F IXATED

EATING IN, ELEVATED

My father, the Alfa male
(AND WHAT DOES A SEDUCTIVE ITALIAN SPORTS CAR HAVE IN COMMON WITH A BESPOKE ITALIAN SUIT?)
by ASHLEY NICOLA WALI

t has been 46 years since Dustin Hoffman made Alfa Romeo famous in The Graduate, piloting his fire-engine-red graduation gift all over the silver screen. Now, the Italian automaker is making a triumphant return to the United States after a long hiatus, and it is making it with the ALFA ROMEO 4C. Its hard to imagine an American kid being brainwashed by slow doses of stories of growing up around Italian Alfas. But thats me, and my dad is the storyteller. His infatuation with Alfas began while growing up around his Uncle Steves Alfa dealership in St. Asaph, Wales. His obsession with exotic cars grew with a steady diet of hours spent at the dealership (rather than doing homework) and riding alongside his Uncle Steve. The Alfas represented something far away and mysterious, compared to his quaint hometown, St. Asaph, with its Dickensian air and small roads meandering through valleys of green. There is nothing more distracting than that bucolic setting being punctuated by the netherworld sound of an Alfa. And now, a lifetime later, Dad is first on the waiting list at an Austin dealership for a new 4C. I had to know more about the impending new toy. When I asked Alfa Romeos chief exterior designer, Alessandro Maccolini, to detail his inspirations, I expected a cookie-cutter response mixed with lofty claims. In contrast, Maccolini defined the design process as a task closer to that of a specialist tailor who has to create a suit around the body of an athlete. The compact sports car borrows from Alfas iconic 33 Stradale of the late 1960s, but with modern aesthetics and exaggerated proportions. Its lithe body is muscular, its stance aggressive. The 4Cs minimalist design is carried through the interior as well, with subtle details such as exposed carbon fiber in the cockpit and contrast stitching on the leathers. The 4C Launch Edition comes in just two superchic hues: a heavenly matte white and a devilish glossy red. Only 500 of the handsome coupes will debut in the U.S. later this year, and pricing has not been announced. Maccolini envisions the 4C driver to be sporty. He explains that when driving the car, you need to imagine the approach that a motorcyclist might have to his bike, because, he says, they are each an extension of the other. (Has Alfa done the impossible? Has it found the sweet spot where man and machine become one?) The 4Cs pice de rsistance is not its brawny turbo engine or its rapid acceleration, but its feather-light weight. It is a skeletal 1,900 pounds, with a superlight carbon-fiber chassis a recipe that may make it devour curves better than a Bugatti. With about 240 horsepower and a zero-to-60 time of 4.5 seconds, the mid-engine coupe is already in Porsche 911 territory. When my dad left the U.K., his uncles parting gift to him was a model Alfa Romeo. While my dad is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of his 4C, I am looking forward to stealing his 4C just like I did the model car. Information 4c.alfaromeo.com.

Above, smokedsalmon crostini. Below, Fullosophie co-owners Jess Shain (left) and Tarin Holcomb

PULP FRICTION: The top-selling books at

the new Taschen Library at The Joule hotel downtown? The Big Book of Breasts 3D and The Big Penis Book 3D. We knew the space dark and sexy, with moody lighting and a plump sofa in which to nestle was sexy, but perhaps we underestimated just quite how.

14 AUGUST 2013

FULLOSOPHIE FOOD AND PORTRAIT: HEATHER HAWKINS

Ive done the juice cleanses several of them, and not well. Ive tried the morning smoothies, adding leafy greens and frozen fruit to my Vitamix. Sure, I feel a little lighter and maybe theres a slight glow to my skin (though that may be just the glimmer of sweat from this good ol Texas heat), but what Im really left with is an empty stomach. Im hungry. I miss the fork and knife. Id like to get all of that healthy goodness that the liquids give you, but in the form of actual food. (And as importantly, Id like it to be just as easy to obtain as those six-packs of juice were.) Enter FULLOSOPHIE, a Dallas-based food-delivery company, which offers all that and more. Owned by foodie friends Jess Shain and Tarin Holcomb, Fullosophie is a farm-to-fork service that offers healthy, all-natural entrees and sides delivered right to your front door. You can choose from just-reheat-to-eat meals or, if youd rather whip it all up yourself, DIY cooking kits that come with a recipe and prepped-and-portioned ingredients. The watermelon, tomato and feta salad topped with jalapeo dressing is something I can handle on my own. The menu changes weekly: Recent goodies have included Greek chicken with tabbouleh, summer sweet corn chowder and a warm salad of millet, kale and carrot. Most are organic and free of hormones and steroids; there are gluten-free options and food for the kiddos, too think mini-cheeseburgers and cheese quesadillas, to name just two. Prices are in line with what youre spending in restaurants; a delivery fee is added, $8 at most, depending on the total. Fullosophie delivers to 11neighborhoods, from downtown to Devonshire; order by midnight on Monday and your meals come to you and not the other way around on Tuesday. With all this time curled up at home, I wonder if I need to beef up my Netflix account. Information 630-362-9628 or 214-326-4700; fullosophie.com Bradley Agather Means