Soul Food and Secretaries
I wish every Wednesday night could be like this. Tickets to see some dear friends in a mad (in a good way) production of The Secretaries at Crowded Fire, preceded by an artery clogging meal at farmerbrown, the hip soul food restaurant in the 'loin. I'm impressed reading their mission statement of "supporting local and african-american farmers, using organic, biodynamic, and/or sustainably raised foods, and beverages whenever possible."
The menu is nicely balanced, and all distinctly southern with dishes like fried okra, shrimp and grits, gumbo, and requisite fried chicken and pulled pork. My foodie skeleton in the closet: I was practically raised on KFC. Remember the urban myth that they supposedly couldn't call it Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore because the chicken was genetically modified beyond recognition as an actual chicken? I don't think that theory has any legs (so to speak) but we should probably be more concerned about the factory farming conditions in which the chickens are raised and the MSG in the "secret recipe." But for my Louisiana-born mother, KFC was a much loved treat, and I admit to having a soft spot for those baked beans.
A pair of refreshing cocktails started us off: the little pink number is my "watermelon margarita" with a cayenne pepper rim. I maybe would have enjoyed it more had San Francisco kept up its balminess, but with a slight chill to our waning Indian Summer, this drink was just a little too watery and lacking kick. The cayenne rim was somewhat redeeming. Next to the margarita is my dining companion's "tenderloin shandy." Ah, we got a good laugh out of that name. A shandy, I learned, is beer with lemonade. The tenderloin version includes housemade ginger beer, scrimshaw pilsner, and lemon lime soda.
Our first appetizer was fried okra. My dining companion was looking forward to their pulled pork sliders, but our server unhelpfully told us they were only available from the bar. Uh, should we walk over there and order them ourselves? We opted not to be feisty about it, and instead made other selections. The fried okra was tasty, but there was a little too much of it. I know, I know, complaining about too much food? Shameful. I also think it would have been cuter if they had fried whole okra, it has such a lovely shape.
Squid with beans, black eyed peas, cauliflower, arugula and rosemary aioli. This was a surprising delight. I do love rosemary but would never think to pair it with seafood. It was a lovely complement though.
Shrimp 'n' grits. For some reason I thought this sounded odd and had to be persuaded to order it. I guess it is a classic southern dish, but I enjoy my grits rich and cheesy and shrimp seems more watery and fresh to me. I shouldn't have doubted though! I loved the creaminess of the grits combined with corn, shrimp and bell peppers.
And the crown jewel, fried chicken with mac and cheese and collards. Oy, I'm starting to feel a little indigestion just thinking about it again. This was classic and awesome. The chicken was garnished with sage which I thought was a nice touch.
We unfortunately had to leave in a rush in order to make the 8pm show a few blocks away, so were unable to try any of the delectable desserts - meyer lemon cheesecake or bourbon pecan pie, anyone? Next time, next time.
So we scooted over to the Boxcar Playhouse, arriving at 8:01pm, but when does theater ever start on time? Two of my castmates from Much Ado About Nothing were performing in the feminist satire The Secretaries with Crowded Fire, one of the Bay Area's most exciting small houses producing contemporary work. It was a 90 minute build to an insane climax, and I enjoyed every taught, fraught, wigged and shoulder-padded moment. Pictured here are Eleanor Mason Reinholdt, Khamara Pettus, and Marilee Talkington. Not pictured are my former castmates Letitia Duarte and Elissa Beth Stebbins.
The play was developed by The Five Lesbian Brothers, a collective of 5 women dedicated to "creating innovative, subversive, and virulently funny work." Created and set in the 1990's, The Secretaries is inspired by Lorena Bobbit, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Twin Peaks. As a proponent of women in the arts, it was a pleasure to see this all-female cast power their way through the insane script that is The Secretaries. It is set in the office of a logging company in Big Bone, Oregon. Office politics take on whole new meanings when 5 ambitious and half starved (they subsist on slim fast shakes) women all sync up their menstrual cycles. The play's climactic ending comes on portentous day 29.
