This post about my birthday party is long overdue, but it’s been a busy week, spent mostly away from the computer. Basically, Caleb, AJ, Mr. R and Marry-lu threw me the best fiesta I’ve ever had, besides the time my parents rented a limo and took me to the Phantom of the Opera.
I had so much fun that I only took a handful of pictures—and if you read this blog, you know I take pictures of absolutely everything, even when I’m just watching tv, even when I’m riding my bike, even in my dreams. Seriously, I’ve started having dreams of these fantastic, gilded landscapes, and the second they appear, I reach into my dreamworld pocket, and take out my dreamworld iPhone. My mind hasn’t yet perfected the way that such constructed scenes would appear mise en abyme, so unfortunately I can’t post any on this blog. Yet.
The party was held in Rabbit Hole Studios in Dumbo, which is owned by my friend Shawn. It’s a raw space that’s usually used either for photo shoots, or for gallery shows. Shawn also owns Rabbit Movers, which is basically the best moving company in all of Brooklyn, and you should hire them if you like your couches and things to be lifted by hot looking young hipster boys. Both of businesses were pretty damaged by Sandy—in Dumbo, the studios were flooded, and in Gowanus, where the moving company is based, Shawn lost four of his trucks to a mutant creature that rose out of the radioactive murk, and set fire to the parking lot. He also lost his boat. So if you hire him in the future, it’s almost like you’re volunteering.
The food was all cooked by Caitlin, who is Blara’s best friend from childhood. She did incredible things. One flatbread spread with butternut squash and topped with smoked mozarella. One flatbread with brussel sprouts and pancetta. Chipotle meatballs and a broccoli salad with a creamy Caesar dressing. As she says, she likes “bold flavors.” After my birthday, I do as well. I couldn’t have eaten better at a restaurant.
I can attest to Caitlin’s cooking skills on many platforms, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, let’s just say that Blara and I would go to her house after our family was done with our meal, and feast until we were sick. Both her mother and her father are amazing cooks, and they passed down their skills to Caitlin.
Caitlin is starting her own catering business. She can do parties. She can do birthday parties. She can do dinner parties. She is offering a service where she’ll come over to your house on a Sunday, and help you plan your meals for the week. Even what you’ll bring into the office for lunch. Caitlin is a spendthrift, and has a finance background, so she’ll also help you with your budget. I wish I wasn’t poor, so I could hire her every week.
You can read some of her recipes on her blog, Amour Fou(d). And if you’re interested in hiring her for an event, or to do the meal planning thing, or even just to hang out (she is fun times, and she tells a few mean jokes about mushrooms), you can email her here: [email protected]
And now, I must get back to the misery of answering emails.
