If you’re in the mood for authentic Cantonese on the St. Pete side of the bay there’s really only two places: ABC Seafood, reviewed earlier in Inkwatu, and the Lucky Star Hong Kong Style Chinese Restaurant (4175 66th Street North, St Petersburg, FL 33709-4915; 727-381-8888‎; map).

On the Tampa side of the bay, my favorite is China Yuan, but over here in St. Pete, I’m partial to Lucky Star, not only because of its food, which is so flavorful you never even think of reaching for soy sauce, but also because Lucky Star, in its earlier incarnation on 34th Street before their fire and relocation, was my introduction to authentic Cantonese food in St. Pete. The earlier restaurant was one of the many little experiences that accumulated to inspire me to move to St. Pete.

I was introduced to it by a friend whose father had had a similar restaurant while my friend was growing up. He showed me the dishes that the Lucky Star had that made it a special place and helped me to feel comfortable there. Sadly, by the time I moved to St. Pete my friend had, himself, moved to a different city and the Lucky Star had closed because of a kitchen fire. Then, the owners finally reopened up on 66th Street, north of Tyrone Mall. It’s been a favorite of mine ever since and I’m remiss in not having reviewed it earlier.

It’s open 7 days a week, but only in the late afternoon and evenings (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 3pm to 1am; Tuesday 3pm-11pm; Saturday and Sunday 1pm-1pm). Notice that it’s open into the wee hours for late-late dining. That truly makes it a special place.

But, it’s the food that really makes it special. Here are just a few of the dishes, from their large menu, that you won’t find on less authentic restaurants around town:

• Shark Fin Soup
• Jelly Fish
• Spicy Duck Feet
• Fried Chitterling
• Spicy Chicken Feet
• Preserved Duck Wing
• Blue Crab
• Pepper Corn Squid
• Sautéed Conch
• Bird’s Nest Seafood
• Razor Clam
• Braised Sea Cucumber
• Snail w/Black Bean
• Frog with Chinese Chive
• Steam Salted Fish with Minced Pork

Lest you think the Lucky Star’s appeal rests only upon these more exotic dishes, let me stress that it’s the taste that keep me coming back there. And, the dishes that I, myself, order are the ones that are a little less adventuresome: the casseroles, vegetables, and sizzling plates.

A friend and I, who have, several times, gone there for their whole roast duck, which is spectacularly crunchy, were there again recently and were blown away by two of their sizzling plates: Sa Cha Eggplant and Garlic Shrimp. There wasn’t anything left by the time we were finished eating. We were dickering over who got to lick the plates.

They also have a number of fried rice and noodle dishes. I’m a fan of both those, especially noodles, so I’m slowly working my way through them. Next time I go, I’m going to try the Cantonese Pan Fried Noodles.

They seem to have two menus, one that’s more authentic foods and one that caters to the typical American-”Chinese” fast food tastes. It’s fun looking at that second one, too. That one actually has five chop suey dishes!

The origins of the dish, “chop suey,” are not clear. I make that plural because, as the Wikipedia entry (Chop suey) points out, some think it originated in San Francisco during its early days and some say it came from Taishan, in Guangdong Province. Adding to the confusion is that some early Chinese restaurateurs in the US served a dish of mixed entrails, calling it “chop suey.” This, the Chinese, themselves, did not eat. So, there’s a lot of confusion around the term.

I assume that chop suey is really kind of a late-19th century/early 20th century American-Chinese food, much lacking in authenticity…about as authentic as the game mah jong, which is to say, Not much! But, for me, there’s considerable nostalgia in the dish. When I was a little kid, when our parents would take us into the city (St. Louis) to eat, chances were we’d eat at a huge, Art Deco style cafeteria. My favorite dishes there were egg fu young and chop suey. I’m not sure why. I think it was the sound of the words and a taste for the exotic even at age 5.

Now, that version was definitely of the non-authentic (but not entrails!) type, typified by this Woolworth’s recipe. I love the opening ingredient in that recipe: “1 tablespoon lard or Crisco shortening.” This was in the days of a St. Louis that still had electric buses that click-click-clicked around town. I tried to identify the name of that old Art Deco cafeteria (it wouldn’t exist now, of course), but couldn’t. However, my searching did turn up a neat page–a list of defunct restaurant chains (see Defunct restaurant chains of the United States).

I was also pleased to discover, during my couple years residence recently in Hawaii, that Honolulu sports a number of restaurants exclusively devoted to chop suey (see this Google search). So, if you get a hankering for chop suey, check out what they have at the Lucky Star.

However, I recommend you try one of their more authentic dishes. Everything there is good. You simply can’t go wrong. I very, very highly recommend the Sa Cha Eggplant sizzling plate.

Can there be any doubt that the mix of family, friends, and food is one of life’s greatest pleasures? One look at the pictures accompanying this article should be proof. Those smiles are deeply felt. Joined in common cause, these families and friends celebrate their Filipino community while preparing their culture’s foods.

