Beef, BBQ, Battlestar Galactica
I've never actually watched Battlestar Galactica, I'm sorry
Does anyone else’s calendar absolutely fill the fuck up once May starts? It’s by no means a bad thing, but it always takes me by surprise as I’m forced to crawl out of my winter chrysalis & pop out into the world of social interactions. I’m also currently in the midst of a wardrobe crisis because everything I own is 1) a sweater and 2) pants, neither of which are ideal for warmer weather. Millennials, where are we shopping, what type of pants are short people wearing, how high up should my pants go? My ideal wardrobe is amorphous urban witch with comfortable shoes - help a homie out.
1. Noshing 😋
Mom asked for BBQ for Mothers’ Day, so mom got BBQ. Hometown BBQ in Brooklyn is consistently rated as the best BBQ in NYC & I haven’t found anywhere better (Fette Sau might be a close second, though I haven’t been in a while & need to revisit).
Here’s a little not-so-secret secret - Hometown has an outpost in Industry City. Yep, Industry City, that weird cluster of warehouses in Sunset Park that contains businesses operating at random hours in a maze of rooms that feels like another world. Some might say the allure of the Red Hook Hometown is the anticipation you feel while waiting in the long winding line, but I say ain’t nobody got time for that. The Industry City location is fairly small, but on a beautiful day there’s ample seating in the nearby courtyard.
Hometown’s brisket is everything - not too fatty but still juicy, yummy crust, & a sprinkle of flaky salt. The pulled pork was fine, but it couldn’t hold a candle to the brisket. We also got the jerk rib tips (not pictured) & they were fantastic - slightly caramelized with great seasoning. For sides, the beans & collared greens are my favorite, but I couldn’t convince anyone to share the greens with me so we got slaw & potato salad (which is more like mashed potatoes here). And let’s not forget about the corn bread - she’s thicc, buttery, & also adorned with a sprinkle of salt.
2. Watching 👀
Everyone has been telling me to watch Beef & I finally finished it & loved it! Beef started out very slow for me. 2-3 episodes in I was almost ready to give up but ooh boy, it’s a wild ride from there. Spoilers if you haven’t watched it yet…
On its surface, Beef is about anger spiraling out of control, but the major themes for me were repression & the need to keep reaching for that proverbial “American Dream” that’s always somehow just over the horizon. Danny & Amy were taught that outward successes are everything & it’s important to keep up appearances. This presents in Amy’s marriage & Danny’s construction company - both were clearly wavering before the show began, but each is in denial & keeps ploughing ahead as though everything is fine. Part of the reason they keep pushing forward, despite their relationships crumbling around them, is to achieve that end goal of “success”. Amy needs people to see her marriage & her life as perfect in order to sell KoyoHaus to get that big payday & Danny needs his company to turn a profit so he can buy his parents a house & make them proud. Both think they’ll finally be able to relax once they reach these milestones, but they’ve been chasing these goals for so long that it’s just become a reflex at this point rather than something they actually desire. This is the story of them realizing that they won’t be happy once reaching those finish lines & maybe they’ll never be happy.
I thought Ali Wong’s acting in this was phenomenal; she mouth acted the shit out of this role. And David Yuen is always great - no notes. The last two episodes gave us some of the best interactions between these characters, especially when they were high on berries & their consciousnesses were intermingling. We learn that while Danny is driven, there are absolutely lines he will not cross, as demonstrated by how well he takes care of June after he accidentally kidnaps her. Amy, though, felt a bit more ruthless & unforgivable to me. Sure, she’s trying to protect her family, but very much at the expense of others’ safety. Also, someone gets chopped in half in a doorway, which is a daily fear of mine since watching I, Origins.
