The Many Many Muses of Cafe Drake
THE BULLETIN BOARD Cafe Drake long ago learned from influential mentors that an ever-rotating board of images is the best way to keep things fresh; choose pictures from ANYWHERE you find kinship or emotional/aesthetic comraderie.
Inspiration - good, bad, or misguided - always arrives from above we believe. And Cafe Drake is never one to deny a muse anything he/she requests. Good food and successful entertaining can only stem from an inspired mind, and "restocking the well" is essential to survival as shelter, kindness and Pinot Noir. Below we offer - as gifts, really - some of the things that have kept us going recently, with the hope that sharing may similarly enrich your own lives. 
THE PLAYLIST After-dinner drinks parties will remain rolicking until sunrise with Black Devil Disco Club's 28 After, a most propulsive dance music CD. The Tall Boy's latest full-length, Go Forth, bridges the gap between your techno and rock friends at your next house party. Rich Boy and DJ Drama bring delight to even rap haters like Cafe Drake; Ghetto Fabulous never tasted so good. Barbara Morgenstern is a Cabaret Noir chanteuse backed by a drum kit, making her perfect for cocktails or German food. The Blow's Paper Television, despite their name associations, is subtle enough for sublime dining music. And lastly in March 2007 we know we've mentioned Brooklyn's own Beirut a million times before, but his newest EP Lon Gisland is a little slice of Cold War German cake, good preceeded with bratwurst and sweet mustards and soft pretzels.
THE BOOKSHELF
It almost seems as if we spent the entire winter cooking, hosting and reading. All of these activities were intimately related we assure you; after all, there is hardly a more productive or enjoyable way to pass time in the kitchen - stirring a custard, marinating filets - than with a great book. What you must Amazon wish-list in 2007 are:
The Ruins of Contracouer. Joyce Carol Oates. Avon Books. - For her, like 1000th book, our favorite author returns to the genre of High Gothic, made even creepier and more compelling for its realistic prose style. Menu Suggestion: Decayed Wedding Cake.
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. Elizabeth Smart. Vintage Books. - All thanks to the universe for an early-90s re-issue of this experimental masterpiece, a tale of love gone wrong wrong wrong. Menu Suggestion: Salad of Bitter Greens
Port Mungo. Patrick McGrath. Knopf. - Again British author McGrath gives us a tale of romantic obsession turned macabre, largely set in a lurid port city (straight out of Genet's fantasies) in Honduras. Suggested Menu: Black Beans, Rice and Fried Plantains
A Glass of Blessings. Barbara Pym. Vinatage Books - Long after her death Pym remains the coziest of English writers. Suggested Menu: Roasted Beef with Yorkshire Pudding
Now is the Hour. Tom Spanbauer. Houghtin Mifflin. Another coming-of-age tale from Spanbauer set in the American West; rough, raunchy and glorious as always. We dare you to not fall in love with narrator Rigby John. Suggested Menu: Venison Chops
This Book Will Save Your Life. A. M. Homes. Penguin - Like most of her previous work, it did. Suggested Menu: Belvedere on the Rocks and a Heart Pill.
Jill. Philip Larkin. Faber and Faber - A rare prose work from a masterful poet. Dated certainly, but the emotions rise above the post-war details. Suggested Menu: Earl Grey Tea with Milk and No Sugar, Please
The Demon in the Freezer; A True Story. Richard Preston. Random House - The deadliest virus on Earth, smallpox, exists in only two freezers on Earth: the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and a Siberian waystation. A non-fiction science horror that will scare you to death. Suggested Menu: Frozen Dacquiris (and lots of them for your jangled nerves).
It almost seems as if we spent the entire winter cooking, hosting and reading. All of these activities were intimately related we assure you; after all, there is hardly a more productive or enjoyable way to pass time in the kitchen - stirring a custard, marinating filets - than with a great book. What you must Amazon wish-list in 2007 are:
The Ruins of Contracouer. Joyce Carol Oates. Avon Books. - For her, like 1000th book, our favorite author returns to the genre of High Gothic, made even creepier and more compelling for its realistic prose style. Menu Suggestion: Decayed Wedding Cake.
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. Elizabeth Smart. Vintage Books. - All thanks to the universe for an early-90s re-issue of this experimental masterpiece, a tale of love gone wrong wrong wrong. Menu Suggestion: Salad of Bitter Greens
Port Mungo. Patrick McGrath. Knopf. - Again British author McGrath gives us a tale of romantic obsession turned macabre, largely set in a lurid port city (straight out of Genet's fantasies) in Honduras. Suggested Menu: Black Beans, Rice and Fried Plantains
A Glass of Blessings. Barbara Pym. Vinatage Books - Long after her death Pym remains the coziest of English writers. Suggested Menu: Roasted Beef with Yorkshire Pudding
Now is the Hour. Tom Spanbauer. Houghtin Mifflin. Another coming-of-age tale from Spanbauer set in the American West; rough, raunchy and glorious as always. We dare you to not fall in love with narrator Rigby John. Suggested Menu: Venison Chops
This Book Will Save Your Life. A. M. Homes. Penguin - Like most of her previous work, it did. Suggested Menu: Belvedere on the Rocks and a Heart Pill.
Jill. Philip Larkin. Faber and Faber - A rare prose work from a masterful poet. Dated certainly, but the emotions rise above the post-war details. Suggested Menu: Earl Grey Tea with Milk and No Sugar, Please
The Demon in the Freezer; A True Story. Richard Preston. Random House - The deadliest virus on Earth, smallpox, exists in only two freezers on Earth: the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and a Siberian waystation. A non-fiction science horror that will scare you to death. Suggested Menu: Frozen Dacquiris (and lots of them for your jangled nerves).
Comments