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Would you believe me if I told you that I willingly ate at a restaurant where the chef had been rumoured to murder stray cats? Well, I did and I’d do it again. A week or two ago, I found myself at a buzzy, new restaurant in Hollywood. I was in Los Angeles for work and, after grabbing drinks with a friend, I slid into the dimly lit joint to taste the fabled off-menu rigatoni. I made the reso for two but it was late on a Wednesday and my friend opted to slink off to bed rather than stay out for a bite.
When I approached the hostess and notified her of the change in the number of guests, she told me I could have my original table or sit the bar. Without hesitation, I took the bar. Dining at the bar is special because you are invisible and on display at the same time. Typically, the bartender takes your order and serves you, meaning you are usually in the presence of a skilled conversationalist should you choose to entertain. The bartender is more likely to give you an honest read of the menu than a regular waiter, more likely to slip you an off-menu treat as you keep them company. You experience the restaurant through the eyes of those who work there without clocking in. As a voyeur, you eavesdrop on the first date to your right, you pick up on the not-so-secret affair between servers. You can chat with the stranger next to you or you can disappear into your own world, earbuds in, magazine in hand. I did a bit of it all that evening.
Next to me, a man in an Aime Leon Dore hat offered his fries, allowing me to snack off his plate. Despite his generosity, I never gave him a bite of my rigatoni. That was for me alone to indulge.
Jan 22, 2024
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A restaurant around the corner from us started doing private dinners, and with my wife’s 30th birthday happening I asked to see what the process would be like. We packed 14 of our closest friends into this gorgeous, tiny little refurbished car garage filled with flowers and wine and Italian music and proceeded to have one of the best five course meals of my life. Moments like last night sort of get you in a “maybe this is what life is all about” moods. There’s an artist I like that said all of life’s essence & purpose can be found in the sound of wine glasses clinging together at a table filled with good friends and good food. I think that nights like last night cement those sentiments as truth.
Aug 3, 2024
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Once upon a time, in another life, all I invested what little money I had was in weed and cheap alcohol and clothes I don’t wear anymore and I can’t remember what else.
Now I often focus on treating myself (with a friend) to a restaurant outside of our pay grade that we bookmarked off ig reels and everyone there is 5-50 years older than us.
I’d rather spend $$$ on delicious wine and fire pasta or afternoon tea or a bougie burger etc. etc. at a place I’m not destined to run into someone I’d rather not run into. Embrace giggling the whole time at how perfect the butter and focaccia was and constantly overly-reassuring each other spending this much on a dinner we won’t ever forget is a perfectly valid expense on a biweekly paycheck. We deserve it. Even if we have to split it into 4 payments via the chase app.
Some people throw hundreds a month or week into alcohol, coke, ketamine, weed, and the likes. To each their own. So I refuse to feel too guilty when I get the bill and it’s equivalent to 3-4 hours of labor, if I enjoyed every bite and I’m a little tipsy off Pinot. Everyone has their vices, and suddenly mine is a $18 dessert.
Feb 4, 2024
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There exists a certain serenity eating at a hotel restaurant. In most cases, free from excessive attention and crowds, a transient fraternity, and no familiar faces. Take a look at the menu. Some interesting stuff? No thanks, I’ll just have a burger, fries, a martini, and take in the tasteful decor and ambiance as life unfolds around me. Your phone does not exist. You are at peace.
Jun 9, 2024
Top Recs from @brendeezyy
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there are no pleasantries in hunger
Jan 22, 2024
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The things Emma Stone is able to do... Julia Roberts of the new generation.
Jan 24, 2024
A few thoughts on what makes a good voice note from brendonholder.substack.com…
Every good voice note has a hook. For me, close friends will know that my hook is one introductory note in which I say two words: “Okay, so.” Record. Send. This is a warning for the receiver of the voice note. Take a bio break, go to a private area, grab some popcorn, and put in your headphones. You’re about to go on a ride.
Pauses and cliffhangers. I have been known to end a voice note on a cliffhanger and leave for a couple of hours before I do another voice note. I promise this isn’t entirely for suspense. It gives the receiver(s) a chance to catch up and respond. I enjoy when a voice note can act as a substitute for an actual phone call rather than be a voicemail dump that you listen to at the end of the day. As a result, I prefer to voice note when I know a captive audience is waiting. I genuinely love it when I drop the voice note and can see the bubbles of who is responding and to what part.
Get creative. Recently, I have been experimenting with a multitude of imagery to supplement voice notes like here when I was explaining the connection between a dream I had to someone’s business I had no reason to be in. Sometimes a jury just needs an exhibit to lean the verdict in your favour.
The voice. I mean, duh. The message’s timbre is guided by our tone, odd turn-of-phrases, stutters and laughter, bloopers and cut-offs. A capsule of your humanity flashes and then is no longer there, evaporating from your phone as soon as you’re finished listening. The ephemeral nature of a voice note feels as intimate as a cupped whisper from your friend. It’s precisely yours until it’s no one’s.
Jan 22, 2024