May I humbly present “the grid”
Chat... are listicles back?
I’m trying out a novel newsletter format, kind of a play on an idea I’ve had about organizing information rattling around in my head for quite sometime. Not quite the dreaded gift guide, nor a list of recommendations, just connections between things I’ve been doing, seeing, reading, eating, or otherwise bringing into my life, intentionally or otherwise. Everything is related, all the threads come together to weave the beautiful tapestry that is your life, etc.
I’m coming out of a lengthy period of overcorrection, in which the idea of curation, regardless of what was being curated, had such a foul odor to me. It’s a scent that made me physically ill, probably an unfortunate symptom of being in a profession where what you consumed and how you documented it was somehow auxiliary to your credibility — 2015 was weird! Lately, I’m feeling like the only thing worse than being perceived as a snob is being perceived as someone without opinions1, so I guess we’ve gone full circle. I could write 10000 words unpacking this topic, but some things are better left for therapists / people who have committed to loving me and my charming particularities.
In our current era of AI generated slop, algorithmically defined playlists, endlessly scrolling For You pages, I yearn for more of a human touch in our virtual spaces. For someone to tell me about what they’re enjoying without trying to sell me something or monetize their very existence (this is a very important nuance). I’ve come to appreciate that being discerning and how you choose to broadcast that taste are separate but related ventures. Judging or glorifying people for their “poor/good taste” (which is so very often an extension of their resources) is not the name of any game I will be playing, but… it’s also okay to be selective about what you bring into your life, something I feel a little bit more acutely as I’m trying to live in a less materially driven way than in days past. This is my long winded “I am not trying to be a cool guy” disclaimer, because I continue to harbor a general distrust of cool guys.
On to the grid: a 3x3 chart of things I’ve been thinking about mapped against the different domains they’ve crawled into. Boldly asking the question; what if a pointless listicle had two dimensions? A bit of a contortion, sure, but all of these things entered my life somewhat organically, or arrived after pulling a thread that made itself known.
On the x-axis, we have places I have been or will be in 2025, Portland, Mexico City, and Japan. I recognize that these are different scales (municipalities, country), and I’ve decided that is fine and I make the rules. My upcoming trip will encompass multiple cites — Tokyo, Kyoto, Onomichi, Mashiko, at the minimum — and differs from the other categories because it remains theoretical for the time being.
On the y-axis, we have: books, gardens and fish2, three evergreen things that seem to be permanent fixtures in my New Life.
On y va…
Portland x Fish
Every time I eat at Jacqueline I am more and more impressed. If the adorable mignonette eyedropper spread doesn’t win you over, the hamachi crudo with charred pineapple and mắm nêm absolutely will. They’re in a new larger space, and it’s a bit easier to get a primetime reservation now. Fun fact: this is where I’ve had my biggest (and only?) celebrity sighing in Portland — I would never betray the right to be anonymous in public spaces and say who (Veep cast member).
I’d be remise to not mention another one of my favorite restaurants in town, Street Disco. A staple on their constantly rotating menu is some sort of raw / lightly cured / seared fish dish, often involving a fruit component, in my observation. This hamachi rhubarb dish from last year stands out in my memory as especially delicious. They also serve the best Basque cheesecake I’ve ever eaten and I honeymooned in the Basque country — interpret that however you’d like.
Portland x Books
The Pacific Northwest and books… what a love story. I’m choosing to dedicate this square to one of the most unique bookstores in Portland, Vivienne Culinary Books, which is of interest for obvious reasons. I don’t get to go very often, but when I do find myself on Alberta it’s hard to leave empty handed. They’ve got a great collection of vintage books and kitchenware in that back, and host all sorts of events, classes, and readings. Last time I was there I procured this copy of Kapusta (any book with a cabbage on the cover is immediately speaking my language), and Hot Date!, as I am still recovering from the minor date-induced mania I experienced last year.
‘PNW’ is a theme on my 2025 reading list, for which I read a copy of The Lathe of Heaven, set in town, written by long time Portland resident Ursula K. Le Guin, and purchased at science fiction bookstore Parallel Worlds, which happens to be just across the street from Vivienne — see, everything is connected. I could probably fill this entire grid with bookstores in town I like, but for the sake of brevity / keeping things on topic, I’ll just mention Monograph Bookwerks which is also on that same block. A great selection of art books and ephemera, including a lot of vintage PNW tourist maps and mountain pilgrimage photographs.
Portland X Gardens
It took about two years of living in Portland to finally make it to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens in 2024 (on my birthday no less, happy birthday to me) and I was thrilled to go back this year, a few weeks earlier to really catch peak bloom.
It’s a very special place I hope to return to each spring, the photos really don’t do it justice. If you’re lucky (?) you can catch a nutria going for a dip alongside the various duck families.
