My emotional support dog

Charlie's a service dog. First let me say, anyone with an emotional support dog, please dont be upset. I'm letting the cat outta of the bag for a second because, well frankly I think its kind of hysterical. Somewhere around a few weeks before Hair was leaving New York to debut around the country, I had to figure out the dilemma with what to do with Charlie. That was all put to rest when a friend in the cast told me about 'emotional support dogs', a brilliant idea some broke dude must of come up maybe 10 years ago when he very wisely suggested that service dogs aren't just for the physically challenged.  That maybe dogs can also service the 'mentally challenged'. By this i mean a system where, if you have $200 and a halfway competent dog, you can be issued a paper by an online psychologist that states your dog can travel with you anywhere on board a plane for one year. No hotels or restaurants by the way, just flying. And with your piece of paper you also receive 2 laminated ID tags and an official 'service dog' patch. sounds brilliant right? No joke, anyone with any kind of animal can do it. I said I have ADHD, which i do, but you can make up literally anything. Because normally it costs upwards of $150 to fly your pup, in 2 flights, you've already made your money back. And because its so new, these 'emotional support' people want to hold on to their status for as long as possible. So me speaking up on the matter doesnt really help the cause. Oh yes, I realize I'm also ruining this for me too. Who knows how long this law will hold up before enough people come and ask for letters from their psychologists? Again, I'm sorry.

So when it came time for me to fly to Seattle, it was still my first time and of course I had doubts. Maybe they wouldnt let Charlie fly, maybe the paper wasnt enough, who knows. I ended up trashing his foldable crate and walked on-board. I board first because special needs passengers board first. Then the stewardess comes up and asks the man next to us if he'd 'mind moving to give the dog more space'. What? Is this really happening? More space? Where AM i? the man didnt even think twice and jumped up to find a new seat. then without even asking the stewardess brings Charlie a white porcelain bowl of water and sets it on his tray. So here I am, Charlie lapping from his bowl on the window seat, gazing out @ the Bitteroots of Montana from 2700 feet up.

Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade

Nicks best baked Chocolate Tart w/ lemon vanilla shortbread crust

who, me?

I woke up this morning listening to David Bowie's Starman and dancing with Charlie and thinking about mama Jan and how this was her favorite holiday. As a Belton it was ritual to wake up as early as possible Thanksgiving morning and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. By the looks of Matt Lauer or Willard Scott [remember him?] its was inevitably 40 degrees and most likely raining. I remember sitting there with my plate of fruit and coffee cake in my warm house feeling this deep sympathy for the Rockettes putting on a smile in their tights but really freezing their asses off in 40 degrees. And that's the best part. I think why the parade offers so much nostalgia and joy is because it was and could never be glossed over to a Hollywood sheen. It was just a messy ass parade with this mashup of the same black and latina girls from Sesame Street, the tired ass looking Broadway shows trying to look awake at 7 am, the new hot thing trying to make up for the fact that their on a big cartoon apple surrounded by 50 middle aged dancing statue of liberties. Lets just face it, its a big mess and I love it! I'm preparing a baked chocolate tart with a lemon shortbread crust and spice cream for my friend Emma and her family. Spice cream is basically homemade whip cream with a load a fresh nutmeg thrown in and then partially frozen. So when the warm bread-puddingy tart comes out of the oven, I'll scoop a nice quenelle of the spice cream and top with a mint sprig. a Quenelle (ka-nelle) is the french term for a football shaped scoop that you work into a shape with two soup sized spoons. Thats all. Bon-appetite

The Breslin and The Northwest

Last night mustv'e been my 10th outing to the Breslin barroom, part of the new Ace Hotel that opened up in the flatiron district. The Breslin is the sister company of The Spotted Pig and part of April Bloomfields Bristishy warmy gastrochic thing she does so well. My friend Idara flew into town for her Aunt's birthday on Long Island and I just happened to have a 5 day hiatus in NYC before Seattle. So we started with a pretty little bag of carmel corn and quickly moved on to a medium lamb burger with thrice baked fries and cumin mayo and then scrumpets, a lightly breaded and fried lamb breast (aka fat) served with a mint and shallot vinagraitte. Onto my favorite of the night-pork belly with root veggie mash. basically its a medallion of smoked pork belly surrounded by a layer of the scored fat all around, with an apple and apple cider reduced salsa lightly drizzled over top. Still some of the best food Ive ever had in NYC.  So I have 2 more days and then I'm off to explore Seattle and the northwest. I'm already planning on doing dinner at my uncle David Pisegnas (Piss-en-yuh). He wouldn't admit it but Davids one of the premiere chefs around Seattle, who is now the Executive Chef at the Swedish Institute. He's already written 2 books, one on confections and his first, 'Food For All Seasons' is a classic homage to Northwest seasonal cuisine. Its been years since Ive visited and I wasnt cooking before so i'm crossign my fingers for a good old fashioned Pisegna cookoff!

