Category: Food

“A Few Days in Austin”

After the long drive from New Orleans to Austin on Sunday, I decided to keep it simple and eat in the hotel restaurant, Caroline.  Lachie had the same idea and so we each had some unexpected company and covered a wide variety of topics.

I found the breakfasts at Caroline on Monday and Tuesday morning to be excellent.  It’s so nice when a hotel restaurant has fresh and creative offerings.  The corn cake benedict and the huevos rancheros were both delicious.  And the poached eggs were perfectly cooked.

I had the Board Audit committee meeting on Monday, and then met Damon and Neffie at the Firehouse lounge, a cool speakeasy around the corner from the hotel.  You slide the bookcase in the hostel lobby to the side to gain entry.  I had been there before with Denny, Anne, and Diana, and knew they make good cocktails.

We tried Lonesome Dove for dinner.  This is a well known place from Fort Worth, that opened a branch in Austin.  It’s famous for exotic game dishes, snake, elk and the like.  We all enjoyed dinner.  The elk and foie gras sliders were a highlight, and my scallops were very fresh and well cooked.

After a full day Board meeting on Tuesday, the executive committee enjoyed dinner at Dean’s Italian restaurant.  I enjoyed cooking the wagyu on a hot stone, and decided to have scallops again.  These were just as good as the night before.

A few of us stopped into the Elephant room after dinner to listen to jazz music.  The band wasn’t terrific, but pleasant for relaxing after a long day.

I made the final triangle of my drive on Wednesday, Austin to McKinney, stopping at DFW to pick up Diana on her return from San Francisco.  I broke the drive up by stopping for lunch with April in Round Rock.  We both enjoy the Salt Traders restaurant and it’s right off the main highway to Dallas.  The shrimp poblano enchiladas were great.

Here’s Clorinda anticipating the new book from Ann Patchett that Diana got for her.  I understand she put down her current book and dove right in.

I enjoyed the Beanie Baby movie over a couple of evenings.  I thought Jack Galifianakas was very good as the guy who created and ultimately destroyed the Ty toy company.  I’m sure there are still several hundred of these silly toys in storage units outside the house in Los Gatos.

All the inspections on the New Orleans house happened on Thursday:  General, termite, sewage and air conditioning.  We’re still awaiting all the details, but there doesn’t appear to be anything huge to deal with.

Patty and Brent were in town looking at potential places to build a retirement house.  I don’t think they saw anything they liked, and so Dallas might be coming off the list.  We met them at Harvest in downtown McKinney for Friday dinner.  A really nice visit with good food.  We’ll see them again in a week or so.

Rachel was over to sunbathe and enjoy the pool one last time on Saturday afternoon.  She didn’t know about the move until she saw the yard sign.  Oops.

Friends and family were having fun in other parts of the country.  The Ogans at altitude outside Boulder, CO:

Olivia celebrating her sixteenth birthday.  We don’t know who the guy next to her is.  Interesting hair.

Will and Christine in Reno, NV with G-Man, Caitlin, and crew:

And lastly, Campbell and Molly with Kris and Cat on a beach in San Diego to enjoy some music.

“All the Sinners Bleed” by S.A. Cosby was my book this week.  A fast paced thriller, and not for the feint of heart.  I enjoyed it a lot, maybe even better than his last two novels.  The main character, Titus Crown, a police chief in rural Virginia is excellently done.  Here’s the online summary:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Fresh and exhilarating. . . Cosby keeps his eye on the story and the pedal to the metal.” ―Stephen King, TheNew York Times Book Review

A Black sheriff. A serial killer. A small town ready to combust.

The new novel from New York Times bestselling and Los Angeles Times Book Prize-winning author S. A. Cosby, “one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction.” ―Washington Post.

“An atmospheric pressure cooker.” ―People

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.

Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon.

With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning.

Powerful and unforgettable, All the Sinners Bleed confirms S. A. Cosby as “one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction” (The Washington Post)

This article about how AI can determine the attributes of music you were just listening too is quite interesting:

https://www.livescience.com/health/neuroscience/googles-mind-reading-ai-can-tell-what-music-you-listened-to-based-on-your-brain-signals

I wonder what my brain looks like after listening to this?  Great beat and slide guitar sound.  I think it made me quite relaxed.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.

 

“Let’s find a New Orleans home”

We loaded up and drove to New Orleans on Tuesday.  It’s about an eight hour drive, that we broke up with lunch at Athena in Shreveport.  We arrived at Denny and Anne’s home on Webster a bit after 7pm.  They’re in Boulder, CO, but the boys were there to entertain us.

