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Why I support Johann Hari

2011-06-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

When I was 21...

2011-06-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

When I was very young I played in a rock band called backwater. I was only a teenager when the songs were written and 21 when they were released. Some of them made it into the indie charts and our faces could be seen in the NME or melody maker and even on MTV once or twice.

There was an album, angels are cool, and a bunch of singles; these were nearly all released on Che, a label based in East London. There is one surviving picture of backwater on the internet and all copies of the videos have been burnt but some of the songs, despite not dating very well, are still pretty cool.

Backwater - Memory by Barry Peak

Backwater - Supercool by Barry Peak

Backwater - Shady by Barry Peak

Picciotto and postmodernism

2011-02-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Teaching postmodernism and Baudrillard to A-level students earlier this week, I was struggling to think of any application of the ideas which might be easier to grasp than "the gulf war did not take place".

I began to think of the current election in Ireland as a form of hyperreality; a reference with no referent. The promises made by each party appear more real than any form of reality itself. The loss of economic sovereignty to global institutions has reduced the act of voting to an entirely symbolic act.

Just as we no longer consume to meet actual needs, the Irish electorate is not voting to effect actual change. Instead, it is producing an image of itself and entering into a conversation with other peoples.

It seems the opening line of this conversation will be, "we're fed up with this lot, we're going to give the other lot a chance".

More importantly, this recording of rites of spring turned up on the internet recently. They truly were a great band. Drink deep.

Country shoegaze

2011-02-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

I was in a band called julip. At the end it was Niall and Jonny and me but on this recording we were joined by Keith and Michael who, along with Jonny, were in tracer amc and are now both in not squares.

This was our attempt to create the, potentially earth-shattering, country shoegaze genre.

http://soundcloud.com/barry-peak/on-visiting-rough-mix-two-1

I don't have any pictures of julip, so here's one of me sitting on the back steps of William Faulkner's house, Rowan Oak. That remains one of the best days of my life.

Radio 4

2011-02-21T13:49:00.001-08:00

When my inevitable move to Dublin does take place there are a few things I'll really miss. Without a doubt the greatest of these will be the ability to pick up BBC Radio 4 on the car stereo. Today, simply by chance, I caught two programmes which I don't think would have been broadcast elsewhere and that were of such a high quality I was left wondering why anyone would complain about paying their licence fee.

Beyond belief is not my usual cup of tea but, having taught in a convent for the past 10 years, my interest was pricked by the topic of nuns. Much of the discussion was predictable, addressing issues such as the decline in new members; however, two points in particular grasped my attention. Firstly, the openness which emerged after the second Vatican council left many older nuns dealing with feelings of loss and isolation which frequently come when individuals are forced to emerge from what Erving Goffman would call "total institutions". But most interestingly was the contention that being a nun is a counter-cultural activity. The women featured (two Catholic and one Buddhist) felt their rejection of consumerism, materialism and sexual norms gave them a relative autonomy from which to analyse society from a feminist perspective.

More my usual kind of thing was tonight's documentary about the Liberal Democrat's orange book. Attempting to place the Liberals and their antecedents on the ideological spectrum, it served as a reminder that none of us should really be surprised that the current Lib Dem leadership are (and ought to be) natural bedfellows of the Tories.

Great stuff all round.

2011-02-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

A lot of good things happened in the last week.

I bought a few good records. Deerhoof v evil is possibly the best thing they've ever released. The pop tunes keep getting bigger and brighter but there is no compromise in the weirdness. There are fewer guitars than on previous releases but there's enough noise from other sources to satisfy. Yeah, and super duper rescue heads is as amazing as you've heard.

Yuck's debut album might have been awful. Constant references to bands I love made me think it could be, at best, a poor version of greatness and, at worst, musical plagiarism. Wrong on both counts. Yes, the references are there for all to hear; snatches of teenage fanclub, swathes of my bloody valentine, spikes of sonic youth and moods of yo la tengo but they're all handled with love. The power of a good melody always wins out.

