Tags
aria, Bagel, Boston, cafe, caffeine, diva, Dixie Chicks, du bist der Lenz, Egg Sandwich, Iggy, jam, Kirsten Flagstad, local, Mezzo-Soprano, Music, Organic, rhubarb, Ring Cycle, score, Sieglinde, soprano, strawberry, strawberry-rhubarb, Union Square, Vermont, Wagner
Where I am: Sherman Cafe – Union Square, Somerville, MA
What I’m working on: Du bist der Lenz – Sieglinde – The Valkyrie (Ring Cycle) – Wagner
Up and at ’em rather early today… This is not really by choice but necessity. N-STAR the local energy company is doing work on my street (for the past 2 months) and has taken to jackhammering at 7am EVERYDAY… Needless to say this is not conducive to sleep or study so off I trek to Sherman Cafe at the suggestion of my friend and talented Mezzo-Soprano, Brooke Larimer.
Coffee: Cappuccino $4 – At first sip I was NOT impressed, the cap tasted burnt and bitter, the foam was dry and brittle and there was no fun latte art. I was all prepared to give this a 1-2 cup c[ ] c[ ] rating… but then I tried it again. After cooling off a bit and sitting the bloom of the beans was released and it became a lovely sweet cup. It still wasn’t as rich velvety as I would like but all in all a nice cup. 3.5 cups! (c[ ] c[ ] c[ ] c[)
Food: Egg Sandwich of the week $6.25 – Local eggs, Vermont goat cheese, and roasted local veggies (squash, carrots, garlic scapes, and radish) on a multi-seed Iggy’s bagel. The real star of Sherman Cafe seems to lie in the food! This sandwich (what I couldfinish of it) was amazing!! The veggies were perfectly roasted with a natural caramelization. The goat cheese had just the right amount of tang and was not grainy at all which I usually expect from a cheve, and the bagel stayed soft and chewy even after being toasted and sitting for an hour! Awesome. UPDATE: The Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam is unbelievable!! I want to swim in it!
Decor: First impressions of Sherman are rustic and totally reming me of Brooklyn. They sell a myriad of local produce, dairy, meat and baked goods which of course are all made in house (except for the bagels) and are the same products they use in their food. I am a sucker for any place that has chalkboard menus so, you know, they got me there.
Music: Honestly I have no idea. I caught a snippet of the Dixie Chicks version of Landslide but the cafe was bustling and the main sound was the din of people chatting ans having meetings.
Also I made a friend! Elizabeth is from Texas but is living in Panama and is currently in Boston for job interviews. We are going to check out the Arts at the Armory Cafe on Friday.
Now for what I am working on… Nothing like a little incest in the morning huh? I love Wagner because his lines are so beautiful and frankly feel like satin to sing, but what a twisted SOB. In Du bust der Lenz, Sieglinde is professing her love for Siegmund, who she KNOWS is her twin brother!! Nope this isn’t chaste, “oh I havent seen you in so long bro”, love, this is “take me now big boy” lust… (they have a kid later in the Ring) I know her husband is an overbearing jerk but seriously… get yourself some therapy… So without further ado, I need to go figure out how to fall in love with my twin brother now…. While I do that, you enjoy Kirsten Flagstad’s 1935 Met Debut!