- Lightning is one of my FAVORITE books. What is not to love about Time Traveling Nazis, adorable orphans, and trouble and triumph through Southern California?
- I own a great many signed first editions of Koontz books and a couple of his Sci Fi books from the dark ages of the 60s. I say this because I want you to understand that I was a huge fan for a long time.
- Dean Koontz likes to now use his novels to do several things: a. Make sure the reader knows he has a vast vocabulary. b. Make a point, usually political in nature, but sometimes spiritual or just whatever crazy shit he believes right now. c. Make money.
- I saw him at the Comic Con in San Diego a couple of years ago. That man is freaking bizarre.
- WHY OH WHY do his books suck so bad now? I can only say that today is the first time ever that I the book is so bad that I'm returning it to the library unfinished. "\What book", you ask? 77 Shadow Street. Seriously. This book is HORRIBLE. AWFUL. I went on Amazon to see what others had to say and it's an overall 3 stars so some crazy ass people like it and apparently it goes in some weird science direction towards the end and guess what! I DON'T CARE. This pile of crap is going back. I'm done.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Five Things About Dean Koontz & Me
Dream Dinners - Part 2
As an update to my last post, I thought I should mention that this weekend I ate at Trois Mec in Los Angeles. This is the restaurant that is the result of the frienship between Ludo Lefebvre, Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook. What is different about Trois Mec is that you don't actually make a reservation or show up, you buy a ticket in advance, after logging into the website before 8 am on the appointed date and having your credit card already entered so that you can get your ticket before they sell out in five minutes.
I mention this because tickets are $97 with tax and tip included. So you could go and spend only $97 per person, but once you get there you might want a drink or an add on meal, so our final price was $262 for two. Based on my last post, we now know that I am willing to spend at least that much on dinner for two, so is it a stretch to go higher? I hope not, because I think I'm going to. Here's a link to the Trois Mec review on Yelp, though... in case your curious.
I mention this because tickets are $97 with tax and tip included. So you could go and spend only $97 per person, but once you get there you might want a drink or an add on meal, so our final price was $262 for two. Based on my last post, we now know that I am willing to spend at least that much on dinner for two, so is it a stretch to go higher? I hope not, because I think I'm going to. Here's a link to the Trois Mec review on Yelp, though... in case your curious.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
How Much is Too Much for a Dream Dinner?
I am obsessed with food. I am. I love dining. I love chefs. I love interesting and different food (lets not go crazy, I'll pass on most offal). I want to eat in ALL of the best restaurants and taste the delights that a skilled chef can create. But, lets face it, I'm on an Olive Garden budget. I like to THINK I can just eat whatever and whenever and wherever I want, but if I eat at all of the places I want to, I might just break my bank.
So, what's a girl to do? Where is the limit? I have no problem spending $125 for two for dinner. It's a splurge, but we do it on occasion. But what about when I get the chance to eat at some of my dream restaurants? Lets say I was going to New York. Now New York is a place where I just won't be going very often, so when I do get there, I want to experience as much as possible and no matter how many amazing restaurants are around the world and in my own backyard, the truth is that NYC is a gourmet dining capital. How do I pass this up?
One of my dream restaurants is Daniel. While Daniel is no longer at the top of the top in NYC, it is still a classic fine dining restaurant with amazing seasonal menus that are crafted with care. Daniel may have a lot more competitions, but it's somewhere I have long dreamed of enjoying the seasonal tasting menu. The problem? The "cheap seats" on that tasting menu is STILL $195 per person and that doesn't even include the wine pairings. Yeah, I said $195 per person!!!
That is only the tip of the iceberg. What about my fantasy of eating omakase at the hands of Mr. Uezu at Kurumazushi. Take a guess... go ahead. Omakase STARTS at $300 per person. But this man is known to be a master with seafood that he has flown in for his restaurant. Can anything be worth that much? I know you can get meals much more expensive, but these are just my simple little dreams.
