There have been few albums this year that have allowed for such pure reflection as Cassandra Jenkins’An Overview On Phenomenal Nature. The album’s modest seven songs leave a lasting mark between Jenkins’s gentle vocals, guitar, and ponderous moments of spoken word. But hearing some of the initial mixes of these songs, it gives a window into the unexpected directions in which they could have gone.
With the just-announced (An Overview On)An Overview On Phenomenal Nature, the New York native Jenkins presents the initial bones, sketches, demos and outtakes of these gorgeously languid tracks. Out November 19 via Ba Da Bing, it’s an insightful window into the evolution of these songs, like the “Hailey (pRemix)”, a drum machine-driven, low-key dance pop number. There’s even a new song from the initial sessions that Jenkins and producer Josh Kauffman (who has worked with everyone from Bob Weir to Taylor Swift) put down together.
Listen to”Hailey (pRemix)” above, see Cassandra Jenkins’s US and European tour dates here, and below, find the (An Overview On)An Overview On Phenomenal Nature art and tracklist.
If you thought that Tucker Carlson was just acting like a dumbass by ignoring science when it comes to his opinions on the COVID vaccine in order to score better ratings and more headlines, well, he’s got news for you: You’re wrong—he apparently really is that dumb!
On Monday night, the Fox News host went on a bit of a tear about the people who are suggesting that Carlson and his colleagues are simply playing dumb when it comes to the issues surrounding COVID-19, but he made it clear: “We are not pretending. At all. It’s real.”
As Raw Story reports, Carlson took aim specifically at Joe Biden, saying the president lied when he claimed that Fox News is mandating that all its employees be vaccinated against COVID—and mocked the network’s anchors for their false anti-vaxxer outrage, considering that 90 percent of them are fully vaccinated and that Fox head honcho Rupert Murdoch is pro-vaxx.
As Raw Story notes: “Carlson claimed that there is no vaccine mandate, but he left out quite a few facts. For example, Fox News says that you don’t have to get vaccinated if you agree to submit to daily coronavirus testing. The company also has an online vaccine passport system. Carlson conveniently left the information out, not giving his viewers the full truth.”
To be fair, Carlson has spent so much time spewing lies and anti-vax propaganda that it’s understandable he’d have trouble remembering exactly what the truth is. Fortunately, there is the internet, which swiftly assembled to throw the very publicly available HR documents of Carlson’s own employer back in his face.
— Fin FoxGuy – Moderna Vaxx’d & Voting Blue (@FinFox2) October 12, 2021
Another Fox document. This started for Fox back in July and all staff were given until August 17th to verify their Covid vaccine status or take the mandatory testing. “will be required” sounds like a mandate to me. pic.twitter.com/eyeu8RTu0y
Back in 2006 when Chicago native Lupe Fiasco released the lead single “Kick, Push” from his debut album, Food And Liquor, there weren’t many high-profile Black skateboarders. In fact, Black kids who skated — especially in the hood — were subject to ridicule and outsider status for engaging in an activity that was long held as the domain of beach-blond surf rats in Venice Beach. But Lupe was part of a vanguard of Black artists who changed that, providing representation for those outsiders and throwing open the doors of possibility for generations after.
Many of Uproxx’s panel of React Like You Know artists are part of those younger generations. For instance, Almighty Suspect thinks it “helped a lot,” while Foushee calls the song “very important to build the foundation” for young, Black skaters. However, that doesn’t mean that it made skaters of the whole hood overnight. Our newest panel members, Belly and Lakeyah, both point out their very good reasons for refusing to try it out. Lakeyah says, “The closest I ever got was a hoverboard… I have no balance.” Meanwhile, Belly reminds us that “I’ve always been big-boned my whole life — I feel like that’s a bad combination.”
Things get deep when our panel is asked about choosing between love and their careers, inspired by Lupe’s second verse boy-meets-girl narrative. Newcomer Jazz Cartier points out that “you can have room for love, opposed to half-assing it.” Meanwhile, the fashions of the video captivate Travis Thompson and Godson; Travis says “Nike SBs were everything,” while Godson marvels at Lupe’s Bathing Ape hoodie.
Watch our panel of guest rappers react to Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push” video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
When it comes to an album rollout, many musicians get creative. Kanye West, for one, just built a life-size replica of his childhood home inside a stadium for a Donda album listening party. But indie producer Jim-E Stack has a different innovative idea when it comes to announcing his Promotional Only EP.
