Some More Please

A long time ago, I bought a few bottles of wine that were on the more expensive side that needed a few years or so to grow. Although not one of those bottles, I did get this wine during that shopping trip. My wife and I truly enjoy a nice Rioja. I think it comes from drinking so much of it during our first trip to Spain. Whatever the reason, I like them. This bottle is Allende Rioja 2001, Spain. It has been sitting in my wine fridge for a while, waiting for my wife to have the baby and be able to enjoy a glass or two again. I hadn't heard of this wine before, and I have to admit, I bought it based on it's rating (WA - 93), which is something I try not to do. Anyway, we opened this bottle the other night, and we were no disappointed. It's a big wine. Dark in color, with some nice spicy element to it. There are definately cherries with some dark black fruits. Also some vanilla mixed in there. It's an unfiltered wine, and they say it should be drunk in the next 4-5 years, so there's still time to get some more.

NP: A Farewell To Kings, Rush

Out In The Cold

It has been absolutely freezing in NYC these past few days. For the most part, I wasn't minding it too much. I worked all weekend, and I have to admit, the crappy weather slows down my business and led to some of the better nights I've had in a while. However, now that I'm off, it kind of sucks. If it was just me, I'd be fine. If I wanted to go out, I'd brave the cold and deal with it. Problem is, that with my 3 month old son in tow, it's pretty near impossible. It's way too cold to bring him outside, so inside I stay. Watching bad television and writing my blog.
What about the nanny, you ask? Unfortunately, we had to let her go... Somehow she thought feeding a 3 month old Cheerios was an okay thing to do. That, combined with a couple of other odd things over the past week led to her dismissal. So, we're currently without child care. If anyone out there knows a good nanny, let us know.

NP: Last Goodbye, Jeff Buckley

Top Chef Finale

So I am/was very into the television show Top Chef. I started watching the first season one of those days when it was really crappy out and they had a marathon on Bravo. This year, we've been watching the show week-by-week as it aired on television (or at least soon afterwards on the DVR). Last night was the season finale to see who was this season's "Top Chef." It was a cook-off between Ilan (a line chef from NYC's (and Mario Batali's) Casa Mono) and Marcel (Master cook at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion). Throughout the season, Marcel has gone from annoying brat with Oompa-Loompa hair to the underdog I wanted to win. Unfortunately, Ilan took the prize last night. At first I thought Marcel was going to lose because he forgot the fish for his third course, however he appeared to recover nicely from that by re-working the dish. I think his biggest downfall was because he served a green salad for his second course. Sure, it looked pretty, but that's something I could have put together in college. Had he actually cooked something or done something with a little more skill for that course, I think he would have pulled it off. I wanted to see him win to put it back into all of the other contestants' faces after making fun of him all season. Ah well... what can you do?

NP: Target, Fugazi

New Wine

This year, I was the happy recipient of a Wine of the Month Club gift from my wife for Christmas. This particular one is from amazingclubs.com and gets you one bottle of white and one bottle of red per month. Last week, I received my first shipment, which contained a French Sauvignon Blanc (more about that some other time, I haven't opened it yet) and a bottle of Cary Talbot Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Lodi California. Neither of us had heard of this wine before, but we were both excited to try it. I had a strong feeling that the first bottle I opened from this club would let us know if I was getting 2 bottles of so-so wine a month, or 2 bottles I'd be looking forward to uncorking. Well, if I was right, I'm in for a treat. This bottle was terrific. This wine had a nice aroma straight from the get-go. It has flavors of cherries and dark fruits and a little spice too. There was no harshness at all, and it went very well with our meal of cheeseburgers and fries. We'll see how the rest of the club goes.

NP: Cathedral, Van Halen

Get Together

This weekend, we had a little family party at the Agata and Valentina Ristorante on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. I have to admit, that after living up here for the past few years, I've become sick of the crappy supermarkets we have and try to go to places like Agata and Citarella whenever I can. Sure, I still need to go to the local Gristede's or D'Agostino's to get milk and canned goods, but I'm tired of the too-expensive bland or brown fruit and the meat that smells bad the second I open up the plastic. I'd rather pay above-average prices and at least get food that's fresh.
Anyway, we decided to have the party at the restaurant after having only one meal at the place last year after it opened. We remembered that meal being very good, so we went for it.
We had a set menu for the affair (it was a weekend brunch) which included:

Baskets of mini-muffins, croissants and other breads with assorted jams on the tables

First course (choice of)

Fresh fruit salad (mixed berry salad)
Insalata Mista (mixed greens with grape tomatoes, red onions, shaved Parmigiano and balsamic vinaigrette)

Main course (choice of)

Challah French Toast (with fresh berries)
Verdura Frittata (asparagus, mushrooms, roasted tomato and Parmigiano Reggiano)
Cavatelli al Ragu (Cavatelli with meat sauce)
Pollo all Griglia con Pesto (chicken breast with pesto sauce on bed of greens)

Dessert

Torta gianduja (flourless chocolate hazelnut cake with hazelnut gelato and orange sauce)

Drinks (choice of)

Bellini, Prosecco, or Soda and
Tea, Coffee, Soda or Juice

Overall, I thought the meal was great. I had the Insalata Mista and the Cavatelli. Going into it, I was sure I was getting the French Toast, but after sitting down, I realized I wasn't into breakfast anymore. I had a glass of Prosecco with my meal, which was terrific, but I forgot to ask what it was. The service could have been a little bit better (we waited about 45 minutes for a high chair for my nephew, among other things), but we all had a really nice time.

