Merde

If you get the chance, you should read these two books by Stephen Clarke: A Year In The Merde and In The Merde For Love. Both books follow Paul West, a Londoner who has to move to Paris for business. After having recently visited France for the first time, I thought the first book might be a fun read. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I went right back to the New York Public Library and grabbed the sequel, which came out just recently. Both were great quick reads (although I think I enjoyed the original book best).

NP: Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays, YES Network

Remembering...

Today is the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States. I still remember how sad, strange, scary and vulnerable the city felt that day. I also remember how we all came together to help each other as well. In the end, I think it may have helped to make us stronger. Today is a day for remembering. It's just too bad we had to experience it at all.

The Rabbit Comes Through Again

Yesterday we had my wife's baby shower, which turned out to be one of those men & women affairs. Anyway, it all worked out pretty well. Among my missions for this party was the wine. The space that we decided to have it didn't allow any glass in case something broke - so I needed to get wine in a box. I've been trying a lot of different boxed wines over the past couple of months because of this. After my various tastings, I decided to go with the French Rabbit label of boxed wines. I've written about the Chardonnay before on this blog. Out of all the boxes I've tried, I enjoyed that one the most, so I got a few boxes of that to bring. For a red, I was kind of stuck, not really enjoying any of the ones I had tried. I decided that since I thought the French Rabbit Chardonnay was good, I would just get some boxes of the French Rabbit Pinot Noir Vin de Pays D'OC 2004. The woman in the wine store told me that it was definately a good wine for what it tries to be. I was very happy upon tasting it. It definately had some body, wasn't harsh at all and was extremely drinkable. It's nothing like an New World Pinot Noir, but I guess it does have some qualities of a French Pinot (Burgandy). It has some nice fruits and a good acidity that went very well with lunch. I ended up with a box and a half left after the party and will enjoy finishing them all off.

NP: She Was My Girl, Jerry Cantrell

The Block

Recently, I decided it was time to try another wine in a box. This time, I got the Wine Block Chardonnay 2005 (91% chardonnay, 7% sauvignon blanc, 2% semillon). I had read that these particular wines in a box came from Kendall Jackson Vineyards however on the wine's website, it states that the winemaker is Lise Skaanild who is making these on her own. I'm assuming the wine's website is telling the truth. Either way, it's not going to affect my thoughts on the wine.
I bought this wine the other day - it's like 2 bottles of wine in one box - for $9.99 in NYC. For the relative price (~ $5.00 a bottle) it's not so bad. It's definately a drinkable chardonnay with no aspects of oakiness for those who don't like okay chardonnays (although on the website, it says it's aged in oak barrels). Overall, I found there tobe a little too much sweetness in this wine for me. It has a lot of fruit in it (mostly winter fruits) and a lot of sugar. The box is sitting in the fride and will probably remain there for those nights I don't feel like opening an entire bottle of wine and just want a glass to go with dinner. However, it's not a box I'm likely to get again.

NP: I Don't Believe In Love, Queensryche

More Cheese Please

Ever watch the show Miami Ink? We were watching it last night and this woman was there to get a tatoo of the Grilled Cheese Virgin Mary. This woman was making a grilled cheese sandwich one day, and when she went to bite into it she saw the face of the Virgin Mary staring back up at her. That was 10 years ago - she's kept it ever since. I guess she needed some money, so she recently sold the sandwich to GoldenPalace.com for a cool $28,000. Since she was getting rid of the grilled cheese, she went in to Miami Ink to get it tatooed on her boob so she would always have it with her. She actually said, "Giving up the Grilled Cheese Virgin Mary was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." Now that's a sentence I never thought I would hear uttered.

Magic Numbers

The Yankees' magic number is now 17. I wasn't really keeping track of things like this, but today in the New York Post, they had it plastered there for all to see. So, any combination of Yankees wins and Red Sox losses that totals 17 means the Yankees win the American League Eastern Division. Hopefully this time we'll win it all.

NP: Doesn't Remind Me, Audioslave

Rosa Mexicano

You know, I don't have a lot of great things to say about my experience there the other night. We had to be by Lincoln Center for some "preparing for baby" issues, and it got late, so we wanted to get dinner before we came home. We thought about our options and figured Rosa Mexicano would be a decent choice. It was probably more money than we wanted to spend on a spur of the moment dinner, but it was right there and it's been getting difficult for my wife to walk even shorter distances lately.
It's too bad that she couldn't walk, because I thought my food was only "ok." I had short ribs, and they were probably the worst short ribs I've ever ordered in a restaurant. The service was just okay, and the place itself looked shabby and run down to me. I've been to this particular Rosa Mexicano before and loved it, so maybe it was an off night. Who knows? I just know I'll think twice before going back there again.

