The power of a tsunami
I don’t think I ever really understood what a tidal wave was, and the short clips we have been seeing are stunning, but don’t entirely make clear the unrelenting power of nature. This clip does. Watch it all the way through.
Living high on hog
It is true that if you play a lot of tournament it can feel like you live your life in a luxury hotel–which is mighty nice. Sometimes, though, things don’t go exactly the way you think they will.
Mike and I played with Don and Linda Mamula today, and Linda Bandler arrived as well, so the five of us planned on going out for a nice dinner.
This plan came up short when I tried to get a reservation–the Lady Gaga concert was bringing thousands of people into town, and it seems like they all wanted to eat first. There were no reservations to be had at any decent eatery we could walk to.
Grasping at straws, Micky suggested I try DeVinos Deli. Yes, they could accomodate us.
Perhaps that’s because DeVinos is a bar, liquor store and pizza parlor. When we got there, we were the only diners. A few barflys swilling brew, but nobody else eating.
The food is basic, to say the least.
Linda is having the lasagna, elegantly served in an aluminum foil baking dish.
A very nice sausage calzone, and a not so good bowl of chicken and rice.
At least there was an interesting dessert–red velvet cake, which is hard to find in California.
Red velvet cake, made sometime this month. Or last.
I’ve been a sucker for red velvet cake ever since I saw Steel Magnolias. I still don’t really know what it is, but I like it. This was OK, but would have been better if it was fresh.
You can’t really complain about a dinner that costs $13. The service, limited to delivering the food we had gone to the counter to order, was prompt and efficient. And we got to walk through the Lady Gaga crowds each way, so there was even a floor show. Just more living in the lap of luxury here in Kentucky.
Lady Gaga is in town
Okay, that won’t matter much to the people who read my blog, but it’s a BIG deal here in Louisville. They were making announcements this afternoon that if you drove in not to take you car out for dinner–you wouldn’t get a parking space when you came back.
The streets are full of young people going to the show, and cops to keep them in line, and scalpers looking to buy/sell and make a buck. Trying to go out to dinner was a trial–the elevators, pretty slow anyway, were clogged with groups of kids checking in (6 to a room, like we did years ago at tournaments), changing into their concert outfits and rushing out to be part of the excitement.
On the way back from dinner we passed the KFC Yum center where the show is being held, and I took some photos. Enjoy.
This is a hard game
You got Kentucky, you got Colonels
I played better this afternoon than I did this evening.
We were dead last this afternoon, took a section 3rd in the evening.
Sometimes, you make mistakes that don’t matter. Sometimes, the opponents just don’t make any mistakes and there isn’t anything you can do.
We were playing the IMP pairs–a pairs game where the boards are scored in IMPS instead of matchpoints. It’s a very difficult scoring method, and more random. If you opponents bid a silly slam that makes, it can take you right out of the event.
This afternoon, my focus was about as good as it has ever been. I was paying attention and counting every single hand. Didn’t fall asleep once. Made a couple of bidding errors, unfortunately, but they were errors of judgement, not lapses in concentration. I was proud of the game. And it sucked–we were 31 imps negative.
Tonight, I was just a little looser. Still counting, still thinking, but I slipped a trick or two, and made one major error in bidding. We had a great game, largely because we got a few gifts. Maybe if you are Zia you can win without gifts, but the rest of us need some luck. We had it tonight, not this afternoon.
Tomorrow, compact KO’s.
On to the food: Mike and I went to Bistro 301 tonight. Two blocks from the hotel, and supposed to be one of the better places to eat around here. It rated $$$ in the restaurant guide–which should tell you something about Louisville, since I had a salad and a pasta dish and ice tea, and my bill was $28, including tip. Not that I was inclined to be a big tipper, since they brought our entrees about 1 minute after the salads. After I politely inquired “Am I not eating my salad fast enough?” they took the dinners away until a more propitious time. I also note that Mike asked for additional salad dressing, and they brought it in a little throw-away plastic cup. Really good bistros don’t even have those little plastic cups.
Here’s something odd: the Daily Bulletin specifically said that there would be no food or entertainment tonight–and then, as they called the last round, the director announced that there would be both. The hospitality room is across the street, up one floor to the bridge connecting the buildings, then down one floor, then through to the back. They couldn’t have put it farther away if they wanted to. But the pulled pork sandwich was pretty good, and the bluegrass music was, er, loud. Yeah, that’s it. Loud. I guess I’ll get used to it this week.
Good and bad
There are good things here:
View from my room--the Ohio River and the Muhammad Ali Center
Sky is clear this morning, although it’s 41° outside, not that I plan on going outside much.
There are bad things here:
The silliest hospitality gift ever
I could offer to give this to whoever guessed what it was, but there would be no winners.
