Where to Eat: KIF

A couple weeks ago, I met a guy. Nothing particularly special, just a guy I met at work, and he asked me one of the best questions I've ever been asked: Good Sex or Good Food? Well, most people will initially react with the answer, good sex. However, I found myself pondering this question for a few minutes before answering, a good meal beats good sex any day of the week.

Shortly thereafter, I headed down to Fort Greene to have dinner with my best friend, Paige. She suggested we try a restaurant in her neighborhood that she had yet to try called Kif. Kif doesn't look too fancy, moderately priced, and dimly lit. It was also Moroccan food, which due to my sheltered small-town Western life, I had yet to try.

I decided on Tagine, a traditional Moroccan stew made with meat, veggies, and a side of couscous. I went with lamb, seeing as I never buy lamb myself, and had decided to spoil myself on this given night. The meat was tender, falling off the bone everytime I tried to take a bite. The veggies were hot and juicy and moist, and the couscous collected all the extra sauce at the end of my meal. Top it off with a Casa (the only Moroccan beer they had on the menu), and I was in heaven.

I don't know what it is. The fact that my taste buds have been completely satiated, the pleasant company of my best friend, or the cozy atmosphere, but I have not been able to stop thinking about that meal at Kif. It has only inspired me to try more exotic cuisines and be more brave with my restaurant choices, it's also made me make an entire batch of couscous to have in my fridge at my disposal.

Hipster Must-See: The Wackness

I have a tendency to joyfully watch horrible movies. If it has zombies, violence, young girls being bitchy, etc., I usually enjoy rather thoroughly. I find myself needing to be in a certain mood in order to sit through a serious movie. Last night, I happened to put myself in that mood and Netflix had sent me The Wackness, so I geared up to be depressed. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.

Set in New York City in 1994, The Wackness has a great plot, great acting, and a great soundtrack. Josh Peck, best known for his role in Nickolodeon's Drake and Josh pleasantly surprised me with his serious acting ability. Starring opposite Ben Kingsley, Famke Jansen, and Mary-Kate Olsen, Peck delivered a thoroughly impressive performance as a young, in-love, and genetically fucked up drug-dealer. It is safe to say that I now have a crush on him. His love interest, Olivia Thirlby, who is somewhat recognizable for her various other roles, did an amazing job as well. Rounding out the younger cast was Mary-Kate Olsen, who I seem to remember doing press across the country for this film. While she was great for the fifteen minutes she was in the film, I seemed to feel as though with all the hype of her being in the film, she really should have had a larger role, or just less publicity. Okay, I love Mary-Kate Olsen, so I really don't care either way, but it makes me hate society a little bit more.

Growing up in the late 1990s, I was too young to really take full advantage of everything a movie in 1994 could bring. I feel as though if I would've been in high-school at that time I could have appreciated the movie so much more then I did. Either way, I really enjoyed the film and would highly recommend it to any of my friends. I feel as though it is easily a film that can transcend various generations, being able to reach out to everyone.

Authors I Love: Charles Bukowski

So I'm probably not really qualified to write an entire blog on Bukowski. I honestly don't know that much about the fellow. My Bukowski experiences are limited to two. The first involves me being rather liquored up, on my friend Kile's mattress in his uber-bohemian place, while he read me Bukowski and we listened to Connor Oberst. The second, culminates as of yesterday with my completion of Ham on Rye .

It didn't take me long to finish Ham on Rye and I think that's what I liked about it. It may also have been that it was a rather easy break from pages and pages of Palahniuk that can get a bit complex at times. Bukowski is pretty straight forward, no sugar coating necessary, and at least in this instance, he takes on a rather masculine tone, which I seem to handle better then reading the Bronte sisters. Romantic, I am not.

I also loved the ability to read Bukowski on the train and not have to stop in the middle of a chapter when I reached my stop. In fact, I'm considering buying a Bukowski novel for a poet friend of mine for Christmas, who doesn't like to read because he claims that books cannot hold his attention span long enough for him to finish them. Either way, I think that I'll read Bukowski again in the future, though I may need a slight break from all that craziness.