Wading Through The Gavi

Over the past few months, I've been trying a bunch of wines. Out of the whites, I've become particularly fond of the Gavi variety from Italy. A while back, I wrote about another Gavi I had tried, which was terrific. I was in the mood to have that bottle again, so I went down to Astor Wines, where I had purchased the first one. When I got there, I saw they had a couple other Gavi labels as well. Recently, I tried one while eating dinner at Lupa and thought that one was great too. So, I figured I would branch out once more and try another. I decided upon the Gavi "White Label", La Scolca 2004, Italy. Overall, this was a very nice wine. It's a sweeter wine, with some bits of honey and flowers. There is also a bit of citrus as well. I liked it, but didn't enjoy it as much as the other two Gavi's I've had. Next time, I'll either go back to the Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi 2002, or spend up and try the Gavi "Black Label", La Scolca 2004.

Thauvenay

Yesterday I finished off a bottle of one of my favorite white wines, Chateau de Thauvenay Sancerre 2004, France. I had opened it a couple of evenings ago when we had filet of sole for dinner, and then I finished it last night while cooking for my wife and my parents. First of all, it's a great deal - one of the cheaper Sancerre's I have found, and it's been pretty consistant bottle to bottle (I've opened 3). It's a very bright and crisp wine, with citrus and some flowers and a nice minerality to it. The wine's website says that it finishes with flavors of raspberries, but we think it has more of a taste of green apples at the end. Whatever it is, I like it and I will buy more.

NP: Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers, YES Network

Accident? What accident?

So, after writing my comments about the many injuries of Carl Pavano, it was revealed that he was in a car crash. This crash caused him to fracture 2 ribs. Normally, this kind of injury isn't really a big deal, but when you're getting paid $40 Million to (not) pitch, it's a huge deal. Now, no one expects this chump to pitch again this year. Derek Jeter had this to say about the whole thing:

"I can't worry about guys who are not here," Jeter said. "It's not a letdown if you're not counting on it. It's not hard to believe. That's what's been happening all the time."

Think he's annoyed? I would be too. Damn Pavano...

NP: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central

Carl Pava-NO

Years ago, when Carl Pavano first got drafted, a friend of mine who went to high school with him had a bunch of bad things to say about him. There was no question about his pitching talent, but there were a lot of things said about his make-up and personality. I thought it wasn't fair, and I honestly didn't care much about him then. Now, however, he's on the Yankees - or at least that's what his contract says. I don't think I've ever seen a professional athlete with such a consecutive string of lame injuries in my life. No one should be sidelined from their job for 3 months by a buttock injury except a porn star. Now, just as he is finally finishing his rehab assignment another injury pops up. According to the Daily News, the latest injury went down like this:

After finishing the game - in which he allowed two runs in six innings - Pavano seemed okay, sources said. About 20 minutes after Columbus manager Dave Miley informed Pavano of the Yankees' plans, however, he mentioned that he had been feeling some pain in the lower chest and oblique area on his right side, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Now, it's unclear - again - when he'll be able to pitch.

They even quoted one Yankee Official saying Pavano is "scared stiff" to pitch again. I wish the Yankees could just dump his sorry ass and move on. If only we didn't have the pitching woes we do, then maybe we could. I know they were hoping he could make a strong return at the end of the season to help with the playoff run. Now, I think they're just hoping they can avoid a complete mental breakdown.

NP: Crazy, Gnarles Barkley

Mmmm... Guinness

Yesterday we went to my wife's grandmother's 80th birthday party out on Long Island. It was a really good time, and I had a lot of fun. The party was held at this Irish Pub/Restaurant out by the docks where the ferry goes back and forth from Fire Island. The party had an open bar policy - but the "free" beer was only supposed to be Bud and Coors Light on tap. I didn't know this the first time I went up to the bar and ordered myself a nice cold Guinness. When I found out I needed to pay, I was like, "what the hell, I'm not drinking that other crap - it's not like I'm at a baseball game or anything." So, I took out the cash, and was ready to pay for my beer. However, the bartender ended up giving me free Guinness all day since I was the only one drinking it. Nice, eh? And for whatever reason, they were tasting extra good yesterday.
Drinking Guinness always reminds me of my college days...

Baby countdown: 6 weeks...

Las Ramblas

I love tapas. After going to Spain a couple of times, I realized I loved the food. My favorite tapas place in the city is Tia Pol on the West Side, however Las Ramblas in the West Village turned out to be really good too. We had the patatas bravas, tortilla espanola, chorizo with white beans and a special - grilled prawns. I also had a couple of glasses of Monte Real Crianza (Rioja) Spain 2002. It was a lighter Rioja with a fruitiness to it.

Check out the short film, Las Ramblas, at Atomfilms.com

NP: Black Pearls, John Coltrane

The Capital, Part 1

So, for the past 6 days or so I was in the nation's capital, Washington DC. I was down there for a class, but while I was there I got to catch up with a couple of friends and see the city a little bit. My wife came with me for the weekend, and we stayed with our friends in their house. On Saturday night, I went to see the Nationals vs. the Mets at RFK Stadium. This is only the 4th baseball stadium I've ever been to. Besides RFK, I've been to Yankee Stadium (more times than I can count), Shea, and Fenway Park. Although all of those stadiums are old, I truly enjoyed the crazy 1970's feel of RFK. I felt as though everyone should have feathered hair, bushy moustaches, tinted glasses and be wearing shades of brown courduroy. I had a great time at the game. Unfortunately, the Mets won, but I did get to see my two favorite former Yankees - Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson hit home runs. Also, they served Dos Equis on tap and the grilled sausage and peppers was awesome.

