A quiet day today. I walked over to “That Little Mexican Cafe” on Davis for lunch. Decent fish tacos, sturdy chips, very mild salsa. In the afternoon I walked down to a wine shop called Vinica that’s just a block beyond Whole Foods. Nice shop, but not much in the way of high end wines. At Whole Foods I bought ingredients to make Smoked Salmon in puff pastry. It didn’t turn out that great, although Dani was loyal.
Month: June 2010
All The World’s a Stage
Today was pretty quiet, working at home. I walked up to the Theatre and Interpretation Center to exchange some tickets because Dani wants to go to a drama in Chicago this weekend. On the way home I dodged a troop of kids being shepherded on bicycles (there seem to be a lot of kids’ activities in town and at Northwestern) and swung past Whole Foods to get ingredients for several dinners. Tonight I made shrimp and pasta primavera, which turned out pretty good.
We’ve been trying to puzzle out who’s who in Dani’s Shakespeare picture, All The World’s a Stage, by James Christensen. I finally gave up and opened it up to extract the key. Linda bought the signed print for Dani when we visited Shakespeare’s birthplace.
Central Street
Today I went on a five mile walk, up through the Northwestern campus to North Beach and the lighthouse, then across Central to a charming area of shops. I stopped at Mustard’s Last Stand by the stadium for a hot dog. Central Street is a lot more like an old downtown than Main Street was. There’s a stationery store, a gelato and espresso place, a gourmet shop and a wonderful smelling store called The Spice House.
I walked back to the “real” downtown Evanston and bought the makings for Coq Au Vin at Whole Foods. It takes six hours in the crock pot. I hadn’t made it before, but it turned out well.
Herbs and Flowers
Another big thunderstorm this morning, but then it turned into a beautiful day.
Our herbs, planted just a week ago, are doing well. The dill is in the lead, although the basil was the first to sprout. The sweet marjoram is far behind. The dill, about two inches tall, was really leaning toward the light; Dani turned it and in less than an hour it had bent back the other way.
We received a package of flower seeds from Linda and I planted them in the planters on the balcony. If I can remember to keep them watered, we’ll see how fast they grow.
Main Street
Dani and I walked down to Main Street, about a mile south, and explored. We found an impressive rock shop, Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop, that had what must be a multi-million dollar fossil collection / museum in the basement. We had a good lunch at a Japanese restaurant, Kuni, and stopped at a delightfully dusty old used book store, Book Den, before picking up some groceries (not the good-for-you organic kind they have at Whole Foods) at Jewel, and walking home.
In the evening we went to what I thought was going to be a play, the first in the Northwestern summer series. But it turned out to be a jazz concert by Luis Rosen and Capathia Jenkins. Dani and I both enjoyed it, and we bought two of their CDs, which they signed. Dani liked South Side Stories for its storytelling, and I liked The Ache of Possibility for its jazz chords and bass riffs.
Afterward, we went to the Celtic Knot for a late dinner. It’s one of the few places in Evanston that’s open after 10pm.
Toy Story 3
I fixed Dani’s network today by installing an Apple Time Capsule. Speed increased from 200kbps, to 20Mbps. Now video is usable.
We saw Toy Story 3, which is the funniest and most moving of the Toy Story movies.
A good dinner at Davis Street Fishmarket, a two block walk from the condo.
iPhone 4, Part 2
Today was iPhone 4 launch day. Dani’s and mine showed up in a box shipped from my office, because they came a day early but I couldn’t get them sent here. I must say the new display, at four times the density of the old one, is impressive. And it will be nice to have a useful camera.
We had lunch at a new, inexpensive sushi restaurant that is only a block away. It’s called Sashimi Sashimi. You order at the counter, but they make it to order. It’s probably the best sushi in town.
I made teriyaki chicken and grilled brocollini on the barbecue for dinner.
Burgers and Bolts
This morning started out rainy, but by noon it had cleared up enough for me to make a run to Whole Foods to pick up chicken breasts, corn on the cob and ground chuck to give us a choice for dinner. While I was out I grabbed a Chicago dog at Wild Dogz. A Chicago dog has mustard, relish, dill spear, tomato wedges and sport peppers on a sesame seed hot dog bun. Not bad.
Burgers, corn in the husk and baked sweet potatoes for dinner, barbecued during a heck of a lightning storm. It went on for hours, giant bolts striking the lake just offshore, and up north of the campus. It’s weird that there’s no thunderhead to go with it, just overcast or torrential rain.
Evanston Handyman
I spent most of the day waiting for UPS to deliver my box from Orlando and some things I ordered, then went to Whole Foods while Dani’s chemistry tutor was here. Of course, as soon as I left the boxes came. One of them was a rack for hanging kitchen utensils, which I installed near the barbecue.
On my walk I also swung past World Market, where Linda will be delighted to learn I found the discontinued poultry seasoning she loves.