Bacon, Lettuce and...

In or never-ending search for the perfect meal, we ended up at a new spot (for us) last night for my wife's birthday. Luckily, her grandmother and aunt are with us for the weekend, so they offered to babysit. We took them up on their offer and we were out by ourselves for the first time since the baby was born.
This year, I decided to take my wife to BLT Prime for her birthday celebration. It's one of the many NYC restaurants owned/run by Chef Laurent Tourondel (the others are BLT Steak, BLT Burger and BLT Fish). We made the reservation a while ago, and although the freezing weather dimmed our excitement about heading out last night, we weren't about to give up a night of babysitting.
After sitting down for dinner we were handed our menus and a wine list that could rival Webster's Dictionary. At first I was kind of in awe, but then I knew we were getting steaks and I narrowed down my choices to a Cabernet, a Bordeaux or a Brunello. The wine list was extensive but also very expensive, so I had decided to forget about skimping and throw down for a nice Brunello. However my wife decided we should consult with the staff. Our waitress actually suggested a bottle of Rosso di Montalcino "Tirso" Villa Le Prata 2003, Italy. It's a spicier wine made from Sangiovese grapes (which I love). We both really enjoyed this wine, and it went terrific with our meal (of course, my Google search for it shows me it's much cheaper on Lupa's winelist than at BLT).
Anyway... on to the food. They gave us a little muse bouche of toasty breads and chicken liver pate to start things off. I have to admit, I was a little scared at first (it didn't smell all that great), but we decided to go for it, and it was really good. Then we got a pair of gigantic cheese popovers with fresh butter and sea salt on the side. They were full of just-baked goodness. I decided to have an appetizer - it was a special - of duck confit with greens and a black truffle dressing. This was great, and was the size of duck confit meals I ate in Paris. For a main course, we both had New York Strip Steaks (mine was medium, while my wife's medium-well). They came with a pat of herbed butter on top and your choice of sauce. I had the three mustards and my wife had the Roquefort. For sides, we got the creamy spinach and parmesan gnocchi. Overall, the dinner was very good. I really enjoyed my steak and the spinach was terrific. The gnocchi had a little too much cheese on them (never thought I would say that) and they kind of got lost in the mix. The 3 mustards weren't that great though. I would have picked 3 different mustards to have with a steak. I still haven't found a steak house better than Sparks in NYC, but I'm trying.
Finally, for desert, we chose the banana bread pudding with rum caramel ice cream. This was very good (although they did put raisins in their bread pudding). However, they also gave us a "free" tasting of some little brownies covered in some crispy coating. Those were fantastic. This was all finally washed down with a nice cappuccino to end the meal. It was terrific. A meal can be ruined by a bad cup of coffee at the end, and this one ended nicely.
So... BLT Prime. I had a great meal, but it was the most I've ever spent on dinner for my wife and I. I know I've been to better restaurants and had better meals than this one, so I don't know if I'll go back. NYC has too many other places to try.

Been A While

Well, it's been a bunch of days since I posted anything on here. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, but I've been really busy. Working like a dog and there have been some family things that have needed attention. Today, I'm off from work, so I've got a second to breathe. It's nice.

One of my Christmas presents this year from my dad was a bottle of wine. It's something that he remembered being very good (from years ago), so he wanted me to try it. It was Chateau La Jorine Lussac Saint-Emilion 2002, France. Yesterday it was really cold in NYC (and from what I hear, the rest of the Northeast), so for dinner I made some boeuf bourguignon. This was the first time I ever made that, and although I changed the recipe a bit, it turned out really good. Anyway, to go along with this meal, we decided to open this bottle of wine. It went really well. The wine is ruby in color and had a really smooth feel and finish. It had some woody taste along with the fruit. I've heard it's a little difficult to find, but it's a good Bordeaux on the less expensive side if you see it.

Another wine I had recently that I wanted to mention was actually a desert wine. We went to our friends' house for dinner a couple of weekends ago and they opened this for us after our meal. It was a bottle of Pirramimma Late Harvest Riesling 2004, Australia. This wine had a really nice taste and no harshness. It is a nice yellow-amber color and has flavors of honey and apricots. We liked it so much, they gave us a bottle to take home with us.
With dinner we had a couple of bottles of Zinfandel from Turley Wines, however I really don't remember which ones we had. I know I liked the first bottle a lot better than the second, but I can't remember which was which.

Now on a completely different note, I downloaded the premiere episode of The Dresden Files onto my iPod free from iTunes the other day. I have to say, I liked the show. It's nice to have something else to add to the DVR so when I'm bored, there's something else to watch.

NP: Flying High Again, Ozzy Osbourne

Fantastic

Yesterday was really not the best day for me. At the end of it all I just wanted to eat my dinner and relax. Then I realized I needed a drink. We had already ordered some Chinese take-out, and I remembered from my Champagne class that the instructor kept saying that he loved champagne with Chinese food. So... we opened a bottle of Louis Roedere Brut Rose Champagne 2000. This was the second time I've had this, and I loved it just as much as the first. We were saving it for a special occasion, but who knows when that will come along. The Chinese food was great too. Gotta love the boneless spare ribs. Mmmm...

