The Boston-based artisan deli meat company, which is a newcomer to the Providence area, will be at the market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a celebration of National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day (officially on Jan. 14) , a day filled with, you guessed it, hot pastrami sandwiches using only first-cut briskets.

New York Deli Patrol’s hot artisan pastrami meat craze has taken restaurants in nearby Boston by storm. Their legions of fans include famed attorney and pastrami connoisseur Alan Dershowitz, who has a sandwich named after him at a Fenway neighborhood eatery that is aptly named “The Dersh.”

Dan Estridge, Founder, Curator, and Chief Flavor Officer of New York Deli Patrol and a New York native who grew up just outside the city, says he wants to bring the taste sensations that he vividly remembers from his youth to New Englanders who have never experienced the wonders of an authentic hot pastrami sandwich.

“You know, there are a few first-time sensations in life for which there can be no adequate preparation,” Estridge said. It’s warm, steamy, sexy, juicy, salty, spicy, smoky, succulent, and meltingly tender, I’m getting weak thinking about it again.”

Estridge and his company use only the finest quality meats available; no artificial fillers or the waterlogged cold cuts that one would typically find at the deli section of a supermarket.

“For a lot of supermarkets, their capacity to understand these richer products is truly limited,” Estridge said. “When people bite down into an authentic pastrami sandwich, they enjoy it as a real indulgence.”

New York Deli Patrol’s arrival comes at a time when the number of Providence delicatessens has dwindled significantly, particularly during the great recession. Many area delis like Gourmet Deli on the Square in Wayland Square have shuttered its doors after finding success in the catering business, while others, such as 729 Hope Cafe in the Mt. Hope neighborhood, have closed shop forever. Authentic New York style delicatessen meats in Rhode Island have gone the way of Ocean State relics like Miller’s Deli on Hope Street, a neighborhood deli that for generations specialized in New York style deli meats.

Today, there are no delicatessens in the Providence metropolitan area that even come close to matching the authentic New York deli experience provided by the legendary Katz Deli, located in the heart of New York City. Estridge said that New York Deli Patrol has a chance to play a role in Providence’s deli renaissance and help Rhode Islanders get back to the glory days of the neighborhood deli.

In a way, Estridge says that this lost art form is something that many Rhode Islanders has never experienced before.

“Sadly, most people today have no experience of the kind of deli we’re referring to," Estridge said. “But when they taste our deli meats, they tell me they never knew it could be like this. Mostly, people who say they love it are more familiar with the usual sort of salty-fatty-rubber you see grilled and served on sub-rolls.”

So how does New York Deli Patrol’s hot pastrami meat compare with some of the watery, more modern deli meats at the supermarket? In many ways, it simply doesn’t, according to Estridge.

“When you’re talking watery, modern deli meats at the supermarket, let’s face it, the deli products business is a commodity business,” Estridge said. The name of the game in commercial deli-manufacturing has for decades been simply making the product cheaper. Not to say the products are inexpensive, but they have been cheapened. “

Estridge wants to hearken back to the days when the neighborhood deli experience meant something; a communal experience that was best relished with friends and juicy artisan quality deli meats piled high on rye bread.

“In the past, people regarded deli and charcuterie as artisan products,” Estridge said. “But today, in this country, the business is very industrial, and cost considerations come first. No sane businessman would make products the way we do. But we felt that somebody had to step up and save these traditions. More flavor per pound – It’s the law!”

New York Deli Patrol will be at Eastside Marketplace on Jan. 16, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information on New York Deli Patrol and their fine artisan deli meats, please visit the New York Deli Patrol Web site at http://www.moreflavorperpound.com/.

OMG, I am addicted!!

So I’ve known about Glasvegas (yes, pronounced like ‘las vegas’) since, February, I think (thank you, Spin). It didn’t really catch with me. I mean, we all love ‘Geraldine’, right? I’d hear the opening chords in the gym and freak out, until it shifted into some godawful modern rock song. I fell for that trick tens of times.

Saturday I was doing my Anarchy in the UK 3 miler, and this video happened to come on:

The crushworthy-ness of the lead singer is only 1/3rd of the reason why I loved it so much.

2. Glasgow brogue!!!! Does anything else sound nearly as interesting? No.

3. 1:30-1:33: ‘What’s the story, morning glory?’ Way to touch my Brit-poppy heart.

Came home and listened to more of the album during a rain/snowstorm.

Other wicked cool things: the drummer  is a woman that had never played before (a record store clerk), but the lead singer (a former footballer) thought that she just seemed like she should be in a band.  The lead singer and the guitarist are cousins. You know that these are the factors that warm the cockles of my heart. Plus I heart Glasgow.

