January 2013 - Dartmouth Class of 1981

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
JANUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
The class of ‘81: Always ringing in the New Year!
The Top 25 Restaurant Meals of 2012
by John “DocSconz” Sconzo
As many of you know, John Sconzo is a “foodie” of the highest caliber--at least by Class of ‘81 terms--and he has willingly shared his
Top 25 from 2012, taken from his personal website, www.docsconz.
com. We encourage you to visit the site for more details of each
meal, including photos. Please do not visit the site on an empty
stomach! --Editors.
For the past few years, at the end of each year, I have composed
a list of my favorite restaurant meals of of that year. Obviously,
this is a totally subjective list based upon my experience at the
time and my memory. The rankings are entirely relative and based
upon very difficult to define criteria, but they reflect the overall
experience of the meal and not just one or two aspects of it. The
food and its overall deliciousness is the single most important
element, but ambiance, service, mood and circumstance all play
significant roles. All of the meals listed here were outstanding as
were many that didn’t make it this far up the list. I ate very, very
well in 2012. Click the links to read my posts on each meal. I did
not rank any meals not in restaurants or that were special onetime multi-chef extravaganzas.
Pergola” may be the finest pasta dish I’ve ever had (outside of
my mother’s crab sauce). The restaurant is elegant without being
stuffy and the food matches that sensibility.
4 - The Catbird Seat – 5/5/12 – Nashville, TN – Bold, balanced
flavors, creative cooking, a novel beverage program and a relaxed
vibe make a great restaurant. I wish it were closer.
5 - Fiola – 10/13/12 – Washington, D.C. – Not for the faint of
wallet, but Chef Fabio Trabocchi makes food that is just outright
delicious and worth every cent.
6 - Atera – 5/8/12 – NYC – Delicious creative cookery, fine wine
and a fabulous ambience made for a wonderful meal. I look forward to what the future holds for Chef Lightner and crew.
7 - Pillar & Plough 1/14/12 – Williamsburg, Brooklyn – It was
wonderful to see that fine dining and creative coking remains
alive and well in the USA. The mole with tripe will stir my memory for some time!
8 - Elements – 2/19/12 – Princeton, N.J. Incredible ingredients expertly and creatively prepared eaten in great company
makes for a wonderful meal. It was worth making the drive from
Montreal to New Jersey.
9 - Antica Corte Pallavicina – 4/12/12 – Polesine Parmense,
Emiglia Romagna, Italy – The Spigarolis make what are probably
the finest hams in Italy and some of the
finest hams in the world. Their Culatelli di
Zibello made from the black pigs and aged
for 37 months are ethereally good. The
restaurant served this at its best, but their
pastas were heavenly as well.
10 - La Poblanita – 7/24/12 – Puebla,
Mexico – A tiny stall just off the main
Zocalo of Puebla, these two women make
what perhaps is the most delicious sandwich that I have ever had. The pelona, a
sandwich with bread deep-fried in canola
oil and stuffed with a bevy of compatible delights, was as close to perfect as a
sandwich could be. The molote with tinga
was equally incredible. Thanks to Rebecca
Smith of www.Allaboutpuebla.com for her
delicious tour of Poblano street food.
11 - Amaranta – 7/27/12 – Toluca,
Mexico – Chef Pablo Salas prepares exquisite Mexican food in a lovely, comfortable
1 - Osteria Francescana - 4/11/12 –
Modena, Italy – Massimo Bottura is one
of the most creative and generous chefs I
know. He never ceases to amaze me. This
dinner with my son was perfect. The food
was fun, creative and delicious with stories
about the dishes woven by Massimo, an
incredible storyteller. Neither my son, nor I,
will ever forget this wonderful dinner.
2 - Pujol – 7/21 &25/12 – Mexico City,
Mexico – Enrique Olvera has simplified
his cooking, in the process making it even
more elegant and delicious than it already
was. Two dinners within a week helped
show his incredible breadth and depth. His
cooking assures Mexican cuisine has its
place on the world stage that it so richly
deserves.