Stack may not have re-built his childhood home, but he did decide to surprise-release his EP by giving away free CD copies of it in vending machines. Until this Friday, fans can stop by vending machines at either the Leisure Centre in New York City or Rough Trade West in London to get their free copy of Promotional Only. Along with the vending machines, Stack uploaded the glitchy track “FFBH” to streaming services for fans everywhere to hear.
Promotional Only EP available now physical only free of charge
Ahead of his Promotional Only EP, Stack sat down with Uproxx to chat about his 2020 album Ephemera, which features Bon Iver, Empress Of, Octavian, Kacy Hill, and more. Speaking about his process, Stack says he writes solo and collaborative music differently:
“When I’m working on my own music, it’s completely self-indulgent and I’m just making stuff I want to listen to. Whether I’m just listening to it off of my phone or it’s out on Apple Music and Spotify for everyone to hear, it’s just for me. When I’m working on a song for an artist and their project, the only kind of mindset I’m in is, ‘Am I supporting this person’s vision and helping them realize it?’ I’m just there in a supportive role, kind of like the opposite of a self-indulgent role.”
Listen to “FFBH” above and check out Stack’s Promotional Only cover art and tracklist below.
Rough Trade
1. “2nd Round”
2. “Raving On My Own”
3. “Leaves Outside My Window”
4. “FFBH”
5. “West Magnolia”
When I was invited to visit Reno, Nevada, I didn’t quite know what I was in for. And, I’ll be honest, my expectations weren’t very high. Based on what I’d previously heard, Reno was like a small-town version of Las Vegas where casinos and gambling abound (not really my thing). But that preconceived definition proved to be wrong pretty quickly… or at least far too narrow.
Sure, I saw more mullets and camo print in one Reno weekend than I’ve seen over the past two years. But I also found myself impressed by the general coolness of the city. Not only is it a hub for local art and history, but it also offers heaps of breweries, local festivals, and adventure — everything that young partiers and outdoor enthusiasts alike could want.
If you’re ready to explore the “Biggest Little City in the World,” I’m breaking down the nine best things to do in Reno — from brewery hopping to ghost hunting — below.
What inspired me most about Reno was the collective passion and empowerment of local art throughout the city. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see large-scale murals plastered on the side of buildings, alleyways, parking structures, and on the ground in public plazas. The midtown neighborhood alone has more than 100 murals. Even utility boxes downtown are dressed in vibrant, hand-painted designs. In fact, Reno’s Public Art Committee commissions local artists each year to use the utility boxes as their canvases. The program is called Art Signals and was created to support artists and contribute to the vitality of the community.
If massive murals and quirky street paintings aren’t enough, just wait until you see the many towering, one-of-a-kind sculptures scattered throughout downtown. Reno is the closest city and airport to Black Rock City, Nevada — where Burning Man is held each year. Many of the festival’s giant art installations end up in Reno after “the burn.”
Want to appreciate Reno’s diverse selection of art up close? Take a walking tour downtown with Art Spot Reno, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, celebrating, and educating artists by contributing to the integration between local artists and businesses. My tour guide and Art Spot Reno’s Executive Director, Geralda Miller’s passion for the local arts and culture scene helped me further appreciate the city’s effort to highlight its local talent. As a dedicated Burner and Reno local, her extensive knowledge of the city’s art and history provided a new outlook into the city’s diversity, community values, and future plans for growth and infrastructure.
My favorite piece (pictured above) along the tour was a sculpture collected from Burning Man. It’s called “Broken But Together” by Michael Benisty. The two mirrored figures towered over me as I hid below their bodies for a shady escape from the high desert sun. Despite the sweat and sore feet from walking all morning, these flawed-but-beautiful figures, holding hands to face the world, brought me a sense of comfort and hope. Broken but together, just like the rest of us.
As I said, it can get hot in the afternoon. If you’re desperate for some AC but still want to check out the local art scene, head to the Nevada Museum of Art. Upon arrival, you’ll notice that the museum building itself is a work of art – both on the outside and inside. The architectural design is astounding — with sky-high ceilings and a rooftop balcony (awe-inspiring view included) that’s used as an elevated event space. But what fills the building is what really makes this place special.