Zombies

So, when I was younger I was a huge comic book fan. I collected a ton of them (mostly X-Men titles). This was like 20 years ago (actually more, if you count when I started collecting them). Anyway, I stopped buying them when I went away to college. It was more because I didn't know where to get them at first, and then I had better things to spend my money on when I found a comic-book shop. Nowadays, I might check out a graphic novel here or there, or I may look at a web-page if I'm bored and want to see what's up. For the most part, I am lost. There are 35 different "X-Comics" out there, and I don't know how many are in alternate realities or not. I haven't bought an actual comic book in over 15 years, but today I found one that made me want to go and get one. Marvel Zombies.
I hadn't heard of this before. It sounds like the basic concept is an alien virus comes to Earth, infecting all of the super-heroes in Marvel-Comic-Land. This virus turns them into brain-eating zombies! Nice! They all go out and try and eat as many brains as possible. This is one I think I have to check out. I think it's in graphic novel format now, so maybe I'll go down to Borders when I have a 20% off coupon and pick it up.
Oh, and now they're planning a Marvel Zombies and Evil Dead crossover. Nice.

NP: King Without A Crown, Matisyahu

Catching Up With 24

Ever since our trip to Virginia about a year and a half ago, my wife and I have been trying to catch up with 24. We had never watched it before then, and sitting in a cabin in the mountains of Virginia where there are bear warnings posted everywhere leaves little to do in the dark of night. So, we watched Season 1 of 24. Overall I've loved the show (except for Season 3 - that blew). We're finally almost caught up with the thing, having watched 4 out of the 6 disks of Season 5. With Season 6 starting next week, we'll have either caught up to finally watch them in "real time" or we'll only have to Tivo the first couple of episodes. However, I can't see what is going to happen in the new season because Season 5 is crazy. Great show though...

Even More Reds

Well, let's see what I can remember about these wines. First, we have Falasco Valpantena Valpolicella Ripasso Italy 2004. This bottle of wine, we received from some friends as a thank you for letting them stay in our apartment one weekend they wanted to visit NYC. We probably would have opened it then, but we were already drinking some white and decided to continue on in that vein. Anyway, my wife and I opened this the other night, and it was very nice. It's a lighter red from Italy without any big chewiness. Also, it started out with very little harshness that melted away as it sat in your glass. It had a lot of dark fruits and some licorice. The tasting notes I read say it goes well with meats, which is good since I had it with my own Italian beef stew. As an aside, RIPASSO has to do with the way the wine is made. It assumes the winemaker makes an amarone first: "Amarone is made with dehydrated grapes which have lost 30% or 40% of their juice. It is then pressed and that viscous liquid is put in barriques to age from 1 year to 18 months; with time the lees drop to the bottom and the wine is clear. After bottling the lees of the Amarone are kept in the cask which is then filled with Valpolicella. The new wine stays for about 3 months and the lees are still able to transfer aromatic elements to the new wine which becomes rounder and richer."
The other wine I wanted to put on here was another wine from Ruffino. It was Ruffino Il Ducale 2003. I had read some good things about this wine (mostly about its more expensive cousin Ruffino Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva Gold Label) and thought I would give it a try. Ruffino says that the grapes for its Ducale wines are grown in the most prestigious vine growing areas of Tuscany. Is it true? I really don't know. This wine is mostly Sangiovese grapes, with some Merlot (15%) and Cabernet Savignon (5%) added to it. It is a mellow wine, with some fruits, but with a hint of chocolate. A good, inexpensive wine. Personally, I enjoy the Ruffino wines, and this one was no exception.

NP: Baby's First Moves, Baby Einstein

Ringing In The New Year

Okay, so although my New Year's Eve plans weren't really exciting or anything, we did enjoy ourselves. A few hours before midnight, we broke into the champagne, because we weren't sure we were going to make it to see the ball drop. We decided to crack open one of the bottles we bought while we were in Paris. We figured why not have the Champagne direct from France. I carried this bottle out of France in my backpack into Newark Airport. It was Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut, Champagne. None of us really thought it was that great. I've actually had some of this before at my Champagne class, and I remember liking it then. This time it was dissappointing. I dont' know if we got a bad bottle, or something happened in storage, but overall, it was lackluster. What about it was so bad? I'm not really sure. My wife thought it tasted like apricots.
Anyway, after not enjoying our first bottle, we decided to open another when midnight came around. This time we had Perrier Jouet Grand Brut, Champagne. Now this was good champagne. Light and crisp and a little fruity. I thought this was a nice way to drink in the new year.

NP: Skulls, Misfits

2007!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS 2007!!!

I hope everyone had a great time on New Years this year. Personally, I worked and I have to be at work in a few hours again. But I saw the new year ring in with my wife and son, and couldn't have spent it in a better way.

Here's wishing everyone a great one.

Some More French White

Here's another bottle of French white wine we've tried recently. This one I got at Sherry-Lehmann's in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This store is great. The people are helpful, and they keep all of their bottles in a wine cellar, so you don't have to worry so much about getting a bad bottle. In fact, I've never gotten one there. This wine I grabbed as I was picking up some Champagne that I wanted to buy while it was on sale. This was something that was relatively inexpensive to drink with my dinner that night. It is the Louis Jadot Macon-Villages Chardonnay 2005. Overall, I remember citrus fruits and minerality. I liked it and would get it again. I keep trying to broaden my horizons on French wines.