3 - La Pergola – 4/17/12 – Rome, Italy
– German chef, Heinz Beck, cooks amazSconzo likes to cook almost as much as he
ing, creative Italian food. His Fagotelli “La John
likes to eat!
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Top 25 Meals continued on page 5
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‘81s Are Listening...
By Wendy Harris
Greetings, classmates! There I was, sitting in our power-free house shortly after
Hurricane Sandy, when I got an email
from Abner asking me to put together my
musical selections for the newsletter’s
music column. I was so excited about this
great diversion. With so much great music
out there and so much access to all of it,
the hardest part of this task was to decide
how to limit my choices to a manageable
group. I considered the list of what I’m
“allowed” to listen to with my 11-year-old.
Or the list of “desert island” must haves.
Do I show my age and list albums, or, as
a child of the iPod era, do I pick songs? In
the end, I decided that my list would reflect my post-Dartmouth years on the road
touring with whomever I was working for
at the time. When I would pack my bags
for a several month tour, I carried my CD
player and had just enough room to bring
about 20 CDs with me (clearly the Age
Before Dawn or iPods). Each of these albums have at least four to five songs that
I really like. Call it my Desert Island List.
1. The Who’s Tommy: Four sides of classic
rock with a theme. The first “rock opera.”
2. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon: Very
nice for relaxing in your hammock after a
hard day of breaking open coconuts with
a rock
3. Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the
8/29/11 3:38 PM
Brown Dirt Cowboy: Includes the slightly
overplayed “Philadelphia Freedom” and
“Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” but has
many great pop songs from start to finish.
4. Peter Gabriel’s So: Who can forget John
Cusack holding up his boombox to his exgirlfriend’s bedroom window, playing “In
Your Eyes”?
5. Matchbox Twenty’s Yourself or
Someone Like You: This was their debut
album in ‘96 and had all the elements of a
good listen including catchy melodies, uptempo energy, and great vocals from lead
singer Rob Thomas.
6. Adele’s 21: One fantastic song after another. And what a voice!
7. Roxy Music’s Avalon: This is one of
those albums that needs to be listened to
from start to finish. And, since you have
nothing else to do on the desert island,
there should be time..
8. Paul Simon’s Concert in the Park:
Recorded in Central Park in 1991 (ten
years after the free concert he played
there with Art Garfunkel). Much of the
concert was from Graceland and The
Rhythm of the Saints, and the rest was a
combo of his earlier solo songs and several
of the classic S & G songs done completely
true to the originals.
9. Blue Man Group’s The Complex: I know:
You’re thinking this is a Broadway show,
not an album. This album, as well as the
show that went with it, is a combination
of standard issue guitar plus rhythms created with various non-musical devices
like tubes and pipes. There are a couple
of songs with actual lyrics (one with Dave
Matthews and another a remake of Donna
Summers’ disco classic “I Feel Love”). This
should get your island rocking. And you
can probably find some bamboo and shells
to play along.
10. Chris Isaak’s Heart-Shaped World:
Another good selection for your desert
island quiet time, particularly if you’re not
alone there! The most notable song from
this Orbison/Presley disciple is “Wicked
Games,” heard several times as background
in some pretty moody films. This guy has
an amazing voice.
11. Avril Lavigne’s Let Go: I remember seeing her on Saturday Night Live (before I
could no longer stand watching SNL) and
thinking she must’ve been about 12-yearsold. But, holy cow, could she belt it out!
This album has great lyrics and really upbeat melodies.
12. U2’s Joshua Tree: Say no more.
13. INXS’s Kick and X: Last but definitely
not least, I never left home without these
two. Having been only peripherally aware
of INXS, I had the good fortune to see one
of their very limited engagement theater
shows in Los Angeles in the early 1990s.
I was so completely taken by Michael
Hutchence as the band’s illustrious front
man, that I had to buy these CDs immediately. I love these albums to this day.
Well, my friends, while I hope you’re never
irretrievably stranded on a desert island,
at least I hope you have these CDs and a
solar-powered CD player with you!
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Rock on!
How many ‘81s
does it take...