The Nevada Museum of Art, founded in 1931, features a diverse collection of work displayed in the museum’s various galleries. Its primary exhibit rotates every season, so there’s always something new to see. When I visited, the exhibit showcased “Land Art: Expanding the Atlas.” Land Art is made directly into the Earth’s landscapes by way of sculpting the Earth itself or building monumental structures out of natural materials. (Fun fact: The museum commissioned Seven Magic Mountains, the famous structure of rainbow rocks just outside of Las Vegas). The Land Art movement erupted in the 1960s and ’70s, with artists like Judy Chicago, Vito Acconci, and Christo and Jeanne-Claude leading the way and the exhibition makes you think deeply about how humans intertwine with the natural world.
Learn more about the Nevada Museum of Art and book a tour through the exhibitions here.
Sculptures and murals aren’t the only kinds of local art to admire. The music community is another essential part of the Reno experience. Not only are there big-time concerts held at the Grand Theater in the Grand Sierra Resort, but there are often smaller community events and festivals where local bands proudly take the stage. I happened to be in town during the annual Off Beat Music Festival, in which bands from Reno and neighboring West Coast cities like San Francisco and LA come to share their talents. This year, the three-day festival was held in the hipster-esque neighborhood of midtown and featured more than 70 acts across seven different venues — including a range of saloons and unique event spaces (my first stop of the night was in an old refurbished church). It was like a rowdy bar crawl but with the added kick of live rock ‘n’ roll music, making it all the more enticing and badass.
If you miss the Off Beat Music Festival, don’t fret. There is always a selection of concerts and local events to choose from in Reno over the weekends. On the weekend I was in town, there was also an EDM concert in the park and a ukulele festival — which says a lot about the city’s eclectic nature.
For a full list of Reno’s upcoming live music events, click here.
PART II – ADVENTURE
4. Kayak to Bonsai Rock in Lake Tahoe
Rock out to live music in a dive bar at night, then cure your hangover the next day with a dose of fresh air and the great outdoors. Adventurers and nature enthusiasts will be happy to learn that Reno is only a short (40-minute or less) drive to Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America and the second deepest lake in the United States. You could fully submerge the Empire State Building in the middle of the lake and still have 200 feet of room to swim above it. The pristine lake water itself is almost as clean as drinking water, which is why it’s considered one of the purest large lakes.
If you want to get a first-hand look at the crystal clear water, go kayaking with Cleary Tahoe. They offer guided tours in completely transparent kayaks, so you can get a close-up look at the water from right under your feet. You can observe the lake floor, underwater rocks, and marine life as you paddle your way across the lake. Our guide shuttled my group to Bonsai Rock, which is one of the most photographed landmarks in North Lake Tahoe. On our way there, he shared fun facts and history about the area – legend has it that there’s a giant underwater sea creature at the bottom of the lake named “Tessy.” Bonsai Rock is the centerpiece of a little lagoon where the water looks like it belongs in the Bahamas. Its enchanting turquoise hue with the backdrop of evergreen-covered mountains is every bit as Instagrammable as the Seychelles.
In addition to this popular shoreline tour, Clearly Tahoe also offers sunset tours, eco-tours, and LED nighttime tours – stargazing, anyone? Tip: Being that the water is so deep, it stays chilly pretty much all year round. It’s a good idea to bring a jacket and a change of clothes because you’ll likely be cold after a dip.
Take your Lake Tahoe adventure from the water to the land by hiking the nearby Flume Trail to Monkey Rock. A 2.6-mile, out-and-back portion of the trail leads you to a boulder that’s been carved to look like, you guessed it, a monkey. In addition to the quirky companion who greets you at the top of the hike, there’s a nearly 360-degree view of Lake Tahoe and its surrounding landscape. There are parts of the trek that are steep (I was definitely sore the next day), but this majestic mountainous lookout was well worth the sweat and shortness of breath. Mountain cyclists can also make use of the trail by renting a bike and going for a ride up and down the path.
Whether you walk or bike, you’re sure to work up an appetite. Regain your energy with lunch at Tunnel Creek Cafe, conveniently located next to the Flume Trail backcountry trailhead. It’s a homey cabin café and restaurant that serves coffee, breakfast, and lunch. I ordered the hummus wrap (it was fresh AF) and devoured it on the restaurant’s second-story deck in the sun.
