Things That Suck is a new book out by an old friend. And while, yes, you could say that one thing that sucks is having to blog about a friend’s book, I’ve got no problem with this one. People ask me for links all the time (no, not from this site, which probably has all of seven readers – that also sucks) and I generally shy away. But here’s one I’m OK with – into even.

First, the book itself is a lot of fun. It’s basically a list of 1500 or so phrases describing situations most of us have seen, largely outside of our control, that are just no fun to be in. Most are little, niggling issues that can drive you nuts if you think more about them. The key, I think, is recognizing their general harmlessness and unimportance, and that seems to be one point of the book.

It’s lighthearted – mostly. I was a little taken about by some of the entries, and I contacted the author (OK, my good friend) Jason about them. He pointed out that having harsher items in the list served to put into perspective the lighter entries. And he’s right: getting your shoes muddy is really no big deal considering the much larger problems we face both individually and as a society.

Beyond the text, there is a fun flip-book style animation sequence of something that sucks in a different way. It’s not lewd, but I shouldn’t ruin it.

Finally, I’d also urge you to check out the website and blog. The website has interactive elements that allow users to add to the list, and to send messages to others of things that they presumably just found, that suck. Next, the blog, on a totally different topic, chronicles the author’s attempts at selling the book – pretty fascinating. I’m told the URL of the blog may change, so if that doesn’t work for you, try the link off the website.

I had been wanting to make some good flatbread or crackers to use under various crostini-like toppings. So I dug around and found a recipe by Mark Bittman that was pretty close. I modified it a bit, and I’ve made it several times. Here goes:

Basically, you put the first five ingredients in a food processor. Blend it a bit, adding water as needed. Get it so it sticks together, but in small pieces.

Roll it out very thin with a rolling pin, using extra whole wheat flour to keep it from sticking. Roll it down pretty thin – I try to get it under 1/4″ – even 1/8″. Then sprinkle it with good coarse sea salt (and some cracked pepper too, if you like), roll lightly over that to get the salt part way into the dough.

Use a pizza peel or similar. Once the dough in on the floured peel, score it with a dull knife so that it can break along those lines after it’s baked. Finally, bake on a pizza stone at 400 degrees for about ten minutes.

The best two toppings I made were a white bean purée with balsamic vinegar dribbled on top, and sauteéd greens and onions with chevré on top.

I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture, because they looked great! Next time . . .

I wrote first about our trip to Telluride, then about dinner in Telluride, and for my final post about the trip, here’s the skinny on lunch.

La Tapatia – The taco truck in town, about four blocks up Colorado from Oak, near the Ace Hardware. Living in LA, I get pretty good Mexican food, but this place is really, really solid. Everything I had, I’d recommend. Great for lunch if the weather is decent. We even got a whole mess of burritos for the plane ride home. The chicken is a stew, the veggies are full of real veggies, and the fish is freshly fried. Good stuff.

Fat Alley BBQ – Totally walkable from the ski runs, even in ski boots. It’s just a little up Oak Street from the bottom of the gondola and Chair 8. Great ribs and fries, but be sure to get the pulled pork sandwich. It’s huge, and it comes with cole slaw on it, plus a side (I went with the black beans and spinach, which I also enjoyed). My wife doesn’t eat meat, but even she did well there thanks to their supply of side orders.

Las Montañas – With no research at all (unlike me – I’m usually pretty good about digging around for restaurants when I travel, which, I guess, is why I write posts like this) we happened upon this place, just walking down Colorado. It was a good find. The chef here knows his stuff, and the place has a good vibe. We got an appetizer plate with queso fundido with chorizo (great), crab stuffed peppers (supposed to be spicy, and totally mild, but OK anyway) and I forget what the third item was, so it can’t have been that remarkable. The fundido was the star, along with my posole. Also, great chips and salsas. Can’t comment on the margaritas – as badly as I wanted one, I was skiing more that day and it didn’t seem prudent.

