| Subject: Re: Query, Letter of Introduction for Melissa |
| From: Melissa Delaney - Editor <editor@austinmonthly.com> |
| Date: 8/2/07, 18:53 |
| To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
Melissa-
I guess you've probably handed out all your assignments by now, but I just wanted to check and see if you had any interest in that Chef Parind/Restaurant Jezebel piece I queried you in the last e-mail. Let me know when you get a chance.
Thanks,
Barrett BrownOn 7/27/07, Melissa Delaney - Editor <editor@austinmonthly.com> wrote:Hey Barrett,Your timing is perfect. I'm going to be giving out story assignments in today and Monday, and I'm looking for some folks to write brief restaurant spotlights. Let me look over what I have on my plate, see what we can use and I'll get back to you within the next couple of days.Thanks,MelissaOn Jul 26, 2007, at 5:09 PM, Barrett Brown wrote:Hi, Melissa-
Evelyn mentioned that you'd be starting out this week and that I should get in touch.
I understand that Austin Monthly is in need of freelance writers, so I thought I'd send along a query. My work has appeared in dozens of publications, including National Lampoon, The Onion A/V Club, and nerve.com; here in Texas, I've covered dining, shopping, nightlife, and similar topics for Dining Out, The Met, Dallas Child, Destination Dallas, AOL CityGuide Austin, and Chow Baby. Additionally, my first political humor book was released in March and received positive reviews from Rolling Stone, Air America Radio, The Huffington Post, and Harvard legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, among others (incidentally, it was also mentioned in The Austin Chronicle a couple of weeks ago).
For Austin Monthly, I'd be interested in doing feature articles, reviews and listings of the dining-and-nightlife variety, or in taking on assigned articles of any topic. But off the bat, I wanted to see if you'd be interested in a piece on Restaurant Jezebel and its owner Parind Vora, whom I'll actually be interviewing tomorrow evening. Vora's an internationally trained chef who's worked in more than a dozen countries and half a dozen U.S. states. He founded Jezebel in a small New Mexico town a few years back, then decided to move it to Austin when he started getting attention from the national food press. His whole setup is unique - he cooks everything himself and won't open the restaurant if he can't make it in, he tailors each patron's individual sauce to the particular wine they order, and is such a huge sauce fanatic that he doesn't even allow salt and pepper at the tables. Those are just a couple of the wacky little things I've gleaned from going in for a ten-minute pre-interview earlier this week, so I expect the actual interview to be more interesting, and I'm also going to be watching him in action on a Friday evening, so, you know, there you go. I can also provide pictures.
Along with my resume, I've pasted a few old samples below. Please take a look and let me know if the above query floats your boat or if you have something else in mind that you'd like done on assignment.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302Kenichi Dallas
As the fourth incarnation of the astoundingly popular Japanese fusion restaurant enterprise, Kenichi Dallas had quite a reputation to live up to when it appeared on the scene in April. But thanks to the manner in which its proprietors have consciously expanded on the pedigree's greatest strengths, Victory Park's newest tenant could be reasonably regarded as the finest flower of the Kenichi family. The most immediately noticeable of these enhancements is the interior itself, which successfully implements the same sort of upscale futurism that define the settings of the restaurant's culinary cousins in Austin, Aspen, and Hawaii while also managing to surpass them in terms of sheer inventiveness. Other tweaks are more subtle, though, and much else is familiar: Kenichi Dallas offers such proven, accolade-inspiring favorites as the Kenichi Lamb Chop, Five-Spice Sika Venison, Tuna Sashimi with Maytag Blue Cheese, and, for dessert, the delightfully improbable Tofu Beignets with Honeycomb. Meanwhile, the bar menu operates under the same brilliant wine list that's managed to consistently pick up Wine Spectator's "Award of Excellence" in the years since Kenichi first came to be.
