Secco: Drapes to Drink By

Last month a friend put out a Facebook bulletin looking for someone to hem her new jeans in exchange for a bottle of wine (Inama Vin Soave). It was Julia of River City Cellars and I figured I can sew and I can drink, so I'm your girl. I'm on it.

She must have been pleased with my work because last week she contacted me with something much grander in mind. Would I be willing to make the drapes for her upcoming wine bar Secco in Carytown? The payoff sounded good, so sure, I said I'd do it. Just don't call me Suzy Homemaker.

I love rainy days, so after doing my four miles with an umbrella yesterday, I decided it was drape-making time. And while i have a really terrific apartment in Jackson Ward, there aren't many 9 1/2' furniture-free stretches in it. The hallways is long enough but not wide enough, the aged beagle spends his day moving from place to place in the living room and it didn't seem worth it to move the table out of the dining room. Okay, so the bedroom won by default.

So began the tedious process of laying out, measuring, ironing, pinning, sewing and ironing some more. Keep in mind that each of these six panels is fully four feet longer than I am; I periodically felt like I was in a fabric cocoon.

And voila! After a mere six hours, I had six panels ready for blocking the afternoon sun from the western windows at Secco. I got cleaned up for my wine dinner plans and headed over to Secco to deliver the goods. As it turned out, I also got to meet the kitchen staff and admire the boiling octopus they were cooking (with corks in the pot for tenderizing it; the things I randomly learn as I trip through life continue to amaze me).

Server-to-be Lincoln was industrious enough to fetch a ladder and immediately hang the drapes. I was gratified by the impressed nosies made by everyone once they were hung. I have to admit they did add a nice finishing touch to the space.

So when Secco finally opens in a week or so and you're sitting inside sipping some grape, take a moment to check out the locally-sourced window treatments. It's not every day you see Jackson Ward-made drinking drapes and these are a fine example of such.

I'm not bragging; I'm just happy to see J-Ward representing in Carytown. The Ward is after all, the home of Whiskey Wednesday and the dumping ground for an obscene number of empty 40-ounce bottles on a daily basis.

There's a certain poetic justice to knowing we can produce drinking drapes for our uptown grape friends. Do take note and raise a glass to the Ward.

J-Ward Girl Steps In

Since you just never know when and where you'll be called on to defend your neighborhood, it's important to be prepared at all times. There I was innocently taking a bag of trash out to the Supercan when a guy strolling the alley set me into action. I said hi and he said hello. I dumped my trash and was about to go back inside when he began it with, "Can I ask you a question?"

Why sure; I talk to everybody. "What do you think of this neighborhood? I'm thinking of buying a house here." Good god, man, do you know who you've asked? I closed the gate behind me and approached the guy.

"This is a great neighborhood," I told him. "You're not going to find more a beautiful neighborhood, architecturally speaking, in the city. The neighbors are incredibly friendly; I've been invited to more parties and get-togethers since I moved here than I can remember. And no matter how late I get home at night, there are always people around, which makes me feel incredibly safe. We're close to galleries, restaurants and music venues. And we've got Abner Clay Park plus they're building a dog park."

Okay, so I may have come on a bit strong, but don't ask me my opinion if you don't want to hear it. He looked a little taken aback, but then challenged me.

"What about the graffiti on that garage door mover there?" he countered, pointing at it. And, yes, a nearby garage door, one of those cheesy suburban-looking kind with the multiple panels, had a different tag on five of the panels. It was kind of a tag sampler, if you will.

"Well, we are only a few blocks from VCU and it is an art school and inevitably when the kids come back after breaks, there's a flurry of graffiti. The cops come out and paint over it and they arrest a few people and life goes on. I wouldn't let a few tags determine your opinion of this place."

"And you feel safe here?" Jeez, I'm tired of answering this question, but I'd put on my J-Ward Girl cape and gloves, so I had to keep defending.

"I've lived here three and a half years and I wouldn't live anywhere else in the city," I boasted. Then it occurred to me: why was I trying to sell this doubter on my 'hood? Clearly he wasn't worthy of it. And you notice I never even mentioned Whiskey Wednesdays to someone so obviously neighborhood-challenged.

It was time to go back behind the fence and remove my J-Ward Girl ensemble. My work here was through.

Thai, Cake and Solos

Here's the thing: some of the most interesting people I know have limited availability because of their jobs (ah, yes, I vaguely remember the concept). So when we are able to get together for an evening, we try to cram in as much as possible while we enjoy each other's company; that was how it went down tonight. Luckily, we're both Geminis so it's more like having four people trying to do it all, making it far more achievable.

We began in Carytown at Ginger Thai, which was crowded when we arrived and standing room only when we left. First off we had the Spicy Papaya salad and the Spicy Squid Salad, both of which packed a lot of heat. Next up she got Tiger Cry Steak (the name alone was compelling), flank steak marinated in lemongrass and garlic with Num Prik sauce and jasmine rice. I had the Spicy Drunken Noodles with pork because I'm a fan of those soft nat rice noodles. No surprise that we couldn't finish it all.

Our next stop was Ipanema for wine and dessert. I chose the Vanilla Chocolate Cake with Mocha icing; it's the ideal dessert when you want both flavors because it has one layer of each. We leisurely sipped our wine, chatting up some of the contented bar sitters. The question posed earlier today in a comment by Johnny H (the mayor of Ipanema) on my Divine Comedy post was answered: we saw each other there.

After each downing a couple of glasses of Malbec, we moved our cars to my neck of the woods and walked over to Gallery 5 for a solo music performance benefit show for G5. The four musicians, Patrick Ball (of Autocue), Brett Adams (of the Riot Before), Evan Setzer (previously in the Silent Type) and Chris Dowhan (previously in Adara) each did a couple of songs followed by a group performance.

The crowd was annoyingly talkative and my friend and I wished we had had a means of eliminating those who wouldn't shut up. We may be Geminis, but we can get ugly when surrounded by self-involved blabbers. Granted, Gallery 5 was benefiting from them having paid to get in the door, but we couldn't imagine the musicians appreciated trying to sing over the din.

By this time, my overworked friend was yawning and ready to call it a night, so we strolled back to my place, with my "Whiskey Wednesday" neighbors shouting out to me, beckoning me over, as we passed by their front porch gathering.

Of course, for all I know it was "Frangelico Friday" or some such thing, but two of the four of us were ready for bed.