Our first task on Wednesday was to secure a safety deposit box for our valuables.  The Regions bank on St. Charles had a vault and boxes available.  It was a bit of a process to select one and determine if it was available, but thirty minutes later we had everything secure.

We met Tracy, one of our realtors, at the fist of six houses at noon.  I wasn’t expecting Diana to be very impressed, but a few minutes in she turned to me and mouthed “I like it!”  Go figure.  I liked it a lot more than the first time I saw it also.  The Garden District location is fantastic, although not exactly where we were planning to be.

The next five houses were a bit of a blur for us.  I liked the two we made offers on last week less the second time around.   We eliminated one and decided to pause on the other.

Back on Webster, we sat down to review our thoughts.  Fifteen minutes later and I had a table summarizing our thoughts over to Tracy.  Let’s make an offer on the first one we saw in the Garden District.

We submitted an offer on Thursday afternoon, had an attractive counter back quickly, and signed a contract in the evening.  Now it’s on to inspections.  The home was built in 1860 and renovated ten years ago, so I’m sure there will be some issues to be negotiated.

The counter was actually received while Diana and I were enjoying a delicious lunch at Shaya.  We thought we deserved it after all the activity of the last few weeks.  The whipped cream cheese, with shallots, dill and trout roe was ridiculously good, as was the old standby lamb ragu humus.

Kenny volunteered to close his friend’s taco restaurant in the Warehouse district while he was on vacation.  We went with him and met Kara, Ian and Nina.  They had just come from the Barbie movie, and all enjoyed it.  The tacos, margaritas and service were excellent.  It’s so much fun to hang out with the Kirsches.

I dropped Diana at the New Orleans airport on Friday – she headed to San Francisco via Dallas to check up on her mom for a few days.  I dropped a deposit check off at the realtor office on my way back – things are moving ahead.  I saw an email shortly after that showing that the Washington house was “under contract.”

I decided to treat myself to a nice breakfast on Saturday morning.  Ruby Slipper is a five minute walk from the Washington house – so I thought I’d give that a try.  Good choice.  I got the “peacemaker” benedicts – a choice of two.  The St. Charles chicken and Cochon were both excellent.  I hope to be coming back to this place often.

 

 

After that yummy breakfast, I delivered Morrison to Kenny and Kara for safekeeping.  He seemed ok, if not a little stressed out by the move.

Kara suggested a music movie at a gallery for afternoon entertainment.  It was sold out but we thought some folks would cancel.  I came up with guitar wizard Marc Stone at the Bourbon Orleans hotel at 4pm as an alternative.

The movie did seem to have some cancellations, but we decided to park at the fire station, “Got any room for an old, retired Chief to park?”, and go to the Marc Stone show.

With a bit of time to kill, we played some pool in the local Irish bar.

Marc Stone was as excellent as I remembered.  All three of us thoroughly enjoyed his set.

His finger picking and slide guitar are excellent.

A wedding second line parade came through while we were listening to the show.  Classic New Orleans:

After the entertainment, we stopped by “Butcher” for sandwiches.  Always a great choice.  I got something similar to a Philly cheesesteak.

Another great afternoon in New Orleans.  Looking forward to being there soon.

Sunday was another driving day.  I started at 6:30am from New Orleans to Austin.  About 30 mins in I realized that I’d left my laptop in Denny’s office.  That added an hour to an already long drive.  I arrived in Austin 9 hours later.  I did have one fun stop in La Grange.  I’ve been listening to the ZZ Top song about that town since I was in University.

Another great book again this week.  “Such Kindness” by Andre Dubus III really held my attention.  Just as good as “Townie”, which I enjoyed a lot many years ago.

The main character, Tom, broke his hips and had screws installed.  I could certainly relate to some of these descriptions:

“I drink more water.  I try to sit straight in my chair, but the hip screws are burrowing hotly into my bones and I need to stretch out and lie down.”

Here’s the online plot summary:

Kenny shared this gem with me.  I love the Hiatt and Douglas combo:

Another really interesting combination:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Happy Birthday to Us”

Alicia chauffeured us from San Luis Obispo on Monday afternoon.  Grammie was glad to see everyone.  She’s been asking about our arrival for several weeks now.

I received a hilarious video of Campbell and Molly doing karaoke with the Texas relatives, back in San Diego:

Another birthday for me showed up on Tuesday.  They just keep coming!  I received a lovely song from the New Orleans group in Roatan, Honduras.  Denny reported it was very nice but very hot and humid – something coming from a New Orleanian.

 

The little monsters all made me lovely birthday cards that they delivered to Grammie’s:

Hand made cards really are so special!

