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Fleur de Lys

Filed under: Uncategorized, Food, General Comments — admin at 10:07 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2007

Happy Birthday Susan!


test

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 7:24 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2007


Just Wrong

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 11:35 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

My brother posted this on his blog, but it’s worth mentioning here too.  We’re very disturbed at how vets use the following images on their promotional/advertising materials:

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Why are these animals happy that they just had their genitals removed?  Plus, their nuts were removed….so why is there a band aid over the cat’s bellybutton and dog’s butthole?

Taking Control at the Dentist

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 11:16 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

I had a unique dentist visit today.

A couple of years ago, my dentist replaced his entire staff, including his oral hygienists.  I don’t like either of the two hygienists, for different reasons.  One of them asks too many questions.  There’s a difference between being chatty and asking too many questions.  I’m cool with the former, not the latter.  The other hygienist is so into the fancy tools they have that she’ll say tactless things like “look how bad your teeth look” and then take a photo with the mini camera tool they have and shove it on your face.
They both also do a lot of unnecessary things, like telling me my gums are bleeding during the cleaning.  Yeah, like I don’t know I’m bleeding.   Then they use stuff like that to try to sell me on things, like getting more frequent cleanings or getting some weird treatment.

All in all, I find the whole process even more annoying than it should be.  So today, before I went in, I decided I was going to turn the tables and not take it anymore.

Since I didn’t know what hygienist I’d get - the overly inquisitive one or the tactless one, I quickly thought up two strategies.   I got the overly inquisitive one, so it was time for strategy A.  She started out by asking (again) if I was still in school, and then asking tons of questions about me passing the bar (of all things to ask me…).  But for every few questions she asked me, I’d stop and ask her a question.  How was hygiene school?  Is she happy with her teeth?  Does she know any hygienists with really bad teeth?  Do dentists make you show them your teeth when you apply to work as a hygienist in their office?  Does she whiten her teeth?  How often?  I asked all of these, plus more.  At least I felt more in control.

When she mentioned that I was bleeding, I said “you know what, I brush twice a day with a mechanical brush, floss every day, and use Listerine.  I think I put more effort into cleaning my teeth than most people I know, so if I bleed a little when I’m here, that’s how it’s going to be.”  I didn’t say it in an angry way.  I said it in a very conversational tone.  The hygienist paused and said “you know, some people never bleed, some bleed no matter what.”   Then, a few minutes later, she commented, “you know, the bleeding is less than last time, good job.”

Yup, that’s what I thought.

Contra

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 10:49 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

I love Contra. It’s such a great game. Even more though, I love the Contra “30 lives” code. I love how the Contra “30 lives” code practically became part of late 80s pop culture. Every kid knew about it, even if they didn’t own Contra.

While walking in Berkeley today, I saw a this t-shirt in a store window.

contra shirt

I instantly thought the t-shirt was genius and I had to have it. I went into the store and excitedly asked this college-age worker if he still had the Contra t-shirt in stock.

He looked at me…and said…”What’s Contra?”

Now I know how it feels to go from 28 year old to 65 in one second.

Eats Eats Eats

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 10:49 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

For the record, I spent April 11-15 eating a lot

Cheeseboard

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Fenton’s

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Christopher’s Burgers

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Strawberry Cake and Tart (homemade)

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Can I just say that a Kitchenaid mixer is an incredible tool? It’s unbelievable.

dopo healdsburg and ad hoc

Filed under: Uncategorized, Food, Entertainment — admin at 10:13 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Flew into Oakland at 7pm on Wednesday, along with a lot of commuting business people. Had dinner at Dopo in Oakland, which is known for its lasagna and pizza. We started with some “lucanica” salami, which was a little bit spicy. I had the mozzarella and oregano pizza while Susan had the lasagna. After Susan told me that Dopo’s pizza converted one of her former students from mushroom hater to mushroom fan, I was excited to try the pizza. It was a bit of a disappointment because the sauce was a bit too salty. The crust was thin and cooked very well though. The lasagna was definitely better than average. It’s amazing how the “better” food like that gets, the lighter it seems to be and more of it you’re able to eat.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