In other drink-related news in my life, I had a scare when I thought my espresso machine bit the dust. I was decalcifying the thing when it suddenly stopped working. I thought I blew out the pump motor or something, but I guess it just overheated because after leaving it alone for a few hours it was working just fine again. I've gotten so used to having the thing, I wasn't looking forward to spending more money on a new one.

2 + 1 = 3

So... first James Brown died on Christmas Day and now Gerald Ford is gone. We all know celebrities die in threes. Who's next? Only time will tell.

Merry Christmas!

Well, half of this Christmas is over and we've had a really good time so far. Yesterday we went to my wife's family's homes and celebrated on Christmas Eve. In a little while we're going to celebrate at home with the baby (it is his first Christmas), and then we're off to my sister's for some holiday cheer.
I hope everyone who reads this has a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Merry F*&cking Christmas To You Too

Yesterday, my wife and I took her sister and her two children (along with our son) to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Tree. Her kids are 5 & 7 years old and had never seen the tree before. We thought this would be nice just before Christmas. They were really excited to go and loved seeing the tree. Besides for a sprinking of rain here and there, it was turning out to be a very nice day. After seeing the tree, we decided to go into Dean & Deluca to treat them all to some hot chocolate - I don't know if you've ever had the chance to have their hot cocoa... it's really really good, especially when mixed with seeing the Christmas Tree on a cool winter day. Anyway, we enjoyed our cocoa and snacks (I had a cupcake) and we decided to head back home. I was carrying the baby around in the Baby Bjorn (if you don't know what one of those is, check out the link) and got up to head out. As we were leaving the restaurant/cafe, this guy barged through the doorway past me and my baby pushing us both (he must have really wanted in). Well, I didn't take kindly to that, and I yelled at him. And you know what? Most people yelled back at me - like I was crazy to be mad that this dude (who was like a foot taller than me) pushed past me and my baby. The only people who agreed with me were the other people with kids. So, I fondly wished them all a Merry Christmas and went on my way. What I would have liked to have done was take a crap in their hot cocoa.
A nice Christmas message will probably be up tomorrow.

NP: Baby Santa's Music Box, Baby Einstein

Your Junk In A Box

The other night Justin Timberlake hosted Saturday Night Live. I actually didn't watch the episode, but I did see this clip online and I wanted to share it. I guess a censored version aired on TV, but this one is the original, uncensored version. Enjoy.

Franch Fries... Franch Dressing...

Over the past couple of weeks we've been delving into a lot of French White Wines. Astor Wines was having a sale on Loire Valley wines a month or so ago, so I went down to the Village and bought a couple different bottles of wine. Then, the other day, I stopped into Cellar 72 on the Upper East Side. They were having one of their many free tastings and I enjoyed the white they were showcasing. I bought a couple bottles of that for the company we were having over later that night.
The first of the three that we opened was Lucien Crochet Sancerre La Croix du Roy, France 2004. This bottle was listed as "textbook Sancerre" in Astor Wines. We had this one night when I decided it would be a good time to take a crack at preparing Skate at home. Overall, the meal was a success, and the wine went well with it. I remember it being very crisp with some limestone, citrus and grass. A nice bottle of Sancerre.
The second bottle we tried was the Philippe Raimbault Sancerre "Apud Sariacum" 2005. This bottle was opened up when a couple of our friends came by to visit our son and ended up staying for dinner. I really enjoyed this wine. In fact, I thought it was a better wine than the Lucien Crochet, which was a more expensive wine. This wine was very crisp, with lemon and lime on the initial tasting and finishing with a strong sense of tart apples.
The last bottle I'm going to talk about today is Vieux Clocher Vacqueyras Blanc 2004. This bottle I knew nothing about before entering the wine shop. I knew we were having people over for dinner and I wanted to grab a couple bottles of wine. I didn't know exactly what I was going to get , and after I tried this wine I thought it might be the one. The clincher was that it wasn't expensive, and that makes buying a couple of bottles much easier. I really don't remember too much about this one, except that I enjoyed it. It went down pretty easy, and went well with the variety of foods we had. I would get it again, and maybe the next time, I'll stay sober enough to remember more about it.

NP: Holiday In Cambodia, The Dead Kennedys

My Super Ex-Girlfriend Sucks Hard

Since there is now a pretty consistant lack of anything good to watch on television, we decided to rent a movie the other night. Unfortunately, we had the misfortune of picking My Super Ex-Girlfriend, starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson. I cannot believe Luke Wilson agreed to be in this piece of crap. I hope he was doing it as a favor to someone. After watching (well, suffering) through Uma's other crap-fest, The Producers, I am not surprised to see her in this mess (she should stick to drama), but Luke? For shame!
This really was one of the worst films I've seen in a long time. I believe that the concept could work, but in this case it just didn't. I really don't remember laughing once during the entire film. It just succeeded in making me angry that we wasted our time watching this thing.

