It's The Podcast, In Newsletter Form!
Giving the people what they want!
How fun is this! It’s like we’re back in your ears, except you’ll have to listen to our voices through your brilliant imagination. Imagine we’re as enthusiastic as usual.
This new newsletter format is designed to bring MORE RECS to more of you. Each month free subscribers will receive our full EAT/WATCH/READ/LISTEN/BUY/DO lists, while our sweet paid subscribers (love you) will also gain access to the Fast Five - 5 bonus recs from each of us, that’s 10 extra all up (and sometimes, this is where the truly category-less gold lies). There’ll also be some extra tidbits for paid subs here and there - like our ANNUAL GIFT GUIDE NEXT MONTH EXCUSE ME!!!!
We’re so glad you’re here. We consider this our beautiful little club of enthusiasm. If you’re a free subscriber, consider upgrading for just $5 a month for the full Highly Enthused experience (nudity not included). Without further ado…
Eat
SOMO: I went to (well, we both did), Club Sup recently. A monthly gathering of people who want to meet new people (in a friendship kinda way). It’s held once a month or so at a restaurant in Sydney and more regularly in Melbourne. The aim is to fly solo, but if you do come with friends you’re sat a few seats away from each other as to not spoil the vibe with your in-jokes. You have a welcome drink, mingle like the best of them, then sit down to a casual dinner. There are no conversation prompts or lame intros (thank fuck), you’re pretty much just left to chat to those around you, and you switch seats after the main course. It felt unforced and sweet, and damn, the honey-drizzled flatbread with whipped butter at Theeca in Darlinghurst is going on the eat-again list. I thought the median age would be 23 at the event, which would have been fine, but was pleasantly surprised to find it was more like 33. They also have some yum recipes on their website, like these dill-spiked beef meatballs which were SO EASY.
SORO: Last week we had a spontaneous dinner date at the very freshly opened Ito Izakaya in Surry Hills, and ever since I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen how insanely delicious it is. Start with with the spring tempura - crisp, perfect zucchini flowers served with an emulsified dashi, yuzu and brown butter sauce so good I could have drunk it straight. Don’t miss SoMo’s forever favourite the chawanmushi, served here with spanner crab, asparagus and roe, or maybe you’d prefer the grilled king prawns with a zippy red yuzu kosho. Whatever you order, every dish packs in so much complex, umami and acid you’ll be basically licking the plates clean.
Read / Watch / Listen
SOMO: Is it just me or is there nothing good on TV right now? I’m deep in a 2009 Aus Drama called Tangle, which is giving good Love My Way vibes, but it’s just *fine*, it’s not *great*. The BEST thing I’ve seen lately though has been on the big screen, Past Lives is mesmerising. Two childhood sweethearts, separated by life, find each other years and relationships later and wonder “what if?” What if you didn’t make the choices you did? Is a historical connection enough to pivot your future? New York is so shiny and gorgeous in this film, it’s dreamy with a capital D. See it at the cinema at the moment.
SORO: This recc is HOT OFF THE PRESSES! I ripped through The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff in a couple of days last week. At first look the plot summary didn’t overly grab me - a servant girl in 1600s ‘America’ flees through the forest and fights for survival, a kind of colonial, feminist Bear Grylls? But I decided to trust that Lauren Groff could sell it to me. (After all I loved her book Matrix and that was about a medieval order of nuns.) Well, this book grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down. As the protagonist runs through the woods, we dart back and forwards in time between her memories of England, her time in the colony, the terrifying trip over the ocean. Brutal, propulsive and beautiful.
Buy / Do
SOMO: Boom, Glossier ships to Australia now! Not to be a basic Millennial but I have Boy Brow in Auburn, Cloud Paint in Dawn and Lash Slick on route. I found a great Boy Brow dupe from Kosas at Mecca, but keen to see if the original holds up. The last time I wore it was pre-Pandemic. While you’re applying your Cloud Paint, listen to the new tell-all biography of Emily Weiss, Glossy by Marisa Meltzer on Audible.
SORO: It’s going to be another summer of shirts in my house, and the latest addition to my collection is a LMND Chiara Shirt in Watermelon. A favourite of Leandra Medine of ex Man Repeller fame, these are the perfect classic button down. The fabric is a medium weight, crisp cotton poplin that looks good loose over a swimsuit, or tucked into a pair of high waisted pants, and thin enough you could layer over a vest or jumper in colder weather. I’m considering picking up one in the Ink Blue too. If you’re looking for something with a little more heft, I’ve also been eyeing off the Max Shirt by Sezane in classic white or the striped blue, or this on-sale Jume one for an organic cotton option.