Envy

It’s not often that I read something in Boston Magazine that gets me thinking about the deeper moral implications of one’s actions. But there is an article in October’s issue, the entire issue is dedicated to “Envy”, that got me to think about what it means to be authenticate in a world of copy cats.

The article is here:
Envy

Essentially there is a newish restaurant in town that has gotten a very large amount of critical acclaim in a seemingly short amount of time. After Frank Bruni gushed about it in the New York Times (he did say that all the places review was only stellar because they had the handicap of being outside of NYC, um thanks Frank?. A move that is sooo typically Frank Bruni), the place seemed to explode in terms of exposure. I would talk to people about Oisshii and instantly, I’d get the one up stance of “Yes, but have you been to Oya? Really, no? Then you have no idea what sushi truly can be!”.

Seriously? As someone who happened to own one of the first stores to appear in Boston dedicated to jeans, I know first hand what it’s like to be suddenly told that the younger, newer kid on the block is outshining you. I’m of the belief that there is room enough for all of us. But Bostonians tend to believe, in true Highlander form, that “there can be only one”. It’s a mentality not exclusive to Boston, but in a town trying to called a cosmopolitan city (look we have a new Mandarin Oriental Hotel and a new huge Apple store, look look!), well it’s very, very cut throat because there aren’t as many people to impress as say New York. However, even with how competitive Boston is, there are certain rules of protocol and decency.

I think that because Boston is small, most people in any given service industry know each other…And it is mostly through personal encounters. It’s not surprising when a Sales Rep calls me at work and says amazed “Everyone in this town who owns a shop knows you!. Well, in a place as small as Boston that’s not surprising. If I go into a locally owned shop, even if I know I’m just there to pick up a dress or a candle, if I find myself mentally taking notes of the layout or the brands, I will then make an effort to introduce myself and honestly, let the person know what I’m doing. This not only clears my conscious but is the right thing to do in such a small town. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m taking clues from them in a dishonest fashion.

Our new store has a dressing room fashioned after the one’s at Stel’s. I went in and told Tina and John exactly what I wanted to do and with their blessing was told how-to. I know that Nilda from Parlor has called other shops to make sure it’s cool with them to carry a line and I’ve also placed similar calls to other shops and even canceled orders because a friend told me that they wanted the exclusive to a line which they made a good case/point about. This might sound a lot like we’re mixing business with personal but none of us entered this industry for purely business reasons. Granted we all want to make money and make a living, but owning a business is like sharing a huge piece of your personal side. You sell the things you love and you talk about how it came to appear in your shop. Those stories are often hugely personal. Very rarely, did anyone else to see a performance chart regarding what brand/models/colors sell the best and go from there. It’s often about gut and feeling. I had a gut feeling that Rag &Bone would explode. I had a gut feeling that Sevens would do well for us.

As a chef, I would imagine, a lot of it is gut as well. But you can’t make the call to a supplier and say “I’d like you stop selling ketchup to XYZ” because I have ketchup too. You can’t protect the brands/supplies but you can protect the way you put things together and the way you display your talent.

Pictures, films, music and words are easily protected from plagiarizing. Just look at even food blogs these days. One of the major ones I read on a regular basis went after another blog for not only stealing her photos but her recipes as well. We’re talking almost came to a lawsuit. Another one I use to follow shut down, because the food blog community for not sighting properly where her recipes came from shunned her. This might seem like a lot from food blogs…but it’s now a clear understanding of a violation of a larger theme. There are few things that a chef can really protect and doesn’t he/she have a right to do so?

So in a city/town as small as Boston is, for the owners of O Ya to not come entirely clean about what they were up to, even if it meant nothing to them (which clear is not the case because the guy was taking copious notes) when visiting Uni and Oisshii is not only very dishonest and bad form, it should border on illegal. This might seem like a harsh thing to write but think about it. The entire Cindy McCain stolen recipes from Food Network might had not been so bad had someone on staff just added the caveat that the recipes were “inspired” from ones on the Food Network website. We’re clearly all influenced by other things around us and for the owners of O Ya to even just say, “yes, I was very influenced by my meals at those places but it’s deeper than that. He really studied that was going on there. He had the menus faxed to him twice a week and appeared at the restaurants for dinner and was never honest about who he truly was.

Perhaps, any place else, this man’s actions might make sense but not in a town like Boston. And it’s not about a “fraternity of chefs” or a “fraternity of store owners” or even about ENVY. Rather, it’s about being able to wake up every morning knowing that YOU came up with the ideas for what to carry in your store, that YOU made the decision how to put ingredients together. It’s about true integrity and honesty and how we as a community (small or large) and society award such efforts.

Sushi Again!

Hurray for Oishii!!!








It's all been penguin approved too!

A Weekend + Wrap Up

It was a busy weekend at the stores. Since it was a long weekend, people must have been itching to get out of the house. Not only were my shops kept busy but every time I went to a restaurant or anywhere, places seemed a bit more crowded than usual. It wasn't annoying it was more of an "oh look people!" thing.