Eastern Market

courtesy of Zachary Sasim

Yesterday I went to the Eastern Market with Tatyana. Her boyfriend Zak Sasim sells his art there which if you were to describe his work in a nutshell, is cool mashup of Van Gogh/French impressionism meets DC. When anyone tells me they're an artist, I always cringe because I think about the moment of looking at it for the first time and being unimpressed, which is hard to pretend. When I stopped by his booth, though I took a breath and was definitely happy that I didn't have to fake smile because I'm a bad bullshitter. It was good stuff! If I wasnt traveling so light, I'd have definitely bought something. A little on the Eastern Market. its the oldest farmers market around DC founded in 1873, as a slave auction actually, and instead of slaves, serves locals fresh meats, cheeses, pastries, any local produce that's in season, its great. Tatyana will sub in for Zak sometimes so she knows the other vendors. she took me around and introduced me to Kass who turns old classic paperback books into wallets or hard covers into purses. Or Stanley, their Russian artist friend and functional alcoholic. In all it was a great way to spend a fall Saturday morning before a day stuck indoors.

Annapolis Rock

Chris got to leave work at noon today. One of my goals on this tour is that I take full advantage of any wilderness spots on tour. So today its the Appalachian Trail up 1700 feet to a spot called  Annapolis Rock in Maryland. It was only about a 2 mile hike up to the summit and from the start for whatever reason we kept passing this man who would speed up and slow down and then he got on his cell phone and turned his back as we passed. Normally on a remote trail when you come in contact with a stranger you adjust your space to the other hiker.  There's nothing around except you and the woods so if theres another hiker within your distance, its just a rule of code out here on a trail. But this man kept appearing. and we'd pass and he'd appear again on the trail, with his back to us on his cell phone. Aren't you supposed to leave that behind? Anyway just to make sure he wasn't a nutjob, we stopped and asked him if he'd been to the top. He was about mid 40's, he wasn't from here but was in town working on a movie for Ed Sanchez''s new film 'The Possession'. Ed Sanchez, the director, and him both did 'Blair Witch Project' in these same woods where we were hiking in Frederick, MD.

I know its just a film and Chris and I def couldv'e taken him in a cage match. We definitely weren't in a cage. We definitely left civilization and my life just felt vulnerable in that moment. The man was creepy even before he told us about Blair Witch. And these woods and the late fall weather I really pictured something crazy happening. Nothing crazy happened unfortunately.  Gotdam the view!

Slideluck Potshow

Friday night, at Satellite Central in old Georgetown, I attended the last hour of the slideluck potshow-no typo there. The name reflects the events mashup style. The evening consists of a series of slideshow presentations by a wide range of photographers, amid the bustle of a massive potluck dinner. The presentations run 3 to 5 minutes each set to music of the artists choice and range from anything to life after the Berlin Wall to pics of the conflict in East Congo set to 'La Vie En Rose'. Very thought provoking nonetheless. Towards the end, there was one with great shots of Obama and, like an uneasy energy just swept in, I could feel tension in the room rising, especially when this man in the back kept booing everytime Obamas mug appeared.

Yesterday morning Chris and I went to Blacks Bar and Kitchen in downtown Bethesda. One of the best brunches I've had in a while. seriously. $33 all you can eat.. anything from oysters, tuna tar-tar, duck liver pate and sweet cherry chutney on these almondy flavored crostini's, smoked shrimp ceviche, omelettes to order, mini red velvet concoctions, lemony tarts, it was amazing. and our server was right. anywhere else in town, the price would have been at least twice as much. If you're around DC on a sunday morning, if your not looking for grease to soak up your gin from the night before, or fuck it even if you ARE, do yourself a favor-go to Blacks and feel like a king

Wild Cherry Tree Bark

Happy Veterans Day! this ought to be an interesting night of Hair. I'm waiting for the day I get to see someone storm out or yell obscenities at us. Today may as well be one of those special days. Like a bear sighting. you never know. Whatever the rest of the cast I had, I apparently caught. its caused bad sleep and a face about to explode from all the pressure for the last 4 days.

Oh, and I cant sing.

My voice is competely shot too so I've been lip-synching the show. The last time this happened an employee at Westerly told me about wild black cherry tree bark as a remedy for a flu and/or cough. And it worked wonders. So with the lack of sleep comes dreams. Now usually I dont remember but they mustve been extra vivid dreams. 2 of them. In the first I went to go visit Jan probably days before she passed away and she was driving me home. She definitely looked her best. Her skin and eyes and hair back to their healthy shine and color and size and she told me she didn't feel pain. She told me the doctors gave her a drug to enjoy the last few days of her life and she was so content. I kept looking over at from the passenger side thinking how strange it was that she looked and felt so healthy but that something so terminal would take her away in about 48 hrs. It was such an odd feeling. In the 2nd I was asked to be in a musical at the Gateway playhouse, an old repertory house in Long Island. Johnny Knoxville was the lead and so naturally I bragged to my friends about it but It eventually was cut short because it was all a hoax.

wheres our food identity?

