Andrew Mark Veety

There Has To Be A Post In Here Somewhere, Right?

There is no getting around it; I’ve really neglected this site in the past few months. As I have a gap between projects, I figure today is as good as any to share what I’ve been up to and what I have planned for the rest of the year.

The Personal:

At the peak of this summer’s heat I shaved my beard, to lackluster reviews from friends, my son and my wife. Therefore this summer I grew a beard, providing comfort and solace to all who know me. My apologies to those who were taken aback by my shaven visage, rest assured I didn’t want you to see my gobbler - heretofore known as my “second” and “third” chin – I was honestly tired of sweating and looking to do something about it. Hopefully we can forget this happened until next summer, when I decide to shave it off again.

My son recently turned two and is justifiably taking up more of my personal time. While I am a dad and a blogger, this is not a “daddy blog” so when I’m busy with my son, I’m usually not creating content for this site. 

My wife has been busy running her interior design business, and besides being supportive of her, I’m exceedingly proud. This summer she completed one space, is putting the finishing touches on two kitchens and was rehired by an existing client to redesign their living room, bedrooms and bathrooms. She also spent two months designing the space and hand-made all the decorations for this year’s Art of Food, a yearly fundraiser for our chapter of Slow Food. Personally I thought the space looked as great as the food and I’m really happy we got the chance to participate.

All in all, our family is a busy one.

Lastly, with it being fall, I’m back to my regular job helping to organize the Tour de Moose, a biking pub crawl in its seventh year. It goes without saying that if you are in St. Louis; I think you should register to ride in it.

The Podcast:

Along with my co-hosts, we’ve completed seven episodes of StewedSTL, a podcast we started to document the food and drink scene in St. Louis. Truth be told, it is so much easier to talk for 90 minutes than write, so much of my blogging energy finds its way on the show. Hopefully you have gotten a chance to check Stewed out. Past episodes included interviews with Evan Benn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Adam Tilford of Milagro Modern Mexican, Eric Scholle from Farmhaus and Ian Froeb from the Riverfront Times. With respect to each of our guests, each show we’ve done has been great, but the show with Ian has been my personal favorite to date. Please check it out if you are looking for someplace to start listening.

What I've Been Up To:

The Church of Burger project opened the door to multiple writing opportunities that I’m still working though and on. This fall I’ll be on assignment (and traveling) for St. Louis Magazine’s on-line blog Relish and I’ll have two pieces in an upcoming issue of Feast Magazine. Also, I was asked to judge a hot wing competion, which was an awesome (and hot) experience. Lastly I’ve got a few more projects in the planning stage that I’m pretty excited about as well. Details hopefully to follow.

So What About This Blog?

True, my posts have become less frequent; however I have no intention of abandoning this site. I will readily admit that I’m having trouble figuring out how to make it fit into all the things I have going on – without it becoming a collection of links to work I’m doing in other places. 

I spent 2010 writing about restaurants – mostly burgers – and I wanted to roll that momentum into a new topic, pizza. The idea didn’t work the way I envisioned and I ended up wandering away from project. At the same time I found myself writing more about cooking, which is where this blog started back in 2008.

While I’m sure I’ll continue to write about the food that I make at home, I don’t want to have a blog dedicated to it. My goal is to rehab what this site “is” and how I’ll use it to complement all the other things I have going on, with content that is strong enough to stand on its own. After all, without trying to do good work here, in my own space, I’d never have had the chance to do good work for others.

And there friends, is the rub. I know I have to do something; I’m just not sure what that something is. I do know that the day I feel like I’m tossing a bunch of shit up here for the sake of posting something is the day I should probably shut it down.

Thankfully, this is not that day. More to follow, I hope you check back in.

Cheers.

amv

I'd Buy That For A Dollar

Over the years A List actors like Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jodie Foster have banked some serious coin by schilling for companies and products outside of the United States -- specifically in Asia. The work is easy, the paycheck large and the damage to a domestic image minimal.

But what about the B, C and Z List actors who don't have regular twenty million dollar paydays to count on -- do they get a slice of this decadent pie as well?