There are a lot of takeaways from this series. I strongly related to the realization that success, as traditionally defined by society at large, will not bring happiness. We’ve been conditioned to think that getting the college degree, marrying, having kids, buying the house, & climbing the corporate ladder are the steps to find success & ultimately, happiness. But I don’t fuckin buy it. I have been lucky enough to work with amazing bosses (hi if you’re reading this!) who challenged me & encouraged me to work outside of my comfort zone & I’m grateful for those experiences. But at some point, I reached the boundaries of my bubble & realized that I very content not going any farther (if you’re my current boss, you’re not reading this). It’s ok to stop pushing the envelope, or to not want to give 110% - I’ve simply reached my bandwidth when it comes to business jargon telling me I need to keep achieving. I’ve achieved enough - I’m good.
3. Exploring 🗺️
While at Industry City over the weekend, I suggested that we pop into the Museum of Failure (they had a Mothers’ Day coupon code!). The museum is a collection of objects accumulated by Dr. Samuel West, a licensed psychologist, that were all failures in one way or another. And I think that was my favorite part of the museum - failure could be defined in so many different ways. There were multiple objects that we didn’t consider to be a failure outright, but they were still labeled a failure because they didn’t achieve whatever they set out to do.
Blockbuster, for example, could be argued as a success. They provided movie & game rentals for 30 years pretty successfully, but they made a pointed mistake in not pivoting to digital & that ultimately caused their decline. Other failures were more clear cut. They showcased the infamous Atari ET game, Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos startup, Four Loko (which is back?), & the Delorean (the model without the flux capacitor).
I, however, was ecstatic to see Orbitz in the collection! This is a drink it seemed like only I remembered. I was seriously doubting if I imagined its existence altogether because whenever I described this little lava lamp of a beverage, I was met with puzzled looks. No one had heard of it or seen it, but now I have proof that it once existed! Orbitz was a Canadian product that only had a lifespan of about 3 years, but I distinctly remember my dad bringing some home (he was a truck driver & delivered lots of beverages around Long Island). I have no memory of what it tasted like, but the fun bottle & colorful orbs in the drink were all little 6 year old me cared about.
The Museum of Failure will be at Industry City through June 18. If you’re in the area & have some time to kill, it’s worth a look! Industry City itself is also much more of a destination than it used to be, which made me very happy.
4. Learning 🧠
Here’s another fun thing about Industry City - it’s where Captain America lives! Or more accurately, where a statue of him lives. When the MCU was only a few films deep, Captain America headlined his first Marvel movie & it was so much better than I had imagined. Captain America was always pretty square, but his movies have been surprise favorites of mine.
The statue was created by sculptor Dave Cortes to honor of Captain America’s 75th anniversary in 2o16. It traveled from San Diego Comic-Con to the Barclays Center & Prospect Park until eventually settling in the most random place possible - a weird mall near Industry City. The plan was always for the statue to live somewhere in Brooklyn following MCU Captain America’s reputation as “just a kid from Brooklyn”. However, comic Steve Rogers was always from Manhattan, growing up on the Lower East Side. Maybe the statue should live in Essex Market?
5. What’s Good 😎
Governor’s Island has a new hybrid electric ferry coming in 2024 & they’re asking the people to name it! Boaty McBoatface has apparently already been thrown in the hat as a possible name. Governor’s Island is on my list of places to visit as soon as I overcome my fear of boats.
I love when @ponpon.sensei’s tik toks pop up on my FYP! The way he teaches about the history of kanji is super interesting & I had no idea that most of them are derived from pictures of the actual objects. His most recent one about the kanji for island was very fun.
Philippines Fest has a couple cool events coming up! First, this Sunday May 21 is their street fair in Brooklyn, featuring handcrafted products, art, & food, as well as FilAm performers. On June 10 they’ll be partnering with Smorgasburg for Ube Fest with lots of delicious purple ube treats available. Ube Fest is for everyone except for my partner’s coworkers who voted my ube pie as last place in their Pi Day contest.
I’m still bitter about the Pi Day contest & I will get my revenge.
LAST place? No. No no no. Will brainstorm vengenance plans.
And there is something very *chef's kiss* about the Museum of Failure having a Mother's Day discount!