Musiikki & Media: American Kitsch

Music and media professionals from Finland and abroad have once again made the annual pilgrimage to the hippest, most happening music city (err...) in this neck of the woods, otherwise known as Tampere. An extended weekend of seminars, talks, networking, gigs and generally approved intoxication in the form of Musiikki & Media 2010 kicked off last night.

As M&M first-timers, we rock up to Tampere in good time, decide to get the lay of the land and grab some lunch. I persuade Aleksi into checking out Classic American Diner, a place i've wanted to visit for ages. Now, i'll admit right here that i have a serious thing for all things kitsch and Americana. Which is why i can happily overlook the superficial, plastic pseudo-nostalgia of this 'roadside diner' situated in the middle of a shopping center in Tampere, and love it despite all its goriness. And the spicy veggie burger, fries and mint chocolate milkshake i had weren't too bad either.

 

 

the mint-chocolate milkshake

Later last night, we decide to delve deeper into the depths of this Americana experience, and go check out some rockabilly at Klubi. Turns out it was an awesome idea, cause they have a three band lineup of rockabilly ranging from the toe-tapping, bass-slapping gusto of Relentless to the sombre, cinematic melancholy of Last Calls, topped off with Fatboy from Sweden. Contrary to the diner experience, there was nothing pseudo or plastic about the music. 

Relentless

Last Calls

Last Calls

We wander home in the early hours, in good spirits, and decide that Tampere is, indeed, a great city.

Having by now almost recovered physically from the after-effects of yesterday's Americana trip, i can only guess what's gonna happen tonight. If we're feeling adventurous, we might ditch Uusi Fantasia, Jätkäjätkät, The Capital Beat, Iiris, Neufvoin and a whole host of other bands for another nostalgia trip, this time to the teenage era, and go check out revamped pre-teen idols Jimi Constantine (formerly Pääkallo, of Technicolor fame) and Jonna Geagea (formerly Kosonen, of Nylon Beat stardom) instead. Trippy indeed.

Free Lunch? No. Delicious, decently-priced Lunch? Hell yes.

I found out today that there's a little known of secret when it comes to lunch venues in the city. The secret in question is located in what used to be known as Finnair Stadium (now Sonera Stadium) and it's called FreshCo. I'd never heard of it, until the good peeps i work with suggested we go there for lunch today.

Honestly, when it comes to any kind of food served at a sports stadium, i'm all set to have my culinary hopes shattered by mystery-meat masquerading as a hot dog and a pint of beer boasting a higher percentage of plastic flavor than alcohol.

Which is why i was baffled by the awesomeness of this place. (Which, as i found out later, might be explained by the fact that the man behind it is none other than Jyrki Sukula himself). The decor is a little office cafeteria, but the place is light, spacious and clean. The lunch menu has a meat, fish and veggie option (from around 10-12e), all of which looked tasty (well, as tasty as some sort of hacked steak can look to a vegetarian). Or you can go for the salad buffet (9.30e). Personally, i've always thought salad buffets can be the biggest ripoffs and downers of the buffet world (it's like, meh, dunno what to do with all this semi-frozen sweetcorn, wilted lettuce and 20kg bag of onions. We'll call it a salad and charge them 12 euros). Well folks, on seeing the salad buffet at FreshCo, i take back that nasty assumption.

Not only did this one feature huge olives, croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds, marinated zucchini and chickpeas in addition to the standard salad fare; there were also little veggie Caesar sandwiches and Jerusalem artichoke tarts. Not to mention freshly-baked bread with a herby spread. There's also mineral water on tap, which is awesome. The salad bowls are big, too, so this is no skimpy little salad you're putting together, either. And if all that weren't enough, your nine euros will also get you tea, coffee or hot chocolate, accompanied by the dessert of the day. Which, today, was a dreamy, chocolate mousse and red berry kind of affair. Forget breakfast of champions - this stadium-side lunch is where it's at.

 
FreshCo, Sonera Stadium, Urheilukatu 5, 00250 Helsinki
 

Eating Italian at Vaelsa Pasta & Co.

