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Archives
Category Archives: Lifestyle
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining, Linda
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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. … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining
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Experimental AuGratins
Almost everyone was back in the office today. Linda is getting a cold, so I fixed dinner, including experimental potatoes au gratin, with the additions of cheese, bacon, onion, and smokey chili flakes. Not bad.
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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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
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Wine
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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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Scotland & Ireland 2008
We scheduled this extended trip to the UK to coincide with Dani and her friends from Trinity Prep performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Dani departed ahead of us, on Tuesday, July 29th, with her school group. They spent a … Continue reading
Europe 2007
Rome, Switzerland, Paris, London Friday, June 29, 2007 Orlando to London For Dani’s 16th birthday she asked to take her friend Christina, to Europe. This is the journal of that trip. The only time Christina has been out of the … Continue reading
Anniversaries at Victoria & Albert’s
March 16, 2007 Ron and Bev invited us to Victoria & Albert’s chef’s table in Disney’s Grand Floridian. We were joined by Philipe and Audrey. Chef Scott was in town (at last!) and provided an amazing meal, with several new … Continue reading
Spur of the Moment Chef’s Table at Victoria & Albert’s
October 7, 2006 A few months ago I tried to book Victoria & Albert’s chef’s table in Disney’s Grand Floridian for Linda’s birthday, but they had no openings. I asked Israel, the manager, to wait list us. Margaret from V&A … Continue reading
Great Years, Great Wines at Victoria & Albert’s
December 16, 2005 Ron and Bev Siegel invited us to dinner and tasting at Victoria & Albert’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian. Unfortunately my Dad was in town so we couldn’t both go. Linda drew the short straw. Joining us were … Continue reading
Emeril’s
10-12-2005 On the spur of the moment Ron and Bev invited me to lunch at Emeril’s, where I joined several sommeliers form around town. Present were: JP from Emeril’s, John from Brio, David from Le Coq au Vin, and Rhett … Continue reading
New York 2005
Dani’s Broadway Journal Day 1, 7/9/05 Manhattan The day mercifully didn’t start out at the crack of dawn. We had an 11:35 direct flight to New York. The flight was rescheduled to 11:20 so we were a little worried about … Continue reading
Baltic 2002
England, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, 2002 This summer we decided to explore a completely different part of the world. None of us had ever been to any of the ports on this 12 day cruise around the Baltic. … Continue reading
Celebrations at Victoria & Albert’s
March 23, 2002 Ron and Bev Siegel invited us to dinner and tasting at Victoria & Albert’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian. Andy and Libby Crocket accompanied us. The event was held in the kitchen at the Chef’s Table. We were … Continue reading
Tampa & B-21 2002
Tampa In the Spring of 2002 most of The Wine Syndicate group went to Tampa. Ron Siegel organized two wonderful dinners, and a luncheon and tasting in Tarpon Springs. Ken from Bern’s set up this dinner at Spartaco. The chef/owner was charming and … Continue reading
The Dinner of the Century
Victoria & Albert’s 11-30-2001 In November, 2001 about half of the The Wine Syndicate put together a dinner and tasting at Victoria & Albert’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian. The event, held in the kitchen at the Chef’s Table, was dubbed “The Dinner … Continue reading
Australia 2001
I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, both to see a new continent, and to better understand the market for audio, video, lighting and show control products, there. So when I heard that our Australian distributor, EAV Technology, would be exhibiting … Continue reading
Las Vegas 2000
In the Fall of 2000 most of The Wine Syndicate group went to Las Vegas, where we stayed at the Venetian. We had some great lunches, dinners and tastings, and also found time for Star Trek The Experience, a tour of Caesar’s … Continue reading
Canadian Capitals 2000
Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Toronto Monday On August 21st, 2000 we set out for a tour of Canadian Capitals. We selected Tauck Tours, because of their reputation for a hassle-free experience, with deluxe accommodations and no restrictions on dining choices. Departing … Continue reading
Charleston Wine Trip
In February, 2000 we went with three couples from our wine tasting group, The Wine Syndicate, to the Middleton Inn outside of Charleston, SC for a great weekend of wine tasting, recreation and sightseeing. I had only been “through” Charleston until … Continue reading