Author: steve

London

We’re off to London for a few days before heading out of Southampton on a twelve night wine cruise. This was Linda’s first experience with the airline beds that recline all the way, and they certainly make a difference; we both got about five hours of sleep, and arrived in London already on schedule (although the afternoon nap always helps, too).

Linda claims the food on Delta was the best she’s had on a plane, but I skipped it, except for the salad and pumpkin soup (which I admit was exceptional). We were lucky to make our connection in Atlanta. The only reason we did is because the receptionist in the Delta lounge bumped us to an early flight out of Orlando. Unfortunately his attempt to bump our luggage failed, and it didn’t show up until after dinner.

We used Eddie Manning Limo to pick us up at the airport. We’re traveling with Audrey and Emilio, and Martin, none of whom have been to London before, and the three parties all had different planes distributed between two airports. Eddie was able to react to a 5-hour delay and put another limo on the job with just one email. I used them before and will use them again because they’re so accommodating.

I’m very impressed with our hotel. It’s The Sanctuary House in Westminster, just south of St. James Park. The rooms are spacious by London standards, and everything is brand new or freshly painted. The only downside is extremely creaky floors. For $240 a night it is a steal. We had lunch in the Fuller’s pub downstairs.

Before dinner we showed our friends how to use the underground by taking a ride from the conveniently close St. James Park station to Embankment, and from there walked up into Covent Garden and through the theatre district. The area around Leicester Square has become quite the casino district now that you don’t need to be a member to go into the casinos. It’s lit up like a mini Las Vegas.

Our destination was l’Atelier, one of our favorite restaurants in the world. Because of our large party (and possible our inability to dress for dinner, having no luggage) we weren’t able to sit at the counter, but instead ate upstairs in La Cuisine, which offers the same food but without the interaction with the people behind the counter. The multi-course tasting menu and matching wines were superb, and everyone enjoyed the three-hour experience.

After dinner, Audrey and Emilio were more than ready for bed (as they were the ones with the five hour flight delay) but Martin was game to stroll back through Piccadilly Circus and have a midnight Champagne cocktail with us at a trendy looking Italian restaurant and bar.

On Wednesday we met at 11am and headed for the British Museum. Near the museum we found a little Korean place called Han Kang that had good reviews and indeed we had an excellent lunch.

The British Museum was just a few blocks away, and we spent a pleasant three hours looking at dead people and the things they used to own.

After resting up back at the hotel it was time for the evening’s entertainment. The underground stairs are hard on Audrey’s knee, so she and Emilio took a cab to the Victoria Palace Theatre, but Linda and Martin and I walked, a pleasant half mile stroll.

Billy Elliot is one of my favorite shows, and it’s better here in London than anywhere else. Great, as always. It was fun for Martin to see how much better a show is in its original theatre, and a treat for Audrey and Emilio to experience it for the first time.

After dinner we took a cab to Kensington to an Indian restaurant we like called Zaika, where a snippy receptionist informed us that because we were 15 minutes late the kitchen was closed. I guess it would have been the bum’s rush anyway, so we instead had a nice dinner at the nearby Strada Cucina Italiano, a well-disguised member of a massive chain that is much nicer than the website suggests.

A busy couple of days to start off our trip, but we’re on-schedule and ready for more.

 

Epcot’s 30th Anniversary

Jim, Martin, Jeremy and I visited Epcot to celebrate the 30th anniversary on October 1, 2012. The park was crowded, but not insanely so. There were lots of people there wearing vintage Epcot shirts, so it was rewarding to see the fans turning out to support their park.

We went on quite a few attractions, resulting in mixed feelings.

We started in Seas, which wasn’t there 30 years ago. Certainly the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk are big improvements over the original Seas Pavilion.

Next up was Land. The boat ride is probably the most unchanged of all Epcot attractions, and reminds us that originally the idea of Futureworld was to educate. We skipped Soarin’, which was already pretty much sold out for the day, and which I despise. Its popularity baffles me, and I miss Kitchen Kabaret.

Then we went on Imagination, where Jim and I spent so much time. The original ride is completely gone, and its replacement was so bad it lasted less than two years. The current version merely sucks. Depressing.

The food and wine festival just started, so we drowned our sorrow in some wine, beer and cheese soup (not mixed).

The film in Canada is good, an nice improvement on the original. It’s now hosted by Martin Short, and seems a bit more heartfelt. They were smart in retaining the original song, which has been nicely re-recorded.

We tried to attend a 30th anniversary rededication at American Gardens, but after the seventh mariachi song we were driven out. What was that all about?

Before going on Norway, we decided to go on Mexico, because it makes Norway look good. And before going on Mexico we decided to have tequila, because it makes Mexico look good. Should have had more, not good enough.

Then it was back to American Adventure. I was delighted to see the show has been perfectly maintained. In fact, it’s only the second time I can ever remember seeing all the effects work. It was terrific, and the crowd was very enthusiastic. It’s bittersweet to see Steve Jobs in the film montage.

Then we met Linda at Tokyo Dining for a leisurely dinner. Linda had been to a private lunch at American Adventure, which she said was quite nice.

After dinner we met up with the WDW Celebrations group, which was having a private dessert party. It was rewarding to discover how many of the 150 or so members had read my book, and I wished David Green, my co-author could have been there to share the round of applause when I was introduced. After chatting with a couple of fans we headed to the Isla in Italy for a special Illuminations show that included a segment in honor of the 30th anniversary.

It was nice to see Disney making a big deal out of Epcot for this anniversary, as they had ignored it in previous years. The park still looks great, even if some old favorites are gone. Hopefully they’ve learned a lesson from DCA, and we’ll see a return to quality in future attractions.

