North America – Page 3 – Steve's Journal

Jackson Browne at Ravinia

We have a full summer of concerts planned, mostly at Ravinia, the wonderful outdoor venue north of Evanston. We usually sit in the pavilion, but for this concert we could only get lawn tickets, which turned out to be lots of fun. Rather than eat at one of the restaurants, I packed a picnic lunch and we rented chairs and tables. I met Dani on her way home from work aboard the Metra train.

It had poured early in the day, but there was time for the lawn to mostly dry, and the ambience of relaxing outside and watching the show on the big screen was great. It reminded us of the Open Air Theater in London’s Regent Park.

Jackson Browne was very gracious, and actually introduced–and sat in for part of–the opening act, Sara Watkins, an accomplished fiddle player and singer. Calling what she was doing fiddling is really understating it. Then she played during his set.

The main concert was very good. I heard quite a few songs I liked but wasn’t familiar with, and of course he played most of his hits.

I haven’t heard the new sound system from inside the pavilion this year, but the lawn sound was certainly better than anything I’ve heard at Ravinia before. The concert energy is much lower on the lawn, because people are relaxing and chatting a bit, and the sound level is much lower, but that’s not a bad thing, just different.

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 for the university, where Dani was recognized for her membership in the Mortarboard Society.

That was followed by a reception which Dani and Linda attended while I went to the airport to pick up her godmother, Nicole.

That afternoon Dani visited the local photo studio for some commemorative photos with her friend, Dana.

In the evening we went to one of our favorite Chicago restaurants, The Girl and the Goat.

Friday was the entire university’s commencement ceremony on Ryan field. The speaker was Mikhail Baryshnikov, who delivered a charming, heartfelt speech.

We had a great view, because we watched it on high definition streaming video in the comfort of Dani’s apartment The camera coverage was exceptional (done by the film students) and the audio–especially on the amazing orchestra–was terrific, too. It sounded like a CD. Dani’s friend Dana played the french horn in that orchestra.

In the afternoon we got absolutely soaked on our way the the Psychology Department’s party. But it was worth the trip, as Dani was recognized for her research grant. I had no idea how competitive that study she did last summer was, but she was one of only 2 proposals funded out of 250 applications. I also had no idea how special her presentations at two psychology conferences were. I had assumed it was a student adjunct to the conference, but her study was accepted as a part of the adult conference. Amazing.

At the party she posed with the other departmental star student, Mike, and her beloved professor (apparently the whole university’s favorite professor) Renee.

In the evening we went to our favorite Evanston restaurant, The Stained Glass.

Saturday was the School of Communications Convocation, where she got her actual diploma. Out of more than 200 students, Dani was the only one with three distinctions: Summa Cum Laude, Departmental Honors in Psychology, and Departmental Distinction in Radio, Film and Television. The honors in psychology were for her thesis, which was based upon her research.

That diploma holder was actually empty, but she ran over and got the real one before they changed their minds.

Afterwards we retired to the lake fill for some Champagne (price: about $100,000 a glass) and celebrating.

Then Dani posed in front of the Tech building where she spent so much time on her pre-med classes…

…and in front of the psychology building.

As part of the graduating tradition, she gave her stole to Nicole in thanks for all her support.

This picture makes a nice coda, since it’s where Dani stood six years earlier during her college tour of Northwestern.

Finally, it was time to return her robe and say goodbye.

We celebrated her many accomplishments with a lofty dinner high atop Everest.

New York Dining

We tried quite a few new restaurants during our week in New York, and returned to many old favorites. Here they are, in order.

Le Rivage

This really authentic French Bistro is very popular with locals, but just a block off Broadway. It’s located in a virtual “restaurant row” on 46th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. It offers all the classic French dishes, well prepared and served in a cozy environment overseen by the owner, who made sure we were enjoying everything. Reasonably priced.

Haru Sushi

We found this little sushi place just off Broadway after a show, and were quite pleased with it. Although it is a mini chain, it didn’t seem so, and it was worlds better than the tourist restaurants on Times Square. The decor is soothing, the fish is fresh, and the service was super-attentive. I would definitely return.

Bouley

Lunch here was pretty much perfection. The bread service is much appreciated, and something not offered by many restaurants any more, even the three-star variety. There are a few bargain pre-fixe deals in town at top rated restaurants, but I’d have to say that Bouley’s is perhaps the best. The quality of food and service really can’t be topped, and the room is unbelievably comfortable and welcoming.

