Good Morning and Hello Friday!

Amazing week on so many fronts. Vax mandates appear to be on the horizon (no more namby pambying the anti-vaxxers). We’ve tried carrots, now let’s try the stick! Especially loved what Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey had to say about who was to blame for this newest COVID spike (#10 below).

Also BIG thanks to Samantha French for sending me photos of the mural she and her partner Aaron Hauck painted for her hometown (Nisswa) in celebration of her dad’s 70th birthday and as a tribute to the Minnesota lakes and lazy summers of her youth (#3).

And finally, MUCH GRATITUDE and LOVE to Peak Restaurant’s staff and management for always creating “peak” experiences for us. Tuesday night’s celebration of Sheri’s birthday was stellar!

1. [watch] VIDEO: HERE’S THE LOWDOWN FOR THIS WEEK

2. TikTok Proposals: without “views” and “likes” why even bother?

Most recently:

1. In June, a lunch proposal at Peak Restaurant (video above) with all the nearby diners getting in on the act.
2. This week, at the Edge (situated just below Peak) on that terrifying glass floor, 100 storeys above street level, a huge crowd gathered to celebrate yet another proposal. According to security, it’s a daily occurrence.
3. This past Sunday at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami, local influencer and juice entrepreneur Julieanna Goddard, also known as YesJulz, was proposed to on the big screen by her beau, Miami Dolphins linebacker Duke Riley. (Source: Miami Herald)

The big takeaway – besides the fact that EVERYONE clearly wants to be a social media star – is how much more engaged people are with TikTok (4 billion “proposal” views) vs. Instagram (3 million). Instagram lacks TikTok’s buzz – especially among youngish users. More on TikTok’s ascendancy next week.

3. Samantha French’s tribute mural to Nisswa, her hometown

Love the story of how this mural came to be. (Source: Star Tribune)

1. Like many Minnesotans, water was an integral part of Samantha French’s childhood. She learned how to operate a boat before she learned how to drive a car. Hence the subject matter for this mural.
2. When Samantha and her longtime partner and collaborator, Aaron Hauck, were planning a Minnesota vacation to celebrate her father’s 70th birthday, her dad suggested they paint a mural in tribute to her hometown on the side of a building he owns. An added bonus: it’s in one of the most prominent spots in Nisswa and right next door to Big Axe Brewery, the beer garden Samantha’s brother owns.
3. The 11- by 25-foot mural took more than a week to complete.
4. The couple has done murals before. Their largest is 90- by 25-foot in Kingston, N.Y. But the Nisswa one means something special to these two Minnesotans. (Hauck grew up in Brainerd.)
5. And over at the family’s StoneHouse Coffee & Roastery, her parents are beaming. “It’s one of their best murals,” Mike French said. “The Frenches are going to leave their mark on this town. I’ve got a lot to brag about with my kids.”

4. Trendspotting: Tia Adeola Showcases Her Collection at NYC’s Bowery Showroom

• This past Saturday, Tia Adeola, a 24-year old Nigerian fashion designer (now based in NYC), collaborated with Bowery Showroom (which I wrote about previously, #6 in this link) to feature her Renaissance-inspired fashions at a block party in her honor. I did not get to meet her unfortunately.
• Her models, however, did her proud. They came from a casting call and included some very cool trans-influencers. From the looks of it, it was a huge success for her and Bowery Showroom.
• The vibe reminded me of 1980’s House of Field. I was lucky to occasionally get invited to join Patricia Field’s table for the Voguing and Drag Balls that were popular back in the day (documented brilliantly in “Paris Is Burning”). The scene at Tia Adeola’s Bowery Showroom event, along with the models, totally took me back to that time – especially when I met Ebon. See TikTok video below courtesy of Ebon/Femme Botox on TikTok.

5. Phoenix gets its first cannabis-friendly hotel

Not my scene but I’m sure their reservations lines are burning up!

1. Besides cannabis sleeping rooms, the hotel also offers to drive guests to a dispensary to shop for cannabis and to rent pipes and bongs. However, there is NO cigarette smoking in any of the hotel rooms! (Source: AZ Big Media)
2. Derek Upton, known as the Arizona Cannabis Chef, and featured on Netflix’s Cooked with Cannabis and Food Network’s first ever Chopped 420 is available to provide in-room cannabis infused dinners. Guests can also register for his Elevated Under the Stars dinner party featuring a cannabis infused 6-course fine dining experience atop the Skydeck.
3. The rooms can be booked directly through the hotel or by using the website Bud and Breakfast at https://www.budandbreakfast.com/.