NP: Miss Murder, AFI

The Flying Hot-Dog

Yesterday I was walking to work, heading toward the subway when I suddenly heard someone sneeze very forcefully and loudly. I looked forward and to my right towards the hot-dog stand on the corner, and I saw this guy violently sneezing and convulsing enough to send the hot-dog in his hand flying out of the bun and through the air until it smacked hard into my chest, leaving a nice greasy mark right in the center of my shirt where the hot-dog hit. I was attacked by a flying hot-dog. Luckily the guy didn't want any condiments on his frank or else it could have been worse. Of course, I had to work all day with a nice grease stain on my shirt.

Maya

Wow. Maybe it's because we went here on a whim, but we had a great dinner at Maya last night. I got home from work a little on the later side, and we weren't really sure what to do about dinner. My wife was in the mood for Mexican, which is usually a bit of a problem in our neighborhood. There is good Mexican in the city, but it's few and far-between. By our place, there isn't much, except a couple of dive-y type places. We were going to go down to Rosa Mexicano, but then I remembered hearing that Maya had good food so we decided to check it out. Unfortunately, the reviews I read were correct about one thing - the place is incredibly noisy. I don't know what's wrong with the acoustics in this place, but it was LOUD. On the plus side, the reviews were also right about the food - it was great. We started with the Tamal al Chipotle (a corn tamale with shredded chicken and a sweet chipotle sauce). With the first bite it seemed too sweet, but it quickly grew on us and ended up being terrific. For my main course, I had the Alambre de Rib Eye (organic rib eye skewers with chorizo, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, gouda cheese and a tomtatillo-chile morita sauce). The beef was cooked perfectly and everything had the smokey taste of bacon and the spicy taste of chorizo. Nice! My wife had the Enchilada de Pollo (chicken enchiladas with a roasted tomatillo-chile morita sauce and gouda cheese), which I think were the best enchiladas I've ever tasted. I paired all of this with some Negra Modelo (no wine for me tonight). For dessert, we split the Crepas de Cajeta (which were crepes with caramelized goats milk, bananas, walnuts and cinnamon ice cream), which was a terrific way to end the meal. I did walk out of there feeling very bloated, but happy. Also our service was great. It was a great meal.

Feeling Sick In The Heat

Damn it's been hot lately. I know this isn't news to anyone, but come on! It's like 105 degrees here in New York City. Our air-conditioner has been putting in overtime the past few days. Gotta keep the apartment cool. Although we've been trying to be good and keep the electrical use to a minimum, you've got to live your life.

Then last night I got sick. I think I was hit with a stomach virus - and it was not fun. Luckily I had the day off today, so I've been just relaxing, getting some energy back and re-hydrating (got to love the Gatorade). Just finished taking in an excellent Yankees game. They won again, completing the sweep of the Blue Jays. So far, the trade with the Phillies seems to be working out well. Yeah, it's only been 3 games, but Abreu has been hitting for average and getting on base, and Lidle pitched a really good game today. Maybe this trade will be the difference maker. The verdict is still out on Craig Wilson for me. He just doesn't seem to fit. We'll see how it goes.

And I know I'm way late on this topic, but it really seems like Mel Gibson has screwed himself this time. It's like he bent over and told all of Hollywood to give it to him. Too bad Mel. We used to all love ya.

NP: Ride The Lightning, Metallica

Those Italians

I read about this wine in Wine Spectator Magazine, and I had spoken to a couple of guys in various wine shops throughout the city. Everyone said it was a great wine, especially for the price (I got it for $7.99). Falesco Vitiano, Umbria Italy 2004 is a terrific wine and it comes cheap. It has a deep ruby red color and flavors of blackberries, plums and chocolate with hints of pepper and licorice. It's got a nice smooth finish and went well with my Bolognese sauce. The wine is a mix of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It scored a 90 from Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate gave it an 89. I would go out and get this wine. It's great for your everyday drinking.

NP: Yankees vs. Blue Jays, YES Network.

Dead Man's Chest

Unlike what appears to be the rest of the country, it took us until this weekend to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. This is chapter 2 in the Pirates Trilogy based on the ride in Disney World, The Pirates of the Caribbean (which is one of my favorite all-time Disney rides). For those of you who still haven't seen it, this movie has it all - great action, story, romantic undertones, fights, scenery, special effects and a touch of the fantastic. It has everything... except an ending. Basically, the end of this movie totally sets up for what is going to happen in part 3 of the trilogy, which is due out somewhere around Christmas. However, unlike other part 2's in trilogy history (Empire Strikes Back, for example), this one ends so damn abruptly that it's a shock to the system. There's no warning signs that the end is about to come, even after 2 plus hours of viewing. It just ends.
Therefore, I'm going to have to wait until I see part 3 to make any judgements about the story and the movie as a whole. It really doesn't seem fair to judge this movie, since it still hasn't finished. So.. it's a lot of fun, but leaves you feeling a little empty in the end. For now, I'm waiting for part 3.

