Juliette Gréco

There's nothing better on a rainy day than listening to depressing music, drinking wine and cooking. While Juliette Gréco may not be one of France's most recognizable voices, she certainly had one of the best ones around. Coin de Rue was written by Charles Trenet and in my mind, is one of Gréco's best pieces of work.



Here's a great shot of Gréco and Gainsbourg with ?

James Pants

James Pants is from Spokane Washington. Check out his extremely cheesy video for Thin Moon.



Pants' new EP New Tropical drops today. For more info, click here.

Rites of Spring - Brooklyn

If you're lucky enough to be in New York on May 2 be sure to check out what sounds like something a bit surreal. I'm sure this party will be absolutely nuts and impossible to get into.

Sally Shapiro

Here's Sweden's Sally Shapiro. I don't usually like italo-disco so much but this is a pretty catchy tune released in 2007. Check it out:

Official website here: Sally Shapiro

REVIEW: Kenzo Ramen Toronto

Kenzo is a ramen restaurant making up just a handful of ramen shops in Toronto. Why there are so few places to chow down on this delicious Japanese specialty beats me.

I've had authentic ramen in Japan and NYC and while Kenzo Ramen is pretty good, it's by no means authentic and pales in comparison to its compatriots elsewhere. The noodles are however made in house, as are the broths.

I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen, a pork-based broth served with the usual accoutrements: char siu (in this case, really tender pork with just the right amount of fat), beni shoga (pickled ginger), kamaboko (the pinky-swirly fish cake) and tamago (egg cooked in soy and pork stock). The dish was quite good and the stock was done perfectly, somewhat opaque (as Tonkotsu ramen should be), with some decorous fat globules popping up here and there as I kept eating my way closer to the end of my bowl of Japanese treasures.

While the meal itself was quite yummy and exciting in comparison to the usual fare at Japanese restaurants, you'll probably leave feeling like you don't need to come back in a big hurry.

Kenzo Ramen serves up ramen and other Japanese goodies such as gyoza, okonomiyaki and takoyaki.

Kenzo Ramen is located at 138 Dundas Street West @ Elizabeth Street.
Visit them here: Kenzo Ramen

Sometimes things just aren't what they seem to be....

They say you can't really get a decent Pinot under $20 and while I like to march to the beat of my own drum, I'm starting to believe this principle based on my recent pinot purchases in the last few months.

Seifried Estates 2008 Pinot Noir from New Zealand was released on April 3, 2010 and while it won a Silver Medal for Pinot Noir at the 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition, and earned a full page spread on the back of the most recent LCBO vintages magazine, I think it falls a bit flat of what's expected. Although wine reviewers have scored this quite high, it tastes a bit "washed out" and thin on the palate and doesn't really sparkle or tantalize the tastebuds.

Here's Canada's master sommelier John Szabo's review:
Here's a nicely mature (even though it's an '08) pinot from little known Nelson next door to Marlborough. The nose has pleasantly ripe and smoky red berry and red plum fruit, while the palate offers a fullish, succulent, silky texture, above average flavour intensity and quite long finish. This punches well above its price point. (90)

Seifried Estates 2008 Pinot Noir is available at select LCBOs for a limited time for $19.95.

Jonté Moaning

Jonté Moaning is a classically trained dancer, choreographer, and singer extraordinaire based in NYC and Hiroshima. Originally from Portland, he got his big break when chosen to perform with Janet Jackson at her infamous superbowl fiasco in 2004. Since then, he's garnered attention from the likes of Beyoncé and has choreographed some of her videos and her last world tour.

Jonté's new album drops in Japan only in Spring 2010 but in the meantime, check him out here: http://www.myspace.com/jonteonline


Bitch you Betta!