Subscription Box Review: Turntable Kitchen (Box 1)
Subscription Box Review: Turntable Kitchen (Box 1) is part of the Subscription Boxes review series. All photos are taken by Ali Haji Photography.
Now, this looked like a sexy, sexy subscription box, so I had to get it on it. Even though I barely listen to music on my record player, and don't get me started on my history of dealing with strange ingredients. But here we go.
And look, I realize that I should be listing the dates for these boxes, but I don't want to admit how long it took me to write this. So, go away.
Turntable Kitchen - The Pairings Box (Box 1)
Turntable Kitchen describes its Pairings Box as "both a recipe of the month club and a vinyl subscription service."
Cost of the box: 9.43 Bahraini Dinars
Cost of shipping (direct): 5.66 Bahraini Dinars
Total Cost: BHD 15.09
Shipped: July 30, 2018 (Yes, I realize now that I needed to include the date anyway...)
Received at Doorstep: August 12, 2018
What's in Box 1:
Let me tell you, this stuff is aesthetically pleasing. I feel bourgeois just looking at this.
Vinyl Record:
Ghostly Kisses - What You See EP
Okay, I thought I was going to hate the music, based purely on the persona of this box, but it's pretty sweet! The actual vinyl is beautiful, and the music is a dreamy pop that I usually enjoy, especially as background tunes or when I want to feel like I have some quasi-intelligent taste in music, as if that's a thing, amirite? Still, the music is pretty, and it's chill. If you like London Grammar and that dreamy melancholia vibe. We get an EP, though, and it's only four songs. The Spotify version of the album has six songs...
Premium Ingredient:
Pickling Spice
Sigh. I should have known this would happen. With the ComicBoxer box, I knew the subscription box would fit into my life nicely due to my personal interest in comic books anyway. With something like the Pairings Box, I'm forcing something new unto myself. That's cool, but the premium ingredient is SO out there.
I thought I'd give it a chance, you know, and read through the recipes that come with the box, but these recipes are not accessible to the average consumer of foodses:
Cedar Plank-Grilled Salmon. CEDAR. PLANK. GRILLED SALMON. Like. That's not something people just have lying around.
Oh I had to pre-soak my two cedar planks for at least two hours? Gee golly.
Farro Salad with Strawberries, Tomatoes, and Pistachios? No, it's okay, I can "replace the farro with orzo." What. sis, I have spaghetti.
Pickled Sugar Snap Peas?
I don't even like pickles, but that's my own problem, and shouldn't impact anyone's opinion on this pickling spice.
Still, this is just the first box, so we still have two more before we put in the final verdict. The music is pretty good, but is it worth 15BD if you consider the ingredient unusable? I’m sure the ingredient isn’t unusable, I’ll work it, but still.
So far, it's an Instagrammable babe, but it’s too "avant-garde" for your average Joe (average Fatima?) with basic bitch ingredients. I say it’s too “avant-garde,” but I mean it’s too “calm down, Karen.”
We'll see.
