There is something about licorice that makes me become a little kid again. I love all sorts of licorice from the pure to the sweet and everything in between. I still buy the Haribo wheels and slowly unravel them while I eat them. I bite off the head of the licorice fish first. There are all sorts of rituals that one has especially as a kid when eating ice cream or cookies or sucking on lollipops and to each their own, of course. I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks in one of the world’s top producing licorice regions in the South of Italy and discovered yet another way in which to enjoy licorice.
Amarelli has been a licorice producer since 1731 in the southern Italian region of Calabria. They make pure licorice squares (not for the faint at heart), anise infused, mint coated and several other methods. Their packaging is still the same and is exquisitely retro. What I had never tasted before and was told is harder to find when you leave the region are their “Sassolini” (pebbles). They are anise infused licorice covered in a hard sugar coating (like Italian almond “confetti”) made to look like the pebbles common along the coast of Calabria. After the sugar slowly melts away in your mouth you are left with the savory licorice and anise flavor that lingers even when it is all gone. If you have an Italian specialty store nearby you might ask to see if they have some and if you are a licorice lover then you are in for a treat.
Growing up I always wanted a Swiss Army knife. Not the simple kind with the blade, toothpick and tweezers. I wanted the one with everything, even what I would never use. I did eventually get one, but not until I was much older. When the family used to go hiking in the Dolomites in Northern Italy we were equipped with an all purpose Opinel knife. Like many French blades it is indestructible (and believe me, my complimenting the French is almost unheard of). I still have it and never needed to do much more than add some lubricant to make sure it opened and closed as smoothly as it did the first day.
Even growing up in a city all my friends and I walked around with a good pocketknife. It was a tool just in case you needed to cut, scrape or loosen anything. Today, your kid will get sent home with a note if they are “caught” carrying one in school because it is no longer considered a tool, but a weapon. The kids are told as much and so the pocketknife in their mind is indeed a weapon. But I digress. For me a pocketknife remains a coveted object that I may not use on a daily basis, but it is there just in case, much like the flashlight in your kitchen drawer.
Of the couple of pocketknives that I do own, other than my vintage Opinel, there is one that I love dearly. There are many ways to call it, but the most common denomination in English is the sailor’s knife. Made with fisherman and sailors in mind, it usually has a hole or loop at the end of the handle meant for handing it from your belt. The shape of the blade, called “sheep’s foot”, was the only one allowed on board boats because there was less danger of its round end causing serious injuries if fights occurred amongst the often-rowdy sailors (as well as for the less romanticized safety reason of using a non-pointed blade in slippery conditions and in choppy waters). Over the years a Marlinspike was added to integrate a useful knot-handling tool and leather hole puncture. There are numerous companies that make such blades, some more traditional (L’Armor Le Sabot) and some more high-tech (Spyderco). There are many other well-known blade manufacturers that have produced a sailor knife at one time or another such as Camillus, Buck, Case, Schrade and Ka-Bar among others. They are just as useful on land as at sea even if you are not hunting Moby Dick and need to cut some fishing line or loosen a wet knot while sailing. When my son is old enough I will enjoy teaching him how to handle one of mine properly and hopefully he will hand mine down in turn.
The Germans and Austrians have their Radler, the French their Panaché, the Spanish have their la Clara, the Mexicans their Cerveza preparada and the Brits their Shandy. Beer and lemonade (ginger beer, grenadine etc.) in its many iterations is perfect this time of year. A perfect match when it is hot outside and you want something to cool you down and satisfy your taste buds without completely knocking you out while you work grill in the sizzle and haze.
My favorite “origins” story is the birth of Radler (Cyclist), attributed to Franz Xaver Kugler, a Bavarian railroad worker turned innkeeper who opened a tavern, toward the end of the nineteenth century, in Deisenhofen up in the mountains near Munich. When, after World War I, bicycle riding became a popular pastime in Germany, Kugler arranged for the construction of a bike trail through the forest, from Munich straight to his establishment only to find himself overrun in June 1922 by some 13,000 cyclists demanding beer. Having almost depleted his stock of brew, Kugler had to “cut” the beer with lemon soda to make due. He presented it to his thirsty customers as a special concoction he had invented to ensure that they made it safely back down the mountain riding their bicycles. Thus was born the Radler.
One mixture that few people have heard of is combining Peroni and Gazzosa (Italian lemon soda). You will find that the light bitterness of the Peroni mixes well with the lemon soda. In Italy it has become harder to find places that serve this summer refreshment, but if you find a bar tender who knows his stuff ask for a Panacea. I think the name says it all. Sit back, wipe your brow and enjoy.
