Related Recs

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the thirsty beaver

in charlotte. it’s a perfect dive bar. dirty, bras tacked up on the walls, a hot pink bathroom, a non-digital jukebox that regularly has a billion pre-loaded credits for whoever to play whatever. and on top of all that, it’s a spite building in the middle of ugly modern apartments. i have considered moving to charlotte just so i could make this my regular bar. my hometown trash bar is my other favorite: slammer’s. it’s a tiny windowless box where you are equally likely to witness a drunken brawl or the entire bar singing along to “party in the USA” PLUS the gal’s bathroom is two toilets in one room with like, a tiny half wall so you can drunkenly hold hands while you pee with your friend. i have not done this but i‘d like to think that it’s an appeal for a certain kind of person.

@ktrnaa

Apr 26, 2024

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my neighborhood bars of the moment

Barbes in park slope..world music every night, all ranges of ages, $5 red stripe, the only place in my neighborhood I feel like I could run into someone I know Canal Bar in gowanus..I’m from chicago so of course I love the chicago bar. But it really is a good dive with big backyard and lots of regulars (also there’s malort) Sunny’s..if you know the charm of Sunny’s you know. also music every night, I’m always down to go to red hook because of this bar

@sofias

Jan 28, 2024

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Old town bar, nyc

I have been working in this neighborhood for SIX years at [redacted art school] and just went here for the first time. It is 132 years old. That math is pathetic ! much time to make up for. this place is a treasure if you like things like observing the oldest dumbwaiter in NYC, tin ceilings, and old stained glass and wood. The women’s bathroom still has little makeup stations with mirrors and tables. It‘s very charming. I’ve also heard something about the urinals but will need a counterpart to report back. The food and drink don’t matter to me. A beer is a beer everywhere. It was fine. Go for everything else.

@yv4dyll0m

Oct 18, 2024

Top Recs from @salad_valet

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Breaking free from spotify

i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and it’s enshittification), i realized i wasn’t even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like. breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! i’m borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isn’t being tracked by Spotify and i own what’s in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when i’m out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.

@salad_valet

Jan 16, 2025

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The anti-capitalist nature of pi.fyi

i’ve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and there’s genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i haven’t felt online in at least a decade. but i think what’s undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i don’t feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs i’ve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things). all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.

@salad_valet

Feb 7, 2025

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Quitting amazon

hear me out—this one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after. i did some serious reflection and realized i’d become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing i’d have it within a day. that’s not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases. i’m aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i don’t have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything. in contrast, i’m becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we don’t need to own it all, we have each other. interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.

@salad_valet

Jan 22, 2025