Refreshing My Lease on Life
Outside in Madison, it almost feels like spring. The light is simply fantastic - it's breezy - and for the first time in months, you can look out onto a shimmering lake without seeing icebergs. In short, it's refreshingly amazing and I feel like a million bucks.
Also, I've made the greatest two discoveries in the previous 12hours. First of all, a new bar just opened around the corner from my house. Before its opening, it was heralded as a "Swedish After Hours Club." Come to find out, it keeps "regular" late night hours - but its decor and scene are fastly and vastly appealing. There is more detail work in this bar than I am accustomed to - it's opened by two brothers who fused an Asian-inspired (living in Taiwan for 12yrs) with a German Industrial design and a vaguely sexual-explicit Swedishness (the title, which I can't pronounce, is Swedish for "what's going on tonight?" but a slang term that has references to brothels / prostitutes). This is a tough atmosphere to give the right kind of lip service to - but trust me - it's stunning, original, well-crafted, and just purely impressive. Great art - between murals, industrial sculpture, and mosasic work, the bar smells like hardwoods and the tables are craftmanship in carnate, and the detail work is nothing short of
too good for Madison. It has great romantic lighting, cushy velvet that works with the wooden stools, and has the makings of the best date bar ever created. Upon walking in, it was love at first sight - the drinks are cheap, the menu is tremendously promising (stone hearth baked breads / other delightful things with aparagus and ginger), and we met the proud, yet friendly, owners last night. I am getting in on the ground level and this place might just lend providence when needed. It's what I've needed - it's geared for people my age and it is the most fantastic thing to happen to my neighborhood, ever. I came home - and having done laundry last night - I slept in clean sheets - and this is always such a delight and it came close to being a perfect evening.
Last night ended on an exceptionally upbeat note on account of the inauguration of the new bar... this morning seamlessly picked up as we finally found the brunch spot we've craved ever since moving to this town. It's bustling, bright, and serves sourdough toast (something that is strangely a rarity in this town, and yet, its powers should never be underestimated). It's called
Marigold Kitchen, and it too, is just around the corner, yet always managed to evade my restaurant radar. Again, to quote the Cars, "just what I needed."
It's crunch time, work-wise - but there's actually something phenomenally invirgorating to sit down at my bright kitchen table, drink a glass of orange juice, and go to town on my Classical Film Theory paper. It's actually what I want to be doing... there's motivation enough to keep myself on task as tonight there will be a rousing game of Texas Hold 'Em poker with some filmies. I actually don't know if I am a good poker player or not, but I think it's like Yatzee and lately I've been on top of my Yatzee game.
posted by lmjasinski at 11:50 AM