I made an almost all-local dinner for my roomates Chris and Elizabeth last night before heading out to the show. a rack of lamb with mint oil, and kale over a butternut squash puree. And for the sweet we finished it off with a 5 minute prep dessert of sauteed bananas in brown butter maple glaze served over Stroopwaffles.

My friend Tatyana Vdovina came to see the show last night with her boyfriend Zach. They were giving away the Mark Twain award for American humor to Tina Fey in the next room over so the Kennedy Center was definitely laid out on red carpets and security up the ass for the likes of your Steve Martins, Steve Carrell's. Whatever was happening in there, if someone decided to blow up the place, that would have been the end of half of the last 30 years of SNL. It was nice catching up and polishing off 2 bottles of Cabernet. I guess its bad luck in Russia/eastern Europe (Shes Russian, he's Bulgarian) to leave an empty bottle at the table so we stashed them on the floor next to us. It made me think about us Americans and how we really don't have any superstitious behaviors, especially at the dinner table. And then I thought well, we really don't have a food culture to begin with now do we?

Kale and 99 Luftballoons

I feel a bit assy. I'm right on the verge of either getting a full on flu or becoming superman. I can feel the echinacea and the kale having a meeting with my immune system right now. I bought a huge bag of Kale about a week ago and, it couldn't have been a better remedy and a nice midday snack (yes, you can buy in bags now-much more inexpensive than the whole fresh kale, its already cut, and it keeps longer). Heat up your high sided pan. Mince a few cloves of garlic and after a minute once its good and hot, toss in the garlic with a few good glugs of olive oil and a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. give the pan a little swirl around and right when the garlic starts to brown, take a total of about 5 good handfulls of kale and each time you add a new handful make sure the last is covered in the oil so it can begin to wake up and do its thing. your also making more room as it shrinks once it begins wilting. once its all in there, toss in about a cup of chicken stock and let it soak up. it wont take more than a minute. once its hot and begging for more, add 2-3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and tuck in!
the Hair cast and I did a Be-In at the Warehouse Theatre downtown DC last night.

Allie G, myself, and Caren 'Ma' Tacket

Hair cast at the Warehouse Theatre

My friend and future fellow concert goer Allie Guinn (we saw the Carolina Chocolate Drops together before we left nyc) plays a mean autoharp and she did Nena's '99 Luftballoons' in German-the highlight of the night in my opinion. The event raised money for an amazing organization called Broadway Impact started by fellow Hair-goer Gavin Creel to raise money supporting marriage equality, a topic that seriously makes me wonder if its not 2010 but 1950. Are we still having this conversation?

leaves and the greasy spoon

In exchange for free rent, I raked Chris an Elizabeths lawn today. What exactly is it about hardcore yardwork that if you experienced it as a child never goes away?  I thought I'd let Charlie and Cody (Chris' dog) out while I worked. So while Cody jumps straight for the leaf pile fishing out sticks, Charlie's got this ultra confused look on his face like 'what am I supposed to do?' and I tell him 'you're a boxer, a guard dog so..do that. sit on the porch and look in charge.' We have these conversations. The poor 8 year old has spent 6 of his 8 years thus far in a big city where dogs walk on leashes. None of this roaming and foraging around business PLEASE! Onto the greasy spoon.

I had my first experience at the Old Georgetown Grill in downtown Bethesda MD. It looks like the town is left empty for a few hours before football while everyone and their mothers gorges themselves on open faced turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy, slightly overcooked waffles, pretty (yet greasy) over medium eggs and corned beef hash. Its perfect. the 7 foot Grecian looking cook, the hispanic waitress and the mexican busboys all in perfect synchronization. just another Sunday morning.