By last night, I had to have it. I love it so much; it’s one of those very rare albums I want to just listen to, not running or dancing or throwing a party; I want to listen to it for its own integrity. I mean, seriously, a song about social workers? Rad. (Though ‘Flowers and Football Tops’ will make you cry). These are the songs and this is the voice where you are using your iPod as a mock microphone and standing up on your bed, theatrically. Not that I’ve done that (standing up on the bed–the ceiling is too low).

At the bottom of the bag was a small paper bag that weighed a little over a pound. Inside were, you guessed it, yams. So instead of making just another boring Thanksgiving side, I’ve decided to embark upon a world that, until recently, I had been relatively unimpressed by: The world of Sweet Potato Pie. In the past, I would take a few bites from a slice of Sweet Potato Pie and scrap it for something more flavorful (Apple), heartier (Pecan), and familiar (Pumpkin). This year, I’m challenging myself to make a Sweet Potato Pie that I’ll look forward to finishing.

My inspiration is the Food Network alchemist, Alton Brown, who is known for dissecting traditional recipes and getting into the science of good food. I’m using his recipe, which can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sweet-potato-pie-recipe/index.html.

There are, of course, one barrier that I will encounter on Thursday. My nephew is a three-year old toddler and allergic to nuts, and the recipe calls for pecans. But since the only way he’d appreciate a good pie is by wearing it on his shirt, I’m not going to be all that concerned about his tastes. This is about my tastes.

Credit

A new, occasional feature: classic flavours-of-the moment.

Hedi Slimane, previous designer for Christian Dior, was my FOTM in August 2006.

(from an email to my best friends entitled ‘Randolph Duke for Halston…was my other favourite childhood designer):

y, hedi slimane originated your haircut.  h.s. is the designer of dior homme (r. wainwright, whose new album is coming out next year!!!!!!!, is wearing d.h. by h.s. on the cover of interview)….dior homme is hands-down my favourite menswear…i would put all of my favourite men in dior homme (skinny pants, skinny ties, skinny jackets).s, franz ferdinand are devotees of dior homme as are orlando bloom and brad pitt.  apparently, he likes to cast skinny male models off the street….y, f, are you up for this? i was reading vanity fair yesterday, the best dressed issue, and i practically flipped out of my skin there was hedi slimane… i mean, honestly, i didn’t think he really existed or that he was young…i thought he was some karl lagerfeld guy…tres intriguing…so i have taken a break from obsessive googling of h.s. to write this email.  (seriously, prince ernst of hanover, best dressed?)

2 days later:

my hedi slimane fixation is starting to affect my work.  also my love of americanos.

the next day, in a email describing my typical day, entitled ‘atelier’:

2:00pm…l has come in [to my office] for lunch…try to find the details magazine profile of hedi slimane on google….check macy’s for intriguing blackwear….show disgust at ralph lauren’s boxy aesthetic at macy’s

7:30pm-.drive to —— walking track……..chat with mom for a few hundred yards, then begin to outpace her, listen to interpol’s antics, call —- and leave message, drink aforementioned seltzer, work on couture and ready-to-wear collections, decide to make a simple skirt with gorgeous lining, survey black options in my wardrobe, decide i need more shirts, imagine what hedi slimane’s purported women’s line might look like, think about what —- and i talked about, walk 2 miles…

a day later:

i’ve been woefully occupied by work, and still trying to figure out the proper pronounciation of “hedi”…..egads

two days after that:

also i was reading this article about hedi slimane (whose name is pronounced “edi sli-mahn” apparently…since i am american, i think i could americanize it to “hedi”….which is tres rock star)…oh it was “the new yorker” and the reporter remarked that HS looked like “the apotheosis of hedi-ness” and so i’ve been thinking about what “the apotheosis of Julian K.-ness” would be…my flexibility is up in yoga….i can put my heels down on the first pass in down dog, and i did shoulderstand twice this week

and

ps…the official hedi song is “this boy” by franz ferdinand

I was supposed to write this email finally explaining all the reasons why I love Hedi Slimane, and I’ll definitely get to that. I mean, seriously, when one starts getting sent HS care packages, well…

(it’s true; my gay best friend [GBF] mailed me an article from that fall’s Fashion Rocks with Hedi and Phoenix.)

GBF got so into Hedi that he was still talking about Hedi a month later, and I was just like, ‘wtf? hedi’s over.’ GBF also bought a pair of Dior jeans so…yeah, he definitely took it to the next level.

