Author Archives: Nathan Cranford

Wine for the Weekend, Vol I: Blanc et Noir

We here at cityseekr understand times are tough, and many of us might find it difficult to enjoy a decent bottle of wine on a budget. However, what many don’t realize is that the selection of delicious but affordable wines available at such grocery outlets as Trader Joe’s or Safeway is quite expansive, indeed.

Long gone are the days when great bottle of wine would run no less than $15. Unfortunately, this was a time when the average wine enthusiast related the actual cost of the wine with its resulting taste–i.e., the more expensive the wine, the better it will taste. This correlation was, and still is, certainly false. Many wine producers, distributors and sellers took advantage of the economic “miracle” of the last decade and over-charged for wine that would most definitely turn the noses of even the least experienced of wine connoisseurs. Today, market forces have driven down the cost of wine to something more manageable for the 99% of us who have barely $10 a week to spend on such beverages.

The proposed format of my reviews will include one red and one white wine selection, chosen mostly at random, or by label (if I find the label to be particularly captivating). Every now and then, I may review an apéritif or a beverage best enjoyed after dinner or during dessert. In the end, my goal with this series is to bring to your attention several affordable but delicious wines available at your local grocery store, my thoughts on how they taste, and whether or not I recommend that you buy a bottle.

This week I’ll be reviewing two wines showcased by Trader Joe’s: Comique Révolution Blanc (Central Coast) and Three Knights Pinot Noir (Los Caneros). Continue reading

Restaurant Review: Muguboka

Yes yes, another Korean restaurant. I fully intended to venture into the Inner Sunset and stuff my face with crack chicken (that’s for another day) but, well, I was tired. It was cold. And Muguboka has the misfortune of being so close to my apartment that I can literally spit on it.

Muguboka is very plain outside and in; its name isn’t even written on the awning and instead, is on a tiny sign hidden on the side of the building.

It specializes in what I qualify as home-style Korean cooking – lots of classics, cooked competently. The flavors have definitely been Americanized somewhat – the gochujang for the bibimbap tastes like it has been watered down, the kimchi jiggae lacks a certain edge (that edge, as amply demonstrated at restaurants in Korea, often left me gasping for water).

If only you were a little spicier…

But Muguboka definitely hits plenty of right notes. The banchan is plenty and varied. The staff eagerly brings you thoughtful freebies (sometimes this is a seafood pancake; sometimes a steaming bowl of soup) and will fill your side dishes happily – once you catch their attention. We ordered their fried chicken for the first time, and it was nicely seasoned, with just the right note of sweetness. Their décor is a touch quirky; it’s not often you see a framed bible quote juxtaposed with a photo of a topless woman advertising alcohol positioned directly below (and best of all, I think it’s entirely accidental). Continue reading

Music & Art in London

In fall 2010 my husband and I spent our belated honeymoon in London. We had planned our trip so as to accommodate our main interests: music and art.

Our main shopping destination was Sounds of the Universe, which is not just a record store, but a true institution. Suffice it to say that Sounds is associated with the mighty Soul Jazz record label, famous for its compilations of top-notch funk, reggae, avant-garde jazz, dub, no wave, and world music. Soul Jazz also publishes beautiful books (such as Kanaval—Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti) and releases DVDs. The atmosphere in Sounds of the Universe is not unlike San Francisco’s Aquarius Records, with knowledgeable and dedicated staff playing underappreciated albums and singles (the soundtrack to our record-browsing was some magnificent heavy dub). The difference is that Aquarius’s primary interest is avant-garde metal and noise, and Sounds of the Universe, just like Soul Jazz, has its main focus on Black music genres and their progeny, such as the various strains of contemporary bass music. Apart from Soul Jazz releases there are records and CDs put out by other independent labels. Sounds of the Universe recently started its own label, the first release of which was a 12″ by Chicago house and techno producer Hieroglyphic Being.

Sounds of the Universe. Photo courtesy of Julia Glosemeyer

To hear some cool new sounds live, we headed to Fabric. It is a giant, labyrinthine club, known for being very democratic: no one will turn you away at the door if your clothes are not expensive. Snobs might hate Fabric because it is so large and crowded, but I adore the fact that you can enjoy gigs by the most cutting-edge DJs in a non-elitist setting. When we were there, we heard sets by young dubstep producer Gemmy as well as drum ‘n’ bass institution Roni Size. If you want to brave Fabric and bypass the long lines, get a membership. For a monthly fee you will get not only priority entry, but also CDs delivered to you by mail. Recent additions to the Fabric and FABRICLIVE CD series have included mixes by Four Tet, Pinch, Agoria, and Pearson Sound/ Ramadanman. Continue reading

Stonehenge Musings

In honor of the upcoming London Olympics, we’ll be incorporating more posts about the UK into this blog. First up: personal experiences at Stonehenge.

Photo courtesy of Joanna Ortiz

Laura D. says: I visited Stonehenge in the late afternoon on an especially windy day. The type of wind where your face immediately becomes chapped and you have to squint your eyes in order to avoid being blinded. However I did get close to Stonehenge and the weather didn’t disturb my sight that much, so the wind might not have been a big deal…except that I wanted to take a cute picture of me in front of the monument. The type of picture where I could show my family and say, “Look at this adorable picture of me at Stonehenge.” I did not get that photo. The wind destroyed my hair and no matter how many times I redid my ponytail, strands became loose and whipped my hair back and forth. I took about 40 pictures that day. I look normal in one photo. In the rest of the pictures my hair was in front of my face and I looked like the the creepy girl from the The Ring. Overall I’d call that a success. As for Stonehenge itself, well it was exactly what I imagined: impressive, large and old. It was surreal to be standing near a monument that was built thousands of years ago. And it was especially surreal to see that there was nothing around it, just a highway and a flock of sheep. The sheep came close to the fence and watched our group as we walked around the huge attraction. I took a picture of myself in front of the sheep. That was the one picture that I looked cute in. Continue reading