To make a “minireunion?” Certainly,
if you are with 3 or
4 other ‘81s, you’re
close, so send your
pictures and any comments. And have fun!
http://www.musicgraphicsgalore.net/graphics/musicline10.gif
Tyler Zabriskie, Molly Sundberg Van Metre, Kevin Carptenter and
Dennis Ryan at a Dartmouth Club of the Midwest luncheon.
JANUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
Lon Povich, Rick Silverman, Will Hill, Ty Po, Page
and 1 of 1
George Alexakos showing ‘81 enthusiasm at a holiday Aires event in Boston
Page 2
1981 Class Officers
Co-President
Julie Koeninger
[email protected]
Co-President
Molly Sundberg Van Metre
[email protected]
Vice President
Andrew Lewin
[email protected]
Secretary
Robert Goldbloom
[email protected]
Secretary
Brian Cusack
[email protected]
Treasurer
George Alexakos
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Pat Berry
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Lynne Gaudet
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Abner Oakes
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Rick Silverman
[email protected]
Webmaster
Will Blanchard
[email protected]
Webmaster
Jim Jankowski
[email protected]
Tis the season to be busy, juggling shopping, holiday parties and year-end deadlines. Here’s
hoping that all of you are able to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends during
this busy season! Looking forward to 2013, Molly and I want to share some news about
some exciting class of ’81 projects and initiatives. First of all, our class has been selected
as a “beta test” class for the new imodules website platform, which will make our website
easier to update and more connected to all College on-line resources. Molly and webmaster Jim Jankowski have been involved in the initial training and report that we should be
able to use the new platform by spring. The move will allow us to easily leverage work the
college (and other classes) are doing on their websites (such as direct Dartmouth News /
The Dartmouth feeds), while at the same making it easier for us to keep our class content
up to date. We are also exploring a couple of new class project initiatives, as we consider becoming involved in Dartmouth Undergraduate Veterans Association (DUVA) and/or
Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dpcs/). Please
let us know if you’d be willing to volunteer to work on these initiatives.
In this issue of the 1981 newsletter, we’d also like to highlight the unique role of one of
your class officers: Andrew Lewin, our Vice President and class steward, a position you
may not even be aware of. Unless you’ve received one of Andy’s personal communications,
which are typically hand-written personal notes on behalf of the class, you might not be
aware that Andy writes to classmates who receive job promotions and awards, or publish
books, or attain other notable achievements. He acknowledges classmates whose children are accepted to Dartmouth. He also shares condolences on behalf of the class when
a classmate dies or loses a close family member. Over the past year, Andy has corresponded
with dozens of classmates, providing a personalized touch to class communications.
Some of his conversations have provided information for newsletter articles and Alumni
Magazine columns and brought classmates back in touch with each other. The hardest part
is finding out about our fellow classmates’ milestones so that they can be acknowledged!
We wanted to make you aware of Andy’s role and send along a request that you contact
him with any discoveries about our classmates at [email protected].
Finally, Molly and I hope that you will take the time to respond to a very short survey you
should have recently received via email (or via this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
YVKCTCV) asking for your thoughts on how we should begin to think about our class’s legacy to the College. We’ll share the results as well as additional information on the legacy
discussion in early 2013. Once again, happy holidays!
--Julie and Molly
Greenways: Coming Home
Alumni Council Rep
David Edelson
[email protected]
Mark your calendar now for April 5 - 7, 2013 for a
celebration of coeducation.
Co-Head Agent
Martin Weinstein
[email protected]
The College is planning an exciting weekend filled with meaningful conversations and
lively gatherings for alumnae, alumni, faculty and students to recognize the historic
change that occurred in the fall of 1972.
Co-Head Agent
Lon Povich
[email protected]
Page 3
’Presidents’ Message: Seasoned Greetings!
Registration opens in mid-January. Watch for your invitation soon and visit http://www.
dartmouth.org/greenways/index.html for more details.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Peter Sullivan:
Art In The Blink Of An Eye
Your trusted and hard-working newsletter editors caught up with classmate and
Brooklyn-based painter Peter Sullivan and
asked Peter to say a few things about his
work, particularly his 2012 paintings that
you see here in the newsletter. And so take
it away, Peter.
