a criterion feast

These days it seems I can't get anything done unless it's preceded by an emotional breakdown. That's what happened with this post. I sat down, I cried, and then I birthed out a couple of decent paragraphs. But it feels good to care. To remember that I do. To put on some weight and anchor myself again.

Thank you Shawn for the tip and for always showing me that there are more good things.

Here's A Cinema Feast from the Criterion Collection.

news: get jiro! update + comic con

Finally an upadate on Anthony Bourdain's comic Get Jiro!

DC Comics is sending me a hard copy this week, but I won't be able to post about it until they give me the go.

In related news I've been credentialed for Comic-Con and the LA Film Festival.

In unrelated news I've jumped back on The Sopranos boat and I'm currently paddling through season 3.

In news relating to the related news, my HBO bender is making it hard for me to muster the motivation to metro downtown for LAFF screenings.

This story was originally going to be called "CORRECTION: Doritos Locos Tacos Taste Like a Foot in the Mouth, Not Broken Dreams + Doritos Existentialism." But Doritos Locos Tacos: A Visit to the Taco Bell HQ Test Kitchens + Doritos Existentialism is probably more fitting.

Since it went up I've been invited to tour the test kitchens at Yogurtland HQ. Probably not into that. What would be the angle? I suppose it could become a funny beat: touring corporate kitchens... Whatever.

breakfast for lena dunham

If Lena Dunham and I were friends I'd make these for post-sleepover breakfast.

Read about them here: Sapore dei Mobili: Tiny Furniture You Can Eat, a post for the ol' profesh food blog.

chocolate editions

Chocolate Pie Chart: A Thank-You Gift for the One Who Does Your Taxes is dedicated to my step dad, who does my taxes, and loves chocolate.

doritos locos tacos

I wrote Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos Taste Like Broken Dreams, then a representative from Big Dorito emailed me an invitation to tour their test kitchen and give it another try. I'm going to take them up on it and hopefully they'll offer me a lifetime supply of Doritos in exchange for a redaction. I've already told my editor I'm going to take the deal. The headline would be something like "CORRECTION: Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos Taste Like Summer Romance."

preview + more posts for hipsters

The gentleman and I spent the weekend in Palm Springs living like wealthy 60 and overs -- tasting wine, munching quince and cheese toasties, napping. In an act of youthful defiance we ordered burgers from room service 10 mins before the kitchen closed. They called him Mr. Courtland when taking our order and told him it was a pleasure to serve us. Very successful trip. PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Until then, read Food Gadgets for Hipsters: Bicycle Can Cage, a new post on Squid Ink.

Did I mention that my Mac & Cheese post got its own page in this week's LA Weekly? I've riding the residual elation all week so it must have been an oversight. But here it is.

japanese valentines for him

4 Japanese Valentine's Day Chocolates for Guys is a little something I wrote for all the lovers out there.

My personal Valentine will be getting a different sort of treat this year, with a more direct message...

Get you minds out of the gutter!! I'm talking heart shaped banana pancakes -- crap like that, yeesh!

Bonny Billy Blend

Image via Drag City

Please enjoy the new ink: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Sells His Own Organic Coffee

And get ready for my notes on homemade strawberry ice cream, up tomorrow!

kitchen gadgets for secret agents

A Christmas List for George Smiley: 5 Food Gadgets for Secret Agents is a post about secret agents and the neighbors who suspect them and want to give them kitchen gadgets for Christmas. I'm considering adapting it into a full-length how-to on shopping for secret agents.

                                via createityourway, etsy

Otherwise known by the title, "Feminism's pretty sweet," here is Oreo Cameos by Judith Klausner: Cookie Art with a Message

I couldn't really find the right category for Back to the Roots so tagged it under culinary ephemera, but that doesn't give the company the credit it deserves. You can read the post if you want to know more, or watch the time lapse. In either case, you can count on receiving a kit for your next birthday/gift-giving holiday. You can count on that.

kosher ink

I originally titled the post Chozen Kosher Ice Cream Takes the Babka. But Chozen Kosher Ice Cream: Babka, Rugelach Flavors + No Conversion Required is good too.

