Hello, my friend!
Friends, mostly we meet them in school, work, or through other friends. But one of my dearest friends, Georges, I met sweaty at 3 a.m. in a Manhattan nightclub, The Supper Club, in 1993.
↓ In today’s email:
- This week’s inspiration: Letters to & from Georges
- Latest blog post: It’s sauna time!
- What I watched this week: Tony (and a little Kitchen Confidential)
This Week’s Inspiration: Letters to & from Georges
(Unbeknownst to me, Anthony Bourdain was cooking in the kitchen, so a little foreshadowing of What I Watched This Week. Stay tuned!)
In the club, my own friend was lurking in the shadows, sticking her tongue down the throat of a man with seemingly few teeth. Alarming. As the club was closing, she was nowhere to be found, and I started to FREAK because I had nowhere else to sleep.
Georges, a complete stranger, said, “Don’t worry, you can come home with me. I won’t touch you.” Right before I had to consider that option, she emerged. I was annoyed AF, but said goodnight to Georges.
Two years later, I bumped into him at BOB, a bar on the Lower East Side. This time, we had friends in common. He had courtside seats to the Knicks, and we hung out a lot.
Three-plus decades hence, we’re still friends.
We correspond by music, keeping the conversations from plunging off the road…
Music is the perfect medium for us, in part because I’m likely to learn something. Georges has been in the industry for a long time, even early at Def Jam Records.
Now, several times a week, we fling titles back and forth, tracking our vibe. Based on yesterday’s Cardi B track, I think he’s horny and needs money. Unsure. 🤷🏻♀
Perhaps I’ll retort with Mariah the Scientist. Earlier in the week, it was “Fool in the Rain” by Led Zeppelin for the nor’easter.
I’m glad our conversations can continue.
Here are some recent tracks. Enjoy!
(Please be aware of adult language.)
Latest Blog Post
Sauna & Cold Plunge: Your Nervous System’s Reset Ritual
In the vein of things to enjoy, it’s sauna time!
Some people have standing dates with their manicurists. But living by the ocean, when it’s cold, a standing date with a beachside sauna is a great idea. And NO ONE is better than the owner and steward of @altaersauna, Kayla, full of excitement and fiery blue eyes.
For unpacking a week’s tension with friends, then flocking to the ocean to cool off.
The post walks through the heat, ocean dip, and rest between rounds, with safety considerations and an at-home version using a hot bath or shower and a cool rinse.
So with that feeling, I’m reposting. Enjoy! :))
What I Watched This Week
Tony
Tony takes place in P-town in the summer of 1975, when a 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain, a headstrong and eventually drug-addicted burgeoning chef, finds his way in a small seafood kitchen. Dominic Sessa plays Bourdain. You can watch the weather change on his face second by second.
(He was also a delight in The Holdovers, opposite Paul Giamatti, as a boarding school student left on campus by parents who couldn’t bother picking him up. Like Tony, it’s also a period piece of the '70s.)
As Bourdain, Sessa is feral.
After the movie, I couldn’t help but dip into Kitchen Confidential. When it came out in 2000, I knew of it, but it had no bearing on my life. I hadn’t yet met my husband, former chef and restaurateur Seth Price.
Listening to Kitchen Confidential this week has been riotous, making the least prudish person on the planet blush. It’s an homage to food, coke, amphetamines, psilocybin and LSD, and, of course, heroin.
The most remarkable part? The newer audiobook edition opens with an introduction read by Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting. It may be the best introduction to any book I’ve ever heard.
As for Dominic Sessa, I’m thrilled he’s only 23. Many decades of his work still to come.
Tony → · Kitchen Confidential audiobook →
To book an appointment, check out my site drcatherine.com.
On that note, wishing you a great week. Let’s talk soon, like next Sunday :))
xxooxoxo C
Photograph by Sasha Israel.