Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. The Bear
In the streaming age there are more drama series being cranked out than anyone could possibly watch, and, in my estimation, most of them are crap artistically and morally. So when I find an exceptional one it feels like discovering a particular treasure. The Bear is just such a show. I suppose I should include the necessary evangelical caveats about profanity and whatnot, but honestly that should be expected in any show about the restaurant industry and especially any show that is set in Chicago. The thing that The Bear does so remarkably well is capture the breadth and depth of its characters–honorable, troubled, joyful, broken, driven, fearful, loving, embittered, and so forth. And it does so with a pitch perfect representation of place and culture, both the food industry and the city in which it is set. By doing this it tells a richer story of relationships, dreams, aspirations, failures, and successes than almost any series or movie I have seen. And on top of all this, the acting is wonderful right down the line.
2. Oscar Peterson’s Night Train
Oscar Peterson is my favorite Jazz musician and Night Train is my favorite of his albums. It features the full spectrum of his talents as he plays an array of songs. Since I am not steeped in the technicalities of music, I lack the verbiage to describe what Peterson does on this album. What I can say is that It is brilliant, and I can describe the feelings it evokes (which is really the point of good jazz). It is filled with joy communicated in a manner that is equally soothing and elated. It is marked by lament communicated with soul. It is rich and deep and light and full of light.
3. The Americano
Craft coffee shops and roasteries abound. Coffee snobs, er, connoisseurs love to offer tasting notes for their favorite single origin organic light roasts from that particular region of Madagascar. But there is really only one true test I trust to know if a coffee shop is any good: the quality of their Americano. The Americano leaves bad espresso nowhere to hide since it has only two ingredients, espresso and hot water. (It was named by the Italians in “honor” of the American G.I.s who couldn’t handle the full strength concentration of pure espresso.) If you are a coffee drinker who prefers cream and sugar and various flavors, this is not the beverage for you. It is dark, it is bitter, but when done right it carries all the richness of properly roasted and brewed espresso. It is the naked truth of coffee and it is wonderful.