Some final restaurant notes are that if you need to eat lunch in Mountain Village, you should head to 9545 (gourmet-ish food in relatively small portions) or to Poachers (decent bar food – greasy and edible). Neither is as good as town, but they’re fine. Stay far, far away from the Crazy Elk pizza place. Tracks is OK, but just very mediocre. Coffee is pretty decent at the Telluride Coffee Company up there, and in town, the Steaming Bean makes good java, with a good attitude.

When I wrote about dinner restaurants in Telluride, I forgot one place. I shall now rectify that mistake.

La Marmotte – I’m thinking that I probably forgot about this place because the food really wasn’t too memorable. But I sure remembered it when I looked at my credit card bill – it was the most expensive restaurant we ate at in Telluride (although probably close to Allred’s). This is a French restaurant with a prix fixeé menu. I think the initial cost was $40, which seems reasonable, until you start with the supplements. All in all, the food was fine, although I really can’t recommend the fish dishes. Uniformly, at our table, the meat and foul dishes were far better than the fish, as lackluster as they actually were. I would also say that the desserts were pretty unimpressive. But they do have a good wine list, and they do have Chimay, so all was not lost.

If you read the other post, you’ll know that I spent a week in Telluride with eight members of my family. As with any trip, one of the most important aspects is the food. I’m a little amazed to say, the food in Telluride is outstanding. Like any tourist destination, there are some serious traps in there, but if you avoid the potholes, you’ll eat really well.

On the first night, we asked the concierge where to go for dinner. What’s with these guys? Do they get payoffs from the least interesting, most expensive restaurants around? Why are they never reliable? Why are the places they recommend so sterile? So the guy (who was later driving the shuttle bus) recommended La Piazza which was nothing to write home about (you get the vibe about how lame this place is from their contrived website). Just to give you a hint of the tenor of the place, I asked for a Dolcetto on the wine list. “Sorry, sir, we’re out of that one. We do have this one” with a point to a wine far, far down the list. I asked for another wine, between the two, and was answered with a grin, “Ah, no, that is out also. Again, we do have this one.” First night of the vaca, so I took it. So much for that place, and the concierge. I hope he got his cut from the wine choice. I probably should make sure they didn’t rip him off too.

OK – our fault – concierges are useless, at least anyplace where you speak the language. To prove it, the food we’ve had since then has been truly exceptional. Not just on a vacation-in-a-small-town-in-Colorado way, but in a real, world-class way. Maybe not the French Laundry, but really comfortable, delicious, innovative food served in great surroundings with easy, friendly service.

Cosmopolitan – In the Columbia hotel, in the town. Inspired American food (maybe really Californian food) with a big reliance on the meat of the West, but also with flown in seafood. I had three lobster corndogs that were great. We’re going back for seconds.

Second trip: the beignets were amazing! Lemony and light – really ideal! Funny enough, we had those at the next place too . . .

221 South Oak – Probably the best of the trip, and we consider than an honor given the other meals. In an old house in town, with a separate menu full of veggie options, there was no bad place on the table. Again, really great service (how do these places get good waiters in a seasonal vacation town?) paired with delicious food made for a memorable evening.

The Beignets at 221 South Oak

Allred’s – This place is on the mountain, at the gondola stop between town and Mountain Village. We’d heard it was good, with great views, from many people. We figured we’d get great views with overpriced food. The views were, in fact, great. You see across the valley, with the town below. It’s breathtaking. If the food were bad and overpriced, it would still be worth going, and I don’t really care about views. But the restaurant was a gorgeous building itself, and food, while maybe more towards the hotel dining room style, was really worth the expense, even without the views. It seems touristy until you go, but it’s worth it, no question.

Honga’s – Strange to eat in a Thai/Japanese/Fusion place high up in the mountains, but we got over it pretty quickly once we tried the food. The lamb, especially, was delicious – really more middle eastern than Asian, but great. The bbq pork was also a winner, as were the fish dishes. The panang tofu, which I usually really like, wasn’t so hot there. But overall, this place is fantastic, and it’s on a totally different wavelength than the other places in town.

So those are the restaurants for dinner. Lunch is coming soon.