Sardi’s

You go to Sardi’s for the history, not the food. It’s probably the same as it’s always been, but standards have changed. However its location right in the theatre district, and the drawings of ancient theatre stars that paper the walls are what it’s all about. Linda loves the spinach cannelloni, but warns that the appetizer portion is plenty.

Candle 79

This upper east side vegetarian restaurant is a charming place, with excellent service, and is walking distance to the Metropolitan Museum, which was our next stop. It was packed, so Pamela and I took a table upstairs while Linda and Dani ate at the bar. I loved the house made ginger ale. I was a bit disappointed in the food, because it seemed under-seasoned and under-flavored, despite having quite a few ingredients. The hummus appetizer was fine, but the falafel seemed like almost the same dish, just seared hummus in a pita without much sign of tahini or other ingredients.

48 Lounge

I’m an old fuddy duddy, but this place was close to the theatre, the hotel, and was open late. Lounge seating is–let’s face it–uncomfortable, and the soundtrack makes it almost impossible to converse, so going in I knew it would have two strikes against it from my point of view. But the drink list and wines were interesting, and the food was okay. Pork sliders were the best, followed by the kobe hot dogs. Tater tots, spinach artichoke dip and hummus were okay but nothing special. If you like lounge ambiance and are in the area, it’s worth a shot (pun intended).

Sushi Yasuda

Many people think this is the best sushi in New York. I don’t get it. Most restaurants I’ve been to serve better sushi.

“Omakase” is where you put yourself in the chef’s hands and multiple specialties are served. I’ve had it in some highly regarded restaurants in Los Angeles. At one, special delicacies were flown in daily from Tokyo (they later were put out of business for selling endangered species). At another, plate after plate of tiny tastes were served, with each thoughtful ingredient contributing to an almost life-changing wonderment.

Not at Sushi Yasuda. Here, the omakase showed up as a platter of sashimi looking like it was cut up by an axe murderer. Nearly every fish had the soft, mealy texture of near-pudding, and it was all uniformly flavorless. Then a platter of sushi showed up. Same fish, now on crumbly rice. The final plate was a piece of eel sushi, also mealy. How do you even make eel mealy? At $357 for three, the biggest dining disappointment ever.

Eleven Madison Park

I had the greatest meal of my life at Eleven Madison Park. I also had the second greatest here. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend their new format. There are still 16 complex courses, and the service is still masterful yet friendly. But the emphasis on theatre rather than flavor has taken it down a notch. Some courses seemed repetitive, and there were very few “wow” moments. I’d trade the table-side magic act (lame) and the carrot grinding for a few of those one-bite orgasmic wonders of the past.

The carrot course was actually one of the best. It offered a dozen ingredients to add to the freshly ground carrot. I selected mustard and mustard seed. If that sounds like haut cuisine, you need to get out more. And it would have been just as good if the carrot was ground in the kitchen rather than on a hand grinder clamped to the table.

Another theatrical course that was a bit more successful was the “picnic basket.” This was a fun idea, where you took ingredients out of the basket and set up your own picnic. The second best food came out of this. It was a freshly made soft pretzel with house-made mustard. There’s a theme here. Madison Park makes good mustard.

The various shellfish courses that started the meal were simply repetitive. And why did we have to all have the same meat course, when they were individually plated? Surely there are enough two ounce portions of lamb and duck in the kitchen to be able to mix it up?

Sadly, the great bottle of cognac that used to end the meal is also gone, replaced by a local apple brandy.

In short, Eleven Madison Park is still a good restaurant, but it is no longer THE restaurant. I’ll certainly go back… but not until the concept changes again.

Benoit

Benoit is a traditional French Brasserie in every way: ambiance, food and service. Our favorites here include the charcuterie plate and the whole roasted chicken for two. Ironically, we’ve had the whole roasted chicken at Alan Ducasse’s thee star Michelin Louis XIV in Monte Carlo, and this one is much better! We avoid Sunday brunch, because they don’t have the same menu, therefore no roast chicken.

Chez Josephine

This is my favorite after-theatre restaurant. Its dark and cozy ambiance is perfect for winding down after a show, and the period jazz piano player summons up the perfect soundtrack. The place oozes Paris in the 1920s, plus the food is top notch. On my latest visit I really enjoyed the pan seared Alaskan halibut in lemon sauce. The cozy table in the window offers the perfect intimate atmosphere, with music at just the right level for intimate conversation. And how wonderful to enjoy this caliber of food until 1am, so there’s plenty of time to relax.

