Author Archives: tomvox1

What we’re wearing this Summer– SeaVees Baja Slip On

A go anywhere beach sneak, the SeaVees Baja Slip On is the perfect casual summer shoe in our opinion.

In addition to its classic Cali surfer good looks, the Baja’s light and comfortable, breathes well and offers good support and width, even if you’re out pounding the pavement all day. It comes in a variety of cool colors and, best of all, you can just toss them in the wash after you’ve abused them and they’ll come back looking nearly new.

A bit pricey for a sneaker at around $80, we think the amount of use you’ll get out of them in all sorts of summertime situations is still worth it.

It can also be found (sometimes on sale) at Zappos.com.

What we’re listening to now: The Rifle’s Spiral by The Shins

The lead off track from The Shins oddly unloved 2012 album, Port of Morrow (we really like the 80s vibe), “The Rifle’s Spiral” gallops out of the gate with irresistible pace and a calliope of retro-space age sounds.

Somewhat impenetrable, impressionistic lyrics (not a new characteristic for Shins’ frontman James Mercer) contribute both emotional punch and disorientation, as the song rushes by at a fleeting yet expansive 3:30. A great way to start an album. And the day.

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.

Sad news from Bklyn: RIP Colin Devlin, Owner of DuMont & Dressler

Woke up to this awful news this morning:

DuMont Owner Colin Devlin Commits Suicide

Mr. Devlin was a pioneer in the Williamsburg food scene, which is to say the whole back-to basics, farm-to-table movement. His excellent restaurant Dressler on Broadway near the Williamsburg Bridge just shut down a few weeks ago due to a failure to come to terms with the landlord on a new lease (i.e. the rent was going up, up, up). It was an absolute shock, like someone abruptly tore away part of the fabric of the neighborhood, and there was a feeling of genuine loss. Not to mention it was always extremely busy with locals & tourists, so it seemed extra hard to fathom.

I never met the man but I’ve eaten at all of his restaurants (DuMont and DuMont Burger are still, I sincerely hope, going strong) and not only was the food great and the experience fun but they played an important part in my wife & I falling in love with this ugly-beautiful part of Brooklyn.

When they write the epitaph of the inevitable decline and loss of identity of Williamsburg caused by ever-escalating real estate prices and uncontrolled development pushing out the middle and artisan class to find cheaper housing and work space elsewhere (as is happening in so much of New York City), the sad and lonely death of Mr. Devlin may well serve as a symbolic turning point: the Beginning of the End.

Our sincere condolences to his family, friends & employees from all the folks here at MFL. May you have the strength to carry on.

*Update: NY Times article here.

Vintage Watch Collecting: The Rolex GMT-Master

First let me say that I am definitely biased: My first Rolex was an old reference 1675 GMT-Master from the late 1960s that I won on eBay before I knew anything about vintage watches in general or Rolex history in specific. But I was lucky because the watch turned out to be both A) genuine and B) a totally awesome choice for a noobe. Here’s what it looked like…

1.9milGMT-12copy

And here’s why it’s a great choice for the guy who just got his first really good payday or bonus:  Continue reading →

What we’re listening to now–Next Girl by The Black Keys

Heavy elctro-blues men The Black Keys know how to construct hooky but rugged tunes that do not get stale because they are not that sweet. “Next Girl” from 2010’s “Brothers” is good example of their gritty but pop-savvy sensibility. Check out the lyrics, wah-wah and thump. And remember, fellas: The look of the cake, it ain’t always the taste…

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.

What we’re cooking this Summer–Smoked BBQ Chicken

Hot summer days have many good points and one of the best is that they were made for outdoor grilling.  And the most fun type of grilling, in my opinion, is slow cooking.  Not only does it allow you to drink more beer while you grill longer, which is nice, but it also enables the grillmeister to demonstrate a bit more finesse and technique than a 5-minute steak (not that there’s anything wrong with that either).

One of my favorite semi-slow grilled dishes is classic hickory-smoked chicken.  This can be cooked on a standard Webber kettle-type grill (no smoke box required), in about an hour and a half to 2 hours depending on the size of the chicken pieces or whole bird that you’re using. This would be considered a “hot smoking” method and looks like this (this pic was taken closer to the end than the beginning FYI. And yes, that is a kielbasa and yes, I am happy to see you!):

BBQChix-1

You can see that we’re banking the charcoal to one side and the chicken and kielbasa is actually placed over the area of the grill without the coals, the cool side, so as to receive indirect heat. We don’t have to sear the chicken first with this recipe–it’ll cook just fine anyway with a delicious caramalized skin.

So here’s how we do:  Continue reading →

Some Basics on Vintage Watch Collecting

Just a (not so) brief primer for the beginners on the kinds of things to think about when you start looking for a vintage watch.

First off, most of the watches that us vintage buffs are into have plastic crystals.  This can be alien to a lot of people who are used to modern timepieces with their ultra-hard synthetic sapphire crystals.  And yes, acrylic crystals are prone to scratches. But you can polish those out easily with some cotton balls and a neat little product called Polywatch.  It’s a light abrasive that will smooth out scuffs & nicks. In a pinch, even toothpaste will do. Once you become accustomed to the warm look of an acrylic crystal you won’t be so hung up about it, I guarantee you.

SpeedyPro321-3 copy

In fact some watches are so iconic, like this mid-1960s Omega Speedmaster Professional (aka “The Moonwatch”), that the companies still put plastic crystals on them today despite the superior hardness of modern crystals. They know very well: don’t mess with a classic!

Secondly, what to buy? And my answer to this is: buy what you like. Continue reading →

What we’re reading now–Killer article on the Heuer Autavia “Viceroy”

Here’s a really cool article over at Ben Clymer’s Hodinkee watch site authored by Vintage Heuer guru Jeff Stein on the integral relationship between Heuer’s iconic Autavia and Brown & Williamson’s Viceroy cigarettes:

How the Number Three Cigarette in America Made Heuer a Household Name

Smooth tobacco flavor–I’m timing it!

Smoking is bad, m’kay, but you’ve got to love those retro ads and chunky chronos.  Not to mention that vintage Heuers from this period are some of the hottest collectibles going & Jeff really knows his stuff.  Click over to Hodinkee to check it out–its a fun read even if you’re not a big watch buff.

How the Number Three Cigarette in America Made Heuer a Household Name

What we’re listening to now–David Ruffin

David Ruffin‘s “Rode by the Place (Where We Used to Stay)” just belted out of my “MellowMix” playlist right now.

Hey girl, can I get next to you?

Ruffin was the co-lead singer along with Eddie Kendricks of the awesome 60s R&B act the Temptations.  He could not only rock a pair of geek glasses but had a slightly gruff delivery that was the perfect counterpoint to Kendricks’ controlled falsetto. In classic Soul Man style, he will sometimes jump up into a pained scream for maximum emotional effect.  This wonderful quality of his is shown beautifully on this solo effort, which is never maudlin or hysterical, but is still suffused with the longing for bygone days, an irrevocably changed past that ain’t coming back.  The galloping beat and Ruffin’s understated delivery cannot hide the pain from the memories stirred up driving by his old house and hood.  Gives me chills every time, which doesn’t happen too often on such an up tempo pop song.  God bless classic R&B for its sweet sounds wrapped around such serious and soulful themes.

Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.