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Author Archives: steve
Decorating the Tree
An 11-footer this year, with lots of branches, that required a run to the store for a few more boxes of ornaments.
Gingerbread House
Dani’s annual tradition of making a gingerbread house got a bit more complicated this year, as she baked the gingerbread herself. We were all a bit skeptical of whether it would hold together for final assembly, but we shouldn’t have … Continue reading
Evanston Seasons
Dani took these three photos from her balcony, showing the different seasons in Evanston.
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Thanksgiving in LA
We’re spending Thanksgiving week in Los Angeles with Linda’s mom. It’s given us an opportunity to catch up, since we haven’t seen her in two years. Dani flew in from Chicago on Wednesday, and we met her at LAX, where … Continue reading
Posted in Dining, Los Angeles, Wine
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Elton John
Elton John has devoted this year to resurrecting the career of Leon Russell, his early inspiration. At Daytona Beach last night Sir Elton even came out first to introduce Leon’s half hour set. Leon’s long white hair and beard make … Continue reading
Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table
Last night we enjoyed a wonderful evening at Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table with Ron and Bev and some new friends, Keith and Parlo Edwards and Adam and Gigi Chilvers. Chef Scott Hunnel outdid himself with the ten course tasting … Continue reading
Pull
Another of my writing students has been published! Barbara Binns developed her book, Pull, while in my online class. It’s been published by WestSide Books and is available on amazon. Here’s my review: Becoming A New Person The greatest books invite … Continue reading
Posted in Books and Writing
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IAAPA 2010
This year’s IAAPA show (and the next ten years!) is back in Orlando. I did a book signing to benefit Give Kids the World. It was nice to see so many old friends who dropped by, but I think I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Alcorn McBride, Books and Writing, Theme Parks
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Via Napoli Pizza at Epcot
Via Napoli is a new pizzeria constructed at the rear of Italy at Epcot. Their claim to fame is that they import their flour from Naples and carefully match the water used to make the dough. Linda and I tried … Continue reading
Posted in Dining, Theme Parks
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Festival of the Masters
This weekend is the 35th annual Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney. Linda and Ryan and I went to Paradiso 37 at Pleasure Island. (Ryan is a programming intern from England, working on iPad apps. He’s here for IAAPA.) … Continue reading
Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining, Orlando, Theme Parks
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Delish New York Bakery
For dinner I made Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Cilantro Lime Rice. That meant a trip to Whole Foods for wild caught sea scallops and uncured hikory smoked bacon. Whenever I go to Whole Foods I like to stop in at … Continue reading
Marketing a Book
Theme Park Design is my latest book. It’s based upon the text of my Imagineering class. I published it through createspace.com, which is a division of amazon.com. I decided to publish it because David Green’s and my previous book, Building … Continue reading
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The Eagles
The Eagles played the first big concert at the new Amway Center. The event was actually rescheduled from an earlier date because Don Henley was sick. At nearly the last minute we decided to get tickets and were surprised at … Continue reading
Flashback
Last week Linda’s wallet was stolen, which started the process of replacing her credit cards and IDs. To get a new Driver’s License you now need all kinds of documentation (never mind that you’re right there in the system, picture … Continue reading
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Chateau France
Today we went to St. Petersburg for a book fair, to hear a presentation by Michael Connelly, whose latest book, Reversal, is number one on the bestseller lists this week. He signed my copy, and also a small chapbook he’d … Continue reading
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Winter Garden Noises Off
Tonight we had dinner at Thai Blossom in Winter Garden, a restaurant in the Edgewater Hotel around the corner from The Chef’s Table. The Thai food was mostly quite good, and the place was packed by the time we left. … Continue reading
Hamburger Mary’s
Since it won Scott Joseph’s readers’ poll of best hamburger in Orlando, Tommy and I decided to check out Hamburger Mary’s downtown on Church Street. While the rest of Church Street is still in the early stages of recovering from … Continue reading
Wine Bottles
We loaded up three cases of empty wine bottles and took them up to one of our favorite restaurants, The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel in Winter Garden. They’re going to use them to decorate their new dining room. … Continue reading
Del Frisco’s 39 Steps
It’s been more than a couple of years since we’ve been to Del Frisco’s, and it was near the Shakespeare Center, so we decided to have an early dinner there on Friday. Since our last visit they’ve completed the seamless … Continue reading
Book Purge
Turn your back for just a minute and the library is overrun with books again. Whilst looking for a couple of misplaced ones I purged a hundred or so from the cupboards (I think they reproduce faster in the dark). … Continue reading
Posted in Books and Writing, Orlando
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Epcot First Bites
This is the first year for a new event at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. It’s called First Bites, and it gives you the opportunity to sample some of the food and wine that will be on the promenade, … Continue reading
Posted in Dining, Orlando, Theme Parks, Wine
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Orlando Magical Dining Month
Today marks the last day of Orlando Magical Dining Month (although last night was our last foray, since tonight we’re going to “First Bites,” the opening event in the Epcot Food and Wine Festival). During September, a wide array of … Continue reading
Wine Syndicate – 1961 Bordeaux
Our Wine Syndicate group met Saturday at the Bull & Bear in the Waldorf Astoria. It was one of our best tastings ever, focusing on the 1961 Bordeaux vintage, perhaps the best of the century. The two vintages of Chateau … Continue reading
Everglades at the Rosen – Four Seasons of the Vine
Martin and I (Linda has a cold) went to the periodic Vine & Dine event at the Everglades restaurant at the Rosen. They always do a nice job at these events, which allow the chef to experiment outside of his … Continue reading
Chez Josephine
After the always superb lunch at Jean Georges (perhaps my favorite restaurant in the world), we strolled down Broadway, which becomes a giant flea market closed to traffic on Saturdays. Then, in the evening, on the spur of the moment, … Continue reading
Michelangelo Hotel
When we saw The Addams Family in Chicago during its test run, the songs were good, but the show was pretty poor. So poor we couldn’t imagine how it made it to Broadway (admittedly we saw it when its star, … Continue reading
New York
Just as the sun began to rise we entered New York harbor and a tug boat escorted us past the Statue of Liberty. By 7AM we were docked in Brooklyn. After clearing out of our cabin, we breakfasted in the … Continue reading
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Random Thoughts About This Cruise
On the large Princess ships you don’t want a cabin below Baha deck, because Caribe and Dolphin balconies stick out progressively farther, so there’s no shade and no cover from the rain. If you have two cabins, you want them … Continue reading
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St. John’s, Newfoundland
We awoke to find our ship had somehow managed to either back into or turn around in The Narrows that fronts State Street, the main street of St. John’s, and North America’s oldest commercial street. One of the oddest things … Continue reading
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Sea Days
This voyage includes many days at sea. With six days between Greenland and New York, and only one port in between, we’re in no great hurry, cruising along at 15 knots. The weather has been pleasant, with billowing clouds like … Continue reading
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