stay in the shallow end

Mates of State is coming to Satellite Ballroom on September 25! Words cannot describe how overjoyed I am at this news.

I haven’t been able to get enough of the indie pop lately. I don’t know what’s triggered this shift to a sunnier disposition, but my Recently Played playlist for the last few weeks has been populated by Dressy Bessy, Sprites, Tullycraft, Belle and Sebastian, Park Avenue, and Tilly and the Wall.

Ahhhhh, Tilly and the Wall… lpk and Michael have already covered the awesomeness of the Tilly and the Wall shows we went to, so I’ll spare you that. For me, the big story is that after seeing Tilly in D.C. Saturday night, we sold our Ani tickets on Craigslist and came back to Charlottesville to see Tilly again.

I can’t really explain why this is a big deal to me, but it seems really significant. We’ve seen Ani a bunch of times, and I was really looking forward to the chance to get up close at the 9:30 Club. I’m guessing it really has nothing to do with Ani, but more the awesomeness of Tilly. I haven’t seen a band put that much of themselves into a show in a very long time. Seeing them so happy made me so damn happy.

If you were to graph the rise of a band’s popularity, I’d say there’s three general regions. When bands aren’t popular enough, they play some crappy venue and only a couple dozen show up. I imagine it’s hard to put on an energetic show with so few people mirroring it back at you. On the other side, when a band gets too popular, people show up just cause they’ve heard of them, and while you have a crowd, there’s still no energy. Tilly is in the sweet spot. They’re big enough where they draw a healthy number of people that truly love their music, but they’re just under the radar, so they don’t get people wandering in off the street. They play nicer venues that are still small enough to be intimate, and they’re able to nearly fill them up with people that love them. I get the impression this is the first tour in the sweet spot, because at both shows, D.C. especially, they seemed genuinely surprised that so many people came out and were so into them. Both nights were so awesome, and I didn’t think I had it in me anymore to lose myself in a show like I did with Tilly. I still can’t think about it without smiling, and I am so crushing on the girls of Tilly, who Michael and I have decided to just refer to as Blond Tilly, Brunette Tilly, and Dancing Tilly.

So yeah, I can’t get enough of the indie pop. We saw Dressy Bessy last week at Starr Hill, and next weekend we’re going to Lollapalooza. And I hope to see all of you at the Satellite Ballroom on September 25, so Mates of State can rock your socks off.

Blog Note: The use of “fuck” in the title of this post is a first for stay in the shallow end. Expect more if it.

As I was about to leave this morning, Blackjack and Speedy suddenly started barking up a storm in the backyard. From three experiences now, we’ve learned this means only one thing… something was about to die. I ran outside and saw them on top of the retaining wall looking down at something and barking while poking it. I grabbed a stick off the pile ( from my tree chainsaw massacre ) and started beating the dogs with it until they backed off. It turns out they’d seen a turtle, flipped it on it’s back, and then were trying to get it to come out of it’s shell, which obviously, it wouldn’t. lpk and I tried to figure out how to retrieve it from where it was on the wall, and finally, I grabbed a shovel, scooped it up, and we checked to see if it was alive. As soon as we flipped his shell upright he popped out to say hi. We placed him on the other side of our back fence, and hopefully he knows better than to try to make his way back over.

I just stumbled upon this, and it’s inspired me to get out this week’s last week in food:

Monday: Lunch at Lee’s Grill: I’ve written about Lee’s Grill once before, but this visit made me really appreciate it. I ordered the $4.95 Teriyaki Chicken lunch special. The dish consisted of a huge pile of chicken next to a huge pile of vegetables next to a pile of seasoned white rice. It wasn’t anything special, but it was prepared perfectly, and this time, easy on the oil. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.

Tuesday: Lunch at Lee’s Grill: In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we came back the next day, and I ordered the same thing. I also added the Cold Sesame Noodles appetizer, but they were pretty disappointing. I’d rank them behind both Marco and Luca and Noodle Bar.

Wednesday: Lunch at Saigon Cafe: I ordered the Singapore Noodles, which is what I ordered in Week #15. They were just as excellent, and I ended up eating the whole plate and then wishing I was dead because my stomach hurt so much.

Friday: Dinner at Christian’s Pizza: I managed to make it in the door as they were closing up, and they had a half cheese pizza and a slice of Greek left. I took the Greek slice, and it was just as delicious as you would expect a slice of pizza to be after having a half dozen beers.

