Hollywood North

I realize i haven't written about Vancouver at all and there's no better time like when my email is down and I can't get anything done at work - here's a summary.

Day 1 - drove from Seattle to Canada.

Our rental car situation hits an all time high as we're told the only car left for us to rent is a brand new Subaru Forrester (this helps later on as we're in a blizzard in whistler).

Along the way, we stop for a bathroom break and meet two really cute dogs in a dog store in some suburban mall. Here's Kelly with Piper the westie!

As we approach Vancouver, our customs guard compliments us on Kelly's H&M sweater which I also have in gray.Then we head straight to Granville Island for a pleasant lunch of non-seafood (we were seafooded out). We walk around and check out the local stores, then head to our hotel. The hotel loses our reservation and we get upgraded to the executive suite. Kelly and I do a happy dance and agree that i should book all car rentals and she should book all hotel stays in the future.

Checking in takes too long so we run over to GM Place for our first Canadian hockey game! We are super impressed by the intensity of the arena and the awesome beer and food they have. This makes MSG and almost all older arenas in NY seem embarrassing. Canucks end up pulling a knicks and losing the lead and whatever dignity they have left to Detroit, but Kelly and I had a rocking good time. We go back and sleep cause tomorrow is Grouse!

Day 2 - Grouse Mountain and Whistler

We get to Grouse after a small breakfast and I actually manage to drive there without the help of GPS. Seriously, I guess if you spend a few weeks in a city, you start remembering things. Also, once you cross the bridge, it's pretty easy to follow the signs. We get there and I decide to go without hiking poles cause I like to climb mountains monkey-style. Kelly likes to not-die so she chose to go with the hiking poles.

1/4 mile mark - this took forever and was kind of demoralizing. It wasn't very steep, but it was still challenging and kelly gave me a look like she wanted to kill someone with her hiking pole. Luckily, this was her idea and there's no safe way down. Whew!

1/2 mark - Kelly said that she wanted to die and didn't have enough energy to kill anyone right now. That's safer for me! I took pictures.

3/4 mark - Kelly hugged the tree with this marker like it was sent from god straight to her. The path was much much steeper, but the distance was shorter since we were climbing the altitude faster. It was very foggy and we were seeing treetops and hearing waterfalls (too much shrubbery and fog to get a good look). We took a fruit break and I took some phone calls...i know.

At the finish - They decided to put a huge slab of slippery rock at the end that you had to cross to add insult to injury. Like most dangerous or painful things, i chose to run across it like an idiot. I survived. kelly slipped (the only time) being careful and broke a hiking pole. Dagnabit.

I was starving at this point and inhaled my food. Apparently, I get very grouchy after 3 and half hours of hiking with no food. (Salmon with Mango Chutney Sandwich and seafood chowder)

So, after we eat we hunt down the grizzly bear habitat, which is awesome and learn that the lumberjack show only happens in the summer. We are crestfallen but soldier on. We then take the tram down the mountain and amaze at our great accomplishment.

Kelly looks like she's thinking about never telling me that she wants to do anything adventurous again. But she's looking on the bright side and can't wait for the heated seats in our Forrester!We make it to Whistler and we go shopping in the village and grab a great dinner. Yay! We encounter a snow storm on the way back and then rain in the city - I don't care cause I have an AWD vehicle and am loving every part of it. We go back and collapse into exhaustion.

Day 3 - last full day in Vancouver, so we try and go around the city. It's pouring torrentially, so we have a long breakfast in the hotel and then decide to drive around the city and then go to the Aquarium. We drive through all of the neighborhoods...the olympic village (still being built), chinatown, east hastings street, yaletown till we get to the Aquarium. We see this guy who might be the laziest sea creature I've ever seen:

We drive around Stanley park but it's horrendous outside so we stay inside of our car. We go last ditch Olympic shopping and then meet up with Jeff for dinner. I think I got too excited about the food and totally forgot to take pics of the people AT dinner. We ate at Salt and they pair wine and food for you. This is the best place ever - I didn't have to make many decisions. I think i said - cheese and white wine - no meat. Also exciting cause this is in blood alley which is kind of famous or something.

Day 4 and last day in Vancouver -

We pretty much got breakfast, then walked down to the harbor and stopped by Jeff's office. It was noon by this point so we high tailed it out of there to make it to Richmond for a late lunch. Richmond is a HUUUUGE chinese community just south of Vancouver proper and they have the best chinese food in the area. Here's our rice cakes!

Afterwards, we stopped by Duty free, went to a Lululemon outlet, went to REI in Seattle and then rushed to the airport. I got gas on MLK blvd and some 18 yr old guys tried to pick me up from their Scoobee Doo van. It was adorable and I told them that I had to catch a flight and couldn't "holla at them."

