Wed, 03 Dec 2008
Celebrate This Friday
Did you know that this Friday is the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition? I think that's a reason to celebrate. Raise a glass of something with a friend, I plan to.
It's not like I imbibe every day, but I can't imagine not having a glass of wine with some good food and good friends. Speaking of good food, good friends (and good drinks) - It was nice hanging out with those of you I spent time with over Thanksgiving. Okay, since I'm rambling, I might as well add some more comments. K&L and other wine stores seem to have some great deals listed. Hopefully this will carry over to those of you in TX and you can stock up on some good stuff to drink in '09. Email me if you want some recs or ideas. I recently went to a store called Cask, which is owned by the team that owns Bourbon & Branch. It's a very nice store with a great selection of whiskies (whiskeys?). The staff is very knowledgeable, or was the night I was there. I'm not sure it's the best (or cheapest) selection of whiskey/whisky in SF, but it's probably in the top 3. And back to the point-- 75 years isn't really that long a time in the scheme of things. I know how I'll mark the time- with some Bourbon- it's American, and it's gooood.03 Dec 15:46 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 17 Nov 2008
New Yorker Confirms What Texans Know
(thanks to Todd Z for the link)
Here's an article from Calvin Trillin in the New Yorker. It's a bit of a behind-the-story look at this past summer's Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joints in TX article where Snow's was named the winner. It's a good read and it makes me really wish I had some good BBQ in SF. I do like this bit from the column:Lexington, a trading town of twelve hundred people in Lee County, is only about fifty miles from Austin, where Texas Monthly is published, and Texans think nothing of driving that far for lunch-- particularly if the lunch consists of brisket that has been subjected to slow heat since the early hours of the morning.Mmmm brisket
17 Nov 23:11 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Thu, 13 Nov 2008
Because Half Would Be Too Much
13 Nov 19:36 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 13 Oct 2008
I'm a bit disappointed
My dad mentioned something to me when I was in SA and completely forgot about it until now.
He said that SA Express News readers voted the Olive Garden as the best Italian restaurant in San Antonio. Are you f$*%ing kidding me? I thought he was joking, or hoped rather. But nope, here's the reader's survey There are so many things wrong with the selections. Uggh. I'm a bit disappointed.13 Oct 16:43 | /food_and_drink | 4 comment(s)
Mon, 29 Sep 2008
How To Taste a Lot of Wine with Your Friends
Are you in a rut with your wine selection? Want to branch out and try new stuff, but you're not sure what to try? Well, here's an easy way to taste a lot of wines with your friends that's also fun.
Have a station set up near the door where your guests can put their bottles in a bag and write down some key information on some index cards. In our case, we hand our bagged wines and cards to the "cardmaster" who will assign random numbers to our wines. Here's a vid from Saturday night where I'm bagging my wines while Patrick, the co-host, plays with the camera:Once everyone's wine is bagged- organize the bottles on a table, give everyone a glass, and have a place to dump out extra wine. Hand out some index cards and pens and serve some food! Then let everyone taste the wines and keep notes (they can take the notes home with them). Make the one sober person tabulate the scores and then do a "reveal". Here's Patrick who somehow got stuck being the tabulator . . . Oh, by the way- I brought two wines. One of them got last place. Yeah, I rock. . . Enjoy. . .
Reegs going over his notes, Pak picks a fave:
?
29 Sep 01:00 | /food_and_drink | 3 comment(s)
Mon, 25 Aug 2008
Cooking Vids Part 2
Okay, I have the other two videos on youtube now.
The 1st one below is an edited version of the actual dinner- goes over the rules and voting and me stuffing my face and showing off my plate of meat. I had a great time at my friends' place and was just playing with the video software to see if I could get subtitles in there. It's all in good fun, I'm not trying to be a catty bish-- well, I am, but it's well-meaning. note: I may have to take this down if the hostess requests me to do so- I'm not sure she knew I was recording . . . And after that last video was this one, capping up the night's events- very introspective: Enjoy25 Aug 15:41 | /food_and_drink | 7 comment(s)
Sun, 24 Aug 2008
Some Cooking Vids
I got a new Flip Video Ultra the other day. They're pretty goofy, but I wanted one just for giggles. Anyway, I wound up taking some clips (with Cory's help) when I went to the South Bay yesterday to cook some ribs for a party.
Here are the first two vids.... take it easy on me in the comments, I was just farting around. Just a note- I will upload the vids of the actual party because they came out well, I just need to edit them a bit. That was the prep, this is cooking: I'll have the other videos up later.. . .24 Aug 22:11 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Thu, 21 Aug 2008
Fat Ass, Missed Oppurtunity
This morning I went to Starbucks for a cup of coffee (long story, I overslept and the bus was slow, so I didn't have a chance to make espresso at home). And there was a woman two or three people in front of me on her cell phone.
The guys behind the counter were going fast, so they were asking ahead in the line- "sir/ma'am, what can I get started for you?" etc. They asked the woman on the phone and she couldn't hear them. Two guys in line (wearing earbuds ironically) said, "ma'am, they're talking to you". She said to one of them "I'm on the phone". One said, "I know, but they're trying to take your order." And she rolled her eyes at one of the guys! I looked at the ground and saw a piece of paper by the woman - a post-it note. I thought it was hers so I went to pick it up. It had two words written on it in thick sharpie: "FAT ASS" (on two separate lines). I was so tempted to say, "ma'am, you dropped this" to gauge her reaction. The cashier in line had seen me pick up the paper and smile when I read it so he asked what it was. I showed him and said that I was tempted to give it to her and say she had dropped it. . . . He said if I had done that he would've not charged me for my coffee (apparently she's a regular at that store-- and a regular b). So see kids, you can be rewarded for being an a-hole.21 Aug 13:17 | /food_and_drink | 3 comment(s)
Fri, 08 Aug 2008
Luchador Shiraz
Just a quick wine recommendation for you (especially the Texans who read this).
08 Aug 13:27 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 07 Jul 2008
B&B
Just a quick bar review for you today-
For Cory's Bday, Jen reserved the private room at Bourbon and Branch on Jones (near Geary). I had checked out their site before the event and was excited about going, but a bit apprehensive about the bar. I love bourbon, but I was worried that the bar and their house rules would be annoying or that it would be too shiishy. But nope- we had Yanni the bartender in the party room pouring some of the best cocktails I've had in a long time. I didn't even have a manhattan- I had one of their "Revolver"s which was bourbon, orange bitters, and tia maria (yes, that sounds weird, but I swear it was really nice and the orange wasn't overpowering but really well balanced). Later, Angie bought me a "Red Hook" which was really nice as well but I wasn't at the bar so I'm not sure what was in it other than bourbon (and rohypnol). The bar might not be what a lot of you like- but for a one or two drink before he disappears kind of guy like me, it's quite nice. I just need to go back and try the main bar on a weeknight. Who's with me?07 Jul 14:52 | /food_and_drink | 4 comment(s)