Saturday: Dinner from Asian Express: lpk was out of town for the weekend, and I still haven’t gotten around to getting the tires replaced on my car, so I was pretty much homebound. Saturday night, I ordered some Chirashi from Asian Express. It was 15 pieces of fish on a bed of rice, but I forgot about my experience last time I ordered form them. Three of the pieces of fish are stinky in a way that makes me want to throw up, and as soon as I took the lid off I smelt it. I quickly wrapped up those pieces and threw them out. The other 12 pieces weren’t bad though, but it’s hard to judge, because I don’t think my mind could ever believe that sushi delivery was high quality.

That’s it. If you’ve read this far, then I’ve proven Margaret Mason wrong!

Last week is still fresh in my mind, so I’m hoping the quality of these reviews will be much greater than the last couple of weeks. This week brings two more unique restaurant reviews and a complete reevaluation of one of the regulars.

Monday: Lunch at Eppie’s: A friend tipped me off to Eppie’s a few weeks ago, and since I had to head to City Hall I thought I’d have lunch there. Eppie’s reminds me of one of my favorite restaurants from Nashville, Calypso Cafe. They both offer slow roasted jerk chicken with a variety of sides. I ordered a Quarter White with Cole Slaw and a Sweet Potato, and it came with some cornbread. The sides were excellent. The cole slaw was light and flavorful, just like I like it. It wasn’t mayonnaisey at all. The Sweet Potato has been cut in half, covered in cinnamon sugar, brushed with butter, and roasted, and tasted exactly how you would expect such a sweet potato to taste. The cornbread was sweet and fresh, once again, just as I like it. The chicken was very good, but didn’t match up to the quality of the sides. It was just too dry. I went in at 11:15, so it’s not like it had been sitting around a long time either. I’ll be definitely headed back next time I’m downtown for lunch.

Wednesday: Lunch at Take It Away: Doing my best to try and change it up, I ordered there Jerk Chicken BBQ Special with extra mustard, and I am glad I did. The pulled chicken was juicy and tender, and the sauce was light and tangy. I savored every bite of this sandwich.

Thursday: Lunch at St. Maartens: I had a Voodoo Burger with Cajun Fries. It’s Maarten’s regular burger topped with a habanero sauce, pepper jack cheese, and jalapenos. I added some Tabasco and mustard to the mix, and enjoyed every bite. For my money, Maartens has the best fries in town, and they absolutely smother them with the Cajun seasoning. I could have this meal everyday for a week and not get bored.

Thursday: Dinner at South Street: I didn’t order any food for South Street Thursday this time around. I did manage to score a piece of flank steak and half of lpk’s salad. It was definitely one of the better days for their flank steak. The salad was the house salad add tuna. While their asian sesame dressing doesn’t compare to Escafe’s, it’s still very good, and combined with the extra strong greens and seared rare tuna, makes for a very satisfying meal.

Friday: Lunch at Jak’n Jil: Jak’n Jil is a greasy spoon on E. High street whose specialty is foot long chili dogs. I had a foot long chili dog and onion rings, and they were about as good as I could imagine a foot long chili dog and onion rings being. A friend of mine ordered a chocolate shake and said it’s one of the best shakes he’s had in town, so I’ll definitely be trying that next time around.

Friday: Dinner at Amigos on 5th: I decided to change it up and order something completely different. The Chili Verde looked interesting, so I ordered it. Out came a huge platter of rice and beans with a dish of large chunks of pork in a green sauce. It was absolutely incredible, and it made me reevaluate my entire opinion of Amigos. The sauce was very rich and spiced to perfection. The pork was so tender I could cut it with a fork, and it just melted in my mouth. I’m salivating just thinking about it. If you end up at Amigos, definitely order the Chili Verde.

All caught up! I’m really glad to see restaurants like Eppie’s hitting the downtown mall. It definitely needs restaurants between Christian’s and Zocalo, and Eppie’s is perfect. If we see a couple more restaurants like Eppie’s, I may find myself downtown much more.

Week #15 was much lighter on the eating out front as I was recovering from my NYC trip. Only three reviews!

Tuesday: Dinner at Saigon Cafe: Saigon Cafe is a little Vietnamese restaurant behind Cville Coffee on Ridge. I’d been there a couple of times in the past based on Michael’s recommendation. I was mildly impressed with the food on those visits. This time around I ordered the Singapore Noodles, and they were absolutely fantastic. It was basically lo mein with chicken, beef, and shrimp, but it had tons of flavor, and a little rooster sauce gave it the kick it needed. Just thinking about it now is making my mouth water. The other thing I like about Saigon Cafe is that beer is very, very cheap.