Kelly and I somehow both neglected to make sure the car rental return was IN the airport, so after driving to the airport and then realizing this, we floored it to Dollar and yelled hysterically about missing our flight. The rental car van driver busted a move and I swear made turns on like two wheels to get us there in time. We made it exactly 50 minutes before our flight and gave him a $10 tip. The drama doesn't end there. My burrito that I got to eat for dinner set off every security alarm along the way and I had to explain it to like 15 people who were in line with me that it wasn't a weapon of mass destruction.

Needless to say, I fell asleep on the plane. That's how it all ended. Awesome trip =)

Really, Tiger?

I can't even begin writing about this.

Did he not think this would come out? If his wife doesn't leave his ass and take all of the money that the law allows, i won't have an ounce of respect for her.

I'm not a prude and I don't think guys need to be monogamous. I do think that if you don't intend on being faithful or you need to work out some deep-rooted issues from a loveless childhood and complete lack of a social life due to compulsive golf playing, then you need to be SINGLE.

Derek Jeter dates a million women and is a player. Guess what? No one gives a crap because he's not married with kids.

That's all I gotta say.

A completely unbiased biased review

Watching the movie twice on opening weekend did a couple of things:

a) made people think i was insane

b) helped the movie gross 3rd highest in opening weekends

c) gave me the opportunity as a twilight fan to see if the movie holds up

A - I am not insane, but I do get overly excited for things like this.

B - your welcome summit. how about you guys stop showing previews that are just mini summaries of the movie. some people like to be surprised.

C - the movie holds up.

The first movie, Twilight failed on a lot of different levels. Too rushed, butchered meadow scene, tree-climbing, spider monkeys and really weird expressions/reactions. Catherine Hardwicke is a crazy hippie woman who was in over her head with an abysmal budget. I know Stephenie Meyer is not the best writer in the world (or in her town frankly), but the main area where fans connect to her books is in the emotions and gradual build up to near-crazy teen obsession. There's a vulnerability and attachment to the characters that cannot be explained (not out of lack of trying that's for sure). The point being, none of this was in the first movie.

New Moon's budget and directing blew Twilight out of the water. Most of the movie is straight out of the book. R+J is in the classroom instead of her living room, but it shows how together they are at all times in school. All of the pivotal scenes are there and the window scene with bella depressed and Lykke Li was the exact mood needed. The wolves were awesome and sometimes, really cute (I'm talking bout you Jacob). I think Kristen looked pained, hopeful, defiant and happy at all the right times. I was better able to focus on something other than Taylor's body the second time around, but his performance was solid for me. Rob wasn't in the movie that much, but he looked horrible and tortured throughout so that was pretty much right. Also, who could resist the "marry me" at the end. Millions of girls (and some boys) totally fangirled at those two words.

highlights for me:

1. Jacob with short hair and no shirt

2. the music was amazing

3. alice's wardrobe - i want everything

4. eric crying, jessica ranting and mike throwing up

5. jacob vs. edward at the end

Best part of the movie going experience is the audience. Funniest things that happened to me or i heard come out of someone's mouth:

1. Stampede at 42nd street AMC on Friday night by females over the age of 25 (manager came out to reprimand entire theater and embarrass people)

2. "she's a whore" said by idiot behind me about kristen telling jake that she loved him

3. "you've all read the book, stop sounding so surprised" - me to the audience at least twice.

4. "HOOOOOOOWWWWLLLLLLLL" - some guy at the beginning of the movie

5. "Look it's a new moon" - guy behind me.

"that's a full moon you idiot, and now it's an eclipse" - me

6. "what the hell?" - rachel.

"word for word from the book" - me.

"of course it is" - rachel

I liked the movie and I know that not everyone will - I can't explain why and really, I don't feel like I need to defend it. The movie's a financial success and they already shot eclipse. Next stop - freaky vampire baby!!!

The Olympic Peninsula, Portland and Seattle

I really should've broken this blog entry into individual locations, days or places, but that wasn't going to happen when i'm unmotivated and taking an excessive amount of photos that still aren't completely edited.

Here are my first few legs of my Pacific Northwest adventure - flew into Seattle, headed Northwest to the Olympic Peninsula via ferry and the famed 101 highway through Port Angeles, into Forks, La Push, and then stopping the night at Lake Quinault (the southern part of the olympic mountain range). We eventually made it into Portland and then of course, back to Seattle for my conference (and others enjoyment).

Map of the first leg. Drive back was straight up I-5

Rachel, Lisa and I riding the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry

First meal in Washington State - salmon fish tacos fresh from the water, asian slaw and seasoned fries. This meal is forever engraved in my mind.

Crescent Lake - the drive from Port Angeles to Forks hugs the side of this lake. It was the most gorgeous drive and super windy. 20 minutes Bella? I think that's an exaggeration.