This is the “gift” in the hospitality package. It’s like the Magic 8 ball kids have–turn it over, and some silly bridge phrase pops up in the window.
Every NABC has a gift–some are useful, some are not. I’ve gotten many tote bags, coolers, travel alarm clocks and assorted bric-a-brac. Until now, the plastic candy dish they gave out in Pasadena stood as the worst, but this tops Pasadena, and may stand forever as the most useless, silly, inane waste of time and money imaginable.
Off to the IMP pairs.
As the clan gathers
Welcome sign at Louisville airport
Three of my favorite days of the year are the days I leave for a national bridge tournament. Zooming across the country, landing is some strange place and heading off to a hotel for days of incessant bridge is pretty much my idea of a good time.
It isn’t just the bridge, though. I’ve been playing this game for so long that it feels like a family reunion to me–people I know from all over the country, even the world, who get together every 4 months to socialize and compete. Playing the game is great, going over the hands in the bar afterwards is even better. Even the flying is interesting–Grant and Terry were on my flight today, and there were more fellow addicts joining us in Chicago. Last year, Mike and I rode with Eddie Wold and Bob Morris from Dallas to Knoxville on the way to Gatlinburg. I don’t think you’ll see Tiger Woods or A-Rod on American Express, but hanging out with the greats of the game is a big part of the allure of big time bridge.
So here I am in Louisville, Kentucky. Except for landing at the airport for Cincinnati, I’ve never been in this state before. That leaves Montana, N. Dakota and the New England states for me to visit.
The airport here is new and beautiful, and only a 10 or 12 minute drive from downtown. Micky B. arrived at the same time I did, so we shared a cab. He’s a big Hilton fan, so he’s staying at the Hampton, about 8 long cold, rainy blocks from the tournament site. It’s 37º outside right now, with rain and maybe even snow predicted. Good thing bridge is an indoor sport.
Still, I had to go outside to meet Mike for dinner. We at at Doc Crow’s, for a classic meal of ribs. He takes his wet, I like mine dry. He eats cole slaw, I had hush puppies. You can get cole slaw anywhere, hush puppies don’t exist where we live. He had the seafood gumbo before the meal, I saved room for the bread pudding with bourbon sauce. The prices are reasonable, the food is decent and the service is plenty southern friendly. And the iced tea is sweetened, unless you ask for it plain.
Walking back to the hotel, we passed the KFC Yum Center, an indoor sports arena where the college basketball team plays. Even the wheelchair ramps on the street corners in front are created in the image of basketballs. In these parts, basketball is second only the Southern Baptist Church as a religion.
We played in the Charity pairs tonight–didn’t do well, but we played. I’m putting our performance down to jet lag and culture shock, and planning to be great tomorrow in the IMP pairs.
Stay tuned.
First Barbecue of the year
It may be snowing on the East Coast, but last Friday we went out with friends and had the first BBQ of the year.
It started with a little adventure:
Nothing wrong under the hood, just looking for a place to hook onto
Maybe the car would look better with mud and snow tires
I missed the right turnoff, and tried to turn around in an open field–which turned out to be juuuuust a little wetter than I had imagined. That Mercedes is a nice car, but it’s no 4 wheel drive mudslinger. So there I was, stuck in the cow patties while Gail made commentary on my intellect and judgement.
In the fullness of time, and with a couple of shovels and the help of my friends, the car got moving and back on paved road. SR took a video, and you can hear Gail talking about a grass toll, or brass pole, or something. She takes adventures like that right in stride.
After our little excursion in the swamp, it was time to visit the winery. Our host, sculptor Harry Siter, lives on a 1200 acre preserve in the Napa hills shared with 20 or so others. One of them, Dave Mahaffey, runs a high end winery, Olivia Brion. He farms just a few acres and makes a small amount of first rate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Gail tasting the Chardonnay Dave "stole" from the barrel with his wine thief.
Dave had wines of different ages in the barrel, and we (okay, they. I have no appreciation of fine wines) enjoyed a barrel tasting, which is where Dave uses a wine thief to siphon out a couple of glasses to taste.
- At least I can appreciate the great color of the Pinot Noir.
- Dave is a retired photographer, so I’m under pressure to make this look good.
Warmed up with the wine, we headed to the lake and picnic table on the property. Harry started a fire with the really good stuff–huge chunks of mesquite charcoal, not the little briquettes. It’s all the little details that separate the greats in barbecuing.
We had lamb chops, and shish kabobs of peppers, pancetta (italian cured bacon) and gnocchi. Yes, those little potato based dumplings that you usually boil like pasta, Harry puts on a spit and cooks.
Mary Bayer is an excellent sous chef, and not bad at pushing cars out of the mud.
Harry's shish kabobs with gnocchi
It was cloudy Friday, but that makes for good light for taking pictures.
