Welcome to Perfectly Imperfect #116 👋

If you’re new here after any of our September guests…welcome! Perfectly Imperfect is a 2x/week newsletter featuring good ol’ fashioned curated recommendations from real people and once a month we like to drop some hot recs of our own. Check out the archive for more recs and as always, join the Perfectly Imperfect Discord to keep the conversation going.

Without further ado

Tyler Bainbridge (instagram, letterboxd, last.fm)

🍎 🏜️ Cider that’s dry, NOT sweet! (from New York Cider Company)

Normally I’m not a huge cider-head, it’s way too sweet for me and I end up feeling sticky. But this all changed after strolling through our local farmers market in Carroll Gardens and spotting a small cider booth proudly declaring “dry, not sweet!” in big text. As soon as Joseph started pouring me samples I was blown away by how dry, light, funky, and different this cider was, almost reminiscent of a pet-nat wine. So if you’re a bit of a cider-skeptic yet enjoy a bubbly fruity wine such as the Oyster River Morphos I highly recommend copping a bottle and supporting a small business making a delicious product.

🚲 The Simple Joy of Riding a Bike (ft. Mr “Richard Bike”)

I probably hadn’t ridden a bike in like… 10 years? But after a few of our guests recommend CitiBikes (especially Benjamin Edgar’s electric bike rec) I decided to give them a whirl. So after a particularly long day of work I hopped on a CitiBike, road up to Prospect Heights, got a bowl of Ramen and an ice cold Sapporo, and had myself a lovely ride through Prospect Park in the middle of the night. And that was all it took, I caught the bug.

The non-electric CitiBikes are heavy and not very pleasant to ride so when a few friends mentioned this dude selling affordable bikes, who they all in their phone as simply “Richard Bike”, I knew it was time to take the plunge. Before I knew it Richard Bike was hooking me up with a sick vintage Nishiki road bike & I was riding home through the park from Flatbush. If you’re reading this & ready to rebrand as a “bike guy” DM me, I’m happy to put you in touch with Mr Richard Bike.

👟 New Balance 530 Sneakers

I recommended the Asics GEL-1090 back in May, but like all Asics the heel kinda gets torn to shreds in mere weeks. So this time I decided to mix it up with these New Balance sneakers and I love em. Yeah, not a lot to say about these, I’m just a sucker for comfortable & sorta-flashy silver sneakers in a classic silhouette.

🟥 🪝 🏙️ A Sunny Afternoon in Red Hook

I’ve had a few really nice afternoons in Red Hook recently and I want to share my go-to routine with you, the reader. OK.. so first you go to a “Second Sundays” event at Pioneer Works and see art & enjoy a beverage or two. Then you head over to Hometown for some of the best BBQ in Brooklyn. Walk around the corner and catch live Bluegrass music at Sunny’s Bar. For a quick & delicious dessert hit the historic Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie. To cap it all off walk down to the pier and look at the Statue of Liberty at Sunset.

🌮 Taqueria Ramierez in Greenpoint

Best tacos I’ve had since moving to NYC. I just figured I’d say that right off the bat in case you’re just skimming through these recs, which you probably are. Emilio brought me here back in August for one of their soft openings and I’ve thought about those Al Pastor tacos every day since. Tania Apolinar and Giovanni Cervantes’s spot formally opened in September, so if you’re in the mood for some delicious, authentic, and affordable tacos— hit up Taqueria Ramierez.

🎵 A. Savage - Thawing Dawn (2017)

I’m a big Parquet Courts guy so ahead of their upcoming record I decided to revisit an underrated gem, frontman Andrew Savage’s timeless solo collection of alt-country singer songwriter tunes, Thawing Dawn. Savage’s iconic drawl fits perfectly over the country backdrop whether it’s the intense and cathartic “What Do I Do”, the twangy “Phantom Limb”, or the fantastic title track “Thawing Dawn”.

Stay tuned… you’ll be hearing from Andrew soon 😉 ⭐.

Alex Cushing (instagram, twitter, last.fm, goodreads)

🎵 Richard Hawley - Coles Corner

You probably know Pulp, with classic albums like Different Class, but lesser known is that Pulp’s guitarist Richard Hawley has a solo career of his own - with several excellent albums. While they’re honestly all worth checking out - my favorite is definitely Coles Corner. This album feels cinematic, lush, and timeless, an experience best understood sunk into an armchair with your eyes closed...taking it in. If you like retro or chamber pop, and warm personal projects (not unlike my favorite of Tom Wait’s - Closing Time), check it out.

