Hoodies On, Hats Low

Check out my boys Freesol new video featuring Mr. Timberlake (if you're nasty). The best part...the Memphis scenery and some real jookin that can only be found in Mtown. Big shout out to my buddy Gavin (Total Savage) who is part of the alley crew and of course DJ Charlie White who has rocked many a Red Bull event!

http://youtu.be/HLgX7f-eFAo

Brucie...review.

Why would I leave the most amazing city in the world (Nashville) to come to NYC? Drumroll.......FOOD!

I've had some pretty amazing meals since I've been here but tonight I'm going to write about Brucie...a great little Italian inspired local haunt in Cobble Hill. http://www.brucienyc.com/

I wandered into Brucie one weekday evening after a long drive back into the city from some random work trip. I bellied up to the wooden, dimly lit bar and was greeted immediately by a warm smile of the bartender. I perused the menu and decided on an appetizer of marinated olives (duh) and a glass of Falanghina (yummy). The olives are part of their deli selection so they were brought right out from the display case. I rarely meet an olive I don't like and this was no different although I will say the marinade is quite strong so I can see someone with a more gentle pallet not enjoying the super strong taste.

For my entree I decided on the Tagliatelle pasta with a tomato butter sauce, brussels sprouts and homemade burrata. One word: Amazing. Three words: FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS. The dish came together so well with the crunch on the sprouts adding the perfect texture to the dish.

For dessert (did I mention one of the main reasons I took this job was to eat?)...I gave a try to the coffee ice cream with dark chocolate pieces. From my perch at the bar I was able to see the kitchen quite well and I saw what I thought was them prepping my ice cream, however, when I saw them dash it with olive oil I knew I was mistaken. WRONG. My ice cream arrives topped with not only chocolate but also olive oil & salt. OK...foodies....let's have a serious discussion here. I'm all for a little salty and sweet and the salt topping was a perfect addition but the olive oil...I'm not sold yet. I truly felt like the olive oil's strong (but delicious) flavor completely overshadowed the coffee flavor in the ice cream so all I ended up tasting was chocolate, salt, olive oil and a sweet cold cream of some sort. If the fine folks at Brucie happen to be 1 of the 6 people reading my blog perhaps they can take note of this....

My experience was pretty nice-- everyone there had a smile and didn't look at me weird for dining at the bar by myself. I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Making my way....

I last wrote in January....so much for updating the blog on a regular basis. Just a few things have changed since I last wrote..you know, small stuff, like...I have a new job, moved to NYC, and left all of my friends, family and familiarity behind.

Today I write from my pretty bad ass apartment in Brooklyn-- I must give it up to the best broker in the world for finding it! Carroll Gardens is the neighborhood I call home and although the area is great it sure would be better with my buds.

I've had a visit from Lacey and some family friends and look forward to Wells and Carla's visit in September.

Mostly since I've moved I've been traveling...Boston, Italy, Philly, Boston (again), Jersey, Nashville (twice), Delaware (twice)...you get the point. I'll head back to Nashville in a few weeks for Labor day & Bryn's wedding!!

Here are some pictures from my first going away campout...a little grainy. After all was said & done I had about 5 going away parties...none better than the amazing going away brunch/ birthday party hosted by Bryn, Lacey and Cara. A day to remember indeed.

2010. Still not quite sure about you.

2010 has been an interesting year. In 2009 I lost three very special people. My godmother Martha, my aunt Dorna, and a very special co-worker from Athlon Sports, Bill Settle. So in that respect 2010 was much, much better.

2010 brought new additions for Lauren & Kyle with little Jane Ellen Mayhew and for Weg & Jon-- baby Aiden. It saw little miss Madden Thie turn 1 and Heather and Andrew are expecting for the first time-- and Michelle again!

But also in 2010 Nashville suffered a flood that left a good high school friend's home destroyed and our city underwater.

