THE CURRENT Your weekly dose of arts and entertainment • Thursday, January 12, 2012
This week we’re obsessed with...
REALITY TV
sweetspot
Evanston bistro finds new home Six years ago, the only thing Lorenzo Mascherini and James Watson were frosting was glass. The two first went into business together in 2006, designing linens and small household furniture items, but were quickly discouraged by friends and family members who voiced concerns about the sluggish housing market. After renting an Evanston storefront, the two discussed their prospects in the furniture market and decided to reassess their decision. “What can we do that people will enjoy all year round, no matter what the economic conditions are?” Watson said. “Food. Good food.” The next day, I Dream of Sweets was born and this past Monday, the bistro relocated to a bigger space at 824 Noyes St., just a half mile from campus. Now operating with a fully functional kitchen, Mascherini and Watson are able to offer Evanston a restaurant with a mix of travel and home. The dining area offers interior design reminiscent of your neighbor’s living room: creatively mismatched stools, chairs, tables and couches. The walls are lined with gleaming mirrors,
vintage radios and childhood games. While familiarity characterizes the feel of I Dream of Sweets, Mascherini and Watson mix it up by offering comfort food from faraway places you’ve only seen in coffee table books. The menu is a fusion of Southern comfort food andEuropean influences from the Florence-born Mascherini. It boasts delicacies like homemade sweet potato poundcake and baked mac and cheese. It’s a small operation with fewer than 10 employees; Mascherini and Watson do the most of the cooking themselves. And although neither of them attended culinary school, both are surethey learned all they needed to know from growing up watching their mothers in the kitchen. Mascherini and Watson are dedicated to their business, looking to offer the Evanston community a gathering place that feels like home. They spent months perfecting the décor, each piece specifically selected and arranged to create the most welcoming vibe. “We’re here several hours of the day,” Watson said. “So it needs to feel like home to us.” Leslie Luning and her four-year-old
THAT’S MY
JAM Patrick Schnettler
daughter, Jenet, snacked on a chocolate chip cookie while waiting for friends. “It’s great!” Luning said. “We really could use a place like this.” Although they had not visited the old location, Luning expressed her excitement about having a new option for ice cream. Over the next few months, Mascherini and Watson are planning to offer events to the community such as an exhibition by photographer Hugo Forte. As the discussion turned towards community outreach, the two became enthused with the prospects of live music, Monday night movies and Flamenco performances. They voiced dreams of the walls being covered with local artistry, not the uniform variations of brown seen in other coffee houses. Mascherini and Watson eventually realized their dreams, though the tools they used to get there changed from hammers and screwdrivers to pastry bags along the way. Hoping to become an integral place in the Evanston community, the two offer a piece of their home with each pastry from I Dream of Sweets. -Liz Steelman
McCormick junior Patrick Schnettler admits he may not be the most mediafriendly guy. Television has no place in his busy schedule. But the Interfraternity Council president-elect spared a few moments to share his love for ’90s bands and give his grandmother a shout-out on her latest book. Excerpts: THE CURRENT: What are three songs you’d put on a mix tape of your life right now? Patrick Schnettler: I’ve always been a huge Dispatch fan. I think “Bang Bang” would be an all-time favorite. They’re a ’90s band. All my favorite music is ’90s bands. It’s what I grew up with and I kind of stuck to that. I
INSIDE:
Jordan Cohen hits iTunes, Page 2
Learning the two outfit rule, Page 3
I sat down with my bracket and started filling it in. Who would make it to the end? Who would get cut early on? After a little research and a lot of guesswork, I had finally narrowed it down to one— the winner—the woman who would get the final rose, and most likely, a televised marriage proposal and gigantic Neil Lane engagement ring. Cleary, I’m not talking about March Madness or any other sports tournament. For me, the most interesting thing to predict on television is the outcome of reality shows. To be honest, “The Bachelor” brackets that my best friend and I filled out were made more in jest than as a sign that we believe that the series, now in its 16th season, can actually result in “true love.” But, week after week, we still watch it. Admitting that I watch “The Bachelor” (and a lot of the shows that I follow) is difficult at times, especially during the obligatory introductions at the beginning of almost every RTVF class I take. While some of my classmates are naming obscure, avant-garde or foreign films as their favorites in an effort to appear to have the most highbrow, refined taste (or maybe they’re just that cool), I’m thanking my lucky stars they don’t know about all my not-so-guilty pleasure reality television show addictions. Needless to say, there is a giant stigma attached to so-called lowbrow television. While I understand how ridiculous such shows can be, I think that they are still an important part of our culture. If 7.6 million people tuned in last week to watch MTV’s gang of glowing fist-pumpers on the fifth season premiere of “Jersey Shore,” that’s got to say something about our society, and there has to be a reason. While one could argue that the taste of average audiences has declined so much that only pure ridiculousness captures their attention, this
phenomenon can also offer a sort of insight into the human condition. Perhaps audiences enjoy watching absurd characters and over-the-top lifestyles because they serve as a sort of escape from mundane, everyday life. This quarter, I’m taking a class taught by RTVF assistant professor Max Dawson about reality television through the lens of the highly successful CBS hit “Survivor.” I can’t explain how excited I am to study a genre so underrepresented, especially in the academic world. I think that Professor Dawson, and the course in general, will really break some ground in the way students, and hopefully those outside Louis Hall 119, look at reality television. But from a purely non-intellectual standpoint, I love these reality shows simply because they depict the polar opposite of reality—both my reality and the reality of many others. Never in my life will I drink and party like the cast members of “Jersey Shore” or “The Real World.” Although it would doubtlessly be a life-changing experience, I’m much too content with heat, electricity and indoor plumbing to audition for a spot on “Survivor.” And thank goodness I don’t have to—I can experience these things vicariously through reality stars, observe their antics like some sort of poorly-designed psychology or sociology experiment and then go back to being me. Even bachelor Ben knows that reality television is not the same as real life. In the first episode of the latest season of “The Bachelor,” new bachelor Ben Flajnik mused, “I’ve never juggled 25 women” in his wannabe-sentimental, overly cheesy introduction. Really, Ben? Dating 25 women at the same time isn’t something you’re used to? Huh, that’s interesting.
think “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty, it’s a classic, and “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind. It was stuck in my head all day.
obsessively check weather.com and I have absolutely no idea why I’m really concerned about what the weather’s going to be like at 2 a.m., but that is a habit of mine.
THE CURRENT: Last movies you saw that you loved or hated? PS: The last movie that I saw was The Muppets. It was kind of entertaining but at the same time, a complete waste of $10. My roommate made me watch A Clockwork Orange and it totally creeped me out. I’ve had nightmares ever since. THE CURRENT: Let’s talk about the Internet. Fill in the blank. If you got paid for browsing _______, you’d be a millionaire. PS: This is kind of funny. Weather.com. I
TV to tune into this season, Page 4
-Megan Patsavas
THE CURRENT: What is the last book you read that wasn’t for class? PS: The last one I read was my grandmother’s book, Reaching for Venus by Mary Schnettler. She uses a lot of family stuff to inspire her stories and her characters, so it’s interesting. There isn’t a character based on me or my uncle but it’s a mesh of people. That’s the way she explained it to me, and I saw that as well. -Colleen Park
“Fuck You, I Love You, Bye...” Page 4