👕 Industry Of All Nations Pique Tank

It took til the end of summer to find my favorite tank top but here it is - the IOAN Pique Tank. Its structure is just enough for it to not be too wimpy, but isn’t overly so. The “white” color isn’t blinding white, but a slight cream/vintage looking white. There isn’t much more to say, if you’re in the market for some tanks - these are my new go-to’s.

⛺🛶 Joe Robinet / Bushcraft YouTube

On this month’s episode of “Alex’s random youtube deep dive“ - we explore… Bushtube (🤔). YouTube creators who specialize in bushcraft (essentially wilderness survival). The first “series” I followed here was from Joe Robinet. He’s a full-time “content creator” and a previous contestant in the first season of the show Alone. My favorite “series” Joe did was a multi-week long canoe and camping trek in the Canadian wilderness of the Wabakimi. He Canoes, portages, camps, and fishes for days on end, talking to the camera to keep sane and provide entertainment. Another one of my favorite series he does is his “winter bushcraft” in a fort he made somewhere deep in Canadian forests, where you see him progress a homemade “fort” over the course of several videos, from a pile of sticks and a sleeping bag all the way to a full-on house-like structure.

🔫🤵 Pierce Brosnan era James Bond

Maybe it’s because he was my childhood Bond, maybe it’s because it really is that good, but the Brosnan era Bond to me is perfect. It was suave and sexy, filled with superspy gadgets, and plenty of cool cars. I really enjoy them all, but GoldenEye is a classic and will live on as an icon for generations of spy films to come.

📖 🔋 Give kindles another chance

I’ve been anti-kindle for as long as I can remember, I have a pile of books in my office, a full bookshelf upstairs in Nicole’s office, and a few piles on our bedside tables - we love reading and love the in-hand experience of books. Because of this, I’ve always avoided Kindles. I wanted to add to my collection, build the piles and plethora of options at my fingertips to either read myself or loan out to friends. The thing is, there’s nothing more convenient than fitting any number of books into a bag on the go with the footprint of 1/10th of a normal book. My kindle even has some form of free cellular coverage - so when on a road trip nowhere near wifi, you can always download a new book from the kindle store.

📣 Shoutouts

Gin Mojito - better than Vodka or Rum

OG Call of Dutys - get on a Black Ops (2010) or MW2 (2009) match and have fun living in nostalgia!

Oh what a match - never really thought about collecting matches, but now i’m thinking

Serey Morm (instagram, twitter, vsco)

🍸 Dill-infused Gin

I've been stuck in a gin phase for over a month now and I recently had one of the best cocktails in my life there the base liquor was dill-infused gin. I tried to replicate it on my own and it turned out really well, and I've been stuck on it since. All you need to do is grab some fresh dill, and throw it into a bottle or mason jar of gin. I found that Hendricks, Botanist works well, but the classic Beefeater also works at a cheaper price, but still a great classic choice.

🧴 AC Clear Pure N Moisturizer

I've been using this moisturizer for over a year now and this has solidified its place in my skincare routine. My skin is really oily and this moisturizer does a great job of balancing things out. This is the one in things in my routine that if I am running late, this has to go on my face. I also really like this moisturizer because instead of being water based, it's cica based, which is really good for your skin, especially if you have sensitive skin.

🎙 Vox Podcasts

I started commuting to work again and Vox's podcasts has been keeping me busy. I love hard facts and learning why things work the way they do, and Vox's Today, Explained has been keeping me busy during my commutes. On other hand, they have another series called Unexplainable, and in contrast, they unpack unexplainable phenomenons like alzheimers and whether the poop astronauts left in space may still carry living organisms.

🌸 Voluspa Reed Diffusers: Santal Vanille

My sister has gotten me pretty hooked to Voluspa's reed diffusers. Out of series of essential oils, my favorite is Santal Vanille. If you're into woody and musky scents, this one is it. If you're familiar with Le Labo's Santal, it's pretty similar but with a tad more vanilla. They have a wide range of scents, and each scent comes in different vessels such as candles and room sprays as well if you're not into reed diffusers.

🩳 Shorts and Hoodie

Being in the northeast, the fall weather is unpredictable. My favorite combo of any season is shorts with a hoodie or a light sweater. The contrasting combo speaks for itself in the unpredictable weather. Catch me running errands, picking apples, and grabbing lunch with the combo.

🗞 Extra Extra!

OXO Mini Measuring Cup, shout out to Alex for this tiny cup I never knew I needed

Follow Tyler, Alex, & Serey on Instagram

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