Luma

Ron and Bev hosted a dinner at Luma for Allan Frischman, in town from Hart Davis Hart. Also in attendance were Keith and Parlo, and Andres and Paula. Linda had early construction site meetings all week and couldn’t attend.

Because the downstairs was booked, we met in a narrow private room in the corner near the kitchen. It’s separated from the restaurant by a beaded curtain, and was perfect for our party of eight.

Chef Derek really hit it out of the park, with the best food I’ve had at Luma. They should put some of this stuff on the menu. Highlights were the ceviche, pork belly, flounder and filet.

My raw notes:

NV Jacques Selosse Champagne (Ron)
Caramel, Creme brûlée 98

1982 Dom Perignon (Andres)
Nutty, burnt sugar, 97

2006 Ch Grillet (Keith)
Grilled pineapple, butter, spicy oak, smoke, nice acidity, 95

Chick pea soup

2001 Leflaive Batard Montrachet (Ron)
Huge floral nose, passion fruit, resin, pear, chalk, butter, 94

Snapper ceviche

1947 Lafleur Petrus (Ron)
Port-like, pickled vegetables, cherry peppers, a bit sweet on the finish, 95

1959 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse (Steve)
Camphor, slightly corky, lean, gravel, curry, spices, 92

1982 Ch Montrose (Keith)
Mint, tight, 94

1982 Ch Leoville Las Cases (Keith)
Chalk, tannin, corked, no score

1986 Lafleur (Ron)
Big, tannic, tight, a bit short, 94

Deep fried pork belly, soft boiled egg, pickled artichoke – amazing dish

1961 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection
Balsamic, redwood, soy, 92

1985 Heitz Martha’s (Keith)
Big, tannic, meaty, dust, sweet, eucalyptus, 95

Arugula goat cheese and fig salad.

1947 Château Drapier & Fils Richebourg Chevalier d’Or (Steve)
Mint Forrest, sweet fruit, forest floor, damp earth, mushroom, spicy, sweet, cherry, beef bourgignon, cigar, 99

1964 Leroy GE (Ron)
Very youthful, iron, bright cherry fruit, hay, good acid, 97

2007 Bonnes Mares Comtes Vogue (Allan)
Bright cherry, warty, balanced, nice, vanilla, 90

Sweet potato ravioli (agnolotti), cauliflower

Crispy flounder on forbidden rice

1995 Rayas ( Ron)
High alcohol, huge fruit, really young, cigar, cedar, acidic, vanilla,  cinammon, iodine, sea shells 96

1995 Ch Beaucastel CDP (Keith)
Barnyard, earthy, manure, extremely tannic, high alcohol, 88

Thin sliced filet mignon on truffle mashed potato

2001 CDP Tardieu-Laurent (Andres)
Big, sweet, cigars, smooth, tannic, smoke, long, 95

1968 d’Oliveiras Boal Madeira
Perfect balance, citrus, brown sugar, caramel, 95

Peterbrook chocolate mousse

2001 Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Sparkling Rose (Andres)
Yeast, raspberries, peppery, very effervescent, great acid, 92

1990 Ch Suidiraut (Ron)
Phenolic, soft, medium dark color, a bit off balance, recorked in 2005 (why?) 86

1985 & 1985 Bordeaux

Every year Hart Davis Hart hosts a comprehensive Bordeaux retrospective, and this year’s event focused on 1985 and 1986 Bordeaux. HDH pulled out all the stops, with two bottles of almost every notable wine, including the first growths. There was also a lovely buffet of nice charcuterie as accompaniment.

With only 90 minutes to sample more than 40 wines, there wasn’t time for elaborate notes, but I did jot down scores in the nicely done notebook provided. My general observation was that the 1985 vintage was better than 1986 for nearly all the wineries, with the 85s still having great structure, coffee and other complex earthy aromas, tannins that will allow them to continue to age, and yet still plenty of fruit. The 86s, on the other hand, mostly seemed soft and thin, with some fruit but little structure. Too bad I have more of them than 85s in my cellar!

This event was infinitely more professional and enjoyable than the 1986 Bordeaux event we attended in New York. At that event I felt like the bargain wine was the 1986 Ch. Talbot, and I still felt that way as far as the 86s at this event. It’s not the best, but for the price it’s excellent.

However the 85s were far better, and the clear standouts to me were the first growths, with Mouton, Latour and Lafite at the top, and Haut Brion and Margaux lagging. A surprisingly weak pair from La Mission Haut Brion. The best buy is Lynch Bages, which I rated near the top first growths.

My scores:

Margaux

1985 Ch. Margaux 92
1986 Ch. Margaux 93

1985 Ch. Palmer 93
1986 Ch. Palmer 89

1985 Ch. Rauzan-Segla 94
1986 Ch. Rauzan-Segla 87

St. Estephe

1985 Ch. Cos d’Estournel 88
1986 Ch. Cos d’Estournel 90

1985 Ch. Montrose 87
1986 Ch. Montrose 85

St. Julien

1985 Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases 93
1986 Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases 93

1985 Ch. Loeville-Barton  89
1986 Ch. Leoville-Barton 86

1985 Ch. Gruaud Larose 92
1986 Ch. Gruaud Larose 89

1985 Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 86
1986 Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 84

1985 Ch. Talbot 90
1986 Ch. Talbot 93

Pauillac

1985 Ch. Latour 98
1986 Ch. Latour 92

1985 Ch. Pichon-Longueville, Lalande 94
1986 Ch. Pichon-Longueville, Lalande 88

1985 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild 99
1986 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild 94

1985 Ch. Lafite Rothschild 98
1986 Ch. Lafite Rothschild 94

1985 Ch. Lynch Bages 97
1986 Ch. Lynch Bages 95

Pessac Leognan

1985 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion 91
1986 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion 91