If you end up in Reno during winter, you might not want to put water sports and hiking at the top of your to-do list (though both are great for late-fall shoulder season). Good news — Lake Tahoe is also home to ski resorts and snowy mountain tops that skiers and snowboarders of all experience levels can shred on.
Learn more about the Flume Trail and Monkey Rock here.
Don’t believe in ghosts? The Bats in the Belfry Ghost Tour might change your mind. On the opposite side of Reno from Lake Tahoe is Virginia City, a tiny mountain town that teleports you back to what feels like the 19th century. Virginia City was a mining town back in the late 1800s, and many of the mine tunnels still lie below the decks of the historic C Street. As soon as you get into town you’ll notice Victorian homes and a slew of old-school saloons and shops. The eerie little town looks like a movie set frozen in time. The trippiest part? Some of Virginia City’s inhabitants from the mining era are believed to still be looming through the halls of the town’s oldest buildings. In fact, Virginia City is recognized as one of the most haunted cities in the United States.
I’m a sucker for all things spooky, so I was excited (and slightly terrified) to go on the search for supernatural phenomena. The Bats in the Belfry guides are fully equipped with ghost hunting gear, such as a magnetic field detector that tells you when a spirit is close by (or… maybe just a magnet?). The tour takes you through the haunted Washoe Club to the courthouse and then to various landmarks where supposed fires and murders occurred (witnesses might say I panicked once or twice). You may even catch a few orbs on camera as you attempt to communicate with the souls of the dead.
Whether you believe in the hocus pocus or not, this ghost tour is an excellent way to learn about Virginia City’s treacherous history while having a bit of fun. The good news is that the tour starts and ends at the Washoe Club’s bar, so you can drown your fears in a cocktail or two.
Book your spot on a Bats in the Belfry Ghost Tour here (if you dare).
Food lovers, rejoice! The local cuisine and beverages will not disappoint. If you’re looking for a laidback spot to kick back and have a few drinks, head to The Eddy in Downtown Reno. It’s a bar and beer garden made out of repurposed shipping containers. Just like the rest of the city, the containers are adorned with murals and graffiti art. The venue is pumping with good vibes, hit music, and classic field games like cornhole. It feels like a backyard summer party, whether you go in the afternoon or end your night there.
It’s not a backyard party without a drink in your hand. The Eddy has 24 craft beers on tap, 10 fine wines, and a handful of handcrafted cocktails to choose from. I sipped on the “Son of a Peach” cocktail — a candy-like concoction spiked with vodka and topped with a peach ring. The Eddy also features a food truck that rotates every week, so you can grab a bite to eat while you drink and play. When I visited the young partiers’ hotspot, the food truck of the week was Urban Crudos, which serves fresh poke bowls and sushi tacos. The Top Loin Salmon Bowl was *chef’s kiss.*
Stay up to date with all the action at The Eddy here.
Whether you like IPAs, stouts, lagers, or ciders, Reno has something for every kind of beer drinker. There’s a bundle of breweries popping up around town that make for a cool and casual place to drink with friends. If you’re looking for some authentic craft beers, head to Brauhaus 701, which serves German-American fusion drinks and food. Yes, that means pretzels and bratwurst. Silver Peak Brewery downtown is popular for its ales and lagers, and it offers a selection of pub food that goes beyond just greasy burgers and fries (although, those are always great). They’ve got everything from chicken and basil ravioli to a Mongolian-style pork chop and roasted butternut squash pizza.
When I said that there’s always something to do in Reno on the weekends, I wasn’t exaggerating. In addition to the many music-filled events, I also attended The Biggest Little Invitational. Reno hosts this elevated craft beer festival each year at the Bartley Ranch Regional Park. The festival featured unlimited tastings with more than 50 breweries from around the West Coast. It was no surprise that it got quite rowdy by the end of the day. The DJ and his impromptu (and very drunk) hype man got everyone on the dance floor for what looked like a messy “Thriller” flashmob. It was entertaining, to say the least. Besides the extensive selection of beers to try, there were also lawn games and local food vendors. Guests even strode the grounds with pretzel necklaces, chewing on the strings awhenever they needed to sober up.
Overall, The Biggest Little Invitational was a downright good time. Check out Reno’s upcoming food and drink events here.