Ocha

This cozy little place is on 46th Street’s restaurant row between 8th and 9th. The fish is fresh and menu offerings are extensive. The sashimi sampler was generous, and the salmon tartare had a great sauce. Compared to top rated Sushi Yasuda (where we ate two days earlier) Ocha was much better at a fraction of the price. Service can be a bit inattentive, but if you’re in no hurry it’s a great choice.

One if by Land, Two if by Sea

This place, billed as New York’s most romantic restaurant, was recommended to us by Joy, who went there for her anniversary. We really enjoyed the ambiance of the place, which used to be Aaron Burr’s carriage house. The food was delicious, service very professional, and the piano player among the best I’ve heard. It’s divided into a number of intimate rooms. Most of the lighting is provided by table-top tapers, so it is, indeed very romantic. My barramundi had a wonderfully crispy crust, and the espresso souffle was light and airy. A glass of rainwater madeira was the perfect way to complete a perfect meal.

Broadway Shows

This trip we fit in four shows: three new ones and one favorite.

Newsies

This Disney show is based upon a movie from the 90s that flopped but became a fan favorite. The Alan Menken score was resurrected and Harvey Fierstein added story, including a love interest, in what was to be a touring company show that could later be offered to school productions. But its out of town opening was so well received they decided to take it to Broadway. On broadway it received two Tonys, and has been playing more than a year.

With that build up, I was expecting more. The plot was extremely trite, shallow and formulaic, there was no character development, and the songs are only passable. The dancing and energetic (and large cast) was great, though. But it’s definitely not a show I’d sit through again.

Lucky Guy

Norah Ephron’s last project was this dramatic play about Mike McAlary, the New York reporter and columnist. I don’t usually go for contemporary dramas, but this one featured Tom Hank’s Broadway debut, so we gave it a try. It’s a great production, with a wonderful cast, and surprisingly interesting material. The New Yorkers who comprised the audience obviously good even more out of it than we did. Hanks is an amazing actor, especially in person. It was also neat to see a Broadway show where the performers had to actually projects, as they weren’t miked.

The Book of Mormon

This is the most disgusting, irreverent, profane abomination I’ve ever seen. We loved it. I’d already listened to the soundtrack album and envisioned how it would be staged, and it was pretty much as I’d imagined it. Basically, it’s South Park about Mormons with music. If you think a show about female circumcision would make a good musical… well, you need help. But it does.

Wicked

I think this was my 15th time seeing this show, so I’ve seen strong and weak performances in every role. The Broadway version is usually best, since the sets are bigger and better, and it often attracts the best talent. Not tonight, though. It was like watching a high school production. Glinda was being played by the standby, and she threw away every one of her funny lines. But she wasn’t the only problem. Fiero also seemed like a high school student, with no depth of character, and extremely awkward dance movements. Elphaba had a beautiful singing voice, but no chemistry with the other performers. I wouldn’t have said it was possible for this show to contain so little humor and so little emotional impact. The audience still loved it, but it left us bemused. Thank goodness it’s not always like this!

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 Grill, and you can choose items from both menus. We invited Ashley and Ming Cheung, a couple we met at the La Reserve wine dinner to join us, and the five of us had a lovely evening of conversation, food and wine. I probably wouldn’t book Priveé again, though, because most of the experience can be duplicated by requesting a table for five in either of the adjoining restaurants. You’d just have to decide what cuisine you wanted.

Friday we docked in Charleston. The weather was temperate and sunny. Charleston is a great port, because the pier is just a block from the end of Market street, the tourist shopping area of the city. We sensed this was what Pamela had been waiting for; she had a good time browsing the wide variety of merchandise.

At the end of the shops we split up, and Linda and I continued about a mile down King Street to O-Ku, a restaurant Dani and I discovered on a previous trip. They serve excellent sushi, in a really nice decor (although the menu and the lighting is better at night).

We made our way back along Market Street, where Linda stocked up on stocking stuffers for Christmas.

In the afternoon we tried out the putting green on deck 16, then watched as we sailed out of Charleston Harbor past Fort Sumter.

France Conquers Italy

Not since the days of Napoleon has it been so clear who ruled Europe.

Keith Edwards organized an extraordinarily informative tasting designed to compare ten Italian merlots with ten Bordeaux wines consisting of at least 75% merlot. In attendance were Keith, Parlo, Ron, Bev, Andres, Paula, Russell, Linda and I.

