You know I love a good best of the year list.
At this point I love the grand majority of the movies I see, the books I watch, etc. I probably seem like an easy critic, but my chances to relax in front of a book or screen are so scarce and precious, I mostly pick stuff in pretty confident I’ll appreciate.
MUSIC
Hoping 2024 reignites some new music discovery and my relationship with music. I really value having some tracks that become inseparable from core memories, and I’m racking up the latter these days.That said, here are some 2023 releases I really liked:
🎧 Joy Oladokun - Proof of Life
🎧 Yaeji - With a Hammer
🎧 Sufjan Stevens - Javelin
🎧 Beach Fossils - Bunny
🎧 Arlo Parks - Soft Machine
🎧 Black Pumas - Chronicles of a Diamond
🎧 Jordan Ward - Forward
🎧 The Mountain Goats - Jenny From Thebes
books
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
• The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
• Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists by Leah Penniman
• Victory City by Salman Rushdie
MOVIES
1) They Cloned Tyrone
2) Past Lives
3) The Boy and The Heron
4) Rye Lane
5) Joyride
6) Leave The World Behind
7) Polite Society
8) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
9) Elemental
10) Fingernails
MEALS
🏣 Yilma
📍 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
🧆 Tibs & Turbo
Got to try Ethiopia’s party drink- better than expected- along with the local favorite of grilled steak cubes at this Addis Ababa institution.
🏣 Anime
📍 San Diego, CA
🥡 Duck & kimchi fried rice, short rib kare kare, mantou, and wagyu tartare
Followed the hype to this local favorite on two occasions- my birthday and a friend’s bachelor party. A great place to go with good company.
🏣 Marugame Udon
📍 Honolulu, HI
🍜 Katsu Curry Udon Noodles
Tried this udon spot at its Oahu flagship and loved it. Hopefully it translates well when the chain makes its stateside debut in 2024.
🏣 California English
📍 San Diego, California
🫖 Tea Time
Got to enjoy a tea time with Richard Blais at one of his newer restaurants that blends English traditions with Californian taste buds, as the name suggests. Had a great time with the chef.
🏣 Magna Kusina
📍 Portland, Oregon
🍢 Scallop & bistek skewers, ube grasshopper, crushed Japanese cucumber
I had this Filipino spot in Portland bookmarked since it opened and I’m glad I did. Their approach to a cuisine that’s getting more and more popular stood out as unique. Everything we had was a treat.
🏣 Private Dinner for TEDx Speakers
📍 La Jolla, California
🍥 Scallop in poblano pepper crema, coconut panna cotta
This was a dinner prepared by Chef Claudia Sandoval, who was a friend of a fellow TED speaker. The panna cotta was the one that wowed Gordon Ramsay on her MasterChef season and this let me know this would be no ordinary speaking gig.
🏣 Bhola Tea Center
📍 Kolkata, India
☕️ Chai
Between coffee in Ethiopia and chai in India, I am effectively spoiled for caffeine for a while! This busy street side cafe still has me craving chai.
🏣 Sisa
📍 Panglao, Philippines
🍛 Corazon
We ate here practically every night when we were in Bohol. This was our spot! And I’m so glad it was. The dishes hit the exact right note of being true to the culture of origin while still creatively composed.