NP: Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, Primus

Jim Caple Is A Hack

Jim Caple is a "writer" for ESPN.com. He is also an obvious New York / Yankees hater. I find it very interesting when a writer for a well know and respected organization such as ESPN spends most of his time bashing the Yankees, New Yorkers and most things that have to do with either. Sure, there are the occassional other topics addressed by this man, but more often than not, he's bashing something from NYC. He's even written a book on how he hates the Yankees.
You would think that something as nationally conscious as ESPN would want to focus on sports from around the country, but that doesn't ever appear to be Caple's agenda. Perhaps taking shots at New Yorkers helps him sleep at night. Or perhaps it helps him compensate for something else he is lacking. Who knows? I'm convinced that something very horrible must have happened to him on the streets of New York. Or perhaps he was dumped while watching a Yankees game on television. He has more bad things to say about this city than anyone I have ever seen before.
I've grown up in New York and I live in New York now. However, I spent a decade away from this city and have seen how other places treat their athletes and teams and how other city's media takes care of their teams. I've got to tell you, I'm not impressed. In New York, it's like a family. We can say whatever we want about it, but if an outsider does, it's just not right. Right now, I wish Jim Caple would just shut the hell up.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. You can reach Jim at jimcaple.com. Sound off to Page 2 here.

NP: Yankees vs. Texas Rangers, Yes Network

T.M.N.T.

Okay. So, perhaps this is giving even more insight into my geek-dom, but back in the day, when I was around 12 years old, I enjoyed reading the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comic Book. This was way before they made their way onto the television screen and became all goofy and pizza-loving. Sure, any way you look at it, turtles that act like human beings and can go all ninja on your ass are inherantly goofy. However, they held a sense of cool to all of us comic-reading geeks at the time. The cartoon and the movies killed all of that.
Now, they (Warner Brothers) are making a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. This time, there will be no Corey Feldman in a turtle suit. It's all animation. And, I had heard that they were going to be more adherant to the original Eastman and Laird comic series. I had hopes. But now, the trailer is out. It looks pretty cool, until that goofy moment at the end. It killed it for me. Check it out for yourself and make your own judgements.

NP: I Want It All, Queen

Another Night Of Red

Continuing on my recent move back over to red wines, last night I decided to try a bottle of Ravenswood Napa Valley Zinfandel, 2003. This wine is made up of 97% Zinfandel, 3% Carignane and is aged 18 months in 100% French oak. The drinking recommendations are to drink between now and 7 years. I decided to open it now.
I have a love/hate relationship with Zinfandels. Some, I really enjoy, and others I just don't like at all. Most of the time, I enjoy the ones with a lower "spice-profile" than the more spicy ones. Luckily, this one was on the lower spectrum of spicy, so it was good for me. We had my father-in-law and his wife over for dinner, and we decided to make a beef roast which we got at Trader Joe's. It was spice-rubbed and marinaded and I thought the Zin would go well with the meat. The wine has a dark, ruby-red color in the glass with scents of spice and oak. The tastes envoke plums, vanilla, raspberries and cloves. It's got a nice acidity which cut throught the meat flavors. We all enjoyed it, easily finishing off the bottle.

NP: Come On, Come Over, Jaco Pastorius

3 Rings

It's been a while since I've had much to say about red wines. I guess it's because it is the summertime. Not that I think you can't have reds in the summer, but the food we've been eating has been lending itself over to the white side of wine more often. Last night, I cracked open a bottle of Three Rings Shiraz Barossa Valley, Australia, 2004. I had noticed it in the shop when I went to buy some wine to make Sangria (there's an earlier post about that). The store had a clipping of a review of the wine next to the display and I thought it sounded like a nice wine to try. (It also received a 91 from the Wine Advocate/Robert Parker if you care about such things.)
Last night we were having some pork and I was really in the mood to have this wine, so I gave it a go. Right away, I was enjoying this wine. It had a deep, dark, purple/red color and a nice scent of blackberries and oak. My initial thoughts on tasting it were more of the same, but there were also tastes of tobacco and black olives (this is a taste that I tend to get often in wines I like, but no one ever agrees with me that it's there). It's a very smooth wine that went terrific with my dinner. I also enjoyed the fact that it's closed with a screw cap. I know there are many purists out there who abhor the screw cap, but it is a very practical way to close the wine. And there's no chance of the wine getting "corked."

