Duke City Cool
By Anna | May 1, 2010 | No Comments
I’ll take the risk that most of you know about Cranks 505 if even one person who was unaware checks it out. Cranks505 is THE source on the internets for bike related goings on in the 505. Play bike polo? Check. Alleycats? Check. Independently run bike shop soon to include a pub? Check.
(As mentioned on our Twitter last week, the Saturday Cool is now Duke City Cool in an effort to localize our content and focus on our community. Look for more features and changes to the site that will help us do this. As always, if you’d like to help out, please contact us!)
Foods & Boozes – Nick and Jimmy’s
By Anna | April 24, 2010 | No Comments
Since the last F&B post, I’ve been eating at all my old standby’s or getting free lunch at school, so there’s not really been much to write about. When I go out with my mom, though, it’s always an experience, for good or ill. Combined, we have close to 40 years foodservice experience, and we’re harsh critics to say the least. We seem to have i’m-in-foodservice-please-fuck-with-me-and-seat-me-next-to-the-wait station tattooed on our foreheads. This, however, was a dinner of a different color to be sure.
Nick and Jimmy’s is the owned by the same restauranteurs that own Yanni’s in Nob Hill. For my part, I much prefer this new restaurant to Yanni’s. Yanni’s is more Greek in a literal sense of the word. Nick and Jimmy’s is much less…confrontationally thematic, has a relaxed family-dinner atmosphere and is quieter and more comfortable. The menu has a great many vegetarian options (that are clearly labeled ‘vegetarian’- no fear of stigma here!) that are appealing and not separated from the rest of the menu as though only vegetarians would enjoy them.
My first impression was of a kindly looking old man standing beside the hostess station, who greeted us warmly, with a smile, and sat us in the restaurant section (adjacent to the lounge). The table was dressed nicely with linen, and we were offered water before we were pressed to make a drink selection by an attentive older waitress. I ordered a Blue Moon, my old standby, and my mother hers of a margarita, though the waitress misheard our playful “tequila-flavored-tequila” conversation and ordered her a Silver Coin margarita because she thought my mom wanted something with a bit of flavor (haha). We both decided on pasta, and a wedge salad to start. The salad plates were chilled, the iceberg lettuce equally cold and the dressing creamy and very flavorful. Our plates were brought out before we finished our salads, which out waitress noted and apologized for, but I had waited to start my salad for my mom to return, so the timing issue was our own. The owner asked if he could keep our plates warm for us, which I thought was perceptive and thoughtful of him. Being near to finishing our salads, we declined. The food was still plenty hot when we dug in. My mom had beef tenderloin rigatoni in cayenne cream sauce. She was very impressed; tender beef, al dente pasta, balanced sauce, perfectly seasoned. I had the vegetarian moussakka, and I’ve never had eggplant that was so well cooked. The cheese on top was light and flavorful and perfectly browned. For dessert, we split a huge piece of tiramisu which the waitress informed us was made to order by the pastry chef. All I have to say about that was that it was the best tiramisu i’ve ever had in Albuquerque. I had a coffee alongside it, which was…coffee flavored, but not bad at all.
In all, I found the service to be superior, and was massively impressed by the attention to detail by the wait staff and kitchen staff. The personal attention we received from the waitress and the owner both was appropriate and professional. I never felt rushed or “bugged”. The food was excellent and, I felt, worth the price. The menu is to the point and not overwhelming, and everything seems to be made with care. I highly recommend it for a casual dinner with friends, a date, or an after work bite with your mom.
saturday cool
By Anna | April 24, 2010 | No Comments
This is kind of a cop out for the saturday cool, but we’re trying to steer the blag in a more local direction and Jessica Kennedy is my painting instructor at UNM. I’m fond of her earlier works myself, but I think she’s quite talented all around.
saturday cool
By Anna | April 17, 2010 | No Comments
Natalia Czajkiewicz runs an awesome blog that I’ve been following for some time. I was pleasantly surprised to see photos of the cactus at the Volunteer Park Conservatory. Seems people in the rain dream of the desert as much as I dream of the rain. You can find her personal illustration site here
Mohawk Mondays
By Anna | April 12, 2010 | No Comments
Betty looks like her mom.
Saturday cool
By Anna | April 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
Keli Kennedy is a photographer, and also my neighbor. Her photos give me goosebumps, particularly her portraiture. Haunting, but very very beautiful. There’s also usually some sort of mysterious hint of narrative that happens when she shoots more than one person. It’s so much more than “what they’re doing”, there’s some hidden interaction, like a secret not quite kept.
Her photos of the desert make me proud to live here.
I’ve included a couple examples here, but go lose yourself in her Flickr. You’ll thank me later.
for your * pleasure: hey, look! an apologies post!
By Kervin | April 8, 2010 | No Comments
yes, yes. we’re terrible people for ignoring our cash-cow blog. we should really spend more time ranting at the internet because holy shit, this website is genning up DUMP-TRUCK LOADS OF DOLLARS for us. but you see, we (meaning I– I can’t really speak for anybody but myself) have been six hell-tons of busy with projects for school, (professionally matted) working, (counting beans– twice) socializing, (getting drunk and naked and hanging out like i was some goddamn clothed emperor or something) and when we can find the time, sleeping (ha ha ha. just kidding. there’s no time for that.) the sad thing is, i haven’t had a good stretch of solitary moments when i can stretch out and listen to creepy music in the dark while i flick a knife open and closed and think about the catastrophe what is the world. I HAVE JUST BEEN TOO DAMN BUSY. but! i have been keeping up with my ultra-cool, but not tom waits cool, indie music blarg subscriptions, plus i have met some people who have amazing taste, so today i will cop-out and give you an installation of FOR MY PLEASURE BECAUSE IT’S GOOD GODDAMNIT, I WISH I COULD TAKE SOME OF THE CREDIT BUT I REALLY CAN NOT, BUT THAT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER ANYWAY BECAUSE I WILL NEVER BE THAT GUY WHO FINDS OUT ABOUT A BAND BEFORE ANYONE ELSE BECAUSE — LET’S FACE IT — NOBODY IS EVER THAT GUY.
jana hunter. yeahhhh, jana hunter:
Have You Got My Money by Jana Hunteroh and uh, Jungle Rot:
Psychotic Cremation by Jungle Rothrmmm, how’bout some Lusine Icl:
A Day Apart by Lusine Icland some Mark Lanegan:
Hit The City by Mark Lanegan…
Ok, yeah. Nothing left to say, really. These artists are on constant rotation in the background while I ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH THINGS HOLY GOOD LORD AND GOLLY GOSH DAMN. I am going to stay up all night drinking coffee and finish these photoshop assignments now.
keep looking »
