This past weekend my younger brother was married on Cape Cod. The wedding and reception was held by the beach in New Seabury, MA at the Popponesset Inn. The property’s website does justice to how pretty the setting was for Timothy and Ashley – Popponesset Inn.
Click to enlarge the photos below which Sergio snapped of my younger brother and I just prior to the ceremony and during the wedding. 
Last week I wrote about The Taste of Provincetown, which will take place on Saturday, August 25th at Provincetown Town Hall.
The event will include Boston Sweet Cheeks chef-owner Tiffani Faison refereeing a cooking challenge by three Provincetown chefs.
Yours truly will join Frank Vasello, chef and owner of Relish to judge the cooking challenge. Proceeds go to benefit MassEquality so come down and join me at The Taste of Provincetown.
Purchase your tickets online here.
100 completely useless or recently vandalized phone booths in São Paulo, Brazil, were given to talented artists who had free reign to turn them into anything they like as part of an ongoing public art project “Call Parade” sponsored by Brazilian telecommunications company Vivo. Check out the complete list of phone booths, learn more about the artists who created the public art and find out where the phone booth is on Google Maps here.
Actually I should call this post “cup of Bo” since this is the very handsome model, Bo Roberts. I figure if your morning cup of joe hasn’t kicked in yet, perhaps this image of Bo will get your attention.
Much thanks to David over at WGB for posting this on his blog last week. It was just the inspiration I needed.
At the start of this summer I posted this video from Garfunkel and Oates. These two women share their comedy through song.
It never ceases to amaze me how many, self confident, attractive women seem to snap after they turn 30. This video pokes fun at that phenomenon. Note that this video is not safe for work (NSFW).
Last week Gallup released a study about obesity in the U.S. They also ranked each of the 50 states from least obese to most obese.
For the second year in a row Colorado had the lowest obesity rate. The study also examined levels of high blood pressure and diabetes, and found that, like last year, these lists look similar to the list of the most obese states, with both obesity and chronic disease clustered among Southern and Midwestern states.
Curious to see how your home state ranks? Here is the list of most and least obese states.
I love to sleep in on Sunday mornings.
Bodyscapes by Allan Teger
Earlier this summer I featured artist / photographer Lee Castoro who created RAW Fine Art – a collection of intimate photographs to address addiction. The work of Allan Teger is more whimsical. He captures everyday human activities using the naked form as his landscape.
If you love photography as I do, check out his website to learn more about Allan Teger and his collection, Bodyscapes.
Ai Fiori menu focuses on cuisine from the Italian and French Riviera. Chef and owner, Michael White, has created a beautiful space for a special evening of dining. When you walk onto the second floor restaurant at The Setai Hotel you are warmly greeted by staff and find yourself in the restaurant’s large bar and lounge. The restaurant makes the most of its location with many tables lining Fifth Avenue and 35th Street, but the restaurant is so beautifully designed that if you don’t happen to have a table by a window you need not worry.
The waitstaff encourage diners to enjoy a four course meal so I obliged. The four course prix fixe is $89 and includes the following courses: cominciare / pasta or risotto / pesce or carne / dolce. For those looking to truly indulge there is also a seven course chef’s tasting menu for $125. My colleague and I opted to forgo our usual cocktails and try Pernod Absynthe for the first time. If you enjoy anise you will enjoy this with notorious liquor with water.
My first plate was the Insalata di Pomidori (shown bottom left) which included heirloom tomatoes, stracciatella, basil pesto, balsamic dressing. It was a fantastic choice – light to eat and beautifully plated. For my next course, I selected a house favorite, Trofie Nero (shown bottom right), which included ligurian crustacean ragu, seppia, scallops, spiced mollica. While I enjoyed the plate, I preferred my colleagues choice (not shown below), Tortelli comprised of ricotta & mascarpone ravioli, sottocenere cheese, red wine glaze. The cheese ravioli was smooth and creamy and the glaze was delicious.
Although service was generally superb, there was an obvious miscommunication, because it was nearly a half hour between when we finished our second plate and received our third. This did not bother me nor detract from our dinner since we had planned a leisurely meal, but it did strike me as an odd issue for a restaurant, which clearly encourages the four course meal. The third plate proved worth the wait, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Capesante, sea scallops, fennel, leeks, uova di trota, and shellfish sabayon.
Though I was quite content by the time I had finished the scallops, I had ordered the Torta di Olio for dessert – a ligurian olive oil cake, strawberry, pine nut, and rosemary yogurt gelato. It was served on two plates; the first the warmed cake with a side of strawberry jam and the second plate with the flavorful gelato, pine nuts and strawberries that complimented the the cake beautifully.
Ai Fiori is set up perfectly for a power dining dinner or to have a special meal with close friends and family. The formal atmosphere is not stuffy and enhances the dining experience. I would certainly come back again with colleagues if the opportunity presented itself – and I hope it does.
Ai Fiori’s dining menus are available online here. Reservations are strongly recommended.
My brother is getting married later today so I thought I’d share a poem befitting the occasion.
Devotion
The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to ocean –
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.
Devotion was written by American Poet, Robert Frost, and first published in 1928. I love the simplicity of this poem and the imagery he evokes to describe such a personal and intimate concept.
I’m down on Cape Cod to attend my little brother’s wedding, which is actually tomorrow afternoon. I couldn’t be happier for them, and I’m looking forward to the celebration. I love them both dearly.
The Huffington Post reports HIV among gay and bisexual men is increasing and a new study — unprecedented in its comprehensiveness and scope — is underway to find out why.
The survey which is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University will poll 25,000 volunteers through an online survey.
You may read the full article in the Huffington Post here. To take the survey which only takes a few minutes click here.
What do Halle Berry, Zac Efron, David Beckham and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor all have in common? They will all guest star on the 43rd season of Sesame Street. You can see the full list of stars who are all joining Bird, Ernie, Bert and the cast later this fall by linking here.
I cannot think of a longer running show that has more appeal than Sesame Street. Nearly everyone who is anyone in American pop culture and beyond has joined this children’s show at one point in their career.
Do you remember watching Sesame Street? My favorite character was (no surprise) The Cookie Monster.
Last week I was talking about how difficult it is to find photographs of handsome black men with hairy chests. Hearing my passive-aggressive pleas for help, Eric forward me this image. Although this guy isn’t as hairy as past posts, he is most definitely worthy. What do you think?
BosGuy 