Some time ago, a little Italian restaurant took over the tiny space that used to house Subway at the Iso Roba end of Annankatu. While i quite enjoy the occasional sub, the presence of a new, non-chain Italian is a welcome addition to the Helsinki restaurant scene. So last Friday my mom, my brother and i decide to try it out.

They've done a nice job with the place. Gone are the harsh lights, clinical tiles and potato chip stands of the Subway days. In their place are low-hung, softly lit lamps, wall-to-wall carpeting and Italian music. They've turned the tiny space into a cozy, intimate restaurant. 

We skim the menu, which is versatile enough to offer a nice selection, while being condensed enough to make choosing easy. I opt for the Insalata Caprese for a starter (9.70e). The tomatoes are juicy and the mozzarella melts in your mouth. The pesto, of course, is home-made. 

My brother goes for the Bruschetta al Pomodoro (6/10e), which, he affirms between mouthfuls, is just as it should be. I sneak a bite; these flavors are why i love Italian food. Simple, straightforward, fresh ingredients. I wouldn't have minded the bread being a little more toasted, but apart from that, the starter was delicious.

The Risotto ai Funghi Portobello (15.50e) is the one of the three vegetarian mains on the menu; i choose it over the Pasta al Pomodoro (10e) and Pasta al Pesto (12.70e). Our mains take a while to get to us (the charming owner apologizes for this, as they're currently catering to a party of twelve that arrived just before us), but it's worth the wait. I'm a big fan of risotto, and i couldn't live without mushrooms. This is comfort food at its best, and i'm not disappointed.

I'm stuffed after the main course, but ordering dessert is the best part about eating out, so i decide i can manage the Sorbetto al Limone (5e). It's frothy, icy and very zesty, and in its lightness, a great way to finish off a big meal. My brother (who is on weekend leave from the army, and looks increasingly more like Skeletor every time i see him) goes for the Tiramisu (9.70e). I dig into it too, and it's gorgeous. I let Skeletor finish it, though. All in all, dinner was delicious, made all the more brilliant by the splendid company (this praise has nothing to do with the fact that my mom was awesome and picked up the bill). As far as i'm concerned, i say support your local Italian. 

Vaelsa Pasta & Co. Annankatu 4, 00120 Helsinki

The NY Chronicles: Food at Sacred Chow & Music at Cake Shop

It was Wednesday night in a sweltering city. Three women made their way to a vegan bistro called Sacred Chow. The place is tiny and easy to miss in the mix of little cafes and bars  Sullivan Street is full of. Since none of us had been there before, we walked right past it in a state of heat-induced stupor. We backtrack, find the place, sit down and order a pitcher of Sangria. Things are looking up.
 

The restaurant is entirely vegan and the menu is packed with all sorts of  veggie delights. I'm drooling. You sure as hell wouldn't come across something like Korean tofu cutlets on a menu in a restaurant back at home. I'm thinking, Helsinki, you need to get with it.

We go for some tapas: Mama's Soy Meatballs with Sicilian Sauce, Sun Dried Tomato Risotto, White Beans and Fried Potatoes, Cornbread with Sweet Potato Tempeh. The food arrives; everything looks good in home-cooked kinda way. The meatballs are lovely, the tomato sauce has a nice kick to it. And this cornbread, i love it. Warm, crumbly, almost too sweet to be bread and seriously moreish. Also, it's delicious with the whole sweet potato and tempeh combo.

We're absolutely stuffed after our entrees, but take a look at the dessert menu in any case. It features a Brownie Sundae. We can't resist. The vegan chocolate brownie comes with hot fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream and sprinkles. I lick my spoon and wonder whether i can discreetly unbutton my jeans.

We enter the muggy night once more and head to the Cake Shop on Ludlow Street, which features live music pretty much every night. 