1985 Ch. Haut Brion 92
1986 Ch. Haut Brion 94

St. Emilion

1985 Ch. Cheval Blanc 95
1986 Ch. Cheval Blanc 92

Pomerol

1985 Ch. Trotanoy (corked)
1986 Ch. Trotanoy 89

1985 Ch. Certan de May 89
1986 Ch. Certan de May 90

 

Tru

Five years ago Dani and I visited Tru while on her college tour, and we had one of the greatest meals of my life. But then a year later Linda and I returned, and had seven courses of glop in a bowl. So we hadn’t been back. But after a comprehensive 1985 and 1986 Bordeaux retrospective tasting, Tru was just a block away, so we decided to give it another try. Good call. It was another of the greatest meals I’ve ever had, beautiful in its presentation, and with incredible, often unexpected flavor combinations that worked so well they seemed obvious in retrospect. And the matching wine pairing was creative, off-beat, and perfectly matched to the food. Tru has been restored to my list of the US’s top restaurants.

Amazing raw scallop course, and a Glass of Madeira.
Seriously, this was the best shellfish dish I’ve ever tasted. perfect scallop, thinly sliced, with flavors of cilantro and umami.
Alaskan Halibut in coconut broth.
Chicken with black truffles, floating above a log and forest floor detritus.
In addition to the floating chicken, there is also asparagus with crispy chicken skin and foie gras.
This is how all fruit rollups should be served. The clothespins are less that a half inch long.
Tru doesn’t monkey around with dessert.
The menu. The red Greek wine served with the chicken was particularly noteworthy, combining the character of fine Bordeaux with bright cherry bark notes.

Masala Chickpea Burger Recipe

Dani made these vegetarian hamburger patties that were actually better than regular hamburgers.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans chickpeas
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • I carrot, grated
  • 1/2 large zucchini, grated
  • 1 cup grated uncooked sweet potato
  • 1/2 white cabbage, chopped/grated
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 nub of ginger root, minced
  • 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 tablespoons of oil (for burgers)
  • 1/2 onion, minced
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • extra oil (for frying)
  • whole wheat buns

Preparation

1. Drain and rinse canned chickpeas. Place in a covered microwave safe bowel with a tablespoon of water and microwave on high for two minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine brown rice and chickpeas. Use an immersion blender to mix until achieving a pasty consistency.
3. Add grated carrot, zucchini, sweet potato, white cabbage, cilantro, ginger, and spices. Continue blending with immersion blender.
4. Add whole wheat flour and oil and stir with a wooden spoon.
5. Add minced onion and stir with a wooden spoon.
6. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet.
7. Form palm-sized patties and place in the skillet. Cook about five minutes on each side, or until golden brown. You may want to cover the pan while cooking to ensure the sweet potato and flour are thoroughly cooked.
8. For non-vegans you can add a slice of colby cheese during the last minute of cooking.
9. Serve on toasted whole wheat or onion buns. These are great with ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish. Also consider adding a slice of onion or tomato. If you’re feeling adventurous spicy dressings like jalapeño mustard also go well.

NU

I took a walk with Dani around the Northern Evanston area and the North part of the Northwestern University campus so she could put up flyers about her thesis project. I hadn’t been on that part of the campus before, and found a couple of interesting shots.

The enormous Tech building is old enough that this was a good thing to put in the wall by the entrance. Reminds me of The Graduate.
Outside the Tech building there is a short metal ladder that goes into a planter(!) and leads to a small path and a hidden bench. Not ADA compliant. The engineers need to design a catapult for those who can’t use the ladder.

Dani’s Salmon Wraps

This was a great lunch wrap sandwich Dani made.

Ingredients

  • 1 package cooked shredded salmon
  • 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • a pinch of brown sugar
  • garlic powder
  • 3 or 4 sticks chopped celery
  • shredded lettuce
  • shredded carrots
  • tortillas

Preparation

1. Pour olive oil into a microwave safe mixing bowl. Add balsamic vinegar and sugars.

2. Microwave for about 30 seconds, just long enough to gently warm oil and encourage sugars to dissolve.

3. Gently add a few shakes of garlic powder to the oil/balsamic mixture and stir. Sample the mixture and add more sugar or garlic to taste.

4. Chop celery to about an eighth of an inch thickness.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine salmon and celery. Drizzle on oil/balsamic mixture and stir well.

6. Lay out tortillas. Add shredded lettuce/shredded carrots in a line along the center and then add salmon mixture alongside. Fold the tops of the tortilla down and roll tortilla like a burrito.

Dani’s Spinach and Zucchini Lasagna

This was the best lasagna ever:

Ingredients

About 9 Pasta sheets (make your own or use fresh pasta from Whole Foods)
1 15oz package of part skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
Approximately 4 cups of fresh spinach
2 or 3 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced thin
2 zucchini, peeled and sliced thin
1 onion, chopped and browned
olive oil
Italian seasoning (oregano, sweet basil, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary) to taste
about 1 1/2 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium sauce pan, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and sauté until brown, stirring occasionally.

In another medium sauce pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and sauté until garlic begins to brown, then add spinach and quickly sauté until reduced in volume.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl combine the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella, egg, and Italian seasoning. After the spinach is done sautéing, add the spinach/garlic mixture to the mixing bowl and stir.

Spray a 9×9 inch pan lightly with cooking spray (I used grapeseed oil). Add a small amount of tomato sauce to the bottom, then line the bottom with a layer of pasta (about three sheets).

Spread half the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta. Next add a layer of sautéd onions, then lay out the thinly sliced zucchini into a third layer. Cover with a layer of tomato sauce.

Repeat: pasta, ricotta mixture, onions, zucchini, and more sauce.