“Backstage” is where all the most intimate and exciting photographs can be taken. That’s mostly what you see here. That’s where huge woks and enormous vats of hot oil, open flame grills and all-day barbeque smokers, contribute their heat to the intensity of the festival food preparations. Elbow to elbow everyone works to prepare for Philfest 2010.

Philfest (www.pcfitampa.org/philfest/philfest.html)–the annual Tampa Bay Filipino festival–is held at the 5-acre outdoor facility, called “The Village.” It is part of the Philippine Cultural Foundation (http://www.pcfitampa.org/home.html) Philippine Cultural Enrichment Complex and adjacent to its Bayanihan Arts & Events Center (www.bayanihanartscenter.org/bac_2006_home.htm). The Arts & Events Center houses a 9,900 sq. ft. convention, exhibit, and event hall, called the Grand Sampaguita Hall.

The Philfest grounds have had recent improvements, particularly concrete walkways that make experiencing the festival more enjoyable. The backdrop of the performance stage is an immense mural by Jonathan Jennings (see photo at end of article) that captures the essence of the land and peoples of the Philippines. That stage was the setting for numerous performing acts throughout the festival. Packing every remaining square inch of the site were dozens of booths offering Philippine crafts, souvenirs, and food!

Many non-Filipinos are unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine simply because there’s not that many Filipino themed restaurants in the mainland USA. Notice, the word, “mainland,” in that sentence. In Hawaii, Filipino restaurants abound because of the history of immigrants to the islands working on the plantations.

Here are a few websites that have information on Filipino immigration to Hawaii, in particular, and the U.S. states, in general (note: Canada, also, has a large Filipino immigrant population):

• Asian Nation (www.asian-nation.org/filipino.shtml)
• The Philippine History Site (opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/)
• Filipino American History (www.csuchico.edu/ncpaso/filipino.htm)
• Filipino American (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_American)

One more list: some good websites with information about, and recipes for, Filipino cuisine. Give them a try. Filipino cuisine is rich and flavorful. Asian, but with a unique quality, and definitely the food of an island nation.

• Philippine cuisine (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_cuisine)
• Pinoy Recipe (www.pinoyrecipe.net)
• Pinoy cook (pinoycook.net)
• Filipino Food Lovers (www.filipino-food-lovers.com)
• Filipino Mix–Recipes ( www.pinoymix.com/recipes/)

Throughout this article and the website links, you’ll see the word, “Pinoy.” This means Filipino. It also means Filipino male (female is pinay).

Every Asian culture’s eggroll is different. There’s a distinctly Vietnamese eggroll, a Chinese eggroll, and a Thai eggroll; there is also a Filipino eggroll, called a “lumpia,” which is long and narrow with a unique taste, quite different from other Asian eggrolls. If you ever get a chance to sample one, don’t hesitate; you’ll be very surprised at how tasty and savory it is.

used by permission of the artist, Jonathan Jennings

I’m proud to announce that the September 2009 issue of Asia Trend Magazine carries my first article and photos as one of their contributing food writers. Asia Trend Magazine is out of Winter Park, Florida, but has a circulation that covers the entire state. You can pick up a copy of the magazine, for free, in most Asian establishments. You can also see my article online in an Adobe Flash version, or you can read it below where I’ve reposted it with permission of Asia Trend Magazine. If you really want to make yourself hungry, you can view a full-size slideshow of the photos in the post as well as the original photos that comprise the collage photos. (I really recommend the slideshow–it’s mouthwatering!)

THE OCEANIC FAMILY

The website for the Oceanic Oriental Supermarket contains this evocative phrase: “From its humble beginnings as a small dry goods store over the years to an indispensible Tampa establishment providing products from rosewood furniture to fresh fish to imported and locally grown produce…”

I remember that small, humble store well. I shopped there often over the years and watched as it grew to its present, supermarket size. Shopping at Oceanic was always an exciting experience and it still is. Most recently, Oceanic’s growth has extended into an entire family of related businesses, which includes not only the Asian grocery, but also a restaurant equipment supply store, a video and stationary store, and T.C. Choy’s Asian Bistro, Tampa’s premiere Asian restaurant.

T.C. CHOY’S ASIAN BISTRO

T.C. Choy’s hits that sweet spot between Eastern culinary authenticity and Western dining expectations—it fully satisfies both. The decor is subdued with muted earth colors highlighting an impressive translucent mural isolating the main dining area from a small liquor bar. Soft music plays in the background, (J.S. Bach, the day I was most recently there) while off to one side of the main dining area there is a sushi bar. There is also a small, beautifully appointed, secluded private dining room for special occasions. In the main dining room, behind the sushi bar, is an open kitchen where cooks prepare traditional as well as innovative Asian dishes. T.C. Choy’s website (www.tcchoysbistro.com) details their entire, extensive menu. But today, I would like to call your attention to their dim sum.

