Hello, it’s Friday. That’s all I can say about that. Let’s turn things over to my friend Jim Williamson, shall we? Here we are with yet another Friday already upon us. I tried to muster up an exclamation point for you but I think I am a straight-up period person today. It has nothing at all to do with the fact that Max used that awful six-letter word with me the other day. It was that word you never ever want to hear: BUDGET. That sound you hear is me screaming on the inside.
I’m also experiencing an uncomfortable pain shooting up from my lower back, which in turn is making me rather nauseous. It’s the kind of the feeling I have when any Zooey Deschanel song plays on Sirius. It may have something to do with moving 12,000-square-feet worth of furniture or that charlie horse I had at 4 a.m. that happened just after Max began his snore cycle in my left ear and just before Big Ray saw movement and thought it was time for breakfast. He then proceeded to crawl on top of me (Ray, not Max), which felt like someone put an extra-large ham on my stomach.
But let’s don’t dawdle (I have no idea how that word just popped in my head or why it even resides there) on my maladies. Let’s talk food, which is my second favorite subject behind design. Since we do eat out a lot—even on a “budget”—sometimes you get stuck in a rut where you go to the same places on the same day each week. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. I enjoy when the restaurant staff recognizes me as a regular and gives me a little extra special treatment. But routines are just that: routines. That can get boring super fast like trying to watch an episode of The Mysteries of Laura. (I mean, has anyone actually listened to the dialog on this show? It should be called The Not-So-Mysterious Case of the Utterly Obvious.) So Max and I have been trying to mix it up.
On Sunday, we attended the first pop-in at Café Momentum with guest chef Andre Natera from Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa. Many of you will remember Andre from his work at the Fairmount and Marquee grill in HPV. I am definitely not a restaurant critic, although I do critique (design wise) absolutely every single room I have ever entered. I can’t help it. My brain is just wired that way. However, I can throw down a delicious meal. I like nothing better than having a free Sunday afternoon where I can listen to music and spend hours preparing an experimental dinner. Typically, this is just for Max so you will have to trust me that they are usually pretty darn delicious. I have also eaten at some of the best restaurants in many a fine city so we are using this as the basis that I might have a more refined palate than say Mama June. But this meal was one of the best meals I have eaten in a very long time with some flavor combinations I have never tasted. I am not even a yam person but his east side yams baked in clay with maple comb, smoked corn emulsion, aqua dulce ogo seaweed has me reconsidering the sweet tater. And to top the evening off, it went from four courses to six courses of sublime heaven on a plate.
Later in the week, we tried Agave Azul thanks to a recommendation from the SOBs. No, I am not being hateful—well, not at this very moment anyway. SOB stands for Steve, Oliver, and Bill, three downtown fixtures everyone should know. Need a recommendation on where to eat on any given day in Downtown? Just ask the SOBs. Want to know who has the best drinks on a Tuesday night? You got it. Ask the SOBs. The restaurant currently has a small menu with small plates but everything was tasty and fresh. And from talking with some of the staff, they plan on expanding the menu soon. It should definitely be on your “try” list. I say we all meet for happy hour.
We also tried the new sushi restaurant in Trinity Groves. It wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t great. It will not be knocking Yutaka off my top-10 list any time soon. And then Wednesday, we decided to try a new/old restaurant: Truluck’s. The new space is nice and open, and the food was delicious and perfectly prepared. If you are trying to have a nice, quiet dinner though, this would not be the place. The bar gets really loud and some of that filters upstairs. Other than that, it was all good.
Now on to what’s new in design. I had a visitor this week. Fancy decorator to the rich and famous, Timothy Corrigan, stopped by to say hello. He was in town giving a talk at Brook Hollow Country Club and popped by to tell me about a new furniture collection he is working on. It sounds super interesting and will be made in France by a well-known manufacturer. That’s perfectly appropriate since he calls France his second home—and who wouldn’t with that fabulous chateau he owns? Anyway, be on the lookout for the new collection to be revealed at Maison & Objet in 2016 and followed in the States shortly after.
In other design news, it is spring market in High Point. It is a huge market and massive amounts of new product will be shown, some of which will be headed this way soon. But I have to say, my favorite image so far is from my friend and PR guru, Christine Phillips. Nothing says market like flats, Band-Aids, and Advil. This is indeed one smart woman who knows how to work a market.
And with that, I’m out of here!
