Music, dance, food and fun

Had a fun weekend... somehow managed to do lots of fun stuff without too much frenzy, always a challenge.

On Friday, we went to Himal-Chuli, one of 3 Nepali restaurants in Madison. It's tiny... 24 seats, and the tables are thisclose together. But the food! I had a sampler platter of dal, momochas, samosa, and roti... and the rice pudding with flax seed for dessert. Outstanding. Can't wait to go back, but Madison has a ridiculous number of restaurants, most of which we haven't been to yet. Poor us.

After the meal, we went to see Ron K. Brown's Evidence dance company at the Overture Center. I like strong, athletic dance styles, and really enjoyed Brown's African-influenced choreography. But there was one dancer -- Juel Lane from Atlanta -- I just couldn't take my eyes off of him. He made everything seem effortless. I kept thinking how incredible to stand out even among such incredibly talented people!

One of the songs in the show was Me'shell NdegeOcello's "When Did You Leave Heaven," a stunning jazz track sung by Lalah Hathaway on the album Dance of the Infidel. That'll be joining our collection for sure.

On Saturday we went to Cafe Monmartre to see Satchell Paige Mitchell open for Natalie Zukerman. We'd heard good things about Zukerman, and I was glad to finally get to see her, and to see more of Mitchell, who was great with Peter Mulvey in LaCrosse.

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1500 Madisonians jumped into frozen Lake Monona on Saturday, raising more than $250,000 for Special Olympics. Having experienced the air temperature of late, and seen people walking and skating across the lake for days on end, I somehow have an even greater appreciation for how completely insane this activity is. Good for them!

Now, though, the temperature has seemed downright balmy, in the 40's. It's funny how I've acclimated. When it got above freezing I actually started contemplating whether I should bother to zip up my coat.

Photos of our LaCrosse trip are up (mine; Susan's) , go check out the bluffs, the Mississippi River, our B&B, Peter Mulvey, and other fun stuff!

Ok.... NOW it's REALLY cold (LaCrosse, WI trip)

Susan caught this... possibly malfunctioning... temperature reading during our trip north to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. We had gone up to see Peter Mulvey at the Pump House regional arts center. We had seen the Saturday date on the tour schedule and thought, "hmm, that'll make a nice get-away weekend, and we can see more of our new home state!" Of course, it was the coldest weekend of the year. Still, there was not precipitation, so a few extra layers and we were good to go.

We stayed at a terrific B&B in the historic downtown. The proprietor was very nice and her daughter was adorable ("the guests! the guests!" she said as we came downstairs). The room had lots of light and was comfy -- I picked it specifically because it lacked all of the frilly antiques of most B&Bs.

On Saturday we dropped off our things and wandered around town. We found key resources for a good weekend vacation: good music (Deaf Ear Record Exchange), good food (Hackberry's Bistro over the People's Food Co-op), good coffeeshop (Jules' Coffee), good bookstore (Pearl Street Books, next door to Jules', great used and new book selection).

Saturday night was the concert; Peter had a cold but sounded good and exhibited his typical wit. Fellow Wisconsin singer-songwriter Satchell Paige Welch joined him on the trip and on stage. The audience was, I think, mostly patrons of the arts center unfamiliar with Peter, so it was a pretty low-key affair.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast at the B&B, and headed out to enjoy some of the places we'd spotted the day before (coffee, music, coffee, food, coffee, books).

We had a couple of suprise treats on our way out of town. First, we stopped at Grandad Bluff, a LaCrosse landmark that left us grateful that the roads were clear enough for us to drive up and get great shots like this. From the top of the bluff, we could see into neighboring Iowa and Minnesota.

Next, we drove across the Mississippi River and up the Minnesota side from LaCrescent to Winona, as recommended by our neighbor, friend, and pet sitter, Kate. Even though the Mississippi is smaller up here, it is still impressive, and seeing it frozen over is rather amazing. And the bluffs all around, the ice clinging to them, a bald eagle... wonders everywhere.

