Foodie

My name is Josh Thompson, and I am a foodie.

A while back, I read an article about how food and cooking are somehow essential to retaining sanity in graduate school. Although I’m sure that beer also plays a significant role, I really agreed with this article. This is where I would add a link to the word “article” if I could actually find it.

I have to admit a particular love for hot foods: Rarely has a week gone by in which I haven’t painfully lavished in the sweet burn of a cheap tray of hot wings or added caustic amounts of Cholula or hot peppers to an otherwise normal dish. Beyond that, I just love food. (*audible gasp from audience*) I know, I know, my figure clearly suggests otherwise, but yes, I assure you that it is true. (*audible “oooooooh” sound of enlightenment from the audience*) I’ve found that if you shop often for sale items and stock up, it’s really quite easy to eat well and cook really great foods.

Recently, I made Saganaki, which is an absolutely fantastic Greek dish that I first had at Manos in Toledo about 5 years ago. I’ve always wanted to make it and Jackie had the perfect sized pan, so we went for broke (after purchasing a new fire extinguisher, of course).

Unable to do anything normally or easily, I felt obligated to videotape it, and later added a sound track. I chose a brief moment of music that is as beautiful as it is startling... the “let there be LIGHT!!!” moment from The Creation by Joseph Haydn. We had some feta lying around, so we tried that first. It actually turned out better than the kasseri cheese we had purchased, which is apparently the more traditional cheese for this dish. I lightly sprinkled some flour on both sides, quickly browned each side in about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a hot cast iron skillet. After a brief 5-7-minute bake in a 350° oven, that puppy was ready to BURN. Dramatically served with sliced bread. Enjoy!



There. A sizable entry with relatively little content. This is a blog, doing what a blog does. Thank you for your time and attention.

The Banjo.

From the various positive influences in my life, undoubtedly, the most inspiring among them have come from either unexpected or unrelated sources. My latest source of epiphany was no exception.

I have been horribly over-thinking a lot since I moved to Iowa. In general, I haven’t been as “happy.” I’m not sure why, and it might have something to do with how unhappy I was right before moving here, or perhaps that I’m really far from my family, but I’ve definitely noticed it to be the case. I think the latest bout of unhappiness spawned from the election. There were nights that I literally couldn’t sleep, because I was so worked up about it. I felt so strongly about things then, that I just couldn’t think of anything else. I’d just get so angry. It really wasn’t worth it... it didn’t change anything, and never even had the ability to. I’m not sure what I was thinking, then.

Even as more things in the “big world” make me furious, I’m finding that the act of voicing my opinions about them actually results in making me less happy. I thought the effect would be the opposite, but I have been very wrong, and have observed the difference in my mood since I came to this realization. What finally worked for me was coming to the understanding that I have a reason to be mad about things, but that really won’t change them. Seriously, most every negative feeling that I have is completely justified... but totally unnecessary and utterly useless to the betterment of my life. So, I’ve started to be more of the person I want to be and, arguably, kind-of used to be.

So what brought this on? The Banjo. Well, the guy playing the banjo, actually. I don’t know him, and likely won’t see him again, but he had a really large impact on my life, at least this week. For our last orchestra concert, we did three pieces: A sort-of-crappy piece by Hovhaness, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Original jazz orchestration) and Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. For the dress rehearsal, Hovhaness was first, then the Gershwin, which I didn’t play in, and then the Strauss. So we miserably muddled through the Hovhaness and then I obviously left the stage. I noticed someone I had never seen before, and figured that it was the banjo player. Right before they started rehearsing it, he was running around kind of crazily, I don’t know if he forgot something or had to go to bathroom or what...

