BarryTaylorBlog

pan de muerto and chinese chewing gum

There is a Mexican bakery chain down the street from me--it has great breads and coffees and lots of free-trade and organic faire. They also have Pan de Muerto right now--Day of the Dead bread. It is meant to be taken to the cemetary and eaten at the gravesites of lost loved ones. it's a sugar-coated sweet bread, with 'bones' of pastry laid on top of the bun--quite tasty might be breaking some out for Dia de Los muertos this year.

I was taking my Summer grades to the Registrar's office today (yes, it's still done old school pen-n-ink style) and was offered some Chinese chewing gum by one of the office workers. it was interesting packaging--overly obsessed with delivering a piece of gum that hadn't been touched by human hands--it involved lifting an inside section and letting it fall---a single piece of gum would 'appear.' Interesting how our diets are increasingly global and a complicated mix of old ideas and new technologies.

 

In The Trenches

XMAS ( CHRISTMAS ) IN THE TRENCHES

Thanksgiving

Dinner Party

I used to have fairly regular dinners with a group of British friends here in LA. We would rotate around each others homes and the host would cook--usually a full-on British roast dinner with all the trimmings and ample supplies of wine. And dressing properly was the unspoken requirement--best dress--sign of respect for one's friends. A series of events, life, and the diverse directions it often takes groups of people, being a prime one, put an end to those glorious meals a while ago. Well last night, my friend Jim(now sadly, living back in the UK), hosted a dinner for much of the old gang at his ex-wife's home (a statement of life's sweet mystery in itself!) and it was marvelous. Not just the food, but the familiarity--the excitement of sitting down, exchanging toasts, lots of joke-telling and basic pranksterism and some deep moments ensued. It is quite interesting how conversations develop around tables, the shift in axis and focus, the topics--mundane and intense--it was magic. The night ended with lots of revelry, guitars broken out, blues played--voices raised--and the final gift--an amazing illusionist whose in-your-face-approach to magic was mystifying in its complexity and mind-blowing in its achievement. Roast leg of lamb is not usual California dining, but it was surely the food of the gods , and their humble creatures last night!!!

Taix

I stepped into something of a parallel universe today. It's blisteringly hot in LA right, unseasonably so (even though this time of year often sees what they call a 'late summer' but never quite like this)--80 degrees in the morning and it's a bit humid--not my favourite combo that's for sure, and I have been doing a lot of driving which makes it quite difficult. Anyway, after class this morning I had to head to Echo Park for a meeting which was held at a restaurant called Taix. It's a leftover from a different era of Los Angeles' life---it opened first in 1927, a country-French restaurant on the edge of downtown that has somehow survived all the changes around it and remains standing. I stepped out of airless sunshine into another world--red brick, Tudor-style beams and cavernous rooms decorated to the max with saddle-leather booths, gold-tin ceilings, smoked glass mirrors and glittery glass chandeliers--a place held in time by some strange warp of culture. The food was as old-school as the building--soups and salads--it was the birth-place of the French-Dip sandwich I think, at least in LA anyway--pommes frites, croque monsieur, poulet roti. The waiter brought the soup in a tureen to the table and came back to see if we wanted seconds!! Where does that happen anymore?!! I met the owner, who is the son of the original founder--he looked like an elderly French man--cane, walking shoes, flat cap--sitting serenly watching people come and go. It took the edge off the heat, at least for a while and introduced to yet another element of life here in the City of Angels.

Parade Fatigue

Well, when in Rome...we joined in with the rest of the community yesterday, watched the parade--Marion Ross from Happy Days was the Grand Marshall (should give you a clue as to how the Pacific Palisades views itself!). It was long and felt somewhat disjointed--the usual floats and marching bands, interrupted by a local fundamentalist church who seemed to feel that it was a good chance for 'outreach' by parading with a huge American flag and quoting various former U.S. Presidents who have spoken about God etc. combined with a lot of screaming about 'sin and returning to God,' --this was a compelling reason to give religion a miss if you ask me! We also had a BBQ, this one with a certain UK flavour, my friend Al was the BBQ-master, giving all things a London spin--luvverly!!!

Raw

Another 'food' related topic. I have, as I mentioned in a previous post, been thinking quite a bit about food lately. I am interested in the changing eating habits of our societies. The issue of ill-health, growing obesity, allergies, etc. seem to be shifting our consciousness towards food, and drink. Pepsi have just launched a new product in the UK--Pepsi Raw, a 'natural' version of their famous soft-drink. I don't drink soft-drinks, well, the occasional Orangina, but generally don't like them, but in our world, the soft drinks business is unbelievably strong.
This is what the blurb about the new product declares,
"Traditionally, Pepsi contains fructose corn syrup, sugar, artificial colourings, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavours.
In comparison, Pepsi Raw has only natural ingredients including apple extract, plain caramel colouring, coffee leaf, tantaric acid from grapes, gum arabic from acacia trees, cane sugar and sparkling water.
It is paler in colour and less fizzy than other cola brands."
Over here in the US, you can now get coke infused with vitamins, coffee and just about everything else. This new trend towards 'healthy' drinks seems to be emerging in the face of growing concern over health issues and over artificial ingredients--the long-term effects of which are largely unknown. I always find it bizarre that a statement about a products negative effects on laboratory rats would be something we would consider putting in our bodies!!
  The ads for the Pepsi Raw are predictable--lots of nakedness--physical abandon, post-coital connectedness...one more time that sex sells, or they hope it does. I wonder if there is a theology of food ready for discussion here--we've had theologies of play, joy, liberation, gender, etc. why not food, it does feature pretty heavily in judeo-christian religious experiences?

Thanksgiving

Yep, it's Turkey time again. Even though the day itself is now submerged in an ocean of Christmas, it resonates big in the collective psyche of Americans. For me it is like a practice run for Christmas dinner, I hold none of the nostalgic, roots of the culture, imagery that fuels the holiday. That said, it is always nice to have dinner with family and friends.

G Turns the Corner

My friend Gabri had a big birthday this week--50--so he threw a bash to celebrate. It was a lovely evening of food, drink, and great company--a gathering of those who love him--which is not difficult given that he is surely one of the loveliest people I know. He is cut from a different cloth than most, has great taste, is a fine artist, and is undoubtedly one of the most generous human beings I have known.
       The great thing about milestone birthday's is that they tend to bring people out. I spent most of the evening with a couple of friend's that I haven't seen in about 15 years,

Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite!

Vive la Revolution! Our friends at the Little Next Door are throwing a weekend long Bastille-Day celebration--gypsy-jazz, great food and the company of most of La's french population--c'est magnifique, n'est-ce-pas?!!