You bet your ass they do.

Case in point -- RoboCop -- who seems to have added "getting paid" to his list of Prime Directives.

Shhhh...There Is A Monster At The End of This Post....

One would think that life would be pretty easy for a puppet once they achieve Muppet status -- the limos, dressing rooms and the best felt and fur replacement parts that money can buy. However it seems that most Muppets do double duty to earn some extra scratch. Doozers do construction, Miss Piggy has shilled for Pizza Hut and lovable furry old Grover has spent years toiling in the kitchens and dining rooms of Sesame Street.

In this clip from 1989, Grover patiently tries to explain the difference between fast and slow food to a frustrated Mr. Johnson.

Best Things I Read On Twitter This Week

There are some remarkably funny people on Twitter. Here are some of the things that got a retweet out of me this past week:

@SkankHam New post!   Haaaaaams iiiiinnnnnnn spaaaaaaace!!

@stlbites    @amveats Fuck that, I killed a buffalo but could only carry back 83lbs.

@campuskitchens    This food quiz is fun, kind of tricky, and donates a $1 to fight hunger every time you're right:

@ianfroeb    "Tyler! Tyler! Ian Froeb, Riverfront Times. Love the grape relish. Now, Giada De Laurentiis? Big head or not?"

@TourdeMoose    For the benefit of the new guys - New Blog Post (With Funny Crash Video) - Use Your Head - Just Not Like This.

@ironstef    Day 2 of bottomless stomach. Like I could take @stlphoto in an eating contest. Well, that's physically impossible, but I sure am hungry.

 

Amuse Bouche for March 9th, 2010

I'm pretty sure this burger joint is in my old neighborhood in Queens.

The State - MTV Shows

Amuse Bouche For October 21st, 2009

• New Eco-Friendly Pizza Box -- GreenBox -- Offers Plates with the Pie - Fun for college kids everywhere who barely have dinner let alone a plate to eat it on.
• Serious Eats visits the Thai Pizza Co here in St. Louis.
• And in the outrage of the year, decade, century and millennium, Pizzatherapy assembles a list of "the best pizza in St. Louis", leading this reader to question the sanity of placing Imo's or Racanelli's on any list of edible "pizza". Just a terrible list. Where is Pi? The Good Pie? Katie's Pizza Cafe? I'll even accept Feraro's as a more realistic example of a corner pizza shop slice than Racanelli's. Alas it was not included. I've lived in New York, I've eaten their pizza, the pizza of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are friends of mine. You sir are not east coast pizza. I was just shocked when I saw this list of pizza in St. Louis. This is the reason I've worked so hard to make my own pies at home, because the pizza that this town is known for is largely for shit. Put that on your list.
• And lastly, thanks for Kelli for the recap of the BLT cocktail that we put together for this years Tour de Moose. Looking forward to our next collaboration.

Amuse Bouche For September 16th, 2009

• As I watch a Coca-Cola tractor trailer try to back into my buildings loading dock, I'm reminded that I recently read that the Coca-Cola Chief called the idea of a Soda-Tax ‘Outrageous’. " My favorite line has to be “I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink,” Kent said, responding to an audience question at the Rotary Club of Atlanta. “If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around." Uh boy. That's a good tact to take with a public obsessed with the hand slapping of a backwards hillbilly, er, I mean health care. Also, haven't we had a food pyramid for a half century?
• The Novice Foodie hits up Acero and uses on of my favorite ways of trying expensive restaurants, the prix fixe menu. As I mentioned via Twitter, I ate my way around NYC's best restaurants with the use of prix fixe menus for many years. I'm also a fan of Acero, where I spent my 33rd birthday with friends and enjoyed one of the best meals I've ever had here in St. Louis. Recommended.
• Our mission is to facilitate, encourage and document the consumption of a Cheeseburger on every named peak on the planet - 'Summit Cheeseburger' Documents the Consumption of Cheeseburgers on Every Peak. I'm left to ask, "really?" With the cost of a Mt. Everest summit ranging between 50,000 and 60,000 USD, is it only a matter of time until we see a bobble headed King attempting a summit with a Whopper in hand and sans oxygen?
• Via Stand Up with Pete Dominick and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a review of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress. File it under "All your heroes are whores" and I'll get back to wondering what kind of world my son is inheriting.
• I've been planning a trip out of Surf Dogs, deep in St. Louis county, to try a novel idea - the Pup Sampler. Mini-dogs dressed just like their full size twins. Great idea. At the same time I terrified of the Hamburger in Paradise vibe they are going for. Hopefully the dogs will compensate for the anticipated decor. I'm keeping an open mind, but it closes a bit every time I visit their site.

