JOSH MODELL

Josh Modell is Editor In Chief of The A.V. Club.

What was the food highlight of your year?

This is a damn hard question, but I think it's gotta be incredible meals at Next and Alinea that were four days apart. The Next menu (it changes three times a year) was "best of Trio," which is the restaurant Grant Achatz cooked at before he started Alinea. The preparations were considerably simpler than what he's doing at Alinea now, but just so incredibly tasty and balanced. But then going to Alinea four days later... I hadn't been in five years, and the menu was completely different and fun and slightly less stuffy than I remembered it. Highlight I think was this corn preparation that was basically like the best elotes you've ever had x1000, served in a husk whose silk had just been on fire. The aroma and the taste together were amazing.

What was the music highlight of your year?

I can't even remember what happened last month, man! Let's see... This sounds like a cop out, but we put on a really fun festival this year, so I got to see Death Cab For Cutie with Chris Walla one last time, along with other oldies like The Dismemberment Plan. Oh, and Jack White--who I haven't been all that interested in in recent years--put on a blazing live show.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

There's this guy who makes Ćevapčići, which are these crazy amazing Serbian kebabs, and basically only sells them at music festivals (as far as I know)... I was sad that he wasn't at Pitchfork Fest this year, but he was at Riot Fest, which was honestly kind of a highlight. (I'm getting too old for hanging around 50k 15-year-olds.) So I popped in for one afternoon, saw Superchunk, Naked Raygun, and Hot Snakes, got a yummy sausage and went home!

@joshmodell

MIKE SCHORR

Michael Schorr has played drums on records by Death Cab For Cutie, Stephen Malkmus, and The Long Winters. He is currently working as a video game designer

What was the music highlight of your year?

In May, my wife and I vacationed in Barcelona and were lucky to spend some time with our friend Carlos, a booker at Apolo.  One night he invited us to see Efterklang, a band neither of us had heard.  Efterklang played a captivating set filled with texture, nuance, and atmosphere.  For a pair of music lovers, it’s rare for us to stumble across a strange band and be so riveted by their sound!  Everything about that evening was perfect — the band, the company, the booze, and the wonderful energy of foreign travel.  

What was the food highlight of your year?

Traveling abroad as a vegetarian isn’t always easy, but it definitely has come along way.  Case in point, Sesamo.  Tucked away in the back of normal looking Spanish bar in El Raval (it took us a few passes to even find it!), this organic, vegetarian restaurant served us one of the best meals of our life.  I had an amazing salad concoction to start, tortellini with truffle oil for the main, and a pumpkin spice cake to finish, all accompanied by regional wine.  And for once, the incredibly slow pace and service of a restaurant was welcomed — we savored every bite and didn’t want it to end!  

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

For the past two summers, a small group of us from Seattle hop on motorcycles and take the scenic route down to La Pine, Oregon.  There we rent out a cabin in the middle of nowhere to decompress, catch up, feed our faces, and ride some incredible roads!  This year we curated a series of vegan meals and managed to find enough space on the motorcycles to bring boozy mixers!  We also took turns playing DJ with our phones, which always sparked good music conversations.  Sitting in the sun on the porch with drinks and good music was sublime!

@michaelschorr

PETER ELLENBY

Peter Ellenby’s twenty years of photographing bands like The Flaming Lips, Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, and Bright Eyes in small clubs is the subject of the book, Every Day Is Saturday.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Eating the bone marrow at RN74.

What was the music highlight of your year?

Bob Mould playing Copper blue at Bottom of the Hill during Noise Pop.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Noisette was amazing. Watching Ian Marks from the Beast and the Hare butcher half a pig was pretty cool. Eating what he did with the meat was better.

When I was shooting Bob Mould and his band for their Silver Age promos we walked past Olivier’s Butchery in Dogpatch. Bob says “Oh. Is this a butcher?” I confirmed that it was indeed and he proceeded to go inside and buy three or four amazing looking steaks. I’m sitting there thinking to myself “Oh my god, I’m watching Bob Mould buy steaks!”