I got to see a stack of good shows too. Starting with mogwai in Belfast and Dublin, they put in a couple of outstanding performances. Then I headed to see two of Belfast's brightest hopes, girls names and sea pinks, upstairs in Whelan's. Featuring the same three people, they each manage to have a clear identity despite both dealing in big slices of guitar driven indie pop.

I also handed in a couple of application forms to go back to university to do a Masters in Political Communication. This could be another of those times where my life takes some interesting turns.

Bookmarks

2009-09-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today I unpacked some books which I brought to my new house from my mum's and started to look through what I'd been using as bookmarks at the time of reading them. It provides a neat little personal/social history.

A fiery furnaces sticker given to me by the band the night my band opened for them.
A letter from a nun, who was my boss at the time.
A boarding card for a flight to Gatwick.
A boarding card for a flight to Paris.
A boarding card for a flight from New Orleans to Miami.
A university reference for an ex-student called Briege Nugent.
An essay I clearly never marked by a student called Clare McKenna (not very good).
A ticket for a Fugazi show in Dublin.
A ticket for a Ted Leo show in Dublin on the night I kissed my girlfriend for the first time and met my friend Jonathan with a puffy eye.
A "pass" allowing me to enter an old friend's younger brother's tree house.
A flyer for a quack quack/clone quartet/selah gig.
A receipt from the bookshop at NYU.
A picture of Steinbeck (in a book by Steinbeck).
A restaurant bill in French.
A restaurant bill in Spanish (from Argentina, I think).
A receipt for coffee, cigarettes and magazines from a newsagents in New York.
A random, unidentified phone number.
A ticket for the squid and the whale, which I went to with Tanya.
A post-it saying "Please file these Barry, Bernie".
A letter which reads... Dear Teacher, Jenny was very sick this morning with severe stomach pains and vomiting. This is the reason she was a little late for school. Please allow Jenny to use the bathroom if she asks.

I genuinely can't wait to get the rest and start unpacking them.

Just hangin'

2009-05-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here's me and my main man T just hangin' outside the Flight of the Conchords show at Radio City Music Hall.

If you look closely, I think he's saying... "Help! There's a freak with a furry hood grinning manically right beside me!"

Deerhunter. The Black Box, Belfast.

2009-05-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

The leap in quality Deerhunter achieved between cryptograms and micrecastle was nothing short of massive. Where before there was a density that verged on impenetrable there is now a lightness which draws the listener in and leaves them craving the next pop hook and wave of noise.

The last time I saw them play (in Vicar St, Dublin) was also a less than satisfying show. Main man, Bradford Cox looked troubled. His often talked about mixture of illness and insecurity was the main player and overshadowed a band which seemed intent on staying in the shadows, allowing the discomfort levels to rise. Hard to listen to and disturbingly hard to watch.

A year later and with a stunning new record to promote, this is a very different band. The four players seem relaxed and drawing from the energy of an enthusiastic crowd they play a blinder. The upbeat set is filled with highlights and even a couple of potential hits. And whereas the sound in Dublin swirled around and up in to the ceiling to be lost on everyone but the most committed listener, tonight the sound was direct, focused and thrillingly, unashamedly POP!

Before the show I had intended to visit Belfast's stunning new Mexican eatery, Boojum. Time defeated me though and dinner took a somewhat more disturbing direction. See above for evidence of Quorn "chicken style" burger with two slices of pan bread and a dollop of mayo.

You know... It was perfectly pleasant!

Reflections on some revolutions through veggie burgers.

2009-05-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Apologies to Edmund Burke for the title of the post but we all know that if there's one thing the French, Argentines and Irish have in common it's a taste for protest and rebellion.

But do they have a taste for veggie burgers... Not so much!

The photos relate to Bio Solo Organico in Humbolt, Buenos Aries, Le Potager du Marias, Paris and a stinking van in a stinking field, Oxygen festival, Ireland.