Evanston Errands
A very busy day. After seeing Dani off to the first day of chemistry class, I rearranged the pantry and fixed some shelves in the laundry, knocked apart the old table on the porch and threw it in the dumpster.
I walked down to Davis and over to the other side of the tracks to the Turin Bicycle shop to get a bolt to fix Dani’s bike. Next door I bought some decent wines at Evanston 1st Liquors. (They have an amazing beer selection, but city code doesn’t let you mix and match bottles, and I don’t want six of anything.) Across the street, at Lemoi Ace Hardware, I bought a washer to try to complete the repair, but I think I’ll need to go back and get a lock washer, too.
On my way back I stopped at Lulu’s Noodle Shop and had a delicious bento box and black currant iced tea. I also stopped at CVS for cleaning supplies.
Back at the condo I cleaned the shower (so you know it must have been bad) and the sliding doors.
Then I walked up onto the Northwestern campus to Norris to deposit some money to Dani’s account for her tuition. I noticed that her old dorm now has air conditioners, but also that there is major reconstruction going on next door.
After some computer time, I walked down to Whole Foods to pick up some lamb chops, Moroccan seasoning, and tropical fruits for dinner. I was looking for flowers or plants to put into the planters on the balcony, but it looks like that will have to wait for a trip to Lowe’s.
Whole Foods doesn’t carry many diet products because they use artificial sweeteners, so I was a bit skeptical when I selected a bottle of Galeos Miso Caesar dressing. It turned out to be the best bottle of Caesar dressing I’ve every tasted! It has almost no calories, since it contains no oil, yet it has a rich, creamy taste, with lots of lemon and garlic. I won’t be making my own Caesar dressing anymore!
Tomorrow will be quieter, because I have to wait for some deliveries.
Father’s Day in Evanston
We headed to the airport this morning to fly (on Southwest Airlines) to Midway Airport. The flight was slightly delayed, but was very quick. In fact, because of some kind of traffic tie-up it took almost as long in the limo (actually a Ford SUV) as the plane. The driver finally gave up on the freeway and drove over to Lakeshore.
Dani spent the afternoon studying chemistry for her summer intensive that starts tomorrow, and I spent it setting up her iMac to be just like mine at home and work. Thank goodness for Dropbox and Mobile Me.
Lunch was sourdough bread and epoisses from Whole Foods, and dinner was Falafel at Pomegranate.
Lighting Pad Redux
I released LightingPad to the app store today. Ryan put in the save cuelist feature, which works great. We’ll see how long it takes to get approved.
All packed and ready for the trip to Evanston.
Harry Potter and Tchoup Chop
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened today at Universal Studios (although the ever-reliable CBS News reported it was Disney World). It uses our HD uncompressed video players for Forbidden Journey, what is now the world’s best theme park ride (besting former title-holder Spiderman, at the same park). There were massive crowds, but the opening was a success, which is great news for Universal, which has had a history of rocky openings.
Completing our busy week of wining and dining, we had a California wine experience dinner at Emeril’s Tchoup Chop tonight. I don’t know if it was Harry Potter that scared them away, but only ten of twenty people showed up, so there was plenty of wine. The most inspired match was a 1995 Littorai Mays Canyon Chardonnay with pineapple upside down cake.
A Day of Wining and Dining
I spent eight and a half hours eating and drinking with Ron and Bev today! I really don’t know how they do it. The occasion was a visit by Allan from Hart Davis Hart, a wine auction house in Chicago. We began with lunch at Capital Grille, and then went to The Bull and Bear at The Waldorf Astoria for dinner with Linda and Dani. There were some excellent wines, but the stunner was my 1934 Clos du Roi, one of those magical old Burgundies that only seem to come along once very few hundred bottles. The wines:
Capital Grille
Ron, Bev, Bruce, Allan from HDH, Andres Montoya from Wine Barn
98 Laville Haut Brion
Tight chalky stone wax toasty citrus flowers melon vanilla candy
96
2006 Aubert Ritchie Chardonnay
Butter citrus acidic
Not as good as the last bottle I had
92
1969 Nuits St Georges Bouchard Pere & Fils
Cherry dried flowers, fading, didn’t stand up well against all the young wines
89
2000 DRC Echezeaux
Fruity mushrooms dried roses
93
1977 BVGDLTPR
Fruity caramel earth coffee
I don’t think anyone else liked this, but to me it’s what BVGDLTPr is all about
98
1995 Leoville las Cases
Tight tannic
89
1982 Lynch Bages
Fruity vanilla soft
92
1981 Ridge Montebello
Youthful, chewy, excellent fruit and structure
97
Bull & Bear
Ron, Bev, Allan from HDH, Linda, Dani
1993 Haut Brion Blanc
Rich, buttery, chalk, licorice, violet, mineral spirits
98
2000 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet
Lemon, silky
93
2006 Ramey Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay
Butter, oak
95
1934 Clos du Roi Chanson Pere & Fils
Great color, Mineral spirits, bacon, cherries, earth
It’s been a while since I’ve had one of these magic bottles. This is why we have cellars.