Harry and Gail waiting for the coals to be ready
What a great looking grill!
Dave and a bottle of Olivia Brion Pinot Noir. Winemakers get invited to lots of meals.
Lamb chops and fancy French wine--luxury in the country.
SR, living in the constant steam bath of Orlando, was cold the entire time she was here–but sitting by the lake on a cloudy day as the wind came up was a fairly chilly experience for all of us. I’m better insulated than most, and it was decidedly cool. Fortunately, I keep a blanket in the trunk of the car, which Gail and SR put to good use.
Best friends forever.
We finished eating just as it started to sprinkle, so we headed back to Harry’s house to enjoy the sacher torte he prepared. A little more wine for everyone else, some fine talk about art and travel, and we headed home full and happy. Just another great day in Paradise.
Bravo
If you are lucky, when you write a blog the information flows two ways. I write about lots of restaurants, so sometimes a reader recommends a new place to me. Lorin Waxman has been telling everyone about his new favorite, Bravo Bistro, so tonight I took the evil twins there, for dinner with Ed and Clara Stokes.
Bravo Bistro is in Concord, across Willow Pass road south of Sun Valley Mall. It’s a fairly small place, nicely decorated as an old-fashioned Italian restaurant with dark colors, Andrea Bocelli playing on the sound system, thick carpets and table linens. The parking situation is terrible, but they have a free valet to solve the problem. It is the second in the restaurant empire of the redoubtable Habib, who we first met as the chef at Nibblers. He then founded Fiore in Concord, and now Bravo Bistro.
The early word on the place is “good food, poor service”, and that fairly well sums up our experience tonight. We had a reservation for 6:30, but they didn’t have a table when we got there. There we were, sitting at the bar, but no bartender, no server willing to make eye contact or give us any help.
Eventually, a bottle of wine was procured, and even more eventually, a table. The bar person then wanted us to settle the bill for the wine, and didn’t seem to understand the concept of just sending the tab to the table.
Okay, so we get to the table and check out the menu–and things were looking up. The menu is impressive in it’s affordability–lots of things you want to have, and most priced about $16.
An enormous caprese salad
Portions are large, and the presentation is first rate.
Gail loves carpaccio, and this was a good one
Ed enjoyed his lamb shank
SR is a big fan of scallops.
To finish, a beautiful lemon tart
Bravo Bistro is a fine local restaurant. The food is good, not great but good. Prices are more than reasonable. The service will get better and they’ll figure out how to move a check from the bar to the table. I like it, and we’ll go back.
Thanks, Lorin
The Ox Bow Incident
Okay, so I stole the title. This isn’t about the book by Walter von Tilburg Clark, or the movie with Henry Fonda. It’s about a food market in Napa. But the market is named the Ox Bow Market, so I have at least a little credibility.
This isn’t a market in the Safeway sense–it’s a collection of specialty shops, offering both food to take home and food to eat on-site. Everything is the top of the line–if you want a can of Del Monte beans, this ain’t the place to find it. $8.00/pound hand made pasta, yes.
I’ve been hearing about the Ox Bow Market for over a year from my friends, but this was the first time I have managed to get there. It’s just wonderful–a large, high-ceilinged space next to the disused Copia on First Street in Napa, filled with a foodies delight of obscure and arcane ingredients.
My favorite is the Fatted Calf (in an adjunct building slightly one door to the west), but that’s because I love their pate maison beyond all reason or measure.
This is Napa, so there is plenty of very fancy wine available, along with a shop that sells only spices, a shop that sell only olive produces, a tea shop, two coffee shops, etc, etc..
Prices here tend to be pretty steep–you can make your credit card cry in a big hurry, but that’s what happens when you are shopping for the very finest products available. Everything is hand made, artisanal and organic. The staff all seem to love their jobs and know their products in intimate and excruciating detail, making it a joy to do your shopping rather than a chore.
Napa used to be a sleepy little burg most noted for the state home for the insane. No more. There are world class restaurants here in the epicenter of the wine industry, and now there is a place to buy high class comestibles to equal the wine. You definitely want to give this place a try
Could things be better?
How often do you get an email from someone urging you to “send this to 5 people”? I get them all the time, and I don’t believe that I’ve ever sent one on before.
This strikes me as something different, so I’m putting out there for everyone to see. I like this idea, and don’t think it much matters where in the political spectrum you reside, from the loony left to the reactionary right. The ideas here aren’t about any political position, just the idea that Congress should live by some sane rules, rules that the rest of us have to live by.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure.
I’m asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2012
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves..
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
I’m certainly not going to tell you that if you don’t forward this to 17 of your friends your hair will fall out or you cat will come home pregnant. But if you like these ideas, do something with them.
Totally Unauthorized 