Isn't it strange how the French and Argentine veggie burger are so similar? They've taken the cheese slice to its illogical extreme and liquefied it! Both restaurants were great places with totally veggie menus in nice parts of town. I just wouldn't necessarily go for the veggie burger again.

Isn't it strange how my mouth looks like it's going to fit round a burger of such proportion? Not really if you know me.

Take care everyone.

What's that noise?

2009-05-20T04:05:00.000-07:00

Anyone for Deerhunter in Belfast tomorrow night or off to Primavera next week for My Bloody Valentine or ever considering going to a gig in the Menagerie?

You might want to take some advice from Jack Straw and Peter Stringfellow!

More Politics

2009-05-20T03:24:00.000-07:00

OK,
I promise there will be (to mis-quote the talking heads) more posts about burgers and rock in the very near future but some more political musings for now.
It seems that opinion is split into two camps regarding the resignation of Speaker Martin. There are those who believe the man is rotten to the core. Unable to effectively do his job, he stood in the way of progress and reform and did not represent the interests of the people in Parliament. Diametrically opposed, there are those who seem to believe his removal is a classist or even sectarian conspiracy conceived, brought to term and hatched through the couplings of the Daily Telegraph and the Tories.
There's a lot of talk about the elitist and out of touch culture of Parliament but really the whole incident is better understood by looking at the culture of Michael Martin the man. His background is infused with a set of values alien to many of his contemporaries in Parliament and to political commentators. Can we rally blame him for acting like a shop steward when that's the context in which he gained his political awakening and opportunities?
There is no precedent for the Speaker to represent the people (that's what MPs are supposed to do). Martin, it seems, was protecting the interests of those he felt he represented, namely the "commoners" who have been elected to Parliament.

It seems that at last week's Cabinet meeting the possibility of convening a full constitutional convention was raised. Great idea. More devolution, fixed terms for parliament, a fully elected second chamber, changes to the electoral system and (of course) more transparency would all make democracy stronger and would encourage people to engage with politics when it is issues rather than people who are hitting the headlines.

Finally, now seems like a good time to reassess the resignation of Elizabeth Filkin. While it didn't have the same constitutional significance as recent events, it could be interpreted as much more damaging to the value of Parliament. Would the current scandal have even arose if she was allowed to do her job properly?

Speaker Martin

2009-05-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Very swift update.

The Michael Martin affair has become really interesting. I think the constitutional significance of the actual resignation is being over played. Again, there are more significant constitutional issues which haven't been addressed properly since New Labour came to power. Obviously, I'm primarily thinking of the second chamber. But in the drama vacuum left by Martin's simple and dignified resignation lots of political commentators are trying to fill it with bizarre hyperbole.

General election? Probably a good idea. But there's a real danger of some crazy celebocracy arising. I mean, Esther bloody Rantzen!

Ch, ch, changes!!!

2009-05-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
It's been over a year since my last post. I'm pretty sure I'm writing to no one by now. But, I guess, that puts me in the same category as 99% of all blogs. But why do people write blogs? I feel I mostly did it to document a very happy time in my life. Things were so good I wanted to express it in an almost tangible way. Something that people could see and I could look back on.
A lot has changed in the past year. I live back in Belfast. I am, once again, a teacher of Politics and Sociology. And I'm not as happy as I was.
I have potential posts stored in my memory from Argentina, Paris, Brussels and, of course, Ireland. None of those burgers were particularly good but some of the places were cool and had pretty substantive veggie menus.
Politics is depressing me a little at the minute. I don't like that people only want to talk to the Politics teacher in school when gossip, rumour and scandal are at the front of people's minds. There are more important issues and they still need dealt with. Obama has been underwhelming but the ideological battle brewing in France is intriguing with the NPA getting some headlines. I do like a bit of an old fashioned left-right struggle. I'm getting a lot of good US news from the NPR website. Highly recommended.
I've seen some great bands recently. Health made an incredible noise as did Mi Ami. Morrissey was too rock but played some great tunes. Jeffrey Lewis was funny and touching but almost overshadowed by the support, Peter Broderick. And something else... When I was a kid I saw Nirvana play a few times. The best of these was in the King's Hall in Belfast. That night the two support bands were the breeders and teenage fanclub. Sixteen years later I saw both these bands within a fortnight of each other. Teenage fanclub remain lovely. I could have sung along all night. Not really an important band but a delight to see. The breeders are important. Each one of their four albums is filled with ideas, experimentation, challenges and sweet, sweet, pop hooks. Last night, in Dublin, they played songs from all these records with humour and charm and intensity and passion. First rate!
I'll be back on Friday. Thursday night brings deerhunter to Belfast for the first time and I'm gonna visit the very fine Mexican eatery, Boojum. I'll let you know how they both were.