Bella's truck! Edward's in the passenger seat? I don't think so...

Foggy first beach in La Push! Werewolves? No just happy dogs.

Lake Quinault - reminded me of Scotland. that says a lot.

The best biscuit sandwich ever in Portland, OR- this one's rachel's, I had one sans meat and plus collard greens. Although Portland was the land of the hipster/hobo - they sure know how to eat.

The Japanese Garden at Washington Park, OR. Top of the hills and an amazing representation of the area's trees and plant life.

SEATTLE!

Awesome clam chowder at Pike Market

Crab Pot! The messiest, but most fun meal we had.

Last meal at Cafe Dahlia (everything was AMAZING) - freshly made doughnuts topped off the meal and made us mourn our departure the next day.

All in all, a great trip with some amazing food. It always makes me sad to leave the west coast. I don't know what that says, but probably something about the lifestyle in New York. Love the city i grew up in, but sometimes you crave the unfamiliar.

Who knows how i'd feel in a city as small as Portland and Seattle. Would it be the same people or types of people over and over again? Sometimes, I think NYC is so big that you never really experience anything completely, without distraction, because of it. Something to ponder further...someone needs to move to the Pacific NW and give me their opinion.

Stay tuned for Vancouver!

Things that have happened since my last entry

I wish i had some wonderfully prolific reason for not blogging - god knows i have plenty of opinions and love pondering back and forth about ways to procrastinate. So, i guess my only reason is that life caught up to the blog and made it impossible for me to put it on paper and save it for later (mike birbiglia what what). Either that, or the new fall season of television came out and has taken over my brain. You pick.

Here's my sad attempt to catch this sh*t up.

- some more high profile, but completely random celebrities died

- basic cable churned out 25 more unrealistic "reality" shows

- i picked my "most hated couple" on the biggest loser and amazing race

- david lettermen did something not at all shocking

- obama still hasn't fixed everything. what a liar.

- obama got a nobel peace prize. how about a nobel prize in economics slowpoke?

- i hiked up a freaking high mountain and used my scottish running skills to get down the mountain (and didn't bust my $#*& up).

- being on 3 conference calls a week turns out to suck big time.

- i mourned the loss of sex and violence in my summer shows.

- i saw awesome bands in concert - yeah yeah yeahs and Muse! (maybe U2 too, i guess)

- i got strep throat for the first time since 2007. my vitamins rock!

- Glee is an awesome show and everyone should watch it.

- Michigan is much nicer than Ohio. Seriously.

- I've been engaged for over a month!!! AHHH!!!!

Swayze flying high from above

I was watching the Barbara Walters special last night on ABC with Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa Niemi that happened earlier this year. This was a re-broadcast and it was full of hope and fight, which made it even sadder. Damn that Barbara! She showed the first interview with Swayze from many years ago right after his father died, in which he started crying about the pain, then she brought it up again by asking him if he "spoke to his father" and made him cry again. He called her some crazy southern term and pulled himself together. Then, she made Lisa cry by asking her if she was ready to live without Patrick? God, why not just stab them both in the leg while you're at it?

Anyhow, it was sad and emotional but I'm glad that he was able to live and even die, on his terms. He continued working, finished his memoirs and gave thousands of people fighting cancer hope. He even quoted Ghost - the line about taking the love with you. I was a bawling by this time.

I chose this picture for obvious reasons - keanu has lost quite a few friends, lovers and costars to tragedy...but also because i'd like to remember Patrick Swayze as the crazy surfer Bodhi, always pushing the limits and then disappearing over the surf...

2009 is a year marked with a lot of tragedy so far...personal and distant. Can we have a break please?

Lady Gaga wins at crazy!

The VMAS this year really outdid themselves with hennessey-soaked narcissist kanye west, weird live band music from wale (wah-lay), movie and music premieres, the michael jackson tribute, live musical performances and last but not least, lady gaga.

what a trip! her outfits are amazing and i have to say, were the highlight of my VMA-DVR experience (i had to take a one hour hiatus to watch trueblood of course).

as my brother says "she has crazy eyes"

her performance which was awesome

my fave outfit of the evening - exit the king meets burano lace. love it!

old man winter + cowardly lion

She's not very good at wearing pants...

After-Party!!!

So very entertaining!

Reason #437 not to move to Texas (or any red state for that matter)

Apparently, republicans around the country (especially Texas) are outraged that our president wants to welcome their kids back to school. So mad, that they're protesting it. Check out this quote from this article:

Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer released a statement this week accusing Obama of using taxpayer money to "indoctrinate" children. "As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology," Greer said.

Really Florida?

Do we remember this?!?!

So, it's OK that dumbo over here sits in a classroom for like 15 minutes after the US gets attacked by terrorists and 2000 americans die, but it's not OK for Obama to tell the kids to stay in school and work hard so that they too can achieve their goals in life?