DIM SUM

Dim sum, in case you’re not familiar with the term, is a Chinese dining tradition during which a number of small dishes are served with tea, not unlike tapas in Spanish cuisine. The customers select these dishes from carts that are wheeled around the room from dining table to dining table. These are shared, family style, among the friends and family who have gathered at table. One of the things that’s especially nice about T.C. Choy’s is that they have preserved the custom of carts pushed around the room. These days, too many restaurants that serve dim sum, simply bring a short dim sum menu from which you order and then the ordered dishes are brought to your table. In keeping to tradition, T.C. Choy’s emphasizes the freshness and temperature of the dim sum they serve.

Now, you must understand that dim sum is a shared event and it’s done leisurely, with much good conversation and goodwill. The result is that a seemingly gargantuan amount of food is consumed. In preparing for this review of T.C. Choy’s, I sampled their baked barbeque pork buns, sesame seed ball in lotus paste, siu mai (pork & shrimp dumpling), steamed chicken feet with black bean, steamed spare ribs with black bean, pan fried turnip cake (daikon radish cake), pan fried chives dumpling with shrimp and mushrooms, shrimp and rice-noodle roll, steamed tofu-skin shrimp and pork rolls, and sticky rice (with chicken, shrimp, mushroom, and pork sausage) wrapped in lotus leaf.

And, it didn’t end there! I also sampled a type of dim sum of T.C. Choy’s own invention which they call Kitchen Specials. Pictured are four Kitchen Specials: salt & pepper shrimp, fried tofu stuffed with shrimp paste, Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce, and eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste—all very tasty and worth the little extra they cost.

Sharon Choi, manager of T.C. Choy’s, assured me that in addition to their selection of dishes which are usually vegetarian, they will happily modify any dish to make it vegetarian. For instance, the pan fried chives dumpling with shrimp and mushrooms—a new dim sum dish for me and an instant, new favorite—can be made without the shrimp.

The steamed chicken feet were the best I’ve had anywhere, including Beijing. They had just the right texture (I like them “fluffy”). One has one’s favorites, of course, but everything I sampled was extremely good. I recommend T.C. Choy’s dim sum very highly. It’s served daily. Weekends are quite busy, so you might want to excuse yourself from work for a leisurely mid-week, extended lunch of dim sum at T.C. Choy’s. Just be sure you don’t have too much work planned for the afternoon because you’ll be serenely floating after swallowing clouds of dumplings.

T.C. Choy’s Asian Bistro (www.tcchoysbistro.com) is located at 301 S. Howard Ave., Tampa, FL 33606-1728; (813) 251-1191. The Oceanic Oriental Supermarket; Oceanic Restaurant Equipment Supply; and, Ocean Video and Stationary (www.oceanicmarket.com) are located at 1609 N. Tampa St., Tampa, FL 33602-2646; (813) 228-8110.

statue just inside entrance

On 62nd Avenue North, not far from Phat Phap Temple, the Vietnamese Buddhist temple, is a small, but very good restaurant, the Thai Kitchen (1126 62nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702-7422; 727-525-8748). I definitely recommend it, not only because it’s very good food at reasonable prices in a very congenial atmosphere, but also for the breadth of its menu, which includes a number of items I’ve not seen in other restaurants around town. Just a few examples–out of many more–are the kaprao frog’s legs, the pho taek soup, the stuffed chicken wings, the crispy noodles with shrimp (mee grob), mussels, scallops, fresh snapper, and boneless duck. It’s an impressive menu, well prepared. There are a number of vegetarian selections. While I was there, several women were placing a large advance order for a vegetarian dinner party. The Thai Kitchen lunch and dinner menus are available from their website. Thai Kitchen is small–I’d estimate it seats only about 4 dozen diners, but, you won’t be disappointed in the quality of its food. It’s very tasty.

I’ve often seen the Thai Kitchen when traveling down 62nd Avenue, but I’d never stopped in. I guess I was afraid it was just a fast food joint. (It’s definitely not–it’s a small, but “legit” restaurant, complete with beer and wine license!). Then…just a couple weeks ago, I needed to have some pants hemmed. (How’s that for a non sequitur?)

my take-home green curry, tom yum, and spring rolls

I checked Google for St. Petersburg clothing alterations and picked one at random that I thought would be easy to find: Alterations by Pat (1237 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33710; 727-551-9408). At Pat’s, it was such a treat to be greeted at the counter by a smiling Thai woman who pointed to my neck and said, “Thai gold!” Peeking out from under my collar was the chain of a necklace I’d bought in Thailand. We talked as if we were old friends sharing stories of Thailand, the local Thai temple, and Buddha necklaces. Among the services that Alterations by Pat offers, in addition to alterations and wedding services, are imported Thai items.

