Man. I hate to start this post on a bit of a downer, but 2009 has certainly sucked a great deal. Between losing jobs, dad, and feeling like crapola physically I'm happy to say that putting this decade to bed is a blessing and serving to help me get my butt in gear for a fortuitous year of growth in 2010.
I'm not a fan of "top ten" lists (especially when they start coming out in October/November. Hello? Year ain't done yet, turkeys) but there were some stand out moments/activities in '09 that'd I'd like to give the Christmas baby stamp of approval. Without further ado:
BEST NEW MUSIC FIND(s)-
(I dig on a lot of stuff I hear on the current, but these tunes are catchy and get stuck on ear worm more than I care to count)
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes "Home"
Gnarls Barkley "Going on"
(Runner up- Metric)
BEST THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS-
"Caroline, or Change"
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
"Beauty and the Beast"
(Runner up- "Hedda Gabler". Think I'm biased? Shup. It was good)
BEST FILM-
"Precious" Hands down, arguably the most affecting movie I saw in 2009.
"Star Trek" (Smart. Smart as hell re-imagining)
(Runner up- "Inglorious Basterds". Affecting, albeit in a completely different way. Oof)
BEST TV SHOWS-
(I'm hamstringing myself here since I don't watch much by way of network TV. I deplore reality shows, and the acronyms that have taken place of titles. "HIMYM"? "SYTYCD"? Dumb. These shows have been out for a minute, and make for great Netflixing nights off)
"Big Love"
"Carnivale"
BEST BOOK-
(While I'm not the book-o-phile Moda is I made a dent in a few choice reads this year. Again, they're a little old but I stand by my assertion that they make damn fine reads)
"The Time Travelers Wife"
"The Year of Living Biblically"
"The Graveyard Book"
BEST NEW RESTAURANT-
(We eat out, doi. And this finding was kind of tough to rate since many of the places we've tried tend to be established restaurans, or "bullet points" that we like to patronize. And since we mostly went to the tried and true joints, I'm feeling forced to post a doofy critique on the newest food venture)
Il Gatto. It ain't Figlio, I won't lie. Figlio is almost less a restaurant and more an institution, and when they announced the closure my reaction was more emotional than anything. And honestly I think that's the mark of a good restaurant. I can recall almost every single one of my visits going back 15-odd years. What has taken its place is a fairly respectable restaurant with a menu that has enough choices to cater to folks like myself who miss the Figlio of old and enough new choices to make it the newest hotspot for Uptown patrons. And while we weren't floored by the experience (too loud, too cramped, and a seafood dish for me that, unfortunately...was a little too brine-y) it was good enough to make me recommend it to friends.
(Runner up- Zeno. This was a one-time deal. We heard that they were having a "one-weekend" special to help drum up interest in their new expanded sushi menu and we capitalized on it. It. Was. Glorious. I can't imagine what the prices will be like since it ended, but for how inexpensive and unbelievably delicious our sushi was I can only give it a thumbs up)
2 comments:
I think you need to put Mayer Hawthorne on that music list. And was Il Gatto really the best new restaurant we tried this year? Sadness. I think I'd vote for the NE Social Club. But there are many we really need to try in 2010: La Grassa, 112 Eatery, Duplex, Mt. Fuji...off the top of my noggin.
Good choices, Mikey!
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