Another movie we watched recently was Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Rocky Bobby. Firstly, this movie was not nearly as good as I had hoped it would be. Secondly, I laughed out loud many times, so it's all good. This movie is dumb and stupid, but it's also fun and I enjoyed watching it. Will Ferrell was his usual self, and his buddy (I forget his name) was pretty funny too. Also, the Borat-guy playing the Frenchman was pretty funny as well. All in all, a good movie to waste some time with.

NP: Visit, 311

Maybe I Shouldn't Care

Today I was shopping for some groceries with my wife in the local D'Agostino, and I saw this bottle of extra virgin olive oil by Rachel Ray called "EVOO." Rachel calls extra virgin olive oil on her show "e.v.o.o." It's one of her annoying quirks that makes me want to scream. I don't know if anyone out there reading this watches her show on the Food Network, but personally, I can't stand the lady. She's so freakin' annoying I want to reach through the screen and pull out her vocal chords so she'll shut the hell up. Also, if you watch her cook, she never washes off her meat when she takes it out of the package. I guess you don't really have to do this, but everyone I know does it. Why not Rachel Ray?
Anyway, I saw this bottle in the store, and I instantly felt annoyed that now, when I walk through my local grocery store, I have to deal with Rachel Ray staring at me from the aisles. Damn Rachel Ray...

NP: The Christmas Waltz, Frank Sinatra

Christmas Tree

Yesterday, we made our annual pilgrimage to the area in front of the Duane Reade, to buy our Christmas Tree. We've been buying trees from the same guys (who are from Canada) for the past 3 years. Unfortunately, every year, the price of trees has gone up. I remember when I first moved back to NYC, a tree was about $35.00. Now... well, let's just say it's a lot more than that. We actually had to get a slightly smaller tree this year to fit into our budget, and we still paid more than last year. Although, I did read in the paper that some trees in NYC were going for as much as $400.00! Crazy, eh?
We had decided that we would check out the real trees again this year, and if they were too much, we'd head over to Target and buy a fake one. This may have been the last year we could afford a real tree in NYC. Maybe the bubble will burst on tree prices next year.
We left the tree in the stand overnight and will decorate it tonight. You have to let the branches fully open up before you can start decorating. And we were really tired last night.
Hopefully everyone has a great Christmas this year (or whatever it is that you celebrate)!

Andy Pettite Redux

The Yankees have resigned Andy Pettite to a one year deal for $16 million (pending physical), with a player option for a second year. Overall, I'm very happy about this move. Sure, Andy's not the pitcher he used to be, and a lot of the concerns about his elbow have proven true, but I like him and am happy he's back on the team. I admit that some of my happiness is pure nostalgia for the years when the Yankees dominated baseball and Pettite was a big part of that. However, if he can be close to the pitcher he used to be, he'll be great for the Yanks. He's a lefty, which is important in Yankee stadium (and just about everywhere), and he's proven he can pitch in New York. I was one of the many who cried fowl when the Yankees basically let him walk out of New York three years ago. Let's hope he can bring some magic back to the Yanks. Now the starting rotation looks something like Wang, Mussina, Pettite, Johnson and Igawa (if they sign him). Personally, I hope they can somehow erase Johnson from the mix with either a trade/free agent signing/minor league promotion, but I doubt that'll happen unless his back prevents him from pitching.

NP: Phantom Of The Opera, Iron Maiden

Alternate Side Rules Are Not In Effect

Thank God for the Immaculate Conception. Today, I had planned on getting up and sitting in my car for 1 and 1/2 hours waiting for the NYC alternate side parking rules to pass. Basically, if you own a car in NYC and don't feel like throwing down another $400.00 a month for a parking space, you do what we do. If your car is in a spot with no parking from 9:00 am - 10:30 am on Tuesdays and Fridays, you can either go and look for a new spot or just sit in your car until 10:30. The spots are "No Parking" not "No Standing," so as long as you're in your car you won't get a ticket. The police may make you move - and you'll have to when the street cleaner comes by, but otherwise, it's an hour and a half of boredom to avoid a $150 parking ticket.
I used to grab some coffee and the paper and sit in my car listening to Howard Stern. However, since his jump to Sirius, I can't do that anymore. Now I'll either listen to whatever else is on the radio, read a book or bring my portable DVD player and watch a movie.
So, this morning, I got up, had my cup of coffee and was about to jump in the shower to get ready for a long morning in the car. Since I was at the computer, I thought I would check the alternate side parking calendar, just in case. And guess what? Today, alternate side rules are suspended because of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Nice!

In other news, I got my new Video iPod yesterday. My old iPod bit the dust (battery died) and luckily I had the 2-year Best Buy warranty. So, I upgraded to the Video iPod and just had to pay the difference in the cost. So far, I like it a lot. This is the second time I've had to use my additional warranty on an iPod. Of course I got it on this new one too (it's a 3-year one now - they don't offer a 2 anymore) just in case.