While we continued to chat, I got measured for my alterations. On my way out, Pat gave me a paper menu for their family restaurant–the Thai Kitchen! I finally stopped at the Thai Kitchen and I’m so glad I did. This time I did take-out and brought home some tom yum soup, a lunch portion of green curry and rice, and a couple Thai egg rolls. But, it is really a dine-in restaurant. Their dining room is full of authentic Thai decorations, mosaics made of tiny pieces of mirror on lustrous metal backgrounds. There are pictures of the beloved king, Rama V. There were at least three generations of the owner’s family working when I got my take-out; I enjoy that family restaurant feeling. The Thai Kitchen is open for lunch, Monday through Friday, 11am to 3pm, and for dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5pm-9pm, and Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 10pm.

Thai Kitchen

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HERBAL DUCK SOUP AT BEN THANH

A “progressive dinner” is an affair where a group of friends decide to have appetizers at the home of one of the friends, the soup or salad course at another’s home, the entree at another’s, and dessert at another’s. You “progress” from one home to another. Seems like they were more common back in the 70s and 80s, but they still probably happen today. Recently, a friend and I wound up having a “progressive lunch-break” by eating our soups in one Vietnamese restaurant and then our sandwiches in another.

For some time now, one of my friends has been telling me “Ben Thanh is open again!” Never having eaten at the original one, which is now closed, I’d say “Yeah, yeah” but not make a firm date to try the new one. Finally, everything aligned just right and my friend and I headed out to the new location of Ben Thanh Vietnamese Restaurant (4200 62nd Ave. N., Suite C, Pinellas Park; 727-526-3051).

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CHAR-GRILLED PORK & CRISPY CHOPPED EGG ROLLS ON THIN VERMICELLI SALAD
AT BEN THANH

I’m so glad my friend persisted in prodding me to try this restaurant. It’s a cozy little place, tucked into an unassuming strip mall up on 62nd Avenue. The owners proudly displays a framed copy of this St. Pete Times article about their reopening. The article is a good one that I hope you read; it fills in details on the history of the restaurant.

My friend had the Hu Tieu hoac Mi Vit Tiem (herbal duck soup). That’s the first picture in the post. You can see the steam rising off it. I had a sip. It was fantastic. I had Bun Cha Gio Thit Nurong (char-grilled pork & crispy chopped egg rolls on thin vermicelli salad), which is one of the dishes I usually order when I’m trying a new Vietnamese restaurant. It gives me a yardstick to compare different places. This is the second picture in this post. It was right up there with the very best I’ve ever had; the fish sauce was perfect.

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The owner of Ben Thanh, Susan Nguyen, is a very personable young woman. We got to talking when she was serving us. Their menu states that if you’re interested in a dish not on the menu, just ask, and they might be able to make it for you. Since I’ve been on a quest to find the best Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) in St. Pete, I asked her if she made them. She laughed and said no, she loves them too and she buys hers at Banh Mi Saigon (8730 49th St. N. #11, Pinellas Park, FL 33781; 727-549-9121). That got my attention because it was the second recommendation I’ve gotten for this place. The other was from my favorite Vietnamese hairdresser at Ann’s hair salon next to Ichiban’s Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar.

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MENU AT BANH MI SAIGON

So…after finishing our excellent soups at Ben Thanh, my friend and I drove up to Banh Mi Saigon. The idea was to just check it out…that became getting a sandwich for each of us to take home…which progressed to having a second course of eating a sandwich, NOW!

There have been other Inkwatu articles on banh mi in St. Pete (see The Land of Missed Sandwiches and Pho 97) which include some excellent links to non-Inkwatu articles giving detailed and extensive information about, and recipes for, this wonderful type of sandwich. Sadly, Cantho Oriental Market, mentioned in The Land of Missed Sandwiches, seems to have recently succumbed to the recession and closed its doors. I will check to see if, perhaps, it’s just moved–I’ll report back on that. Just this week, I ran across this post (The Evolution of Banh Mi) on 8asians–a blog I follow and enjoy very much.

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BBQ PORK BANH MI

Check out Banh Mi Saigon’s sandwich menu pictured above (be sure to click on the picture for larger, more legible version). They have all the different types of banh mi. (And look at the prices! It’s hard to find a better deal in town.) Pictured immediately above is what my friend got: BBQ pork (thit nuong). The photo immediately below is the sandwich I ordered: the special (dac biet). They were made in the real Vietnamese style with more veggies than meat (think of the meat as a garnish). I’m not positive, but I think the baguettes may be of the authentic recipe of half rice flour and half wheat flour. They were very light, very crisp, not heavy and tough.

