Eat My Story Report Part II

At long last we get to our wrap up post on the latest greatest Brite event: Eat My Story.
Let me just start by saying this without a doubt this was most the delicious Brite event thus far. True, this was not so hard to do with Seattle pizza powerhouse Via Tribunali graciously hosting the event plus the creative (albeit amateur) culinary skills of all the event's participants. For every part deliciousness, Tricia Martin of Eating is Art and Food Loyal (her new venture!) added equal parts fascination, experience, and social interaction with her big picture concept:

How can a pizza tell a story?
The rules were simple (and the results awesome...more on that later):

• Share a short story with the group (150 words or less).
• Pick and bring pizza ingredients to the event that will tell you story.
• Come to Via Tribunali the day of the event. Pick someone else's story at random.
• Interpret that person's story on the pizza using their ingredients (adding or subtracting as necessary)...lotsa room for creativity here.
• Cook your creation to perfection at 1000 degrees F in Via Tribunali's wood fired oven.
• Share your the story and pizza with group...drink vino...converse...revel...enjoy.

To shake things up a bit, we added an improv edition at the last minute for those unprepared without stories. These were short stories, quotes, limericks, even tweets chosen at random from a hat.
The results were amazingly beautiful and delicious as well as accurate at telling their corresponding stories. Here's the play-by-play of the day: It was a perfect pizza day at lovely Georgetown (south Seattle). Via Tribunali was the perfect spot for the event with lots of rustic charm and "little slice of Italy" feel. The space was perfect: a long communal table and plenty of room to make some mess.

In true Brite style, Jean laser-cut some signs in cardboard and of course made Brite merit badges for each participants...neatly arranged at the sign in table. As people began too arrive, the ingredients table turned into a cornucopia of amazing ingredients. Everything from heirloom tomatoes to grapes to pork belly to chocolate and everything in between.
Tricia handmade and illustrated these amazing peels for every pizza including cute drawings of each ingredient and the story of the pizza.
Once we were situated, Via Trib brought out the wine and a parade of their signature pies and anti-pasti plates. Leonardo, their GM (and a real Italian of course) introduced us to the history of the resturant, telling the colorful story only as a true Italian can with great expressive hand gestures. We learned how pizza began, it's importance to Italian culture, and how Via Trib's owners had a dream of bringing that to Seattle, decided to buy a defunct pizzeria in Naples, shipped it here, and started their very own Napolian pizzeria right here in Seattle.

We were ready to leave our own mark. Everyone set out to work preparing their incredients and working out the details of their interpretations. There was a healthy buzz around the room as people shared their stories as well as their ingredients and offered eachother ideas and support. Go team! You could see the creative concoctions taking shape:

Jean was trying to make sense of the variety of purple ingredients in front of her.

Christa carefully cut up her ingredients to try to mimic the farm fields when seen from air.
Andrew was contemplating what would happen to Tortilla chips at 1000 degrees.
Chika was confidently crafting a pizza loosely based on a poor Elvis impersonation... Leonardo and his staff carefully showed us how work dough into a thin-crusted pie letting us try and succeed in some way, shape, or form in making our own vessels for our stories. 3 at a time we went to the dough station to try our hand at it and artfully arranging our ingredients.
Roughly 2 minutes after plunging each pizza into the via tribunali inferno, the group was blessed with steaming hot pizza...charred perfectly around the edges. Triumphantly, the pizza makers would reenter the dining hall proudly presenting their creations. After a photo op, each pizza had it's story read aloud to the group then we dug in. It was amazing just how much more each story resonated after tasting the pizza and going through the whole ritual Tricia had orchestrated. I've never tasted so many different types of pizzas in my life! I think everyone went home and took a pizza nap after the event, and some leftovers, too.

Next post will have all the stories and the individual pizzas!

Here is where you can see ALL hundred+ of yummy looking photos of the event!

Eat My Story Report:Part I

This last Saturday, Brite's collaboration with Tricia Martin of Eating is Art went super well! The event, EAT MY STORY:Make a Pizza, Tell A story, had a great turn out. Besides making and tasting some (actually A LOT) of pizzas, everyone also enjoyed some fantastic house wine, as well as delicious Via Tribunali appetizers donated to us.
Tricia made these wonderful individual pizza peels for each story submitted. It had the story, and all ingredients drawn on there. It made the experience that much more special.
Tricia is super diligent and did her homework of updating about the event already. So here are some photos from her. I'll have more updates later and TONS of delicious looking photos. Stay tuned.Everyone making their own dough. It's totally harder than it looks!
we got to taste 20+ never been tried pizza flavors!!
Plum jam+quince pizza/ peanut butter+almond butter+honey+apple pizza/ huevo ranchero pizza/ heirloom ketchup pizza/ pork belly+lotus root +cilantro oil pizza/ chocolate+coco nibs + habanero peppers pizza, ....and more.Stay tuned!

BRITE Event: Eat My Story with Tricia Martin

I'm SUPER excited to say that we (Brite Collective) and Tricia Martin of Eating Is Art are hosting an event this Saturday, Oct 3rd. EAT MY STORY: Make a Pizza to Tell a Story!
I've been looking forward in having Tricia come up from Portland to do a food event ever since I discovered her work in May. So I'm thrilled to see it all happening!
The over concept of the event is pretty simple:
Every participant are to come up with a story as well as the ingredients for their pizza. The ingredients could have personal memories, cultural references, texture, history, smell, color, etc. The pizza could be savory, sweet, or in a shape of a pet! The possibilities are practically endless!

Then on Saturday October 3rd, all the participants will gather at Via Tribunali in Georgetown to do a whole make/share/eat pizza feast! Wine will of course be part of it the equation. Doesn't it just sound horrible?

