OOO #59: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like
I'm not kidding someone seriously said this, BREAKFAST, taste, and half of it is Long Island related
Outfits
Ohio
Sometimes, I think I’d rather go out for breakfast than dinner. I can’t really explain why, but I think it has to do with the fact that unless our reservation is at 6pm, I’m often way too sleepy to be fully immersed in the experience of dining in the evening (we did have a 5:30 reservation recently, and I didn’t hate it. I am tired).
This morning, my husband and I wanted to go out for breakfast, and we landed on Emmett’s on High Street. Emmett’s bills itself as a neighborhood cafe, which is an apt description, but it serves way more substantial food than the baked goods that you might expect.
Emmett’s menu is perfect. This morning I had their avocado toast (with pickled onions and fresno chilis) because I wanted something a little spicy, but I also love their TK breakfast sandwich, which has egg, cheddar cheese, arugula, and mustard on focaccia. My husband was very happy with his breakfast burrito and wants to try the meat & tato next. The Internet, on the other hand, suggests you try the One Handed.
Emmett’s Open Air location has an even bigger menu, and the next time I go to Emmett’s, I’d like to try that location. I’m also looking forward to returning to their High Street location this summer, so I can sit on the patio with a huge iced coffee and a TK.

I like Emmett’s because the food is super fresh, thoughtfully-prepared, and well-portioned (we’re over “small plates” as a society now, right? I’ve always been over them for the record…), the people are friendly, and they have a wide selection of non-coffee drinks, which I think is the mark of an interesting cafe. If you’re in German Village or near Open Air (it just occurred to me that both Emmett’s locations are next to both Butcher Shop locations), grab yourself something really delicious.
Other Things I Like
My husband loves Ezra Klein (we also celebrity-spotted him several times while we were living in DC, including at two separate Star Wars movies [good man]), and as such, my husband recommended I listen to Klein’s recent podcast on “taste” with guest Kyle Chayka. Chayka has written a new book entitled Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, which I have already requested from the library based on the interview. Here’s why:
I don’t remember the last time a podcast inspired introspective thinking as much as this episode has. First, I was intrigued by this idea that algorithms (especially on Instagram and TikTok) have pushed us all toward a common, bland taste, using the ubiquitous, white-walled cafe with minimalistic Nordic furniture as his example. Chayka points out that these cafes are not chains and undoubtedly local, but have somehow been cloned from here to Mexico City to Tokyo to Amsterdam. I started thinking about what in my own life I liked because it had been fed to me through algorithms (particularly on Instagram) rather than because I actually liked it. Did I buy a pair of micro hoop earrings because I wanted them or because they were all over influencers’ pages? Did I read that book because it sounded integral to my goals or because I saw all my friends of Goodreads reading it? Do I feel inclined to “upgrade” my workout gear because my clothes are old or because I want to look like everyone else at a workout class? I even realized I trusted businesses more if they looked a certain way (meaning, “Instagrammable”) which is a WILD reason to trust a business.
Then I thought about Chayka’s discussion of the essence of personal taste, which I took to be that we like certain things because we have a meaningful connection to them. For example, I really prefer dark, solid wooden furniture over white, composite, or glass furniture because dark wooden furniture reminds me of the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts galleries at the Met as well as the Gold Coast homes I would visit when I was little (Sagamore Hill comes to mind). It also echoes the style of my own childhood home’s decor (and that of my grandmother’s home) and the premium that my family put on quality over fads. The splendor and history of those Gold Coast homes (and my fascination with Theodore Roosevelt) coupled with my family’s value of quality, long-lasting items informed my taste in furniture and radically influenced how I decorated my house. I’m sure it’s even the reason I prioritized purchasing a house with original wood accents in the first place.
I’ve done this exercise with a few thing I like—blazers (emulating my first boss), pizza (harkening back to my beloved childhood Friday pizza nights), even Henry VIII (I was stumped during a quiz in my elementary school gifted and talented program and then felt the compulsion to learn everything about him)—and I realized that there is both a lot about my taste that is indeed connected to something meaningful in my life. But, there are plenty of things that likely came from “the algorithm” (LaCroix comes to mind). Actually, one of the things I like most about my best friend (yes, you, MJ!!) is that she has entirely her own taste. She has a unique point of view and style, which shows just how much of an independent thinker she is. It also makes it very easy to buy her presents because I know right away if something is her taste or not.

I particularly liked Chayka’s challenge that we get back to a culture of personal curation rather than algorithmic consumption, and I hope that’s something I’m doing doing here with OOO. Each week, this newsletter forces me to think about things I really like,* and articulate what it is that I actually like about them, whether its usefulness, design, nostalgia, or something else entirely. Also, I hope that while you guys may find something worth checking out on occasion, I like the idea of some of you being super judgy about some of my choices (for example thinking “plastic laundry baskets are awful” or “the florals on those Easter decorations are way too much”) because it ultimately means that the algorithm isn’t winning.
I think the podcast is worth the listen.
*yes I ordered avocado toast—a classic millennial stereotype—at Emmett’s today, but I wanted something savory, vegetarian, AND, with some tang that would also keep me full throughout the afternoon, and figured a big helping of focaccia and various unsaturated fats would do the trick. It did, and I am still full almost eight hours later. Also, it didn’t look like any “Instagrammable” avocado toast I’d ever seen before, so you have to give Emmett’s credit for that; the priority was tastiness, and in that they GREATLY succeeded.
Old News
Stanley Tucci will return to Italy with a new TV show, thanks to Nat Geo. (Note: I don’t have the right streaming services to have watched “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy) but I LOVED Taste: My Life Through Food.
The challenges facing Long Island’s scallop population and industry.
Four new species of octopus is not enough in my opinion!
Billy Joel chooses the top five songs he, as an audience member, would want to hear him, as a performer, play at a concert. Personally, I’m a big fan of “Vienna,” “And So it Goes” (I sang it with my chorus at camp one summer), and of course, the crown jewel, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.”
That’s it! Have a great rest of your week.
You make me laugh, you make me hungry, you make me want to read more, and you legitimize my own propensity to collect :)