This is Cocktail Charm, a weekly email filled with delicious little things to talk about at parties. In today’s edition: SVU shindigs, ice cream roulettes, and Snooki falling in the club.
This week I was introduced to the most delightful of words: Stammtisch, a German term that loosely describes a regulars’ table. The Stammtisch is a group who have a standing gathering at a bar or restaurant, where members show up for informal hangouts and chat; it’s also the name of the table itself. It’s an age-old idea in Germany, once reserved for men holding political or philosophical discussions.
Today, the groups are more freewheeling (and open to all). You might gather at a Stammtisch for a conversation group, a casual chat, or a standing card game. Beer, of course, is a given. Plus, one charming component hasn’t changed over the year: the Stammtisch is usually marked with a little tabletop card, often customized with its own special logo for the group. Here’s a little audio scene from NPR that takes you right to the table.
“In Germany, you had basically a gathering in a repetitive way. People who like to associate with each other, they will always meet in a bar or in a restaurant, and they will have a special table,” Werner Hein, an octogenarian who joins his local Stammtisch in DC, says. “Playing cards every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock. You'll find even tables where they have certain insignia on it of this group where they meet. And then two hours later, someone else comes — another group.”
Now I have to ask: do you have any kind of Stammtisch of your own? A place you know you can always catch a friend, or somehow always strike up chat with a stranger? And if so, where’s it happening? Hit reply and let me know.
Tell me about it
Conversation-starters to take to happy hour, your group chat, or your Stammtisch table.
Who’s trying a guided meditation with Azealia Banks? The queen of getting mad online released a soothing Dropbox file telling you to relax.
Doesn’t every child deserve a birthday like this? They say first birthdays are for adults, not for the kid. So I have to commend this mother that themed her daughter’s first birthday party around around Law & Order: SVU, complete with a life-size Olivia Benson.
Can you believe the memes failed to save democracy? Really good Q&A by
with Rob Flaherty, the Harris campaign’s deputy campaign manager, about what we learned from Kamala HQ — and why its virality wasn’t enough to win an election.Were you wondering how Pope Crave was prepping for the papal election? “We’ll be on shifts like this is the army, except it's the conclave.”
Or how the Vatican releases white smoke when its decision is made? A brief explanation of the pyrotechnics behind its smoke signals.
DEPARTMENT OF INTERLUDES
AND A WEIRD FOOD NEWS BREAK
I came down with a quick but lethal-feeling virus earlier this week, which had me lying in bed dreaming of fizzy drinks and all I’d eat when my stomach was settled. But the recent food news I’ve been reading post-recovery has me feeling like I’m still in some kind of fever state. Among the latest:
🥒 PEAK PICKLE? Much like how millennials became attached to avocados, Gen Z has anointed its own it-food: pickles. Now we have pickle popcorn, pickle seltzer, and pickle Cheetos. The flavor of the moment is decidedly dill-ified (sorry!). And critics would like to know if the brine bubble will ever burst.
☕️ CANAL COFFEE? Visitors to this year’s Venice Biennale of Architecture will be able to buy Italian espresso brewed from an extremely local source — the city’s canal water. Sorry to the chemists, but I’ve seen too many pigeons splashing in those puddles to trust it.
🌶️ ENERGY HOT SAUCE? I will NOT!! be naming the companies involved in this latest brand collab from hell, because that’s what exactly they want me to do. But what kind of sleep paralysis demon gave some Droga5 marketing executive the idea for caffeinated habanero sauce????
🍦 ICE CREAM ROULETTE? At least I was thoroughly charmed by this dispatch from local New York reporter
, who visited "The World’s First Flavor Roulette Ice Cream Shop, Where Every Scoop is a Surprise!" in the East Village. I won’t spoil which flavors she’s handed! I won’t do it to you, Anne!!!One song I’m playing on repeat this week
Do you hear it? The glass smashing? The sirens reverberating through the streets? THE PEOPLE SING? Of course you can!!! It’s the 🚨 !!!! NEW FIONA APPLE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM !!!! 🚨 And it’s a really good one.
The singer just released “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home),“ a protest song inspired by her many years volunteering as a court watcher — people who observe trial proceedings to collect and monitor fairness in the justice system.
“Time and time again, I listened as people were taken away and put in jail, for no other reason than that they couldn’t afford to buy their way free. It was particularly hard to hear mothers and caretakers get taken away from the people who depend on them,” Apple wrote in a statement accompanying the song, which centers on jailed mothers who can’t afford bail.
The song supports Free Black Mamas DMV and is accompanied by a website where listeners can find local bail funds and learn more about court-watching.
Last chatter
If you read one thing this week, may I recommend this longform story on what makes teens feel happy these days. Solo fishing, listening to gospel music, making maps and blueprints — their thoughtful, eclectic answers will warm your heart.
Clink clink!
Gabriela
Thanks for being a reader of Cocktail Charm! Has this newsletter helped you out at happy hour? Let me know; I’d love to hear it.
Thanks for the shout!
Haha thank you for not spoiling the surprise Gabriela!