What a great location K Restaurant was! The appetizers before the event were also the best we’ve had, and included deviled eggs, crab hors d’ouvres, and some great cheeses.

Blind Tasting

Wines were served double blind through a complex mechanism that guaranteed each flight would have one Italian and one French wine. Keith provided a wonderful tasting booklet for our notes.

The flights turned out to be:

Flight 1

1998 L’Evangile 250 (Andres) 92 pts

1998 Le Macchiole’s Messorio (Bolgheri, Tuscany) $238 (Keith) 91 pts

Flight 2

2006 Bellevue Mondotte $70 (Russell) 88 pts

2004 Petrolo Galatrona (Arezzo, Tuscany) $264 (Keith) 93 pts

Flight 3

1996 Tua Rita Redigaffi (Suvereto, Tuscany) $259 (Keith) 84 pts

1998 Valandraud $160 (Ron) 92 pts

Flight 4

2000 Clos L’Eglise $140 (Ron) 92 pts

1995 Castello di Ama L’Apparita (Chianti Classico, Tuscany) $254 (Keith) 88 pts

Flight 5

1994 Chateau Angelus $170 (Ron) 92 pts

2004 San Giusto a Rentennano La Ricolma (Chianti Classico, Tuscany) $115 (Keith) 83 pts

Flight 6

1997 Lamaione (keith) 92 pts

1957 Petrus $462 (Steve) 96 pts

Flight 7

1993 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto (Bolgheri, Tuscany) $234 (Keith) 94 pts

1996 La Mondotte $185 (Russell) 93 pts

Flight 8

2006 Petra’s Quercegobbe Merlot (Suvereto, Tuscany) $54 (Keith) 91 pts

1998 Chateau Pavie $200 (Ron) 92 pts

Flight 9/10 (combined because otherwise the last flight would be obvious)

1997 Gravner Rujno $179 (Keith) 86 pts

1995 Clinet (Keith) (Badly Corked)

1996 Clos Fourtet (Andres) 84 pts

2001 Miani Colli Orientali $250 (Ron) 83 pts

Observations on the Blind Tasting

With only one exception, the French wine was better than the Italian wine.
In almost every case it was obvious which country the wine came from.
The Italian wines were, with the exception of the Masseto, quite disappointing.
The last four wines were close to undrinkable.
The Petrus obviously didn’t belong in a blind tasting with these, but it was excellent. I was very worried because it was an off vintage, and had been open two hours before we got to it, but in fact it held up for five hours. I guess there’s a reason Petrus is so expensive.
The other wine that stood out was the 2000 Clos L’Eglise, which has an extraordinary candy shop nose. It turned out this wine was 30% Cabernet Franc, so it was disqualified as a merlot, but it was definitely the best contemporary wine.
Except for the Petrus, and perhaps the Clos L’Eglise, the good wines were all too young to drink.
It’s easy to generalize and say French wines are better than Italian (which may well be the case) but it’s important to remember this was a merlot tasting, and Pomerol merlots are among the best French wines, while one wonders if they should be growing merlot in Italy at all.

Dinner

After the formal tasting, we segued into dinner, which was excellent. Shrimp on spicy grits, heirloom tomatoes, duck confit with goat cheese and a crispy crusted fish over corn were the standouts.

The wines poured during dinner were, in general, much better than the tasting wines. My notes:

95 Klaus Riesling Schloss Schonborn (Keith)

An incredible match with shrimp on spicy grits, not too sweet, 94 pts

2001 Ch Chevalier Blanc (Keith)

Nutty, lucious, waxy, 94 pts

1982 Savigny Les Beaune Lavieres Robert Ampeau (Steve)

Refined, thin, dried flowers, rust, 90 pts

2009 Gavi di Gavi il Monterotondo Il Gabbiano white (Andres)

Balanced, good food wine, 88 pts

1968 Vina Valoria Rioja (Steve)

Dill, balanced, youthful, cherry, Burgundian, Andres loved this, chocolate coated dill pickles, just kept getting better in the glass, 95 pts

62 Chambolle Musigny J Henri Remy (Ron)

Rust, Cherries, meat, charred cedar plank, animal fat, herbs, 98 pts

1990 Hermitage La Chapelle Jaboulet (Keith)

Vanilla, sweet, balanced, chocolate covered cherries, animal fat, 100 point Parker wine, 96 pts

1966 Ch La Mission Haut Brion (Ron)

Tobacco, gravel, the sea, gun metal, sweet, always Paula’s favorite wine, 99 pts

That was all the fun Linda could take, so we said our goodbyes and left the group to ponder dessert and, no doubt, more wine!