9. Eat Black Spaghetti at Liberty Food & Wine Exchange
Liberty Food & Wine Exchange is an artisan eatery and wine bar that serves Italian-American fusion fare made with regionally sourced ingredients. They have a long list of uniquely curated appetizers, pizzas, pastas, and entrées that will tempt you to order recklessly. To start, you can’t go wrong with the cauliflower, which is doused in Calabrian chili oil, garlic, and bread crumbs. I never knew such a bland vegetable could be so flavorful until I tried this dish.
For the main course, I suggest splitting a few dishes with the table so you can try a little bit of everything. I ordered the wood-fired crab fusilli (yum) and the squid ink spaghetti, which is made by mixing squid ink directly into the fresh pasta dough. Liberty’s seafood-inspired rendition comes with clams, scallops, and shrimp, and is cooked in a spicy white wine butter sauce with lemon. The combination of chewy textures and zesty flavors made it impossible for me to put my fork down.
If you find yourself at Liberty during fall, order the pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Trust me, it’s worth every bite.
PART IV – WHERE TO STAY
10a. Whitney Peak Hotel
Chloe Caldwell
There’s no doubt that you’ll find a daily dose of adventure, memorable sights, and good eats in Reno. The Whitney Peak Hotel combines all three into one place. Located in the heart of downtown Reno next to the iconic Reno Arch, the trendy boutique hotel offers sleek, modern designs and views of the city or the Sierra Nevada Mountains in each room. Whitney Peak is also Reno’s first non-gaming and non-smoking independent hotel.
The best part? Whitney Peak is home to Basecamp Climbing Gym, which includes an indoor bouldering park and an outdoor climbing wall. The outdoor climb runs up the side of the hotel building, making it one of the tallest rock walls in the world. Bonus: It’s a pet-friendly property, so you can bring your pup along for all of the outdoorsy adventures!
If you want your hotel stay on the more extravagant side, book a room at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. The amenities, dining options, and activities within the slot machine-packed resort are seemingly endless. With a spa, party-centric pool area, bowling alley, movie theater, concert hall, escape room, and nightclub (I could go on), you could pretty much spend your entire weekend inside the building, if you wanted to.
Aside from the plethora of over-the-top but also totally cool activities, the retro-inspired suites have comfortable beds, black-out curtains, and waterfall shower heads that can help you wind down at the end of a long day of exploring. One of the best parts of the resort is the convenience of having everything you need in one place. It even makes the commute to and from the airport easy. They offer a free shuttle every 30 minutes throughout the day, so guests don’t have to worry about waiting on an Uber.
Uproxx was hosted for this story by Visit Reno. However, they did not review or approve this story. You can learn more about the Uproxx Press Trip policy here.
Cheese is a joy. It’s also amazingly varied — from the actual source milk to the deeply diverse flavors you can draw from a little rennet, salt, and bacteria combined with time and atmosphere. In those regards, it’s not wholly different from other aged products we profile — wine, whiskey, rum, and the like.
Food memoirist Hannah Howard has a love of cheese that runs deep. Her widely-acclaimed new book — Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family — touches on this passion point while also highlighting women in culinary pursuits around the globe (including a cheesemaker). Given my own love of cheese, we knew we had to hop on the phone to chat about both the book and our favorite cheeses.
Howard was kind enough to drop some serious recommendations for American cheeses you should try in the back half of our chat. These are kinds of cheese that are both delicious and accessible — you can buy them in the U.S. and, in most places, get them delivered right to your door. Her expertise is on full display, as is the abiding passion for food that helped make her memoir so captivating.
What brought you to the point where you actually wrote this wonderful book about women in food with a great section about amazing cheese?
A lot of my career has been in cheese. I’ve always liked cheese. Who doesn’t? But the thing that really sparked my cheese imagination and passion was the first restaurant job that I got when I was 18, that I found on Craigslist. I was going to college in New York City and I ended up at this Michelin-starred fine dining old school French restaurant, and they had this incredible cheese cart. I knew that cheese was delicious, but I had no idea that it was this whole world of flavor. I wanted to be by the cheese cart at the beginning of service when they were setting up and unpacking these cheeses. And if you were lucky, you’d get a taste of something.
Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work with cheese in restaurants, in retail, and in all kinds of capacities. There are a few things that I love about it. One is that cheese is just made from mostly milk and then a little salt, a little rennet, a little culture. So with those four ingredients, you get everything from a decadent triple creme to a super-aged Gouda, to any cheese you can think of. It’s just so cool how cheese is so diverse with just four ingredients. And then I also love the way that cheese has been a part of history and culture for as long as we’ve had people, almost.