Irie Bean Coffee House
No other coffee bar in Austin can hope to compete with Irie Bean in the non-existent "Kookiest Special Events Encompassing Appropriate Drink Specials" competition; whether it be a presentation of Cool Runnings accompanied by discount Red Stripes or a viewing of Dazed and Confused paired with cheap tallboys, there's usually something going on to break up the monotony of screwing around on one's laptop (Irie Bean also constitutes an increasingly notable venue for local singer-songwriters). Other charms of note include organic coffee, friendly baristas, interesting regulars, and a huge backyard sporting some sort of crazy earth-and-grass sofa. Great For: Getting work done, not getting work done. Entrees: $2 - 6 (2310 S. Lamar, 326-4636)
Alligator Grill
Even if you don't make it down to South Austin too often, you've probably already seen the interior of Alligator Grill; the dining/tavern combo served as the setting of Office Space's wacky-suburban-chain-restaurant send-up. In reality, the place itself is actually a nice concept, incorporating the best aspects of bar (one inside, another cabana-style setup on the deck), venue (plenty of local bands and some touring shows to boot), family seafood joint (the signature deal being the ten-cent oyster happy hour), arcade (Mortal Kombat III!), and sports bar (flat screens abound) while somehow managing not to alienate any particular demographic. Great For: Everything, apparently. Entrees: $5 - 12 (3003 S. Lamar, 444-6117)
Iron Cactus
Though its name seems to evoke that of some radical Southwestern fascist movement, the Iron Cactus only resembles such a frightening and inevitable prospect insomuch as that the interior of each of its several locations are done up in a style that's decidedly more modernistic than one normally expects from a purveyor of Tex-Mex, and which consequently makes the place more attractive to youngish professionals (and that goes double for the downtown location, which sports one of the best roof patios in the area). The grub of residence, meanwhile, is largely traditional while veering into wacky fusion territory only when appropriate. Great For: When only Chipotle Chicken Poppers will do. Entrees: $6 - 15 (10001 Stonelake, 794-8778; 606 Trinity, 472-9240)
BARRETT BROWN________________________________________
512-560-2302 barriticus@gmail.com
COPYWRITER/ FEATURE COLUMNIST/ CONTRIBUTING EDITOR/ BOOK AUTHOR
Published Work/ Freelance Media Experience
The Onion A/V Club
Current, ongoing copywriting for The Onion's features department.
Anglesey Interactive, Inc.
Current, ongoing copywriting of online marketing collateral (web text, press releases, etc.) in support of firm's " Riight.com" integrated search engine.
Organic Motion, Inc.
Current, ongoing copywriting of both print and online marketing collateral, general marketing consultation for noted New York tech start-up.
Sterling and Ross Publishers
Nonfiction book "Flock of Dodos: Behind Modern Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the Easter Bunny", political humor, authored in 2006, released in March 2007. Received praise from Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Rolling Stone, Skeptic, Air America Radio, Huffington Post, other sources.
Avacata
Current, ongoing copywriting in 2007 for Dallas ad agency, researching and creating entertainment/dining/venue blurbs for clients' marketing collateral, including luxury resort real estate firm.
National Lampoon
Occasional contributor; past features included "Pick-Up Lines That Don't Seem to Work," "Craig's Conspiracy Corner," "A Guide to Dealing with Housecats," more.
Weekly columnist for political analysis site from October 2004 to November 2005
Features included - - "JohnKerry.com is Web-Tastic!" "Politicos Should Heed the Perry Incident," "Hot Senate Races," "Hot House Races," "109 th Congress - What They Really Wanted for Christmas," "Political New Year's Resolutions," "State of the Union 2005: Dreams and Ironies" "The Long Kiss Goodnight," "The Strange Case of Jeff Gannon," "Libby Indicted, Dems Excited," "The Best Little Decoy in Texas," "Faith of Our Fathers: A Mildly Mean-Spirited Review," "McClellan is No Fleischer," "A Response to Our Catholic Readers," "The Known Unknown," "Dr. Frist Prescribes Himself a Dose of Moderation," "Meet John Roberts," "2008 Preview," Roberts Confirmation Hearings Largely Bloodless," more.
AOL CityGuide
Web content writer from Summer 2000 to December 2003 Researched/ created content coverage of event and entertainment venues. Served as regional correspondent for Dallas, Austin, New Orleans, Houston and Little Rock markets.
Additional magazine work
Ongoing, have contributed feature articles from serious political commentary to humor pieces to children's recreational activity coverage to fine dining overviews for outlets including business-to-business publication Pizza Today, D.C.-based public policy journal Toward Freedom, London-based public policy journal Free Life, humor magazine Jest, parenting publication Dallas Child , men's magazines Oui and Hustler, literary journal Swans, dozens more.
Additional writing projects
Have written shopping/entertainment guides for Dallas Market Center publication Destination Dallas, created marketing copy for Verizon via Dallas ad agency Sullivan-Perkins, produced website copy for design firm NPCreate.com, provided public relations pieces for Texas energy company EBS and Dallas real estate firm Dunhill Partners, more.
Education
1999 - 2003 University of Texas at Austin, College of Communications
Melissa DelaneyEditor in chiefAustin Monthly and Austin Monthly Home11612 Bee Caves Rd.Ste 125, Bldg IIAustin, TX 78738512-263-9133 Ext 226editor @austinmonthly.com