The 2012 paintings (both oil on canvas
and gouache on paper) are based on
photographs I take of my Brooklyn neighborhood. I’m after an immediacy and
freshness, an accumulation of strokes of
Sidewalk at Night (2012), Oil on Canvas
paint applied and left alone. I like there
to be an incompleteness or openness to
my paintings. Chinese landscape painters,
with their images of mountains dissolving
in the mist, are certainly masters of this,
and also Cezanne, in both his late watercolors and oils, especially of Mont SainteVictoire. I’m not a believer of neat and tidy
formats in movies, books, and paintings,
although maybe Vermeer was occasionally
perfect.
Each of my paintings is started with a variety of random brushstrokes of different
colors. These strokes and colors eventually
play an unpredictable and accidental part
in the final composition, where they are
either incorporated or buried in various
degrees.
JANUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
I naturally gravitate toward a certain
amount of agitation in how I interpret a
scene in paint. That’s a direct reflection of
the speed in which I like to work, painting quickly in order to maintain a focus
on my materials and composition, but it’s
also the way the visual world ultimately
feels to me. There’s a buzz to it (especially
in Brooklyn). It’s always moving and overwhelmingly complex. Charles Burchfield
painted this buzz as well. In his work, it’s
like a life-force animating everything.
I find paintings that retain or embody the
level of their creation exciting, almost
as if they are still
forming right there
in front you, not
static but dynamic,
alive and jumping,
never totally settling down or letting
the viewer’s eye do
the same. Gerhard
Richter’s abstractions are great,
and no one is more
exhilarating than
Willem De Kooning.
Standing in front
of a Chaim Soutine
landscape you can
really feel him painting them. Hurricane
Sandy gave us Soutine paintings everywhere.
Painting is a wonderful means to explore
the visual world on a
very personal level. My
pictures are of ordinary
stuff that’s everywhere,
and that’s what I like
about it. It is what it
is. It’s very familiar,
I’ve been walking by it
my whole life, it’s part
of me, it’s part of us.
It’s mundane, but it’s
also mysterious and
even magical. You can
Peter and Elizabeth Viscott Sullivan
walk to the corner to get a cup of coffee
a thousand times and every single trip
will be different. You step out the door,
and depending how you turn your head...
boom...there’s at least a zillion paintings.
Recently I was talking to a friend about
why I make the paintings I do. I told him
that I thought I had finally gotten to a
place in my life as a painter (about 30
years) that is like that feeling you used to
have when you were sitting around with a
bunch of friends and having a good time
and listening to music and someone asked
you to put on the next album and you
thought...well...all right...what is it I really
want to hear right now, you know, I mean,
what do I...REALLY...WANT...TO...HEAR? And
that’s the type of work I’m making these
days, paintings that I really want to paint.
It took me a while to figure that out, and
I suppose I’d be a fool to actually believe
that it’s a done deal.
Razorwire (2011), Gouache on Paper
Page 4
Top 25 Meals continued from page 1
restaurant that deserves to be much more
well known than it is.
12 - Le Cirque – 10/3/12 – NYC –
Delicious, classic food with top quality,
luxe ingredients all while doted on in the
kitchen table – what’s not to love? The
sweetbreads were absolutely sensational.
Cannelini and Cotiche Cannolo at La Pergolo in
Rome
13 - City Zen – 10/17/12 – Washington,
DC – Great food at the kitchen table with
great company of college classmates made
this a total winner.
14 - Semitas “Beto” – 7/24/12 – Puebla,
Mexico – Another stop on Rebecca Smith’s
Poblano street food tour, located in the
Mercado de la Acocota, their Semita
Milanesa may be the second best sandwich
that I’ve ever had. Unlike some other semitas, the amount of papalo, a very strong
herb, was just right. One can taste it, but
it didn’t overpower the rest of the sandwich.
15 - Franceschetta 58 – 4/12/12 –
Modena, Italy – Massimo Bottura’s casual,
traditional Italian restaurant is set in a
well designed, funky space and each wonderful dish prepared by the lovely, veteran
chef, Marta Pulini is only 7 Euros.