NP: Bonzo Goes to Bitburg, The Ramones

Movie Roundup (Typical Blog Title)

This weekend, we did what we seem to do all the time now, rent some movies. It was finally cold here in NYC, and we didn't want to bring the baby outside in all that. So, we picked up a couple of films. Over the past couple of days, we saw You, Me and Dupree, Scoop and Clerks II.
You, Me and Dupree is totally formulaic, but I enjoyed it. I still find Owen Wilson funny - I haven't gotten tired of his schtick yet. And Kate Hudson is nice to look at. All in all, a funny movie - especially towards the end. I think this one's great if it's on cable for free.
Scoop was a movie I really didn't expect to like. I think with Woody Allen flicks you can go either way - really funny, or a total piece of crap. I liked this one. I actually had a good time watching it, and I can't really remember thinking that about a movie in a while. The conversations are pretty funny, and the actors deliver them pretty well, with a little tongue-in-cheek. It's very easy to guess where the story is going, but I didn't seem to mind that.
I can't believe it's been over 10 years since the first Clerks came out. Getting old... Anyway, I wasn't really that excited to see this movie when it came out. Kevin Smith films have been on a steady decline over the years. However, I feel like he got some wind back in his sails with this one. It's totally crazy and gross, but that's what is so great about it. I laughed a lot with this one. And adding Rosario Dawson to the mix was a nice choice.
I would recommend all of these. They're all comedies, but all very different. Just make sure you're seeing the type of movie you want to.

NP: A Passage To Bankok, Rush

Meatballs and Chianti

Catching up a little with the wine selections. Last night we finished off a bottle of Il Poggio dei Vigneti Chianti, 2004 that we had opened a couple of days ago with another meal. Even after being opened for a bit, this wine retained its smooth texture without a hint of harshness. It has a dark, almost purple hue in the glass, and it has a nice amount of dark red fruit in it. I bought this bottle at Best Cellars for $8.00, and it's definately a steal.

Espresso

A couple of months back, I decided to splurge a little on myself and buy an espresso machine. I really wanted to get one of those ultra-modern-do-it-itself machines, but I don't have a couple of thousand dollars to spend on a coffee machine. So, I got the Breville 800ESXL. It normally goes for around $400.00 but I got in on EBay for $125.00 plus shipping (not bad, huh?). Anyway, this machine works great! I started to enjoy the occassional coffee in college, but have progressed over the years to the cup every morning type of person. Then, I progressed to loving really good coffee while I was in Italy. Stopping at a cafe and grabbing a shot of espresso.
At home, we had one of those older Krups machines that worked on steam pumping, but the espresso never came out the same. No crema on top. It basically sucked. Then I learned that you needed bar-pump pressure (at least 10 bars of pressure to make a nice crema). The search was on. I could never bring myself to spending the money on the dedicated espresso machine, but I couldn't hold back any longer. Now I've got my machine and I love it every day. It even takes espresso pods, which, although more expensive, make the whole latte making experience in the morning much easier when I'm sleepy. I like to get mine from Espresso Tiamo. I've tried a few brands so far, and right now, I still favor the Segafredo Zanetti brand - it never dissapoints. But a new one I've found is Lucaffe, which makes a great espresso as well. I tried the Illy brand too, finally throwing down the big bucks, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Ah well. To each his own, right?

Thanksgiving... Let The Holidays Begin

Yesterday I had a great day spending Thanksgiving with my family. We had good food and crappy wine. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I'm sick as a dog and I think I'm going to cough up a lung at some point. I've been filling myself with every cough medicine and homeopathic remedy I can get my hands on. I really don't want to get my son sick, so it's been a trying couple of days (I hear him crying now). Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Yesterday started the official "Holiday Season" kicked off by the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (or at least that's what they want you to think). Too bad it was so nasty out in NYC yesterday. I felt bad for all the parade-goers.

On a completely different note, we finally got all caught up in Lost. We had never watched it before, and a couple of months ago, we decided to rent Season 1. We were hooked. We DVR'd this season and watched until we caught up. Well... we finally made it. Of course now we have to wait until February for more! Ah well... I'm going to go make some coffee.

VH Reunion?

I can't really explain why I even check on these things anymore, but I do... I looked at the Van Halen Newsdesk today, and all over it were rumors that there was going to be a Van Halen tour this summer with David Lee Roth as the singer of VH again. Is it going to really happen? Who knows? Are people going to go see it? Probably more than who went to see the last reunion tour with Sammy Hagar, but I don't expect it to be the blockbuster tour this would've been had it been done 10 years ago. Personally, I'm not going to go, but I'd be interested in hearing new material.
Also in the news is that Michael Anthony is out as the band's bassist, and Eddie's 15 year old son, Wolfgang is in. At first I felt bad for Mike about this, but then I read that he chose not to come back. The band gave him an ultimatum - either play with Sammy or with VH. He took Sammy. I guess he was finally fed up with the VH brothers crap. Anyway... that's it for now.

NP: Play With Me, Extreme

Lots of Catch Up

So... I've not posted in a while. Having a new baby and working a lot will do that to you. Anyway... here are some things I've been thinking about.

A little over a year ago, we went on a trip to Virginia. Sort of fake camping in a cabin we rented, where we barbecued, hiked in the Shenandoah National Park and went into the caves. One other thing we discovered in Virginia is that there are a bunch of wineries down there. We visited a few, and found a couple that we liked. We ended up buying a bottle of Viogner at the Rappahannock Cellars and bringing it back home with us. A pregnancy followed and the bottle stayed in my wine fridge until last week. It was Rappahannock Cellars Virginia Reserve Viogner, 2004. The thing is, I didn't really like this wine we we decided to buy it. My wife loved it and I just got it to make her happy. But, you know what? I really enjoyed it this time around. It was a really nice bottle of wine.

