in good taste, vol. 91: the late edition
yuppie style, spring travels, and a citrus caesar dressing
I know, I’m not the most consistent of Substackers lately. But I couldn’t let a whole month go by without hitting send on this publication, so here we are, very under the wire for the month of April!
A smattering of things I’ve been up to lately:
An adult spring break week, complete with a paint-by-number set and lots of lazy gardening;
A visit to Fairhope, Ala., and Montgomery, Ala., where we stayed in the house museum of Zelda & Scott Fitzgerald and were a near-miss for a tornado. Highlights: seeing The Quiet Girl at the darling Capri Theatre, post-film High Lifes at Dino’s, and a surprisingly good bagel & lox at Vintage Café, a midcentury bank-turned-coffeeshop;
A brisk trip to Tampa for Taylor Swift, which also included a stop at Bern’s for secret-menu business, rooftop gossip until 4 AM, and martinis at a champagne bar;
a few weekends of Sunday grilled lamb, long walks with a breeze, and reading quietly in the library.
A SCATTERING OF GOOD TASTES
Offline:
Just finished reading The Ingénue (I loved The Ballerinas by the same author; this book was stressful and had a poor ending)
Currently moving through Either/Or, which felt incredibly rushed and confusing before I realized I was reading a sequel without knowing it.
Admiring:
Absolutely taken by this 17th century farmhouse that has a wonderful ownership story to it
Organic shapes, ceramic fireplaces, and leather doors in the Paris atelier/home of Valentine Schlegel
The gorgeous new NYC showroom of jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth
Other items of note:
A very good treatise on the style of yuppiedom
A deep dive into one of my very favorite colors, pink
Thinking about Conecuh sausage since our time in Alabama
Listening to:
“Music for when you are stressed” playlist on YouTube 🙃 and “A playlist to feel like you're inside a Monet painting”
The new Jessie Ware album, “That! Feels! Good!”
CITRUS CAESAR DRESSING
Orange and anchovy aren’t flavors I immediately associate, but they make for a real iconic duo when it comes to late spring-early summer al fresco meals. Use it as a salad dressing, make it into a dip for cut radishes, or reserve it as a sauce to top an otherwise unremarkable piece of chicken.
INGREDIENTS
1 large tbsp., whole-grain Dijon mustard
Juice of one whole lemon (about 2 tbsp. of juice)
1 tsp. each, salt + pepper
1 garlic clove, microplaned into a rough paste
3-4 whole anchovies, chopped and flattened into a rough paste
1 tsp., grated orange zest
1 tsp., agave syrup (you can substitute with honey)
3 tbsp., olive oil
WHAT TO DO
Mix everything but the olive oil into a small bowl until combined. Let it sit for about 10 minutes while you do something else. Slowly whisk the olive oil in, taste to adjust, and enjoy over roast chicken, an arugula salad, or as a dip for toasted French bread.