Wine Lunch on Hillstone’s Dock

Ron arranged this lovely Saturday afternoon event for a fairly large group. The weather was cool and blustery, but plastic panels kept out most of the wind, and it was a delightful venue, with great service by Laura and delicious food by Hillstone (formerly Houston’s)

In attendance were Ron, Bev, Linda, Keith, Parlo, Andres, Gary, Trish, Carsten (Luma), John (Augustan Wines), Richard, and Noel

NV Shramsberg Rose (Hillstone)
Strawberries, good balance, 88

NV Bouzy Camille Saves (John)
Yeast, toast, 90

93 Haut Brion (Linda)
Chalk, candle wax, lanolin, lemon, honey, vanilla bean, 96

07 Sancerre cuvée les deserts Philippe Auchere (Keith)
Lemon, ash, 90

34 Volnay Champans Boisseaux-Estivant (Steve)
Rust, copper, cinnamon, blood orange peel, a bit thin, sandalwood, smoked meat, red apple peel, 93

1958 Barolo Antichi Vignetti Propri (Keith)
Sea air, iodine, miss, wet pennies, sweet finish, 93

1990 Echezeaux grand cru virile-Vignes Mongeard Muneret (Ron)
Classic mature burg, tons of fruit, cherries, smoke, wood, roses, 95

71 Volnay Nicolas Potel (Ron)
Light in color, pinot nose, smoke, wood, lemon curd, Key lime pie, mint, 94

59 Ch Grand Puy Ducasse Puillac (Steve)
Youthful, fruity, classic Bordeaux, iron, wood, glad I have 3 bottles left, 93

67 Ch L’Evangile Pomerol (Keith)
Fresh, fruity, sandalwood, candle wax, coffee liqueur, cotton candy, bubble gum, astonishingly good for a 1967, 93

83 Ch Lynch Bages (Ron)
Big, tannic, chewy, cherry, tobacco, cedar, pencil lead, similar to La Mission Hair Brion, but perhaps a bit awkward, 92

83 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill
Fruity, good for ten more years, baking spice, cherries, iron, wax, 93

82 Ch Trotanoy Pomerol (Ron)
Youthful, iron, vanilla, mint, 96

2007 Pierre Usseglio Cuvée de mon Aieul CDP (Ron)
Chocolate, raspberry, sweet fruit finish, cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, 97

2009 Delas Les Bessardes Hermitage (Ron)
Meat, smoke, bacon, vanilla, must less sweet finish than the CDP 99

(Both of these last two Rhones were Robert Parker 100 pointers)

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 the dead of winter.

Ingredients

Citrus Salad:

2 large oranges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, finely sliced
6 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salmon:

Vegetable or canola oil, for oiling the grill
4 (4 to 5-ounce) center cut salmon fillets, skinned, each about 3-inches square
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the salsa: Peel and trim the ends from each orange. Using a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and add them to a medium bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, scallions, mint, red peppers, orange zest, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Toss lightly and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

For the salmon: Put a grill rack on charcoal grill. Brush the grilling rack with vegetable oil to keep the salmon from sticking. Brush the salmon on both sides with the agave nectar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to a platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve the citrus salad on the side as an accompaniment.

Per Serving: Calories 497; Total Fat 33 grams; Saturated Fat 6 grams; Protein 30 grams; Total Carbohydrate 19 grams; Sugar: 15 grams; Fiber 3 grams; Cholesterol 78 milligrams; Sodium 457 milligrams

Harold’s House of Omelets

When we used to live in Westlake Village, Harold’s House of Omelets was our favorite spot for breakfast. Sometimes we close the Alcorn McBride office and head over there for a late breakfast, because Harold’s wasn’t open for lunch!

Wednesday morning, Dani and I made the pilgrimage to Thousand Oaks, about an hour drive (hey this is LA, where you drive an hour to go to a restaurant) north west from our hotel.

These days Harold’s stays open all the way through dinner, and they’ve added Mexican food to the six page densely packed menu. But the omelets haven’t changed. They’re still football sized, with a thick fluffy layer of eggs concealing a literal pile of whatever is underneath. I like the “special” omelet, which has tomatoes, bacon, sour cream and mild chilis, all on top of crispy hash browns. Yum.

