Food Review: Vertical Diner – January 2011

Set in the Meat Packing District a mile or so south of downtown, the Vertical Diner is a recycled space with a  comfortable retro-post-punk vibe and uncompromising vegan diner-style food. A large part of the success of this place, for me, is that it doesn’t feel preachy about its do-gooder agenda. Being vegan requires a  strict set of principles, but Vertical Diner doesn’t radiate any angry or groovy moral attitude. It’s like an artsy diner from the ‘80s in a big city like Kansas City or San Francisco. … read more

Princess Kennedy: Tranadu

How does one go about defining the glory that is Xanadu? It came out when I was about 10-years-old—a time in history when roller rinks replaced discothèques and leg warmers were the height of fashion. Xanadu captured the effects of Tron, the moves of Flash Dance and completely bastardized the late ‘70s punk scene of London with a soundtrack of Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees and ELO—cutting-edge electronic musicians at the time. … read more

Mike Brown: Hate Mail

Hate mail. I don’t get nearly enough of it. Unless you define hate mail as mail I hate getting—like parking ticket subpoenas or credit card bills. I don’t mind junk mail, although I’m not a junkie or coupon user, junk mail makes me feel special. Like I’m somebody. Out of all the people on the planet, this huge corporation took time out of their busy schedule to bombard me with shit I’m just going to throw away. … read more

Gallery Stroll – January 2011

Captain Captain artists posing together.

Community is very important to artists. It feeds their creativity, influences their subject matter and validates their work. The creative process can be daunting and lonely. Combine that with the cost of good ventilated space and you end up with a warehouse full of artists’ studios: separate spaces, but community living. One such place is Captain Captain. … read more

Beer Reviews – January 2011

Another year down, and the prospect of palate-pleasing beer is already rearing its foamy head. Last year saw the rise of strong beer thanks to loopholes in the shaky Utah legislature regarding the brew, and a surprising increase in the demand for craft beer. With December’s issue covering the top-rated brews of the year, this will be a peek of what’s to come and who to look out for. … read more