On top of that, Tricia is making special pizza peel for each story! She's always so thoughtful and playful with all of the event she does. From the invitation, to the table setting and to the actual food itself...she considers all aspect to the experience that really makes each event feel really special.
I'm SO looking forward to it!We're also incredibility thankful that Via Tribunali is being so generous by providing the venue and also letting as use their awesome brick oven to make pizzas....the right way.
They're famous Napolian style pizza is absolutely delectable, and they're really the closest to the actual ones we've had in Italy. Don't let Pizza Hut fool you...

We still have few spots available, and you can still RSVP. So if you're in Seattle and would like to join us, please submit your story and ingredients (in less than 150 words) to tricia@eatingisart.com.
Get on it! Chop chop!!

What a wonderful PARK(ing) Day!

Last Friday, Christa, Julia and I organized a small BRITE event to take part in global PARK(ing) Day where hundreds of temporary mini parks were set up in actual parking spots or unused lots all around the world.
We were part of a bigger lot that used to be the old stomping ground where the Cha Cha, Bimbo's Burritos, and etc used to be. (On Pine between Summit & Belmont)
Now it's just an empty gravel lot, since after they tore down the whole block, the recession hit...
The PARK(ing) day as a day to give the community a reason to hang out there again....and we couldn't have asked for any better weather than that day.
The Negative Space field sketch was inspired from a walk that Julia, Dylan and I did awhile back in July when Thomas Sieverts lead a walked around Burien....yeah, that's right...Burien. Who would of thought anyone can spend that much time there just wondering around, right? But after 2 hours of walking around, we left with thoughts and questions about other neighborhoods, and realized really how little we know and notice on a everyday basis....and inspirations to do other walks such as this. We wanted to take the opportunity of the PARK(ing) Day to get people to slow down and take a look at the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Especially in an area that has so much history, people, various types of businesses, and landscape, this neighborhood has gone through some major changes in the last 5 years (and still in process of). Some more controversial than others. While many of these issues have been presented as the good locals vs. evil developers, there has been many great positive improvements such as the Cal Anderson park where it has quickly became a common landmark for most residence/students/professional in the neighborhood to hangout.*So how have all the changes effected everyone's connection and perception about the area....are they positive/negative? neither/both?

*With each change that happens, how has it effected one's knowledge, perceptions, memories, feelings, and their use of a certain area? (i.e. excavating of the old Cha Cha lot vs. the creation of Cal Anderson park)

*How do each of those elements tie in to the way we associate with a place?...whether it be 4 block radius, a neighborhood, the city, or the entire country.

*How do we, as an individual make a place more pleasant for yourself...and if possible, for others?

People participated on different levels depending on the time allowed. Many came by to say hello or during their lunch breaks draw up some quick cognitive memory maps of what they know about the area. Here's a whole line of the hung up. For those who had more time, we then gave them each a special "biographical field sketch book" as they went on a self-guided walk jotting down what they noticed.Constance' conclusion: Pay Attention. (Constance came back and admitted that she spent half the walk looking for her car trying to feed the meter and got even more turned around)Jonhathan's Field Sketch: Great old buildings. (as an architect, he appreciates the old charming buildings of Capitol Hill)Jean's Findings: Great mix of pattern & texture that reminded me of Italy.
(I went on a walk myself and wondered around for 45min taking notes as well as photos. It was nice to just walk without having to get to any places....it was as if I was visiting Capitol Hill for the first time.

We even got some young BRITE participants! How cute!
Below are some other great mini-parks on the lot that day:
Below is an "Air" Park
A giant connect four, a table to make some art, Flash Volunteer, and a ping-pong table.

For the fact that it was a working day, the turnout was more than we had anticipated. We were just happy to see people out and about and actually showing support. Granted we couldn't get people to start the walk all at the same time, it was still a good trial run and learning experience nonetheless. We hope that we can do this on a time of the day so more people can attend in the future and perhaps even do other less popular neighborhood walks like Int'l District, First Hill, Judkin's Park, Lake City...and many many more!)

Check out the Flickr set for more photos of the event and people's field sketch notes!
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PARK(ing) Day

As part of BRITE Collective, Dylan and I are excited to be taking part in this Friday's PARK(ing) Day! We are co-leading a neighborhood walk with Christa (of Cafe Weekend) and Julia Levitt (editor of Worldchanging).

BRITE collective presents...

NEGATIVE SPACE: a biographical field sketch

1-hour interpretive walk along the Pike / Pine corridor (West of Broadway). We will explore, examine and share our collective memories that identify this place. As we walk, we will discover new ways of viewing familiar places. Participants will receive a field journal to help guide and record their unique experience.

SCHEDULE:

11:30 – 12:30PM INTRO & COGNITIVE MAPPING (Hub Pavilion – central park @ pike & summit)

12:30 – 1:15PM SELF GUIDED WALK/ FIELD SKETCH (field map available@ Hub Pavilion)

1:15 – 1:45PM REVIEW & DISCUSS and enjoy some snacks & coffee (Hub Pavilion – central park @ pike & summit)

*please feel free to join in any three of the above activities individually or as a whole

LOCATION

We will be in the HUB PAVILION of CENTRAL PARK in Seattle located on Pine Street between Summit & Belmont Ave. (West of Broadway)

Come to the event if you're in Seattle! There will be tons of other mini-parks, music, and food venues at the Central Park. Should be Lots-O-Fun!!

For those of you who are just learning about this, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day global event where artists, activists and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. It's gonna be everywhere! Click, here to see if there's any PARK(ing) spaces happening around you. This would be a good excuse to walk slower or stop and hang out just for the hell of it. Oh boy, I can't wait to see the faces of the drivers looking for parking spots as I take up the whole spot to get a nice sun tan. It's gonna be fun.
This IS what is all about, right?