Bad Parents

Apparently, arrogant salesmen know what makes a great parent. Yesterday, my wife, my son and I were going through Home Depot to get some things for the new house. Unfortunately, my wife had just mentioned that she was thirsty... So, when we turned the corner of the aisle and were asked "Would you like a glass of water?" by the strangely fit water pitchman she said okay. This guy was selling ZeroWater.
You might be thinking, what is ZeroWater? According to it's website:

ZeroWater is a revolutionary water filtration system that removes unwanted contaminants, leaving you with clear, great-tasting water. Need proof? Every ZeroWater Starter Kit includes the same tester used in national laboratories to evaluate the presence of contaminants.

The guy then kept going on and on about how great his water system was and that we should cough up the $150 (or somewhere around there) to buy one for our home. When we told him no, he got all upset with us. And I don't mean your common variety salesman trying to make a sale upset. He was visibly angry that we didn't want one. He even went as far as telling us that we were bad parents because we weren't getting one. He then went on to tell us that we weren't doing what is best for our son.
I didn't realize that this guy was the expert on child rearing. Luckily, ZeroWater has a 1-800 number, so I can call them with all my questions about my child. Screw his pediatrician, I've got the ZeroWater guy!

Phil Rizzuto... 1917-2007

Today, Yankees legend, Phil Rizzuto passed away. I grew up listening to him broadcasting all the Yankees games on WPIX and on the radio, back when they were on AM 770. It's a sad day. So, let's all give a moment of silence for Rizzuto.

BTW: There's a great book with all the Phil Rizzuto quotes. It's fun.

Rosé Is The New Pink

I went to Boston a few weeks ago to hang out with my wife while she was attending a work conference. While we were there, we went out to dinner to this place called Tapeo on Newbury Street. I hadn't eaten here in about 10 years or so, when we went for a friend's birthday. I didn't like it then, and I sort of liked it now. The food was good, but in the realm of Spanish Tapas outside of Spain, I've had a ton better. Their Sangria (the red one) was excellent, however.
When the pitcher of Sangria went dry, I was the only one who wanted more, so I decided to get a glass of wine. On a whim, I thought I would give the Muga Rosé Rioja, Rioja Spain a try. I've read that this was a good wine and rosé wines are "in" at the moment. Too bad I was disappointed. I can't even give you a flavor profile, because all I remember was "eh." It was cold and little else. Perhaps they had chilled it too much and washed the flavor away. Whatever the reason, I won't be having this one again.
Go to the Muga website here.

Let There Be White! (and a little red)

I haven't written about any wines here in a long while, but I have been drinking them. I just don't have the time to sit down at the computer and write about them anymore. I guess because it's summer, I've been drinking more whites lately to go with the foods we're making. Who knows? Whatever the reason, I've got a few whites to talk about. First up is Inama Vin Soave Soave Classico 2005, Italy. Apparently, Inama is the leading estate producer of Soave Classico (who knew?). Anyway, I picked this up from one of the local liquor stores one night when I thought a white wine would go well with dinner. I don't remember exactly what we were having, but I'm pretty sure it was something Italian, so I wanted an Italian white to go with it. My choices were kind of slim because I wanted to get something from the cold case so we could drink it right away. I picked this mainly because I didn't like the other choices, and I was very pleasantly surprised. We both really liked it. It's a light/delicate wine, but it still has lots of flavor (not like some of the less memorable Pinot Grigios out there). It has a crisp finish and some minerality to it. We've gotten this one a couple times now, and I've enjoyed each bottle.
The second wine, I'm not so happy with. I actually picked it up as a consolation to the fact that the wine I actually wanted wasn't in stock. The one I did buy was Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Sauvignon 2006, France. It's not a bad wine. In fact, it's pretty good. It's crisp, light, with some citrus and anise flavors. It just wasn't the one I wanted, and I think that colored my feelings towards it. The other one was better. Of course, I can't remember the winery. It was another Touraine Sauvignon, and it was terrific. It had won some award that sounded like The Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival.
The last white wine I have to mention was Willm Vin d'Alsace Gewturztraminer, France. I love this wine. I've had it before and it's a great example of a gewturztraminer. It's not too expensive, and the few bottles I've had have been consistently good. This one I had in my fridge, and we opened it up when we ordered some Indian food from Dakshin in NYC (which, by the way, has great delivery). This wine is on the sweeter side, with tastes of honey, pear, and melon. Not too acidic either.
Finally, I thought I would mention one red that we opened lately. It was the first of my Barolo collection (it's not that big of a collection) to be somewhat ready to be opened, so we went for it. It was Silvio Grasso "Bricco Luciani" Barolo 2000, Piemonte Italy. My excitement in opening this wine was somewhat diminished when I extracted the cork and saw evidence of some heat damage. It smelled okay, however, so I soldiered on. We had actually opened a much less expensive and less interesting wine first, but that wine was very old and very bad. So we moved on. I didn't tell my wife about the wine creeping up the sides of the cork to get an honest opinion on what she thought of this wine. It was still very good. There were tastes of blackberries, licorice, and tobacco. However I think this wine was a little harsher than it should have been. I drank it down anyway.

NP: Rollin' On, Black Stone Cherry

Spa Treatment

I had decided to give my wife a massage at a spa as one of her presents this past year. Then, when I was about to buy her one, I thought "why don't I go too?" She's been trying to get me to try a message for years, and I figured I would go for it this time. I looked for a place that allowed men (you'd be surprised that most do not - at least here in NYC). So, we ended up at Oasis Day Spa in NYC. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was along for the ride.
The whole place was about peacefulness and was set up trying to bring some tranquility into your life. They did a nice job - we were at the one on Park Avenue - and after you went downstairs into the spa, you forgot where you were.
We got the couples side-by-side message. I've got to say that it was really nice. Although I think I got so relaxed in there that I fell asleep for a second. I could get used to these...

NP:

This Is The End, My Friend

Today I finished the 7th and last book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm a little saddened by completing these books. They were fun, and I enjoyed reading about the characters. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I thought it started a little slow, but picked up quickly. I guess it played out as I expected, but I can't see it ending any other way.

NP: 5 to 1, The Doors