So a shark walks into a park...

Don't be confused. This picture does includes neither a shark nor a park.

Lauren and I made crepes tonight. Why? Because we're going to celebrate Shark Week in the park tomorrow night. Well, it's really more that we're meeting Jamie for the movie their showing at Pier 54. It's Julie & Julia, so we thought it would be appropriate to bring a good supply of food with us. And maybe wine. We're not committing to a position right now. The confirmed menu includes an arugula/watermelon/feta salad, potato salad, quinoa, and crepes with a Nutella-like spread for dessert. I say "Nutella-like" because we went to Whole Foods today and they didn't have Nutella. The salesman said it was because there's some hydrogenated oil or something in it... we looked confused and disheartened, so he grabbed Lauren's hand, comforted her and said "But we do have several other hazelnut/chocolate spreads that - unlike Nutella - won't kill you." Who needs a doctor or therapist? Those Whole Foods employees are great!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Not going to die thanks to Whole Foods" Yazge

Shark Week!

Look at that smile... I bet he flosses.

Shark Week is upon us, ladies and gentlemen. And just like our fine, flippered friend, you should be smiling your pants off. I am only smiling my socks off at the moment, because I am currently without cable. When I realized that I would be missing The Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week, including such shows as Shark Attack Survival Guide, Shark Bite Beach, and Top Five Eaten Alive, I practically cried myself to sleep. Can't a guy just come home after a long day and watch a few hours of quality shark-themed television???

Then I realized that it's for the best that I'm not watching while I'm here in New York. Instead, I had my parents DVR the entire week's worth of shows in HD so I can watch them on the huge plasma screen when I go home next week! I see tens of hours on the couch eating ceviche, watching all kinds of Shark Week "reruns".

And now for a little audience participation: What's your favorite thing about shark week? What's your favorite kind of shark? Have you ever eaten shark? Has a shark ever eaten you? How did that make you feel? Discuss.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Shark-Attack" Yazge

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Meat

My new gastronomic obsession...

Is there anything more primal, more manly, than giant balls of meat? And now there's a restaurant on the Lower East Side that sells only that: lots and lots of meatballs. Not only is their food amazing, but they're really good at naming things. The restaurant's name for instance - The Meatball Shop. No ambiguity there. Though they have a lot more than just your mother's meatballs. Take a look at the menu below:

You can get SO many things with your meatballs. Who doesn't love polenta, especially when it's freshly milled? And for all you brioche-heads out there, I personally think that's their best sandwich. I get my veggie meatballs on the brioche with pesto and some provolone. Delicious. And just when you think the fun is over, then there's dessert! They make their own ice cream sandwiches by hand. First you pick your cookie (or brownie) and then you pick you flavor of homemade ice cream. I got a brownie sandwich with mint ice cream. They even use real mint! You can see and taste the leaves in the ice cream. No artificial flavoring here!

The best part is how affordable the whole thing is. Now I just have to figure out how much I need to work out so that I can keep going back on a regular basis!


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Meat-balled" Yazge

Sasquatch Discovers Art

A canvas waiting to be color-penciled.

There comes a time in every little Sasquatch's life when hunting and gathering no longer brings fulfillment. It no longer matters how many deer he can kill or where he can find the best berries in all the land. No, he needs something more. Something, perhaps, that will allow him to express himself and fill that empty hole that no amount of raw meat can satiate. This one thing is coloring books.

When I was out wandering on Sunday with Jamie, we decided that coloring books were necessary. Surprisingly, Barnes & Noble didn't have that great of a selection. We couldn't find Disney characters, or Smurfs, not even Sesame Street. It was a bunch of random coloring books, most of which involved some type of math. Who wants that?! I did stumble across a gem though: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carlisle. It was a copy of book, but none of the illustrations had been colored in. This was a chic coloring book. And you know, sometimes Sasquatch likes being chic. The best part is that I no longer have to compromise coloring and food, because now I'm coloring a book about food. That's really the best kind of coloring. I plan to work my way through the first two seasons of Mad Men while coloring my way through every last page. Don't ask me why, but the two just seem to be activities that should be done in tandem.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "The Very Hungry" Yazge

Sasquatch Visits the Garden

The Brooklyn BEER Garden!

Sticking with our Tribal theme for the week, I thought it'd be good to get back to nature. And what better place to do that than a garden... full of beer. Do you see the trees in the picture? It's practically a forest in there. And don't forget that those benches used to be trees too. Just because they're dead trees, doesn't make them any less a part of nature.

So, tonight I'm headed to the Brooklyn Beer Garden. I've been there once before, to watch the US/England World Cup match. It's a pretty happenin' place, not to mention that it's in the middle of a very Eastern European part of Williamsburg. As if I needed any more of a blessing to go to the garden, there's a huge Orthodox church right down the street complete with onion domes. While my night is more likely to include onion rings, I still think that somewhere up there, my grandfathers are smiling down at me, proud that I'm connecting with my inner beer-drinking roots. I'll toast a pint of lager to you guys! Pofta Buna!!!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Garden Guy" Yazge

Awaken Your Tribal Spirit

Why was I only around for 2 years of the 80's? WHY!?

So it was a lazy night last night, and I decided to stay in and watch a movie. It was really difficult to find a movie that fit the funky mood I was in. Eventually I settled on a gem called "The Hangover." (Oddly appropriate considering my Friday night activities.) That movie will never stop being funny to me, mainly because I see a lot of me and my friends in it. And it appeals to my inner tribal-being. His name is Sasquatch Minnetonka. That loosely translates to hairy, big-footed, culturally-unlearned one. He tall. He strong. He look like always wear sweater. He dance long time to Iko Iko.

I also took plenty of notes, so that my Sasquatch "family" and I will know what to do on our epic post-graduation trip to Vegas. So far I've added the following things to our to-do list:

1. Rooftop toast
2. Trip to emergency room
3. Marry a stripper
4. Steal a tiger from a former heavy-weight boxing champion
5. Kidnap an Asian mobster
6. Leave one of our friends (probably Eller) on the roof of a hotel for 24+ hours
7. Win $80,000 at a blackjack table
8. Go home with an epic story we only half-remember

So thanks to my rediscovered love for all things tribal/Vegas-adjacent, I've dedicated this week to building a deeper connection to my inner Sasquatch. Yesterday it started with watching "The Hangover", which is where I was reminded how much I love the song "Iko Iko". That video wasn't totally non-sequitur. But did you see the awesome wardrobe up in that piece? Ugh... If only I would have been older in the 80's. I TOTALLY would have rocked that look/learned those crazy dance moves. Some people have all the luck...

Ciao Bella!

-Matteo 

Things that are delicious...

It was love at first bite.

I haven't actually tried a bite of it yet, but I made flan last night. This is the same flan I mentioned a few days ago, the celebratory flan for Spain's win and my winning of the pool. I'm not going to lie; caramel makes me nervous. I've never seen it made, so I wasn't sure if it was going right? I kept adding more water, or more sugar, which I don't think you're supposed to do. With my luck, there is a huge layer of burnt sugar at the bottom of this pan. Whatever. While I promised the people at work a flan, I never said anything about it being edible.

Something that I made last night that I both tried and was fantastic was a shitake squid risotto. Three of my favorite things all wrapped into one. Well, more than three. Shitake mushrooms, squid, rice, Argentine wine, cheese, etc. Leftovers may be the best part of that experiment. Too bad I don't measure things or write down proportions. Odds are I'll never be able to replicate it. So for a limited time only, hunt me down at my office and you can try some. (While supplies last).

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Flanmeister" Yazge