Director Marissa Wolf (also Artistic Director of Crowded Fire) does a great job keeping the play moving along and I enjoyed the 90's musical interludes. The set is an innovative use of the small performance space, the secretaries' desks able to wheel around and turn over to create new landscapes. All the actors pull out impressive (and at times scary) characterizations. Check it out, it plays Wednesday-Sunday, through October 9!
The menu is nicely balanced, and all distinctly southern with dishes like fried okra, shrimp and grits, gumbo, and requisite fried chicken and pulled pork. My foodie skeleton in the closet: I was practically raised on KFC. Remember the urban myth that they supposedly couldn't call it Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore because the chicken was genetically modified beyond recognition as an actual chicken? I don't think that theory has any legs (so to speak) but we should probably be more concerned about the factory farming conditions in which the chickens are raised and the MSG in the "secret recipe." But for my Louisiana-born mother, KFC was a much loved treat, and I admit to having a soft spot for those baked beans.
A pair of refreshing cocktails started us off: the little pink number is my "watermelon margarita" with a cayenne pepper rim. I maybe would have enjoyed it more had San Francisco kept up its balminess, but with a slight chill to our waning Indian Summer, this drink was just a little too watery and lacking kick. The cayenne rim was somewhat redeeming. Next to the margarita is my dining companion's "tenderloin shandy." Ah, we got a good laugh out of that name. A shandy, I learned, is beer with lemonade. The tenderloin version includes housemade ginger beer, scrimshaw pilsner, and lemon lime soda.
Our first appetizer was fried okra. My dining companion was looking forward to their pulled pork sliders, but our server unhelpfully told us they were only available from the bar. Uh, should we walk over there and order them ourselves? We opted not to be feisty about it, and instead made other selections. The fried okra was tasty, but there was a little too much of it. I know, I know, complaining about too much food? Shameful. I also think it would have been cuter if they had fried whole okra, it has such a lovely shape.
Squid with beans, black eyed peas, cauliflower, arugula and rosemary aioli. This was a surprising delight. I do love rosemary but would never think to pair it with seafood. It was a lovely complement though.
Shrimp 'n' grits. For some reason I thought this sounded odd and had to be persuaded to order it. I guess it is a classic southern dish, but I enjoy my grits rich and cheesy and shrimp seems more watery and fresh to me. I shouldn't have doubted though! I loved the creaminess of the grits combined with corn, shrimp and bell peppers. 
And the crown jewel, fried chicken with mac and cheese and collards. Oy, I'm starting to feel a little indigestion just thinking about it again. This was classic and awesome. The chicken was garnished with sage which I thought was a nice touch.We unfortunately had to leave in a rush in order to make the 8pm show a few blocks away, so were unable to try any of the delectable desserts - meyer lemon cheesecake or bourbon pecan pie, anyone? Next time, next time.
So we scooted over to the Boxcar Playhouse, arriving at 8:01pm, but when does theater ever start on time? Two of my castmates from Much Ado About Nothing were performing in the feminist satire The Secretaries with Crowded Fire, one of the Bay Area's most exciting small houses producing contemporary work. It was a 90 minute build to an insane climax, and I enjoyed every taught, fraught, wigged and shoulder-padded moment. Pictured here are Eleanor Mason Reinholdt, Khamara Pettus, and Marilee Talkington. Not pictured are my former castmates Letitia Duarte and Elissa Beth Stebbins.The play was developed by The Five Lesbian Brothers, a collective of 5 women dedicated to "creating innovative, subversive, and virulently funny work." Created and set in the 1990's, The Secretaries is inspired by Lorena Bobbit, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Twin Peaks. As a proponent of women in the arts, it was a pleasure to see this all-female cast power their way through the insane script that is The Secretaries. It is set in the office of a logging company in Big Bone, Oregon. Office politics take on whole new meanings when 5 ambitious and half starved (they subsist on slim fast shakes) women all sync up their menstrual cycles. The play's climactic ending comes on portentous day 29.
Director Marissa Wolf (also Artistic Director of Crowded Fire) does a great job keeping the play moving along and I enjoyed the 90's musical interludes. The set is an innovative use of the small performance space, the secretaries' desks able to wheel around and turn over to create new landscapes. All the actors pull out impressive (and at times scary) characterizations. Check it out, it plays Wednesday-Sunday, through October 9!
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