Well, the question still is: why did I love Hedi so much? Not to give anything away, but people who can pursue two interests successfully, multi-talented sincere people–they tend to intrigue me, if, as it always is with classic FOTMs,the timing is right and I identify with them or their values. Now I’m not a skinny gay Tunisian-French (Tunisia forever!) fashion designer who moonlights in photography, but (from emails)…

Hedi (in the Independent, 2004, bout his clothes): “No, it’s not meant to be sexy. I don’t like this idea of exhibitionism. Tarty. No, no, no. I like more the idea of attraction.”

and

Hedi again: “Yes, I had a happy childhood. It was very isolated – I was a really isolated kid. I was just like that.” A pause, and then he adds, “Actually, I was bored with being a child. I just couldn’t stand it. I had to be with grown- ups. Now, it’s fantastic, but then, I was bored and I couldn’t wait to do thing” (who does that sound like?)

also:

i don’t know why i always have the impulse to be completely unexpected…contrarian, even.  i really don’t like to be completely known. i love the element of surprise, but i hate being surprised.  i also can’t wait to wear plum nail polish….i know that much of this emphasis on fashion is a way to destress and be creative….

don’t forget:

[at a historical library with GBF] —- asked us what our interests were, and i said we were interested in fashion, so she unlocked the costume design cabinet for us, and pulled out a Vogue book and also some plates from the early 1900s (women would view the plates, and then have their dressmakers make up the dresses)…..i said that i was interested in learning more about construction and design, and she gave me the contact info of their program director, who in a previous life was a hat designer….

You know, this is all from the girl who sketched dress designs during sermons and watched ‘Style with Elsa Klensch’ religiously.

For further Hedi reference: A Giddy American Meets Hedi in the Grocery Store

30 Seconds to Mars | MySpace Video.

Aww, you knew I was on top of this, right? (And, uh, for the moment we’ll ignore any double entendres, okay? Find me a better metaphor, and that does not include ‘all over it’, ‘waiting with bated breath’, and, possibly, ‘on that train’)

Notes after First View:

1. Bono wannabe 101

2. Brother Leto is lookin’ pretty cute; I had my doubts about that one, would’ve thought they were halves-ies…kind of turned it around.

3. I really love the faces of the riders…very human element there.

4. Literally jumped halfway through…thought that was a bit schmaltzy in the resolution though.

5. What is that song at the end? I’m so intrigued!

6. The Haughty Hottie is very hot in the rider scenes, not so much everywhere else (a bit too Bono/religious youth conference flashback-y perhaps? Also seriously needs to put on weight). I thought the hair was so distracting and he basically looked like a chipmunk on my beloved Alexa’s show yesterday, but, it’s palatable and even quite nice (at certain points) here. It’s no ‘From Yesterday’ though.

7. But, realistically, what could be better than eating Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (from my beloved Isa Chandra) while watching a video for a song that inexplicably grabbed me three weeks ago, and which I still, inexplicably, absolutely adore, maybe more than I’ve adored any song recently, other than songs I’m s’posed to like, of course. Yeah, that’s another post.

I just started running a couple of months ago, and I’m not a twig (though I’m strong) so…it’s definitely a struggle of the will a ‘Me vs. Me’ epic battle that requires major heaps of transcendence, and just plain push.  A dear dear friend surmises that I run just so I can compile the perfect RP. There’s probably some truth to that, so much so that you can definitely guess the first three songs by now! But the others, well, some of them are courtesy of a frantic iTunes download as I was heading out the door…

The Songs, sans #4

4. ‘Gimme Sympathy’ Metric. A guess–good guess! you’re gonna make mistakes you know/c’mon baby play me the song/like ‘here comes the sun’

5. ‘The Fixer’ Pearl Jam (of course)

6. ‘I Still Remember’ Bloc Party. How could I possibly run without this beautiful, sweet, sad, wistful song?

7. ‘The Middle’ Jimmy Eat World. The workhorse! At this sweaty, sweaty point, it was genius. hey/don’t write yourself off yet/…just try your best/try everything you can/…it just takes some time/little girl, you’re in the middle/everything everything will be just fine/everything will be alright/…live right now/just be yourself/it doesn’t matter if it’s good enough for someone else/…just do your best/do everything you can

8. ‘Love is Noise’ The Verve. Fail! Switched at the chorus–too depressing (love is noise/love is pain)

9. ‘Help I’m Alive’ Metric. I thought this song would be perfect, but it only made me super panicky, so I switched it out after a minute. I tremble/they’re gonna eat me alive/if I stumble/they’re gonna eat me alive/can you hear my heart beating like a hammer/beating like a hammer? (cos when your heart actually is beating like a hammer, empathy makes it worse)

10. ‘Anarchy in the UK’. Sex Pistols. I heard it on the Retro Lunch on Friday and made a note of it (not the traditional running Post-it Note). You know, this song shouldn’t work with my running song requirements cos there aren’t distinct parts and it’s not screamy, it’s not terribly transcendent. But it’s totally totally bad ass. And that, my friends, is what a first 3 miler requires and should be modeled on: digging deep, gutsiness, a who-I-am check, total disregard for how crappy you’re feeling at the moment, pushing through the pain. Very punk. So this is the perfect theme song.