The Bottle Tree (Birmingham, Alabama)

2008-05-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

We've been on the road for a little over a week now and I'm starting to get a sense of just how varied this vast country is. After a brief stop in Bloomington, Indiana to visit friends and a couple of days in Nashville (yes, we do go to the Grand Ole Opry and yes, it is bonkers and genius all at once) we find ourselves in Birmingham to take in some history.

Through some careful research, Bobs has hunted down a veggie friendly place called The Bottle Tree and the night we're due to be in town tapes n tapes are playing. We figure this could be a great night out so we plan to find the venue, get some food, find a hotel and head back for the show.

And then my heart sinks. I know I'm not an authority and I'm aware I'm making this judgement based on a 30 minute drive but Birmingham seems to be a city in bits. As we drive through the town to find the venue, the scale of poverty is something I've never witnessed in a European city. And, of course, the people in the most run down areas are exclusively black. The next day we visit the Civil Rights Institute and it's an awe inspiring place filled with stories of dignity, strength and the potential for humans to display sheer guts and fight for freedom in the face of tyranny. But why have the people of Birmingham not been liberated from this crushing poverty?

Eventually, we find the venue and it is a great little place. Nice selection of veggie food, good range of board games to waste time on, a cool indie band sound checking in the next room and a great little patio where the Birmingham hipsters seem to have congregated. Something's not quite right though and it's blindingly obvious what it is. The guy working the bar and taking our order is deeply unpleasant. Nothing manifest, just his attitude and manner. This guy really stinks. His conversation is fouled by constant expletives of the most offensive type and the overall vibe he gives off is that of a jock trapped in a tattooed punker's body.

The veggie burger is really poor also. It's a black bean burger but seems to taste of very little. The salad has seen better days, the bun is inoffensively bland and the presentation is shockingly bad.

Our quest for a nearby hotel fails and we end up in a budget motel a fair bit away. It's depressing as hell. We skip the show and vow to get up and do good stuff the next day. We do. And my faith in humanity is restored.

The Flying Saucer (Humboldt Park, Chicago)

2008-05-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

I have taken leave of New York and embarked on my very first road trip. First stop is Chicago where, in a couple of days time, I'm renting a car and driving just over 1000 miles South to New Orleans.

Chicago, like DC, is another of those places that I feel I know. Popular culture has filled my mind with images of the city, from its skyline and excesses to its ghettos and social problems, you don't have to cast your gaze too far to catch a glimpse of this city. I also have a feel for the place as I was a long time subscriber to the excellent Punk Planet magazine. What started as a magazine documenting and commenting on the, mainly American, punk rock scene, Punk Planet seemed to grow up with me and its focus moved to include left field political groups and issues. Essentially, it was a space for important, oppositional voices which could not find or maybe did not want, inclusion in mainstream media.