Top with a layer of pasta. Add a bit more sauce to keep the top moist during cooking. Then add the remaining 1/4 mozzarella and parmesan to the top.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, checking occasionally. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Kitchen Remodelling

Our final remodeling project for the summer was the kitchen. It was Dani’s idea to add stone to the walls above the backsplashes, and she also picked the ceramic murals for above the sink and stove. Quite a difference!

Before:

 

After:

 

Reverse Views:

Here’s a panorama: http://360.io/htWB6G

Wynton Marsalis

We decided to check out the downtown venue used by the Chicago Symphony, but since they are playing opera at Ravinia, we went to a jazz concert by the Wynton Marsalis Quintet.

Before the concert we had lunch at one of the oldest restaurants in the country, The Berghoff, which serves a unique and flavorful take on German food, with a few other cuisines thrown in.

Then we visited the Museum of Contemporary Photography, an exhibit space at Columbia College, one of the half dozen colleges lining the area between Michigan Avenue and State Street. The exhibition was more about politics than great photography, but it was interesting. The most engaging exhibit was actually a film where talented and well-rehearsed performers acted out a domestic drama constructed from excerpts of political interviews.

Next we walked over to Millennium Park and had a look at the bean. I think the popularity of this simple sculpture caught everyone by surprise. It’s really neat to be able to see the whole Chicago skyline, wherever you stand.

Across the street we had dinner at The Gage, another fairly old restaurant. Linda, Dani and I had eaten here before and were underwhelmed, but this night Dani and I had a terrific meal of grazing small plates at an ideal, quiet (unique for this place) corner table, and capped off by a stunning glass of 1968 D’ Oliveira Bual Madeira.

Then it was time for the concert. Man, can those guys play! We had box seats on the side that offered a perfect view. And what a delight to hear unamplified music in a space with great acoustics. The two hour concert offered lots of opportunities for each musician to solo, so we heard some of the best trumpet, sax, piano, upright bass and drum work ever. I don’t know how Wynton Marsalis coaxes some of those sounds from a trumpet, but in his hands it’s like a living thing. He also proved to be quite a personable host, stopping to explain some of the unexpected turns the group took in each piece, and why they were occasionally laughing. We really enjoyed the whole afternoon, and especially the concert.

 

Roller Derby

Last night Dani took me to her highly anticipated roller derby game. She explained the rules before we went, which helped me to understand what was going on. It was a little hard to understand the announcer, so things were baffling at times, but for the most part I was able to follow it.

My only exposure to roller derby was on TV in the 60s, when it was akin to “pro” wrestling. But the revived sport is completely different. The teams are amateur women from all walks of life who simply enjoy it. As a result, there’s a lot more sportsmanship than other sports. That’s also true of the fans. I’ve never scene such a broad demographic: all ages, sexes and apparent socioeconomic backgrounds. And they seemed happy to clap for either team when they did something impressive.

They don’t take themselves too seriously, either, as everyone–even the officials and the announcer–is using a funny fake name. The announcer was Bryan Mumble.

It can certainly be an exciting sport, because the score can increase dramatically in a short time, so lead changes are common. The only problem I saw was that the outcome of the game was largely controlled by the amount of penalty time players spent on the sidelines, and there are literally hundreds of minor penalties. Apparently they are going to change this next year, and eliminate the minor penalties, which I suspect will make the game even faster paced and more exciting.

I can’t say I’d become a regular fan of derby (or any sport, for that matter), but I would go again. It’s a fun evening, mainly because everyone including the players is having such a good time.

Gotye and Missy Higgins

Last night we went to Chicago’s other outstanding outdoor performance space, The Charter One Pavilion near the Field Museum, to see Missy Higgins and Gotye. Charter One Pavilion offers a great view of the city, and you can walk along the lake past the planetarium while you’re waiting for the show.

We’ve long been Missy Higgins fans, and she is a top star in Australia, but has had trouble generating traction in the US. So it’s a bit ironic that she’s now playing bigger arenas as a warm-up act for a guy with one Internet hit video.

For this all-aussie show, the first act was a solo performer named Jonti who fiddled with various electronic boxes, played a bit of guitar and tried to sing. Since it was his first concert, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the sound guy wasn’t providing him with a monitor mix.

The sound guy and lighting guy also weren’t giving Missy Higgins any help. In fact she played the first half of her set in the dark, before he managed to finally turn some low level background lights on. Missy played mostly songs from her latest album, which is a strong release, but she also played a few older tunes, and at the request of an audience member played Scar, one of our favorites. I think this replaced River, a much more downbeat song she played the night before in Colorado. I like the song, but Scar was a better choice. About a fourth of the crowd seemed to know who she was, and she held everyone else’s attention much better than when I saw her at House of Blues as the headliner, and everyone was drunk. I think this was her set list: Secret, Everyone’s Waiting, Scar, Hello Hello, Unashamed Desire, Watering Hole, Where I Stood, Warm Whispers.

After a very long set change out, and when it was truly dark, Gotye came on about 9:30pm. The reason for the darkness became apparent when the rear stage video projection came on, and ran through virtually every song, playing somewhat abstract and usually abstruse videos. I actually like Gotye’s music much better live than on his CD. It’s complex and varied, and his singing voice is much stronger than you’d guess if you’ve only heard his big hit. During the show he moved between various percussion, keyboard and effects stations, some of which were expertly reset by a swarm of roadies. He used a tremendous amount of technology. The downside was that, since everything was choreographed to the videos, it was impossible to tell that it was being played live. When something was obviously live, it was usually impressive. And his backup musicians (drums, bass, guitar, keyboards) were excellent. When it came time for his big hit, Somebody That I Used to Know, the women in the audience did a credible job of singing the female part. I believe Gotye’s set list was: The Only Way, What Do You Want, Easy Way Out, Smoke and Mirrors, Thanks for your Time, State of the Art, Backseat Driver, Don’t Worry We’ll Be Watching You, Dig Your Own Hole, Eyes Wide Open, Save Me, Somebody That I Used to Know, Heart’s A Mess, Giving Me a Chance, Bronte, Night Drive, The Only Thing I Know,  I Feel Better.