True to its name, the place does some pretty nice-looking cake, has a pretty big collection of vinyls for sale, and doubles as a gig venue. The street level cafe is all decked out in thrift store furniture and the walls are papered in what seem to be 80s fashion ads.The downstairs live music venue is small, dark and features a bar lit up by lamps with tasseled silk shades that look like they've been stolen from my granny. A little stage decked out in fairy lights takes up one end of the small space. It's got that slightly manky, yet lovable vibe, like Lepakkomies or Semifinal. I'm liking it.

The night's lineup is four local bands we've never heard of, but look forward to checking out nonetheless. The first band is called The Crawl Babies. The three-man band plays some rather generic indie stuff and the dudes look like the poster boys of hipsterishness. Their Myspace site claims they're from Osaka and Kyoto and features pics of Japanese folk to support the claim. We think this is part of their cunning branding scheme. The drummer plays his instrument standing up and never once looks at the audience. There's something irritating about the singer's voice and his spasmodic twitching on stage. But i've always been one to appreciate a little self irony, whether it's intentional or not. 

The third band is called My Pet Ghost Project. They describe themselves as a sonic wrecking crew, which is quite accurate. Their music is cinematic, moody and songs build up to a rolling climax, courtesy of synths, serious drumming and the talented playing of the  guitarists. For the most part, this is instrumental, gigantic stuff lacking in vocals and making up for it in terms of ambiance.

The music wasn't the only intriguing part of the night, either. Because i enjoy taking pics of toilets, i couldn't leave this out. Some serious cool graffiti and stickers on the walls of the Cake Shop restrooms. Also, this may or may not have been the guys' toilet. Why do i think that? Perhaps the pic below was a clue. Shitballs.

The NY Chronicles: Williamsburg is Burning.

At the beginning of July, yours truly packed her bags, put her last pennies towards a plane ticket and fled to the sparkling, shiny city of New York. A month of exploration, adventure and decadence awaits. At least up until the money runs out. How did this crazy expedition come about? It all started when my lovely Manhattan-based friend Jenny sent me a message on Facebook, the subject of which was "Just to tempt you..". Her roommate was gonna go abroad for a month, thereby leaving her room in their lovely Harlem apartment vacant. Hell yes, is what i said. And to make a long story short - here i am, sitting in a New York apartment in the middle of a heatwave eating frozen yogurt and appreciating air conditioning like i've never appreciated it before.

Saying it's hot here is starting to seem like the understatement of the century. It's not just hot, it's wandering-in-the-desert-seeing-garden-gnomes, sweat-shooting-out-from-your-armpits-like-you're-the-man-from-the-Axe-ad, offensively-slap-you-in-the-face-with-a-reeking-hot-fish kind of hot. 

Despite this hotness, we decided to set out to Brooklyn and do some exploring in Williamsburg. As walking in the heat was rather painful and the going was slow, we stayed mostly on Bedford Street, making sure to keep ourselves properly hydrated (as one should, when one goes exploring and adventuring). 

We stopped by a couple of Vintage Shops, which are plentiful and very decently priced, like the one in the pic above, called Vice Versa. Toying with the idea of getting a Hawaii-print skirt from the seriously hideous 70s and a mallard-print shirt from the wardrobe of facepalm clothing-failures was probably influenced by the heat. In the end, better judgment dictated that the clothes in question would remain in the store, perhaps for some theme-party occasion or next hipster trend. What i did grab with, though, was a pair of black converse trainers for a whopping five dollars. 

Having done some shopping, we decide it's time for food, and decide to sample some serious fusion cuisine at Dokebi Bar & Grill.

The place is air conditioned, the interior is a nice mix of Asian eatery meets American diner, and what's best is, it's happy hour. I go for a spicy mushroom burrito, which is an interesting mix of Asian greens, beans, and mushrooms in a Korean BBQ sauce, served in a corn tortilla. It's good, it's filling, and at 7 dollars, it's a good deal. 

After food and a couple of cold beers, we brave the heat and head out. We don't get too far, cause we spot the nice rooftop terrace of Juliette's Bistro, and decide we've come far enough, and it's time for a drink. 

