popcorn youth

A mighty congratulations are in order for Ithaca’s beloved poet, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, who was announced as a National Book Award finalist for poetry, for her work ‘Open Interval.’ A work that is, by the way, tremendous. [NYTimes]
Annie Clark likes ‘Please Kill Me’ — and Arrested Development! (As she should.)
She also performed at Rachel Comey’s […]

[From the Ithaca Times] Samantha Izzo has been passionate about music and food her entire life. A native of South Africa, Izzo grew up listening to Old Time, bluegrass and Appalachian folk music. As a current Ithaca resident, Izzo owns and cooks at Simply Red Bistro at Sheldrake Point Vineyard. Every Monday, Chef Izzo — […]

[A version of this interview appears in this week’s Ithaca Times; photos via Amazon] A certain philosophy towards food consciousness — a desire to know how our food is grown, made and sold, as well as a keen advocacy for sustainable consumption — has skyrocketed in popularity in the last five years.
Some take it even […]

We spotted this sign at the Gimme! outpost at Saturday’s Farmers Market. It is a bummer, as now we will all have to make our coffee stops prior to arriving at the Market at the early hour of 9am. Sigh. Life is so hard. Enjoy these photos from the weekend and happy Monday. (Oh, and […]

WildFire Bistro — the new Italian restaurant occupying the former Lost Dog Lounge spot — will begin hosting live music starting in October. That was fast! Here’s what they have so far:
Saturday Oct. 3rd- The Silent League with Weggalo Star, 9pm
Wednesday Oct 7th- Djug Django, 6pm (and every Wednesday after that)
Thursday Oct 8th- Built to […]

I hope you were able to visit the Lost Dog before it shuttered its doors several weeks ago. Plenty of their comfy lounge furniture was up for grabs in the last week or so.. I happened to snatch a maroon leather upholstered bistro chair. So many Popcorn Youth memories in their lounge space — it […]

The recently defunct ABC Cafe is currently cleaning out their space, resulting in an exciting pile of free CD’s, records, and nondescript clothing on the stoop for the taking. There’s also an assortment of items that you actually have to pay for, such as tea, drink syrup, beverage dispensers, and more music. I obtained: a […]

[Uhhmmmm… yes! Hope it does not cause Oprah-worthy levels of hysteria ala KFC.] ITHACA JIMMY JOHN’S SANDWICH SHOPS CELEBRATES CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY
Four-Hour Event Includes $1.00 Sandwiches & Prize Giveaways
WHAT:   Jimmy John’s Sandwich Shops is celebrating its Ithaca location by throwing a Customer Appreciation Day.  During the event, Jimmy John’s will be selling their delicious sandwiches […]

Simply Red Bistro at Sheldrake Point reopened for their 2009 season this past weekend. My favorite part about their restaurant — the free old timey music every Monday night — begins tonight! Expect a cast of characters revolving around the Evil City String Band lineup to begin playing around 6pm tonight. Read the article I […]

Lord, is it beautiful outside. Chef Sam Izzo of Simply Red Bistro says play hooky and do this instead: “Join us Wednesday at the Trumansburg Farmers Market we will be serving up Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw, Veggie Chili and Cornbread with Music from Evil City String Band.” 4-6pm. Yum yum!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing owner and head chef of Simply Red Bistro, Samantha Izzo. Her first cookbook ‘Mama Red’s Comfort Kitchen’ recently came out and we chatted about her favorite recipes, her self-taught approach to cooking, and her relationship to live music. There’s an interview with half of The […]

“Please join us for a relaxing night of French song & fare.
This Thursday with Nuages.
Music begins at 8pm.
Please call ahead to save your spot.
607-273-8515
PANGEA
120 THIRD STREET
(entrance is on Madison)”

Okay, today is officially food-related news day, but this is a sad announcement indeed. Juna’s — second home of the Ithaca Times, and our number one choice for a hot cup of joe during the winter and a scoop of Purity during the summer — is calling it quits. There really aren’t too many other […]

To continue today’s food-themed posts, here’s another French music-inspired night at Pangea, one of our favorite local restaurants. Speaking from personal experience, these nights are fabulous, the food is amazing, and Franck Vidal is the best singer! Get a reservation while you can . . .
CAN YOU CAN-CAN?

Wear your skirt […]

Oh. My. God.
During my nightly perusal of Tastespotting (essentially it’s all food porn, and a great aggregator, ala hype machine or elbows, but for cooks), I found this amazing recipe for harira, a traditional Algerian or Moroccan soup. My heart fluttered a little bit when I saw the delicious looking photo, as I basically subsisted […]