Welcome to Night Vale

Welcome to Night Vale is the podcast that has, it seems, appeared out of nowhere like some sort of mysterious glowing cloud. Although the fortnightly show is in fact a little over a year old, it is only in the last few weeks that its success has snowballed; it now tops the iTunes podcast charts in several countries, and has gained an incredibly enthusiastic and creative fanbase. So what is the appeal of Night Vale? I’m currently listening to the series so far for the second time, and it only gets better with repetition.

If you search blogging site Tumblr for posts tagged with #welcome to night vale (or indeed just #night vale) you will discover just how much creative influence this weird and wonderful podcast has; some of the art and graphic design being created by fans is quite incredible. The show’s creators, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, have a kind of vivid and absurd imaginative power which appears to resonate with a lot of young, talented, and creative people who want to be an active part of Welcome to Night Vale, rather than just passive listeners – and this is one of the most beautiful things about the show and its growing fanbase.

Welcome to Night Vale feels to me like a surreal hybrid of J.B. Morton’s Beachcomber (if you’re a Night Vale fan and are not acquainted with Beachcomber, I cannot recommend it highly enough) with elements of The Mighty Boosh and a little bit of A Series of Unfortunate Events thrown in – as well, perhaps, as a sprinkling of that strange twitter account, @horse_ebooks.

The podcast takes the form of a local radio show broadcast in the small desert town of Night Vale, located somewhere in the USA, and is narrated by the sonorous and beautiful voice of Cecil Baldwin. Things in Night Vale are … odd. It’s as if every conspiracy theory ever dreamt up comes true in Night Vale. Shadowy figures, secret police, unidentified helicopters, hovering cats, angels (which categorically Do Not exist), and mysterious dog parks are all a part of the landscape of Night Vale. Alongside all the weird, however, is a rather touching love story between Cecil, the radio show host, and Carlos (beautiful, perfect Carlos), a scientist who is studying the strange phenomena in Night Vale. What is really lovely about this thread of the narrative is how utterly mundane it is; it is absolutely Not A Big Deal that Cecil has fallen in love with another man. In fact, this relationship is shown as completely normal in direct contrast to all of the strange goings-on. It is a kind of comfortingly ordinary foundation upon which to build such an unsettling story.

All episodes of Welcome to Night Vale are available for free from iTunes, Stitcher, and Feedburner, and their website can be found here. I fully recommend giving it a listen – especially if you are a fan of the surreal and the absurd. It really is rather special. I think I’m going to have to buy myself one of the rather fetching Welcome to Night Vale t-shirts (available here) – it really is that great. 10/10

Nomu Japanese Kitchen and Cocktail Bar

I recently graduated from the University of Bristol, and Nomu is where I celebrated with my family; this new independent Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar recently opened up on Whiteladies Road, and is a vibrant, friendly restaurant with absolutely excellent food, and phenomenal cocktails – I fully recommend it if you are ever in the West Country.

We kicked things off with a starter and a cocktail each – I had the fabulous avocado fritters (avocado wedges coated in panko breadcrumbs, deep fried and served with Japanese mayonnaise), and my family also ordered the shitake & prawn tempura, the yasai tempura, and the salmon maki. I am assured that the shitake & prawn tempura was incredible, but I am not a mushroom fan myself; the salmon maki, on the other hand, was delicious, and what I tried of the yasai tempura (tempura vegetables) was also wonderful – crispy and fresh and simple.

To accompany my starter I had a Thai Daiquiri, which consisted of Brugal Anejo rum, lychee juice, lime juice, gomme, and fresh ginger. I’ve never had anything like it before, and it was beautifully made.

For the main course, I had the Ebi Katsu Curry, which is deep-fried panko-breadcrumbed prawns (yes, I am a big fan of panko breadcrumbs) with white rice and Japanese curry sauce. Some of you may be familiar with katsu curry dishes, as they are one of the most popular dishes on the menu at Japanese chain restaurant Wagamama; and fond as I am of Wagamama, Nomu is really a step-up in terms of food quality (although the prices are pretty much on par). My mother also opted for the Ebi Katsu Curry, whilst my sister had the Yaki Udon, and my father the Kim Chi Fried Rice. All of our mains were beautifully presented, and more importantly incredibly delicious (my father is now an absolute kim chi convert). We had another round of cocktails with the main course, and this time I opted for the Applesinth: La Fee Absinthe, Stolichnaya Gala Applik, apple juice, passionfruit syrup, and lime juice. Potent and wonderful. The cocktails at Nomu really are worth trying.

Moving on to dessert, I picked the Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream, which is possibly one of the nicest desserts I have ever had. Mochi is a kind of chewy rice-based product which in this dish surrounded black sesame ice cream (the mochi itself was also black sesame flavoured). This was served with fresh strawberries. The unusual flavours and textures (to Westerners, anyway) made for a really exciting combination. My parents shared the Green Tea Panna Cotta – a traditional Italian dessert given an excellent twist by the Japanese chef, and my sister went for a bubble tea rather than dessert – a cold, milky, sweetened tea with ‘bubbles’ of tapioca – which is currently gaining much popularity here in the UK. WIth my dessert I tried a Kwai Feh (lychee liqueur) which was a bit of a revelation, given that I usually find liqueurs to be too sticky and too sweet; this was neither (and it tasted natural rather than artificial as well). I am also, on the subject of drinks, reliably informed by my father that the Tokyo Bloody Mary (which he drank on a previous visit when he was in Bristol helping me move out) is the best he’s ever tasted – and he really is a Bloody Mary connoisseur. The secret is that they use sake instead of vodka.

Along with all this excellent food, the service was quick and very friendly, and the atmosphere was lively but not too loud. The decor is tasteful and unobtrusive, and really complemented the whole evening. A three-course meal for four people, including a couple of cocktails each, came to around £100 – incredibly reasonable for the quality. (Food and Drink menus can be viewed on the website.)

Overall, I had an absolutely lovely time, with excellent food, cocktails, and service, all at a very good price. I really cannot fault the experience at all, and so Bristol’s own Nomu gets 10/10.