Anyway, so they start running the piece and this guy is just totally into it. At first it seemed kind of strange, but then I could just tell that he felt so incredibly lucky to be there. He enjoyed every note that both he and everyone else on stage was playing. It’s hard to describe what I observed, I guess. But you see, for some reason musicians often think their time is more important than everyone else’s. I’m not sure where that comes from... but we’re basically just stuck up! It could be due to the fact that we spend so much time alone with our instruments and thinking about music that we put ourselves up on some sort of pedestal. Or maybe that we do that practicing in order to perform for people, who we hope like us enough to clap and/or stand with loud appreciation for our efforts. So as with most inconvenient rehearsals during busy weeks, most everyone around me was negative. This happens all of the time. We judge others and complain about everything. I know I tend to do that, especially if I’m in a bad mood... It’s easier to complain than it is to rise above whatever is annoying or wrong in the situation. Again, I think in the past, I’ve expected that this expression of emotion would yield a positive feeling, but no! Wrong again! No endorphins come out of the flood gates and certainly nothing really is improved by it. In fact, it just spreads around and people feed off of each other in a sad little pool of negativity. Why do we do this? Why do I do this? Makes no sense!

So, I just ended up thinking about that banjo player a lot. All day on Wednesday, the day of the concert, I just kept realizing how lucky I was to play for people that night. I got to play some really great music for what was likely to be an appreciative audience. I enjoyed that performance SO much! I was very focused, but I felt as if I was doing what I was doing for the audience and for everyone else on stage with me, instead of for myself. When I realized that I was in the midst of a really exposed or particularly scary moment, I wasn’t afraid! In fact, there were many moments in which I was more brave than I had been in any rehearsal. I felt like I was giving it out and it wasn’t me playing, it was just my part in the big picture, going toward the listeners. I guess this seems simple and obvious, but thoughts like this have always been trumped by “I really hope I don’t screw this up!” and “I wonder if everyone just heard that tiny mistake...” It definitely wasn’t the best performance of my life, but it ended up being probably the most enjoyable one. I’m going to have to work to make sure I retain this approach.

So after that, I started examining at the rest of my life, which brought me to the whole politics thing. Screw politics! I mean, it’s never really felt rewarding, anyway. Why should I care as much as I did? I’m not in a position to do anything about anything. So, I’m focusing on what I can do in my immediate world and the events and people therein. I think that will keep me in check, make me more healthy and also allow me to better enjoy my life...

Sorry for the random ramblings. But hey, you chose to read it... you knew what you were getting into. Or... you didn’t have much to do, today.

Hey there, snow flake.

Tonight, I finally got the snow I’ve been anticipating since last year. Hopefully, there will be some for me when I get back to Iowa, also. When I was pumping gas on the way back from Columbus today, the world’s most perfect snowflake landed on the arm of my coat. I stared at it until it disappeared. I was sorry to see it go. It was perfect.

I’m excited to go back to Iowa on Thursday. My visit home has been (and continues to be) amazing, but I’m also anxious to get back into the swing of things. It’s always nice to be the proper amounts of thankful to be where I am and excited to be where I’m going. I hope the drive back is less eventful than the drive to Ohio... but chances are, something unexpected will happen. You see, I have bad luck. However, all things considered, I’m still a really lucky person. I’m glad I remember that, at least some of the time...

Suburban Spooning

So I’m giving this blog sight a shot after having neglected my livejournal for quite some time. I’m bored, so I’ll share my thoughts about various restaurants/bars in the Iowa City area.

Old Chicago
As a World Beer Tour veteran, champion and enthusiast, I can speak of the glory of this incredible dining and drinking establishment! I had heard of this place 2 years before coming to Iowa, from Joel, who had done his undergrad here. At Bowling Green, there was a popular hang out among my friends called Myles’ Pizza, and it was a small sort of hole in the wall with cheap pitchers, amazingly unique pizzas and a large amount of unwanted fruit flies, which we strangely didn’t mind. For whatever reason, I had created a place like that in my head, based on the reputation which had been created for me for Old Chicago. So, the first time I went there (the night before I auditioned at Iowa), I was kind of shocked at the décor and sort of “chain restaurant” look of the place. Regardless, I loved the food and was hooked from the beginning. On the day I moved here to Iowa, I took the people who helped me unload out for dinner there and began my journey on the coveted beer tour. It’s the standard place for post-concert partying and it’s definitely a favorite. It bit the big one in the flood this past summer, but came back strong, but with really inexperienced servers. They’re getting better, but it’s not the same.