NP: Buzzard Song, Miles Davis

Going Back To Lupa

The other night, a good friend of ours was in town for business. Luckily, we were able to meet up with him for dinner. As usual, we had no idea where to bring him to eat - we always want to make sure we bring our friends somewhere good. In the end, we decided to go to Lupa, Mario Batali's take on a Roman Trattoria. My wife and I have been there a couple of times, and have loved everything we've gotten. The only complaint I have is that we've never been served by the waitress that looks like Alice from the Brady Bunch with a Brooklyn accent ("You want meat, get some meat. You want fish, get some fish. How about some verr-derr (verdure)? That's what we call vegetables.")
This night, we decided to split a couple of appetizers 3 ways and then move on to our own main courses. We wanted to get the ricotta stuffed and deep fried zucchini blossoms, but unfortunately they were out of them. Instead, we had the escarole, walnuts, red onion & pecorino salad and the artichokes in an olive oil, red onion, garlic and mint marinade. After this, we split a pasta dish three ways - the bavette with cacio e pepe. We actually had to send the first one back because it was way too salty. The second try was much better, but honestly, not as good as we've had it before. For our main courses, I had the roasted pork "Arista," my wife had the skate and our friend had the Ligurian fish stew (it had some other name on the menu, but I don't remember what it was). Unfortunately for our friend, almost every dish on the menu that night had pork in it, and he is Jewish, so it drastically cut down his dining options. We both felt a little bad about that. For wines, we had one white while waiting for the table and with the appetizers, which I have completely forgotten the name. It was very good, however. With our main courses, we split a bottle of Gavi Di Gavi Nicola Bergaglio Piemonte Italy, 2004. We both thought it was terrific. Finally, for dessert, we split the buttermilk panna cotta with cherries, and had some espresso. Great dinner. It was also a great evening spent with a friend we don't get to see that often.

Drinking From The Rabbit

Sometimes, you're not allowed to have glass with you. So... I've decided to check out some of the newer wines in a box. Back in the day, I was a little scared of boxed wine. It's something I got really drunk off of one night in college during a snowstorm and it's something my mom keeps in her refrigerator. However, I've noticed a lot of newer labels making boxed wine. I thought I would give some a chance to see if any of them were decent. Tonight, I cracked open my first box. It was French Rabbit Chardonnay Vin De Pays D'OC France, 2004. I was a little skeptic of this stuff at first, but I have to say, it's really not that bad. In fact, it was a nice, crisp white. There were some fruity scents, and the taste, although a little harsh at first, also had some fruity-ness to it... perhaps some peaches. There was no oakiness and a little minerality at the end. Overall, a pretty good wine in a box, which I would definately get again when the situation called for a boxed wine. It also is a convenient size and shape, making it easy to carry.
You can check out the French Rabbit website here.

NP: Not much...

Just Wrong

I found this on the web today doing a little surfing. It's the Peanuts gang re-enacting a scene from Clerks. It's not really SFW so, be careful if you must...

Love In An Elevator

For some reason, no one in NYC knows how to get on or off an elevator nicely. I find it to be especially noticable in the hospitals. After working in different NYC hospitals over the years and having to visit too many people in them as well, I've come to this conclusion. It's really sad when you see young people pushing past the elderly or the handicapped or the mothers with their babies to get on the elevator. Then, those people I just mentioned push everyone else out of their way to get on. It's kind of a free-for-all. And then, no one wants to move to the back of the elevator. I think that they feel it's the one place where they can make themselves have some kind of societal importance: I am superior to you! Look! I can get on the elevator first! Ha ha! It's just really sad. It's even worse than what happens on the subway.

NP: Yankees Pregame Show, YES Network

Outsource, MD

Today, the New York Daily News has an article about how some US based businesses are trying to outsource the medical care of their employees overseas. Basically, it's like this: You call your computer Help Desk (IT) number, and it rings over in India somewhere. They give you advice over the phone and you're all set (yeah, right). Now, you want your open heart surgery done, get on the phone, call your "help desk" and then get on a flight to India for your surgery. Why? It's cheaper for your company.
This whole article is based on another article in Business Insurance Magazine. My favorite part of the article is this quote from some dude in Hawaii:

Chuck Kelley, medical director at Outrigger Enterprises Inc. in Honolulu, told the magazine it will be hard to persuade employees to travel abroad for medical care.
"Health care treatment is a very personal issue for Americans, and when they are sick, they want to be close to their family and in the care of providers they know and trust - even if they are not the best," Kelley said. "They will settle for inferior and more expensive treatment to be home."
Companies like Blue Ridge plan to give their employees a financial incentive to go abroad by offering to cover them and their dependents for any out-of-pocket costs.

Yes. We (Americans) settle for inferior health care in this country. Riiiiiight. I like how this guy is trying to be all sneaky here. He's implying that by going abroad you'll get better healthcare than in the U.S. I have to tell you that I don't really believe that to be true. And even if it was, what is so wrong about wanting to be close to your family when you're sick. What I want to know is if these higher-ups in these companies who are making these decisions are on their way to Mumbai for their colonoscopy or not. Because if they're still heading over to their local mecca of medicine, why the double standard? All I know is that this just sounds like a bad idea to me.

Pearl

One of my favorite restaurants in all of New York City is the Pearl Oyster Bar on Cornelia Street in the West Village. We hadn't been there since the end of last summer or early fall, and my wife and I have been getting the craving for some fried oysters over the past couple of weeks. We had made tentative plans to go there this past Saturday night, but all of the errands we had to do Saturday took us much later into the evening than we had anticipated. Initially, we were going to scrap the idea of heading down to the Village for dinner because it was getting late and I needed to wake up at 6:00 this morning to go to work. However, we couldn't think of anywhere else to go, so we jumped in a cab and headed downtown. Although the wait was probably around an hour to sit down, it was well worth it (as always). We started off with some fried oysters, which were as fantastic as they always are, then we moved onto our main courses. My wife had the lobster roll, which I thought was much better than the first time we tried it (we both thought it was too mayonaise-y at the time). I had the whole grilled red snapper, which was awesome. I almost went with the grilled dorade, because I loved that the last time we were there, but the bartender told me the red snapper looked really good last night. She was right. I also went through a couple of glasses of a 2005 Sancerre (but I can't remember the name). It was a great dinner, well worth the wait, and a fine reason to go down to the village on a beautiful Saturday night.

NP: Falling To Pieces, Faith No More

Remembering VH

Today I was fixing up the apartment, getting ready for the arrival of the new family member, and I put the TV on to keep me company. That movie, Twister, was on Cinemax, so I left it on in the background. This is the movie that Van Halen contributed the songs Humans Being and Respect The Wind to the soundtrack. While the credits were going by, Respect The Wind was playing, and although it's not the best music ever, it got me thinking about what a great band Van Halen used to be.
Of course I'm talking about the David Lee Roth Era Van Halen, and not the Sammy Hagar years or the Gary Cherone blip on the radar. (Personally, it seems to me that Sammy is probably a much cooler human being than Dave, but the band was clearly better with Dave) After Dave left, we had the slow decline with Sammy, to that crap with Gary, to whatever Eddie has morphed into now. Just take a look at him. Scary, eh?
At this point, it appears that the band, Van Halen is dead... So here's a look back at the video for Hot For Teacher for old time's sake.



NP: Hot For Teacher, Van Halen

Making The Sangria

We had a few of our friends from my fellowship over tonight to enjoy a night where none of us had to work. In order to shake things up a bit from the usual beer and wine, I decided to make a batch of red sangria for us. I was able to find a nice Spanish red wine that turned out great for making sangria: Casa Solar Tempranillo, Spain, 2003 (aged 3 months in American Oak). The basic recipe I used was: 2 bottles (750mL each) of the wine, 1/2 cup of brandy, 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier, 4 tablespoons of orange juice, 4 tablespoons of lime juice, 2 apples diced, 1 orange sliced, 1 lemon sliced, 3/4 cup of extra-fine sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, and finally 2 bottles (750mL) of sparkling water. This made a really nice sangria that we all enjoyed. I think the key is to mix everything except the sparkling water together (make sure you stir it a lot to get the sugar dissolved) and let it sit for a couple of hours to get all the flavors nice and happy together. Then, before you're going to drink it, add the sparkling water.
Overall, we had a really good time. We even got a break in the rain and thunderstorms to enjoy about an hour out on the deck. Nice.

NP: What A Wonderful World, Joey Ramone

Vittorie Dell'Italia!!!

Oggi, battimento Francia dell'Italia per il titolo 2006 della World Cup. Il segno è stato legato 1-1 e l'Italia vinti in uno
shootout 5-3. Va L'Italia!

So, Italy won the World Cup. Congratulations! I've got to admit that I am very happy that the Azzurri won. It's the homeland of my people, so of course I wanted them to win. In fact, I probably wanted them to win more than the U.S.A. It's too bad the match had to be spoiled by the whole head-butting incident, but perhaps we would have lost if Zidane remained in the match. So, in the end, all's well that ends well.

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!

Bubbly

This evening I went to another class at the Insitute of Culinary Education. This time it was in their wine department. The class itself was called Sparkling Wines for Summer. This was another part of the multi-part birthday gift from my wife. Here's a list of what we had (in order - and in the way they are written on our sheet):
1. Prosecco di Conegliano Brut, Zardetto, Treviso, Italy
2. Cremant de Loire, Sauvion, Loire Valley, France
3. Cremant de Bourgogne Grand Reserve Brut, Louis Bouillot, Burgundy, France
4. Cremant de Bourgogne Rose "Perle d'Aurore", Louis Bouillot, Burgundy, France
5. Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs, Napa Valley, California, 2001
6. Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut, Champagne, France
7. Blanc de Noirs, Mumm Napa, Napa California
8. Louis Roederer Rose, Reims, Champagne, France, 1999
9. Asti Spumante, Martini and Rossi, Piedmont, Italy
10. Rosa Regale, Brachetto D'Acqui, Castello Banfi, Piedmont Italy, 2001
It was a very fun class - well run and the instructor was very well informed. They also supplied us with some nice cheese, bread and nuts as snacks. Overall, I liked just about everything except for the Asti Spumante, which was just too syrupy sweet for me. My favorite may have had to be the Louis Roederer Rose. I just really enjoyed it (although the instructor said it really should have been aged a little longer in the bottle). I also thought the Bollinger was terrific (which is good since we have a bottle of it), the Zardetto Prosecco was great, and surprisingly, I really liked the Rosa Regale.

