nathaniel santiago

R&D Q&A

I really like muddled Luxardo Cherries with condensed milk and mint in my matcha
let’s do a jam with blueberries blackberries and strawberries and replace the sugar water
with that cinnamon-agave infusion because agave tastes like brown sugar and that pairs
great with cinnamon except it’s a compote because I want to reduce this strawberry rosé
because I don’t have strawberry liqueur aren’t you doing too much? I hate that this place
isn’t as experimental and as cool as it looks    anyways    cinnamon and brown sugar pairs
well with all three of these berries and yesterday David and I figured out that matcha
works beautifully with vermouth for a martini so in theory the could-be wine-y matcha
should work with the rosé which should work with the berries and the cinnamon-agave
then when that’s done let’s blend it and strain to fully incorporate the parts why not keep
it simple and use a simple syrup base? I think it would be difficult to kill the artificial taste
you’d get because the berries wouldn’t be fully incorporated and besides wouldn’t it be dope
to advertise this as something much more natural than sugar water with a hint of berries
because      I think it would be dope to advertise this as something much more natural but
look at that magenta color and how smooth it looks and its sheen my fucking god that taste too
how does it taste? Tastes great but I’m not getting any matcha but I’ve gotten complaints
that the vanilla matcha we serve isn’t sweet enough so I think this is a great response to that
except if we use oat milk it overpowers everything so now I’m biting into a cup of green oatmeal
that isn’t as green as regular matcha would be and is instead gray and looks gross did you look
at the hibiscus rose recipe? Yes    but I don’t think a water-y simple syrup base would benefit us
maybe if I blend and strain the syrup it could work better but to say that we made a berry jam
would be really cool I just really hate that this place isn’t as experimental and as cool as it looks

A Credit Card Rests Against A $400 Check For Two

I believe that food is much more important than we think. My favorite moments involve food:
the laughs exchanged the cocktails tried the steak we sank our teeth into

Once, I dated a picky eater then realized that I can’t share food with a checklist.

There is intimacy in one big plate and a large spoon dug into a steamy mountain of fried rice.
Or in a plate holding empanadas and our fingers scramble for the golden edges.
Or        in finishing your fries.
Or        in pressing my lips onto the lipstick-stained lip of your matcha         after insisting
that you should kiss my cup of coffee            and bless it with nectar.

Once, I ordered food for delivery from a place I loved going to and hated it.

Because there is something about getting drunk in public and          ordering way too much food
for the table and          sitting face-to-face in dim lighting where the A/C blasts so         that the
restaurant can kick us out sooner without having to tell us directly and     our faces being so
flushed with a Campari red     that we couldn’t tell when we were supposed to leave and
ordering dessert even though I am full because          I don’t want to leave this place.

Two Poems

nathaniel santiago

R&D Q&A

A Credit Card Rests Against A $400 Check For Two