And then there is this hilarious card from Patty and Brent.  Where do they find these?

The boys and Melanie gave me a gift certificate to La Costanera in Half Moon Bay.  This is a wonderful Peruvian seafood restaurant.  Caroline and Clorinda joined us, and Clorinda certainly enjoyed the food, consuming more than anyone else.  It was nice to see her enjoying things.  The only thing not readily consumed was the green mocktail that we chose for her.  The restaurant is located by the marina and offers great views.

I had picked out a few interesting things on the menu before going, and ended up sampling most of them.

The ceviche sampler, mushroom empanada, pulpo and elote were all delicious.

We got to watch Massimo and Luciano compete in a baseball championship game on Wednesday evening.  The game was tied 15-15 at the end of regular innings.  They had a heartbreaking loss in the extra inning.

A walk by the beach on Thursday offered pretty flowers and great views of several pods of migrating hump back whales.  After the walk, I used the Dinosaur’s gift certificate from Caroline to buy one of their yummy Portobello sandwiches.

 

 

 

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/whales-spotted-san-francisco-bay-area-coast-18121919.php

Andy and Jude joined us on Friday afternoon and we enjoyed listening to music and telling stories.  Always so fun to visit with them.

 

 

On Saturday it was time to cede Birthday Week privileges to Alicia.  She had requested a 70s theme, and Diana did a great job of coordinating flower colours and decorations to that request.

Diana whipped up some of her delicious jambalaya – an ideal dish for a party where folks show up over several hours.

I invited Sean to join us since his wife has been gone for several months, taking care of her Mom.

We had a great turnout and I think Alicia enjoyed herself very much.

Here’s my favourite birthday picture – three generations:

Diana was finally able to sit down, relax and snuggle up with Yeti.

Sunday was a travel day for me.  Time to head back home to McKinney and an empty, quiet house for a week or so.

My book this week was “Solar” by Ian McEwan.  Here’s what The Guardian had to say about it:

“Solar is a sly, sardonic novel about a dislikable English physicist and philanderer named Michael Beard. He’s a recognisable Ian McEwan type, a one-dimensional, self-deceiving man of science. We have met others like him before in McEwan’s novels – such as Joe Rose, the science writer who narrates Enduring Love, or Henry Perowne, the brian surgeon protagonist of Saturday – but none is quite as repulsive as Beard. Perhaps McEwan should have written against expectation by choosing as his protagonist a scientist who has a profound artistic sensibility in the model of his friend Richard Dawkins, or an artist who is articulate in the language of science, as McEwan is himself. As it is, he remains a determined binarist; what continues to interest him are stark dichotomies, the clash and interplay of stable oppositions. Repeatedly in his fiction he sets reason against unreason, science against art, the mind against the body, technology against nature.

Beard, who we are encouraged to believe won a Nobel prize in physics as a young man for something called the Beard-Einstein Conflation, is a short, fat, balding, much-married man of immense bodily appetites and scant self-discipline. He rapaciously consumes food, women and drink, with little regard for the consequences. He’s a resolute short-termist, fearful of commitment and of becoming a father, living for the here and now. His behaviour is a local example of the more general problem of human over-consumption: just as Beard devours everything around him, so we are devouring our world, with its finite resources and fragile ecosystems.

The trick of the novel, its central comic turn, is to make Beard, the greedy, selfish uber-consumer, an accidental expert on anthropogenic climate change. Through his expertise as a physicist, and then his opportunism in stealing the research ideas of a graduate student who works with him at an institute in Berkshire known only as the Centre, Beard is engaged in a programme to create cheap renewable energy through a process of artificial photosynthesis (you’ll need to read the book to be filled in on the science).

McEwan’s great gamble is to narrate Solar, which is in three parts and spans nine years, from 2000 to 2009, entirely from Beard’s point of view. Some of this is satisfying, especially the pithy scientific elaborations: McEwan, who has a precise, technician’s vocabulary, has swotted up to PhD level on physics, just as he did on neurosurgery for Saturday, musicology for Amsterdam and molecular biology for Enduring Love. None of this extracurricular learning feels perfunctory, especially when compared with, say, a novel such as Martin Amis‘s The Information. In that novel, disquisitions on infinity, black holes, dwarf planets and astronomy felt imposed on the narrative rather than being intrinsic to it. In Solar, the physics never feels forced or unearned but rather is embedded in the deep structures of Beard’s consciousness. We see the world just as he does, in all its cold reductiveness.”

I kept having a nagging feeling that I’d read this book before.  A search of all the blogs says that wasn’t in the last 7 years.  Maybe I read an excerpt somewhere – the ending certainly seemed familiar.