(It wasn’t lost on me the irony that I was listening to ‘Anarchy in the UK’ while watching ‘World’s Strictest Parents’)

November Playlist So Far (my beloved playlist.com)

1. ‘A Beautiful Lie’ 30STM.

2. ‘I Know what I am’ Band of Skulls.

3. ‘From Yesterday’ 30 STM.

4. ‘The Fixer’ Pearl Jam

5. ‘I Still Remember’ Bloc Party. I figured out why ‘When You Were Young’ didn’t work; with ‘I Still Remember’ it was much too much nostalgia and wistfulness mixed with a hint of sadness.  Today, this song was in a great position and lots of fun.

6. ‘Attack’ 30STM. Screaminess central and a kicky lyric for the last 3 minutes (I won’t suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted/Surrender to nothing, or give up what I/Started and stopped it, from end to beginning/A new day is coming, and I am finally free)
Swell choice.

(from the Coconut Bliss Facebook page)

I sampled the Mint Galactica at the Boston Vegetarian Society Food Festival last Saturday; I’d had bad luck with other brands, and, since I was already well onto my 25th sample of delightful vegan cuisine, I figured why not.

Oh.my.God.

No coconut aftertaste, just pure mint chippiness and creamy texture…so creamy it was like my beloved Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip (circa 1995, when they used real ingredients). I quickly bought a pint of my own, which didn’t make it past two days, and moved on to the Vanilla Island last night. Though it’s a bit more coconutty, the texture is still amazing and the flavour second to none. Definitely give these a try! It’s all I could do to avoid buying the Dark Chocolate at WF tonight

*Coconut Bliss HQ

What?  The ‘Rebel Rebel’ Alexa Chung Run– 26 minutes at a slightly to very inappropriate pace for someone who is just at the end of a chest cold and hasn’t hit the treadmill in a week. TV: ‘World’s Strictest Parents’

Oh, so you want the songs?

The Playlist

1. ‘A Beautiful Lie’ by (of course) 30STM. The treadmill plug-in I use plays songs alphabetically. This worked really well as an unexpected start song last week since it has just a bit of ‘screaminess’ and propulsion.

2. ‘I Know What I Am’ Band of Skulls. Classic second song. Usually I think about how many minutes I have left, and how it will be a long slog. The lyrics are what makes it and remind me that 26 minutes is a piece of cake for me: But I know what I am/ain’t no wonder/so let me be and But it’s all right/it’s ok/I got the time/but the time don’t pay

3. ‘From Yesterday’ 30 STM. This song shouldn’t work at the third position, cos it starts so slow and stays so throughout, yet it really does the job. I chose it because the third song last time was ‘Shut Up and Let Me Go’ by the Ting Tings, which I loved, but I felt that the structure was very similar to ‘I Know What I Am’. I love the line ’on his face is a map of the world‘ since traveling is my raison d’etre. So I get to ruminate about that and think about China and there’s a lot of screaminess.

4. ‘Sweetness’ Jimmy Eat World. The gamble today. Though there’s no real lyrical push, it’s still a strong, propulsive segue into

5. ‘The Fixer’ Pearl Jam. The lynchpin–at this point, I’m onto the second half and it’s a great kick of motivation: when something’s gone[my resolve! my gutsiness!], i want to fight to get it back again. if something’s lost, i want to fight to get it back again.

6. ‘When You Were Young’ The Killers. Not a star performer today; I think it’s because I was putting off listening to the next song. This was one of my WBRU post it selections. And I was sooo excited cos I save most of running songs simply for the ‘mill,, so as not to get utterly sick of them, but I forgot it last week. Sigh…I’ll have to figure this one out

7. ‘I Still Remember’ Bloc Party. This is my most loved song, and I was seriously anticipating it. Fail! Which sucked, and it’s really only because I put it in the wrong position, the last song. It doesn’t have enough screaminess to carry me through that devastating four minutes of dripping sweat, heat exhaustion, and pained lungs. So I had to switch to…

8. ‘Kings and Queens’ 30 STM. Not enough time left for the screaminess to kick in.