Today we drove out to Healdsburg for some biking. After going to Spoke Folks for some rentals (and dorky helmets), we embarked on our first trail. We had planned on biking a 21-mile trail, but since there was no food on that trail, we decided to bike half of a 14-mile trail to a General Store for some lunch. After getting humiliated by packs of road bikers and then biking past some sheep (in that order), we finally arrived at the General Store, where there was a pack of white tourists eating lunch outside, with Sarah McLachlan playing on the PA system. We went inside, bought some lunch, came outside, and realized that the white tourists had left, and Sarah McLachlan had been replaced by some Mexican rock hits. After lunch, we finished up the 14-mile trail and realized we had no shot in hell at completing the 21-mile trail, so we just returned the bikes and drove the 21-mile trail instead. Not doing the 21-mile trail was the best idea we had all day - it took forever to even drive the trail. If we’d tried it, we’d have been on the evening news, listed as missing. The following is possibly the worst picture taken of me in a while
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Then we dropped some dough at the Petaluma outlets, which appeared to have no more than 20 people shopping in the entire complex. I got to give Susan some input on shoe purchases. I’m actually pretty opinionated on womens’ shoes.

After the purchases, we drove to Yountville for our second dinner at Ad Hoc. Within the first minute of being seated, I looked at the menu and said “oh man…disaster.” The “disaster” was that the entree of the day was veal. The problem was, Susan doesn’t eat veal because she thinks the way they raise veal is cruel. This was a problem because Ad Hoc only serves one set menu, with no a la carte or advertised deviations from the menu. We waved the waiter over and asked if there were any substitutes for the veal. Then the waiter came back with “I’ll ask the chef, but may I ask why you are not able to eat veal?” I looked at Susan and she gave an answer that surprised me - “I’ve…never had it before.” Later on, after I teased Susan about that answer (”you sounded like you were a little kid who was scared to try a new food”) Susan told the waiter about the concerns about the way veal is raised. The waiter said “oh! we don’t use milk fed veal. The veal we serve is able to move around. I agree with you. Milk fed veal…that’s a sad life.” Now we know. Milk fed veal = cruel life. Non-milk-fed veal = not quite as cruel, but just as doomed a life.

Here was the best dish of the night - acini de pepe with wild mushrooms

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As we were having dessert, Thomas Keller walked into the restaurant. We’re obviously big fans of his, and earlier in the evening, Susan had said that if she saw Thomas Keller, she’d want to take a picture with him or get his autograph. I was trying to convince Susan to go for the picture, but she didn’t. I figured that he was dressed casually, so he was obviously off duty and just checking up on the restaurant (I’d never ask if he was working). I also figured that, although he was chatting with a patron who was celebrating her birthday, he didn’t seem to know her personally, so Susan could sneak in once he was done talking to her. Anyway, we missed the photo op. It’s funny, I’m not a person who really gets starstruck and I’m not a fan of autographs, but I’m into photos with celebs. Here’s Susan with TK.
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Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 6:09 pm on Monday, April 9, 2007

Controversy aside, isn’t Don Imus such a weird looking guy? At the least, he looks like a deranged old man. But when I see him, I tend to picture him with one of those powdered wigs that the colonialist nobles wore. He’s one of two guys who I always picture with the powdered wig. The other person is John Kerry. Don Imus and John Kerry - they both could go straight back to the 1700s and not miss a beat.

Imus suspended 2 weeks

I was at the bookstore today and I spent two painful minutes flipping through The Secret. It’s not that the core idea doesn’t make sense (when you think about it, most people that succeed at something probably thought that they would succeed at it.) I just don’t understand how you can write a whole book on that one idea. I also think the idea’s credibility is hurt by claims that people can cure their bodily ailments with positive thinking, or that poor people are poor simply because their thoughts are “blocking” the money from getting to them. Blocking the money?

Quince?

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin at 12:24 am on Monday, April 9, 2007

How much do you trust this guy? I trust him. Then again, he probably had the best food that each of these places could ever put out. Can you imagine how hard a cooking staff would work when they know that he’s the one they’re cooking for?