Cocktails are the way to go. My cocktail of choice - the Guillotine - is heavy on the rum, which seems appropriate for this tropical climate we're enjoying. Also, rather than hydrating us, this alcohol-drinking is doing the opposite. I think i see a garden gnome scampering across the terrace from the corner of my eye. We agree it might be time to head home.

All in all, despite the sweltering heat, we agree it's been a fine day of exploring. I resolve to come back to Williamsburg, preferably on a day when the temperature isn't in the triple digits and the garden gnomes aren't on the move.

Trying to Hate Siltanen

I don't get thrown out of bars often. Granted, it may have happened once or twice, but it's not like it's an everyday occurrence. So ever since i almost got thrown out of Siltanen some months ago (a dramatic tale involving a birthday party, a snowstorm and some jaeger bombs) i've held a bitter and thoroughly justified grudge against the place itself, and certain members of the bar staff especially, whose textbook hipsterishness coupled with a  total ambivalence towards customer service have left me dumbstruck on more than one occasion.

However, despite this deep-seated disfavor, i'll confess that on equally as many an occasion i've found myself spending the sunny hours of a summer evening lounging on said restaurant's terrace with a cold drink in hand and a plate of food in front of me. Nevertheless, where the service disappoints, the food has yet to.

This Monday was no exception, when six starving ladies sat down for dinner. Siltanen brought in a new summer menu not too long ago, which features sandwiches, soups, salads and the like – with vegetarians taken into account too. Prices average about a tenner, which won't set you on the road to bankruptcy. Also, portions are a good size, so making a pit stop by the dodgy-looking hot dog cart on your way home won't be necessary.

I decided to go for Ali Baba's Feast, a huge platter of hummus, spicy pita bread, couscous, aubergine dip, taboulleh, falafel and tzatziki. I reckon this platter is big enough to share between two, but such was the magnitude of my hunger that i devoured it all single-handedly. Washed down with a pint of ice cold Crowmoor, it was gooood. Falafels were crisp, the spiciness of the bread was a nice touch and the hummus was delicious. It's worth mentioning, though, that this here Ali Baba comes laced with garlic, to the extent that you can still taste it two days later. In any case, well worth the 12 euros.

And though Anne's Galette sandwich probably featured more meat than bread, i had to take a picture just to document the ambitious presentation. I'm told that in addition to good presentation, the taste was also spot on.

So yeah, Siltanen, as long as you make food this good, i simply can't hate you, no matter how hard i try.

Siltanen, Hämeentie 13 B

Yesterday Was Gorgeous.

And a good day. Because of the small things. Strange dream of Quick Draw McGraw. Huge mug of tea in the morning. Biking to work in the sunshine. 'Mama, i wanna go surfing' blaring on the iPod. A laughter-inducing text message outlining drunken escapades of nights before. 

Lots of little things.  Somewhere in between recording a radio ad and having a power lunch at the Nepalese on the corner, i spotted a bunch of Mayday balloons. Meandering outside someone's window, stuck to the power cord, this flock of superheroes  and my little ponies left over from the previous weekend's mayhem made me smile. 

The sunshine persisted well into the evening, when a gang of hungry women decided to dine at Tori. The restaurant no longer serves alcohol, which, in the eyes of many, is a fairly sad thing. The food, however, is still good enough a reason to pay the place a visit. What's more, the kitchen was happy to satisfy my veggie burger-craving by whipping up a hearty tofu burger, even when it wasn't on the menu. 

At the end of the day, full of food and seriously sleepy, i biked home, still smiling, like some victorious urban cowboy riding into the beautifully pollution-tinted sunset of an urban cityscape. 'Yessir', i thought to myself, as the empty beer cans tumbled by in the dry evening breeze; 'it was a good day, this one'. Now if only yesterday could Quick-Draw-McGraw today's offensively frigid and thoroughly drenched ass.

i heart in February.

1. Icicles. Especially those of the insanely long, razor-sharp variety, which are sure to pierce your head in true horror movie fashion, should you be lucky enough to chance upon the right place at the right time.