Finally, on our way home, we accidentally found our way onto the scenic route home, and decided to stick with it - a fortuitous choice, it was a wonderful drive, and we'll likely go that way again next time.

In all, the weekend seemed to last for days -- we crammed a lot into it, but still came away relaxed.

Susan will have all of the pictures on Flickr soon... when she does, I'll post the link here.

Strict Vegan Ethics, Frosted With Hedonism - New York Times

Mother Fools, my favorite Madison coffee house, serves exclusively vegan food (for drink, they offer cow's milk, but soy milk is no extra charge). Their cupcakes look insanely great, but it's Jennie Capellaro's soups and the East Side Ovens cookies that I really love. Susan sipped a cup of their dill dahl on her way to class this very evening, but the tortilla soup is our favorite ("are you sure there's no cheese in there?")!

All that is to say: here's an article for you about vegan punk bakers; I am amazed that they don't live in Madison.

Strict Vegan Ethics, Frosted With Hedonism - New York Times

Harmony, Neighbors, and Football

Harmony Bar

We're going to the Harmony Bar tonight to see Spin Cycle , an improv comedy troupe that an acquaintance of ours is in. We love the Harmony... fantastic food (four cheese pizza featuring bleu cheese is phenomenal, as are the walnut burgers), and a really friendly diverse group of people on both sides of the bar. Here's a good recent review with more detail, and some pictures of one of the most interesting, comfortable, friendly places in our neighborhood.

Neighbors

Speaking of the neighborhood... our next-door neighbors, who have lived in their home for longer than I have lived, are putting their house on the market. I keep telling myself what a good thing it is that this is such a big deal to me... after all, neighbors came and went in the DC area and it never really mattered much, because they didn't generally interact anyway...

Favre update

Surely you've heard the latest... the local news reported that Brett Favre has allowed his golf club membership to lapse, prompting speculation that he is planning to retire and leave the area. No, seriously, that was reported on the news.

NFL Playoffs

Very awesome that New Orleans won yesterday's playoff game, although I was kind of rooting for the Eagles because I'd love for Jeff Garcia to be "Super-Bowl-winning QB Jeff Garcia" if he ever comes out. Still, a Redskins fan will never complain about an Eagles loss... and the Cowboys went out so fabulously painfully last week that it makes the Redskins' futility a bit more bearable.

I was also glad to see the Colts beat the Ravens - any opportunity to force humility on Brian Billick is welcome.

Who do you want to see at the SuperBowl (Susan's answer here)?

Why I love Madison, (reason #498)

"Now, with the shuttering of this McDonald's and the one on the Capitol Square, there's not much corporate quick food available on State Street. Wendy's, Hardees, Pizza Hut and Burger King have all left the area."

[Full article from the Wisconsin State Journal linked to title above.]

on this gorgeous day,

about 70 degrees and a bit windy, I took the nerd bike out for a ride with Susan around the lake, my longest ride so far, about 15 miles or so. Took about 2 hours, and I was rewarded with my first visit to the new RP's Pasta restaurant. RP's is national now (you can probably find their fresh pasta at Whole Foods if you have one nearby), but it is based in Madison, and we are lucky enough to get it served at a no-frills cafe just outside the doors to the kitchen. We had the specials -- spinach-fennel gnocchi with clam sauce for me, vegetarian lasagna for Susan. Awesome!

Last night, we visited a few local businesses participating the the Gallery Walk, a regular event at which art is displayed by businesses which often also provide music, appetizers, and drinks.

Tonight, going to see Cyndi Lauper (yes, that one) at the Orpheum . Haven't been to this venue yet, but this will be the first of 2 trips this week -- seeing Ani DiFranco there on Thursday.

Tomorrow, we may go out for an "Open Art Studios" stroll, to check out the studios of local artists participating in that annual event.

Who needs to go to the gym with all this running around?!