Punk Planet was awesome and I looked forward to it each month. It has now fallen victim of the decline in independent media and I miss it. Not exactly a tragedy but a huge disappointment,

Talking of disappointments, I'm pretty fired up to try my first veggie burger on the road. When we get to Chicago our amazing hosts have a huge pile of Time Outs and it doesn't take too long to find a recommendation for the number 1 veggie burger in Chicago. So, we trot off to Humblodt Park and find the Flying Saucer. It seems to be in a fairly desolate part of town and finding it is no easy task. But find it we do and as we step in we instantly feel at home. This place feels like a very cool East Village diner. The decor is nice, the girl serving has the requisite asymmetrical haircut and the boys have the fashion beards of choice. Foals (seriously, they were playing down the road) are at the table next to us and they don't look out of place.

We get the menu and my heart sinks. It's the weekend. It's brunch. There's no veggie burger. But as the old song says, "you've got to accentuate the positive" and I notice they have a veggie version of something I thought I'd never get to taste... Biscuits and gravy! And it's pretty good. I've nothing to judge it against so I won't pretend it's the greatest meal ever and it does feel like it's doing my dietary system no favours at all. But it was really tasty and well priced for a whole heap of food.

I liked Chicago. We did some obvious tourist stuff but, never having been there before, I felt that was important. And it's good to be out of New York to see how the rest of this vast and varied country gets along. Next stop the airport to hire the car and South to Bloomington, Indiana.

7A (East Village/Alphabet City)

2008-04-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

"This used to be the grandest part of town.

Now it's all scuffed up, subsiding into the ground"

Faded Glamour by Animals that swim is as close to the perfect pop song as anything I've ever heard. Its description of a place once buzzing with life is quintessentially English so it's strange that it rings through my head as I step onto the boardwalk at Coney Island.

I love this place. Nothing about it appears organised or uniform. There seems to be nothing plane or plumb. But you can feel the romance in every loose board of wood and the charm in every rusted rail. The smells are almost tangible. The sea air, the fried food and the grease from the fairground combine to summon up memories of youth. I feel very alive here with a heightened sense of past and future.

Coney Island has slipped from being the place to be to being an antiquated curiosity. One frequently threatened by the destructive impulses of progress and homogenisation.

Alphabet City in Manhattan has gone the other way. Once spoken of as a no-go area for tourists, gentrification has been good to this place and, sitting on the terrace outside 7A, it feels like it's populated by a microcosm of all the different strains of cool the world has to offer.

When the sun shines, 7A (on the corner of... Oh, I don't need to tell you) is a beautiful spot to sit and engage in some people watching. It's Friday night and we're getting some sustenance for the night ahead. My burger fulfills this roll amply. There's a great "meaty" patty that comes with awesome sauteed mushrooms and lettuce and tomato. I choose to add monterey jack cheese and ask them to hold the cress (I've nothing against the flavour but I can't abide the texture). It really is stunning. There's a lot going on in there but it's all good and results in a heck of a satisfying burger. Across from me Bobs, looking stunning in her new wayfarers, has cheese and spinach ravioli and gives it a huge thumbs-up. We have a couple of beers and some red wine and it all comes to around 50 bucks with tip. Good times!

Oh, I'm still exclusively listening to music released by Matador records in the mid to late nineties. I'm currently becoming dangerously obsessed with the mighty Chavez.

Shake Shack (Madison Square Park)

2008-04-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

There are certain days where New York seems like a truly magical place.

It's the hottest day of the year, my two day hangover has gone, Bobs is back in town after a brief spell in Ireland and we have nothing to do but walk around, sit about and soak it all up.

Madison Square Park rests in the shadows of the Flatiron building and despite the proximity to really busy parts of the city, this little Square is a casual, relaxed space. In one corner of the Square, partially obscured by the branches of enclosing trees, sits The Shake Shack. You just know it's gonna be good as the line is at least 50 people long and it does take us a good half hour from deciding to queue to taking our first bite. Wow! That first bite is something else. Unlike any other veggie burger I've had before, this is a deep fried treasure of portobello mushroom and melted muenster and cheddar cheese. The flavours are not subtle and the pleasure is far from guilt free but these are the thoughts furthest from my mind as I consider another 30 minute wait for another one.

But I'm convinced that one is enough and we continue our day filled with lots of little, unplanned adventures.

Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop (Lower East Side)

2008-04-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

As a rule I tend not to enjoy cultural products that win awards. The records I listen to don't win Grammys, the books I read don't pick up Booker awards and the movies I enjoy certainly don't win Oscars (I make an exception for No Country for Old Men but I maintain that that's because it was so faithful to the novel rather than as a result of anything The Coens added to it).

The Big Mack Daddy burger at Tiny's, on the corner of Norfolk and Rivington is frequently referred to as one of the best in the city and has been voted the very best on at least one occasion.

It's literally round the corner from us so we call in the order and dander round to collect it a little later. The sandwich is really nicely packaged and is such a good size that it makes sense that it's cut in to two halves. But there's something not quite right about it. On paper it should be great. A soft brioche bun, a generous patty and all the good stuff like lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. Then it hits me. It's the special sauce. Heavy on the mustard, it's overpowering on the bites overflowing with it and somehow bland on the bites where it's absent.

You know, it's not bad. It just needs a little balance. And I'm a fair guy. I should tell you their grilled cheese sandwich is amazing and Bobs is a huge fan of the crab cake sandwich.

Later that night I head down to The Bowery Ballroom for Nina Nastasia and Jim White. I love Nina's song writing. It's a bleak, desolate sound and her voice, Southern and affecting, has the ability to drag long hidden emotions out of the listener. Combine this with Jim's drumming (if you haven't seen him play live do it the first chance you get) and the show becomes a low key spectacular.

I should also mention that I recently picked up a second hand copy of the soundtrack to the movie Half-Cocked. Featuring Rodan, Unwound, Versus, Slant 6 and Helium among others, I'm reminded that music has never been better that it was in 1995.

Union Hall (Park Slope)

2008-03-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday and I haven't had a veggie burger since Sunday. But the post-DC health kick is over and I'm ready to return to my righteous path. My friends from Belfast, a killer pop duo called Oppenheimer, are in town for a show at Union Hall and a quick look at their web-site (www.unionhall.ny.com) tells me they have a veggie burger on the menu. Seems like I can kill two birds with the one stone.

Union Hall is a great bar situated on Union Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I get the F from the Lower East Side to 4th Avenue and walk North noticing the contrast between the fairly desolate and grim 4th Avenue and the fashionable 5th. Union Hall certainly has more in common with the cool end of things. The feel of the place is like an old sitting room with antique furniture, low tables and even the odd chaise longe. However, toward the back of the room there's a couple of bocce courts (no, me neither but it's kinda like bowls - the European not the American variety) which people seem to be enjoying but doesn't really look like a lot of fun.

When my burger arrives I have a realisation. This isn't the end of my health kick. This thing not only tastes good but it seems to be made from really healthy ingredients. The patty is formed from fresh roast vegetables, there's no cheese in sight and the fries are the sweet potato variety which just seem to have a little more goodness about them. It also has a nice unique flavour thanks to some chipotle aioli smeared on a sesame bun. Good stuff all round, my only complaint being that the bar is pretty crowded and I have to eat my food off my lap.

Then it's downstairs where the cheap cans of PBR which accompany the rock show really do put an end to the health kick. The oppenheimers are on top form. Traveling the length and breadth of the US with They Might Be Giants has transformed them from a polite indie-pop band into a much edgier entity. The guitars growl as well as fizz and the drums are hit harder than ever before. That said, Shaun's vocals and Rocky's synth lines ensure the audience never has to listen too hard or wait too long for the next pop thrill.

A damn fine burger and a damn fine night out, as Special Agent Dale Cooper might say.

The Reef (Washington DC)

2008-03-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Before last weekend I had never been to DC but I feel like I've spent a lot of time there in my head. My main job is a high school teacher specialising in Politics so I've explained to classes about the roles and functions of the different branches of the US political system. I've talked at great length about how the Legislators in Capitol Hill sit at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue and keep a literal and metaphorical watch on the Executive just down the road in The White House (with the Supreme Court peeping in from behind to make sure everyone's playing fair in the complex game of checks and balances). But I'd never seen it for myself.

