This note is coming to you straight outta Kenwood, California. Decisions are still hard, product-crafting is still hard, building a company is still hard, and living with 3 people that you’re not related to remains hard. That said, a lot of things have made this journey quite a bit easier. Thought I’d take the time and share some of the off-beat and downright weird things that we’ve been consuming lately as we try to maintain some level of normalcy during quarantine. Below, in no particular order, you’ll find some oddities of quarantine culture.
Food
- Takis & Sour Cream: This strange concoction was dreamed up by one Elijah Elazarov, who has one of the most over-the-top and often disgusting palettes I know. There’s nothing he won’t put Nutella on, and the man drinks Arnold Palmer like it was water. That said, he’s directly responsible for two culinary curiosities in the house: a newfound love for Tate’s cookies and the combination that is Takis and sour cream. Most of the house having spent some amount of time in a NYC bodega, we all love Takis. Dipping them in something dairy was a revelation.
- Crystal Hot Sauce: I’m a hot sauce fanatic. Seriously, when living in Brooklyn, one of my favorite trips was to Heatonist in Williamsburg. Regularly. I have anywhere between 4–10 hot sauces in my fridge at all times, including during quarantine. But one of my biggest accomplishments during the we-mote period of Bunches has been introducing the team to Crystal. It’s a mild, classic Louisiana hot sauce that goes on everything. Seriously. It’s delicious on fish, french fries, rice, salad, a burger, the list goes on. It’s not quite as good on ice cream as Tabasco Chipotle, but it’s still quite good there too.
- Safeway Soleil Sparkling Water: I felt extraordinarily judged, rightfully so, by one of our investors who commented “that’s a lot of water” to the 7 cases we were going through a week of La Croix. Not wanting it to be a line item on our P&L, we switched to the off-brand, and I’m honestly glad we did. The flavors are slightly more exotic and include pineapple, blood orange, and apple alongside the traditional lime, lemon, and grapefuit. Apple’s a house favorite. Plus, a caffeinated version is a great afternoon pick-me-up for an increasingly diet-conscious team that’s growing weary of all the sugar-free Red Bull that’s been fueling our product & brand development efforts.
Sports
- Cowboy Channel: Just because the big 4 are off the TV right now doesn’t mean that I haven’t gotten my sports fix. At the last house, the satellite provider carried the Cowboy Channel, which was an absolute gem of a channel. Constant bull riding, steer wrestling, and some of the best Made for TV commercials you’ll ever see. Steer wrestling was a household-favorite. Seriously. Go watch some if you don’t believe us.
- World Chase Tag: Rounds are over in less than 15 minutes, it’s easy to grasp and understand, and it’s essentially competitive parkour. Phenomenal. There aren’t any real stars yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this became a thing over the next few years.
- Soapbox Derby: Red Bull sponsors a global tour of soapbox derby races, and each one is fantastically entertaining. Consisting of a performance score, a creativity score, and the actual race itself, it provides for 45 minutes or so of great content one way or another. Old men racing at 20+ miles per hour, the absolute catastrophic wrecks, and the absurdity of it all makes for a fun watch. Recommendation? Start with Japan. Always.
Tech
- Apps Hardly Used Anymore: Google Maps. Lyft. Anything public transit related. Including scooters. OpenTable/Resy/Tock. Venmo/Cash App. Dark Sky.
- Apps Used More: Pocket Casts. Sudoku. NYT Crosswords. Instapaper. Kindle. Marvin. AllTrails. TestFlight. Bunches.