I have a similar experience. I was in college in D.C., working at a Neapolitan pizzeria. We aged all our cheeses and meats in-house or imported them from Italy. The “ah-ha!” moment for me was our gorgonzola and honey-walnut dessert course that was just this beautiful chunk of gorgonzola with fresh local honey, and sweet, roasted walnuts. It was just one of those things where your brain wakes up when you have it, you know?
Yes. That sounds absolutely delicious.
As you said, cheese is inherently very, very simple… yet you have this massive variety. When you’re putting together a book on foods and you can only devote so much space to certain subjects, how do you make decisions about what and who you want to highlight, especially with such a massive segment of food like cheese?
I started off thinking I was going to write about celebrities or people with lots of accolades and success. Not to say that the women I wrote about were not successful — they absolutely are. It ended up being much more personal. I ended up writing about women in the food world who either were my friends and mentors or who I wanted to be my friends and mentors. I’ve met so many more amazing women throughout my food adventures. It could be so many books, but at the end of the day, I think I wanted to represent people doing really different things. So there’s a cheese maker in the book. There’s a sommelier. There’s a barge pilot. There’s a cooking instructor. These are the kind of people forging their way in the industry.
I use my own personal selfishness — wanting to know these women and understand what they were doing — as a way to figure out who was going to be in the book and how I was going to organize the book.
By telling these people’s stories, what sort of responsibility did you feel? How hard was it to find the right people to tell the right stories?
I think, and hope, I found the right people to tell their stories. But I did feel a responsibility to these people because my first book was more of just a straight memoir about my own story. It’s my story. So there seems to be a huge amount of trust that these women had, to let me into their lives, and into their kitchens, into their work, and trust me to share their stories. Which was not something I took lightly. I really wanted to try to capture that it wasn’t just about the shiny, easy parts.
I also wanted to write about their challenges and things that were personal and things that were hard. So I felt really genuinely grateful that they trusted me with that, and that they all seem to be relatively happy about the book.
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That’s the beauty of food, right? It’s sort of a bottomless well of opportunity to write about, talk about, and eat, of course. I feel like you’re never going to find the end if you’re willing to look.
That’s what I feel like. Sometimes I think, “Oh, okay. Food…” I wrote a lot about food for a long time. But then for me, it is really the people behind all the food that keep it really, really fresh. And, exactly — there are endless possibilities there.
When you look at our history with something like cheese in America, it feels like either you grew up exposed to a lot of great cheese because of an immigrant background with access to unique delis, or you sort of grew up with American slices and whizz. How was your experience growing up with cheese in America?
I was lucky to come from a family that really did appreciate and love food. Some of my best childhood memories are going grocery shopping with my mom and we’d always pop around to a bunch of different stores. I grew up in Baltimore and went to Mastellone’s, which was like this little Italian store. Mrs. Mastellone would be making mozzarella from fresh curds. We’d go to the nearest bakery and there was incredible feta there. So I definitely had probably more access to more, not just cheese, but more different ingredients and food experiences than most American kids in the 80s, I would say.
Then, as I’ve pursued this as a career, I’ve been even luckier. I think also, since the 80s we’ve come a really, really long way in our own. One of the women in my book is Allison Hooper who founded Vermont Creamery around the time I was born. And she started to make goat cheese in Vermont. At the time people were like, “goat cheese is weird,” and “we don’t know what that is,” and, “we don’t want it.” Now it’s ubiquitous. I think it still has a long way to go, but I feel like there has been a revolution in the availability, quality, and knowledge about cheese.
Absolutely.
Let’s shift a bit. People often look to food writers for recommendations for better or worse. When someone comes to you and asks you, “What’s a cheese I can get into if I only like, say, plain yellow cheddar?” What cheese would you lead them to first?
When I worked behind the cheese counter, there were a few kinds of cheese that you just knew were going to be hits. One of the cheeses that I love to introduce curious people to is really well-aged gouda. Because as it ages it gets those amazing terracing crystals that are protein amino acids. It also just develops this incredible caramelized sweetness. It’s almost like candy for grownups. There’s sort of a butterscotch quality; it’s really hard for people not to like that, from novices to experts. So that’s like a great starter cheese.
