Is Tintoretto the greatest?

James writes:

I just submitted an article for the Wall Street Journal's 'masterpiece' column on the subject of Tintoretto, the sixteenth-century Venetian painter. Here I make the argument that in his monumental "Crucifixion" of 1565, located in Venice's Scuola di San Rocco, Tintoretto may just have painted the single best work of religious art in the Italian Renaissance.

I'll have more to say on this painting when the piece appears, but for now, check out the website maintained by the Scuola confraternity--http://www.scuolagrandesanrocco.it. Click around the website a bit and look for the 'virtual view' of the Scuola Grande. There's no substitute for the real thing, but the 360 view of the "Crucifixion" in the 'albergo' boardroom is worth checking out.

'Self-Portrait as Overbearing Mother in a Hitchcock Film'

THE NEW YORK SUN

By DARA MANDLE
August 1, 2007; Arts Section, Page 17

Given the events in the film world last week--the deaths of directors Michelangelo Antonioni and Ingmar Bergman--I thought it was appropriate that a poem of mine about movies was published.

SELF-PORTRAIT AS OVERBEARING MOTHER IN A HITCHCOCK FILM

A BOY’S BEST FRIEND IS HIS MOTHER.
—Anthony Perkins, Psycho

I don’t take tranquilizers. I endure
Janet Leigh, stunning, soaping: the whore.

Norman cared for me as for the hawks
he stuffed and hung over the hearth.

Ingrid Bergman was like a daughter—
She wouldn’t lock me in the fruit cellar—

In Notorious, a Nordic beauty
For my German son, a Nazi.

He came to me for help, she was a spy.
I knew what to do, he could be so shy.

My cigarettes, please. This is what we tried:
We poisoned her slowly, and she almost died.

Bacony Fish

Dara writes:

I have written about chef David Chang's Momofuku empire before. No surprise, I'm a fan. Just to add to the adulation, I had a chart-topping, show-stopping fish dish there tonight.

As usual, James ordered the house special Momofuku ramen, which is succulent, toothsome noodles in a porky broth with, indeed, two kinds of pork--belly and shredded--and soft-cooked egg, peas, green onion, nori, lotus root, and deliciousness. James always gets it. He's obsessed. But I ordered something new: crispy red snapper. Not usually my fave fish. Slightly funkier than bass or trout. The fish was delish, but it was the sides I died for. What graced the dish? Summer squash. I don't often love squash because it's squishy and meaty in an unpleasant way. Surprisingly, Chang's staff didn't slice the squash extra-thin. But because, like all things Chang, the veg floated in a salty, porky broth, it ruled.

Two things lifted the dish into the stratosphere: the best chunky, pancetta-y bacon ever, and pickled ramps. Now, I saw Chang's recipe for them in New York mag in May, but whatever, not something I'd make at home, so I didn't think more about it. Holy mackerel: I could make a meal of them. Imagine wilted, kim-chee-y onions. Yes please.

I should mention we started with an heirloom tomato salad with Asian vinaigrette and shiso leaf, with soft tofu. And, the kicker, we walked right into the place. Why? Three ideas: August; early; outside it was hot as hell.

Dining at Momofuku is hectic. It's loud and cramped and hot. But you get to see your dinner assembled in front of you by pros. It's like you're on the set of a cooking show. You get to listen to the Stones' Gimme Shelter and remember those violent scenes in Scorsese's Mean Streets and The Departed. And you get to have an ass-kicking, fresh fish dish for $16. Worth it.