The decor hasn’t changed in thirty years (or possibly fifty, as this is their 50th anniversary). It’s nice that sometimes you can go home again.

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) to 2000 (a DRC Ron pulled out at the last minute).

In attendance were Ron, Bev, Linda, Barbara (from Pepperoncino), Keith, Parlo, Andres, Paula, and Russell. Thanks for the great wines, everyone!

The Wines

1996 Roederer Cristal (Ron)
Vanilla, yeast
97 pts

NV Jacques Selosse (Ron)
Good acid
95 pts

75 Ch Palmer (Russell)
Medium body, underlying fruit, clay, wood finish, caramel, mint
90 pts

93 Haut Brion Blanc (Ron)
Semolina nose, perfect balance, fatty, lichee nut, white pepper, wax, limestone, pineapple, tropical, lush, buttery
99 pts

04 Corton Charlemagne Bouchard (Keith)
Lemon grass, key lime peel, ash, dusty, white asparagus, high acid, sea shell
90 pts

1947 Casa de Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon
Recorked 1982 at Sebastiani Vineyards from the personal cellar of August Sebastiani
Good fruit and acid, youthful, bacon, wood, youthful
93 pts

71 -Nuits St Georges Arguillieres Remoissenet (Keith)
Mushrooms, fruit, balance
93 pts

64 Chambolle Musigny Remoissenet (Keith)
A bit of corkiness increased with air
88 pts

71 Corton Remoissenet (Steve)
Toasted marshmallows, great fruit, great structure
95 pts

47 Chambertin Clos de Beze Remoissenet (Ron)
Gun oil, spice, very young, earthy, smoke, horse stable
99 pts

47 Romanee Saint Vivant Drapier (Steve)
Cinammon, raspberry, cream, great balance
98 pts

61 Bonne Mares Hudeolet (Ron)
Earthy, good fruit, wood
97 pts

66 Ch Loeoville Poyfere (Keith)
Dust, youthful, mint, a bit short
88 pts

66 Ch La Mission Haut Brion (Ron)
Not typical LMHB, gun oil, peat, mushroom
86 pts

66 Ch Canon La Gaffeliere (Keith)
Candy nose, sweet caramel. pastry, cream, young fruit, tannin, died quickly
89 pts

62 Ch Haut Brion (Steve)
Classic Graves, elegant
92 pts

71 Ch Haut Brion (Steve)
Butter, Classic Graves, tight, coffee, smoke
93 pts

90 Ch Haut Brion (Ron)
Very young, cucumber, peppercorn
94 pts

94 Petrus (Andres)
Mouth filling, balanced, red fruits, wood
92 pts

82 Lynch Bages (Russell)
Coffee, chewy, big fruit, young, mint, chocolate, tannic
94 pts

89 Lynch Bages (Keith)
Chewy, mint, tannic monster, chocolate, chlorine, needs many years
92 pts

2001 Ch Climens (Ron)
A bit dull, peppery, petrol, considering this is a 100 pt wine, rather surprising
90 pts

2001 Ch Riussec (Ron)
Botrytis, acidic, slightly off balance
91 pts

2000 Echezeaux DRC (Ron)
Smoke, leather, cherries, tobacco, raw blood sausage, iron, needs many years
92 -> 96? pts

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.

Tru201209-1 — Amazing raw scallop course, and a Glass of Madeira.

Tru201209-2 — Seriously, this was the best shellfish dish I’ve ever tasted. perfect scallop, thinly sliced, with flavors of cilantro and umami.

Tru201209-3 — Alaskan Halibut in coconut broth.

Tru201209-4 — Chicken with black truffles, floating above a log and forest floor detritus.

Tru201209-5 — In addition to the floating chicken, there is also asparagus with crispy chicken skin and foie gras.

Tru201209-6 — This is how all fruit rollups should be served. The clothespins are less that a half inch long.

Tru201209-7 — Tru doesn’t monkey around with dessert.

TruMenu200909 — The menu. The red Greek wine served with the chicken was particularly noteworthy, combining the character of fine Bordeaux with bright cherry bark notes.

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.

techentry — 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.

metalstep — 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.

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.

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…

Arizon and Utah Art Photos

I usually only post photos with people in them to my blog, as over the years I’ve found those are the only ones I really care about later. But these five turned out so well, I’ve decided to put them up anyway.

Restaurant Michael

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.

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.