We used to always joke about Malbec and Manchego because everyone thought of that. Manchego is really popular; I just wrote an article about how popular it is these days. It’s a sheep’s milk cheese. It’s definitely a gateway into trying some broader cheese flavors and textures. There’s a cheese from Cypress Grove in California called Midnight Moon that’s a very approachable aged cheese, that also everybody seems to love. So those are some of my starters, branching out, but not in such a crazy way.
Then there’s the advanced stuff. I like winning people over with seemingly funky cheese. One of my favorites is creamy gorgonzola instead of the hard one. If you just get past that mold, you’re in for sure a creamy treat.
That’s perfect, especially if you’re ambivalent about bleu cheese. But it’s so sweet and creamy. I love it with some honey… Oh my gosh. It’s really hard not to love that.
I feel, for a lot of people, if you can get them past the look of the green mold and just get them to take a bite…
Right. Close their eyes and enjoy it!
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When it comes to more advanced cheeses, has there been a cheese that’s surprised you? One you weren’t into that has become a cheese that you now love?
I remember being the weird kid who — when my parents had a dinner party — wanted to eat the bleu cheese. I’ve always known that I was down for the bigger flavors, less approachable flavors. But I think I have grown even more through the years. My favorite cheese genre is definitely those stinky, washed-rind cheeses, where you cut off the top and then use a baguette to dip in. I think that it’s hard to get some of the best ones from Europe in the U.S. We do have some, but it’s just a lot more limited. We can’t import raw milk cheeses unless they’re aged for 60 days, so we don’t get those really funky ones.
My really good friend smuggled a wheel of Vacherin Mont D’or — which is this incredible cheese that’s only made seasonally — in her suitcase for me. And I was like, “Oh, this is a good friend!” because it’s pretty pungent cheese.
Yeah. That’s a lifelong friend right there.
Exactly! She’s pretty much my best friend. There are some cheeses that are inspired by that here that are only made seasonally. So now that it’s fall, I can get excited about getting to dig into those soon.
There’s one called Rush Creek Reserve from Uplands Cheese Company, which is just incredible. There’s Jasper Hill, in Vermont, which makes Winnimere, which is wrapped in spruce and also inspired by that. I love that. Something about that luscious, gooey texture and that funk, and that there are so many layers going on. Even though these cheeses are a little stinky, they’re not one note at all. They’re really complex and there’s a lot going on. I think they sometimes just get cast aside, but those are my favorite kinds of cheeses.
I feel like even with the funkier ones that if you really give it a second, you’re going to find grassy notes, you’re going to find mossy notes, you’re going to find nutty notes. You’re going to find other things beneath that first sensation that will draw you in and create a greater whole.
Absolutely. I think a lot of times too, the bark is bigger than the bite. It smells really intense, but then exactly what you said, the actual taste has so much more going on.
Not to always bring it back to Europe, but it’s very common here to cook with cheese but the cheese is the star of the show. Obviously, there’s gratins and cacio e pepe, and things where you cook with cheese as an ingredient. But I’m talking more grilling cheese, baked Camembert, things like that where the cheese in the main course. Is that something you’re seeing a bit more of in the States?
Yeah. I do. I think probably that TikTok and Instagram are helpful for that. Also just the pandemic, and people cooking more. I think cheese is such a great ingredient in any kitchen. The viral feta dish certainty helped. That’s just the start for sure.
I have a friend who writes recipes for The New York Times and we joke that a lot of her recipes have feta. I just made one of her sheet pan meals that involved feta and a bunch of other things, and it was super delicious. I feel like exploring different cheeses is such a fun way to step up your game in the kitchen a little bit.
You can purchase Hannah Howard’s new book, ‘Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family,’ in all formats here.
Phoebe Bridgers had a frustrating experience last weekend: She performed at the Austin City Limits Festival, but at the very end of her set, the sound was cut off, despite her going just a minute over her allotted time. Her response? “lol f*ck acl,” she wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
Now, the festival has gone ahead and offered Bridgers an apology, which she has accepted.
“Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication on stage by ACL Festival personnel, the sound on the final song of [the] Phoebe Bridgers set was cut off during her ACL Fest weekend two performance. We wish this had not happened and extend our apologies to Phoebe. After positive conversations between festival organizers and the artist about the situation, ACL Fest has made a donation to Texas Abortion Funds to show our support for Phoebe and an organization close to her heart.”
