The Great K-Fed Swindle

So... back in the day, Britney used to be hot. Everyone loved her. Her songs went to Number 1 and her CD's sold millions. Despite the occasional stumble (Crossroads anyone?) she was always able to pick herself up and move along. Then Kevin Federline came along. No one could understand what the hell Brit was thinking. He slid in out of nowhere (I would be completely amazed if anyone out there had ever heard of him before he started dating Britney Spears) and hooked himself up with one of the most popular and wealthy stars around. His future was looking bright. He used up tons of her money to attempt to become a recording artist, and another immense amount partying with his friends in Vegas. All the while, he was fooling around with one of the hottest people in showbiz. Of course, we have all been witness to the decline in Britney's status (all the way down to what some may refer to as "fugly"). But that only made Kevin party more and spend more of her money. Now, after he got her knocked up twice and has basically sent her to the nuthouse, he's out. Kevin Federline and Britney Spears finally had their divorce finalized. Kevin gets $1 million and only partial custody of the kids (who will live with Brit). He's out and he's rich. Sure, some may say that $1 million doesn't get you that far in today's economy. But this guy got to screw around with the girl everyone wanted, and when she got all nasty, used and bald, he got $1 million to leave. It's almost as if he planned it this way all along. Got to hand it to the boy; if it was planned, he's smarter than any of us gave him credit for.

The Sanjaya Paradox

For those of you who don't watch American Idol, there's this kid, Sanjaya Malakar, who's striking fear into the executives at FOX and the producers of the hit show. Basically, this kid stinks, but he keeps getting enough votes each week to move along in the show. He's not even getting into the "Bottom 3" of vote-getters. He's a rock in this thing. Meanwhile, singers with exponentially better voices are getting the boot. Some feel that his continued success is due to the website votefortheworst.com, while others blame Howard Stern's plea to his viewers to vote for Sanjaya. Whatever the reason, the kid's winning. (Of course, some people out there love him, as witnessed by that little girl who was crying in his presence a couple of weeks ago.)
I guess the big problem is that if this musically challenged kid wins American Idol this year, it basically destroys any credibility the show has developed for being an avenue to find truly talented people in America and turn them into recording artists. However, here's where the paradox lies: If Sanjaya wins, I think it's confirmation that anyone can make it if they try, and this should only encourage more people to audition for American Idol next time around. It would make more people want to be in the show and have a greater interest in the show. This, in turn, could lead to higher ratings and more money for FOX. So... it could very well make the thing more popular while simultaneously destroy all of its credibility (and lose Simon Cowell in the process, who has said if Sanjaya wins he's going to quit). Nice.
The other thing I find interesting about this whole mess is the way the judges (Randy, Simon and Paula) are dealing with it. Every week they have these flabbergasted looks on their faces after he performs and then look dumbfounded when he doesn't get voted off. However, what they never seem to want to remember is that they are the ones who put him in this situation in the first place. They love to remind everyone how it was "America" who voted off Jennifer Hudson and not them. They realized her talent and put her on the show. You don't see any of them taking responsibility for Sanjaya.
(Personally, I can't stand this kid anymore. I used to think he was a nice kid and I wanted him to do well because of that. However, I can't stand listening to him anymore. He's so freakin' bad.)
Go Sanjaya!

NP: The Inch Worm, John Coltrane

Cafe D'Alsace

This weekend, we decided to treat ourselves by having our nanny work late on Friday night so we could go out for dinner by ourselves. We love our baby, but sometimes you need to get out and remember what it's like to be an adult.
We went to a new French restaurant in our neighborhood called Cafe D'Alsace. We didn't want to go too far on the first night she had to put our son to bed in case there were any problems. This is the newest restaurant by Simon Oren. He owns a bunch of different French restaurants throughout the city that focus on cuisines of specific regions of France.
I liked this place right away because the decor reminded me of actually being in France. However that feeling was somewhat dampened by the music choice in the restaurant. I don't know how often the Bangles are played in France anymore...
Anyway, we opened up our meal with a couple of appetizers. My wife had the Tarte Flambee, which is a white cheese, onions and bacon tart, and I had La Moelle, which is bone marrow served with toast and salt. We also both had a glass of wine at that point. We each had the Chateau L'Ermitage, Listrac-Medoc, Bordeaux 2003.
Our main courses broke down like this: I had the Baeckeofe, which is a traditional Alsatian casserole of lamb, oxtails, bacon & potatoes braised in pinot gris w/ onions & thyme, and my wife had the lamb shank. Both were excellent. With my dinner, I moved on to a glass of Pinot Noir, Cote de Beaune Villages, Roux Pére & Fils, Bourgogne 2004.
From there we moved onto dessert, where we shared a Creme Brulee and I had a Cafe Au Lait to end things out.
It was a very nice meal and we had a good time. But it was nice to come back home and see our son too.

Thirstade Powder

I remember back in the day, it was commonplace to see Gatorade Powder mix in the grocery store isles. Of course, that was a time when Gatorgum was everywhere and the only three flavors available were Green (lemon-lime), Orange, and Red (fruit punch). Now there are 51 flavors of Gatorade, including weird crap like Gatorade AM and Gatorade XTremo Mango Electrico (which, I assume, is supposed to appeal to the ever-growing Latino population in the U.S.).
Anyway, yesterday I was in my local Gristede's getting a couple of things when I spotted some canisters of Gatorade Powder on the shelves! I know I shouldn't get so excited about such a stupid thing, but I grabbed a cannister of Lemon-Lime before someone else came by and took them all away. I don't think they were left-overs from the 1970's, but even if they are, I don't care. Now I can make myself a cool glass of Gatorade whenever I want.

Bourne Ultimatum

Today I watched a little of Matt Damon filming a scene for his upcoming movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. They were/are filming in Manhattan (I think they're still filming now, but I was with my son, and he decided it was time to come home) on the East Side. 76th Street and Second Avenue to be exact. Unfortunately, I didn't get to witness any cool action shots or fights. Basically I saw Matt come out of a store and walk very briskly with a concerned/constipated look on his face. So... from what I can tell, it may be a movie about Jason Bourne's search for a bathroom and some laxatives.

NP: Far Cry, Rush

Sciacchetrà!

I was finally able to locate some Sciacchetrà in the United States. (To be totally honest, I did find a bottle once a couple of years ago, but it was over $150.00 and I wasn't too sure I wanted to spend that much on a bottle of this stuff then.)
I found that K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco just got a case in of Arrigoni Sciacchetrà 2003, Cinque Terre Italy, so I decided to order a couple of bottles. They came in a week or so ago, and the other night we opened one up to see if it was how we remembered it. Now this isn't the same producer of the one we had while we were in Italy, but beggers can't be choosers I guess.
It was great. It's got a nice amber color, and it's warm and smooth. There are flavors of caramel and orange, and it reminded me a little of a tawny port without the nuttiness. All in all, worth the wait, and it gave us a little reminder of our honeymoon.

NP: Pilots, DramaGods

DramaGods

The other day, I stumbled across the new band by Nuno Bettencourt while looking for something on YouTube. Nuno used to be the guitarist for the Boston-based band Extreme. After he quit that band, he started a new group called Mourning Widows. Apparently that group didn't work out. So... Nuno moved on to form a "group" called Population 1. The full-length CD by Population 1 features Nuno on all instruments. When he decided to play some live shows, he put a band together which includes Joe Pessia on bass guitar, Steve Ferlazzo on keyboards and back-up vocals, and Kevin Figueiredo on drums and back-up vocals. They put out an EP called Sessions From Room 4. I guess there were some legal issues with their name, so now they're called DramaGods, and they have a CD called Love, which came out last year, available on iTunes.
Watching some of their videos and live clips made me remember what an awesome guitar player Nuno is. I don't think I've ever heard any of these groups before. In fact, I kinda forgot Nuno was making music. I'm kind of digging it.


Something About You



Megaton

Magic Man

Recently, we've watched both The Illusionist and The Prestige. You know, I can't remember the last time there was a movie out about a magician, never mind two movies. But here we are. Two movies about magicians/illusionists out in the same year. And both had very good casts. I saw The Illusionist first, and if I had to choose, I would probably say that this was the better film. It really had me fooled throughout the entire movie. Edward Norton was fantastic as always, and this movie has Jessica Biel. However, I think I enjoyed The Prestige more. Sure, I had about 90% of the plot and surprise twist ending figured out halfway through the movie. I didn't care. This movie was sicker and more twisted than The Illusionist. Because of that, it was more fun and enjoyable. Better story? Nope. But I guess I don't really care.

NP: Crash Course In Brain Surgery, Metallica

Drunken Holiday

Today we had to go to see our accountant for our 2007 taxes (our stuff is way too complicated for me to do it by myself anymore). As many out there know, today is St. Patrick's Day. A day to pay honor to one of the Catholic Church's more well known saints. It's also a day where a ton of people decide to get stone cold drunk. Our accountant's office is on 5th Avenue, just south of the parade route. So, after our meeting, we were lucky enough to share the streets with all of the drunken revelers. It was 1:00 in the afternoon and there was a girl literally sliding sideways down the wall of a building as she slurred drunkenly towards me attempting to take my picture (why? don't ask me). Not that I haven't taken part in getting hammered on St. Patty's Day in the past, but now I just find it all sort of one of life's many amusements.
Oh, and by the way, our taxes weren't nearly as bad as I had feared. Irish eyes were smiling on us.

Pinkberry

My wife had been wanting to try this place since one opened up near our apartment on the Upper East Side. From what she told me, it was a supposedly really good and hip Frozen Yogurt place that had its roots in California. Word was that the stars line up for this place on the West Coast. So, today we tried it. And you know what? It sucked. And it wasn't just me who thought so. My wife decided she never needs to go back there, and I heard more than one "this is crap" uttered from other patrons. It's crappy plain (or green tea) frozen yogurt with a variety of toppings (from fresh fruit to Fruity Pebbles). The thing it reminded me most of were those old frozen yogurt pops by Dannon in the 1970-80's. At least those had Buddy Hackett pitching them. I see no redeeming value of Pinkberry. It just blows.

Oscar Worthy?

Hmmm... I'm sorry that I have to say this. My wife and I watched The Departed last night on DVD, and although I thought it was a great movie I really don't think it was Scorsese's best. I still haven't seen all of the movies that were up for Best Picture this year, so maybe among the crop, this one stood out as the best. It just sort of makes me sad that Scorsese finally won his Oscar, and it was for this. Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Taxi Driver... all better. I could go on with the list... I'm very happy that Scorsese finally got his Oscar. I think it's great. I just really think he deserved it sooner, because I think this year's win was more a "lifetime achievement award" rather than a true win for this film. Well, that's my opinion anyway.



NP: Pull Me Under, Dream Theater

Waste Of Time And Money

Yesterday, I had to go downtown a bit to do some errands. While I was there, I decided to stop in this wine shop called Vino. It sells only Italian wines from around the old country. Anyway... I decided to get a couple of things. One was at the recommendation of the shop-guy, and the other was something I had wanted to try. The recommended bottle was Tenute del Portale Aglianico del Vulture Riserva 2000, Basilicata Italy. This wine is made from the Aglianico grapes, which are grown in volcanic soil. This supposedly gives the grapes more minerality and spice. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know, because the wine was totally heat-damaged. So... I've got to go back to get a refund/exchange. The second bottle we opened last night was the other one I bought there. It was Conti Zecca Cantalupi Riserva 2002, Pulgia Italy. I guess the "legal" name of this wine is actually Salice Salentino Riserva, and it's made from the Negro Amaro grape. The wine is described as having some leather and spice aromas and flavors. Well... to me it tasted like you were drinking a leather coat. Not enjoyable at all. So... we struck out with the wine last night. After having two crappy bottles, we switched to water instead. What can you do?

Captain America... Dead

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, is dead. Killed off in the Marvel Comics Universe by a sniper's bullet (well... 2 bullets). I was never one to get into the whole Captain America thing, but I find it somewhat disturbing that he's dead. Maybe it's because he was a fellow New Yorker (born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, living in Red Hook, Brooklyn) or maybe because of all the symbolism. He appeared during WWII, when the USA was on top of the world. Now he's gone in 2007. Who's next on Marvel's hit list? Beta Ray Bill?

It's A Cold Day To Be A Millionaire

Holy crap was it cold today. It's freakin' March and it's still 1°F outside. It looks like it's going to stay cold out in NYC until the weekend, when we'll move on to more reasonable weather.
Tonight's MegaMillions Jackpot is $370 Million. Good luck.

UPDATE: Well, I didn't win the MegaMillions. Too bad, too. Because I could've really used $370 Million. Maybe next time.

Dancing With The Devil

More wines... more wines... I was really busy this weekend, working 12 hours a day for 4 straight days (finishing on a Monday, which blows) so I didn't get much time to do anything but work. Tonight, however, we relaxed with a nice dinner and some wine. We had Casillero del Diablo Carménère 2004, Chile. This wine is made up of 85% Carménère, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Syrah. We've had this in the cellar for a looong time, and I thought we'd bust it out tonight. It had some nice flavors of chocolate, plum and some spice. I also felt it was kind of earthy. It did have some nice acidity at the end - almost too much, but not quite. A very nice wine that my wife enjoyed a lot. You can check out the Casillero del Diablo website here.
Another wine we had somewhat recently was a bottle of Le Causse Vin de Pays D`oc Sauvignon Blanc 2005, France which we received from my wine club in January. We were really excited to try this wine since the first bottle from the club was so good. Unfortunately, this one wasn't up to snuff. It's not bad, it just didn't excite me. To be honest, if almost tasted more like a Chardonnay than a Sauvignon Blanc. It was almost too fruity to be a Sauvignon Blanc.
Finally, there's one more wine we've had recently that I haven't mentioned. It was Blanc Slate Jean de Lupfen Pinot Blanc which I ordered with my groceries through Fresh Direct, but you can also get from Best Cellars. This is a very nice wine, that we really enjoyed. It's a little more fruity and floral than I usually like, but it went well with our meals and is really easy to drink. This is a great wine to have around for those who don't always like to drink wine.

NP: Rollin' On, Black Stone Cherry

Jeter Joke

This year's Topps' Derek Jeter baseball card has a special touch to it (and it's not a stick of gum you can actually chew.) Someone thought it would be funny to Photoshop a picture of George W. Bush into the stands behind Jeter (and if you look closely, you can see that George's left arm has been hacked off) and Micky Mantle holding a bat in the dugout. Overall I think it's pretty funny that the company let it through.

NP: Turn Up The Radio, Autograph

Rats!

I don't know if this made news in other parts of the country, but it's big here in NYC. A Taco Bell/KFC in the West Village of NYC has been infested with rats who appear to come out at night to play after the fast-food restaurant chain has closed. The only problem is that everyone walking by can see them frolicking throughout the place. A ton of complaints were made, and it was on the news last night. Here's a clip showing the rats at play.

Tapas Feast

Tonight we had a couple of friends over for dinner. They wanted to come over, hang out and see our baby. Unfortunately for them, they arrived just as we put our son to sleep. Luckily for them, I had prepared a Spanish tapas feast for dinner. I made chorizo in red wine, string beans with pine nuts, mushrooms sauteed in garlic, tortilla de España, chicken in lemon and garlic and spicy shrimp with chili and garlic. I have to say, they all turned out pretty damn good. We had a fun night, and now I'm really full. We finished it all off with some nice Tiramisu cake our friends brought over.
With the meal I decided to serve both red and white wine, depending on your preference. Interestingly enough, my wife and I both had the red, our guests had the white. In retrospect, I wish I had tried the white. The red was a bottle of Finca Luzon 2005, Jumilla Spain. I've had this bottle for months in my wine fridge after reading some nice reviews of it. The reviews were correct. I thought this was terrific, and went very well with our meal. What's also nice is that I've seen it for as low as $5.98 a bottle in some stores. (I also used this wine to cook my chorizo.) The wine has a dark ruby/purple color with lots of blackberry and cherries. It has some acidity, but also very little harshness. I think this could be a great everyday wine at its price.
Unfortunately, the white didn't fare as well. After our guests had left, I decided to try the white since I hadn't had any with dinner. Well, whatever was left is now down the drain in the sewer system of NYC. I'm assuming the bottle was corked because it was bloody awful. For the record, it was Las Brisas Blanc 2005, Rueda Spain. I went to the wine shop today for some Spanish whites (I have a bunch of reds already) and the wine guy offered up some wines. To be completely fair, this bottle was not his first choice and I did also purchase the one that was. However this was the one we opened. I got a couple of different labels because I think it's fun to try different wines with a meal instead of grabbing a couple of the same thing. Anyway, a review I found on line for this wine says: "Intense, youthful nose of grapefruit, lemon and pepper. Delicious, with medium body and a penetrating finish." All I got from this wine was ass... lot's of ass. Again, my wife and I both think the bottle was corked, but we feel bad because our guests never said anything. They both drank a glass of this crap and said nothing. I guess they were too embarrassed to say anything. Next time, I have to remember to try what I'm serving.

NP: Mexico, Incubus

Seamless...

Last night, my wife and I had decided we weren't hungry after a late lunch and we weren't going to have dinner. Of course, an hour later we were starving without anything in the house to eat. So... like all good New Yorkers, we decided to order in. However, I hate dealing with people (store people, not people in general), especially on the telephone. So, I decided to try something new. Seamless Web. This is a website where you can order from different restaurants online and they deliver it to your door without ever having to speak to anyone but the dude who brings it over. You can even include the tip online so you don't have to deal with it later.
We ordered from this place Wrap Star on the UES. All in all, everything turned out very nicely. Of course, something had to get screwed up, and my wife didn't get the wrap she had ordered. However, when I looked over the menu this morning, the wrap she got doesn't seem to exist. I'm a little confused about that. I got the barbecue chicken wrap, and my wife got the mystery beef wrap. I don't blame that mix-up on Seamless Web, but on Wrap Star itself.
Seamless web delivers in Manhattan, Hoboken, Jersey City, Boston and Washington DC. (Why am I listing these? Not to sound like and ad, but because I have friends in all those cities and maybe they'd like this too.)

On a totally different subject, I tried to get my friend Mike tickets to see the Police at the Meadowlands in August. I got some e-mail from Best Buy that gave me a code to get pre-sale tickets from Ticketmaster this morning. I figured I would buy them for him, etc... of course when I tried to do it at 10:03 am (tickets went on sale at 10:00 am) there were no tickets available. I'm sure this was just for the alotted presale tickets, but come on...

NP: Hell Yeah, Neil Diamond

Continues To Impress

I love the show Heroes. I think it has proven itself to be one of the most fun, interesting and compelling shows on television this year. Maybe it's because I was a comic-book-geek growing up and I still enjoy sci-fi, but I feel like I haven't seen an episode that hasn't left me excited for next week's. Hopefully the show will continue to grow like this. Although I wonder how long of a story arc they have written in for this show.
Another show I watched this week which kind of blew was American Idol (the Tuesday night show). Here we got to watch the so-called Top 12 Male Contestants. I have to say that I thought most of them were boring and blah. Hopefully the girls will be more exciting or I can see that number 1 rating dropping down a little bit.

Too Much Drama

So, let me say that I am a huge Yankees fan. I was very excited that Spring Training is underway and soon we're going to have some more baseball. Actually, I'm still excited. I think the Yankees can do a lot this year. Sure, there are a lot of questions surrounding the pitching staff, but I like our chances.
What I don't like is the drama surrounding this year's training camp. Sure, the Yankees always have drama, but this year it feels more like a soap opera. Where's Bernie Williams? Jeter and A-Rod aren't friends! Just play baseball...

For the record I think the Yanks should have given Bernie a guaranteed contract as their 25th man. I don't think they should be wasting time/space with a first base platoon. I think the Yankees are the only people left out there who truly believe Andy Phillips is going to be a quality major league player.

Anyway, the 2007 lineup should look something like this:

CF: Johnny Damon
SS: Derek Jeter
RF: Bobby Abreu
3B: Alex Rodriguez
DH: Jason Giambi
LF: Hideki Matsui
2B: Robinson Cano
C: Jorge Posada
1B: Doug Mientkiewicz / Andy Phillips

RHP: Chien-Ming Wang
LHP: Andy Pettite
RHP: Mike Mussina
LHP: Kei Igawa
RHP: Carl Pavano

RHP: Mariano Rivera

Not bad... so let's play ball.

Did I Say Free?

The other day we were in CVS getting a couple of things. When I was checking out, the lady at the register asked me if I wanted to try the new CVS hand sanitizer. Our conversation went something like this:

Register Lady: "Would you like to try our new CVS Hand Sanitizer? It's free."
Me: "Free? Sure I'll try it."
Register Lady: "Great. That'll be $1.79."
Me: "What? I thought you said it was free?"
Register Lady: "I did. But it's $1.79."
Me: "Well, forget it then. Why did you tell me it was free?"
Register Lady: "I don't know. It's not. It's $1.79."

So... what the hell is up with that? Damn lying CVS check out ladies...

Le Boire Et Le Manger

This past week was my time to cook some French dinners. Well... if you consider twice enough times to consider it a whole week. Anyway, earlier this week, we decided to make a nice dinner of French onion soup and croque monsieur (which would be the exact first meal we had in Paris). The soup actually turned out terrific and I'm planning on having it again for lunch today. The croque monsieur was very good too, but I thought the soup was better. I had wanted to get a bottle of French Pinot Gris to go with this dinner, but my shopping options were limited and instead I bought a bottle of King's Estate Pinot Gris 2005, Oregon. I was very pleasantly surprised with this wine. When I was in the store and asked for a Pinot Gris, the wine-guy was like "well, we have the King's Estate," with an inflection like I should have known what he was talking about. Although I am trying to learn about wine, I know very little. I did know that Oregon made some good Pinot Gris, however, and figured I would give it a try. As I expected, it was a little more fruit forward than I had wanted, but it was still an excellent bottle of wine. It's got some fruity and floral scents with a lot of different fruits in the taste (citrus, pear, peach) and a little vanilla. The wine has some acidity, but not too much. I would buy this wine again.
Then, last night, I decided to make a Cassoulet. This is something I have been wanting to make for a while and have finally gotten around to it. We ate a cassoulet in Paris once and we loved it. So, I decided to try and make one at home. To be honest, it turned out terrific. Of course, the recipe made enough food to feed a small army, but I guess left-overs are always nice. For this meal, I went back to a wine I've enjoyed before - E Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape 2001. A little less than a year ago, I enjoyed a half-bottle of this while my wife was pregnant. I loved it so much, I went out and bought a full sized (750mL) bottle for us to share someday. I don't know if it was the particular bottle or just the wine aging over the year, but it wasn't exactly as I remember it. It was still fantastic and went very well with our dinner, but I remember it having more spice. This time it was a softer wine with more lush feelings. Still great though.

NP: Photograph, Def Leppard

Oh, Starbucks is giving away free t-shirts on this website: mystarbuckstshirt.com
It's happening every day until February 28th starting at 10:00 am PST (1:00 pm EST) until they run out for the day.
(You know... I've tried this for a couple of days and haven't gotten a shirt. The site says they run out quickly and to check back at 10:00 am PST the next day. I've done that and they are always out. I saw on another site you need to check at 7:00 am EST. Maybe that's the trick. Good luck if you're trying to get one.)

WTF?

You know... Britney Spears used to be the object of desire of so many guys (and some girls) across the United States. Now she looks like this. It's all really kind of sad. I know she crossed the line over to fugly a long time ago, but it just keeps getting worse. Now she's gone and shaved her head. Soon she's going to be drinking the magic kool-aid waiting for the aliens to come pick her up for a ride into outer space.

The Rock

I don't know why this show isn't doing better than it has been in the ratings. It's nowhere near the crap-fest that Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is. Alec Baldwin is genius on this show, and everyone else is just plain nuts. I think Tina Fey's writing is great. It's one of the few shows on television that gets us laughing out loud. Sure, the page-boy character gets a little old at times when they feature him too much, but overall, this show is a lot of fun.

NP: All Right Now, Free

Jean Jean And The Evil Cat

This is an animated short that used to be featured in the Spike and Mike Twisted Animation Festival.

Best Laid Plans

Today has been a day of screw-ups and inconveniences. It all started this morning. We had to take the baby to the doctor today to get his shots. My wife was going to go to work late - we were going to drive over to the doctor's office and then she was going to drop us off back at home and she was going to head to work. Well... I've been working the past couple of days and have had no time to do anything "around the house." Unfortunately, that means no one dug out our car after the snowstorm. Between the snow, people shoveling out their own cars, and the NYC plow system, our car was buried in a block of ice. Really. The street side of the car was walled in by a 2 foot thick 2 1/2 foot high wall of grey ice. The front and the back weren't too much better. The sidewalk side wasn't too bad (I could at least open the back door). So, instead of going with them to the doctor's (my wife and son went via NYC cab), I stayed behind trying to dig out the car. Mayor Bloomberg decided that the snow was gone and re-instituted alternate side of the street parking today. Therefore, I needed to at least try and get my car out to avoid the $150 parking ticket. I worked from 8:30 until 10:30 and unless you knew what it looked like when I started you would think I did no work at all. After that, my wife got back with the baby and I had to come back in to take care of him (haven't settled the new nanny situation yet).
Then, I had planned on getting some work done from home, but the baby got his shots today and was extra cranky. I got the work done, but it took me all day.
Finally, my FreshDirect order arrived (over 1 hour late). In this order, I got one of their ready to cook meals. You see, they send you everything (some even in ready to cook packaging) and in like 20 minutes, you've got a nice home-cooked meal (theoretically). Unfortunately, the vegetable "hobo" pack had a hole in it that I didn't notice. So, while it was in the oven, the butter in the pack basically poured out into the oven causing a nice grease fire on the bottom of my oven. The apartment was filled with smoke, we had to open all the window to air it out, and the baby got even more upset. I think I've salvaged the meal, but the "easy" part of it is all gone.
So... my wife is feeding the baby and putting him to sleep and I'm writing this. Soon we'll eat. Hope everyone else is having a good day!

NP: Stuffy Turkey, Thelonious Monk

Taking A Look Back

Today I decided to go back to my teenage years and search YouTube for some Anthrax videos. Anthrax was the first band I ever saw in concert back when I was 13 (or maybe I was 12). It was during the Among The Living Tour. They recently reunited that lineup for a reunion tour. I would have liked to have seen a show, but what can you do? They were going to make a new CD will those members, but now Joey Belladonna is out again, and so may be Dan Spitz. Ah well, here are some videos for you.

Caught In A Mosh, Live 2005:


I Am The Law, Live 2005:


Antisocial:


Indians:


Got The Time:


Madhouse:

Snow In NYC

Today's Valentine's Day for all of you out there. Today also has the first real snow of the year in NYC. I was actually surprised this morning when I woke up and looked outside the window. There was snow on the ground! I know all the reports were saying "snow snow (some rain) snow," but I didn't believe them.
Remember years ago, when there'd be a ton of snow in New York? Maybe? Well I do. I remember playing in the snow all the time as a kid (and there were mountains of it). Now, one tiny little bit of snow (it looked like 1-2 inches to me) causes a lot of havoc. Scary, eh? Global warming appears live and well to me. Of course, this picture is from the "Blizzard of '06" so... who knows? I just think it used to snow a lot more often in the past.


NP: Informer, Snow

More Wine, More Wine

Hmm... I've got some more wines to write about. Once again, I try to write about the ones I either really liked (so I can remember them when I go back to the wine shop) or the ones I really didn't like (so I know what not to buy next time). Today, I am writing about three. One I really enjoyed, one was somewhere in the mid-to-high range, and the last I may or may not ever get again.
First, let me start with one I really enjoyed. This was Domaine Beranger Pouilly-Fuisse Georges Duboeuf France 2005. I went to the wine shop (Total Wine in River Edge, NJ) looking to buy some more of a wine my dad got me for Christmas. However, when I found their supply was limited to only one bottle of that particular wine, I decided to browse a little and stock up on things we were missing. I wanted a nice chardonnay (because we've been enjoying whites lately, and I had no Chardonnays in the fridge) and this one sounded nice from the review in the store. I really don't remember what we ate with this wine, but I loved the wine itself. It was buttery with some vanilla and a little fruit in there. A tiny bit of acid, but not too much. To me, it felt like a great example of a French Chardonnay, and not too expensive, either.

Another wine I bought while in this store was L'Anima Negroamaro 2004 Puglia Italy. A few months ago, we received a travel magazine that spotlighted this part of Italy (the heel of the boot) and I've been dying to go ever since. It just looks fantastic. Anyway, I've also wanted to try some of the wine from this area as well. There's actually one wine in particular I've read some nice reviews on, but they didn't have it here. They did have this bottle for a fraction of the price of the one I was looking for, so I gave it a shot. Overall, we really enjoyed this wine although we had to warm up to it. Some of our hesitation was probably due to the wine's need to breathe. It smelled very sour at first, but after a few minutes that seemed to fade away. The wine has some blackberries, herbs, and some blueberries. It's not a harsh wine and feels very soft. We had it with both past bolognese and a lamb pot roast. It worked well with both.

Finally, we had a bottle of Hopper Creek Ranch Chardonnay Napa Valley, 2004 the other night with some friends. My friend made crispy red snapper (which was terrific) and this is what the wine-guy suggested. (He also suggested a white bordeaux, but we never got there, so I'll try that one another day.) I enjoyed this wine, but I didn't love it. It went nicely with the meal, but I didn't feel like it added anything special. Everyone else seemed to love it, so maybe it's just my tastes. It was more of a crisp chardonnay without any oak-ness or vanilla. It was more fruity than I expected.

NP: The Wonder Pets, Noggin

You Ever Wish You Just Bought It?

Back on our honeymoon, we stopped for three lovely days in the region of Italy called Cinque Terre. This is a series of five coastal towns in Liguria, all connected by a hiking path and a small train system. They were mainly fishing villages back in the day, but over the past few years they have become more of a tourist spot. The entire region is known more for its food than its wine. They have a ton of lemons, great olive oil, pesto sauce and tons of fresh seafood. If you had to pick a wine out of this area, it would have to be the white. I remember on our first day there, sitting on a bench by the water, eating pizza and splitting a bottle of Scogio Bianco... it was very nice. We actually brought a few bottles home with us. 2 of the Scogio white and 2 of the red (which was not half bad). What we never brought home was a bottle of Sciacchetrà. This is a dessert wine from this region, which I've since learned is one of the most rare of Italian wines. There were a whole bunch of these in the local shops while we were there, but we were too stupid to get one. Since that time (2 1/2 years ago), I've been searching, but haven't yet been able to find any. So, if any of you happen to be in Italy and see a bottle, snag it for me.
Thanks!

Love It

So... when I first got a free sample of this coffee from EspressoTiamo.com, I was a little scared. The logo and artwork isn't exactly what I would call PC. Not that I'm one to be full of political correctness, but come on... Those damn Italians (hint: I'm Italian).
Anyway, I cracked open the espresso pod (yes, I can't be bothered tamping my own espresso - the pods make life so much easier), and I've been hooked ever since. This company makes the best espresso. I love waking up to it in the morning. Sure, I continue to try others and look around to see what I can find, but I'm very happy with my cup of Lucaffe.

White Trash Por Favor?

So, I found this video on YouTube today. White Trash was a band that came out in the very early 90's. They were a mix of cheese metal, funk and ska. I think they were teenagers when this video came out. It's from the band's first album, White Trash. There was a second album called Si O Si Che? but only the singer was the same. Two members of White Trash (the bassist and drummer) went on the form the group Hash, which also only had one CD. Anyway, I've always enjoyed these guys. The song version on the video is different than the CD though. It's slower and there's some weird backing vocal track. Anyway... enjoy it.

Oh yeah, the video is for the song Apple Pie .

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.