in good taste, vol. 79: good goût

chicago, burrito tape, and a tasting menu with pairings!

[Note: I wrote this newsletter at the top of last week, ahead of the week-end’s horror show. Meant to publish earlier, but burnt the [redacted] out of my hand on a hot skillet. Whoops. Read on for notes from a simpler time.]

I’ve been a busy traveler lately, bouncing around Chicago and Savannah over the past few weeks. 

I kicked off my time in Chicago at KnitCon, a Pinterest employee workshop-conference centered around making and learning, and Adrian joined me for a long post-birthday weekend.

I’ve long held that Chicago is the best major American city. She’s got incredible food & drink! Gorgeous architecture! A solid transit network that connects her many neighborhoods! She’s not as overpriced and glassy as New York! There’s just a lot to love. 

Top 5:

• The Cézanne retrospective at the Art Institute was wonderful! Got to check in on an old friend while we were there, too.

• A mezze brunch at Beatnik, and a natural wine flight next door at GoodFunk

• A vanilla ice cream surprise and spring pea ravioli for Adrian’s birthday at Alpana

• Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, a pure dreamscape of architecture and interior design; absolutely iconic in the real sense of the word. One of its several bars, the 8-seat Milk Room, was a bit eye-rolly, spendy, and self-serious, but I did get a great gin martini out of the experience (and would again)

• The architecture boat tour at sunset - an early summer perfect temperature, good lighting, beautiful buildings. 

Excited to go back in early October, for a many-times-rescheduled chance to see The Avalanches. 

the drawing room; chicago athletic association hotel

THE LINKS ARE VERY SCIENTIFIC IN THIS EDITION

Love to learn about eucalyptus!!

“One researcher is imagining a fascinating future for eucalyptus—turning Australia’s gum leaves into low-carbon, renewable jet engine fuel. According to Carsten Kulheim, who works at the Australian National University, eucalyptus oil is rich in compounds stronger than those found in ethanol fuels. The compound, monoterpenes, can be converted into a very high energy fuel.”

The wines of right now, and why you should be drinking weird wines (s/o to my KnitCon class on natural wine that I want to teach next year) 

Shaping our tastes and sense of smell 

Listening to some songs can cause a powerful physiological response known as "frisson." What is it, and why does it happen

Arguably? The most important link in this list: burrito tape

And a playlist for Brian Wilson’s 80th birthday

THE COOKING HAS BEEN A BIT LIMITED LATELY, WHAT WITH THE HAND THING AND ALL 

Instead of a new recipe, why not try these on for taste?

• To start: a summer vegetable salad (you could pair it with a St. Amant Rootdown Rosé of Trousseau for a Sour Patch Kid-tang with some lemon candy vibes);

• Accessorize: thyme aioli;

• As a main: hearts of palm-braised chicken (you could pair it with a Trisaetum Pinot Noir, for the bit of brine and nostalgia for newly-shuttered Babette’s Cafe in Atlanta)

• As a treat: poires au vin rouge (haters will say a post-dinner gin martini is inadvisable; I say, if you’re in the U.S., your human rights are already being stripped from you by the day, why not live a little louder?). 

That’s it. Stay rested and hydrated, open a window or two.