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Would You Like Arsenic With That Wasabi?

We spent the day at the condo. Dani is writing a report analyzing the results of her spectroscopic study of arsenic and iron in seaweed from different species and locations. I’m reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which is decent enough, but it’s hard to figure out how it got published, let alone became a hit and got turned into a movie. The author’s handling of viewpoint, and excessive use of exposition seems dubious.

Let’s Celebrate By Blowing Stuff Up

A quiet 4th at the condo, particularly since the Comcast cable/telephone/Internet was out for seven hours. It hasn’t been quiet on the street, though, with sirens every 15 minutes or so.  Lots of people busy blowing off their fingers, I suppose.

We grilled burgers and had Dani’s special 4th of July cake for dinner.

Last night there was a Disney-quality fireworks show visible from the balcony. It must have been up at the stadium. Tonight the crowds headed past the condo for the show at Clark Street Beach. It was a surprise benefit of Dani’s condo that we could see the whole show from the balcony. They were really close, and really big.

You’re a Mediocre Musical, Charlie Brown

My diverticulosis has been acting up, this time on my left side, so I took it easy today. We walked up to the theatre to see a student production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. They did a good job with the show, which, given the weak material, was as good as it could be. My side is still bothering me, so we’re getting dinner delivered by Thai Sookdee, (which has terrible food, but this weird dish they call Pad Thai that isn’t Pad Thai but is quite tasty!) It’s hard to get used to being able to order food in at 9:30.

Railings and Ribs

They’re replacing the wood railing tops on the building. In the morning they come and saw up the old railing, then in the evening they haul up a replacement and attach it. It’s a shame they’re just replacing the wood with more wood, rather than using recycled plastic planks. Actually, it’s a shame they’re replacing them at all, because it looks great without the wood; the view is much better.

I’m using the leftover Coq Au Vin sauce as the starter for barbecue short ribs.

Sturdy Chips

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Dominus

I packed up some things to ship to Evanston for the summer, including a couple of bottles of wine for Dani to save for her 21st birthday: a 1991 Echezeaux and a 1991 Dominus.

Update: I ended up packing these in the luggage, because of the heat, but shipping other stuff.

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.