Saturday: Brunch at La Taza: La Taza is one of my favorite little restaurants in Charlottesville. It’s too bad I never think of it when we’re trying to decide where to eat. We went down there saturday morning before going to the farmer’s market, and I had a breakfast sandwich of some sort, although I can’t remember which one. It was a new addition to the menu, and I do remember it was really tasty. Wow, my memory of this meal is so vague. This review is completely useless.

Saturday: Dinner at Brick Oven: This is my first review of Brick Oven. We used to go fairly frequently, but that drive down 29 has become less and less appealing over time. Brick Oven makes excellent pizza, and I ordered a personal size with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, prosciutto. sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and jalapenos. It was fantastic, but even better than their pizza, Brick Oven has the best salad bar in town. It’s a typical salad bar, and than add a bunch of pasta salads, seafood salads, roasted vegetables, and a variety of other vegetable concoctions. If you haven’t been to Brick Oven before, I highly recommend it. You’ll either love it or be indifferent to it, but you definitely won’t dislike it.

Looks like I’m caught up on the past due. One more week to go!

I’m three weeks behind, so let’s get right down to it!

Tuesday: Lunch at Food For All Nations: I went back to my old standby, the Dante’s Inferno. The sandwich starts out on an Italian flat bread with pepperoni, salami, deli mustard, onions, and hot peppers. I add sauerkraut and horseradish. This is probably the spiciest sandwich you can get in Charlottesville without having to add your own hot sauce. It is absolutely delicious, and oh so spicy. In addition, I got the black bean salad, which is a perfect way to put out the fire of the sandwich. They also had tons of samples out, which made for excellent appetizers.

Tuesday: Dinner at El Tepeyac: I can’t believe I’d gone 14 weeks without eating at El Tepeyac. In my opinion, it is the best Mexican restaurant in town. It did an excellent job of nestling into the hole in my heart left by El Girasol closing. Michael and I had dinner there, and I ordered some sort of steak entree. Unfortunately it was so long ago, I don’t remember. It doesn’t really matter, though, because I don’t think you can go wrong here. Funny story, the first time I came here, I placed my order and that meal was one of the tastiest things I’ve ever had in my life. The second and third time i came back (which was within a week), I ordered the same thing, and received a different dish than the first time. My order was misunderstood the first time. Now, I go back and just order different things off the menu in the hopes that I’ll stumble across whatever I ordered that first night. It hasn’t happened yet.

Wednesday: Late Night Snack at Gray’s Papaya: And now begins the NYC trip. As soon as I arrive, my friend and I head out to a bar, the Dead Poet, and drink until it closes. We stumble out onto the street and decide to go to Gray’s Papaya, a supposed New York legend. They sell fresh juice and hot dogs. I had two or three hot dogs with onions, kraut, and mustard, and I only wish they had hot sauce to put on them, too.

Thursday: Peter Luger Steakhouse: This was our super expensive meal for the trip. In fact, it is probably the only time I’ve ever spent $70 on a meal. Peter Luger has been in business for over 100 years and has been rated NYC’s number one steakhouse for twenty-two years in a row. Needless to say, expectations were high. Unfortunately, they were not met. There were five of us, and we ordered the Tomato and Onion Salad, Creamed Spinach, Hash Browns, Porterhouse for Four, and Lamp Chops. I insisted on the Tomato and Onion Salad because I’d read so many things about it on various reviews on the net. What the reviews failed to mention is that the Tomato and Onion Salad consists of sliced tomatoes and sliced onions. That’s it… a row of 3/4” thick cut tomatoes and onions. As for dressing, they said to use the house steak sauce (which tastes like cocktail sauce). Next was the steak. An enormous platter of sizzling porterhouse drowning in butter. It was pre-cut, which I don’t understand the appeal of at all, as it just means the meat has more chance to dry out. The steak was good, but only due to the quality of the meat. They use USDA Prime meat, and it shows in the texture of the meat. There was absolutely nothing special about its preparation though. As soon as I find a source of USDA Prime meat locally, I’m buying some, just so I can prove to myself that there was nothing special about Peter Luger. As for the rest of the food, the Lamb Chops were double thick, which made them super juicy. The sides were nothing special. In a blind taste test, I don’t think I could tell them apart from Boston Market. I definitely ate my fill, but walking out, I felt totally ripped off. All the people I was with were from Alabama, and they felt the same way. We decided that it has to be a northern/southern thing, because plenty of steakhouses in the south can get you a comparable steak and superior sides for a third of the price. Despite all that, I’m still kind glad we went just so I know now.

