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Posts Tagged ‘Kathy Life’
Life Cafe on BBC Radio York
Listen to a fun interview on BBC Radio. While Kathy Life and John Sunderland were visiting beautiful North Yorkshire in England for a wedding and several of the English family’s birthdays, the iconic Dr. Rock invited Kathy Life and John Sunderland as guests on his popular Sunday night rock radio program, May 6, 2012 at the BBC Radio studios in York. You can still hear the interview streaming via this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/stations/york until Sunday, May 13th.
Between bits of history about the East Village Life Cafe, Dr. Rock plays selections from a list of special rock hits that Kathy linked to her tale of Life Cafe. And hear a bit of “the great” John Sunderland’s legacy as the original designer of the Jorvik Viking Centre in (old) York in the UK.
I have been fortunate in my life to live in some beautiful places, and then I came to Bushwick; which to my mind has to be one of the ugliest places on the planet, why else would the artists of the street try to paint it out?
And here this month we have someone who sees beauty where, in daylight at least I see only the beast.
I have been in two minds about Julia’s show. To be honest I think the exhibition on the right hand side of the wall, is truly worthy of comment, but not so the three large paintings on the left, which don’t appear to belong in the company of the rest.
Sunsets and reflected light from natural and unnatural sources transform Bushwick from dusk to dawn; then it becomes a place of mystery, Chirico shadows and possible threat. But high on the rooftops above the streets the greatest show on earth is still playing.
Rather than go for the obvious iconic view of Manhattan set against a flame red sky, Julia looks closer and sees beauty in the momentary passing of light above the shadow blocks of Bushwick, and reminds us that nature gives us a fresh start every morning and wipes the slate clean every night.
It’s not easy to capture fleeting moments, and equally it takes a special skill to capture fleeting moods as the artist does so well with her interiors, where she shows us glimpses of transitory loft-life. We may want to know more but we never shall.
The one piece that really does it for me in this show is, “On the Brink”. This is a painting you could live with, it would always draw you to it; there would always be questions, never a dull moment. It could be a canvas that in the end could drive you mad.
Julia has captured here two people standing together, their naked feet in the moving water. That’s all we know, apart from the delicious fact that this is a moment set to pass and unfold. Quite how- we shall have to wait and see. Time for another glass!
FRIED CALAMARI $7.99 Served with a Chipotle Sauce and
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CHICKEN TOSTADAS $7.99 Black Beans, Chicken, Salsa de Arbol, Lettuce and Cotija Cheese http://twitpic.com/3ubj4c
ENTREES
MUSHROOM RISOTTO $13.99 With Spinach, Garlic, Olive Oil, Baby Shrimp and
a dash of Truffle Oil
STEAK OR CHICKEN FAJITAS $13.99 Served with Mexican Rice, Black Beans and
Flour Tortillas http://twitpic.com/3ubk16
PENNE POMODORO $13.99 Penne Pasta tossed with Tomatoes, Garlic, Fresh Basil, Marinara Sauce and topped with Jack Cheese http://twitpic.com/3ubhwk
CHICKEN SUPREME SANDWICH $13.99 Pan-seared Chicken Breast, Red Onions, Roasted Red Peppers, topped with a White Cream Sauce and served with a House Salad http://twitpic.com/3ublk6
PHILLY CHEESE STEAK $13.99 Skirt Steak topped with Cheddar Cheese, Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms served with French Fries
John and I just got back from a two-week visit to Mexico. Our first. Well, I did spend a day in Tijuana when I was 16 with my mom, dad and brother, Corky. Tijuana in the mid 1960s, as I recall it, was a tourist trap and seemed pretty harmless to a bunch of touristy gringos such as us. I don’t recall eating a thing while there; Corky and I were real finicky eaters; we would’ve died before trying any “foreign” food.
I went deeper into Mexico this trip, all the way to San Miguel de Allende. Once there I remembered why I put Mexican food on the Life Café menus. I love it!
Kathy Life in San Miguel
I fell in love with Mexican food in Lansing, Michigan, of all places. David Life and I treated ourselves to dinner at one of the Mexican restaurants in town, cheap, greasy spoons actually. I loved sinking my fork into the soft chicken enchiladas drowned in deep red chili sauce and melted cheese. I always thought the owners catered to the migrant Mexicans that worked in the orchards. What I knew for sure was the food was the real thing and delicious.
When I started to develop a menu for the tiny coffee house that Life Café was in 1981, I made veggie chili and vegetarian burritos. I made burritos because you couldn’t get them in NYC. And I could wrap them up like a sandwich and hold them behind the counter easily to sell. I made them vegetarian because that’s what Dave and I ate. Eventually, I added meat options. Had to. Back then, when only the brave or crazy chanced it east of 1st Avenue and ended up at a Life Café event, I made sure there was something for them to buy. We needed the business. I had rent and Con Ed to pay. Actually, it was Con Ed who got most of my attention back then. It was a relatively big bill and they threatened to turn off service if you didn’t pay on time. If that happened, we’d be shut down. At one point, I got 5 months behind in rent. The local artists and galleries came to the rescue, but that’s another story.
It was a delight staying in Mexico. Mexicans are friendly, kind, gentle and generous – just like the ones I know in and around my two cafes. Everyone was happy too! Now so am I!
I was so smitten with Mexico, when I first got back, I went into the Brooklyn Café kitchen. “Hector, I LOVE Mexico! How do you say I love Mexico in español?” “Yo Amo Mexico,” he said. Hands raised high, I announced “Yo Amo Mexico.” When I looked around at the rest of the guys, they were beaming and laughing at me.
Well, I don’t know if they made fun of me with that, or that they were thrilled that I loved their homeland. We all had a good laugh anyway. Now, wait until I corner Hector to go over a new salsa recipe I want him to try out!
