Angelina Hazzouri has never regretted a fancy grocery run.
"I’m also here to call out my friends who say they hate grocery shopping. What do you mean??? You’re going to an exciting place where you can shop for ANYTHING YOU WANT TO EAT!"
Happy Monday! I’m back in New York for the foreseeable future. Today’s cheat sheet is by Angelina Hazzouri, a reader, eater, outfit repeater, and the author of Lunch on Friday a series of personal essays based on self-reflection and meaningful conversations with friends and strangers.
I love reading about the city through Angelina’s world, it’s so bright and open and sensitive.
CHEAT SHEET is a series that unveils the objects, rituals, habits, places, and secrets that make life better. It’s like the blue-lined paper you’d make for yourself with all the formulas, tips, and strategies for an exam.
ANGELINA HAZZOURI’S CHEAT SHEET
1. A playlist for each month
I assumed everyone does this, but I was recently informed otherwise. (Never assume.) For years, I’ve started a new playlist at the beginning of each month, or at least at the beginning of each season. It’s like creating a time capsule of music for each period of my life that I can look back on with fond (or not-so-fond) memories. I started doing this in high school and still have Spotify playlists from 2015 that sound like autumn drives to football games and smell like Abercrombie perfume. If you know me at all, you know that music is very important to me, and my playlists are like audible scrapbooks that tether the feelings and memories of a particular period of my life into a digital vault. (I also go so far as to have a new playlist each week on LoF Radio, which you can follow here.)
2. Quality ingredients
You guys. I’m titling this “quality ingredients,” but I’m also here to call out my friends who say they hate grocery shopping. What do you mean??? You’re going to an exciting place where you can shop for ANYTHING YOU WANT TO EAT! Maybe I sound insane, but I know there are others who think this way (because I literally had this conversation at a party last weekend). I was very happy to read that Olivia Weiss’ cheat sheet included “buy the good butter,” because I could not agree with this more. Good ingredients make a huge difference in the food we cook and eat, and I’ve never had buyer’s remorse from a grocery haul for this very reason. Last winter, I made Eric Kim’s Ricotta Pasta Alla Vodka recipe from the New York Times, and it was a meal that my boyfriend and I still talk about. What made it so special and so delicious was that I spent all morning sourcing the best quality ingredients for the meal, including fresh pasta from Raffetto’s, the creamiest ricotta from Murray’s, and the most mouthwatering thick bacon from Ottomanelli & Sons. Upon tasting the sauce, I remember saying, “Ohmygod” in shock. It was one of the best things I’ve ever made, and I do believe it was because of the ingredients. Winter meals loading…
4. Vintage embossed label maker
I genuinely don’t shop on Amazon very often, but this is the best thing I’ve purchased from Jeff Bezos’ online boutique in recent memory. A couple of years ago at the office, I was in a frenzy and started labeling everything in sight (my colleagues still make fun of me for that week), and I had the thought that I needed to do this at home as well. I am unfortunately as Type A as Type A gets. My fellow Substack friend Tadzio recommended this “vintage” embossing label maker that quite literally elevates anything you label. I have the one with black tape and white letters and it reminds me of my grandfather but also makes me feel very cool. Highly recommend.
4. Carrying postage stamps in my wallet
Like mother, like daughter. My mom has always carried postage stamps in her wallet in case she suddenly needs to mail something, and these instances happen more often than you’d think. I’ve started to do the same, and this has come in handy so many times. Many restuarants in New York give you a postcard with your bill, and although I’m sure most people either leave them behind or end up throwing them out later, I usually mail them to someone I’m thinking about. My friends and I had dinner at Nowon in Bushwick a few months ago and mailed the postcard to our friends who live in Union Square—just saying hi. You don’t need an excuse to send a letter, and you don’t need to live super far away either. Sending mail from Brooklyn to Manhattan is totally allowed and, in fact, encouraged! Carry stamps with you at all times.
5. Your local public library
I feel like sometimes as adults we forget that the library exists and is free and is wonderful. I loved going to the library as a kid, and I realized a few years ago that I love going to the library as an adult. Although I am perpetually a Buyer vs a Borrower when it comes to having books (I love owning physical media), I adore going to the library to read and write and simply be in the presence of others who are doing the same. It’s a third space for all walks of life—I’ll be sitting there rapidly typing a manifesto about ice cream while the girl across from me scribbles vicious lyrics into her tattered notebook and the older man next to me looks at pictures of mountains in China and the tourists behind me take photos of the inspiring vaulted ceiling. What an awesome place. Also—you can borrow DVDs from the library, including the ones that are banned from most streaming services and only play at the Metrograph once every 10 months. (See also: Harmony Korine)
Thank you Angelina! You can find more of her here: Instagram: @angelinahazzouri Substack: Lunch on Friday
Catch up on previous CHEAT SHEETS:
And let me know who you want to see featured next in the comments!
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