All of these performers suffer from a misconception about why people go to concerts. They seem to think the audience is there to hear them reproduce their CD. But in fact the audience is there to get to know them. A little more talking between songs–stories about how the songs were written, or anecdotes about their careers–would build a much stronger following. This is a lesson that was admirably demonstrated by Train, who have weaker material than these acts, but a much stronger fan base and a well-deserved reputation for putting on a great concert.

 

Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers) and Boz Scaggs at Ravinia

For our final Ravinia concert of the year, Dani and I went to see The Dukes of September, a twelve piece band headed by Donald Fagen (half of Steely Dan), Michael McDonald (lead singer of the Doobie Brothers), and Boz Scaggs. They played hits from all three of them, sharing vocal duties, and also performed some of their favorite oldies. Top notch horn section and backup singers. Donald Fagen does indeed move like a muppet. Lead guitarist Jon Herington was awesome, particularly on my favorite number, Reelin’ in the Years.

Road Trip: Iowa

There is a lot of corn in Iowa. Seriously.

I think we might have crossed back into Wisconsin when this photo was taken, but you get the idea. Actually most of the day we were driving through southern Minnesota, and it was all corn fields, too.

We spent the night at the Hotel Julien in Dubuque, which is right at the corner of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The recently renovated downtown Dubuque is cute and clean, and pretty devoid of people, at least on a Sunday evening. The hotel, thought to have once been owned by Al Capone, has recently had a $30 Million renovation itself, and is quite nice. The woman at the front desk was extraordinarily gracious, and seemed please to have customers. Not sure how they’re going to pay off that investment, though.

In the morning we drove across the bridge into Illinois, and a fairly boring drive. I was surprised that the corners of Wisconsin, Minnesota and even Iowa that we drove through were all more scenic than the middle of Illinois.

A good road trip. Friday-Monday, 900 miles roundtrip.

 

Road Trip: Minneapolis

State two in our three state road trip: Minnesota.

First stop: The Mall of America.

Well, it’s really big. The usual mall stores, some home grown ones, and a lot of restaurants. Many restaurants. Many chain restaurants. And a theme park. The mall is on 3-1/2 levels, each level pretty much equivalent to a standard mall. It surrounds the fours story high Nickelodeon themed park, which has a LOT of rides crammed into it. The mall was popular, although there weren’t a lot of people on the rides. Mini golf was busy.

Second stop: Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis. Very nice Starwood property, actually cheaper than the touristy semi-dump of last night’s stay in the Wisconsin Dells. Joining the Starwood preferred club (free) gets you free cookies, nice bathroom condiments, a high floor, a free drink in the bar, and free wireless. Good deal.

Third stop: Chino Latino, recommended by Jeremy, and billing itself as “Food from the hot zones.” Hopefully not contagious. The place was REALLY NOISY, but extremely trendy and delicious. We had Chinese 5-spice ribs, Tuna Drano balls (wasabi, tuna rice, wasabi roe and a touch of eel sauce), and really delicious spicy queso dip with mushrooms in it.

In the morning we walked to Hell’s Kitchen, and underground labyrinth of dining rooms that serves amazing lemon ricotta pancakes and an excellent huevos rancheros.

Then we headed for Iowa. On the way, we stopped at Mystery Cave, an interesting wet cave in a Minnesota State Park. Everywhere we’ve been on this trip, everyone we’ve encountered has been really nice, and the ranger guide here was particularly friendly and informative.

 

Road Trip: The Wisconsin Dells

Dani and I are on a quick weekend road trip to add three states to our list.

I’d always thought Orlando, and especially its International Drive (the old section) was the tacky capital of the universe, but I’d never been to the Wisconsin Dells. I’m nearly speechless at the colossal, all-consuming tackiness of the place. It’s so tacky its attraction is its very tackiness.

While International Drive is an embarrassment to Orlandoans, Dellers seem to revel in it. A watermark without a pyramid, coliseum, Trojan Horse of flying saucer would be a downright embarrassment. It’s a place where a family restaurant can advertise “Where size matters” and fit right in.

And as for culture, they got that to, in the form of museums. What vacationing family wouldn’t want to visit The Museum of Torture?

The Dells seems to be divided into two areas, the original Downtown, where things are a bit smaller and cuter, and the part that’s on the Interstate, where everything is GIGANTICALLY TACKY.

There are no bland buildings here, everything is outrageously themed. And the reason they need to be so huge is that most of the water parks are indoors. I was surprised by this, since I figured they were probably seasonal. But this is August. And this morning the temperature was 46 degrees!

As someone who wears loud Hawaiian shirts every day, I can appreciate tacky. I can even revel in it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to Paul Bunyan’s for a Lumberjack Breakfast…

 

Train, Matt Kearney and Andy Grammer

I’d always heard that Train was a very fan-friendly band, and they certainly demonstrated that last night at Ravinia. Through constant interaction with the audience, including inviting guests up on the stage to help them perform, they kept everyone excited and on their feet for most of the two hour concert. This personal touch led Dani to conclude it was the best concert she’s seen. I have to agree that’s why people go to concerts, more than to hear a recitation of a CD. I just wish Train’s material was a little stronger. But the fans sang along with every song, and the band played all their hits and much of their new album. My favorite of their songs is the melodic Marry Me. Apparently their drummer is ordained through an online church and has actually been marrying fans on stage, but there was no wedding last night.

