spinlister

renting a bicycle while on vacation or (staycation) isn't exactly cheap ($10/hour here at the beach),  but now there is a new, far more budget friendly peer-to-peer bike rental site called spinlister. it works similarly to how airbnb works, but instead of vacation rentals, you can list your bike or find one to rent from friendly locals for as little as $10 a day. the service is currently only available in new york and san francisco, with plans to expand to more cities in the coming months.  helmets are optional, so no need to look silly riding down broadway! 

bloody brilliant

alex williams wrote a funny, great article last week in the new york times about american's new found fondness for british vernacular, a crime some of my best mates and i have been guilty of since our days of fancying fags and munching on 99p with cadbury flakes. cheers love!

nong la cafe

the first sign's of fall arrived in southern california last week (though today it's back to being almost 90), and so of course, the pho cravings kicked in. located on the increasingly too cool for schoo sawtelle "tokyo" strip, nong la cafe is the newest kid on the block. after having had their original (beef) pho and (beef) banh mi sandwich last month and then the (beef broth) lemongrass, tofu and mushroom pho last week (see below), i can officially say that this is the tastiest and freshest vietnamese i've had west of the san gabriel valley. pho sure! 

music monday - david byrne & st. vincent

i've always been a hovering david byrne and annie erin clark fan (don't own their albums, but love their music), and this new collaborative album (along with a 10-piece band) did not disappoint. 

petrichor

word of the day - and one of my favorite scents after a hot and dry southern california summer.
this morning, i awoke to a faint, yet lovely, petrichor.
have a fantastically sunny and fragrant weekend!

leek & pancetta risotto with fried egg

in a perfect world, where calories and carbs and cholesterol didn't do what they are so good at doing, i would make and eat this mouthwatering recipe every day - yes, everyday!

*photo via tastingtable.com

christopher hitchens

i read christopher hitchens mortality over a weekend a couple of weeks ago - a first hand account of his battle with cancer. it is a beautiful, perfectly pitched and sharp witted (as usual) book by of a man facing his own mortality. afterwards (because it's hard to let go and put down a book after you read what you know are the last words ever to be written by a great writer),  i watched parts of his memorial and got to know a little more about a writer, thinker, and man who by definition lived a full life.