I was recently reintroduced to a watch that I always flirted with, but was never able to ask out on that date. It just never felt right and it’s hard to explain why. Until I was invited to a recent party by Robert Verdi, celebrity fashion icon extraordinaire, and one of the products that he was featuring was a Skagen watch. I am a big fan of Scandinavian design and I was struck by the latest design from the Danish duo that established the company when the moved to the United States in 1987. The principal of achieving great design without breaking the bank is certainly true in the case of the Skagen Titanium collection. The look is a combination of modern elegance that works just as well as a casual wear watch. It is extremely lightweight and wears well in most occasions. I am glad that I was able to see Skagen’s latest collection and recommend it to anyone looking for a versatile and affordable watch to include in their regular rotation.
In an age of “who screams the loudest” branding, I am relieved to see a small, yet growing, minority of individuals and companies embrace the “less is more” mentality. It may sound cliché, but quality trumps quantity. This is something that has been forgotten here in the land of all-you-can-eat buffets and XXXL and it is hard for anybody to be immune – myself included. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are so hard to come by these days. Commercials, websites and billboards are crammed with colors, slogans and word clutter because many companies are just too lazy to sit down and do the hard work of finding the key message they want to convey.
I bring this up to preface my appeal to all of you to invest in the now forgotten calling card or visiting card. It is not the same thing as your business card which these days reads like a phone book (Tel, Fax, Ext, Cell 1, Cell 2 etc.). Although, born from stuffy aristocracy, the calling card is a simple and elegant way to introduce yourself not only to anyone really whom you might meet and want to exchange basic contact information. It is certainly not as advanced as bumping your cell phones together or madly typing out the other person’s information into your BlackBerry, but it does the job far more quickly and elegantly and does not require batteries or backups.
It can and should be as simple as your name, phone number and e-mail address. The information you print is at your discretion and should fit your style of interacting with people. Keep in mind, though, that a calling card means that you do want to be reached by that person at any given time. Use a simple and elegant font, non-glossy white stock and avoid any illustrations unless you have a particular icon you feel you must display (you never know when family crests will make a comeback). Try letterpress to give it a vintage touch. If customization by Crain’s or Smythson (understandably) turn you off then online printing makes this seeming “luxury” very affordable. Make sure to keep a couple in your wallet and you will realize that the exchange occurs in just a few seconds, but has much more staying power than today’s hyper-connected technological means of passing on your information. You can give it to teachers, doormen, friends, play dates, babysitters, pediatricians and even potential clients you meet in more casual social settings and anyone really that you feel would need to contact you for any reason.
Maybe I am being a bit too nostalgic and many of you (especially those with business cards) may find it superfluous, but I find that many people I interact with on a daily basis are appreciative of the gesture that shows that some thought went into how you want to present yourself – personally – to others.
“In the seaside town of Vigàta, Sicily, innocence and idealism die even faster than the whores, drifters, and small-time Mafiosi who infest the village with an air of gritty decadence and menace. Those who succeed in Vigàta have learned an astonishing array of tricks, either sexual, political, or both. Those who stumble quickly learn new meanings to the words ferocity and horror… Fast-paced, sharp-edged, and laced with hard-boiled humor, The Shape of Water marks the debut of Inspector Montalbano, a wily gourmand whose inquiries only begin with the facts of the case. In between elaborately prepared meals, Montalbano also ponders the ethics of his profession and the uncertain nature of truth in a world largely given over to concealment and deception.”
The above excerpt is taken from the introduction of Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri’s first Inspector Montalbano book, The Shape of Water (available in English from Penguin Books).
Inspector Montalbano lives in the small Sicilian town of Vigàta (based on Camilleri’s hometown of Porto Empedocle) with a house right on the beach. He is the consummate bachelor. He is old school. He loves his detective work passionately, but is not concerned with a career and never allows politics or bureaucracy to clutter his keen sense of justice. It may not always be the law, but it is certainly justice.
A brooding man with a big heart he is the kind of man that many men envy. He is a true gentleman who always gets the girl without even trying. He has his routines and his quirks. His decisions are a mixture of wit and gut instinct. Consequences to his detriment are never factored into his actions because despite his exterior curtness he is an altruist. He is someone that you idealize in theory, but would not want to be in reality.