I actually preferred the music of the two warm up acts. Andy Grammer writes catchy pop tunes, and has an amazing interactive video of Keep Your Head Up you can watch at http://www.andygrammer.com/videos

We saw Matt Kearney with Owl City in Orlando, and I was looking forward to seeing him again. Unfortunately his new album has taken a rappish turn, and his band was only moderately proficient. But his album City of Black and White is definitely worth checking out.

Restaurant Michael

We didn’t actually have this, but the picture is representative.

Last night we went to Restaurant Michael in Winnetka, about four miles north of Evanston. The original plan was to take the Metra train, but it was a cool, rainy and blustery night, so we opted for a cab. The restaurant is the latest project of award-winning chef Michael Lachowicz. Despite its proximity, I’d never heard of it until it popped up on Groupon back in the spring. I didn’t see anyone else having the meal we had, so I guess everyone else used it back in the Spring.

The food was terrific, and the place was almost full. What we received was a delicious five-course French meal for two people with matching wine pairings for a total of $72. Crazy, huh? Considering that was half price, even the normal price of the meal is extremely reasonable. Each course was super, and the matching wines paired perfectly with the food. We had:

  • goat cheese puff amuse bouche (we were actually served this twice, which was great!)
  • corn soup (paired with an Italian white)
  • zucchini with goat cheese in pastry
  • seared salmon (paired with a white Burgundy)
  • roast pork in pastry (paired with an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • chocolate souffle with chocolate sauce and strawberries
  • chocolate truffles

As at Terra, the other night, service seemed well-intentioned, but not really at the caliber of the food. The servers all seem like they’ve never really been to another nice restaurant, and are just following instructions. This was one of the dressier restaurants I’ve been to around here, with many of the men in coats and ties. That was ironic, because the owner is extremely friendly and casual, working the front desk in jeans and a short sleeve shirt!

According to Groupon, they sold more than 680 of these dinners for two, so it was certainly popular. I wonder, though, how many of those people tipped properly (when you are presented with a bill at the end of the meal only if you ordered incidentals) and how many of them will go back if the same meal costs them twice as much. Since the restaurant only gets about half of the Groupon cost, they certainly couldn’t have broken even on those 1360 meals. But it worked in our case, because we’ll certainly go back.

Terra

A few nights ago we visited Terra, an American bisto just north of Central Avenue in Evanston. It’s about two miles from the condo, so we took the Metra train up, and then walked back.

It’s a small plates sort of place, so we sampled some smoked salmon, hummus, Margherita flatbread and some fish tacos. I loved everything, and Dani like everything except the tacos, which had a seasoning on the fish she didn’t care for.

The menu is really interesting, and warrants several repeat visits. Service was well-intentioned but not quite as professional as the food. The place was very busy, due to the trendy vibe and good prices, I suppose.

It was a beautiful evening, so we walked home through the residential neighborhood west of the Northwestern campus.

Caleb Hawley and Theo Katzman

SPACE is definitely the best concert venue I’ve been to. And when you have the front center cocktail table it’s even better. Last night we saw Caleb Hawley and Theo Katzman there. They’re part of a four-piece band that reconfigures itself by changing shirts between Theo’s and Caleb’s sets. We encountered Caleb at the Johnny Mercer Songwriter’s Festival; his song, Little Miss Sunshine, was one of our favorites.

This was the first concert on the band’s tour, but they were incredibly tight. And they were having a great time. It was easy to see that they were delighted with the way they sounded, and the enthusiastic audience response.

Here’s a panorama I shot.

A little bio info:

Caleb is originally from Minneapolis, but now lives in New York. He received top honors it the New York Songwriters Circle Contest (2008 and 2009), the John Lennon Songwriting Contest (2009), the Telluride Festival (2010), the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (2010), and Rocky Mountain Folks Fest (2011), and placed in the final fifty on the 2011 American Idol Season.

Theo Katzman was a guitarist in the electro-pop group My Dear Disco. He is also a drummer and bassist. Theo’s songs  are particularly melodic and catchy. We particularly liked Emily, which is unfortunately not on his album. He’s the only drummer I’ve seen who wears a big grin most of the time. It’s clear he loves what he does.

 

Coldplay

Coldplay put on quite a show last night at the United Center in Chicago. The show started two hours after the time on the tickets, due to a warm up act we (probably mercifully) missed and one we didn’t miss, but might as well have. With six people, Marina and the Diamonds couldn’t create as much sound or summon as much enthusiasm as Coldplay did in their first ten seconds.

Coldplay was on for almost two hours, and sounded great. In addition to playing all their best songs, there were also great laser effects, a ton (literally) of confetti, hundreds of bouncing balls, and a few other effects. Everyone was issued a radio-controlled wristband made by Xylobands that lit up in different colors. There were red, green, blue, white and yellow ones; they could be commanded to either turn on or to blink out of sync with each other. Interestingly, they pulled out all these effects in the first few numbers, rather than the finale. The last few numbers were played from a small platform at the other end of the arena, and then they ran through the crowd back to the stage to finish up.

I knew Coldplay’s music, but wasn’t familiar with the band, so I was surprised by a few things:

  1. I figured it took more than four people to create that lush sound. Although they might have cheated a few times, for the most part it was bass, drums, lead guitar and either piano or rhythm guitar.
  2. I didn’t realize one guy (Chris Martin) does almost all the heavy lifting; he did all the lead vocals, all the important keyboard parts, and most of the rhythm guitar.
  3. Despite all the synchronized stuff happening, the show is very live. Chris attempted a song requested by some people with a sign, and stopped and restarted another song with no need to reset anything.