Another food-related item we tried over the past couple of days was ice cream from 5 Boroughs Ice Cream. This is a New York City based company, and I thought the flavors sounded really good. I got the Staten Island Landfill, which is vanilla ice cream with brownie chunks, chocolate fudge, chocolate crunchies, and cherries and the South Bronx Cha Cha Chocolate which is spicy hot chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips. I really wanted to like these to help support the NYC company, but I wasn't crazy about either. The Cha Cha Chocolate was way too spicy, making it too hot to enjoy. And the vanilla in the Landfill wasn't creamy enough. Maybe I'll try the other flavors, but it wasn't as good as Ciao Bella.

Finally, one last food item (well, drink item), is a bottle of Bordeaux that we bought this past spring while we were in Paris. Last night we made some nice steaks on the grill and wanted to have a nice red wine with the meat. At first we were surprised how harsh the wine was, but either we got used to it or it just needed to breath. In the end, it was really enjoyable. It was Reserve Nicolas Cotes De Bourg, 2004.

One last thing is that the Yankees finally traded Gary Sheffield today to the Detroit Tigers for 3 minor league pitchers. They Yanks got Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett from the Tigers. Personally, I've never heard of these guys, although their minor league stats aren't too bad. But, they are minor league stats. Who knows if they will ever translate into the Major Leagues. I think the Yankees should have held out for more, but I think they were worried that if they got stuck with Sheff he would have become a cancer in the clubhouse. Ah well... There are still too many other things to worry about before Spring Training.

NP: We Care A Lot, Faith No More

Got Crabs?

The other night, we made some Alaskan King Crab legs. Mmm... they were really good. We ordered them from FreshDirect, and they didn't disappoint us. This was the first order out of the past 4 that they didn't screw something up, so kudos to them for finally getting everything right!
Along with the crabs, we opened a bottle of Groth Savignon Blanc Napa Valley 2005. This is by far one of my favorite bottles of white. We first tried it about a year and a half ago in New Orleans eating dinner at August. Since then, I've had a few bottles (always the 2004 variety) leading up to the most recent time. The wine has a nice crisp melon-y taste to it, with some citrus and a bit of creaminess. Overall, we think it's great.

Salute!

The other evening a couple of our friends came over to our place to meet the new addition to our family. While here, we opened up a bottle of Veuve Clicquot NV Brut Yellow Label. Always a winner, it went well with the little celebration we had. It's a classically dry Champagne with tiny bubbles and a nice yellow color. We've gotten a few bottles of this as gifts over the past couple of years and need to break them out every once in a while to make sure they don't go bad. Always a great go-to-bottle of Champagne, at least in my opinion.

Gnocchi

Tonight, my wife and I made these gnocchi (little Italian potato dumpling pasta) for dinner. They were pretty awesome. They're also a lot cheaper than buying them fresh in the supermarket. To make the pasta, all you need to do is add some water, roll it out and cut the little pieces. It was much easier than we imagined. A great dinner. The Ecco La Pasta website is here.

NP: Bleed The Freak, Alice In Chains

BABY!

Whoo-hoo! 8lbs, 1oz.

There's Always Next Year

Sine the Yankees lost the ALDS, there have been a million stories in the paper about changes to come in Yankeeland. What changes? Who knows... here are my thoughts on the idea.
Manager: Everyone seems to be calling for Joe Torre's head. The Yankees haven't won a title since 2000! Is it the manager's fault? Honestly, I don't think so. I think this is what happens with the team the Yankees have assembled. Do I think it's time for Joe to go? Maybe... I would be very happy if they kept him on as manager, but would a new voice help shake things up? You bet.
Coaching Staff: Personally, I don't see any problems here, but if Joe goes, who knows what'll happen to these guys.
Pitching (starting): Ugh... don't excercise Mussina's option. Dump Randy Johnson. Maybe keep Corey Lidle or Jaret Wright depending on who else is out there. Wang is great. Maybe lift Philip Hughes to Triple A next year with eyes of a mid-season call-up. What they need to do is find young pitching. Maybe a trade of a certain 3rd baseman will help in that area. Also, Barry Zito is still out there.
Pitching (relief): Overall, the final bullpen wasn't that bad this year. Mariano is still great. Proctor did a great job and was a little overworked. Myers also did pretty well and if Villone can grab is early season form, I don't think we're in too bad of a situation there. However, I wouldn't be suprised if there were a lot of changes again.
Catcher: Personally, I think Posada is still one of the best offensive catchers out there. Yeah, his numbers have declined in recent years, but his defense is actually improving. Who's going to be an upgrade? Not many out there.
1B: It's time to give up on Giambi/Phillips - and don't even talk about Sheffield. They need a real first baseman who can play the field and hit.
2B: Cano is great. No needs there. He's one of the few guys on the team who has a smile on his face every game he plays.
3B: I think it's time for A-Rod to go. I know many will think I'm jumping on the band-wagon, but it's time. He's never going to be loved here, and that affects his game. It's time we took him while he's still worth a lot and ship him off somewhere we can get pitching in return. Of course, he's got a no-trade clause, so... we'll probably be seeing E-Rod play 3rd base again next year.
SS: Jeter has the job. No needs there either.
Outfielders: An outfield of Damon, Abreu, Cabrera seems about right to me. Keep Bernie as your backup outfielder (who did a fine job in that role this year). Sheffield needs to go. Where's he gonna play? First-base? Also, you're wondering what about Matsui? Cabrera is a better fielder and the Yanks need his youthful optimism in the lineup every day. Make Hideki the DH and occassional outfielder.
DH: Matsui.

Well.. those are my thoughts going into the post-season. We'll see how they change by the time Spring Training is around. Now it's time to switch gears towards hockey. Let's Go Rangers!

Done

Ugh. The Yankees 2006 season came to a way-to-quick close today when they lost to the Detroit Tigers, 3 games to 1 in the ALDS. It was a crappy series for me, but I bet the people in Detroit (and probably most of the country) loved it.
This sucks.

One And None

The Rangers officially started their 2006-07 Season last night with a victory over the Washington Capitals. Jaromir Jagr was named the team's 24th Captain, and celebrated by scoring the first goal of the season for the Rangers - on the first shift of the season. Brendan Shanahan also scored a couple of goals, with Henrik Lundqvist doing a fine job in goal. Hopefully this is just signs of things to come.

Chianti Anyone?

Yesterday I went to Astor Wines in NYC because they were having 15% off of all Loire Valley wines. I figured I would go down and get some Sancerre, which is one of my favorite white wine varieties. I did get a couple of bottles from the Loire Valley, but I also grabbed a half bottle (375 mL) of this Chianti: Felsina Berardegna Chianti Classico 2004 DOCG. I was planning on making some steak for dinner last night and thought it would be a nice beverage to have with that. Also, the baby's still not here and my wife can't have a drink with me.
The wine needed some time to breath, but after giving it a chance, it was a pretty nice Chianti. Still a little on the harsh side, but not too bad. No too fruit forward with a little chewyness to it. Overall it was a nice little bottle, but honestly, not one I'd get again. There are too many other wines out there to waste on one I wasn't really happy with.

Heroes

Far be it from me to not talk about something that I like, and lately I've been pretty excited about this new television show, Heroes, on NBC. If you haven't seen it, it's about a group of people who find out that they have super-powers and what appears to be the inevitable destruction of NYC. So far, in the 2 episodes that have been broadcasted, we've begun to meet the characters and see as they discover their powers and begin to learn how to use them.
I don't know if NBC is doing this for their other shows, but if you go to this link, you can watch this week's episode online. Nice in case you forgot to watch or Tivo it.

NP: Live In Skin, Foo Fighters

Spain Fails (It's A First)

I've read a few reviews of this wine, so I figured I would give it a try. I didn't go in the wineshop specifically for this, but I saw it there and figured I'd pick it up. Naia Rueda Verdejo, Spain 2005 is not really my type of wine. I tried it with food and without and couldn't convince myself that I was enjoying this wine. It's a white wine from Spain which many people refer to as a Spanish Pinot Grigio. Personally, I don't think it's anything like a Pinot Grigio. It's very sweet and fruit forward, but too much so. I've also seen that it is good as an apertife, but it didn't work for me like that either. Just not my type of wine. Perhaps it was my bottle - I'd be willing to try it again, but only if someone offered me a glass. I'm not buying another bottle. There are too many other wines out there I like to spend my money on. I even felt there was a hint of rubbing alcohol to the aftertaste.
And I love Spanish wines... too bad this one didn't make the cut.

NP: D'yer Mak'er, Led Zeppelin

Terrific

Last night I brought a bottle of Pintoresco Tempranillo de Espana 2003 (yeah, I know the picture is of a 2002) over to some friend's place for dinner. It was great! It totally reminded me of all those bottles of wine I had in Spain or even France or Italy. It reminded me of the house wines or table wines we would get in Europe. Dirt cheap and really good. This wine was on the lighter side for a red, with some fruits and an easy finish. I really enjoyed it, and I plan on going back to Astor Wines and picking up a few more bottles to keep in the wine fridge for everyday drinking. Nice.

NP: I Walk The Line, Johnny Cash

MOTHERF@CK%R

Today, I went left my apartment building to go to the store. When I walked outside, I looked at my car which is parked directly in front of my building. It was fine when I left. When I came back, some little c@ck sucker keyed the side of my car. Son of a bitch!
I have some weird feeling that it was the bastards who park the cars for the parking garage a couple of buildings away. They tend to take up all of the spots on the block with cars that are supposed to be in the garage to be able to fit more cars and make more money. Where I'm parked is somewhere that they really like to use. (I wonder if the people who are paying them to put their cars in a garage know that they often end up on the street?) Anyway, they sit outside all freaking day and when I asked them if they saw anyone, they said no. Then they all ran inside. It's just a suspicion, but they are a bunch of ass holes, so I just assume it's them. F&ckers.

NP: Revolution Is My Name, Pantera

The Streak

Last night Derek Jeter's 25 game hitting streak came to an end. I was hoping that he would have gotten that last at bat in the ninth inning, but it wasn't to be. It's too bad too, because during that streak, Jeter's been awesome. Unfortunately we dropped three out of four to the Red Sox this weekend and prolonged the clinching of the American League East. Hopefully we'll do it over the next few games in Toronto.
As for Jeter, those who do not watch him on a regular basis may not understand, but he's a clear cut choice for MVP.

NP: Desire, U2