Sluggers
One restaurant that did NOT come back after the flood is Sluggers. I actually thought they had the best hot sauce in town, and pretty good French fries. I don’t think I ever had a bad experience there, actually. Well, one time I went and they closed like an hour early because they didn’t have any customers, and that kind of sucked, but other than that, I was happy. I walked by the building not too long ago, and I don’t even think they’ve cleaned out the flood sludge yet. Eww! R.I.P Sluggers.

Donnely’s
It’s always nice to forget that a place has free peanuts until the moment that they bring them to you. This is a nice little place with an additional novelty of sweet potato French fries! They have good beers on tap but I’ve never really noticed any drink specials. The food is really wonderful. The wings are awesome but every time I’ve had them, I’ve had trouble getting to sleep and then had the worst dreams imaginable. Chicken Caesar salad is awesome. Crowd is typically calmer than most Ped-Mall places.

Sanctuary
Nicknamed “Skanktuary,” this establishment is known for its live music and somewhat upscale drinking and eating. However, patience is the key, as the service is quite horrible. They often screw up orders, unexpectedly charge for refills and the servers are typically rude and obnoxious. The few times I’ve been there, they’ve had live jazz. It’s ok. Nothing quite to the level that the Blue Whisp provided back in Cincinnati, but it’s mostly listenable. You get the occasional horrible improv solo, which is, of course, eternally justified by someone else in the band/combo by him or her confidently nodding in approval. This serves as an official (and spiritual?) acknowledgement of musical genius which resides on a level that nobody else in the room could possibly understand. Thanks a lot there, nodder. The Skanktuary: Nodders welcome.

Bo-James
Mmmmmmmmmm burger baskets, wings and $3 big beers! The food is great. I really like the wings, and have them pretty much weekly. There are a lot of TVs and a generally acceptable crowd. I’ve only seen one girl pass out there (and man, she went down HARD!). The only drawback to this place is the bathroom...which I have to admit, has improved slightly. Before they improved (to some extent), this conversation actually took place in the Bo-James men’s bathroom:
Dad - “All done?”
Child - “Yeah.”
Dad - “OK, let’s go.”
Child - “But, daddy, don’t we have to wash our hands?”
Dad- “No, not in here we don’t.”
So yeah, the bathrooms suck, so try to go before you...go. Other than that, it’s definitely one of my favorite places in town. A + + + + + + + + + (from A Christmas Story)

The Mill
The Mill was the first place I went “out” to in Iowa City. There is typically live music, but I have to say, the place is a little disgusting. I’ve sampled a couple different food items there, and feel safe eating them only because they’re always deep fried and overcooked, thus likely killing any bacteria in the foods. The décor is that of damp wood. There is wood everywhere. Somehow, it is as if the floor, walls, tables and seats were all, at one time, the dirty floor of another dirty establishment. Thus, they just collected dirty floors over time until they had enough wood to make The Mill. In addition, the skank factor can sometimes be pretty elevated and the music can be mediocre. It’s not that bad, but definitely not a favorite.

The Union/Brothers/Fieldhouse
They’re all the same! If there is live music at one of these places, be skeptical. Not that they’re all horrible, but the last time I was at one of these locations, I was unable to keep the comment, “um, they have karaoke here? Those guys must have started drinking at, like, noon,” to myself. The crowd is your standard meat-market, almost-puking, screaming-not-talking, scantily-clad Big Ten college bar crowd. Which, of course, can be extraordinarily entertaining in the proper dosage. As with all of these types of bars, there is a bit of a Stock Market bidding approach in attempting to get a cheap, warm beer from a Cro-Magnon manish bar tender/bouncer. However, please be advised that these Simian studs do not protect against pregnancy, AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. Before going to the Union/Brothers/Fieldhouse, ask your doctor if you are healthy enough for sexual activity.

I think that will do for now. I might get to The Vine, Boston’s and the like a different time. Goodnight!