Barbecue...in New York City?

We Texans (whether by birth or by circumstance) sure love our barbecue. I feel like a traitor as I write this, since I grew up on the East Coast and teethed on all kinds of seafood. What, lobster—AGAIN? But, I’ve been in Houston long enough now to really salivate over a good hunk of meat cooked to perfection on a barbecue grill. It’s an art form unto itself, and it requires rubbing, basting and slow (as in hours) cooking. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s quite a complicated process. Fish doesn’t need rubbing. Anyway, I was delighted when my daughter, Emily, and I were invited by George Kartsotis—president of Retro 51 and also a Texan—to join the gang at Virgil’s in NYC last week. It’s a quintessential barbecue restaurant, and I enjoyed some of the best comfort food—ribs, beef and chicken—I’ve ever had. The talk, of course, turned to pens and the National Stationery Show (the reason we were all in NYC). Nice people. Great time. Watch for some really creative new products coming from Retro 51. It’s sure to be a blockbuster year for the Dallas-based company.

I love New York

I had fun at the recent National Stationery Show at the Javits Center in NYC. While there weren't a whole bunch of pen companies exhibiting, those that were there showed some great stuff. Trends? Affordability (which usually includes steel- rather than gold-nibbed fountain pens--not a bad thing!); see-through areas on the barrel to show ink level (I like this, since ink color then becomes part of the aesthetic of the pen); and classic colors: white, black, off-white, taupe and brown (can this be ascribed to the Hemline Theory of the economy?). Both Delta (Titanio collection) and Stipula (Model T) showed titanium nibs, which are somewhat flexible, durable and less expensive than 18-karat nibs and more exotic than steel. More details and pictures to come...