Category Archives: United States

Wines That Don’t Rock

Every couple of months there is a “Vine and Dine” event at the Everglades Restaurant at the Rosen Omni Center near the Convention Center. The events are usually quite fun, because the chef rises to the challenge of matching foods … Continue reading

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The Science of Wine

This fund raiser for the Orlando Science Museum was everything we hoped the event two weeks ago at Dellagio would be, but wasn’t. There were over 100 wines arranged around the fourth floor of the museum. Each table had 4 … Continue reading

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Pao Gostoso Bakery

I heard about this place that makes insane hamburgers, so Tommy and I had to try it. They are… insane. Tommy got their very craziest offering, which included beef, chicken, sausage, ham, bacon, corn, lettuce, cheese, potato straws and a … Continue reading

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Yellow Dog Eats

Yellow Dog Eats is a wonderfully funky hangout that the locals fill every day at lunch for the best sandwiches you can get in Central Florida—and perhaps anywhere. The menu is filled with the eclectic creations of owner Fish Morgan. … Continue reading

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LOST

Tonight Linda and I finished a six month project of watching all of LOST on DVD. For me, it was the first time to see seasons 1 and 2, for Linda it was her first time seeing seasons 5 and … Continue reading

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1982 Bordeaux

Ron organized this 1982 Bordeaux tasting at Bull  & Bear. Words cannot express how much better a tasting this was than the 1986 Bordeaux event in New York last week. That said, I still don’t see what all the fuss … Continue reading

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Benoit

We finished our trip to New York with an authentic French Bistro lunch at Benoit. We’d spotted this place in our walks around the neighborhood of the hotel, and it looked just like a Paris bistro. So before catching our … Continue reading

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Eleven Madison Park

A jam-packed day of culinary adventure in New York City! The City’s Top Rated Zagat Restaurant — But Why? Our day began with Lunch at Le Bernardin, the city’s top rated food according to Zagat, the only place rated 29/30. … Continue reading

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Spiderman: Turn Off the Suck

When we first planned this trip to New York, I asked Ron if there were any Broadway shows he wanted to see, and he mentioned Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. Having heard how awful the show was, and that it … Continue reading

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The 5 Browns

The 5 Browns is a classical music group of five siblings—Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan Brown—who play piano. Five pianos. All Steinways, all at the same time. They put on a great show last night at the Plaza, playing … Continue reading

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Protected: Dani Does Wicked

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Victoria & Albert’s Anniversary Celebration

On our 33rd anniversary we invited our friends Ron & Bev Siegel to join us at Victoria and Albert’s chef’s table. Ron and Bev just celebrated their 36th anniversary, so it was a dual celebration. Maitre d’ Israel Perez managed … Continue reading

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Colorado Fondue Company

One of our favorite casual restaurants is the independently owned Colorado Fondue Company in Casselberry. Dani started a tradition of going there on or near her birthday when she was ten, and we always take a picture with their moose.

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l’Atelier

We saved the best for last. Having been to Joel Robuchon’s l’Atelier in London, we knew it was good, but I had expected his formal restaurant, Robuchon, to be better. However I actually prefer the honest flavors of the simple … Continue reading

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Backstage at Caesar’s Forum Shops

With our wine group back in Orlando, Linda and I have a few days alone in Las Vegas.  Thursday we met Ron Ford of Simon Malls for lunch at Sushi Roku and a backstage tour of the Forum Shops. There … Continue reading

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Delmonico’s

Delmonico’s was the final restaurant on our Wine Syndicate Las Vegas culinary adventure, and it was easily the best experience. Incredibly attentive and professional wine service by Ryan Anderson made the evening a delight. At last, here was a place … Continue reading

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Lotus of Siam

For lunch we went to Lotus of Siam, regarded by many as the best Thai restaurant in America. It’s in a dumpy shopping center off of Sahara, so I’m sure we looked a bit incongruous piling out of a stretch … Continue reading

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Pinot Brasserie

Monday Linda and I walked up to the Forum Shops and had lunch at Sushi Roku. Our server, Chase, made some great recommendations. It was a beautiful morning, and we stopped to look back at our hotel across the Bellagio … Continue reading

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Robuchon

Today Linda and I explored the area around City Center, including several hotels owned by MGM: The Bellagio, Aria and Monte Carlo. These are connected by a tram, along with the Crystals mall. We had a good lunch of tapas … Continue reading

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Vdara

Today is the first day of our Wine Syndicate getaway to Las Vegas. We took advantage of our membership miles to fly first class on Delta through Atlanta. It took most of the day, but it was a pleasant flight, … Continue reading

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Rachael Sage

Martin and I went to see Rachael Sage, one of my favorite performers. It was no small feat finding this concert, which was inexplicably part of the monthly Orlando Folk Music meeting. It was originally advertised as being at a … Continue reading

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Mystery Fruit

The ugly tree in the backyard has pretty flowers on it. Linda planted this cutting a few years ago, with the promise that each branch would grow a different kind of fruit. Mostly it grows dead twigs. But this branch … Continue reading

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City Fire Oven and Bar

Tonight Linda an I went to a pre-opening test run of a new restaurant by the family that created Pebbles, Harvey’s Bistro and Manuel’s. For a first night, things ran remarkably smoothly. It was fun to try some of the … Continue reading

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1937 Silvertone Model 4587A Refurbished

A couple of months ago I posted about my friend, Jim Carstensen’s project to refurbish his father-in-law’s 1937 Silvertone radio. The project is now complete, and I wanted to post these before and after photos of the assembled console. What … Continue reading

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Raccoons in the Screen Room

Hmmm… not sure how I got in here, but it’s a lot harder to find a way out.

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West Side Story

The touring production of West Side Story visited Orlando this week, and Linda and I saw it on our season ticket subscription to Broadway Across America. Of all the hundreds of musicals we’ve seen, it’s curious that neither of us … Continue reading

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Around the World in 180 Minutes

Everglades Restaurant at the Rosen Centre Hotel hosts a food and wine event about five times each year. We particularly enjoy these events because of their fun and intimate nature, the opportunity to meet interesting people at our table, and … Continue reading

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Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow rarely leaves Vegas these days, but last night he kicked off a new tour at the Amway Center in Orlando. This is the second concert I’ve seen there, and the jury is still out on the acoustics, but … Continue reading

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Rock of Ages more like Gravel

For a decade we held season tickets to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, which hosted some of the best productions in the Southeast, but then they terminated their affiliation with Broadway Across America, and stopped getting the interesting touring … Continue reading

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Christmas 2010

We had a lovely Christmas, leisurely opening our packages all day.  The best gifts were homemade. Dani wrapped up a LOST-themed Dharma pillow in DHARMA “Standard Wrapping Paper” that she made herself, and she also gave us a world map … Continue reading

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