One Day Our Kids Will Mock Us

Dear Vanessa Hudgens,

I think you're pretty adorable, and even though you were young, and stupid, and maybe a little naive to jeopardize your career at Disney to gain the attention of a boy by sending him naked pictures, I'm still on your side. As someone on your side, let me ask you this, have you looked at pictures of your mom from the 80s? I've spent many a days in my youth mocking my mom's uber-80s style, and although I at times recreate those same styles, I avoid having my picture taken (let alone being plastered all over the pages of Us Weekly and People) when I'm wearing said styles.

That being said, this is a bit ridiculous and over the top dontcha think?

Authors I Love: Bret Easton Ellis

I go through a lot of phases. I go through phases of intense exercises, phases of eating peanut butter obsessively, and phases of reading every book by one author. This summer that phase was Bret Easton Ellis. The author of Less Than Zero , The Rules of Attraction, and American Psycho , I couldn't put any of his books down. Sure, they're a bit bizarre, and somewhat graphic (okay, I'm sure American Psycho is super graphic, but I haven't read that one yet, it's happening soon, I promise). I just can't help but love everything about the ease of reading his working, and the attitude of the super privileged.

I'm sure many people have seen the movie versions of his books. I remember watching Rules of Attraction in the days of my youth, but I now have a much bigger appreciation for the film, even if it does star James Van Der Beek (excuse the capitalization and spelling, I don't care enough to look it up). However, if you've seen the 80's classic Less Than Zero starring Andrew McCarthy and a very young and delicious Robert Downey Jr., don't let that be a deciding factor of B.E.E., the movie is a horrible interpretation of the book (in my opinion). The good news is that B.E.E. is supposedly writing a sequel to this book due out in 2010.

I am not a literary critic or genius, but I know what I like, know that I love these books, and all I can do is pass them on. So seriously, go out there and pick one up, I suggest starting with Less Than Zero his first novel, still written when he was a college student on an meth binge. How could you not want to read something like that?

Cool New Thing To Try: Aerial Silks

I work for a yoga/athletic wear company and one of the many perks of my job is that I get the opportunity to try almost any class in the city for free. Usually I would stick to yoga classes, or maybe a class at Physique 57, but this also means I can try really bizarre classes as long as they are physically active. A coworker of mine was taking an aerial silks class, and decided to sign me up, knowing that would force me to go.

I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Within minutes I was climbing up long strands of silk attached to the ceiling, inverting myself, doing upside straddles, half crows nests, and making an attempt at inverting myself while already in the air. By halfway through the class I could feel the burn, and by the end of the class I was already starting to get sore. I woke up this morning with a limited range of motion in my tender arms and abs that haven't really been worked in a month.

Another really amazing thing about the class was that while I was a beginner taking it, there were many advanced people also there. When I wasn't attempting new tricks myself, I was mesmerized by the amazing and beautiful things my peers were doing. I'll admit, I'm totally hooked, and can't wait for my next class. Cirque du Soleil, here I come!

Perez Hilton is Ruining Everything I Love About Subculture

Okay, I love to read Perez Hilton. I love all the crappy celebrity gossip, I'm a bit addicted, I'm not going to lie. However, I HATE when Perez claims to have "discovered" new things. The first time this happened was with the Canadian Indie band "Said the Whale." Okay, this one isn't fair because I know one of the band members, so of course I knew who they were, and I will admit it was super cool to see my friends band being advertised on Perez Hilton, because they are amazing. The next time this happened was with Agyness Dean. Perez claimed that she was the next upcoming supermodel. Well for those of us that were fashion followers, we knew Agyness had been huge for a long time in the fashion world, and the minute Perez began a following was the minute us fashion followers jumped off the Agyness bandwagon.

Today was my last straw. Perez posted about the Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini. I've been listening to Torrini for years. Literally, since like 1999 or whenever that horrible Kirsten Dunst "Crazy/Beautiful" movie came out. I've even went so far as to introduce Torrini to every boyfriend/friend I've ever had, and the first song I ever publicly performed was Sunny Road by Torrini. It is no secret that I like to covet certain musicians and bands, and Torrini was one of them. I want to see bands succeed and making a living doing what they love, but I have a huge problem with them becoming flash in the pan trends. And Perez, I think you have the possibility of making a high musician turnover rate.

Okay, this rant is over. Until next time...