Undoubtedly, there is underlying melancholy in his musings about not being able to settle down, but that is what makes it appealing to read his stories, because for those who are married with children. He allows you to escape (briefly) to that place where you can do no wrong.
I do not know how Camilleri translates from the original Sicilian dialect that he uses to tell his stories, but Inspector Montalbano is engrossing and a quick read for those of us that must also run after the kids.
You probably think of a Super Tuscan as a very pricey red wine from Tuscany and you are quite correct. Tignanello, Solaia, Le Pergole Torte, Sassicaia and Ornellaia, to name a few, can each command a minimum of $100 a bottle. The Super Tuscan is not an officially recognized denomination like DOC and indeed started as a form of reverse snobbery. The DOC denomination was rolled out in the 1960’s to stop the abuse of using the names of well known Italian wine regions, such as Chianti in Tuscany, on inferior wines.
Some local producers, though, found that the rules meant to protect their reputation, actually worked against their attempts at producing superior wine with new grape varieties. So they simply ignored the strict guidelines with the foreseen result of their wine receiving the official (and pejorative) denomination of “vino da tavola” (VDT) or table wine. The vintners just shrugged and continued producing some of the most sublime wine in the world on their own terms. And so was born the term Super Tuscan attributed to wine critic and writer Robert Parker.
Even after denominations were recently refined (IGT, DOCG and DOC) to bring the Super Tuscan producers into the fold of “officialdom”, many have chosen to stay true to their independent roots, eschewing labels other than those on their own bottles of wine.
This enological history lesson, I am certain, has left many of you wondering why I am being such a tease about these exquisite, yet very expensive, wines? I am not a sadist, I promise you. So I will reward you for getting this far by letting you in on a little secret of mine. There is a Super Tuscan out there that many choose to snob and yet it can be found for little more than $10 a bottle and has, in fact, gotten rave reviews by several top wine “connoisseurs”. I have been enjoying this wine since my time living and working in Rome a decade ago. I share this tidbit gladly with all of you because I believe everyone should experience superb red wine without losing the shirt off their back.
The name you say? Yes, of course, it is Castello Banfi’s Centine (pronounced “CHEN – TIN – AY”, in Italian) a Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot mix. Enjoy it as it should be with a rare steak and oven roasted potatoes with some rosemary, salt and just a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Consider this information my Father’s Day gift to all of you. You deserve it.
Here is a short list of what I want for Father’s Day. Who knows it may inspire you while looking last minute for your own dad or the father of your children (this is the last full weekend to mull over your choices).
Bialetti Coffee and Milk – the original stovetop Moka (no, not Mocha) with milk foamer. This is how they do it in Italy. Cheaper and faster than waiting on line at your local coffee giant chain to plunk down your $5 for your burnt coffee. You can get a rich espresso or create the perfect cappuccino. It’s the perfect way to start your day (no, a Cappuccino is not an after dinner drink). I have several already, but you can never have enough.
DODOcase – you know it is just a matter of time before you let the siren call draw you into purchasing an iPad, so why not get ready for that moment? These cases look like large moleskine notebooks so the hipster in you can hide the hi-tech bling with the low-tech cover. These beauties are hand-made in the Bay Area and you will have to wait to get yours so put an order in now (gives you an excuse to wait a little longer for the inevitable).
Jack Spade – always simple and elegant. This can be used for papers as well as a laptop or the iPad that you will soon get. Also in brown, but that would be boring and, anyway, I already have it in that color.
Foosball Table – every man that I know has pined after one. Once you get beyond the space issue there is no other game table (other than billiards) that a guy would want in his home. If you have kids you have the perfect excuse, now.
Stipula Passaporto – this fountain pen is incredibly portable. Stipula is a relative new comer to the world of fountain pens (founded in 1973 it started to focus on pens in the early 1990s), but is well known for making fantastic nibs using always the best material. The Passaporto is lightweight and “expandable” so that you can carry it everywhere.
I actually like going shopping. Most guys hate it and I get it. So let me restate that phrase to say that I like going shopping for myself not so much with others – especially women. I will certainly get my fair share of complaints that I am stereotyping, but in this case my statement comes from years of personally observing this behavioral pattern.
Here is the difference between how I shop and, hypothetically speaking, my wife and most women I know shop. I will walk into a store and if I know what I am looking for go straight to where it is grab my size, shape, weight, length, whatever and try it on, check if it works, looks like the photo, etc. (check that it is in good shape – yes I am totally uptight when it comes to new products) and off to pay for it I go. If, instead, I am not looking for anything in particular, I will look around and if I see something that interests me I will do one of two things: the above mentioned routine or make a mental note to research said object later to make sure it is unique, dependable, available in different models, best price etc. What I do not do is meander the store and stare at a particular item for hours wondering what it would look like, feel like, fit like etc. then pull one of each color, style, size, etc. and head to the changing room to emerge three hours later. So what I always wonder out loud is why so many stores do not have comfortable “man chairs”?
