Phillip Retuta's Blog

The Life and Times of a Filipino-American

Archives for February 2020

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Happy Birthday, Nico.

I’ve lived in New York for over a decade, and that entire time my dog Nico has been with me. She would have been 14 today.

Here’s my tribute to her and the city I love. After she had her tumor removed and was declared cancer-free, I knew we were still together on borrowed time. Throughout the course of her remaining year, I wanted to take Nico to some of her favorite spots: Williamsburg, Prospect Park, and all the old places she used to know for the 10 years we’ve been in New York. I also wanted to take her to places she’s never been before: Coney Island, Washington Square Park, etc. I’d bring my camera with me, and so this video was made.

The polaroid scenes were obviously taken post her passing; I truly wished we had more time to visit these places.

The significance of the white bandana is important: I gave it to her when she was first adopted in Urbana-Champaign, and she wore a white bandana when I let her go in arms, in the confines of my apartment in Brooklyn. A white bandana was Nico’s signature look (well, aside from the husky aspects or the heterochromatic eyes). I carried a spare each time we went out to shoot, just to swap whatever fashionable bandana I initially put on her with a white one. Consistency, folks!

This video also serves as my eventual love letter to New York. When I leave, I want to remember this city with the dog I loved so much. Being with Nico definitely helped shape who I am today.

Happy Birthday, Nico. Always and forever.

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Oaxaca: Criollo.

Sea bass entree. Totally loved it.

While in Oaxaca, some friends and I went to Criollo, another world-famous restaurant founded by Chef Enrique Olvera of Pujol and Cosme and Chef Luis Arellano. Amanda, Rustine, Brian, Morgan, and myself walked from our AirBnB to the outskirts of the city center, where you pass by an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet and a Little Ceaser’s in order to get to Criollo. When you first enter the renovated colonial mansion, you’re immediately inside the kitchen and led to the dining area outside: a huge backyard with an open ceiling — you’re literally dining under the stars. While walking past more potted succulents and cacti than I can count, I wondered what happens if it starts raining. I also wondered what happens if it ever gets cold in Oaxaca.

The interior, photo taken by Amanda.

Despite my concerns, the place was beautiful. There are fire pits scattered throughout the dining area, and an entire garden is tucked away even further back. The interior design and overall atmosphere Criollo had a nice, rustic feel — even the garbage cans inside the bathroom were lined with dried corn husks, the kind you’d make tamales out of. I couldn’t decide if this was merely for aesthetics, or somehow cornhusks have a utilitarian use for used toilet paper or paper towels. Still, if I ever lived in a small city like Oaxaca, I’d love to live in a house this size and immediately hire the interior decorator.

The kitchen with Chef Arellano (on the right). Taken by Amanda.

The menu was set and changes every night, but the amount of food was impressive. We were first given a glass of wine and some homemade tortilla chips with two different kinds of salsa.

Immediately after, we were then given a local microbrew, a very tasty IPA that even my friend Morgan — who never drinks beer — enjoyed.

Tetelas with guacamole.

After some small talk and halfway through the drinks, we were served a pair of appetizers: ceviche with a spicy mayo base and some tetelas, tortillas stuffed with beans and generously topped with guacamole.

Ceviche with spicy mayo and a side of salsa.

Next, we were served two house cocktails — one mezcal-based with an orangey finish and one gin-based. I guess they apparently paired well with more appetizers: we were served some delicious mushroom soup and a salad lightly sprinkled with goat cheese. The soup — though I failed to take a photo of it — was perhaps my favorite dish.

House mezcal with a mezcal cocktail. Yup, a lot of mezcal.

The server then brought out an entire jug of mezcal and started pouring shooters of it to my friends and me. If Criollo’s goal for its patrons is to get them tipsy, then the five different alcoholic drinks throughout the dinner definitely accomplished that.

We had two main entrees: a braised short rib dish with warm tortillas and some sea bass (pictured above). I’m not a seafood eater by any means (in fact, I avoid seafood), but the sea bass was delicious. It was perhaps my second favorite dish of the night, and I happily scarfed it down. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and although the mere taste of seafood isn’t my cup of tea, it was not at all too fishy.

Dessert tamale with a shot of spiced coconut milk.

The last course was a tasty dessert: a sweet corn tamale atop a chocolate and dulce de leche sauce, accompanied by a shot of spiced coconut milk. I wasn’t too sure if there was any alcohol in the coconut milk, but since we were all drinking those cocktails throughout the entire service, who the hell could tell?