6. Bourbon Pairing Dinners – now we’re talking!

At Nashville’s 404 Kitchen and (soon) at Bourbon and BBQ in Bozeman

1. I’m a big fan of Perfect Manhattans made with BOURBON! It’s my go-to drink for dinner (as opposed to wine) so this special bourbon-pairing dinner at 404 Kitchen in Nashville last Tuesday (July 27), would have been right up my alley! Were any of my Nashville friends there by any chance? (Source: Nashville Scene)
2. Bourbon & Barbeque in Bozeman is opening today, July 30th. From what I’ve seen online, they are still desperately looking for staff! They should check out SWOB below!

7. SWOB: an app to help employers in high turnover industries hire local talent.

“Tinder for job seekers” – per co-founder Alexander Florio

1. The Toronto-based company behind the Swob job app just debuted in Austin — its first foray into the U.S. market. (Source: Austin Culture Map)
2. Swob, short for “swipe job,” was inspired by Tinder and relies on dating-app functionality.
3. Swob users create a profile, answer a questionnaire, upload a résumé, and identify their location. Then they’re matched with jobs in retail, food services, and hospitality.
4. Alexander Florio (and his sister) co-founded Swob in 2017 after he got frustrated by his job hunt. Tinder, which he was using for dating at the time, gave him the idea for Swob.
5. Employers sign up for the service on a monthly, annual, or pay-as-you-go basis. It’s a GENIUS idea, hopefully, it works as promised.

8. Gallatin College for the building trades.

1. I wrote about this topic last week but feel compelled to revisit it after a friend in Ohio complained of a 6 month wait to install her new front door. Some of the delay is supply chain but much of it is lack of skilled labor.
2. Coming from a blue collar family (my dad was a master welder), I have tremendous respect for people working in the trades. Europeans seem to hold skilled tradespeople in much higher regard than Americans typically do. Not sure why that is but most likely because we don’t have an apprenticeship-culture in this country.
3. Gallatin in Bozeman Montana provides two-year degrees and one-year professional certification options in welding, machining, bookkeeping, health information coding, medical assistance, internet networking technology, business management and cybersecurity.
4. Tuition and fees are significantly lower than for 4-year programs at MSU. Financial assistance is also available which makes Gallatin accessible to anyone with ambitions of furthering their education and improving their career prospects. (Source: Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
5. Kudos also to Pittsburgh Public Schools for launching a carpentry pre-apprenticeship program for high school students. Again, tremendous need for this. (Source: BizJournals)

9. Why does Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram have such a Kardashian vibe?

• He has 320 Million followers and routinely gets 10MM likes on his posts (so who am I to be critical, I know).
• Several of the podcasts I listen to have mentioned what a phenom Cristiano is on social media which is why I checked it out. But I still don’t get why he’s so flashy and ostentatious on the ‘gram.

10. Quote of the week: “Time to start blaming the unvaccinated folk”

THE RESPONSE HEARD 'ROUND THE STATE: Watch @JChapmanCBS42 ask Gov. Ivey the question that got her riled up about low vaccination rates. https://t.co/jLnCVmnH0a pic.twitter.com/RL92yuCDMh

— CBS 42 (@CBS_42) July 23, 2021

And that’s a wrap (almost). just a few more pics

I was restaraunting like a boss this week!!

Welcome back, Alfonso! He was my favorite server at Peak from Day 1. And then he left. But I personally lured him back after randomly running into him working elsewhere!

Manhattan cocktails at the Public Hotel with Joe S. Highly recommend their new Popular Restaurant. And had to sneak in a pic with Sarah H. at LH (shhhh).

And finally, from last night’s dinner at IRIS in Midtown, Rodrigo and our FANTASTIC server Alyssa (?spelling). GREAT new find from Chef John Fraser (formerly of Narcissa and Nix and now also running F&B at The Public).

And that is it for this week. Have a great weekend everyone! Next ZandlSlant will be coming at you August 6th. Hopefully, we will not have returned to full-on masking by then although it is increasingly looking that way. Aaargh🤬