You guys know what I am talking about. Usually, you are lucky if there is a little ledge or bench in the store to lean on while you wait (and God forbid you don’t have something to read or to entertain you). It really is not that hard to give us guys our own little “kiddie corner” so we do not have to stand there fidgeting while our significant others try on the entire store (especially if the ladies are in a group). So here are my three top choices for in-store Man Chairs to help out the architects when they are building the space.
Poltrona Frau’s Vanity Fair. This Italian designed leather beauty is the iconic Club Chair and has been around since the 1930s. Large armrests and padded back allows you to sit comfortably and, why not, catch some shut eye while the ladies wreak havoc in the dressing room.
The Eames Lounge and Ottoman. This lounge chair is one of the most recognized chairs in the world. Designed and developed over many years by Charles and Ray Eames, it was produced by in 1956 by the Herman Miller furniture company. If the stores would give you complimentary slippers and a paper I think you would never want to get up out of this chair.
A Hammock. I realize this is a bit of a stretch, but imagine the comfort of lying in a hammock. The store could serve drinks or you could simply lie there swaying gently and fall into a blissfully deep slumber.
It may be necessary to start a petition to present to major retailers to head our calls for such pampering. I figure if we are holding the purse or manning the stroller while the ladies shop, we might as well do so in comfort. In the end we end up not caring how long they stay in the dressing rooms and it’s a win-win for the retailer. The only other condition that must be met for the dads is a nanny and fully stocked toy chest to keep the kids entertained while you doze off. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
When I was growing up, in large part thanks to my father’s love affair and work with Hollywood, we always watched the masters Fellini, Hitchcock, Welles, Rossellini, Hawks, Capra and the duos Bogart and Bacall, and Tracy and Hepburn and of course Grant, Stewart, Mastroianni, Gable, Cooper, Brando, McQueen and so many other great directors and actors from years ago – yet immortal.
One thing that I always loved about these movies was the impeccable style of the men and women from that era. In particular, I was obsessed with the men’s driving caps and fedoras (with their endless variations). Unfortunately, when I was younger, these hats were disdained and considered by many either as pretentious, eccentric or for old men until a recent resurgence brought their popularity back, albeit often revisited in a more “modern” key. So it’s actually “cool” to wear a hat, again. We’ll have to see how long that lasts.
And yet, fashionistas everywhere like to say that you have to be able to “pull it off”, by which I think they mean that you have to be a celebrity with a stylist. Really? Hats have been around forever and there is nothing to “pull off”. I’ll grant you that each of us will look “sharper” in one style or the other and there are more or less appropriate models for different circumstances (City Slickers in Stetsons – you know what I’m talking about), but let’s not forget that, at least for us guys, it’s also a great way to keep your head cool when the sun beats down, keep the rain off when you’re caught in a sudden downpour and keep your head warm when it is cold. It’s not just an accessory for show – although the current trend makes that hard to believe.
I doubt the hat will again become a de facto part of a man’s basic wardrobe anytime soon (I am not including the baseball cap which does have its time and place, but is too often an appendage on many a man’s head these days – even the post-college guys). The renewed interest, though, is a stay of execution for an industry that is certainly at risk.
Sadly, there are few original makers anymore (like the above mentioned Stetson – maker since 1865 of the iconic “Ten Gallon” or “Cowboy hat”, but not only) and although some of the larger retailers are bringing out some classic models, like J.Crew, as well as specialty hat stores like Hats in the Belfry which have their own line of fedoras and La Coppolla Storta which makes the iconic Sicilian Coppolla (aka flat or driving cap), it is still not something you see men wearing everyday.
There is one historic brand that given my strong Italian heritage I want to mention as a go-to name, in case I have made my case and convinced you to add a hat to your daily routine. Borsalino has been making hats in Alessandria, Italy since 1857 and they have some of the classics. If you happen to be in New York drop by their States-side headquarters just a few blocks to the South of the Empire State Building on Fifth Avenue.
Next time you walk by a hat rack stop and give one or two a try. There are so many different styles and yours is just waiting to be found. To those of you who have already found yours – Chapeau!