Mexico City x Books
While in CDMX we sauntered into Mise en Print by chance and… wow, it’s every dream I’ve ever had for a local cookbook / zine shop x cafe in the flesh, punny name included. We purchased a few things (incoming in a couple squares!) but I just loved the mix of purposeful spaces with an espresso bar in the front, a small atrium / gallery space in the middle, and a shop in the back.
Mexico City x Fish
We ate so much great food in CDMX, I’m always blown away by the seafood offerings — I love almost every raw and raw adjacent (citrus cured) seafood preparation I’ve come across, aguachile being a particular favorite. This trip, one of the stand out dishes was a tuna tostada from Voraz. No doubt influenced by one of the most famous dishes in town, the tuna tostada from Contramar3, this version added salsa macha and raw onion for a bit more of a kick.
Mexico City x Gardens
Perhaps a bit of a cheat with the double dip, but from Mise en Print I bought this zine Quelitario about indigenous Mexican herbs and their culinary applications, many of which would only be possible to taste stateside with some imaginative gardening.
It of course reminds me of the hoja santa concha from Panadería Rosetta, that set me off on my little concha spiral. I’m still making these every other week, by the way. I’m told they are only getting better but of course I would not give myself such grace.
Japan x Books
My reading list also has a dedicated “Japanese Authors” section. I’ve been spending some afternoons reading in one of my favorite places in town, the Portland Japanese Gardens (more on Japanese gardens in two squares). I know, I know, the weeb alarms are deafening. So far I’ve really enjoyed No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, and although it took me a while to get into, Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima had me fully gripped by the end — I will be reading the entire tetralogy.
We’re going to stretch the theme a bit here, and make a brief detour into the land of books that you write in.
I’ve gone through a minor fountain pen fixation, digging up this Brass Kaweco Sport I received as a gift in 2015 or 2016, and adding a few other friends to the collection. They write so smoothly! Fountain pen ink is so characterful! I have a special stop at Kingdom Note planned during my upcoming trip to pick up some store specific inks I’ve been eying. Now if only I had the handwriting of an adult man and not a second grader — working on it.
For journaling, I’ve migrated from the Hobonichi Techno to a Stalogy B5 notebook (both Japanese brands), because I found the specific day format to be a little prescriptive for how I want to jot down my thoughts. Lastly, there are… many, many items from the 2025 Japanese Stationary Awards on my shopping list, we’ll see what I’m actually able to track down.
Japan x Fish
The Japanese tinned fish industry seems to be notably absent in the recent North American fascination with canned seafood — logistics? ✨Euro supremacy✨? A matter of taste? This eater is looking forward to finding out. As a preview, I tasted these Nissui sardines in miso which were top notch, especially at the price point. I will report back after my many grocery store visits overseas.
Japan x Gardens
Um… I’m actually not sure if this fully counts as I just learnt Niwaki is not in fact a Japanese company, but an importer of Japanese made goods. In any case, I lust after a lot of their gardening tools, and use their thin gloves for a lot of my everyday work. Super lightweight and breathable, they are the most comfortable gardening gloves I’ve ever used, although not idea for heavier duty jobs. If you’re local, the Portland Japanese Garden gift shop carries them in a few sizes.
I’ll add in the bonus Kitazawa Seed Company, which is a (formerly?? they seem to have been absorbed) Japanese-American owned seed company specializing in vegetables native to Asia. My chrysanthemum4 seeds (and those many a friend has borrowed from me) have come from them year over year — in fact they are just starting to have their first growth spurt alongside the peas.
Through zero effort of my own5, our Japanese-ish style rock garden survived its first winter and is slowly coming back to life. It features two of my favorite plants in the whole yard… although neither can be seen in this picture.
As captured coming home from the nursery last April: a Tradescantia ‘blushing bride’ that takes on beautiful pale pink tones in the colder months, and a ghost-like Japanese painted fern that is an almost unnatural grey-green color.
I hope you enjoyed a window into the zoetrope that is looping in my little head these days — maybe I’ll never use this format again, it’s hard to say. The next time you hear from me will probably be when I’m in Kyoto, where I’ll have plenty of time to be alone with my thoughts (send help). I famously no longer own a laptop, so we’ll have to see how far I can push the capabilities of a five year old iPad for newsletter-ing on the go.
R
Maybe I should return to the platonic ideal of not being perceived at all…
For several years I was a pescatarian. I’m thinking about slowly easing back into a similar diet, perhaps less rigid — maybe no meat at home, which is where I am eating more meals than ever before.
Surprisingly easy to make at home, My Mexico City Kitchen is somewhat of a main stay in our house
This chrysanthemum green salad is very good
Unless moral support counts