January 29, 2012

Next Sunday, can't wait. Go Giants !



Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey was a welcome gift.



Mimosas, Brunch and Barnes and Noble round out Birthday Week.



Book looked too interesting to pass up.



Beer for the weekend. Aged in Jack Daniel's Barrels.



Bought this DVD with my Tax Cut Gift card.

January 26, 2012

Birthday week for me coincides with NYC Winter Restaurant week. Went to Smith and Wollensky today. The Surf and Turf was as good as ever.




Napa Cellars Pinot Noir was good company.



Last week at Ben and Jack's, this Coppola Wine was terrific.



Early BD gift, Seasons 1 - 5 of The Wire.

January 22, 2012

R.I.P. Etta. Saw her twice in concert, once at S.O.B.'s



Something's got a hold on me.



THE LAST HOLIDAY A Memoir By Gil Scott-Heron reviewed in today's NYT. The New Yorker did a nice piece on him on August 9, 2010.

The Bottle

See that black boy over there, runnin' scared
his ol' man's in a bottle.
He done quit his 9 to 5 to drink full time
so now he's livin' in the bottle.
See that Black boy over there, runnin' scared
his ol' man got a problem
Pawned off damn near everything, his ol'
woman's weddin' ring for a bottle.
And don't you think it's a crime
when time after time, people in the bottle.
See that sista, sho wuz fine before she
started drinkin' wine
from the bottle.
Said her ol' man committed a crime
and he's doin' time,
so now she's in the bottle.
She's out there on the avenue, all by herself
sho' needs help from the bottle.
Preacherman tried to help her out,
she cussed him out and hit him in the head with a bottle.
And don't you think it's a crime
when time after time, people in the bottle.
See that gent in the wrinkled suit
he done damn near blown his cool
to the bottle
He wuz a doctor helpin' young girls along
if they wuzn't too far gone to have problems.
But defenders of the dollar eagle
Said "What you doin', Doc, it ain't legal,"
and now he's in the bottle.
Now we watch him everyday tryin' to
chase the pigeons away
from the bottle.
And don't you think it's a crime
when time after time, people in the bottle.

January 21, 2012

Well, the fresh tomato juice was incredible. A new but expensive addition. I always use Sacramento TJ, now this will be on the rotation.



"There are three things I like about Italian ships. First, their cuisine,
which is unsurpassed. Second, their service, which is quite superb. And
then - in time of emergency - there is none of this nonsense about women
and children first."



Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins.



Sam Adams has put out a bunch of small batch Ales, this was one of them and will be opened for tomorrow's NFC Championship.



Keegan Ales has Super Kitty, an Ale with a wallop, 12.00% ABV .



Super Kitty being poured in Community Beverages' new Growler Machine.



Not much of a storm.

January 20, 2012

Sunday will be huge. Super Bowl if the Giants win.



A little pricey but will be making Bloodies tomorrow.



Guy was really good on the makeshift drums.



Restaurant Week visit, Ben and Jack's on Fifth Avenue. A Peter Luger clone and damn good.



Went tourist and visted Ruby Foo's off of Times Square.



Nice joint.



The food was good and the dessert was special.

January 15, 2012

Big game today. Go Giants ! The 49er - Saints game yesterday was perhaps the best game I have seen in quite a while.



Chili and Chili dogs on the menu. The recipe:

Chili:
1 1/2 pounds Top Round Sirloin
cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Pound Chuck Chop
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon Black pepper
2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
10 Mushrooms
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Large Onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp. Cocoa
7 cloves garlic
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Dark Beer
2 Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce
2 tsp. Lime Juice
1 28 oz Marinara Sauce
2 (16 oz.) cans Red Pinto Beans
1 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1 16 oz Diced Tomatoes

Cut Beef into small cubes. Put cubes in Gallon Storage bag
with flour, pepper. Mix well to cover cubes completely.
Add cubes to hot oil and saute for six to seven minutes.
In a large pot add the chopped garlic, onion , mushrooms and peppers until soft. Add Sauce, broth, wine, Beer. Add cooked Beef cubes, Chuck Chop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover , cook until all is tender, about two hours. Serve with Dark Beer.



I am now reading The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt. It is about De Rerum Natura, On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus. Project Gutenberg has the Poem and it is now on my Nook for later reading.

January 7, 2012

Started the day by taking the tree to MulchFest.



Onions in the Sun.



Will check out One Stop Beer Shop. It is right off the BQE.



Finished And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields. I have most of Vonnegut's books and the Biography has inspired me to re-read Slaughterhouse Five; or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., a Fourth-Generation German-American Now Living in Easy Circumstances on Cape Cod (and Smoking Too Much) Who, as an American Infantry Scout Hors de Combat, as a Prisoner of War, Witnessed the Fire-Bombing of Dresden, Germany, the Florence of the Elbe, a Long Time Ago, and Survived to Tell the Tale: This Is a Novel Somewhat in the Telegraphic Schizophrenic Manner of Tales of the Planet Tralfamadore, Where The Flying Saucers Come From.

I know from reading the Biography that KV drew the cartoon on this cover. Good Biography, KV was not as nice as one would think but lived an amazing life.



Another free E-Book: The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes.

January 4, 2012

"Hell begins the day that God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

A really great talent finds its happiness in execution.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

January 2, 2012

Ok, Day off. It is officially Cadillac Margarita Day.

1 1/2 oz Tequila
1 oz Grand Marnier® orange liqueur
1/4 oz fresh lime juice
splash of orange juice, Sierra Mist



Nothing on, so the DVD collection comes out.



Received a six-pack of Fegley's Brew Works Ales. The Bagpiper's Scotch Ale was the best of the lot, followed by Rude Elf Reserve and then Hop’solutely Triple IPA. All good, nice flavors.



Gotta love the label.



“If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.”
― Thomas J. Watson Jr.



TWC and MSG had better kiss and make-up. Going to miss the Knicks/Toronto game tonight.



New toy is a USB turntable to convert Vinyls to MP3s. Just received two boxes of Vinyls from a relative who moved and ran out of space.

January 1, 2012

Season on the line tonight, Go Giants !