Anthology

Not Too Sweet, Not Too Tart, Just Right

by: Casey Pukl

I’m starting to think that there’s a little too much of the color orange in my life lately. Ever since we bought new bright orange vintage armchairs for our living room, I’ve been eating oranges, carrots, cheddar cheese, buying orange pants (admittedly a bad decision), and even sporting orange nail polish on my toes (a one day only affair). This week, I’m ending my “orange obsession” with our Farm Fresh Pick of the Week. Tangerines, for all intents and purposes, are slightly sweeter baby oranges that are easier to separate into slices, but don’t underestimate how incredible they can be across a wide variety of dishes. They’re also packed with vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, magnesium, and B1,2,and 3! For those of you who are still sticking to your New Year’s Resolution (which at this point is an estimated 41% of you), these rich little fruits can yield big results for your waistline and overall health.

Chef Todd Allison and General Manager, Warren Phelps, have teamed up this week to give you a few ideas to take your tangerines from the grove to your plate. Chef Allison has a few lighter options to combat all of those hearty holiday meals, while Warren has recommended some great wines to go with them.

Fire Up Your Breakfast

It’s the most important meal of the day, so spice it up! One of my personal favorite options for breakfast is oatmeal with peaches, tangerines, cinnamon, and coconut flakes. Cook your steel cut oats with your peach slices until the water is absorbed. Mix in your tangerine segments at the end, then top your bowl with cinnamon, a tiny bit of brown sugar, and shredded coconut flakes. Yum!

Color Up Your Salad Read the rest of this entry »

Anthology’s Brunch Menu Preview

by: Casey Pukl

There’s nothing I love more than brunch on a Sunday morning. What could be better than waking up, taking a shower (or not), and heading off to have someone else cook you breakfast and serve up bottomless mimosas and coffee?

Here at Anthology, the rest of the staff shares my passion for this delicious between-meals meal, and that’s why we rolled out our brand new Sunday brunch menu. For those of you who enjoy watching football, the game will be shown upstairs on our TV, and for those who prefer to keep Anthology as their musical destination, there will be a little of that downstairs as well. What could be better?

The food.

Chef Todd Allison has whipped up some new brunch items that I now can’t live without. Dungeness Crab Benedict is among the highlights, with it’s poached egg that sits so gently above a stack of crab cake, topped with a maltaise sauce that will make you wish you had room for a thousand more bites.

Another highlight is the Banana Nut Buttermilk Short Stack. These fluffy rounds of perfection are served up with candied walnuts, dark rum butter, oak barrel maple syrup, and a side of fresh fruit. The combination of the rum butter, maple syrup, and bananas is out of this world.

In the mood for the lunch side of brunch? Go for the Rosemary Lemon Roasted Chicken Panini. This panini has a house made dried tomato pesto on it that will bring you to your knees. Add some arugula, swiss cheese, and either a house salad or fries, and you can just enjoy yourself that little piece of heaven on a ciabatta roll.

Oh, and did I mention all of the fabtastic drinks our bar will be serving up?

I know we’ve already addressed our Lemonada and our Ramos Gin Fizz in my last post (see here), but can you wrap your mind around $10 bottomless mimosas? I know, I’m excited too!

You can also find Marc’s now famous Twenty/Twenty on our brunch menu! Miss my post on it? Check out Friday’s Farm Fresh Pick of the Week!

Brunch happens from 10:30AM-1:30PM every Sunday! Reservations are recommended, and you can view all the rest of the details here! See you on Sunday!

An Interview with Sista Monica Parker

by: Casey Pukl

If I had to sum up Sista Monica in a few words, I’d have to go with, “Seasoned Pro.” There is absolutely nothing that the “Lioness of the Blues” can’t accomplish as she has proven time and time again. She’s just released her 11th album in 20 years titled Living in the Danger Zone, and has been nominated for a prestigious Blues Award. It would seem as though she’d been doing this forever. However, read on to learn about Sista Monica’s first career, and who actually inspired her to pursue her musical aspirations. I think you’ll be just as surprised an amused as I was!

CP: Let’s get right into it— tell me about the new album “Living in the Danger Zone”! Read the rest of this entry »

An Interview with Kenneth Pattengale of The Milk Carton Kids

by: Casey Pukl

Full disclosure: I’ve transcribed this entire interview and now formatted this entire post while listening to, “Michigan” on a non-stop loop. We’re heading into hour two. Did I mention that I also listened to it twice on the bus this morning on my way in?

That’s just the kind of effect that The Milk Carton Kids’ infectious music can have on you. Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale are quite possibly the modern day Simon and Garfunkel. Their songs gently stomp on your heart and leave you humming them for days. Their voices and guitar playing perfectly weave around each other in the most understated and appropriate way. Not a single note is overplayed. You can imagine my excitement when I found out they’d be bringing their guitars and voices here to Anthology. I had the chance to speak with Kenneth Pattengale last week about their journey thus far, and I’ve got to admit, I was pretty floored. Having only been around as The Milk Carton Kids for less than a year, these guys have toured with Joe Purdy and are already headlining their own tours. Oh, and did I mention that neither of them had ever co-written before they got together and they’re also giving away their albums for free? Read on to find out why their show this Wednesday is one that you absolutely cannot miss.

CP: I know both you and Joey were both working on solo careers prior to becoming The Milk Carton Kids, but this whole thing blew up really quickly, correct? You guys are still a super new band?

KP: It is pretty new. We technically really only started in March of this year, well, last year now, but about 9 months ago. We had played together before lightly across the year before that, but it wasn’t anything really official. But it was across that year that we figured out taking the songs that both of us had created and arranging them for our really small arrangement of the two guitars and the two voices was actually much more interesting and entertaining than we thought it ever would be. This is coming from two guys who had previously played shows going up and doing the singer/songwriter on a stage with one guitar solo thing. But the minute we started playing together, it seemed to be something else. It came from a different voice, and ever since then, it just kind of stuck. Read the rest of this entry »

Soups, Sides, and Souffles, Oh My!

by: Casey Pukl

If you’ve been keeping up with the news this week, no doubt you’ve heard about the woman in Sweden who lost her wedding ring 16 years ago only to find it growing in her garden wrapped around a carrot this week! You can read the story here! To say the least, we were all pretty inspired by the story, and in honor of it, Chef Todd Allison and beverage manager, Marc Canzoneri have put together a full meal and cocktail featuring this delicious root vegetable!

For a starter, Chef Todd recommends one of his personal favorite dishes— Carrot Ginger Soup with Scallions. To make the soup, he recommends starting by sautéing some sliced onions in a little bit of butter until they are soft. Then add chicken broth, peeled and chopped carrots, and a bit of grated ginger (1-2 tablespoons). Cover and boil the mixture until the carrots are soft.

Once the carrots are soft, you can carefully blend the mixture. Be very careful when doing this. Blending hot liquids can be tricky, so be sure to vent the lid! Once blended, return the soup to the pan, add a little bit of crème and season to taste with a little salt, pepper, garlic, and whatever else you’d like. Add scallions on top before serving! Read the rest of this entry »