Until I have a son and put him through college - or something like that - this friggin' golf ball globe is at the top of my achievement list.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
My Greatest Accomplishment
Until I have a son and put him through college - or something like that - this friggin' golf ball globe is at the top of my achievement list.
Christmas Dinner 2005
Jen and I had a relaxing Christmas weekend. It was a little strange for me, as it was my first Christmas spent without any family members. We had a great dinner, though, with some friends.
Amanda, one of the pastry chefs at Perry St, invited us over to dinner with her, her husband Cory, and Kim (another pastry chef). This was our menu:
We had a great time drinking wine and trying desperately (with absolutely no success) to get Amanda's dog Lucy to SHUT THE HELL UP!... but she's a cute dog.
Amanda, one of the pastry chefs at Perry St, invited us over to dinner with her, her husband Cory, and Kim (another pastry chef). This was our menu:
Jen:
Chickpea, Cumin, & Coriander Flatbread
Nick:Brined, Bacon-wrapped, and Roasted Pork Loin
Cranberry & Walnut Stuffing
Amanda and Cory:Cranberry & Walnut Stuffing
Roasted Butternut & Acorn Squashes
Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
Kim:Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
Peanut Butter Pie with Peanut Butter Cookie Crust
We had a great time drinking wine and trying desperately (with absolutely no success) to get Amanda's dog Lucy to SHUT THE HELL UP!... but she's a cute dog.
Transit Strike!
As you may have seen in the news, the New York transit workers’ union went on strike last week for three days. This was my first experience with a big city “crisis”, and it was as cold as it was interesting.
Last Tuesday, when the strike began, I walked from Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge (about 3 miles). From Chinatown, I hopped in a cab with three other strangers and went 34th street to get to work.
The first day was chaos. Cab drivers didn’t know what to charge, so they just bargained with riders. Cars had to have at least four passengers in order to enter Manhattan, so drivers were inviting strangers into their cars before crossing bridges.
The next two days weren’t so bad getting to work. My company and many others provided bus services to and from work. It turned out my company’s bus picked up a few blocks from my apartment. I did a lot of walking after work, though. To meet up with friends both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I walked about 30 blocks in 20 degree weather. This week, it’s in the 40’s and feels like spring!
Friday, December 16, 2005
In-SANE Party!
Last night (12/15) was my company’s holiday party. Since I started, everyone was hyping it up saying how great these parties had been in the past. This was just ridiculous, though.
The party was at a club called Crobar, a kind of exclusive celebrity hotspot. The venue is huge with one small lounge area, a much bigger lounge area, and an enormous room with a dance floor and sort of box seating on an upper level overlooking the whole room.
From 7pm until 1am, they had waitresses running around with crab cakes, shrimp, bruscetta, lamb chops, and whatever else I missed. There was a seafood bar with raw oysters, clams, and shrimp cocktail. Later in the night, they broke out with a whole baked salmon, roast beef, sushi…
When they opened up the room to the dance floor, music was blasting, flat-screen tv’s were showing pictures from past company parties, and there were two girls hanging over the bar from cloth streamers doing Cirque du Soleil type acrobatics.
The day of the party they gave out raffle tickets at the office. I think they gave away about ten prizes: gift certificates, an iPod video, plane tickets for two anywhere in the world, a five night vacation to Disneyworld. Grand prize: a flippin’ Mini Cooper S, red with a white top.
Craziest party I’ve ever seen.
The party was at a club called Crobar, a kind of exclusive celebrity hotspot. The venue is huge with one small lounge area, a much bigger lounge area, and an enormous room with a dance floor and sort of box seating on an upper level overlooking the whole room.
From 7pm until 1am, they had waitresses running around with crab cakes, shrimp, bruscetta, lamb chops, and whatever else I missed. There was a seafood bar with raw oysters, clams, and shrimp cocktail. Later in the night, they broke out with a whole baked salmon, roast beef, sushi…
When they opened up the room to the dance floor, music was blasting, flat-screen tv’s were showing pictures from past company parties, and there were two girls hanging over the bar from cloth streamers doing Cirque du Soleil type acrobatics.
The day of the party they gave out raffle tickets at the office. I think they gave away about ten prizes: gift certificates, an iPod video, plane tickets for two anywhere in the world, a five night vacation to Disneyworld. Grand prize: a flippin’ Mini Cooper S, red with a white top.
Craziest party I’ve ever seen.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Trip to Oakland / San Francisco
Jen and I took a trip to Oakland last weekend. Jen grew up in Oakland went to school for architecture at UC Berkeley, just north of Oakland. As cool as New York is, I can see why Jen is ready to move back to San Francisco - it's beautiful there! We started with Oakland/Berkeley, SF the next day, then to Sacramento to visit Jen's brother Lun.
Luckily, Jen and I travel well together because we like to plan our trips around food. We landed in Oakland late Thursday night, and had a midnight dinner at some hole-in-the-wall "ABC" (American-born Chinese) restaurant. I had some weird spaghetti dish with tomato sauce, mushrooms, and a pork chop on top. We also had fried salt&pepper prawns.
Friday we ate a greasy American breakfast at Ole's Waffle Shop in Alameda. Not to worry... I found this pic on the web and didn't actually ingest that much butter. Not on that day, anyway.
There's a coffee chain called Peet's over there - the coffee is like flippin' motor oil! Really good motor oil.