16 - MeroToro – 7/25 &27/12 – Mexico
City, Mexico – Chef Jair Tellez cooks
mostly seafood in this Baja-Med gem. The
seafood is pristine and delicious. Perhaps
surprisingly, so are the non-seafood dishes.
17 - Acme – 5/9/12 – NYC – Mads
Refslund brought his Danish sensibility
to marry East Coast product and made a
wonderful child. The food is creative and
tasty. A brief chat with Meryl Streep didn’t
hurt either.
18 - Il Chiasso – 4/13-15/12 – Capoliveri,
Elba, Italy – Luciano Casini is a character of the highest (and best) order. His
kitchen, run by the most capable Dido, put
out wonderful dish after wonderful dish.
Amongst the most memorable were Riso
nero, gnocchi with pigeon sauce, stuffed
anchovies and a fava stew.
19 - Ristorante Grigolo – 4/14/12 – Rio
Marina, Elba, Italy – Flavio Deni takes
wonderful fresh seafood and pastas and
allows their magic to shine in full glory.
His fresh, marinated anchovies, octopus
stew and pasta with fish and tomatoes
were simple perfection.
20 - Cucharamama – 7/20/12 – Hoboken,
NJ – JBF Award winner Maricel Presilla
gets as much flavor out of these South
American inspired dishes as possible, and
that is plenty.
21 - Little Serow – 10/16/12 –
Washington, DC – No pics and no real
post, but this was a thoroughly enjoyable
meal of exquisitely balanced and delicious
Kirk Eveleth Arnold pictured along with sisters of the KKG sorority after participating in an alumni
panel this past October. Lynne Gaudet, who is the KKG faculty advisor, is also seen in the photo.
Page 5
northern Thai flavors prepared by Chef
Johnny Monis.
22 - Antica Macelleria Cecchini –
4/10/12 – Panzano in Chianti, Tuscany,
Italy – This was a pure celebration of meat
with particular attention paid to beef.
Dario Cecchini’s lunch is a downright bargain.
23 - Blanca – 12/15/12 – Brooklyn, NY
– Chef Carlo Mirarchi is the consummate
culinary craftsman. He takes great raw
ingredients and works to bring out the
very best from them. Only some theatrics
surrounding the meal kept it from a higher
ranking.
A plate of “fine salumi” at La Frannceschetta
58 in Modena, Italy
24 - City House – 5/6/12 – Nashville, TN
– Is this Italian food with a southern flair
or Southern food with an Italian personality? Does it matter? It’s just great, flavorful
food. The Buffalo pig’s ear is particularly
memorable.
25 - Arthur on Smith – 6/29/12 –
Brooklyn, NY – Chef Joe Isidori does a
masterful job walking a fine line between
traditional Italian-American cooking and
adding his own flair. The place is comfortable and the food is full of great flavor
and texture – very, very satisfying. My
family and I had another wonderful meal
here to celebrate what would have been
my father’s 100th birthday with a special
menu.
26 - Empellón Cocina - 5/4/12 – NYC –
Chef Alex Stupak is creating bold, inventive dishes with the real flavors of Mexico.
He is breaking new ground. Though
numbered at 26, I consider this a tie with
Arthur on Smith, which is posted alphabetically.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
It’s not Boston or Hanover, but it’s home (and
the wine’s pretty great)
A 16-year stopover in Portland, OR, has worked out
by Kevin Lynch
The wood products industry has been replaced by Intel as the
State’s largest private-sector employer. The Ducks and Beavers
play meaningful (such as it is) football games, sometimes even in
warm, dry places in January.
Portland, Oregon is a long way from Hanover and from the eastern seaboard where I lived the first 36 years of my life. Except for
a second cousin or two, nobody from either side of my family had
every strayed far from the cities on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
When I first visited Oregon in February, 1985, a 10-day business
trip included nine days of rain and snow. “What on earth did I
get myself into?” was the dominant thought on my flight back
home, since I had signed up for a job that would take me to the
Beaver State on a quarterly basis.
