Category Archives: Linda

News and activities involving Linda and Linda’s work

Boston

Linda got to celebrate her birthday in Boston, our last stop before New York City. We were last here (on separate trips) when Dani was looking at colleges, so it had been a while. For lunch, we decided to check out … Continue reading

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Dublin

I’ve never developed much of an affinity for Dublin. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just that there’s nothing to draw me here. It’s a city of writers: Joyce, Wilde, Shaw, and so on. But frankly they’re … Continue reading

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Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast is a visitor center opened in 2012 adjacent to the Belfast docks where Titanic was constructed. It is, without doubt, the best visitor center I’ve been to. Our day began with a short tour of downtown Belfast, a … Continue reading

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London

After Linda’s push to get “Tree” (AKA “A Bug’s Life”) open at Animal Kingdom, we were able to slip away for a transatlantic cruise. On Friday we picked up a rental car at Disney and on Saturday we packed it and … Continue reading

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Chicago Architecture Boat Tour

I really enjoyed this tour of Chicago’s architecture, as experienced from the river. The volunteer docent on the 90 minute trip was a professional architect who provided great insight into the history and design of the buildings. I had been … Continue reading

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Bristol Renaissance Pleasure Faire

Having grown up in Southern California in the 1970s, I thought I knew what a Renaissance Faire was: a collection of tents and small booths set up temporarily on sprawling farmland. Bristol Renaissance Faire is something completely different, and closer … Continue reading

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Next: Trio

Next is Chef Grant Achatz’ “next” restaurant. Achatz is the creator of Alinea, regarded by many as America’s greatest restaurant, and Chicago’s only 3-star Michelin restaurant. I approached Next with some trepidation because I’m not a fan of Alinea. I … Continue reading

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Three Dots and a Dash

I’ve always loved Tiki bars, since I grew up in Los Angeles, frequenting Trader Vic’s, Don the Beachcomber, the Islander, Beachbum Bert’s and many others. It’s sad that they’re all gone. But the good news is that Three Dots and … Continue reading

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Boka

Of all the Michelin starred restaurants in Chicago, Boka must be one of the greatest bargains. For little more than the cost of a typical restaurant you can have a spectacular meal. And the cozy yet classy, relaxed yet professional … Continue reading

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Pride Sushi and Thai

  What a delightful surprise! This small fusion restaurant is creating some of the most beautiful—and tasty—sushi in Chicago. The menu is about half Japanese, half Thai, and many of the fusion items are spicy, such as their take on … Continue reading

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Grace

Grace is certainly deserving of its two Michelin stars. Everything about the experience is near perfection, from the extremely professional yet friendly service to the plating of the food, which turns each dish into an individual work of art, combining … Continue reading

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Really Old Burgundies

You know you’re drinking some great Burgundies when the DRC shows up and it’s not even in the top ranks of the night’s wines! That’s what happened last night at the Chef’s Table at the Edgewater. Ron, Bev, Linda and … Continue reading

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Moto 2014

It had been a couple of years since we went to Moto, Chicago’s temple of molecular gastronomy. We had a very different experience on this visit from our past visits. It began with a table downstairs, in a space we … Continue reading

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Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

Linda flew in to Chicago for a long weekend and to escape her Disney projects. Dani and I met her at Midway with Korean Barbecue tacos from the nearby Dos Ricco’s Mexican and Asian Cuisine. I like the Korean taco, … Continue reading

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The Night Bordeaux Beat Burgundy

Long, long ago, when I first became interested in wine, there was a general perception that Bordeaux wines were better than Burgundy, particularly when they were aged. Over the decades that I’ve been tasting wines, I’ve come to the conclusion … Continue reading

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Great Old Wines at The Chef’s Table

We convened in the private room at The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater for a tasting. I have been trying for a couple of years to get Kevin Buckler of Adobe Road to schedule an extra day when he is … Continue reading

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Ron’s Birthday at Scratch

  Ron Siegel celebrated his (ahem) 60th birthday at Scratch. It’s the new restaurant on Fairbanks in Winter Park, next to All Fired Up. The place is owned by three young restaurateurs who have done an amazing job of designing … Continue reading

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Solaia at K Restaurant

Keith Edwards organized this great vertical tasting at K on Edgewater in College Park. Attending were Keith and Parlo; Ron and Bev; Steve and Linda; Niccolo’ Maltinti, the Antinori US Brand Manager; Tobias Fiebrandt of Leitz Wine; and Marc and Kai Frontario. We began with a … Continue reading

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Butter Cookie Taste-Off

We did a butter cookie taste off, buying tubs of butter cookies all over Solvang. Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery was the first of four bakeries in Solvang where we purchased a tub of five dozen butter cookies. These were among … Continue reading

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Ancient Wines at The Vineyard

Close to a decade ago Ron purchased three old Burgundies from Premier Cru for next to nothing–$75 a bottle he recalls. Over the years we consumed the 1899 and 1893 bottles. I rated them both 100pts, and number them among … Continue reading

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Northwestern University Graduation

Dani graduated from Northwestern University on June 21st, 2013, with a BS degree and double majors in Communications and Psychology. Linda, Nicole and I travelled to Evanston for the festivities. It was an activity-packed few days. We began at the honors ceremony … Continue reading

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Charleston

We spent two days at sea, sailing from San Juan to Charleston, South Carolina. The Atlantic was fairly calm, and the sailing smooth. We had booked Priveé, the private dining room, for Thursday night. It’s located between Toscana and Polo … Continue reading

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Ecuador

Panama hats aren’t made in Panama. Who knew? They’re actually from Ecuador, which is convenient, because that’s where we are today, and I needed a hat. Yesterday we had a great day at sea. I spent some time in the … Continue reading

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Chan Chan, Peru

Salaverry is a northern port in Peru near the city of Trujillo. Our tour took us on a short drive through Trujillo to the Dragon Temple, a pyramid surrounded by a high wall. Our guide, Elver was quite informative, as … Continue reading

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Lima, Peru

For this year’s trip Linda and I set our goal to visit the last continent on our list, South America. (We’re not expecting to get to number seven, Antarctica, any time soon.) It seems ironic that the only inhabited continent … Continue reading

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Peperoncino

A dinner at Dellagio’s Peperoncino with Ron, Bev, Andres, Paula and Linda, noted here because of the inclusion of a 100 point 1934 Burgundy from Ron. Peperoncino serves authentic regional Italian cuisine in a fairly boisterous atmosphere. Because the place … Continue reading

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Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salad

For my birthday, Linda fixed this recipe which she modified from a version at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-salmon-with-citrus-salsa-verde-recipe/index.html She also made a tuna tartare, avocado and cucumber vorspeisenringe. We enjoyed all three on the veranda and then went in the spa. Ah, Orlando in … Continue reading

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Stellar Old Wines at Luma

Ron organized a great event in the downstairs room at Luma. Although the food wasn’t quite as good as our spectacular dinner there last month, the wines were stellar, spanning the great years, from 1947 (all time best Burgundy year) … Continue reading

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Farewell to Celebrity

Here are a couple of last photos from our final two sea days aboard the Celebrity Constellation. The bottom line is that I’d recommend this line if you’re looking for a Royal Caribbean type experience with better entertainment, but not … Continue reading

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Porto

Porto isn’t far from Vigo—just 84 kilometers—but it’s a different country and different wine-making. Our shore excursion took us to the Douro Valley, two hours away, where port comes from. Although port is named after Porto, the city has nothing … Continue reading

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