Saturday I had dinner with the M, the Jew, Owen’s dad and soon-to-be-stepmom.  We went to an amazing french restaurant (which will not be named because they are getting enough buzz to generate a two hour wait).

We planned to meet for dinner at 6 and assumed it would be smooth sailing from there.  The hostess informed us there was a two hour wait.  We decided to go to Eastside Showroom and drink for a bit in the hopes we would get the call that our table was ready.  It was there we made the best decision ever.  Jettison the car and keep drinking all night.  I started my evening with Scotch, M and the Jew decided on fancy cocktails.

After an hour and a half we decided to head back to the restaurant.  The table wasn’t ready yet (but lucky for us there were seats at the bar).  A half hour later, we were seated (and very tipsy).  Was the wait worth it?  Yes, it was.  We ordered the steamed artichoke with drawn butter (although it tasted more like brown butter to me and M). [BTW.There aren't many vegetarian items on the menu].  I settled on the potato leak soup with endives(cream based) and the ratatouille (vegan).   I was impressed with both dishes.   I was starving by this point and still managed to savor my meal. The meat eaters at the table recommend the duck and the scallops.   Price-wise, we did well.  Between 5 of us we managed to kill two bottles of wine (the Bordeaux was my favorite), and have dinner and dessert for $250 (incl. tip).

M, the Jew, and myself decided that even though we were tipsy and full of tasty french food, we needed to go out.  We hitched a ride to Sidebar.  Then the night gets a little blurry.  I was thankful for sensible footwear as we stumbled to the cab.

Probably

Most people are just a little crazy in their own little way.  Last night I went on a mini pub crawl with M and the Arab (yes, he is real).  Last night’s topic of discussion was about crazy (or “the crazy” as we prefer to call it). It’s not a horrible thing to be crazy.  Seal says, “that we’re never gonna survive unless we are a little bit crazy.”  Gnarls Barkley was at peace with being crazy.

Here are some benefits (according to the dictionary) that go along with being crazy:

1. intensely enthusiastic; passionately excited
2. senseless; impractical; totally unsound  [Things that lead to innovation are often considered senseless and unsound by people who fear straying from the norm.]
3. having an unusual, unexpected, or random quality, behavior, result, pattern, etc [This describes most things that occur in nature.]
4. mentally deranged; demented; insane [Some of our best innovators fall in the category.] (more…)

So I am a little behind in getting my writing done.  The ladies at climbinginskirts have been dealing with life.  More installments on that to come.

It had been a while since we had “family” dinner.  we decided to capitalize on the fact that it was Restaurant Week and pay $35/head on dinners that would probably cost us $50.   We could also feel good knowing that %5 of the check would go to the Sustainable Food Center. The location was chosen based on my needs (as the only vegetarian).   The others just wanted something new. This time we chose correctly.

The menu at Sienna had a little something for everyone.  Truffle oil was used on almost everything (I was going through withdrawal because I can’t get my late night grilled cheese with truffle oil at Go Bites anymore).

Next time Restaurant week Rolls around I will do a better job of reminding you to skip the tv dinner and go out and eat local for a cause.

Yes, Jane Goodall.  Anthropologist.  Gorillas in the Mist…

The last few times I have gone downtown to hang out, I have felt completely out of place.

And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
Wife And you may ask yourself-well…how did I get here?

Rather than infiltrate there social group I feel the need to study it.  This is how I entertained myself during my last two visits to Shangri la (that at the $2.75 vodka tonics).  Not only was I completely amused/confused my the hipster summer wear and handle bar mustaches  but, there was something else that I couldn’t put my finger on. Who are these people?  Where did they come from?  Have they been here all along? How can they afford to drink so much?  Do they build their own bikes?

So last night wasn’t much different. (more…)

DISCLAIMER: I would like to apologize for the use of “e-mon” on many of the the adjectives used in this post.  I am blaming M and 10hdg.  One word. Viral.  I am also skipping the spell and grammar checking.  Not enough time right now.  Maybe after SXSWi

So today we managed to have a nice sunshiney day to ride to the convention center on the bikes.  After the usual welcome to tech crew meeting, I headed back to the third floor.  For the most part things went ok.  Room 10 is still possessed by demons.    Room 8 has some mild visual problems but we were able to get by.

The afternoon sounded promising.  There was supposed to be a fake riot staged by the ARG panel in room 6.  We were also promised that the AVW guys would replace all of the sound equipment in 10.  Bad news: RIot was LAME!  Good news: NEW SOUND BOARD.  M and I took a break from the insanity to play with “rockets” in the hall (They were promotional darts by capstrat.  I may have to order some.)

At the end of the day, we cleared out the panel rooms.  I had a little trouble getting rid of the Brits in room 6.  I had to resort to an old stand by to get them out.  I told them that there was FREE BEER in the park accross the street and at several other venues.  They were a little confused so I had to spell it out.  There are companies that throw parties and they want people to have fun so they make the alcohol free.  If no one comes to drink the free beer it will go to waste.

After the Brits leave I meet up with M and the crew in the hall.  I explain the Brit thing and end up starting a new dance craze at the same time.  We head off to the Rails party to learn more about otherinbox (BTW. beer facilitates learning).   We hung out there and have not acquired enough food credits to offset the beer credits. You might say that we were dunk-e-mon. <social networking experiment> (more…)

Today the plan was to take the bikes to “work”.  Woke up at 8, M made the coffee already.  I started on breakfast (b-fast tacos!).  We made the last minute executive decision to take the car because 10hdg REALLY needed to squeeze in a haircut at Birds.  Rather than run into an issue of post haircut parking, executive decision #2 was to park in the garage.