Newly added to the list:

- Campton Place Restaurant (SF)
- Quince (SF)

Maison Akira!

Filed under: Uncategorized, Food — admin at 12:20 am on Monday, April 9, 2007

Capping off probably the most culinarily (not a word) deluxe seven days of my life, I got to eat at Maison Akira in Pasadena for my brother’s birthday.  I’d read a number of reviews for this place, and I remembered (1) all of the reviews were universally positive, (2) it was in nearby Pasadena, and (3) the chef trained with Joel Robuchon.  Hey, if I can’t afford to eat at a Robuchon place, why not eat at a place manned by one of his aides?

Here are the dishes we tried:

Appetizers:

All -  Smoked Salmon with lentils -  Susan’s favorite, the free appetizer.

Me - Seared White Albacore with wasabi aioli, Kabocha pumpkin soup with curried chicken breast (the curry went well with the soup, which wasn’t too sweet)  I also told my raw-fish-fearing parents that the albacore was ham.  Who knows if they bought it…

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Brother - Albacore too, but instead of the Kabocha soup, Sauteed Hokkaido Scallops on Feuilletee with Leek Fondue in a Lobster Jus (The leek fondue/lobster jus combo was really tasty)

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Bung - Onion Soup Gratine

Mom -  Escargot Bourguignon (not overly garlicky, which was good)

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Dad - Mushroom soup

Entrees:

Me and Brother - Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass on Roasted Provencal Vegetables

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Bung - Pan Roasted Smoked Duck Breast and Hashi Parmintier of Leg Confit in a Calvados Sauce

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Mom - Sauteed Scottish Salmon in a Plum Wine Ginger Sauce with Seasonal Vegetables and Wasabi Potato Puree

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Dad - Grilled “Jidori” Free Range Chicken Breast in a Shallot Rosemary Jus with roasted herbed potatoes, spring vegetables, and tomato Provencal

The sea bass is supposedly the chef’s signature dish, which he served to the emperor and empress of Japan in 1994.  It was definitely tasty and well prepared.  I’m starting to think miso+buttery fish is a can’t-miss combination.  The duck breast was very smoky, but not overly so.   The salmon was extremely moist, and the sauce and wasabi potato puree really worked well together.  This dish surprised me the most.  From my experience, cooked salmon is risky - it can be a dry tasteless chunk or be really moist and flavorful.   The chicken was very juicy, especially considering it was a chicken breast.  I’d like to thank the farmer for letting that chicken run around on his own.
Desserts:

Me: Poached Anjou Pear in Vanilla Red Wine with Pastry Cream Stuffed Puff Feuilletee

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Brother: Griottines (Brandied Cherry and Chocolate Ganache cake with Grand Marnier Ice Cream

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Bung: Bittersweet Chocolate Creme Brulee with Mango Sorbet and Marinated Strawberries au Kirsch

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Mom and Dad: Timbal Elysee “Laserre” (Vanilla Bean Ice Cream in a cookie tuile with fresh berries, served with rasperry and vanilla sauce, topped with a caramel dome

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No complaints from anyone on these desserts, plus my parents got the chance to butcher the word “Elysee” again (my dad’s version includes a hard K sound, even though there is no C or K in the word.)  The poached pear was done with a good wine that wasn’t overpowering.  Both the grand marnier ice cream and the mango sorbet were pretty flavorful.  I’m also kind of surprised at the power of the caramelized top of creme brulee.  I always think eating straight cream or custard is daunting, but the crispness of the caramelized top makes it seem to go down a lot easier.  I learned this when Susan and I got a dessert at Gary Danko that was basically 3 full sized creme brulees.  I attribute our ability to eat it to the caramelized tops.

Overall, I feel like I’m on a little restaurant roll.  The last few places I’ve eaten at - Ad Hoc, Delmonico, Craftsteak and Akira - all offered at least one dish that I thought was pretty memorable while offering no blatant disappointments.   For someone like me, a rather basic eater who has been lucky enough to eat at a number of pretty nice places, that’s become the baseline of a good place.

I’m going to go back to hitting the basic turkey sandwiches soon.


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