routine

Something about me. The idea of any kind of set routine terrifies me. It just does. Who knows-it could my Sagittarian roots. Many a Sag's dont like to be told what to do. Or maybe its  the fact that for 8 years since graduating college I haven't been been confined to any routine whatsoever, short of taxes and sleeping. I lied. there was a stint of time for about 7 months from March-Sept 07 when I decided, after grueling out 'Wicked' in Chicago I was done acting (which of course turned out to be bullshit). so I decided I wanted to cook. And I mean find the equivalant of the best culinary school education but the real McCoy shit, in a restaurant. So after talking with enough professional chefs, I knew slaving away at a top NY restaurant for $450/week would be my calling. question was, which one? I didn't give it much thought other than ties to my favorite chef Jamie Oliver and this whole rise of British cuisine which basically meant a throwing away of fish and chips and re-examining the UK countryside with a bit of some Mediteranean and East Indian. this menu would include things like pigs ear with lemon caper dressing or a rack of lamb with mint oil and aubergines or banoffee Pie or smoked Haddock Chowder in the wintertime or some good swish chard slowly cooked in garlic and cream. this was heaven to me. And the only direction was obvious. The Spotted Pig in the West Village. So I made sure I'd come in between shifts, as this place was undoubtedly busy 24/7, and bear all to whoever would listen or feel pity. I introduce myself to Josh, who would soon be my lead into the culinary world. I told him I'd never had experience in a kitchen but LOVE to cook. and I love this type of gastropub cuisine and I'll do whatever it takes and I'll do it for free. fuck it, I just want to work here.' He looked at me up and down, stared at his blackberry and it went something like 'Alright, next Monday bring your knives, clogs, and something to cover you're head' and he extended his hand and that face that read 'we're the shit, and I admire your enthusiasm and that's why you're hired'. And that was that.

The Spotted Pig

Fast forward a few more years and here I am at the start of a new road with my eight year old boxer Charlie, Hair, a journey across America, and food, all American food in whatever form I can find. The only routine, and I'm still getting used to this typing regularly thing, is this blog. And in my third post, Ive found already like 'The Spotted Pig', that the daily pleasures sometimes come in the most unforseen packages. I'm starting to like this:)

a new week

Jan wants me to relax. Last week was tough. My stepmom and 100% real mom, Janet Belton, passed away...

So I took a week off and flew to the memorial in Sonoma.

Its a 2 show Saturday: The second show I grabbed a quick nap on our dinner break only to wake up to Aquarius over the moniters. Next thing I realize-Chris, one of our stage managers, is tapping me on my shoulder looking at me like I was missing for years. I slept through the show! It was my fault for not being there, yes. But when the roster was taken at places, they checked me in! Katie McKee I forgive you:)

When everyone heard about Jan, and the news spread like wildfire, everyone; I'm talking everyone here, Hair tribe, crew, costumes, wigs departments, sound guys, most of these people I'd met in passing and didn't know their names. well they ALL knew my name and they knew instinctively, even if they haven't gone through it, just what to do. And what that is I can't tell you. its that unspoken thing that happens when someone close to you dies.

Bud and Charlie

Charlie woke me up today, snoring on my thigh. the girl at the feed store last night told me about this 'no grain' food getting a lot of attention. as if we're just realizing this. turns out dogs systems aren't meant to break down grain. The only grain they're supposed to have to have is the grain that the animal they're eating had before them. otherwise what is our food industry to do with all this extra surplus grain? dog owners, look for grain free food. I use this stuff called 'Taste of the Wild' that Charlie loves. Now I'm gonna go soak up this Maryland fall!

a special shout out to my friend and soul mate and road flare Idara Victor

the first day

I just arrived back exhausted from a week away from the tribe. 'Hair' opened at the Kennedy Center the same day my Mama Jan's memorial was happening in St Helena CA. Jan, my bonus mom, passed away last week from a 3 month battle with cancer. I bought a ticket. well my company manager bought a ticket FOR me less than 3 hours before I left DC with not $2 to my name. I would of bought it myself but I coudn't even afford a cab ride to the Metro station. but i called the cab to come pick me up anyway because, as good as I am with public transportation, for all i know I could of ended up in the Potomac river. I'm not quite sure when it was: after multiple swipes of my credit card or my dumbfounded/naive expression of 'this never happens so please feel pity for me' when the cabbie decided I think that I wasnt worth the time. so he took my license, wrote down the important numbers and made me promise I'd send the Bethesda cab co. a check the day I return.

Jan was no 'step' mom by any stretch. she was ALL  mom, willingly taking on a family of 6 kids, at a time when we were all practically going through adolescence. for 18 years she was our mom. when Tim would sneak out of the window at night, she got up and nailed the window shut. when I jumped off the 2nd story roof with a tarp parachute into the pool, she let me down easy. Fast forward to my nephew Ryder being born into the world, and then Lucy, and then Tiegen, and Ella. she passed before she could meet Ella.

And so in Napa, all the kids came to celebrate the ending of one life and the beginning of 2 new lives. the cycle never stops. but it was here this past week, that each of us siblings came together as adults feeling what it was like to be here and now. Theres always a bit of ADHD in the air when our family comes together but this week was different. as we say in Claudes trip in Hair, 'our eyes are open'. There was no discussing the weather, there was only gratitude for eachother. And to be able to look into and through eachother in a way we havent ever experienced. And I think Jan was looking down in hopes that we'd find our happiness, our bliss, and that we'd love each day from here on out.