2. Tampere. There's life outside Helsinki. Everyone should give it a go. This observation is based on one evening's escapade in said town, contained to a single bar. It is therefore an entirely biased (and possibly alcohol-fueled) opinion. But one which i stick to, nonetheless.


3. Florence + The Machine. Not having gotten tickets for the gig at Tavastia, i'll have to content myself with admiring them from afar. Sigh.


3. Foosball. I've managed to convince myself i'm pretty good at this. I think i won't play it anymore, so i can keep on happily deluding myself. 


4. Festivals. Only a matter of months until you get to wake up in a strange tent, lose one shoe, and have beer for breakfast. 


5. Pad Thai. Kok Thai, the little Thai place just off Toolontori, does delicious tofu pad thai. Which i get a terrible hangover craving for. Oh if only they delivered. But they don't. Which is why i sit in bed on these mornings, headachy and salivating.


6. My new blender. I was at a loss after my old one died suddenly, mid-smoothie. This new baby, with its stainless steel finish and 700 watts of blitzing power, is set to save many a hung over morning by facilitating that welcome sensation of smoothie-induced brain freeze. 


7. The word 'akimbo'. For no particular reason. 


8. Helsinki Vintage. A treasure trove of beautiful people and pretty things. I'm convinced this is where i'll finally meet the object of my dreams: The Sailor Hat. fingers crossed.


9. My job. It rocks to get paid for doing something fun. 


10. February. Cause it's the shortest month of the year. Now how about that summer? At this rate, we'll still have snow in June. Looks like you'll be in that tent, waking up next to a mysterious stranger ("who is this bumble bee-suited dude lying next to me, sporting a permanent markered cock on his forehead?"), finding your shoeless foot a curious shade of blue and your precious breakfast beer (and all other 27 bottles of solid-food-substituting alcohol) frozen and/or exploded. I'm just saying.

Raku Ya in January.

Cold weather makes me want to eat. Eating is something i like to do in any case, but these last couple of weeks i've found myself heading out for lunch/dinner/second breakfast more than usual. Having two weeks off before starting a new job also means that right now i'm at leisure to enjoy super late brunches, long lunches and late dinners. Here's to enjoying it while it lasts!

On my list of 'places i wanna eat', Raku Ya had been in the top ten for a long while, but for some reason (probably more to do with budgetary restrictions than anything else), i'd never managed to go there for a meal. So when an occasion for a post-xmas family dinner arose, i convinced the fam the Japanese izakaya-style restaurant was something we should go for. High-end both in terms of its central seaside location and standard of neighboring restaurants, not to mention head chef Masato Ikeda's reputation, i had some pretty high expectations for Raku Ya.

The interior is of the restaurant, while not as sleek as that of Hotel Kämp's Japanese restaurant Yume, is pleasant. Our party of five was shown to a curtained, wood-finished booth, where we were asked to take off our shoes and given slippers to wear. Content in our comfy footwear, we proceed to order, going for some Asahi, Sake, and several different dishes to share. In izakaya-style, food is served as soon as it's prepared, which means everything is as fresh as possible.

Our Special sushi platter (29.50 e, pictured above) received good reviews from the pescatarian's of the family, and i'd rate the inari nigiri as some of the best i've had in Helsinki. The Ebi Furai (13.90 e) - giant shrimp tail deep-fried in batter, served with lime mayonnaise and a chili soya sauce - was also a favorite, owing especially to the chili soya sauce.

The Ebi Udon (14.90 e, japanese wheat noodles and deep-fried shrimp in soy broth) as well as its veggie counterpart, my Yasai Udon (13.90 e), were just filling and hearty enough to satisfy the appetite. Plump noodles, tasty broth and fresh veggies. Not complaining, although i'd still rate Wagamama's Udons above these.

In terms of price, Raku Ya is above average, but then again, the food is too. For good Japanese in Helsinki, this is the place.


Raku Ya, Eteläranta 14, 00120 Helsinki