Discussed in this issue:
📝 From My Desk — Jay-Z is at SoFi this weekend, so I’m remembering the first time I saw him perform live.
🍽️ Eating This Week — Aguachile and bird’s tongue pasta. We’ve got variety this week.
🎙️ The Conversation — Mitch Landrieu joins me to talk Gumbo, midterms, and the real thing people want.
📋 The List — The new film critics and audiences can’t stop talking about, in theaters now.
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From Jamie’s Desk:
Okay, this is a bold statement, but here we go: I was one of the first people to see Jay-Z perform live.
Now when I say first people, I mean maybe the first few thousand (or tens of thousands) of the lucky ones who first saw him perform on a stage. He had been doing shows since the mid-80’s, but I was still one of the early ones. How can I prove that, you might be asking? Well take a look at the photo above – I took that at the Apollo Theatre in the summer of 1993, 3 years before his first album, Reasonable Doubt, was released. It was a show where Jay-Z performed with Original Flavor during the New Music Seminar.
If you read the text closely, I wrote, “This guy is signed, but I will try and find out his name, he is friends with Original Flavor”.
My first official paying job (if you skip my job at the Mephisto shoe store when I was in 9th grade, and some other side hustles) was working as a photographer for a magazine called Rap Sheet. I was paid $50 a month to go to hip-hop concerts in NYC, from the Apollo to underground venues on the West Side Highway to the Ritz. I would receive an extra $50 if I shot a cover, or if they used my image for a poster.
My title was actually “New York Guy” – for anyone who is a loyal reader of this newsletter, yes, I recognize the irony – and they decided taking photos wasn't enough. In addition, every month, about 500 issues would arrive at my house for me to go from newsstand to newsstand to try and sign them up. I was also doing marketing at shows, where I would be responsible for putting up banners and doing the street-team work, handing out free copies. Still to this day, it’s one of the greatest times of my life. I was a 16-year-old kid whose parents, for some strange reason, let me go out on school nights (and weekends from time to time) to take photos at shows — sometimes into the early morning hours. Rap shows in general at that time were disorganized, lo-fi, poor sound quality – but epic. I loved every moment of it. How could I not? I was front row for the birth of the Golden Age of Hip Hop. From A Tribe Called Quest to De La Soul to Brand Nubian – I got to see and photograph them all.
However, on the eve of his show at SoFi, there is no artist that I’ve seen more times and had more amazing memories surrounding than Jay-Z. From that first show in the early 90s to bigger shows at the Garden, Rose Bowl, Staples Center, and even Yankee Stadium. The fact that 33 years later, this guy is still selling out stadiums is an incredible feat. Sure, there are artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and others who have been at the top of their games for decades – but when it comes to the hip-hop footprint in mainstream culture, Jay-Z is truly one-of-one. He transcends age, gender, race, religion, and country. He’s universal. I was so bummed to miss this summer’s Yankee Stadium shows, but I’ve been counting the days until his SoFi show and night one is tomorrow.
For those of you in LA who can find tickets, just go. It’s worth every dollar. Personally, I hope he keeps going – but you never know, so don’t miss your chance.
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Mitch Landrieu has been in politics for nearly four decades, and he still believes in knocking on doors.
After 2024, while everyone was arguing about whether Democrats should have gone on Rogan, Mitch went to several states and asked the people who stopped voting for Democrats a simple question: why?
We spoke about what he found, and much more. I swore I wouldn’t get sidetracked talking about New Orleans food. I failed. But we also got into the upcoming midterms, the DSA, and why polar opposites like Mamdani and Spencer Cox have the same approval rating.
Here’s a brief snippet from our conversation, where Mitch explains what’s really broken in our politics.
What we’re saying now is if I don’t agree with you on one issue, I can’t talk to you about anything. If you’re not 100% with me about this, I can’t be with you about anything… The whole point is not to win an argument. It’s to fix a problem. So that requires compromise. And sometimes compromises are uncomfortable and they’re hard, but if you don’t keep moving the ball forward and you get stuck, then you actually start going backwards.
Be sure to listen to the whole conversation. Aside from his pragmatism and experience, he also settles where to get the best gumbo in New Orleans — which was a highlight for me.