I think The Guardian is a bit harsh on the one-sided, unlikeable nature of Beard.  I did enjoy the satirical tone, but didn’t find it particularly comedic.  I certainly didn’t chuckle at any part of it.

Not too bad of a read, but far from McEwan’s best – which in my opinion is “Saturday.”

I heard this Aretha classic on the radio, and had to look up who was drumming.  Of course, it’s Bernard Purdie, and it turns out the song was built up from his drum pattern.  I didn’t know he was Franklin’s musical director for 5 years.  So good!

Here’s the angelic voice of the late Jeff Buckley, recorded in a tiny club.  Such a talent.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

 

 

“NOLA Residency Week 6 – the last week”

Denny was moving slowly on Monday, so we picked up Sean and Sheri for the afternoon.  We made a stop at Octavia books so that I could pick up Kevin Griffin’s “The Greatest Song.”  He gave a talk and played some songs last Thursday when we were having dinner at La Petite Grocery.  I was sorry to miss the event, but happier to have dinner with the group.  The book talks about how to ignite your creativity, using songwriting as an example.  Griffin is the lead singer for Better than Ezra, and was in town for some performances between jazzfest weekends.

Sheri was hungry so we drove over to the Columns to get some snacks before they stopped serving lunch.  It was very pleasant to get some quiet time to really catch up with the Meeksies.  I worked in a couple of quick work calls from the lovely garden tables.

After lunch, we did a brief driving tour of the mansions in the Garden District, including a gander at John Goodman’s place.

Denny and Anne regrouped and met us at Hungry Eyes for dinner.  I was so happy to get some more of that wonderful seafood curry and roti bread.  Mason, the owner, was quite happy when I told him I couldn’t get enough of that dish.  We challenged each other to guess the 80s songs that were playing on the patio.

After dinner, we continued that theme at the condo, playing Kahoot music trivia.  I won the first round with D and then failed on the extended second round.

Tuesday, sniff sniff, was our last day in New Orleans.  During the day, I watched “The Last Five Years,” a Bowie documentary that Sean had recommended.  It was quite good.

Diana had organized a final oyster Happy Hour with the girls – adding Merry Lee and Lynn to the normal group.

Kenny and Denny organized the boys event at Cooter Brown’s.  Not quite as fancy with classic bar food and pitchers of beer.  I added Jeff to the usual group, and he seemed to have a lot of fun.

We will truly miss all these great friends.

Pack up and drive on Wednesday were very smooth.  Not much traffic and none of the bad weather we were worried about.  We were back in McKinney about 8pm.

The rest of the week has been uneventful – a few morning walks, some time to relax and read.  We did pick up suits and dresses from the tailors, and are preparing for the wedding next week.

This crossword clue made me chuckle.  Taking me back to a Crowded House show several years ago, where Diana asked me what “No Mosheing” meant.

Will had a good night at a Warriors versus Lakers basketball playoff game, while I watched on TV.

My book this week was “Network” by L.C. Shaw.  I picked this up randomly at the library and hadn’t read any reviews or recommendations.  Here’s the online summary:

“A pulse-pounding, page-turning thriller involving corruption, secrets, and lies at the very deepest levels of government and media.

“This is mandatory reading for any thriller aficionado.”—Steve Berry, New York Times Bestselling Author

A shadowy group is manipulating society—and they’ve only just begun.

Late one night, investigative journalist Jack Logan receives a surprise visit from U.S. Senator Malcolm Phillips at his New York apartment. Disheveled and in a panic, the senator swears that he’s about to be murdered and pleads with Jack to protect his wife Taylor, who happens to be the only woman Jack has ever truly loved.

Days later, Phillips is found dead in a hotel room in Micronesia, the apparent victim of an allergy attack. While the nation mourns, Jack and Taylor race to find the one man who knows the truth. As they’re pursued by unknown assailants, their desperate hunt leads them to the Institute, an immense facility shrouded in mystery that has indoctrinated a generation of America’s political and media power players. Led by the enigmatic Damon Crosse, the Institute has its tentacles everywhere—but Taylor unknowingly holds the secret to the one thing that Crosse needs to carry out his plan.  

Taking readers on a thrill ride from the back halls of Congress to the high-rise offices of Madison Avenue and a remote Greek island, The Network is a provocative, pulse-pounding novel that dares to ask the question: who’s really in charge?”

I agree this was a quick paced, page turner.  The premise was just a bit too far fetched for me to really enjoy it.

Here’s something different from the new album from The National:

And a classic from Freddie King:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

 

 

“NOLA Residency Week 5 – Sean and Sheri, and jazzfest Week Two”

Monday was a quiet recovery day.  I had the Board Audit Committee meeting in the afternoon – all smooth and pretty dry.