In addition to excellent musicianship, the band’s rapport with the audience was great, which really highlighted why they make the big bucks, and Marina and the Diamonds don’t.

Evanston Remodelling

This week we remodeled Dani’s condo, replacing the carpet with wood flooring and painting all of the rooms. We actually started by having the two bedrooms repainted in early July, getting rid of the horrible hospital green color. The painter (Stephen of Chicago Rent-a-Painter) was so good that we decided to have him back after the floors were done to paint the rest, since both projects would require boxing all of Dani’s books and moving all the furniture. Well, the flooring dragged on from two days to five, and we ended up with the painting going on concurrently. Still, aside from the hassle of camping at a furniture warehouse for a week, it wasn’t too bad. The new look is certainly a big improvement.

Crosby, Stills and Nash at Ravinia

This was one of the best shows I’ve seen at Ravinia. I liked the band’s 1969 and 1970 albums, and their individual solo albums, but haven’t really followed them. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover they are a terrific live act. In concert they sound great, with the distinctive harmonies that make them unique. Stephen Still’s guitar playing was impressive, particularly when he tackled the Indian-influenced instrumental from Carry On (their final number) as a guitar solo. The backup band was also terrific, and included David Crosby’s son, James Raymond, on keyboards (they also played two of his songs, including the haunting Lay me Down). Several songs were better than the album versions, including Guenevere and Cathedral. The only hit missing was To the Last Whale, a favorite of mine. I was particularly impressed at the group’s range, which spanned folk to rock quite effortlessly. Given that Nash is 70 and the others are 67, it was impressive that the were energized for all of a nearly three-hour performance. If you have a chance to see them, I highly recommend it.

Roasted Cauliflower Pizza

Dani and I decided to try to duplicate the roasted cauliflower pizza from Anthony’s in Orlando, and we came darned close. We started with some pizza dough from Whole Foods, which I rolled out repeatedly, really thin, and then baked in olive oil at 450 degrees. Meanwhile we roasted some cauliflower with olive oil, Italian herbs, and maple garlic seasoning from The Spice House. Dani caramelized some onions. Then we layered the crust with mozzarella, added the cauliflower and onions and baked for at least 20 minutes. Sprinkle on grated Parmesan, and voila. The result was thinner and crisper than Anthony’s but otherwise very similar.

Las Vegas Dining

We had a jam packed week of fine dining in Las Vegas. Here are some brief thoughts about the various restaurants.

Verandah at The Four Seasons

This is the coffee shop at the Four Season. The weekend brunch, included in the tour, was pretty spectacular, and I’ve been to some elaborate brunches at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress and the Ritz Carlton. I was trying to be good though, so I just nibbled this and that Saturday morning, and skipped it altogether Sunday.

Taqueria Cañonita at Venetian

Sunday we walked a lot of the casinos on the Strip, starting at the Palazzo, which is part of the Venetian. This canal-side Mexican restaurant used to be a favorite of Linda’s but it seems to have gone downscale. The chips are no longer served with a tower of various salsas, and the food was unremarkable. After lunch we hit the Mirage to see the tigers, and then Caesar’s and the Bellagio.

The Bar at Charlie Palmer’s Steakhouse at the Four Seasons

Before our farewell dinner with our tour group on Friday we had killed a half hour in this bar at the entrance to the steakhouse, and we liked it so much we went back the next night for dinner. Their small plates are a steal for Vegas. For example the four cheese plate with accompaniments was $8, and two Kobe sliders were $10. Compare that to $17 for a Caesar side salad in the restaurant. The ambiance is great, and we had the place almost to ourselves, even though the restaurant was packed.

Noodles at Bellagio

We selected this place for lunch before Linda arrived in town because we knew she wouldn’t like it. As it turned out, we didn’t, either. Slimy noodles and lots of dim sum. Very forgettable. Also very crowded with Chinese speakers, so it must be authentic. It was so bad we went to the chocolate place at Bellagio afterward to recover.

We relaxed at a bar in the Paris to wait for Linda’s flight and our room at the Vdara to be ready.

Yellowtail at Bellagio

Linda requested up-scale sushi for her first night in Vegas, and this place came through. It’s trendy and a bit louder than I’d have liked, but conversation was possible. We had the seven-course Omakase, where you put yourself in the chef’s hands, and he didn’t fail us. Standouts were the tuna pizza with truffle oil and the teriyaki kobe beef shortribs, which were really tasty without being too rich.

Picasso at Bellagio

I’d been to this restaurant before and wasn’t that impressed with the food, but this time it was a home run. Linda and I had the Menu Degustation, while Dani had the Prix Fixe. Her snapper, in particular was deliciously seasoned and perfectly cooked. The highlight of the five-course degustation was probably the foie gras, although it was all excellent.

It’s neat being surrounded by a dozen or more Picasso originals that you could reach out and touch (although Dani and I agreed we much preferred the Monets at the museum in the Bellagio that we saw the day before).

Lotus of Siam

This is the greatest wine list in Las Vegas, and the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to by a wide margin. Located in a dumpy strip mall off of Sahara Boulevard, it serve astonishingly good Thai food; in fact, the chef won the James Beard award last year! Best of all is an award winning wine list where many of the wines are priced below retail. We met Linda’s high school friend Suzanne, and her friend Diane, here for lunch. We put ourselves in the waiter’s hands, and he delivered eight or ten terrific appetizers and shared entrees, each better than the last. I took the opportunity to pillage the wine list, and although some of my selections couldn’t be found, we ended up with some stunners. Where else can you find an affordable Clos de Tart from a great year? That bottle alone was over $1000 on the list at Picasso, a fifth that here.