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Photo Credit: London Restaurant Reviews
📍London: Impala (reviewed by David Jones)
Cuisine: North African/Mediterranean
Crew: Jamie Patricof, Eater, The Infatuation, Time Out
Good For: Small Groups, Large Groups, Casual
Pro Tip: Like the others in the Super 8 group, the menu can be a bit tricky to understand, so ask your server for a full rundown. Also, book ahead; it is very popular right now.
What to Order: Honey and Olive Oil Bread, Duck Roasted in Molasses, Bird’s Tongue Pasta with Spiced Oxtail, Barigoule of Badger Flame Beetroot, Mackerel, Sheftalia, Cull Yaw Pastilla, Date & Pistachio Tart
Notes: This spot is part of the Super 8 group, so if you love Kiln, Brat or Mountain, you’ll really like this place. Even for a work lunch, it was very lively and had a great vibe about it. The staff clearly love working here. The bird’s tongue pasta with braised oxtail was astonishingly good, and the kind of dish you’d cross London for. The beetroot barigoule with manouri and pistachio was right behind it, and my colleague almost ordered it twice because he loved it so much. Also go for the mackerel, the sheftalia (Tamworth pork wrapped in caul fat) and the cull yaw pastilla with pickled walnut. We finished with the date and pistachio tart. Service was very good, discreet and always on hand. One of the best meals I’ve had in a while.
Photo Credit: Coni’Seafood
📍Los Angeles: Coni’Seafood (reviewed by Matt Karatz)
Cuisine: Seafood
Crew: Condé Nast Traveler, LA Times, Michelin Guide, The Infatuation, Time Out
Good For: Casual, Large Groups, Small Groups
Pro Tip: Come with a group, order a whole fish, and take your time. And definitely check this spot out before SoFi shows — just make sure to go early.
What to Order: Whole Snook, Aguachile
Notes: Inglewood has lived several lives. In the '80s it was the home of Showtime, when the Lakers ran the Forum and the whole city seemed to move at Magic's tempo. Then came the long middle years, decades spent trying to find itself while the neighborhoods around it boomed. Today there's no debate: with SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the revitalized Kia Forum, Inglewood is once again the entertainment and sports capital of greater Los Angeles.
Through all of that change, one place has stood still: Coni'Seafood. The late, legendary Los Angeles Times critic Jonathan Gold named it one of his best restaurants in L.A., and one meal here will make it obvious why. It's not often you hear that some of the best seafood in the city is in Inglewood. But it's true. Coni's is about Nayarit-style seafood, and specifically about grilled fish and aguachile. It nails both.
The grilled whole snook is the dish legends are made of. It arrives butterflied across an oval platter, lacquered in a brick-red chile marinade and charred at the edges until the skin blisters and crackles. Underneath, the flesh is tender and smoky, pulling cleanly from the bone. The juices pool on the tray, and you'll want every drop. Alongside come warm tortillas wrapped in paper, crisp rings of raw red onion, cool cucumber coins, and a small bowl of soft, slow-cooked onions in their own savory broth. You build your own bites: fish, onion, a squeeze of lime, a tortilla. It's simple and communal, and it's perfect.
The aguachile is the other half of the story. It's bright, sharp and fiery, with shrimp cooked in lime and chile, the kind of dish that wakes up your whole palate before the main event lands. Don't expect fancy. Don't expect street food, either. Coni's sits in its own category: a sit-down, family-style seafood house with nothing to prove and everything to deliver. Expect a one-of-a-kind experience, and expect to confirm what Jonathan Gold knew all along. Good is good, no matter where it's located.
Coni'Seafood is a gem.
LA BOLA NEGRA
A Film By Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
A story of three generations of men connected through desire, pain, and love. Starring breakout actors Guitarricadelafuente, Carlos González, Miguel Bernardeau, and Milo Quifes, with Academy Award® Winner Penélope Cruz and Academy Award® Nominee Glenn Close.
NOW PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS
“The best film of the year.”
—Awards Watch
“An impossible love story for the ages.”
—Indiewire
“A vivid, sweeping epic.”
—The Hollywood Reporter
🎂 Happy birthday to Alan Patricof, Micah Green, Craig Gering, and Ryan Reynolds!!
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