Twice a year, Olivia Lynch wears out her Dad on day hikes in the scenic
Columbia River Gorge.
Security at the Oregon Capitol is tight
Oregon’s wine industry was in its infancy, microbrewing was limited to the garages of a few eccentrics, “indie” music would have
been confused with John Mellencamp’s “Indy” music, and Fred
Armisen and Carrie Brownstein were (respectively) in college and
middle school. Fifteen months before my first visit, the Oregon
Ducks and Oregon State Beavers fought to a 0-0 tie in heavy rain
in a game marked by four missed field goals, five interceptions,
and eleven fumbles (six for turnovers). Neither team finished the
season with a winning record, transforming that horrid Saturday
from the “Civil War” game to one forever after known as the
“Toilet Bowl.”
Times change. Today, the Portland scene is marked by world-class
pinot noir from vineyards within an easy commute of downtown, brewpubs that are outnumbered only by coffee shops, the
Decemberists, the Thermals, and others form the foundation of a
vibrant music scene, a restaurant culture regularly lauded without exception by the foodie-types, and, of course, “Portlandia.”
JANUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
Despite the food-to-football aura of hip that frequently borders
on the insufferable, Portland does not lack for infamy. Seemingly
named for its heritage as a maritime center, “Portland” has the
ignoble distinction of being named from a coin toss – trumping
“Boston” by one flip of luck. Two early significant landowners
along the lower Willamette River wanted to name the new settlement after their home towns. One got his way. A walk along the
streets of the City’s Alphabet District evokes a strange sense of
the familiar but you can’t put your finger on it until it dawns
on you that the streets are named after characters from “The
Simpsons.” Actually, it’s the other way around; Matt Groening
A day of golf with my brother is more difficult to schedule than it used
to be but the courses out here make it worth the effort.
Page 6
drew on the names of streets he knew from growing up here.
The one major professional sports championship brought to the
City – the 1977 NBA title – remains the subject of endless media sentimentalization and inspired the name of a bar (“Spirit of
‘77”).
The Columbia River Gorge takes one’s breath away every time
but faces threats from pollution and development. No lobster,
but salmon – sometimes not enough of them. The ocean is 75
minutes to the west, and skiing on Mt. Hood is 75 minutes to
the east.
Sure, there are tradeoffs. Mud season lasts five months. The
sun skips town from Thanksgiving ‘til Presidents’ Day. You lose a
day flying east (and don’t really seem to gain one coming home).
It is too cold to swim in the ocean.
But after nearly 16 years, calling it “home” comes about more
naturally than I had ever expected.
Joe Lynch has made several pilgrimages from his native Oregon to the
east coast.
Well, then. Nearly 16 years in to living in Portland (aka, the Rose
City, Stumptown, Beervana), one adjusts. It is a marvelous place
to live and raise a family, and perhaps not all that different from
the joys and challenges of living back east. Schools are okay,
always could be better. Kids play basketball, perform on stage in
Shakespeare and 20th-century musicals, sing in the choir, avoid
yard work, text too much and talk too little.
Summer is resplendent, the bounty from the region’s vines and
trees is without peer (except maybe the blueberries from Maine).
Friends from back east sometimes drop in to visit the family
Page 7
The Lynch family: Kevin, Olivia (16), Joe (12) and Stephanie
81s are everywhere...send us yours
From a drive through South Dakota, at the intersection just north of
Freeman, SD. You see 81s everywhere!
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Mailing Panel
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
JANUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
The class of ‘81: Always ringing in the New Year!
Just Plain Wild
In spite of Super-storm Sandy, 81s made a strong showing
at a mini-reunion organized around Sharon Washington’s
hit performance in “Wild With Happy” at The Public Theater
November 8. In attendance were (L to R) Robert Goldbloom,
Peter Bogin, Pat Berry, Jane Chapman, Peter Corren, Sharon
Washington, Jake and Pam Donovan Gehret, Andy Lewin and
Jon Lenchner. The critical 81s gave Sharon’s performance
multiple thumbs-up, and there have been calls for a reprise
at our 35th reunion!
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81