WE FOUND A PLACE!

Lease signed, deposit paid. We move October 1st.

Here's one from before I started living out of boxes. Spread on Melrose: Is it a Sex Food Shop? is an attempt, of sorts, at hard core investigative journalism.

Photos of new digs and new projects coming soon.

it's a bicycle wine rack, you hipster

Whaaat? More Squid Ink? Yes. Eat it up.

Food Gadgets for Hipsters: The Bicycle Wine Rack

wild goodness + food party + little trees

Updates! I'm looking for a new apartment in an exciting neighborhood. Rededicating myself to Squid Ink and taking on new responsibilities at the Academy. Is it too early to say the bounce is back?

Food Party Hostess Thu Tran at Everything Is Festival Tomorrow

Wild Goodness Food X Film Series: Chicken Screen Tests + Scorsese Meatballs

And this one. To which I contributed a sweet little nugget of my origins story:

Squid Ink Food Writers' Most Reviled Childhood Dinners

petite douche avec ton pilsner

I once had a boyfriend who told me that bar soap was unsanitary. But he was an extremist. We disagreed about a lot of things.

Read Lather with Lager: Give Him Beer Soap for Father's Day, my new post about soap made from beer on Squid Ink.

the one where i compare the flaming lips to a boob job

"The Flaming Lips Releases New Music in Life-Size Gummy Skulls, Teases Gummy Wayne Coyne Statue," is blowin up. Posted Wednesday morning and already it has 94 facebook "likes"!! Whatever that actually signifies, and I doubt it signifies very much, at least there's a lot of reposting, which boosts our Google score and keeps the editors happy. I wonder though if it's my post they're liking, or just The Flaming Lips. Like a girl who got a boob job and suddenly became interesting to talk to, but with the form and content swapped. Should I be worried that people aren't interested in my posts for their ideas, but for their magnificently enormous chichis? That is to say, their flaming lips?

Nah, I'm pretty sure I'm killin it.

jk I really don't know.

the best laid plans

Hey, I write about food for the LA Weekly and I'm interested in doing a short piece on The Sandwitches before their show at The Echo.

Nothing that would require a formal sit down, just a quick phone interview about Mrs. Jones' Cookies, Ambient Sad Cake, who can eat the most sandwiches, who can eat a sandwich the fastest, and where in town they like to eat sandwiches. That sort of thing. I think the story has the potential to break boundaries. Welles' The War of the Worlds for food/music journalism. If not, it's still a bit of extra press for the show.

In any case, call or email me to work something out.
Emma Courtland

That was the pitch. One of the first Joe and I talked about when I started contributing to Squid Ink actually. To my surprise and delight they accepted, and I outlined questions for my first SI post in over a month. During the interview, however, things took a turn. It might have been as early as the second question, and I couldn't help but think about my cousin Margy's interview with The Slits.

I had recently listened to the story on Bob Carlson's new show UnFictional on NPR. She describes being a young journalist interviewing the British punk group, who are less than eager to participate. Listening to the tape of the interview, she told me, was excruciating. (You can listen to it here.) She asks them about their influences and they mumble something about the earth and the stars. Something like that. Makes me think I got off easy. Mine was a phone interview after all, I could hang up whenever I wanted. The Sandwitches didn't pelt me with a wad of paper, but they didn't play ball in any other respect either.

We went to see them at the echo last night anyway and I introduced myself and Grace apologized for the awkward conversation. I told her not to worry about it, that it made a good story. You can read it below and let me know what you think.

Q & A with The Sandwitches: Clearing Their Name of Food Pun Confusion, Cafe Tropical + a Menu Pairing for Their New Album Mrs. Jones' Cookies