sap from this tree has been tapped and refined to create maple syrup.

I had been one who never knew the pleasures of genuine maple syrup as a kid - my pancakes were often accompanied by the artificial stuff (Golden Griddle was a common sight in my refrigerator.)  I had heard so much about the genuine stuff, and figured my first trip into Canada (the largest exporter of maple syrup to the world at large) would be my first purchase of what was for me something of a luxury.

Returning from that trip, the first pairing with some of my Dad's basic Bisquick-created pancakes was beyond heavenly.  Maple syrup is now almost a must now when it comes to things like pancakes and waffles, and my spouse and I have used it in a number of baking recipes to give them a nice maple-tinge.

So with sugaring season in full effect at this moment, we here decided a playlist dedicated to this golden elixir was pretty much a natural.

The 614ortyPlatter: Kitchen Island Discs Vol. 2 (Lara Pipia)

My first encounters with our Kitchen Island Discs guest Lara Pipia
were through events like the Columbus Knife Fights
at the former The Commissary in Marble Cliff

Our guest this month for our Kitchen Island Discs segment is someone who has been behind and around many of the most promising and prominent names around the Columbus dining scene. My first encounter with Lara Pipia came at the former The Commissary in Marble Cliff, during a number of their dining events. I've also enjoyed sweet treats from the Northside Library location of Freedom A La Cart, an organization she co-founded dedicated to giving victims of sex trafficking and exploitation practical job skills to help with their community reintegration. Lastly but surely not least, I've been enjoying going through the delicious dishes at Emmett's Cafe, whose menu Pipia had a big hand in developing.

But frankly, enough of me typing away - Lara was more than eager and gracious enough to send us a little bit of her story, and what follows in this blogpost was created by her own hand. She also gave us an amazing playlist, so be sure to take a listen to it.

The 614ortyPlatter: Food Holiday Road

If you're keenly interested in food, the modern day calendar has transformed into a source of inspiration.  Every month, and increasingly, more weeks and individual days, have been dedicated to enjoying some sort of food or beverage, from the familiar (National Pancake Day, on February 16) to the novel (National Coffee Milkshake Day, on July 26.) Even newer food trends have their days, from National Keto Day on January 5 and World Plant Milk Day on August 22.

Unsurprisingly, these days have been used by those in the restaurant and food business around the world to help drive customers to them; local ice cream maker Jeni's Ice Cream encouraged everyone to break from tradition and eat one of their pints for "National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day" a few weeks back on February 6. 

With that in mind, we thought we would pick out a few days throughout the calendar year, and link them both to a song as well as a few local establishments where you can find the particular treat in mind.

The 614ortyPlatter - Free Music!...and a little Samin

Along with music, Samin Nosrat was a constant companion
while working from home during 2020

For those of you who have followed along since I have posted my playlists, the amount of music I was listening to while working from home proved to be the inspiration for these food-meets-music explorations. Like many, I definitely miss live music and concerts; frankly, if it's been hard for the consumers like us, it's been multiple times harder for the musicians who make at least a part of their living from their musical pursuits.

As a result, I've been making sure to supplement my Spotify listening (which as everyone knows, pays a pittance to artists for their streamed songs) with actual purchases of merch and music.  I've encouraged those of you who have read and listened along to do so too, and I figure a way I can do that even more is to provide a little bit of a carrot.  Thus, I'm giving away up a $20 gift card to Bandcamp, home of many independent music artists towards that effort.  If you came here first, check out my Instagram page (@CAlipinOH) to get the details on how you can enter the giveaway.

The 614ortyPlatter - Kitchen Island Discs (Laura Lee, Ajumama)

Tower Records, one of my favorite haunts as a teenager
(Photo from The Outline.com)

I'm finding as I'm continuing this playlist theme, I'm learning a lot of history along the way.  Take this week's playlist, which was based on a concept I first encountered as a teen but I found has a much older origin story.

As a teen, the local Tower Records, which was founded in 1960 by Russell Solomon and existed in brick & mortar form in the United States until 2006 (a new online version of the store was opened up November of last year), proved to be one of my favorite haunts as a teen and young adult. One of my favorite past times was to grab the latest Pulse! Magazine and read through reader's submissions of "Desert Island Discs", music they'd take with them to play were they stranded on a desert island. 

Little did I know until I did some research that the BBC in the UK has run a radio-based "Desert Island Discs" segment since 1942, with each guest imagining themselves as castaways and choosing 8 recordings to keep themselves company.

The 614ortyPlatter - Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler

Even the local supermarkets like Kroger have gotten into
the Fat Tuesday groove of late...

Fat Tuesday (or, depending on where you are in the world, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, or Carnival/Carnaval) has become essentially a day of excess pleasures for the public at large.  Historically, it marks the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten period for a number of religions, including Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Anglicans. Typically, for those who observe this period, Lent involves 40 days of self-reflection and -denial, moderation, and reflection on the life, sacrifice, and rising from the dead of Jesus Christ.

In that light, Fat Tuesday essentially is the last day to let out all your excesses, and observing Lent is not required to join in the festivities.  On the food side of the equation, many regional specialties are typically in plentiful supply, and in terms of Columbus, some of these treats have slowly but surely gained shelf space in a number of eateries, bakeries and supermarkets in the area in the past decade.

So in that spirit, we share with you a nice dozen's worth of songs that hint at some of the food traditions found around the world on this decidedly unique tradition celebrated (and ingested) by millions of people.

The 614ortyPlatter - Rhythm Kitchen 1811

The sign outside Columbus's Ace of Cups, one of the many music
venues/bars which has managed to eke by during the pandemic

I must say, these food-meets-music playlist have all played off the various food themes from last week's chocolate to holidays to "dumpster fire" foods to local neighborhoods have been very fun for me, and in many ways it's the perfect intersection of two things that have been my main pathways of exploration the past several years. 

However, one theme that hadn't occurred to me until it was pointed out to me (and I thank Bethia of Columbus Food Adventures for doing so) was the very obvious intersection of music business and food ventures.  Some of the ventures familiar to many include Sammy Hagar and his Cabo Wabo Cantina, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, and the Wahlberg Brothers and their Wahlburger fast food chain. 

In many ways, this diversification works on both the celebrity and the local level.  For the celebrity (musician or otherwise) restaurant owner, it offers exposure to the public in another multi-billion dollar industry. For those whose fame is more locally based, there's a sense of community ties as well as an added source of income (this article from Inside Hook has a nice perspective on this side of things.)

Interestingly, if I had just known a little more about the local music scene, I could've had even had a Columbus-based band represent in the Italian Village playlist I released not too long ago. So I figured this would be the perfect week for hitting on that theme for this week's playlist, with a perfect split of local Columbus flair blended with some familiar (but not TOO familiar) musicians and their ties to this intersection of food and music.

The 614ortyPlatter: It's Never Too Late For Chocolate

What can't you do with chocolate?  These chocolate-coated strawberries
from Clintonville's Eagle Family Candies were divine

While most people really don't need a reason to enjoy chocolate, the national holiday calendar gives us multiple days to at least give an excuse for indulging.  National Chocolate Cake Day just passed us by, and National Hot Chocolate Day comes at the end of the month. Other days that await chocolate lovers throughout the year include (but are not exclusive to) National Chocolate Chip Day (May 15th), National Fudge Day (June 16th), National Chocolate Milkshake Day (Sept. 12), and the all encompassing National Chocolate Day (Oct. 28th.)

Ohio itself has its fair share of chocolate makers, from the old-school producers (Canton's Ben Heggy's, Dayton's Esther Price and Winan's, Cincinnati's Fawn Candy, Findlay's Dietsch Brothers, Cleveland's Malley's, and Columbus's Eagle Candy and Anthony Thomas, among others) to newer purveyors like Maverick, Coblentz, Michael's Artisan, Coco Cat, Pure Imagination, and many many more.

So yeah, this playlist is a pretty sweet one, so to speak, one that you should let melt in your ears and not in your hands.

The 614orty Platter: Invested in Italian Village

Cosecha Cocina, one of the culinary bright spots in
Columbus's Italian Village before the COVID pandemic
forced it close in 2020.

I've always thought Columbus's Italian Village neighborhood was older than it was; in reality, the truth is it is and it isn't.  The Italian Village moniker isn't even 50 years old, but the area dates back to the 19th century.  And contrary to its current moniker, the area, just outside of downtown proper and bordered by High Street on the west, the railroad tracks on the east, East Fifth Avenue to the north, and I-670 to the south, has been home to a number of ethnic groups over its lifespan, including Italians, obviously.

Back in the old days, Italian Village was home to a wide variety of industries, including Wonder Bread, The Clark Grave Vault & Auto Equipment Company, Smith Brothers Hardware, and the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company.  Remnants of that industrial past still remain (namely, the Smith Brothers and the Wonder Bread buildings), but the focus of the neighborhood nowadays has changed, become both a residential and culinary destination area for locals and visitors alike.

For this week's 614ortyplatter, I thought I'd give a bit of a musical guided tour what exists culinarily in this up-and-coming Columbus neighborhood.  As Italian Village overlaps with Columbus's Short North neighborhood, I will focus mainly on the more exclusively Italian Village eateries with this list, and I promise it will be more than a tasty-enough list.

The 614ortyPlatter: Trust Falling The Top Of The Pops

Columbus Food Adventures' Trust Falls, such as this one from
Yemeni Restaurant, has become one of our favorite pursuits

One of our favorite developments of 2020 in the local food scene was one made of necessity.  Built around guided tours, Columbus Food Adventures (note: I was slated to be one of the tour guides last year) pivoted to the Trust Fall with the COVID pandemic putting a halt to the traditional tours.  Essentially a delivery service, the Trust Fall delivered meals to your doorstep many international and other intriguing restaurants around the area.  The only catch, if you can call it such, lies in the name - you don't know what restaurant you will be getting for your meal.

As noted on their blogpost, their Trust Fall proved to be quite successful, bringing 3600 meals representing 40 nationalities.  Discovering staples from various nationalities and countries has always been one of our favorite things while dining out and traveling, and the Trust Fall proved to be a great way of doing that last year in a low- to no-contact manner.

Taking that desire for discovery in mind, this latest playlist takes some of the countries/restaurants featured on the Trust Fall last year and gives you a small sampling at what was popular in music in those countries during 2020.

Exploring Egg-Free Breakfasts in Columbus (Guest Blogpost)

Pattycake Bakery's Sticky Buns are but one of many
delicious egg-free options available for the diner

(Note: This is a guest blog post from my favorite dining partner in the whole world Kris - you can catch what she posts on her Instagram account @aimless_rambling)

During the summer of 2020, I discovered that I was allergic to eggs.  I had experienced symptoms of itching and occasional hives for at least 6-7 years but only in June did I make a connection to eggs (versus other suspected culprits such as soaps/shampoos).  Testing confirmed the egg allergy and a few others which were also a surprise.  My allergist was surprised as well, since egg allergy is rare in adults and even then usually develops in childhood. 

To my knowledge, I had no food allergies in childhood though there is a family history in both children and adults now confirmed in five generations.  I am fortunate that my symptoms are mild and mostly annoying rather than dangerous.  I’ve had no anaphylaxis symptoms though I do now carry an Epi-Pen. 

What it has done is made eating out a bit more tricky, especially since we have always enjoyed going out for breakfast and brunch.  Do you know how hard it is to find breakfast and brunch options that don’t include egg?  Even pastries that do not include egg in the dough or filling are often coated with an egg wash to make them nice and shiny.  And many of the egg-free options are things like granola.  Guess what else I’m allergic to?  Almonds, oats, and strawberries (and I suspect a few other things that weren’t on the test).

I thought about challenging our fellow blogger Nick Dekker of Breakfast With Nick to come up with a list of Columbus area options of egg-free breakfasts, but decided to explore the subject myself.  My goal was to find breakfast/brunch items that did not require me to ask for “no egg” (though when I’m in the mood to do that, the corned beef hash from Delaney’s Diner is the best in town IMO).  In no particular order, here are 10 to try if you are looking for egg-free options yourself

The 614ortyPlatter: Toodle-oo To 2020

Durian may or may not be your bag

During the usual Times Square New Year's Eve celebrations, I always liked to spot souvenir glasses worn by folks at the event reflecting the year to come.  2020, with its convenient round zeroes, was a perfect template for these souvenir glasses, and I remember thinking at the time that 2020 might turn out to be a pretty good year all around.

Boy, was that notion shattered beyond recognition.  The couple months of relative normalcy at the beginning of this year was quickly eclipsed by a seemingly two-year long stretch of travails, disruption of the normal, and some challenges that threatened to be majorly disruptive for an extended period of time.  As the saying goes, what does not kill you makes you stronger, and the small silver lining I'll take from the past 366 or so days is that we both have been strengthened in ways that we never would've suspected before.

In honor of this dumpster fire of a year, my end-of-year playlist contains food items which are considered by many to be culinary dumpster fires.  And to save you all from extreme torture, this appropriate-length (13 songs) set clocks in at a very svelte 28-minutes plus, enough time to immerse yourself in the awfulness but short enough to avoid any lasting damage.