I also have a lot of time and respect for the punk rock scene in DC. Primarily revolving around the Dischord record label, it seems that this small city produces a disproportionately large number of incredible bands. And all done in a way which deviates from the norms of contemporary corporate behaviour and guarantees the artists full control over their music.

Whether you believe this is the seat of the greatest democracy in the world or the home of a quasi-fascist state which, as Cheney as much as admitted with his "so?" comment, amounts to little more than an elected dictatorship where the citizens can only influence public policy every four years, this is an awesome town to visit. The buildings and monuments are stunning, the nightlife seems great and the whole feel of the city is just relaxed and friendly.

I visited The Reef (www.thereefdc.com) on 18th Street in the Adams-Morgan district for Sunday brunch and instantly fell in love with the place. We got a seat at the bar as a friend we were in town to visit is a regular and I can see why this would become some sort of secular, church-like, sunday morning experience. The bar staff have names and personalities and really know how to treat the customers. The place itself has so much character. We were sitting on a heated and mostly covered rooftop where there was very little uniformity but an abundance of charm. The place seems to operate in a cool manner too, for instance there's a discount if you live in the local area. And the burger..?

They have a choice of a straight ahead veggie burger or a vegan burger. I got the latter but opted to get blue cheese with it. It was a super tasty nut-cutlet type burger with just the right amount of cheese (too much of that blue stuff could over-power everything else), some lightly fried onions, quality lettuce and tomato and a superior bun. Served with perfectly seasoned fries, this truly was the brunch of champions. Our coffee was fresh and topped up regularly and as we were on a rooftop on the sunniest day of the year so far we got a couple of mimosas. Awesome food, good company and quite simply a magical way to kick start a sunday afternoon!

A must-do if you're in the area!

Other DC shout outs!

I got to see Rick from drive like jehu and hot snakes' new band. They're called obits and, although there's something a little more classic rock going on, they still know how to kick up a storm. And that voice! Wow!

I visited an incredible, independent record store. Crooked Beat (www.crookedbeat.com) is actually just down the road from The Reef and they have great stock, an amazing selection of music from the local DC area and, most importantly, the guy behind the counter was very friendly and chatted about a bunch of stuff.

Finally, I did go to another great veggie restaurant called Vegetate (www.vegetatedc.com) on 9th Street NW. This was a little more up market so no veggie burger on the menu but my risotto with cashew cream and truffle oil was pretty great.

Seriously, if you get the chance, go visit DC and while you're there go to The Reef and call into Crooked Beat. But don't forget about the obvious stuff. It's pretty cool too.

Zen Burger

2008-03-20T10:50:00.001-07:00

If you want to get a good analysis of contemporary culture you can do a lot worse than start with the writing of George Ritzer. Ritzer, best known for "The McDonaldization of Society", is greatly influenced by the 19th Century sociologist Max Weber. Weber predicted that much of what was seen as progress would actually lead us into a future where we might live constrained by an "iron cage of rationality". Essentially, he felt bureaucratic organisation and rational thinking would replace magic, freedom and creativity.

Ritzer suggests that this is most obviously played out in a McDonald's restaurant. However, he suggests that this style of business and interaction is becoming more and more evident in other social settings. Ultimately (best documented in his "The Globalization of Nothing") he suggests our lives are increasingly characterised by non-interactions with non-people in non-places. Scary stuff!

It's with this in mind that I hop on the F train up town and visit Zen Burger on 45th and Lex. Zen Burger has aspirations of being a chain like Mcdonald's. Although there are currently only two (the other being in California) their website has information for anyone who might be interested in becoming a franchisee. It certainly looks and feels like a McDonald's with its garish colours and row of workers willing to "take your order" but as soon as I walk in I kinda like it. I remember that, as a kid, this sort of thing was a treat. I was in my early teens when my home town of Belfast got its first McDonald's and it felt special and exotic.