Bridgers had a simple response, tweeting, “Thank you.”
Meanwhile, there’s more good Bridgers news today. At the top of October, Bridgers shared a cover of Bo Burnham’s “That Funny Feeling,” which she has been performing on her current tour. Fans really ate up the studio version, as it was the fourth best-selling song of this past tracking week, Billboard says. Bridgers had another short-and-sweet response to that news: “whoa.”
For the first time, former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron is opening up about the circumstances that led to him being fired from the show alongside Erin Andrews. The two were replaced by Tyra Banks for Season 29, and the way Bergeron tells it, he wasn’t exactly surprised by the news.
While sitting down for Bob Saget’s Here For You podcast, Bergeron revealed what was happening behind the scenes during what became his final season. Via PEOPLE:
“In all candor, the show that I left was not the show that I loved,” Bergeron told Bob Saget. “So at the end of the season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew. I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. … It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads [behind-the-scenes]. It wasn’t a pleasant [experience].”
One of those issues was Bergeron’s criticism of the show for bringing on former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer. “They’re entitled to do the show the way they think is best. And so I look back at the time I spent there with really great fondness for the vast majority of it,” Bergeron told Saget.
In the end, Bergeron revealed that he actually enjoyed being fired. “So there was no blue period,” he said. “I think Erin and I had more fun being fired than virtually anybody.”
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly officially went public with their relationship in 2020 and have been making headlines for turning heads with their PDA ever since. While Fox has made it clear their relationship is intensely passionate, comparing it to a tsunami and a forest fire, the two also detailed some of the more tender moments in their love life in a recent interview — like their first kiss.
The couple sat down with British GQ for a joint cover interview about being “Hollywood’s hottest new power couple.” During the conversation, the two detailed the beginning of their relationship. After meeting on the set of Midnight In The Switchgrass, Fox and Kelly would text all the time. Eventually, their text conversations turned into three-hour phone calls. “Did you ever talk to a girl for three hours on the phone in your whole life?” Fox teased Kelly in the interview. “Were you like, ‘How the f*ck am I going to talk to her?’”
On a wild summer’s night in Los Angeles, @machinegunkelly and #MeganFox explain their whirlwind courtship, from their first meeting to their deepening spiritual connection.https://t.co/0JjknIM73o
Kelly responded to Fox’s quip by recalling their first kiss. “It felt like five minutes, so it didn’t even feel like three hours,” he said. “Even our first kiss, she wouldn’t kiss me. We just put our lips right in front of each other and breathed each other’s breath and then she just left.”
Fox added that her reason for resisting the kiss came from her wanting to protect her heart, even though she knew she was already falling hard. “[I was] definitely open [to] love, but I did not anticipate walking right into my soulmate like that,” she said. “I was obviously over the way I had been living, and those paths lined up, those doors opened. It was [as if] all the obstacles that had kept us apart all those years [had been removed] and we were able to finally intersect.”
The couple also described their first date, which sounds like a scene from a teenage coming-of-age film. Kelly picked up Fox in a convertible Cadillac and they listened to Ella Fitzgerald as they drove to a canyon’s edge. A friend was waiting with a picnic in hand and a blanket with a “sea of roses.” The date ended with them going on a rooftop, listening to pop-punk, and making out.
JR Smith’s career as a college golfer officially began on Monday with the first two rounds of the Elon Phoenix Invitational in Burlington, North Carolina. After a solid start to his first round, things unraveled a bit on his way to an opening 83, which he followed up with a 78 in the second round later in the afternoon.
On Tuesday, Smith was back on course for third round action with the North Carolina A&T Aggies, starting his day on the back nine. Smith made par on his first two holes of the day before arriving at the 12th hole where disaster struck in the form of a yellow jacket attack after he stepped on a nest, requiring medical attention after he was stung a number of times.
Luckily, Smith was able to continue playing and didn’t seem too much the worse for wear, although he was surely feeling those stings on his ankles as the round continued. JR would double the 12th and go on to shot 81 in the third round, as he gets his first taste of tournament golf this week. It’s not been the start Smith was hoping for — and, hopefully, this will be the only tournament that features a yellow jacket swarm attacking him — but he is gutting through it and will have lots to learn from, including the need to be careful about where he’s stepping on these North Carolina golf courses.
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