NP: Epistrophy (Take 1), Thelonious Monk

Riding The 6

Today I took a trip downtown to take a look at some things in lower Manhattan. It's a gorgeous day and I thought I would get out and enjoy it. I took the 6 Train downtown to start my journey. Unfortunately, on the same car as me - actually standing next to me - was this dude eating a container of soup from The Soup Man. Now, I've never eaten a single thing from this place, and everyone seems to love their soup, but I've got to tell you it smelled like crap. Actually, it smelled like the wet Alpo dog food we used to give to our dog when I was a kid. I think I and everyone else around this guy wanted to vomit. No offense to the Soup Man people - I loved that episode of Seinfeld, and again - I've never eaten there and cannot comment on how good the food is - but it smelled horrible.
Then, after that guy finally got off the train and it emptied out a bit, some other dude decided it was time for a workout. He kept using the handlebar on the subway car to do his chin-ups. Normally, I wouldn't care so much, but after each rep, he felt the need to clap his hands and cheer himself on. Then he would look around the car, seeing how many people were impressed with his ability. Unfortunately, that number was probably zero. However, how many people were impressed with his stupidity? I can tell you that number was at least one.

NP: Fire, Jimi Hendrix

The Hoff

For some odd reason, David Hasselhoff has been in the news a lot lately. First, he needed emergency surgery to repair a tendon in his arm after a "shaving accident." Then, he was reportedly kicked out of Wimbledon for his drunken behavior. Now, he's in the news for a new "song" of his. It's a cover of the 1975 classic Jump In My Car. The video was reportedly filmed in Australia, but who are they kidding? We all know KITT's driver's seat was on the left. Watch the video below (be afraid... be very afraid):


As for his drunken behavior at Wimbledon - it appears that the All England Lawn Tennis Club (who are in charge of Wimbledon) are denying that this ever took place. They say that he was turned away from the Press Center because he did not have the proper accredidation and that he was actually looking for a particular tennis court at the time. My favorite quote from this whole thing is from the London Sun, which states that when Hasselhoff was being escorted out he said, "You should let me in. Do you know who I am? I'm the Hoff!"

And now, just because I need to... here's the video for his cover of Hooked on a Feeling:

Why The Insanity?

So Korea is now threatening the entire world with a more definitive response if anyone has a problem with their test missile launches.

"Our military will continue missile launch drills as part of measures to bolster self-defense capabilities," said the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea "will have no option but to take stronger physical actions of other forms, should any other country dare take issue with the exercises and put pressure on it."

Great. China has "serious concerns." Russia appears to be concerned but doesn't want to do anything to provoke N. Korea. Japan is obviously upset and wants something done. The U.S. wants to try and solve this mess via diplomatic means.
What's the best way to handle this? It's very hard to know. I just know I don't like it.

NP: Holiday, Green Day

Italy vs. France

Okay. I've got to say that I am really not the world's biggest soccer fan. In fact, I really didn't care if the USA did well in the World Cup. It's not a sport that I follow and it's not a sport that the elite athletes in the U.S. are encouraged to play (which is partly why it hasn't gained a following in the US). However, now that the country of my people (Italy) is in the finals, I've got to pay a little more attention. Also, the fact that I have somehow amassed a bunch of friends who are either French citizens or have strong ties to France I need Italy to win.
Here's the link to the Italian National Soccer Page and their Team: The Azzurri

They're excited about The Azzurri in Brooklyn:




NP: River of Deceit, Mad Season

Travelogue: Barcelona Eats

A few months ago we had the great fortune to be able to spend a week in Barcelona, Spain. We had been to Spain once before (other parts - Madrid, Sevilla, Costa del Sol) and we loved it there, so we were very excited to get a chance to go back. Overall, we loved Barcelona. The weather was terrific, the people were friendly and there were a million things to do. During the time we were there, there was an International Food and Beverages Convention - so I figure I might as well start writing about Barcelona with food.
We had been told by friends and other people we know that Barcelona was more about "sit-down" restaurants and less about tapas. So, we started our dining adventures in the restaurant Agut (Gignas 16, Barri Gotic). Our travel guides listed this as a great place to get lunch and a very good place to get dinner. We opted to go for dinner. Overall, it was good. Not great, but good. I remember having the fried artichokes and duck with a strawberry sauce. The next night we went to have some paella on the recommendation of our concierge. Unfortunately we didn't stick to the guidebooks on this one. It down-right sucked. Sadly, it put me off of paella for the rest of the trip.
After these 2 failed ventures, we decided to try some tapas instead. Cal Pep (Placa de les Olles 8, Born-Ribera) was terrific. This is the place to go if you're looking for some fresh seafood tapas. We had the fried fish place, some garlic shrimp and a couple other dishes I can't quite remember. This is probably because they don't serve wine by the glass here - only by the bottle. And their house white went down rather easily (my wife, being pregnant at the time could not help me finish it either). We also tried Taller de Tapas (Placa de Sant Josep Oriol 9, Barri Gotic). There are two locations for this place in Barcelona. The one we went to was great. We went here the night after going to Cal Pep, so we decided to avoid the seafood tapas only because we had so much the night before. Here we had more traditional tapas - chorizo, spinach with chick peas, probably a tortilla. One last tapas place we tried was Els Quatre Gats (Montsio 3, Barri Gotic). This place we went more for the history of the place than the food (Picasso, Casas, Opisso and more used to spend a lot of their time there). Here we had more traditional tapas, but I remember it being very good too.
One last place that I can remember going to was Caelum (Carrer de la Palla 8, Barri Gotic). This is a tea and coffee shop where you can also buy treats, cakes, wine, coffee, jams, honey, jellies, etc from all over Spain. We stopped here on more than one occassion to have a snack and a caffeine pick-me-up.

