Bob Costas

Love ’em or leave ’em, the Olympics are here for another week, and who better to accompany you than NBC’s own Bob Costas? He explains the finer points of luge, guides us through Nordic Combined and actually made that whole Canadian/Russian figure skating scandal interesting. His Olympic Moments rarely leave a dry eye in the house, and his son-ailing-father relationship with Jim McCay is just as touching. Complete with his blue Sharpie sidekick, Costas deserves the gold medal for hosting.

— AR

Soup @ Ancora Caf?

I have never been much of a soup fan, except for maybe my dad’s Sunday afternoon chicken, which traditionally brewed hours upon hours atop our electric stove while the Lions (traditionally) blew lead after lead. Then the vegetarian bug flew into our household and potato leek puree replaced chicken stock forever.

So since the early ’90s, soup has never piqued my interest — although Amy’s soup/salad/baguette lunch special did make a run at breaking me out of a vegetarian chili rut (yes, chili is not considered soup in my book), but a certain negative feedback from my gastro region voted no on the notion.

Enter Ancora. If you didn’t know, Gorham Street’s Canterbury Books has a decent little caf? that brews some of the strongest java around while acknowledging that coffee needs accompanying sides. Elegance Foods, a local caterer that is breaking into the consignment arena, got me back on the soup track. Some of my personal favorites include tomato saffron, rosemary navy bean and yesterday’s discovery, shitake wild rice. I admit, brown lentil isn’t the strongest choice with its flavorless base, but take some of that tomato saffron, drizzle it over a crusty, whole wheat mini loaf sliced diagonally the way everyone likes it, and pow, a reminder of the power of broth.

— MR

Aesthetic Apparatus

Doesn’t everybody know some bro who insists to rock that John Belushi poster on his dorm/apartment wall with the assumption that it is acceptable? That just is not acceptable! Posters shall be chosen with care and not be thrown up to simply splash color or worse, cover up cracks. Michael and Dan of Aesthetic Apparatus craft the acceptable wall covering. Hand printed at Survival Graphics, the duo primarily deals with concert promo sheets. Don’t get me wrong though, these aren’t the nightmarish (aesthetically speaking) neon-hued kiosk numbers. Each print is signed and certainly frame-worthy. Check the catalog at www.aestheticapparatus.com for all your favorite past Madison gigs — Har Mar, Richard Buckner, Amy Ray, The Meat Puppets to name a few.

— MR

Blog of the Week:

“I go to the Barnes & Noble in Union Square at least once a week. I usually grab a couple of books and head to the top floor to sit and read. There are typically 20 or 30 people spread out in the “events” area where there are plenty of folding chairs and places to sit. Without exception, there are at least four or five people in that section that are talking to themselves. This is a little disturbing to me, because I’ve always harbored this vague notion that the ideal place to meet people would be a bookstore or library. I don’t know any other incorrigible bibliophiles in New York, and if the regular clientele at Barnes & Noble is any indication, the few that do exist tend to have conversations with non-existent people.”

[http://capitalinflux.blogspot.com/]