Amuse Bouche For September 15th, 2009

• Via the Riverfront Times, Sapphire Pan-Asian has closed. I can't say that I'm all that upset about his CWE restaurant fading into history. I was not impressed at all with Sapphire, which struck me as all hat, no cattle. 
• Lots of press about my friends Penn & Teller iPhone app. Wall Street Journal, Venture Beat,and my favorite quote via the LA Times, "When venture capitalist George Zachary asked what business he was, at least theoretically, being asked to invest in, Jillette shot back, "There’s no venture capital required. We’re done and it’s for sale now." Asked what he was going to do next, Jillette said, "I’m going to go to Las Vegas and shoot bullets at my partner Teller."
• The Urban Review STL reflects on the Great Streets Test Project taking place on South Grand. I think they should focus on a tutorial on how to merge two lanes into one. St. Louis, the only place I know where folks watch NASCAR on Sunday and then take to the streets and pretend to be NASCAR drivers on Monday.
• In September, any first-time donation to Slow Food USA will make you a member.
• Farmer, lecturer and author Joel Salatin will speak at Webster University’s Grant Gymnasium Monday, October 5. I hope he brings pictures of his monster truck / rolling chicken coop.
• I am coveting a restored 1949 REO Speedwagon complete with a wood burning pizza oven. Sometimes I think all the good ideas are used up, the I see things like this that give me hope for humanity.

Amuse Bouche For September 14th, 2009

• Sam Calagione of the Dogfish Head Brewery wants to spit in your beer.
• Excited that a second Pi location is scheduled to open in the Central West End the day before Thanksgiving.
• The jury is still out regarding the new pizza place opening at the old TFA shop - corner of Wyoming and South Grand. There was a sign in the window stating "National Pizza, thinking outside the square". The sign is gone and construction is ongoing. Interestingly enough I've seen 2 dudes sporting Dewey's tee shirts in the area - that is just blatant rumormongering though.
• Alex Hozven of the Cultured Pickle Shop talks with Lynne Rossetto Kasper about the realm of pickling.
• Also from this weeks Splendid Table, the BLT Cocktail, or as I am now calling it, "The Official Morning Beverage of the Tour de Moose".
• A Hamburger Today asks "What's Your Favorite Burger Size?"
• Gourmet Magazine showcases the recipe for some great looking corn dogs, kudos for leaving the ketchup out of the picture.

Amuse Bouche For September 11th, 2009

Another day, another group of disjointed things I've been reading and doing....

• Excited that I'm developing a new concept around work day lunch time eats, angered that I forgot my camera when I left for work, again.
• Lamenting that it looks like I will miss American IPA night at The Good Pie as well as Hop In The City this year.
• S. 1650: A bill to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve the purchase and processing of healthful commodities for use in school meal programs has entered the Senate. More at Slow Food USA
• Really enjoying the September 21st edition of "The Nation" which is dedicated to essays on Food Democracy, with essays by Alice Waters and Michael Pollan among others. Complementary to a recent article in Time on the real cost of cheap food.
• Sauce Magazine takes a tour of some of the best fries in St. Louis, manages to forget the amazing fries at The Dubliner. They make up for it with the recipe for the Subcontinental at The Royale on page 30 of the Wine, Beer & Spirits supplemental to the September print copy. While I almost always avoid cheese sandwiches, I'm oddly intrigued by the photo of the meatloaf melt at Jennifer’s Pharmacy. I blame Jonathan Pollack's tasty photo for my change in attitude.
• A year ago today I juxtaposed George Washington, Geroge W Bush and Sarah Palin. 8 years ago I walked out of my office to grab some coffee, looked up Broadway and saw the WTC on fire. I'm also still unsure if I should develop the roll of film I took that morning as I walked out of the city to Queens.
• Sure it works on the coasts, but will my Son get beat up when I pack him his first Bento Box for a school lunch?