98
1934 Corton Maison M Doudet-Naudin
Vanilla, sawdust, acidic
90
1970 Ch Mouton Rothschild
Youthful, gravel, coffee, mint, greens
93
1978 Ch Margaux
Figs, coffee, tight, feminine, coffee, mushrooms
94
2001 Chateau Suduirat
Honey, citrus good acid
95
Allan from HDH provided me with a list of good restaurants in Chicago and New York:
Chicago restaurants
Schwa
MK
Kiki’s bistro
Spiaggio
Les nomads
Topo lobampo
Blackbird / aveck
Nomi at the peninsula
Customs House
New York restaurants
Veritas
L’express 24 hr bistro
Ryan at Bern’s
We drove to Tampa for dinner with Ryan and his family, who are visiting from the UK. Ryan will be here for two weeks of training, but I’ll be in Chicago then, so I wanted to meet him before I leave. He and his family seem very nice, and were suitably wowed by Bern’s Steakhouse.
iPhone 4, Part 1
It was quite frustrating today trying to upgrade to the iPhone 4 because, due to an error in the ATT servers, it was pretty much impossible to order, until all the launch day units were sold out. I will be so glad when Apple’s exclusive deal with ATT is over.
Update: It turned out the orders did go through. Days later I got confirmations that the ATT orders I placed would ship for launch day, and that one of two units I tried to order through Apple would be at the store in Skokie.
Experimental AuGratins
Victoria & Albert’s
Linda booked our transatlantic cruise on the Crown Princess, which completes arrangements for out September trip to London and back. Cabins B723 and D211.
Tonight we try out the new Victoria Room at Victoria and Albert’s, which serves the Chef’s table menu in our favorite room.
Azteca
Dani is home! On the way to the airport, Linda and I stopped for lunch at Azteca, which has excellent seafood cojeta.
Habibi
We received some good press today for our exhibits at the InfoComm show in Las Vegas, including a video that the press posted on YouTube featuring my LightingPad app.
For lunch, Audrey and I went to a new Lebanese place called Habibi, in the Publix shopping center across from the office. The vegetarian platter was excellent.
This food picture was edited with Color Splash, which let me convert the tray to black and white, to make the food stand out.
OLV
Audrey and I had lunch at OLV in SoDo. It’s a neat little sandwich shop and wine bistro with BLT sliders and chevre salads.
Dominus
Linda’s Yellow Dog Eats BBQ Short Ribs
Linda is making her special short ribs recipe, and it smells wonderful. The secret ingredient is BBQ sauce from Yellow Dog Eats.
Ingredients
- 1 large sliced onion
- 3 – 4 lb. pot roast
- Beef rub
- olive oil
- 1/3 cup Beef stock or water
- 3/4 cup V8
- 1/ cup Yellow Dog Eats BBQ Sauce
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 large packet Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix
- 3 tbsp Worchestshire Sauce
Preparation
- Brown onion in olive oil, set aside
- Dust pot roast lightly with flour (optional)
- Add more oil to pan if needed
- Sear roast on both sides with beef rub sprinkled on until light brown
- Create sauce from remaining ingredients.
- Place beef in oven safe pan or crock pot, cover with onions and sauce, cover.
- Bake 8 hours at 210 or crock pot on low.
Aji Sushi
Linda had to work tonight, so I went up to Aji Sushi in the Winter Garden Mall and sat at the sushi bar. It was busy for a Monday night. I’ve always gone at lunch on the weekend, and never sit at the sushi bar.
The Last Coyote
Wine Syndicate at Ocean Prime
Tonight is our Wine Syndicate group’s get together. This is the first time the group has met at Ocean Prime, and we have a private room booked. We’re having trouble scheduling times that don’t conflict with everyone’s (especially my) travel schedules. So tonight is the last meeting until September. This is an unofficial event, so there are guests coming, and rather than drawing wines from the group cellar, we’re each bringing our own flight. I’m taking three 1982s, one from France, one from Italy, and one from California. They’ll be served blind, so we’ll see how people do with their guesses!
Followup: best wine was Ron’s 1982 Grange, 99 points.
HD Binloops
Had a very interesting telephone conference today. We discussed the specs for a new HD reproducer card that would meet their requirements for a high def Binloop that could output 4:2:2. We have a potential IP core, but they’re asking for an order for 1000 at $1400 each to turnkey it for us. A big commitment, but we could resell it for $3500.
Also exciting was that it seems they will relent and let the parks replace their video servers with standard def Binloops that can only output 4:2:0. If we can help them convert their video, and support the protocol, that could be a lot of units.
LightingPad
Fondue
Rock & Roll
A busy day back at work after the long weekend. Last month was the first time we broke $800K in a month. This month looks good, too, with a proposal out for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that specifies $220K of our gear.