ROBBY CRONHOLM

Robby Cronholm sings and plays guitar in Taxes and plays bass in Bonnie & the Bang Bang. 

What was the food highlight of your year?

My favorite meal of any year is always at Le Pigeon in Portland. I can't say enough glowing things about Chef Rucker and his team. I'm heading back in December and as I type this I am salivating on my laptop. Other notables included Aveline (SF), ink. (LA) and Workshop Kitchen and Bar (Palm Springs). Oh, and Gordo's Taqueria (SF).

What was the music highlight of your year?

That's an easy answer this year. One of my favorite bands, Drive Like Jehu. They reunited after nearly twenty years and were accompanied by an organist at The Spreckles Organ Pavilion. It was, and I don't say this lightly, the happiest day of my life. Seriously. Ask my girlfriend. She will attest.

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

The show above was one of the greatest concerts of my life and it was accompanied by culinary exploits to match. We started the weekend by taking the train to San Diego, which I had never done. Beautiful coastline and a couple of beers. We checked in to our hotel and ducked around the corner for a bottle of champagne and a sushi lunch (we were celebrating young love and the return of Jehu, don't judge.) After that we grabbed a couple of 40 ouncers and headed to the park where we imbibed behind a dumpster (we were celebrating young love and the return of Jehu, don't judge.) After the show we had a lovely dinner at Chef Blais' Juniper & Ivy. The next morning we had a perfect brunch at Café Chloe where we read the paper and allegedly had mimosas (no excuses). Thanks for listening and may your 2015 be filled with music, food and love.

@taxesband

PETER ELLENBY

Peter Ellenby’s 20 years of San Francisco indie rock photography is the subject of the book, Every Day Is Saturday.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Top food highlight of the year was moving to Portland Oregon and being able to buy foie gras in restaurants again since it had been banned in California. The foie gras profiteroles at Le Pigeon are insane as is the mousse on the charcuterie board at Little Bird.

What was the music highlight of your year?

Music highlight of the year was the National and Frightened Rabbit show at the Edgefield Winery.  A bunch of friends ponied up for a limo to get out there and the show was just amazing. Two bands at the absolute top of their game. It was also a torrential downpour that night and we all got soaked, but there was something magical about being pounded by rain and hearing amazing music. This was especially true during the Frightened Rabbit set. Very emotional music from the damp climes of Scotland.

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

Music and food best collided when our friend Brian Spangler who owns Apizza Scholls in Portland asked my wife Jeanné Ellenby for a copy of one of her Flaming Lips photos – Wayne in is his hamster ball being held up by the crowd at the Treasure Island Music Festival.  When we dropped off print at the restaurant for him he went into the back and brought out a pizza peel that Wayne had drawn some art on during a pizza feed. Their manager lives nearby so they visit the restaurant a lot, as should everybody. The best pizza I have ever had. It was a pretty cool combo of Lips art sitting side by side, all made possible by pizza, music and friendships.

@PeterEllenby

ROBBY CRONHOLM

Robby Cronholm fronts the band Taxes. They have a new full length and remixes by Danny Seim of Menomena coming in 2014.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Tours and recording sessions have been kind enough to take me north to Portland three times this year. When they do, I never miss an opportunity to eat at Gabriel Rucker’s Le Pigeon. His food strikes such a deep chord (one pun intended) in me. His technique is stellar, his approach unconventional, but his food is always inviting and never pretentious. As we’re all here due to a love of food, let’s get down to the intro, verse, chorus, middle 8, chorus of just one of the nights I spent cozied up to the kitchen at Le Pigeon.  (I save my menus. Nerd Alert!)

Razor Clams - casino flavors, bacon glaçage

Foie Gras “Ants on a Log” - olive oil white chocolate ice cream, porcini peanut butter

Beef Cheek Bourguignon

Agnolotti “Cacio E Pepe” - grilled lemon butter, zucchini, peas

Foie Gras Profiteroles

What was the music highlight of your year?

Taylor Swift in Sacramento, The National at Outside Lands, and Pusha T at Mezzanine come to mind. Also, being able to work with Danny Seim from Menomena was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and his input on the record was invaluable. 

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

Our insanely talented producer, Ryan Williams, and I had just finished mixing a song for our new record. We hopped in separate cars and headed from the studio in Echo Park to Hollywood to celebrate at Ink. On the drive over I reflected on the songwriting process and was overwhelmed with emotion. The melody in the shower, the right chords, the lyrics from a dream, the hours in the practice space, the collaborative brilliance of my bandmates, the arrangement finally agreed on, the iPhone recordings, the logistics of recording, the hours in the studio, the basics, the overdubs, the first mix, the second, the final, the car as it careens down Sunset Boulevard with its windows down and its system up. By the time I arrived at the restaurant I was weeping. And then, an unforgettable meal prepared by a young, immensely talented chef with a stranglehold on skill and a devil-may-care attitude, Michael Voltaggio. The setlist that night was as follows:

Oysters - half dozen, mignonette ice

Charred Avocado - dungeness crab, almond sponge, smoked oil

Hamachi - artichoke, smoked buttermilk, oaxacan cheese, yuzu

Potato Charcoal - housemade sour cream, black vinegar

Lollipop Kale - lardo, pig ears, togarashi

Lamb Neck - fried egg, yogurt curd, potato, wild herbs

Beef Cheeks - turnips, onion, caramel, beef threads

@taxesband