Of course, as I got older and ideological objections got in the way I, like everyone else I knew, began to hate it. The only McDonald's I've been to in the last ten years is in Athlone, as it has a bathroom and is about midway on the drive from Dublin to Galway.

But I feel OK in Zen. The workers seem a little happier and everything seems "right on".

So the food? I got the basic "beef" burger but the range of options is awesome. Pick an animal? Zen has the fake equivalent of it. The patty does seem kinda cheap but this is fast food and at $7 for a meal you can't be too choosy. The bun is whole meal, the vegetables are fresh and the fries are... Well exactly like those in McDonald's which everyone loves but us vegetarians have heard too many horror stories about to try.

All in all, this is what it is. Fast food. But it is all veggie, seems to have a social conscience and is really good value for a quick bite on the hop.

Post-burger I'm joined by Bobs for two very different musical experiences. We start our evening in the basement of Bloomingdales with free apple martinis (good) and the virgins (getting better) and then move on to Webster Hall for The Gutter Twins...

Random Gutter Twins lyric generator... Darkness. Baby. Yeah. Drowning. Baby. Soul. Fire. Woman. Evil. Satan. Baby...

C'mon boys, this feels like an act. You're grown men! Enough with the sinister act. Even Nick Cave's lightened up a bit and he invented this schtik. The music is frequently incredible but it's just hard to take the chuckle brothers seriously. Ho hum.

The Pink Pony

2008-03-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last night was pretty tough. I was feeling a little delicate as my friends from back home, ash, were in town the night before and drinks were taken. Bobs too wasn't in top form as she's recovering from a nasty flu.

Neither of us was in the mood for cooking so eating out was the only solution.

Staying local, as it looked like rain, we went to The Pink Pony on Ludlow Street. My friend Jeff once commented that this was his favourite street in the world and there is a stack of cool places on it.

It worked out well for Bobs and me as I got to look at some vintage guitars and she got to check out some kinda pricey clothes in Shop on Stanton on the way there.

I like The Pink Pony. It was the first place Bobs took me when I visited her for the first time last year and their veggie burger is a winner. The burger itself is fine but it's what comes with it that makes it a treat. A really fresh bun, really crunchy lettuce and onion and a choice of 4 cheeses. I went for Swiss (why would you have brie on a burger?) and there was plenty of it.

The burger comes with a choice of shoestring fries or home fries. I chose the latter but due to a mix-up got both. The shoestrings are a little bizarre. It's a bit like the chef has put some air in the fryer. There is no potato whatsoever. The home fries are great though. They're more like a boiled potato that's been quickly introduced to the pan to get some crunch and seasoning.

Bobs wanted protein so got the salmon. It was served on a bed of risotto with a red wine sauce which I had a nibble off and certainly was good.

The price was pretty good. Less than 10 bucks for the burger which is great as it feels more like a restaurant than a cafe. So, we headed home, hunger satiated and my hangover gone.

That night we watched Out-foxed... Not so good.

Welcome

2008-03-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is the first post on my first blog. Forgive me while I get to grips with the technology. It will get better over time as I learn to add links, upload photos and do other things to fancy it up a little.

The subject is veggie burgers. I've been in New York a lot over the last year and have had a lot of good veggie burgers and some which have not reached the standard.

I am not a food critic. My knowledge is limited. I couldn't really tell you the difference between TVP and Quorn but I know veggie burgers and I know a good one when I have it.

I will be in New York for the next month and I'm gonna make it my business to eat as many veggie burgers as possible. Then the veggieblogger will be on tour. Heading South, my main objective is to visit the Faulkner House but there will be opportunities to sample some burgers along the way. Then there's talk of Argentina and maybe Brazil. I predict, although I may be wrong, that the job of the veggieblogger will become more difficult as the trip proceeds.

My companion throughout all this and my reason for being in New York is my girlfriend Bobs. She too knows a good burger but has sometimes been known to go for the meat variety.