Overall, the dinner was good — although, personally, I felt that Pujol and Cosme circa 2016 were a little better. For the amount of food and drink that was served, it was a great deal for such refined dining (it helps with the monetary conversion rate between Mexico and the US). If you’re ever in Oaxaca, I’d recommend trying Criollo once — not just for the food, but the overall ambience the restaurant and the city of Oaxaca provides.

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Hierve El Agua.

While in Oaxaca, the entire group visited Hierve El Agua, a set of petrified waterfalls several miles from the capital. The streams from the mountain ridges calcified over thousands of years, leaving what looks like a cascade of stone waterfalls perpetually falling from the cliff.

A few of us wanted to hike the downward trail (which, of course, meant hiking back up). As someone who’s been more active lately, quit smoking, and lost some weight, I figured I’d be healthier to climb the steep steps back up without losing my breath. Holy fat hell, was I wrong. By the time I got back to the main area at the peak, I was sweating like a pig on trial. Might I mention, the air is also comparatively thin in Oaxaca (at least to the US), and it was in the 70’s and 80’s in the middle of January. Perhaps, despite all the hard work I’ve been putting in, nature and the fact I rarely hike got the better of me.

Luckily, at the top of the main cliff was a natural pool of mineral-rich water. It suitable for swimming, and it was nice to actually wade around (legend has it the water has healing properties, too — so bonus). Now I still don’t know how to swim and the middle was deep, and I had to tread water around the edges.

By the end of our trip, we all gathered at the parking lot where vendors sold food, drink, and souvenirs. I bought myself a Piña Loca with mezcal, a spicy cocktail served in a whole pineapple. I managed to get a pretty good selfie that I should use for some dating profiles.

A little exercise, a dip in a pool, and a cocktail (and even a stray dog) – all in all, a good way to spend a day in Central America.

Here are some more photos:

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Brett & Vi Get Married in Oaxaca, Mexico.

It was appropriate that the last of my weddings (13 weddings in 1.5 years) was a destination wedding. Vi and Brett invited family, friends, and me to celebrate their nuptials in Oaxaca. They threw a calenda, a traditional ceremonial parade where celebrants carry giant, paper mache puppets of the bride and groom, and everyone dances across the streets of Oaxaca. A part of it could appear like cultural appropriation, but if the citizens are more than willing to take the money, do it, and be happy — more power to them.

Anyway, the mezcal kept flowing, and we danced in the streets. I must admit, I found some joy that we blocked both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Out of our way, we’re fucking dancing and drinking.

While circling around the tiny city and back to Santo Domingo Church, I trailed behind and scoped out several stores where I can pick up souvenirs to bring back to the US. I’d be spending the next couple of days in Oaxaca, so I might as well take some photos and buy a lot of shit. There was also a rumor – a legend, even – that a famous stray dog would join the parade, however I heard it got adopted (yay). Still, there certainly are a lot of stray dogs in Oaxaca, but I can get into that later.

Aside from the parade itself, the best part of my trip was seeing so many familiar and old faces. Friends from Chicago, friends who moved away, moms who are big fans of me and Nico — the gathering of people I care about was perhaps thing I liked the most about this particular vacation.

Here are some photos of the wedding itself:

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Refik Anadol’s “Machine Hallucination” at Artechouse.

I went to Artechouse at Chelsea Market with Alex the other day, where Turkish digital artist Refik Anandol had a projection/data visualization exhibition called “Machine Hallucination.”

Nearly the entire boiler room underneath Chelsea Market was illuminated by several 16K laser projectors, displaying a dataviz algorithm-driven video made up of 100 million social media photos of New York City — essentially, “Machine Hallucination” is an abstract movie made of shapes and colors derived from what users post about New York. I loved the concept, and it could have easily been one of my class’ thesis projects (if they had a ton of money, that is).

Although the visuals of the video and the idea were very cool, the overall experience was a little underwhelming: one entire side (the entrance down to the boiler room) had no projections whatsoever, and the pillars and sharp corners of the room didn’t make the projections as seamless as they could be. It didn’t feel as immersive as I had hoped it would be. In my opinion, if they somehow curved each of the room’s corners (including the floor), the overall projection — and thus experience — would have been more exciting. Edges are just so restricting.

The fact that I had to pay a $25 entrance fee also kind of hindered the fun.

Nonetheless, Artechouse was indeed worthy of being visited and photographed (the Instagramabilty of this place factors very high). The exhibition and Artechouse itself was hardly publicized, so it wasn’t too crowded. Would I recommend going to any of Artechouse’s future exhibitions? Sure, but make sure you’re comfortable paying that much.

Here are some of my photos: