Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Dinner at Joe's

Being the Southern gentleman that he is, MCB invited me out for a non-Valentine's dinner earlier in February to Joe's in Venice.  Easy choice to go with the tasting menu, so we could try as much as possible.

I didn't take too many photos in the dark place, but here's a rough idea of what we ate:

1) Amuse Bouche
Clams

2) Hamachi Crudo
Navel Orange, Fennel, Ginger Vinaigrette

3) Maine Diver Scallop
Salsify Cream, Treviso, Wild Rice, Veal Jus

4) Toasted Farro
English Pea, Pistou

5) Veal

6) Coconut sorbet, lemon jello

7) Buttermilk panna cotta, chocolate ganache, toasted pistachio, pomegratate glaze and seeds
I could've eaten about 4 of these plates.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Music, Food, Bikes, and Sky

Marketa Irglova came to town a couple weeks ago, and boy, am I glad that Liz and I went to see her at Hotel Cafe.  I'll admit that sometimes during Swell Season shows (I've seen them about 9 times in 6 states, but I'm not a stalker), when she was alone on stage, I maybe got a little bored.  And when her new solo album came out, I half-heartedly gave it a single play and put it on the back shelf.

But you know how you see a live show and something sparks and there's magic and it all becomes alive?  Marketa's charm is part of the fun, and her album has been on repeat ever since.  Go pay a few bucks (or not) and get her live album on Noisetrade.

Remember her Oscar moment from 3 years ago when their thank you speech got cut off, but Jon Stewart brought her back out?
A few days later we had our next meeting of the Century City  Lunch Society.  This time a couple other girls showed up, so it wasn't just me and a handful of dudes.  Not that I'm complaining.  We tried Cilantro, which was pretty darn tasty.  Shrimp and beef tacos always hit the spot.

Mike gave us a tour of his offices after lunch; he's got a pretty sweet view of LA.  Mostly clear that day.  I'll have to go back after a good rain, when visibility is great.  

One afternoon I drove over to Highland Park to interview a student who had applied to Georgetown.  The sky was ridiculous on the drive home.  I took a million photos.  Don't worry, I was mostly going 5mph.  



A new Turkish restaurant opened in my neighborhood.  There were a couple things on the menu that they didn't have (like manti and apple tea), but it was pretty good.  The Turkish family who runs it was really nice, and it was full of other Turks.  Sorry, Sehmus from Selcuk, I might have to find another Turkish boyfriend.

I've been to Amoeba about every week for the last month.  Cause it's great.


One Saturday, Kirsten and I drove down to the OC to hang out with Jami.  First up, I tried paddle skateboarding.  I didn't look as cool as this guy, but it was pretty fun.  Harder than it looks.  Jami had access to a bunch of bikes, so we biked from Huntington Beach down to Newport and Balboa.
The Santa Ana River

Lunch at Big Belly Deli.  The 6310 sandwich was pretty intense.    
On to Balboa.  



Goal for 2012?
There's always money in the banana stand.  




The fact that I can do that in February makes life a little more awesome.  We should do this once a month.  






If I Could

I would get married in this dress.

Milla looked amazing.  I would love a closet full of Elie Saab gowns, even if there was nowhere to wear them.




Monday, February 27, 2012

Life According to my iPhone

Inaugural Century City Lunch Society meeting.  Me + 5 guys - excelente.  The ramen wasn't bad either. 
Stuff I didn't buy a J Crew
Super Bowl party prep
The best salsa I have ever made.  I almost drank it.
Garage in Venice


Vegas - fascinating, icky, and sorta beautiful from this angle.


Lunch at 800 Degrees.  Like the Subway of pizza. Order your pizza, add your toppings, it's ready for you at the end of the line.  

Raspberry Diet Coke + $6 pizza = pretty good lunch


I. am. freezing.

Musical Monday

Old favorite Greg Laswell has a new album out soon - yay!

Sara Bareilles sings on this track - get it free here.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Phoenix - Take 2

Back in January....

Second trip to Phoenix in a matter of weeks.  I had to fly back for a meeting or two with a VP who was coming in from NYC for the day. I'm happy that American started flying the LAX - PHX route so I can enjoy my elite status perks, even if the planes are so small that there's no upgrade option.  The only downside - taking the little bus to the satellite terminal.  It's like these planes are last place out of all the planes in the world.  I should be used to it though; DFW -FSM is my little plane route back home to Okiehoma.
The pilot said he'd been getting reports of some turbulence, so he was going to have the flight attendant stay seated for the 54-minute flight.  Well, we took off and nothing was happening, so the drink service started.  And suddenly, the bumps started and got terrible!  Right over that pass in Palm Springs where all those windmills are.  And it was terrible until we landed.  I was sure our little plane was going down.  I realize that's not possible, but it was the worst flight I've been on in a long time.  I am really starting to hate flying.  I always pray a lot on flights - maybe that's supposed to teach me something?

I was super glad to be on the ground.  Megs picked me up and we went straight to LGO with Chantal.  Corn, basil, goat cheese pizza is soooo good.  And of course I got half-Gladiator, too.
Dessert from the grocery.  
I spent the rest of the night eating cake and working late in preparation for meetings all the next day.  There were some nice clouds and mountains along the drive into the office.  I kinda miss that little commute.  It's much harder to catch up on podcasts when you don't have a daily drive.  


For dinner that night, Meghan and I decided to try Tuck Shop, which is fairly new in Phoenix, set in a delightful little neighborhood at a lovely traffic circle intersection.  If I ever have to live in Phoenix again, I want to live there.
The place is tucked away in a house, complete with a living room for lounging and some good books.  I'd be a regular, no doubt, if I still lived there.  We started off with homemade ginger ale (very gingery!) and lemonade.

We started with grilled baguette with a roasted garlic bulb in olive oil, then mac and cheese with prosciutto, skipping the lobster addition.  There's no ocean near Phoenix.
The highlight was the lamb meatballs with spaghetti squash.  Super delicious.

Things quickly turned into a girls night.  See what we picked up at Target?  I'm excited about that new lipstick.  
On Friday I went into the office for a few hours, but my trusty sidekick, Robert, once again came through with corporate tent tickets to the Phoenix Open.  Four years running, we had to go again.  I skipped out for the rest of the afternoon to see some golf.  This really is one of the best sporting events ever.  Beautiful day, free food, great people watching, and some golf claps thrown in. 


I lost my rental car in the enormous parking lot for about 20 minutes.  I knew I'd gotten off the parking lot shuttle bus in the right place, but I was still lost.  I wasn't even in range of using the clicker!  Whoops.  Once I found it, quick shopping trip at the mall with Chantal (she did all the buying, I did none!) and then it was time for dueling pianos at The Big Bang with King, Annie, Chantal, and Jeff.  


I flew home on Saturday morning, and thankfully that flight was smooth as could be.  If it wasn't, I was going to seriously consider Greyhound for my next trip.


2023 Recap

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