NP: Mike and the Mad Dog, 660 WFAN

Superman III, Part 2

I got around to seeing Superman Returns this week. After reading a bunch of luke-warm reviews, I wasn't really sure what to expect of this film. All I knew was that I was going to be a sheep and go see this thing in the theater. As someone who remembers standing in line to see the first couple of movies with his parents way back when, I was actually pretty excited to see this movie. It all started when I saw the first trailer for Superman Returns on the internet. I dug the use of the original Superman Theme and Marlon Brando's voice. Maybe it was nostalgia for my youth or the hope that this new movie might actually kick some ass.
Unfortunately, it didn't kick ass, but I did really enjoy it. I appreciated Bryan Singer's loyalty to the original franchise (the movie begins and ends just like the first couple of Superman films). Also, the special effects were awesome. This movie has some of the best flying effects I've ever seen. Kevin Spacey is terrific. Brandon Routh also does a nice job of playing Superman (and his voice sounds just like Christopher Reeve's). I wasn't crazy about Lois Lane, and there are definately some plot holes (more when considering this movie is a sequel to Superman I & II). All in all, however, I think this was a very good movie. A very good comic book movie and an amazing improvement over Superman III and IV.
Of course, I could have done without the two girls sitting next to me discussing how they couldn't believe the movie people screwed up so bad as putting in the credits that Superman was from DC Comics when he obviously was from Marvel Comics (it's from DC).


NP: You Saved My Life, Joe Satriani

Happy 4th of July!

Today is the birthday of our country. Go and watch fireworks, drink beer and enjoy the great foods of the grand ol' U.S.A. Eat hot dogs, burgers, potato salad, cole slaw, corn on the cob and have a few cones from Mr. Softee. Hope everyone has a great one!

NP: American Idiot, Green Day

Pies

For my birthday this year, my wife signed me up for a baking class at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in NYC. More specifically, it was the Fabulous Fruit Pies for Summer class. At first my wife only signed me up, but after some convincing she signed up with me. It was a 5 hour class on one of the last days of our vacation together. I thought it would be better together.
The class was a whole lot of fun. After failing time after time trying to make pie crusts together for various holiday pies, we finally learned how to do it. I made a cherry pie, while she made a peach pie. Together (mainly my wife), we made an apple pie too.
The school seems like a lot of fun - you get to meet random people from the area, learn how to cook and then eat all the food together. It's a good time.

NP: Yankees vs. Mets (currently Yanks 7, Mets 4), ESPN

The Cloisters

This weekend, we decided to head uptown to visit The Cloisters. This is part of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it houses their collection of Medieval European Art. It sits inside Fort Tyron Park, which is on the very northern tip of Manhattan (I think it starts around 191st street).
The building itself is composed of 5 different French Cloisters put together to form the museum. It's really pretty amazing the job they did making a seamless structure. It reminded us a lot of the places we visited in Europe. Also, it was a beautiful day, so just sitting and relaxing in the courtyards or on the terraces looking over the Hudson River was a nice way to pass the afternoon.
The museum itself is probably best known for its collection of the "Unicorn Tapestries". However, there are a lot of other great pieces there and they even have some collections of horticulture (they tried to recreate the gardens of the varies French Cloisters).

NP: Now Is The Time, Damone

Eating The Pasta

It was a beautiful day in the city yesterday, so we decided to head down to Greenwich Village last night for dinner. We thought we would chance it and see how long the wait for a table at Lupa was going to be. Although we were told 45 minutes to an hour, we decided to stick it out and wait. After a 25 minute stroll in SoHo, we gave them a call and found out our table would be ready in a couple of minutes. We hurried back and were seated within a few minutes.
Last time we were here, we had made a reservation and were seated in the back room, which is quieter and more relaxed. Last night we were seated in the front room, which is definately a more lively and active part of the restaurant. Our waitress was very nice, and answered all of our questions with no problems.
To start, we shared the artichokes marinated in olive oil, chili flakes, mint leaves, red onions and garlic. These were terrific. For our main courses, we had pastas - I had the special, which was home-made orchiette with peas, prosciutto and parmesian cheese. My wife had the ricotta gnocchi with sausage and fennel. I paired my dinner with a mini carafe of Vespa Bianco Bastianich 2002, Friuli. For dessert we split the Lupa Tartufo, which is hazelnut ice cream with pieces of biscotti in it, covered in chocolate with pieces of hazelnut on top, sitting in a chocolate sauce (not for the faint-of-chocolate). The whole meal was terrific. We love this place.

NP: The sound of the coffee machine percolating

More Than Meets The Eye

Hey. There's a teaser trailer for the new Transformers Movie by Michael Bay. You really don't get to see much of from this clip. There's only the slightest inclincation of one of the Transformers on there. As a kid, I always wanted there to be a movie made of these guys (and not the cartoon movie that was already done - a live action one) so I guess I've gotten my wish. I have reservations about it now. But, of course, I'll go see it.

NP: (You Can Still) Rock in America, Night Ranger