Chefs Table at Brooklyn Fare is another fantasy. This one isn't even in reach because besides the $225 per person price tag, it's dinner only and there is much raw taking place, which my husband would not be interested in. I can't exactly ditch him for dinner! So, even if i could get a reservation... this one truly is out of reach.
You can see the problem. There are more... There's Blanca, and Jean George, and there's Per Se and Le Cirque, there's Momofuko and another long time New York icon Le Bernardin. I mean, New York City is an eater's paradise.
So here is my question. When do I pass from "but it's a special occasion" to "I seriously need to commit myself before I bankrupt my family"? How far is too far for this middle class girl with a middle class credit card and a middle class husband. Do I do Daniel and go cheap the rest of the week. Do I pick a few of these splurges as "one of a kind nights"... and then where do I draw the line? $200pp? $300pp? How do I pick a limit? HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
So, what's a girl to do? Where is the limit? I have no problem spending $125 for two for dinner. It's a splurge, but we do it on occasion. But what about when I get the chance to eat at some of my dream restaurants? Lets say I was going to New York. Now New York is a place where I just won't be going very often, so when I do get there, I want to experience as much as possible and no matter how many amazing restaurants are around the world and in my own backyard, the truth is that NYC is a gourmet dining capital. How do I pass this up?
One of my dream restaurants is Daniel. While Daniel is no longer at the top of the top in NYC, it is still a classic fine dining restaurant with amazing seasonal menus that are crafted with care. Daniel may have a lot more competitions, but it's somewhere I have long dreamed of enjoying the seasonal tasting menu. The problem? The "cheap seats" on that tasting menu is STILL $195 per person and that doesn't even include the wine pairings. Yeah, I said $195 per person!!!
That is only the tip of the iceberg. What about my fantasy of eating omakase at the hands of Mr. Uezu at Kurumazushi. Take a guess... go ahead. Omakase STARTS at $300 per person. But this man is known to be a master with seafood that he has flown in for his restaurant. Can anything be worth that much? I know you can get meals much more expensive, but these are just my simple little dreams.
Chefs Table at Brooklyn Fare is another fantasy. This one isn't even in reach because besides the $225 per person price tag, it's dinner only and there is much raw taking place, which my husband would not be interested in. I can't exactly ditch him for dinner! So, even if i could get a reservation... this one truly is out of reach.
You can see the problem. There are more... There's Blanca, and Jean George, and there's Per Se and Le Cirque, there's Momofuko and another long time New York icon Le Bernardin. I mean, New York City is an eater's paradise.
So here is my question. When do I pass from "but it's a special occasion" to "I seriously need to commit myself before I bankrupt my family"? How far is too far for this middle class girl with a middle class credit card and a middle class husband. Do I do Daniel and go cheap the rest of the week. Do I pick a few of these splurges as "one of a kind nights"... and then where do I draw the line? $200pp? $300pp? How do I pick a limit? HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
I Want to Be Ruth Reichl When I Grow Up
When I grow up I want to be Ruth Reichl. Seriously, I want to be an amazing cook and a writer and have that depth of understanding of food and flavors. What an amazing life she has lived. At least from the outside looking in! hehe Garlic and Sapphires is seriously one of my favorite books. These days I don't read or listen to books more than once, usually, but I had to re-listen to that both because I love it so much and in preparation for a trip to New York!
That's another thing. How awesome to go to New York and know all the best places to eat. I also wish I could sit down with her and my itinerary and she could help me plan my dining! Not that I can afford to eat at all of the places I'm dreaming of, but it's my dream!
Anyway, if you don't know about Ruth, check out her blog. You'll find a lot of interesting posts about food, recipes, restaurants, kitchen tools, etc. I such a fan. I'm such a dork.
That's another thing. How awesome to go to New York and know all the best places to eat. I also wish I could sit down with her and my itinerary and she could help me plan my dining! Not that I can afford to eat at all of the places I'm dreaming of, but it's my dream!
Anyway, if you don't know about Ruth, check out her blog. You'll find a lot of interesting posts about food, recipes, restaurants, kitchen tools, etc. I such a fan. I'm such a dork.
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