Evanston: in praise of small glasses
Evanston: in praise of small glasses
Last summer when we stayed in Francois’s condo in Cambridge, the only way to make coffee was with an old steam powered espresso machine he had brought from Switzerland. It made the best coffee I have ever tasted.
So when we returned to Evanston I decided to buy an espresso machine, which I have done, and a proper burr grinder. You can spend a small fortune on these things. I did not.
Next I had to buy espresso cups; and at Amazon I came across Bodum’s double-wall espresso glasses. A layer of air between thin double walls acts as effective insulation, keeping drinks hot or cold and not burning or freezing your fingers. They are so light that I have to hold one in place while the espresso machine pump is on and too light for the dishwasher. They are also almost perfectly formed to drop when wet. I have already broken one of four.
Serendipitously they also double as perfect glasses for a taste of port, calvados, Laphroaig, or even a recent invention of mine.
Some years ago I gave you the tuliptini. Now, for when a full martini is too much, here is the mini-tini.
Just as the future GANNET has a 50% ballast to displacement ratio, a mini-tini is half olive and ice. The orange is reflected pimiento, and the glass, on my screen, is approximately life-size.
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I am restless.
We have not seen the sun for several days. Enough so I don’t even actually remember the last time. It is not very cold here--just below freezing--and we have only a few inches of snow on the ground. But there is ice.
I walked to the lake, but had to keep looking down at the sidewalk.
Low uniformly gray sky. Dim daylight. Vague wavelets collapsing on icy sand.
Thursday, December 23, 2010