Back on the third floor again today.  Things were running smoothly until yet another company made a slightly vague request for equipment from the SXSW staff.   We also found out that the audio jack didn’t fit so well inside the wafer thin macs.  It was too big. M and I managed to hit the trade show and make a few friends.

The afternoon was ok too.  Only a few glitches with the mics.  M and I were able to sneek off to the Gary V lecture on the 1st floor (i also found a nice spot to charge my phone).

After we closed up for the night we tried to track down some Santana Champ at Maria Maria.  We thought that we had a good chance of finding it there since Carlos Santana owns the restaurant.  Sadly, we got there and there was no DVX.  The bartender didn’t even know that the stuff existed.  We told him to Google On a Boat and headed off to Gingerman (BTW they are moving after SXSW).

After goofing off at the Gingerman and explaining that Austin is very, very small (and that it is possible for someone to have slept with 7 of your top 8 friends), we headed off to Jackalope for food.  After food and beer I was done.  We stopped at a gamer party at Mohawk on the way to the car.  10 projectors and artists hard at work.  Pretty awesome but I was tired and feeling icky.

Cost of today: $8 for parking (beer credits for all food and beverages today)

Free stuff: zombie t-shirt

Austin Restaurant Week is here!

What is Austin Restaurant Week?

Austin Restaurant Week celebrates Austin’s best restaurants. Here’s how it works: Three courses for either $25 or $35 and you can pick a different restaurant for eight total nights. Choose from more than 40 of the city’s hottest spots!

Additionally, this year, a portion of proceeds will benefit the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. The more you eat out and visit our nightcap locations during Austin Restaurant Week, the more you’re helping the Food Bank!

How to Dine Out During Austin Restaurant Week:

1. Search participating restaurants by name, price point and location.

2. View menus, reviews, and more information by clicking on the restaurant’s name.

3. Call the restaurant directly to make an Austin Restaurant Week reservation.

4. Eat better than you ever have before and then check out official Austin Restaurant Week nightcap spots.

I had a box wine tasting party last night.  It was inspired by an article I read in the Chronicle ages ago.  This was the first party I had at my house in 5 years (not counting dinner parties). There were about 16 people and 24.5 liters of wine.

After checking out several best of lists (epicurious, chowhound, winelibrarytv), my goal was to visit places that you would normally be stopping at for other items, Specs, Costco, Target, Whole Foods, etc…  I had purchased an assortment of boxes a few guests brought boxes.  I also had lots of snacks to avoid having a room full of completely drunk people.

Highlights of the evening:

• 2007 Banrock Shiraz (you can get it at Specs)
• Target Wine Cube -2007 Pinot Grigio and the 2006 Cabernet/Shiraz Blend
• Black Box Cabernet (I think it was 2005) (Costco has it cheapest)
• Bandit Merlot (you can buy it at Whole Foods)
• Costco Snacks- Pesto, Hummus, Rosemary Bread
• My home made brownies- From scratch with whiskey

Things that sounded like a good idea but weren’t so tasty:

• Black Box 2007 Pinot Grigio and 2006 Shiraz
• Bota Box 2007 Chardonnay

Things that you should avoid like the plague:

• Vendango 500mL tetrapacks from Specs.  Get the wine cubes instead.  I don’t know if they were old but they tasted corky for some reason.

Overall, I was impressed.  Especially with the Target wine cubes.  You can get them in 3 sizes.  3L, 1.5L, and the 4 pack of 250mL.

This is for you Jen, originally uploaded by Limorama.

So, as per usual my dad and I went to do some holiday shopping. We went to the huge Korean market out in the ‘burbs. For us this is the fun part of the holiday. I don’t get to the Asian Market in Austin that often, but when I do, it’s always a little crazy. I can go grocery shopping for hours and be entertained. Especially at places that have weird stuff.

So anyhow we were buying oyster sauce, and I saw this. I really dig oyster sauce, the almost acrid fishy flavor that is super sweet. Goes well in a lot of things, trust me on this.

I didn’t buy any, but I’m pretty sure I can find this in Austin, so I’ll hafta get some of this to try. And since it’s Vegetarian, it should be suitable for Jen to eat. I wanna make Kim Chee Fried Rice with this. Mmmm that sounds good.

photo by M cheese and nut roast crimini mushroom, walnut, cashew and gruyere terrine served with smoked tomato sauce and carrots

M and I went to dinner the other night.  It was a celebration dinner.  M finished her finals and I managed to get through 17 dates (playing by the original rules).   We ordered 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and a bottle of wine and spent just under $100.  I rarely go out to eat but when I do, I like to go all out.

The meal was phenomenal.  The flavors and textures were balanced.   After I took the second, bite I told M that I wanted to enjoy men like we enjoy good food; savor every bite, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.   I am having a hard time just living in the moment these days.  I want to go in with an open mind and heart but based on past experiences I am finding that difficult to achieve.

I went on an amazing date on Thursday.  I was very in the moment.  Friday I was giving the recap and I started to second guess myself. The crazy was trying to surface. Had I chosen the wrong thing to do or say?  Why hasn’t he called?  Should I call or send an email? What did it mean when he said X?

Why does it always go this way?  I decided that I just need to chill out and let things run their course.  If he calls, he calls.  If we go out again, great! If not, we had 2 really good dates.