I caught an early flight Austin on Tuesday morning, arriving at the office just as the Board Meeting started.  This was our most productive meeting yet, and we finished early in the afternoon.  I got checked into the hotel and then met our executive team at Comedor for dinner.  I really love this restaurant and was pleased that Tim had chosen it.

Such creative preparations of steak tartare, octopus, and bone marrow tacos.

I flew back to New Orleans on Wednesday morning, entertained to see an outpost of the Saxon Pub at the airport.  I arrived back in time to make a lunchtime visit to the chiropractor.

 

 

Sean and Sheri arrived at Denny and Anne’s cottage after midnight on Wednesday.  We all met up for a delicious early dinner at La Petite Grocery on Thursday evening.

The food was better than ever – blue crab beignets appetizer and then my favourite – alligator Bolognese.  The group was fired up and ready to go after dinner.  We started with a stop at DMACs – apparently there was an entertaining band playing – I ended up sitting outside and chatting with some locals.  Back to the condo to freshen up and regroup.  Then Denny talked us into the Soul Rebels in the tiny back room of Le Bon Temps Rouler.  We ended up getting our cover charge back as it was way too packed to even get to the back room.

Denny wasn’t giving up yet – there’s an excellent Papa Mail ska show at Chickie Wah Wah.  Okay, okay, it’s Sean and Sheri’s first day – let’s do something crazy.

I’m so glad we opted to attend – the music was excellent and the place wasn’t crowded at all – even seats and tables available.

We arrived home around 4am – it’s been decades since that happened!

The Ogans and Meeksies were real troopers on Friday, making it back out to jazzfest, and reporting an excellent closing show by Jon Batiste.  We took it easy in the morning and then enjoyed our typical Friday afternoon on the porch of the Columns.  Alex, Laura, Kenny and Kara all joined us over the course of a pleasant couple of hours.

 

Saturday was a very rainy day and called for inside activities.  We started with lunch at the Cochon Butcher’s shop – a counter service sandwich shop.  The food was excellent and I can see why Denny’s been suggesting this place for a while.

After lunch, we made a visit to the Sazerac House – this is a very interesting and free museum about the Sazerac drink and associated other liquors.  Highly recommended way to pass an hour or two – the building has been beautifully restored.

 

 

 

Denny suggested catching a bit of Mashaiya Lake at the 21st Amendment bar, before heading back Uptown.  I always forget about this place and their typically solid musical offerings.

Some entertaining people watching ensued back on the Magazine Street balcony.  A new white Rolls Royce pulled up and parked in front of the Buffalo Exchange thrift shop.  I suspected a musician in town for jazzfest, but didn’t recognize the lady who exited the back door to head inside.  Also didn’t recognize the man who joined her about 20 minutes later.  He didn’t look like a chauffeur and didn’t open the door for her on return.  Just interesting that she rides in the back while he drives.  This is how we pass our time on the balcony…

On Saturday evening, Denny had arranged for us all to see Low Cut Connie perform at Gasa Gasa on Freret street.  This is a small club and it was sold out.  The piano player and lead singer was a terrific showman and we thoroughly enjoyed the show.  Kind of a cross between Gerry Lee Lewis and Brian Setzer.

We made a relatively early night of it, knowing we were headed to jazzfest to set up camp in the morning.  This time we used the normal entrance and I made a quick beeline for the area where I wanted to set up an expanded camp for everyone joining during the day.

The main stage opened with guess who?  Low Cut Connie again.  From a tiny club to the huge stage.  They really got the early crowd going.

Diana walked 8 miles on Sunday – definitely the most solo rambling she’s ever done.  Must be getting comfortable after so many visits.  She found herself standing in front of Kenny and Anne at Fais Do Do, with none of them noticing initially.

Galactic put on a strong show in the early afternoon main stage slot.  Greg and I enjoying the songs they played from the classic “Coolin’ Off” record.

Then it was time for a 2023 jazzfest highight.  Mumford & Sons were joined onstage by Trombone Shorty and Jon Batiste for “House of the Rising Sun.”  One of those moments that only happens in New Orleans:

Diana made a lap around the track to see Tom Jones perform a few classics at the Gentilly stage, followed by Melissa Etheridge in the Blues Tent.  She got there just in time to enjoy “Come to My Window.”

We regrouped with Trombone Shorty closing out the festival, as he has for several years now.  It took a while to exit and rejoin the crew for pizza at Midway on Freret Street.  The 2023 edition of New Orleans jazzfest is in the books!

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!