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SPECIAL BANH MI

When we were waiting for our sandwiches to be prepared, a young workman came in and ordered a BBQ pork banh mi. He was very much a salt-of-the-earth Florida good-ol’-boy–albeit a young one–who looked as if he might usually order a burger and fries somewhere. As he and I waited for our orders, we started chatting. He told me that he’d never had a banh mi until just a few weeks before. He’d thought it was fantastic and had been waiting for an opportunity to return and get another one. If you’ve never had a banh mi, I hope you give one a try sometime. I predict that, like the pizza, the taco, the frankfurter, quiche, and the countless other comfort foods of America’s various ethnic émigrés, the banh mi will enter the everyday lexicon of the American national menu. If you come across other banh mi in St. Pete or Tampa you think I should try, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

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INTERIOR OF BANH MI SAIGON

Had we not been sated from our spectacular soups at Ben Thanh plus our sandwiches from Banh Mi Saigon, we could have easily continued our progressive lunch-break by getting some item at Dong A II, next door to Banh Mi Saigon. We contented ourselves with just wandering around the grocery for a while, enjoying the smells and sights. There are at least two Dong A groceries in St. Pete (the “A” in Dong A is pronounced “ah,” as in when the doctor says, “say ah…”). They are an excellent Asian grocery store. I am a big fan of Asian groceries: you can get interesting veggies at them, good bulk teas, and the prices on items such as sesame oil are a fraction of what a big national chain charges. Plus, you’re supporting local commerce by shopping at an ethnic food store.

Also next door to Banh Mi Saigon, is a Thai restaurant, Pu Thai (8730 49th St. N., Pinellas Park, FL 33782; 727-547-6556), with a lunch buffet! I’ve not eaten there yet, so I don’t know if I can recommend it. But…you can bet I’ll be going there soon! I’ll let you know if I think it’s a good place to eat.

The hours of operation for Ben Thanh are Tuesday-Friday, 11an09pm, Saturday-Sunday, 10am-9:00pm, closed on Mondays. Banh Mi Saigon is open 7 days a week–call 727-549-9121 for exact hours. I definitely recommend both restaurants.

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DONG A II

Dear Readers, I’m conducting an experiment for a while. I’m configuring this blog to only show the opening of the post in blog readers and emails so that, in order to read the full post, the reader must click on the title, which in turn takes them to the actual Inkwatu website. I’m doing this because when people read the entire post in an email or a reader, they never see the actual Inkwatu website–ever! They miss a lot of things available on the website such as special information about the area, photos, links, etc.. In addition, they never have the opportunity to click on advertisements, which is the only way bloggers earn even a few pennies (literally, just a few pennies—certainly not dollars). As time goes by, please let me know if you find this new configuration too bothersome. If enough people complain, I will go back to the other approach. Hopefully, however, this new approach, will bring us all added benefits.

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FIRST ANNUAL ARBORS RECORDS INVITATIONAL JAZZ PARTY

Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph backstage at the Arbors Records First Annual Arbors Records Invitational Piano Jazz Party at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on Clearwater Beach. There’s a lot of jazz in Florida and a lot here in the Tampa Bay Area. One of the biggest supporters of jazz in the area is a niche recording label, Arbors Records.

Arbors Records specializes in classic jazz. So, what is “classic jazz”? That’s tough to answer because it’s not even possible to define “jazz.” But, everyone knows it when they hear it. I would suggest that a workable definition of classic jazz is jazz up until the early 1940s, or pre-bebop (pre-Charlie Parker, pre-John Coltrane, pre-Miles Davis, pre-Ornet Coleman, pre-Dizzy Gillespie). You might also use this more descriptive definition of “classic jazz” from the Classic Jazz Society of Toronto.

The opportunity to shoot backstage at First Annual Arbors Records Invitational Piano Jazz Party was made possible by the invitation of a good friend and professional colleague of many years, Gary Baldassari. I first made Gary’s acquaintance when working the NFL Super Bowl pregame show as its music director during the 1990s. Gary was the audio specialist and audio engineer for Best Productions, for whom we both worked, that produced the shows. Baldassari worked for many years for Walt Disney productions and is the author of numerous technical articles on recording techniques. He is a frequent audio engineer for the Pori Jazz Festival in Pori, Finland, and has long been associated with Arbors Records, recording many of their albums and running sound for their various events such as their famous jazz cruises and their classic jazz festivals.

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GARY BALDASSARI MIXING AT ARBORS RECORDS JAZZ PARTY

According to the Arbors Records website:

“Arbors Records was founded by Rachel and Mat Domber in 1989 to record and preserve the classic styles of jazz. It originated because of their desire to record their friend, the outstanding reedman, singer and composer, Rick Fay, who had been in the music business for over 40 years mostly as a performer at the Disney parks in California and Florida, but had never previously recorded.”

I’d had the good fortune working with Rick Fay on one of the NFL Super Bowl pregame shows I was the music director for. It was for one of the New Orleans shows and Mr. Fay did played our soulful clarinet intro of “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” leading into “The Saints Go Marching In” for a beautiful, archetypical classic jazz recording I still cherish. It was Mr. Baldassari who introduced me to Mr. Fay and secured his services for this recording.

