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Archives
Category Archives: United States
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
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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
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, … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Dining, Los Angeles
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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
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Orlando, Theme Parks
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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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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, … Continue reading
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: … Continue reading
Posted in Evanston
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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 … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Dining, Evanston, Music, Photography
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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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, The West
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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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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, … Continue reading
Posted in Las Vegas
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Vdara Window Washer Rescue
We had a bit of excitement outside our hotel yesterday. Firefighters had to be lowered from above our 56th floor suite to rescue three window washers when their basket got stuck and started to slip. TV crews gathered down on … Continue reading
Posted in Las Vegas
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