Friday: Lunch at Monster Sushi: Back when I worked for ThoughtWorks, I had a two month stint in NYC. On Fridays we went to lunch at Monster Sushi. I’d say it’s a middle of the road sushi restaurant: I’m not scared to eat there, but it’s not upscale at all. I don’t even remember what all we ordered, but it was delicious. I think there’s a few locations in NYC, and if you’re looking for some casual sushi, I don’t think you’ll find much better.

Friday: Dinner at John’s Pizzeria: The stipulations I provided for this meal was that I wanted to order a whole pizza and have a pitcher of beer. My NYC resident friend brought us to John’s Pizzeria on Bleeker Street. They don’t stock jalapenos on the menu, but they said I could go buy some at the store next door, and they’d put them on, which was pretty cool. The pizza came out with a light, flaky, crispy crust, heavy on the sauce, light on the cheese, with tons of toppings. It’s pretty much like they read my mind and determined exactly how I like my pizza. I’ll definitely be going back on my next NYC trip.

Saturday: Brunch at Fairway Cafe: We rolled out of bed and made our way up a few blocks to Fairway Cafe. All I remember is that I got the crab cakes and I was unimpressed. I need to stop ordering crab cakes anywhere except The Red Bar in Grayton Beach, FL, because I’m only ever disappointed.

Saturday: Dinner at Wondee Siam II: We went looking for a Thai restaurant and found this one on 9th Ave near Times Square. I’m sure there are 23,123 Thai restaurants just like this one all over NYC. The food was decent, but nothing spectacular.

Sunday: Dinner at Negril: A friend of a friend suggested this Caribbean restaurant in the Village, so we headed down there. I saw some tasty looking fish on the menu, didn’t think about it, and ordered it. I got a whole fried fish and spent the rest of the evening delicately picking it apart trying not to swallow bones. I will say that this place had one of the best Mojitos I’ve ever had. They also had a Guava Mojito which now sits in my top five most refreshing alcoholic beverages ever.

Two more weeks to go. Damn, I want to go to bed. So much for the blogalanche.

…a blogalanche is coming. You see, a blogalanche is like an avalanche, except instead of a bunch of snow and ice, you get a ton of blog posts.

I really need to go into marketing.

My dad bought me a chainsaw when I was 14 and we were doing landscaping in the back yard. In the beginning, I just used it on smaller trees, but as time progressed, my confidence increased, and I decided it was time to fell a bigger one. I lassoed a high branch and tied it up. I then made the wedge cut on the side I wanted it to fall. Finally, I started cutting from the other side of the wedge to get it to actually fall. Gravity had other plans for the tree, and it swiftly fell and landed on top of the air conditioning unit of our backyard. In a manner very typical of my dad at the time, he came out, looked at it, looked at me, said, “Fix it,” and then went back into the house. luckily it only bent the fan out of shape, and I found a local shop that had a replacement and we were on our way.

I haven’t really done much yard work short of mowing since my dad and I landscaped the backyard over ten years ago. I’d been planning on this summer to be the start point of a multi-year yard beautification project, and the first step was cutting back a couple of trees that were in the way and shading some grass way too much. This entailed three visits to Sears.

The first visit, I looked at all the chainsaws, but then saw a pruning saw for $20. I decided I’d give that a shot. I came home, and after about three strokes, I hopped back in the car and picked up a 3.5 HP electric chainsaw. I get home, unpack it, and then saw that they don’t include the oil it needs in the box, which was really surprising and annoying. I hopped back in the car for trip number three to Sears. Then I get home, and start felling branches.

In the beginning, the choices were easy, there was a ring of branches along the bottom that I knew I wanted to get rid of. Then I removed a few smaller branches that were pointed downwards from higher branches. Then came the dilemma. We have two branches that are rooted low in the tree, but are angled nearly straight up. It’s pretty difficult to visualize the tree with them gone, but from what I can tell, the lower half will look better with them removed, but it’ll take a pretty big chunk out of the upper half. We decided to see how the tree compensates for the missing branches and go from there.

Here’s a picture of me with my glasses, gloves, and chainsaw. While I was trying to capture “maniacal glee” with my facial expression, I ended up close to “permanent vegetative state.”