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OVERHEAD CLOSEUP PROJECTIONS AT ARBORS FESTIVAL

Continuing from their About Us page:

“Since the release of their first recording, Rick Fay’s Hot Five: Live at Lone Pine, in 1990, Arbors Records through the summer of 2002, has put out almost 160 CDs…Another 30 to 40 CDs have been recorded but are still in production…Arbors Records is also the producer of the acclaimed March of Jazz weekend jazz parties, held in Florida the third weekend in March…Arbors Records is also a sponsor of the Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Classic, in Clearwater Beach, Florida. In addition, Mat Domber is a board member of the American Federation of Jazz Societies and a co-founder of the Statesmen of Jazz, a touring ensemble group of senior musicians who perform at jazz events and give clinics in the schools…Starting with the original dixieland recordings by various Rick Fay groups, the label now embraces traditional jazz and contemporary classic jazz and the swing styles of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and beyond. But regardless of style, all of the recordings have in common a love of melody, improvisation and swing.”

This event–The First Annual Arbors Records Invitational Piano Jazz Party–was beautiful music. I got to hear the most astounding two-piano performance by a pair of European artists, Louis Mazetier (Paris) and Bernd Lhotzky (Munich). I adore good two-piano classic jazz work. Many a night have I listened to the Marian McPartland show on NPR. What was always so unbelievable to me was that her wonderful series of guest and she would, completely extemporaneously, perform together on two pianos. It’s much easier to imagine one piano and a single line instrument, such as saxophone or clarinet, doing this successfully…but two-pianos!? There are so many notes on a piano and it is so easy to get in each other’s way, to step on each other’s musical toes. The challenge is to not create acoustic mayhem.

Mazetier and Lhotzky are even all the more amazing because they are both premier “stride piano” experts. “Stride piano” is early classic jazz in which the left hand of the piano player is constantly jumping huge distances to play, with just that one hand, a very melodic bass part as well as an inner chordal accompaniment. Add to that a florid melodic invention on top with the other hand and one pianist manages to sound like three musicians! So, put together two famous stride piano musicians and you’ve got the effect of six musicians with just two people. Exciting barely covers it. One’s body twitches and bobs continuously. It’s impossible to hold still.

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LOUIS MAZETIER and BERND LHOTZKY

According to Hot House Florida, the Arbors Records Second Annual Invitational International Piano Party will be January 15th, 16th and 17th, 2010. They say:

“The all event price is $250.00 per person. (No individual event tickets will be sold) Seating is limited to 200 people at 20 tables of ten. A 10% discount will be given for 10 reserving together. Seating will be arranged in order of reservations.

“The Sheraton Sand Key Resort is located at 1160 Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767. Telephone: 1-727-595-1611, FAX; 1-727-563-6004: TOLL FREE: 1-800-456-7263. A limited number of hotel rooms are available at the special rate of $199.00 per night, single or double occupancy, plus tax. Please make your hotel reservations directly with the hotel and mention Arbors Records Invitational.

“Arbors Records is located at 2189 Cleveland Street, Suite 225, Clearwater, FL 33765. Phone: 1-727-466-0432; FAX: 1-272-466-0432; TOLL FREE: 1-800-299-1930. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and personal checks accepted.”

You can order CDs directly from Arbors Records or from a variety of their distributors such as Webster Records Jazz by Mail. An excellent article on Arbors Records is this all about jazz article from 2004. The Arbors Records website has an excellent page of jazz links that is very informative.

Hot House Florida, out of Palm Beach Florida, is a blog associated with Hot House Artists that “provides insight into select local and national jazz, Latin and blues artists that will be performing in our area.”

Another classic jazz local classic jazz resource is Puppy Jazz Distribution, out of Sarasota. One of the distributors who carries Arbors Records, Puppy Jazz specializes in classic jazz and hard to find labels. They have a free newsletter available by email or online.

For more information on coming Arbors Records events, such as the 2009 Jazz Cruise and The Second Annual Arbors Records Invitational Jazz Party, be sure to visit the Arbors Records website or contact them by email, snail-mail, or phone.

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ARBORS JAZZ PARTY at the SHERATON SAND KEY

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FRAN SIMS BEADED HANGING (SHOWN HORIZONTALLY)

Arts & Crafts

Whenever I’ve felt like “running away from home” (from responsibilities, from humdrum, grinding routine) I’ve fantasized about quitting all jobs and surviving by selling homemade art (water colors, photos, prints, whatever) along the side of the road. So far, I’ve not actually done that, but people, indeed, do just that. There’s an en plein air (Fr. open air) oil painter who sells his wares along the Gandy Causeway. He has my admiration.

Locations such as Florida, Hawaii, any beach town, certain picturesque cities (New York, San Francisco, Paris, Santa Fe) seem—for some reason—to foster artists and craftsmen. I think it’s the romanticism of the locale. It brings out the urge to create. (Or perhaps, it’s that romantic locales attract people who like to create things.)