After checking out Berkeley - including the UC campus and Berkeley Bowl - we had lunch at the Alice Waters'Chez Panisse! Jen had this incredible spaghetti with octopus appetizer. The rest of the food was just right - not too flashy - and the restaurant is cozy and just what you expect from relaxed California. Here's what we had:
The rest of the trip was more eating:
Check out photos on Flickr.
Luckily, Jen and I travel well together because we like to plan our trips around food. We landed in Oakland late Thursday night, and had a midnight dinner at some hole-in-the-wall "ABC" (American-born Chinese) restaurant. I had some weird spaghetti dish with tomato sauce, mushrooms, and a pork chop on top. We also had fried salt&pepper prawns.
Friday we ate a greasy American breakfast at Ole's Waffle Shop in Alameda. Not to worry... I found this pic on the web and didn't actually ingest that much butter. Not on that day, anyway.
There's a coffee chain called Peet's over there - the coffee is like flippin' motor oil! Really good motor oil.
After checking out Berkeley - including the UC campus and Berkeley Bowl - we had lunch at the Alice Waters'Chez Panisse! Jen had this incredible spaghetti with octopus appetizer. The rest of the food was just right - not too flashy - and the restaurant is cozy and just what you expect from relaxed California. Here's what we had:
Bob's butter lettuce salad with creme fraiche and herbs
Spaghetti with octopus, red wine, and garlic
Haddock and clam stew baked in the wood oven with sorrel and aioli
Grilled Laughing Stock Farm pork leg with winter squash and cavolo nero (kale)
* We had dessert at Masse's Pastries up the street
The rest of the trip was more eating:
Mexican at La Fonda
Dim Sum at Peony in Oakland
Ice Cream Sundae at Ghirardelli
Salt & pepper dungeness crab at R&G in SF
Pyramid Brewery in Sacramento
Check out photos on Flickr.
Texas Olive Oil
Just to show some support for the home state, I saw in Saveur Magazine - in a segment they call "The Saveur List" - a list of 12 new recommended olive oils. One was from Texas!
alfresco
extra virgin olive oil
First Texas Olive Oil Company
Wimberley, TX
Back to "Normal" (whatever that means)
new job... again
Three months since my last post, hmm. That's no good.
Apparently I'm going for a new record: most W-2's in a year. Yeah, I changed jobs again and - perhaps to the disappointment of some - I'm no longer working in a restaurant! I'm back working in IT for Kids' Headquarters, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes clothing for kids (Skechers, Calvin Klein, Ecko, Beyonce's new line, Hillary Duff's new line). I started on November 14th.
It came down to a lifestyle choice, really. Working at Perry St was awesome - I really did like the food and the people. However, the only reason to work as a cook is because you want to become a chef someday. I didn't have that desire. I looked at my sous chefs'lifestyles and knew that, as much as I admire them and respect what they do, I don't want their jobs. Noon to midnight. No holidays. No benefits. Even if they did have a vacation time, they couldn't afford to go anywhere.
I wasn't even looking for something new, but at the end of October I got a random call from a headhunter who had seen my resume on Monster. She set up an interview for me and I went, just curious what my options were. Within a week I had an offer, and it was solid enough to make me really consider what lifestyle I wanted to live. I just couldn't justify cooking, barely being able to pay bills, and knowing that I didn't want to be a chef.
So far, I'm enjoying being back in an office, having a lunch hour, and problem solving. I went back to visit Perry St last week and, suprisingly, I didn't really miss it. I miss the people and the food, but what I really love about cooking is sharing the food with family and friends. You don't get that working in a restaurant kitchen.
Of course, I'll always be obsessed with food and cooking. Maybe someday I'll find a niche in the industry that fits. For now, I just need to work on paying back a loan...
Three months since my last post, hmm. That's no good.
Apparently I'm going for a new record: most W-2's in a year. Yeah, I changed jobs again and - perhaps to the disappointment of some - I'm no longer working in a restaurant! I'm back working in IT for Kids' Headquarters, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes clothing for kids (Skechers, Calvin Klein, Ecko, Beyonce's new line, Hillary Duff's new line). I started on November 14th.
It came down to a lifestyle choice, really. Working at Perry St was awesome - I really did like the food and the people. However, the only reason to work as a cook is because you want to become a chef someday. I didn't have that desire. I looked at my sous chefs'lifestyles and knew that, as much as I admire them and respect what they do, I don't want their jobs. Noon to midnight. No holidays. No benefits. Even if they did have a vacation time, they couldn't afford to go anywhere.
I wasn't even looking for something new, but at the end of October I got a random call from a headhunter who had seen my resume on Monster. She set up an interview for me and I went, just curious what my options were. Within a week I had an offer, and it was solid enough to make me really consider what lifestyle I wanted to live. I just couldn't justify cooking, barely being able to pay bills, and knowing that I didn't want to be a chef.
So far, I'm enjoying being back in an office, having a lunch hour, and problem solving. I went back to visit Perry St last week and, suprisingly, I didn't really miss it. I miss the people and the food, but what I really love about cooking is sharing the food with family and friends. You don't get that working in a restaurant kitchen.
Of course, I'll always be obsessed with food and cooking. Maybe someday I'll find a niche in the industry that fits. For now, I just need to work on paying back a loan...
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