Central at Caesar’s

While Linda had dinner at Pinot Brasserie in the Venetian with her friends, Dani and I walked up to Caesars and the Michel Richard Bistro. Well, it isn’t really a bistro, but more of a burger and salad joint right off the lobby. Delicious Chinese chicken salad, forgettable chicken burger, forgettable tuna burger.

‘wichcraft at MGM Grand

Tom Collicchio of Top Chef fame has a chain of Craft steakhouses. This is his fast food sandwich place, hence the clever name. Excellent chicken salad and roast turkey sandwiches, which we shared.

Jean Georges Steakhouse at Aria

Jean Georges is a favorite restaurant in New York, but I was dubious about yet another top name chef doing a Vegas steakhouse. But everything was great, and as it turned out no one (Linda, Dani, Suzanne, Diane and I) had steak. The highlight was the teriyaki short ribs, which were like candy on the outside. The wine list is expensive, but there are a few hidden gems. We started with a Duval-Leroy Champagne, then a 2005 Corton-Rognet by Dupont-Tisserandot, and ended with a 2010 Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz.

Sushi Roku at Caesar’s Forum Shops

We had a great meal here last year, so when Linda needed her sushi fix we returned. The trick here is to order appetizers, such as the tuna sashimi with crispy garlic chips, or yellowtail and spicy tuna on crispy rice, not conventional sushi and rolls, which are just so-so. This is a chain, and we found out the hard way that not all locations are equal, as the one is Santa Monica was awful.

l’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand

We’ve been to l’Atelier in New York, London and Las Vegas, and it’s one of our favorite restaurants. Designed a bit like a sushi bar, the best tables place you at a counter facing into the kitchen, where a half dozen chef’s efficiently and quietly prepare your meal as you watch. Across the counter from you, your dedicate server acts as a friendly and knowledgeable host. Linda and I had the tasting menu, ten or so small plates with a half dozen matching wines. Dani had a few small plates ala carte. Everything was superb, but the knockouts for me were: all the breads, the little pizza-like thing with a quail egg and bacon on it, and the partially smoked salmon. Linda loved the foie gras parfait amuse bouche. We’ve also been to the more formal Joel Robuchon next door, but it is stuffy and the food seems less interesting than at l’Atelier.

Triple George Grill downtown

After a backstage tour of the Mob Museum, a couple of blocks north of Fremont Street in the somewhat seedy downtown area of Vegas, we walked to the nearby Triple George Grill. It’s a popular lunch stop, and was quite busy. The interior is old school, but the place was built in 2005. The food was fairly typical bar and grill fair, nothing special.

Guy Savoy at Caesar’s

This three star Michelin chef’s restaurant cemented my opinion of Michelin ratings: that they’re a good indicator of price, but not quality. This meal cost more than double the comparable meal at the best restaurant in the US, 11 Madison Park. It also cost almost as much as three years of Linda’s lunches at Taco Bell. Quality: variable. The first three courses (of 13) were solid 9’s, but after that they all, categorically, devolved into less than 5 on a scale of 10. It’s not really worth reporting them here, because they change frequently. But why would you ruin a piece of nice salmon by freezing it on dry ice? The wine paring was top notch, though. This would be a distant last of all the fine dining experiences during this week in Vegas.

The Vdara

Dani and I completed our tour of national parks, finishing with two days at the Four Seasons Las Vegas, which is the top five floors of the Mandalay Bay. Then we moved to my favorite (non-smoking casinoless) hotel in Vegas, the Vdara, where Linda joined us for the week. I love the two-bedroom suites on the top floor of the Vdara, and they’re very affordable. Here’s our 280 degree view, by day and night, and a shot of the hotel from across the Bellagio fountain.

Vdara Window Washer Rescue

We had a bit of excitement outside our hotel yesterday. Firefighters had to be lowered from above our 56th floor suite to rescue three window washers when their basket got stuck and started to slip. TV crews gathered down on the street, and I guess it even made the national news, but we had the best view.

 

Tour Wrap-up: Blogging in the Sticks

Our Tauck Tour is wrapping up, and we reached our final destination: The Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. It’s my fourth Tauck Tour, and they just seem to get better. I wouldn’t change a thing about this one. Each activity was well thought out and fun for adult and kids, and having the kids on the trip imparted an energy to the tour that I think I’d miss if I went on a non-Bridges Tauck Tour. Julie has been a marvelous Tour Director, the most involved of all the excellent one who preceded her. She also does Wine Tours in Napa, and regular Tauck Tours in Scotland, so maybe we’ll see her again.

Technology Musings

I like to keep a journal when I travel. I used to post it upon my return. But the ubiquity of the Internet and WordPress now let me post as I go. It’s fun to keep friends up to date on our adventures as they happen. Except for one day, I’ve been able to do that on this trip, and far more economically than on a cruise. But it is interesting how we assume there is cell service of some sort almost everywhere. Not so in the middle of nowhere, and that came as a shock to some of the kids on this trip.

Bryce is almost a no-technology zone, with limited cell phone service and nothing else (even TV, although Dani and I actually didn’t notice, since we don’t use TVs). Otherwise, WIFI has been only slightly limited. Tauck picked up the tab for it at the Four Seasons Scottsdale, and it was free at Lake Powell and Zion.

The data on the ATT cell phones has been almost non-existent. We rarely see 3G, and can have 5-bars and not have Edge. Even when we do have Edge, it’s close to worthless because it’s too slow for even the simplest tasks. However the Verizon iPad has worked almost everywhere, and lets us use it as a hot spot to which the MacBooks and iPhones can connect. Even at Grand Canyon it was fast enough to upload a couple hundred photos. I plan to change to Verizon when I get my next iPhone.

This was one of my favorite Tauck tours, because the Bridges aspect made it so fun. I’ll definitely look for that in the future. Here’s the shot of our group in Kanab, Utah: