Dinner

nobody@vox.com(Bill) — Sun, 20 May 2007 18:09:29 -0700

Well, being in a bad mood today, I decided to stop in at a local restaurant for a beer. When the friend I was meeting for dinner called to say she was sick, I decided to stay for sushi and sake. I also got to try the daikon pickles that Laural The Person and Ressie have been raving about. In all, my mood has improved.

Saki Flight

Sake Flight

Rihaku Nigori

Daikon

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A Salute to Laurel

nobody@vox.com(Bill) — Tue, 01 May 2007 19:02:33 -0700

Laurel gave me her old Canon S400, which will accompany me on my trip to the Bay Area. It arrived today. To thank her, I could only think of one fitting tribute: documenting tonights dinner. Mind you, true to Laurel's spirit, I'm only posting food pictures, no people.

This meal took place at the Jasmine Cafe, a great little Vietnamese place in my neighborhood. One of the places I'll miss when I move. It's family owned, and you really feel like family when you're there.

Apologies. I'm still figuring out when it needs a flash. The LCD screen is a little misleading.

Dinner at Jasmine Cafe

Yum.

Jasmine Cafe

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Dinner

nobody@vox.com(Bill) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:33:23 -0700

For most people, it's a breakfast beverage. But for me, Negra Modela went very well with dinner.

04-15-07_1926.jpg

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Ah, the simple pleasures

nobody@vox.com(Bill) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:49:30 -0700

D'Aydie

I walked by a wine sale today while running errands, and was overjoyed to find out that one of my favorite wines, Chateau D'Aydie was in stock (2000, even, a fantastic year). D'Aydie is a Madiran. If I remember correctly, largely Tannat cut with just a little Cabernet Franc. It's not an expensive wine, but it doesn't import in large quantities. My friend Chris Osgood — late of the Suicide Commandos, the legendary 70s punk band that laid the groundwork for the like of Husker Du and the Replacements — explores the South of France for regional wines and then brings them in through the Minnesota Wine Company. Though I've seen other D'Aydie wines, the flagship wine, the boldest of the bunch, has been hard to find. Oh, and it was $17 a bottle. Can't beat that.

It was a surprise shopping trip. I was 15 blocks from home, on foot, without a backpack. So, I was limited to what I wanted to carry 15 blocks in a paper bag. Wine shopping in Minnesota lacks the pretense of other regions. I walked into the store (which takes checks but no plastic), and was quickly helped by a man in jeans, t-shirt, and a baseball cap with a bit of a belly. Best way to put it is he looked like he could have been drinking Miller at the Twins game earlier in the day if there had been a Twins game. In the Midwest, however, looks can be deceiving. I told him I was looking for inexpensive wines ($15-25), one nice full tannic red and the other some sort of Chardonnay that had a full body but was not oaky. We started with the red, and I told him that I loved Madirans, but that I knew they were hard to find. He pointed me straight to the D'Aydie, which I didn't even think the Wine Company was importing. Then, knowing I loved the D'Aydie, he pointed me to a Malbec, Terrazas from Argentina ($15/bottle), which I'd never tried before. Then I told him that if I had a lot of money, I'd be stocking up on the higher end Latours and Flowers Chardonnay, but since I didn't, what could he recommend. He pointed me to two wines from Verget (a broker specializing in grapes from acrosss Burgundy), a Chablis ($19) and and Macon-Vergisson ($16.50). I'm excited, and will report back after drinking. In all, five bottles, $85, and a 30-block walk.

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For Laural and Patty

nobody@vox.com(Bill) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 14:38:22 -0800

I've made fun of your food postings in the past but Laurel and Patty, I post this as a tribute to you. Given the blizzard, I decide to yesterday would be a good day to run errands close to home. Right down the road from the computer store where I went to buy a cable they didn't have in stock, is Isles Buns and Coffee. There I was served this wonderful cinnamon bun with a hot cup of coffee. This was breakfast and lunch. Sadly, my camera phone doesn't do it justice.

Winter Warm Up

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QotD: But It Tastes Good!

nobody@vox.com(Bill) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 10:38:17 -0800

What are your favorite weird food combinations?
Submitted by Dulce.

I don't know that it's weird as much as it's unusual because there's only one place that makes a smoked blue cheese, however ...

Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue with fig preserves on water crackers

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