A few weeks ago, I wrote about appreciating the things men do for you, rather than looking at what they don’t do in Ex-Pectations. With that in mind here, is a shout out to some fellas doin it right, or at least trying to set an example for the rest of them.
The Willy Wonkas
Rick and Michael Mast of Mast Brothers Chocolate. At a movie today, my date (we’ll get to him) and I munched on their Almonds and Sea Salt Bar. I had the pleasure of taking a work field trip to their shop/factory in Brooklyn, where we received a full tour and tasting. Among the only bean-to-bar chocolatiers in the U.S., this duo gets the best beans from all of the world, hand sorts them, and then mixes, and even ages, the chocolate yielding high-grade, vegan bars. They even make the charming wrapping in-house, and then hand wrap the candy (we were told they get together and do them in large batches and talk about girls). So we aren’t the only ones who talk about the opposite sex over chocolate.
Rick Mast.
Hand sorting cocoa beans.
Where the beans get ground.
Melting and mixing.
Yuuuuum.
Aging.
Re-melting and mixing.
You're a bar!
That's a wrap.
We got to sample EVERY flavor!
The Bloggers
Esquire.com’s blog Eat Like a Man has great interviews and gives pointers on cooking, mixing drinks, restaurants, beer festivals, burgers, bbq—all food 411 built for men, and certainly enhancing their pedigree.
Jeff, Seth, and Cam are the young gents are the authors of The Midwest Style, a tailored guide to dressing well on a budget (and sometimes not) while remaining manly vs. metro.
The Entertainer
For any of you frustrated that your boyfriend doesn’t make enough time for you between his work and wolf pack, be grateful he isn’t James Franco. He is funny (throwback to his Funny or Die “Hills” sketch with Mila Kunis, as well as what I have previously mentioned to be the only good scene in “Date Night,” also with Mila Kunis), smart (he was accepted as the “13th student” in a literary PhD program at Yale that only accepts 12…among his other degrees), and easy on the eyes. And he does it all. See Vanity Fair daily’s hilarious bingo board of future James Franco accomplishments here.
The Athlete
Texas Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton is one of the best players in the game, who arguably overcame the most to be in it. He overcame drug addition, fights alcoholism, and despite injury, remains clean for the game. As a lover of baseball (some of my earliest memories are from Houston Astros games), it is nice to see a man stepping up to the plate without drugs, rather than taking any kind (ahem performance enhancing) to get there.
The Musician
I’ve always been a fan, but since the premiere of Talihina Sky, I am just LOVING the Followill brothers. Thoughtful and profound musicians who question their world without confrontation. And are actual ass-kicking, 20,000 people screaming for you musicians who have their shit together. What did come from their extreme upbringing were morals. These rock stars are all family men.
The Date
When you go to Atlantic City for a bachelorette party, you don’t expect to meet anyone. Definitely not someone really cute. And definitely not a someone who lives 10 blocks from you. And knows how to make a reservation. And insists on picking you up at your apartment whenever he takes you out. And calls to set up dates rather than texting. But texts in the morning (because he goes to work much earlier) to tell you if it’s chilly out and to bring a jacket, or an umbrella because it’s raining. And might have seen a semi-chick flick (Bridesmaids, I couldn’t talk him into Something Borrowed) with me this afternoon while eating Mast Brothers Chocolate.
More to come on him later. But for now, I am trying very hard to appreciate these qualities, and a really nice guy. Finding that in New York, or any city, is like hand sorting the cocoa beans. You have to throw out the bad ones.
Chocolate vs. Sex 