Okay, so quite unexpectedly I got Sunday off! Yayayyayayayaya!!!! I was so excited. I decided I would take the day and do something I never get a chance to go. I wouldn't take the day and do my usual chores of laundry, gym, cleaning my apt., but I would use the day and take a field trip. I decided it was high time I went to see the new ICA. It's been on my to-do list for a long time. Actually it was on "our" to-do list. A friend past away last year and before she died we made a list of things we'd do together when she got well. Unfortunately we never got to do anything on the list. And not a day goes by without me thinking of her. And so it was high time I saw the ICA. Beth would be there with me in spirit and I couldn't not do something because it was on the list. How long would I be able to use that as an excuse not to live? Seriously!

So I decided I would walk from my place in Fenway over to the ICA in South Boston. It was a good 4 mile walk thru the city. It was a cold day but I bundled up and bought a Starsux skim latte to help keep my fingers warm. I got to walk thru Chinatown and see the Lunar New Year celebration. It was fun to stop a bit and watch the lion/dragon thingie!

If you fed it lettuce, a hand would magically appear out of the mouth of this fearsome creature and hand over some incense. So much cool than a vending machine!


But I couldn't stop long, I had someplace I had to be. I did stop and take a couple of pics of this old buildings on my way:




The first picture you can see the building being held up by the metal support rods attached to the building right next to it. And the second picture is a new building but behind it there is this cool old brick wall that looks like they're trying to have be a part of the new building. I like it when old buildings are restored or used in combination with new structuring.

But again, I could stop for long. I had a bit more to walk and finally I was here:

Behold, the ICA building! I'm not a huge fan of the outside. It looks too MIT science building for my liking. I like the use of glass and I like the views from inside. See:
The new ICA sits on the waterfront and it makes great use of the location. I'd pay $15 just for the view alone! Once inside, I saw some great stuff. The piece I really felt an emotional connection to was Falling Fire by Cornelia Parker. Wow, it was both beautiful and sad. She took actual pieces of a burned down store that had been completely turned into black charcoal and strung it up so it was sort of like a huge air mobil. It looked like it was both falling and yet gliding in air. You saw these nails and pieces of blackened wood. To me, it was profound because it was once someone's business...once someone's dreams and hopes. The piece really moved me. It was really quite stunning as art. There were lots of other cool things too. And at the end, there is this really awesome modern media lab:
Row upon row of Macs ready for one to listen to various short videos/films produced at the ICA or interviews with artists. And again the view of the water was awesome!

I ended my visit and started on my journey home. I was 10 mins into walking back when it started to hail. Ouch! Stupid Boston weather! Then it started to rain and then pour, I barely made it to the T in time.

Once home, I had convinced a friend that we should have dinner together 1.) b/c I wanted to see her 2.) b/c I was hungry. We went back and forth about the plans for the evening until she proposed of the the most generous offers I think I've ever received. Dinner at Oishii, her treat! Holy hell!!!!!! Yeah my friends rule!!!!!!

I got gussied up b/c it's rare I find myself having an expensive sushi meal at what many consider the best sushi restaurant in town. My friend had once been a server at Oishii and was greeted warmly by the owners. We sat down and enjoyed a glass of sake brought to us by the chef as we reviewed the menu. I let my friend do all the ordering. I really don't know what she ordered except there was a lot of it and all of it was impressively presented, fresh and very delicious. My only complaint being that I'm a shorty and I didn't really have a great view of all the action behind the sushi bar. My dinner companion did nudge me to watch one of the chefs bust out a butane torch (think home depot) and lightly sear some fish on top of a giant maki roll. It makes me think all good fish should be cooked this way, if at all!

Below are pictures I made her take of some of what we ordered:




As for what any of it is, I haven't a clue. Perhaps she'll be able to comment on what was eaten and what we drank that night. But it was all yummy and the last item had fruit and foie gras in it!!! Overall, Oishii is an amazing experience but as for what I'd recommend to order, well I'd recommend taking my friend with you!

Afteralls, we found ourselves at Union pestering Lee, who look liked he needed to be pestered.

Monday, I had to work but Tuesday I had off again! Woohoo, I mean two days off in one week??? Who would have thunk it possible? Not me! But this day I did need to do my usual time off errands: grocery store, bank, go to the store to pull hours for the employees, pay bills, clean my place, blah blah blah. But with a full day off, I was also able to indulge in one of my favorite gluttonous pastimes: Indian Buffet!

I went to Rami's in Coolidge Corner. I think the best Indian buffets in Boston tend to be in Cambridge: Indian Castle and Ghandi. But I had little time on my hand for lunch and so Rami's was the closest option. Behold my plate of spicy goodness!


We've got saag paneer, a shredded potato fritter of some sort, curry chicken, curry cauliflower and that bowl in the back filled with raita. I have to admit to having an addiction to raita. I eat it like soup much to the horror and dismay of those around me. Luckily it was only me having lunch and so there was no one to disgust. This is good b/c I went back three times for more raita.

And as promised I did make the chickpea salad on the Organette website. Only I added a few extras: 1/4 cup of capers, 1/4 cup of chopped onion and a few splashes of red wine vinegar.



Okay, I know it doesn't look like much in the bowl but I gotta tell you this little salad rocks!!!! It's so good I was scooping out bits of it as a snack after dinner even! It made a nice dinner, a nice TV snack and a nice midnight snack too. Oye! Lucky for me chickpeas are high in protein and low in fat.