Amuse Bouche For September 10th, 2009

A collection of items that peeked my interest and raised my dander on this Thursday afternoon.

• Wishing MJB the best of luck as he leaves for TechCrunch50. Very cool stuff, if only I had an iPhone.
• Looking forward to putting up and taking down some O’Fallon Chocolate by the Barrel Cream Stout, which after a long wait has finally arrived. STL Hops via Twitter
• St. Louis' own Dave Nelson provided the bubbly to an overview of sulfates and headaches for The Noble Writ.
• Mark Graban continues the series of posts on Slice that feed my desire to design and build a back yard pizza oven. Permission from the wife, check. Backyard to build one. Nope. Perhaps its time to move.

I'm also preoccupied with being worried about my good friend Dave, formally the sous chef at Morimoto NYC and currently of Marea, who experienced a stroke yesterday morning. I have known Dave, in his early thirties, since college. Dave got me through several hard years when I lived in Queens, stood next to me in my wedding and helped me work out the logistics of my greatest culinary adventure, last years Fakesgiving Tristket, a turkey stuffed inside of a brisket.

The last time I saw Dave was this past spring when we had dinner at Rod's Steakhouse in Morristown, New Jersey. Dave was just back from a 6 month trip around Asia to research street food and ramen shops before attempting to open his own place in New York City. At the time he was not feeling well and did not have health insurance, which worried me greatly.

While his new position in the kitchen at Marea surely will cover his health care needs, (I hope) it highlights the need to provide a safety net for everyone in the United States. This was only highlighted when I heard about Dave a few hours after President Obama's address to congress last night.

"Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes." - Buck Murdock

I'm worried about my friend as he lays in a hospital bed in Brooklyn, and I'm angered that after 40 years, we don't have a public option for health care in this country. I'm distressed that Mr. Obama has to go before both houses of congress and state the following like it's news to the masses:

"Here's what you need to know. First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future. Period. And to prove that I'm serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don't materialize. Part of the reason I faced a trillion dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for – from the Iraq War to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make that same mistake with health care."

Seriously. This is an idea that totally escapes a segment of our population. They complain about the cost of providing for the worst off in our society, yet they allowed the Bush Administration to take a budget surplus and make it deficit. They said nothing as the cost of the war in Iraq, which has already cost over 10 times the anticipated amount, was accounted for via special requests to congress and supplementals to the overall budget process.

As Mr. Obama wrapped up his speech, I took to Facebook and posted a note with the quote above. Then I added my own post script:

"To my Republican friends - that means you lose.

You got your war and your 8 years of lower taxes, now its everyone else's turn. Additionally, in the spirit of fair game, the health care that we want to give to everyone can be enjoyed by you as well."

For more reading, the Citizens for Tax Justice argue that the Bush tax cuts cost almost $2.5 trillion over the decade after they were first enacted (2001-2010).

And while Maureen Dowd encourages President Obama to be "Less Spocky, More Rocky", I'm inclined to borrow a quote from Mr. Spock that fits my mood perfectly:

"Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Get better soon Dave. Wake up America.

Amuse Bouche For September 9th, 2009

Some recent food related items that have caught my interest.

• Lack of love for hamburgers is featured in this Flickr group - Anti-Burger Propaganda! 
• St. Louis local Kelli Best-Oliver discusses the film Julie & Julia, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and an attempt at beef bourguignon over at The Novice Foodie.
• A Hamburger Today asks, "What Drink Goes Best With a Burger?".
• The American Farmland Trust publishes its list of "America's Favorite Farmers Markets" for 2009.

I've also created two maps highlighting the locations of my past reviews.

• St. Louis, Missouri Posts
• National Posts