Back in the early 70s, if you mentioned “crafts” one immediately thought of the dreaded macramé wall hanging. Thankfully, crafts have moved beyond that into a plethora of cottage industries—the products of the arts and crafts themselves as well as the supplies for those crafts. Some examples of crafts are quilting, weaving, knitting, tatting, glass blowing, pottery, sewing, and stained glass.

Think about that list for a minute: they’re all time-honored activities aren’t they? Their roots are in pre-history, skills that enabled us as a species to survive the elements. Therein lies the answer to the question that always arises: what’s the difference between “arts” and “crafts”? For me, “crafts” are arts that facilitate survival and “arts” are crafts that make life worth living. To make life worth living is to facilitate survival. It should be clear there’s little difference between the two. Imagine a beautifully hand-crafted wooden boat; it gets you across the river, but it’s a beauty to behold. I believe, there’s really no meaningful difference between arts and crafts beyond the fact that some arts are more utilitarian than others—it’s all still art. Examples are the absolutely gorgeous jewelry designs of a friend of many decades, John Beeman, and the works of Full Blown Glass mentioned in the Inkwatu article on the Creative Clay Folk Fest. They’re all utilitarian; they’re all art.

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FRAN SIMS BEADED CUTLERY AND BOWL

Shows & Stores

Arts and crafts have a long history in all countries, including our own. I’m thinking of beautiful Shaker furniture, Amish quilts, Appalachian dulcimers. And, it’s not just “folk” arts. Tiffany, Steuben, Fabergé…commercial? Of course. Crafts? Yes. Art? Definitely.

The values of arts and crafts found expression in the “official” Arts and Crafts Movement in the early part of the 20th century. Inkwatu covered that movement in the post on the Craftsman House. If you want to see some outstanding, locally produced glass and pottery do check out the Craftsman House and while you’re at it, get a light lunch there.

In another Inkwatu article, we covered the St. Pete Shuffle Holiday Crafts night. I’ve been to two of those so far and have found items to purchase I’ve enjoyed. There are many such venues for craftsmen to locally display and sell their work. One of the biggest and best attended is, of course, the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market (Inkwatu article). There are numerous annual events such as the St. Pete Beach Corey Area Art & Craft Fair that just concluded on 1/31-2/1, 2009. For a complete list of Arts and Crafts shows in our part of the country visit Where the Shows Are!!!–over a hundred in Florida, alone. Last year, I attended a private crafts show presenting works of about eight different craftsmen in the home of the artist, Fran Sims, whose beaded jewelry is featured in this post.

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ASSORTMENT OF FRAN SIMS BRACELETS AND NECKLACES

Fran Sims

Fran’s specialty is beading, an ornamental craft. Each piece has a personal history such as the hanging pictured at the top of this post that depicts significant images in the life of the person for whom the item was made, or the stones in the necklaces in the picture at the end of this post, necklaces made of beads created by a women’s project in Kenya. About these beads, Sally Adams, of St. Petersburg’s Buttons, Bangles, and Beads, writes:

These colorful, oh-so-smooth beads are made by African women at a women’s project in Kenya. Although they have had little formal schooling, they are highly skilled at making these beads and, in some cases, are the sole providers for their children and extended families.

The project was started over twenty five years ago, and has supported hundreds of women, who, otherwise, might have been unable to provide this support. They receive fair wages, have excellent working conditions, receive assistance from the project for their children’s school uniforms and tuition, and are provided medical assistance through a weekly clinic on the project’s grounds. The project has been accepted by the World Fair Trade Organization—an accolade for projects in developing countries.

Sims, is currently headed to Tucson for the world’s largest bead show, the Tucson Bead Renaissance Show, where hotel rooms are turned into vendor rooms. Conferences, shows, and events for all of the crafts I listed in the lead of this article abound around the country. Locally, St. Petersburg.com‘s listing for “craft stores” yields 41 entries, from national chains such as Michael’s to many small specialty crafts shops for specific arts.

I recommend an excursion to one of these stores to just wander around and see if something strikes a resonant chord somewhere in your being. Such an experience is what happened to Sims who, while visiting her brother in Alaska discovered the fascination of beading during two days of unrelenting rain. Later, while visiting other cities as part of her profession, she began to visit beading stores in those various locations. And…an obsession is born. That’s how it is with crafts.

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ASSORTMENT OF FRAN SIMS BRACELETS

Beads & Beading

If beading, specifically, interests you, Sims recommends these two magazines:

• Bead & Button Magazine
• Bead Style Magazine

There you’ll learn about the world of beads made from almost every conceivable substance including—but definitely not limited to–crystal, glass, wood, clay, polymer, shell, and metal. Stores, such as St. Pete’s Buttons, Bangles, and Beads offer classes in specific crafts.

There’s simply no excuse not to get out there and have some fun either by visiting a show to view and maybe purchase someone else’s work or by creating and displaying your own. Even though I poke fun at macramé, maybe you’ll be the artist to change my mind about that medium!