It brought engagements for my best friend in the whole world, Bryn and two of my very best's Susan and Christina. (all within 2 weeks) Big congrats to Daryl, Jarod, and John respectively for pinning down such amazing ladies! And a marriage for Mr. John Malvern Wells to a quite lovely lass Carla. And Lauren Simmons became Lauren Beem when she married Brian in a spectacle of a nigh

t in October.

I made a big change and said farewell to Nissan and hello to Red Bull which has been quite a ride/learning experience and a whole lot of fun. I moved into a new house and resumed

the joy of living alone. January hosted a voyage to NYC to celebrate Heather & Michelle's 30th birthday's. May saw a trip to Carrabelle with cousin's and aunt's. August brought Annual Holiday V6 -- a trip to Portland, OR. In October we voyaged to DC to get our sanity back and party with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. And now I sit writing from St. George, watching the angry ocean prepare for a storm.

The best part of 2010? Every morning I woke up the Earth greeted me with a

new day.

In 2011 I plan to do a few things differently.

1. Get healthier-- no seriously. 2010 would have been an amazing year if I had spent more time and energy caring about my health and fitness level. I purchased a bike that I'm so excited to ride all over the place and I have some weddings to fit into some lovely dresses for.

2. Keep listening to good music and seeking out local art.

3. Cook with local and organic foods.

If I can do those 3 things all else will fall into place, I'm sure of it.

A review. Jay-Z's book. Decoded.

Thanks to Lacey I left Nashville and headed to the beach with Jay-Z's new book: DECODED, in tow. I've been a big Hov fan for years although in retrospect don't have all of his albums (will have to work on that). The book reads very easily (finished in 4 days) and is a compilation of his life stories and a diagnosis of his lyrics.

The book is filled with cool pictures, art, and other eye-catching pages that help the flow of the book and enhance it's feel of a really nice professional book with the credibility of the streets- I bet Random House can't say that about too many of it's titles.

In the first few chapters I felt that Jay was dumbing down the explanation of his lyrics a little too much as it started to feel like the book was written for middle-class white people that make up a large portion of his fan base. But as the book progresses the lyrical diagnosis gets a little more in depth and seems less patronizing.

I have always respected Jay and his music and DECODED just pulled it all together for me and gave me additional insight into a hard-working, pretty damn smart man.

Curried shrimp pasta

My dad started making one of the best dishes I've ever had about 20 years ago and I have made a few tweaks to it through the years and crafted another nice version this evening on St. George Island. Here's how it goes...

In a saute pan combine:

- Juice of 1/2 lemon

- Salt & Pepper

- Pinch of Crushed red pepper

- 1 clove of fresh garlic chopped

- large pinch of French Thyme

- 2-4 teaspoons of curry powder (to taste)

- 1/2 cup of white wine

- tablespoon of butter

peel 20-25 medium size fresh shrimp (raw, not frozen) and place in pan on low/medium heat.

add 1/2 cup of water once shrimp have started cooking to loosen and dilute the sauce.

Boil pasta to al dente (I prefer fettuccine for this recipe)

Time your dish so shrimp and pasta are done at same time (about 7 minutes cooking for both). Drain the pasta and put in saute pan with shrimp and sauce. Combine so the pasta soaks up the sauce. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and fresh Parmesan cheese and voila.

This is the easiest recipe but the trick is the fresh seafood.

Pair with a lovely glass of white wine (or whatever you like). I prefer a Chardonnay to stand up to the heat that the Crushed Red Pepper adds.

Also best when paired with beach :).

Check this out. Seriously.

I'm not sure how old this is, but I came across this pretty amazing website this morning. It's a visual interpretation of Arcade Fire's song We Used to Wait. The site which is an interactive interpretation of the song is titled "The Wilderness Downtown". Here's the link: http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/. The site allows you to become personally involved with the video by entering your childhood address and let the journey begin. I recommend closing all other open windows and programs.

Super cool stuff.