It’s been a while since I reviewed any restaurants, so it’s time for a little catch up.
Normally, when I hear “comfort food,” I’m just not in the mood to be comforted. I envision dull meatloaf and potatos, just like mom never made. But, Shorty’s .32 is sort of a high-end comfort food place and the food was fantastic. I tried the Grilled shrimp with celery root and bacon jus and I’ll be damned if I can remember the entree I had. I’m pretty sure it was the Cod. It was really good, but I was envying my friend’s short ribs. They were the best short ribs I’ve ever had. I wish I had ordered the short ribs. They come with a side of mac and cheese. Everything was fantastic. I remember almost nothing about the evening. It’s not my fault!
Bar Blanc is a scene. It has a great bar, I mean physically great. Dave said it reminded him of the marble altar at Our Lady of Good Council and he’s spot on. The menu has some scary stuff: Milk Fed Porcelet roast baby pig, belly, terrine of pig head, chanterelles, brussel sprouts natural jus with cinnamon, star anise, and orange. Yikes. That makes me feel bad for the little baby pig whose head wound up in the terrine. Talk about eating something with a face. I had the Cod again. Really good greens. A friend had the lamb shoulder lasagna which was the high point. The only thing that really missed was one of the desserts. Salt on carmel is nice. Salt on carmel ice cream that’s melting makes a brine. It tastes of the sea. You don’t want to eat ice cream in the sea. But again, it’s a scene: sleek older people speaking Italian, a kid in a cravat, girls who look like Marc Jacobs before he cut his hair, lounge furniture and lamps.
Disclaimers apply since I’m friends with some folks at Insieme, but the Vittorio Nasti at their bar is a great cocktail. It’s basically a Negroni with Punt e mes standing in for a more generic sweet vermouth and is named for a bartender at the Michelangelo Hotel who created the recepie. Gin and campari are the other ingredients for anyone trying to remember what else is in a Negroni. It’s finished with a bit of orange peel. Two of them and you can’t feel your legs and don’t care to anyway.
Fun article about Italy being old and poor:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3085338.ece
There is a sense of national angst in Italy as 2007 comes to a close. A defining moment came this week when, for the first time, Spain overtook Italy in terms of living standards. Greece is now breathing down Italy’s neck.
I just can’t believe there are actual lyrics to the song Carolyn’s Fingers by the Cocteau Twins. I was so sure she just did that stuff as a one shot run in the studio:
Video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh83z5vIP0w
When he said, ‘You are full of love’
She fell down into this dirty mess
Some people see me laugh and tell us,
‘It’s wrong to make fun of me’
(Even they don’t give any more)
(Try, try to fall)
She fell down into this mess
(Even then they don’t give)
(Try, try to fall)
She fell down and he’s so sick of it all
And of me
This part not out of her saw fit to drop
Whispers might prove it all
(You’re just closer to me when you fall, but you broke)
This would prove it all
(You just closer to me, but you broke)
This would prove it all
Sleep now
You susur, try to talk
Reach out for that hand
Reach out for that hand
(And even they don’t give any more)
(Try, try to fall)
Even then they don’t give
(Try, try to fall)
You’re just closer to me at the fall
But you don’t want, want me hand
You’re just closer to me
But you don’t want, want my hand
1. No more Duane Reade. It’s not that I object to their having every kind of Doritos and no decent baby supplies. It’s that their Pharmacy staff is obnoxious and unprofessional. Next time I want someone to mix up names (last night), give me the wrong number of pills (two weeks ago) or claim for 5 minutes that the prescription isn’t in that store only to find it in the bin it’s supposed to be in (too often to mention), I’ll be sure to pop in for a visit.
2. No more cab driver tips unless the driver is good. No, you don’t have right of way in a crosswalk full of pedestrians. You need a better headset for that phone, one that lets you hear someone besides your friends. If I wanted to take the highway, I’d buy my own car. I told you where I wanted to go 5 minutes ago, you just passed it. Write things down. Lurching forward like that is nauseating, rent a better car. If you think you can do that without losing control and killing someone, you’re wrong.
3. No more sushi unless the place is owned and staffed by impeccable Japanese quality fanatics. I’m reading enough about Chinese fish farms these days that I’d rather skip and live.
So, finally, they set the broken nose, about two weeks after I thought they would. For anyone who has been wondering exactly how that goes, I now know exactly: They put you under to make you as compliant as you can be, break it again back into place, slap a cast on, bring you back up, and then give you a he-man sized pile of tylenol with codeine. The whole thing takes five minutes and is basically painless. Obviously, the rebroken nose is a bit sensitive, but it’s not that bad, and certainly not as bad as the initial break. The anesthesia was not really that intense. Maybe it’s the Fentanyl talking, but I probably could have walked out of the OR if I had to.
And that’s that. Six weeks from now, things should be entirely back to normal.
In case you missed this at Eater:
This is an important page if you’ve been wondering about islands on lakes on islands on lakes on islands.
http://www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm
And if you’re on Linked In, this is a great take on their default email invite:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2007/11/28kennedy.html
Since you are a person I can honestly say I feel could keep a secret with regard to the sales conference in Miami, and who I think will back me up in the face of any resulting problems in my personal relationships and home life, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.