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AFRICAN BEADS IN FRAN SIMS JEWELRY

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SPICY LIME GROUPER

One of the most convincing reviews I ever read once was, “Just go!” I’m going to quote that author here regard the BKK Thai Restaurant (5267 Park St. N., Pinellas, Florida 33709; 727-545-1781): “Just go!”

BKK is the designation for the Bangkok airport. The last time I had Thai style fish this good was in Bangkok. This restaurant is what my son would describe as a “good restaurant to take a date to”–quiet, dimly lit, nice furnishing, cloth napkins (don’t laugh…not all restaurants have them). The main attraction, for me, of the BKK is its fish menu. Their grouper in a spicy lime sauce with celery, fresh garlic, galangal root (a Thai spice similar to ginger), kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chilies and lime juice is my absolute favorite. It’s beautiful on the plate. It tastes even better.

Most Thai restaurants have two, maybe three fish dishes. BKK has seven. Next time I go, I want to try their fish in tamarind and pineapple sauce. Doesn’t that sound good? Their menu has a number of dishes that I’ve not seen on other Thai menus about town, such as a red curry fish cake and string bean appetizer in plum sauce on cucumber salad (tod mon pla) or a deep-fried roast duck salad (yum ped yang).

There are even inventive fried rice dishes such as black-olive fried rice with minced pork, Thai sausage, cashew nut and string beans, or their BKK Supreme fried rice with crab, shrimp, chicken, Thai sausage, cashews, pineapple and raisins. The four different duck entrees (tamarind, panang, red curry, basil sauce) are all moderately priced and look interesting. Of course, the BKK has all the usual dishes including Drunken Chicken, another one that’s usually not on menus.

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BKK INTERIOR

Often, desserts are the shortest suits for Asian restaurants. Not so, BKK; they have nine. I adore their green tea ice cream. If I can ever tear myself away from that, I hope to try their pumpkin custard, or fried cheese cake…or maybe the mango and sticky rice.

I guess you can tell I like this place. It’s a bit out of the way–it’s in a strip mall just south of the intersection of 54th Ave. N. and Park St. N. It’s a bit of a trek from downtown, but if you’re at the beach, it’s much closer than you think–just come across 150th Ave (Bay Pines Blvd.) to Park St. and turn north, or come across Park Blvd. from Redington Shores through Seminole to Park St. and turn south. If you’re downtown or in south St. Pete, you’ll have your favorite ways to get to Park Street, then just head north.

They’re open for lunch Monday-Sunday, 11:3am-3:00pm and dinner Monday-Thursday, 4:30pm-9:30pm, Friday-Saturday, 4:30pm-10:00pm, and Sunday, 4:30-9:00pm. That it’s open for late suppers is another plus. I’ve never tried their sushi but it’s an extensive list and even includes several eel selections (I love eel); I would assume their sushi is of the same quality as their Thai dishes.

They take credit cards, and their entrees are mostly between $15 and $20; however, there are a number of simpler entrees in the $10-$12 range and I’ve seen families with kids there more than once, so it is possible to dine there quite affordably. The portions are large. I always take home half for lunch the next day!

I recommend this restaurant very highly.

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BKK EXTERIOR

Several friends and family members of mine, independently, visited Savannah, Georgia, to celebrate this past New Year’s eve. From all reports it was an excellent celebration. Other friends make an almost annual pilgrimage to visit all the sites featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

I’m fond of Savannah for many reasons. It’s a day’s drive from many east coast cities. Lodging is rather affordable, actually. It’s part of our American history all the way back to the beginning of the colonies right up through the recent past (Johnny Mercer, for instance) to the present (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). Its historical district is the largest in the nation. It always radiates elegance and dignity (the city squares), charm and mystery (the old buildings and spanish moss laden trees), culture and the arts (theater, classical music, schools, and the Savannah College of Art and Design).

One event in Savannah that interests me is their St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which I’ve heard is second only to New York City in size and history. The 2009 parade will be Savannah’s 185th! It will take place on Tuesday, March 17th. The site linked to above is the official parade site; here, however, is another site with an abundance of information for those planning to attend.

For whenever you decide to go, there are some excellent visitor’s sites. Here’s some you should probably bookmark:

• Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Savannah.com
• City of Savannah Home Page
• Savannah Morning News
• Official Savannah Guide (check the history link)
• Savannah Online (check the City Guide: Attractions)

I also recommend the Wikipedia Savannah, Georgia page for some more interesting and detailed facts about the city. But, an absolute must is the Weather Wunderground page for Savannah (especially check their Seasonal Averages page). Unless you’re a thoroughly acclimated southerner (and even we can sometimes wilt), late summer can be very humid and hot in Savannah.

But…that’s all the more excuse to just be lazy and take the river boat ride and the horse & buggy tour.