Looks like it's going to take even longer to get over the damage done from the past 8 years. Now, our kids are going to have to pay for it. (kids meant figuratively - i ain't no baby mama)

Happy Birthday Keanu!

45 never looked so good

A Walk in the Clouds - Rochester and Finger Lakes

Rolling hills of Bully Hill

Sometimes the stars align and give us the opportunity to achieve harmonious merriment. Last weekend was one of those times - my former apt-mates (and honorary apt-mate) and i very eagerly left city-life to head upstate to visit my college roommate Paula and her husband, mom and dad, dog, cat and house.

P, Em, Rach, Lor, me, Mom

We had an amazing adventure to Bully Hill and like 10 wineries around Seneca Lake. This pic was taken at Ventosa - the first stop at Seneca Lake. The rest of the trip was a whirlwind of tastings, laughter, cases of wine and wegman's subs. I took a million pics - here a few.

Passion Feet where the wines were sweeet. literally.

Lunch @ Penguin Bay

Cheese, fruit, baguettes & Rye Dip w/ Gerwurtzerminer

We were ecstatic after lunch

We were also jealous of P's San Dimas shirt
Paula and Eric @ Red Cat

P is drinking the infamous red cat slushie!

Nothing to do with wine tasting, but everything to do with P's adorable shiba-inu-pug Bella...and Lori spooning her...

However, we did miss Lisa and that guy with bangin' hair...

Top 5 Convos where we needed their input:

1. how awesome that cake was

2. how much cheese should we buy?

3. how much we loved wegman's

4. who should lori spoon with?

5. the worse song to sing while having sex (eg: that's not my name - ting tings)

Live blogging - FAIL. True Blood - WIN.

Having a great time in my Upstate NY - Rochester/Finger Lakes jaunt. Will post pics and info about all of it soon. I tried to send something in the car up but it ended up just being jibberish (it's jibberish anyway, but at least you would've been able to read it). Luckily, it's still in my phone:

An unimaginable amount of cars on the road - even in liberty. had lovely lunch at panera with free wifi, but now rushing to Lori's home to see Benny! liveblogging makes me feel kinda ill in the car.

After which we got a hubcap from Lori's Dad and made it to Rochester in good time while listening to the Crosby's CD and other glorious tunes from previous party soundtracks.

Anyhow, the awesome thing I had to type about today is True Blood. So happy that Paula has HBO and could DVR it for me! I have some main thoughts:

1. I love Eric.
2. Bill and Sookie are going to unravel...he gave her blood the second night they met!
3. Bill needs better make-up. He looks busted for a vamp.
4. Jason is adorable.
5. I'm pretty over Maryann...but I can't wait to see how Alan Ball ends this!

Restaurant Week: The Dinner Issue

I was afraid I'd be totally late with this post since NYC Restaurant Week was supposed to end July 31st...it's now extended...to LABOR DAY! Yes, so it's now the Restaurant Summer Prix Fixe apparently. This is not too surprising seeing how a lot of these places are hurting in this economy and I feel particularly happy to help a place out by gorging myself on their specialty dishes. As long as they're done right. And being under $30 helps. i'll drink to that.

Again, thanks to twitter and countless food blogs, I narrowed down my two dinner locations: The Modern at MOMA and The Harrison. Two different types of places, but both excellent choices and amazing food all around.

The Modern: RW special was at the "The Bar" portion of the restaurant which was absolutely fine because the interior was amazing. A simple white wall separated the two locations but you could see into the light and cool "Dining Room" which had a dramatic wall of glass with a beautiful view of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden. The bar area was the opposite, dark and warm, with leather, mirrors, and fresh flowers accenting a sleek, modern design. What else would you expect at MOMA?

The food was amazing. I spent 15 minutes (not even an exaggeration) talking to the waitress about wine ($40 menu) and her favorite dishes. She was as conflicted as I was between deciding things, so she went over everything on the menu. Check out the menu here to be stunned.

PICTURED: (left to right)

Appetizers: Wild Mushroom Soup, Braised Tripe.

Main: Crispy Atlantic Cod, Duck Confit.

Fin: Pistachio Dark Choco Dome, Caramel & White Choco Trifle

Not Pictured - Gazpacho, Pea Salad, Salmon, Snapper, Panna Cotta, Cheesecake (all amazing and photogenic, but this is a blog not a photo album). Which reminds me, I need to get a flickr account. Read a great review of our Modern experience (that was a little post-modern) here.

The Harrison: Tucked away in Tribeca a few blocks away from the Franklin St. stop on the 1 train, the location is charming and the interior is so warm and inviting, i would come here every day if i could. The best thing about this reservation is when I checked in with the hostess and she said, "OH! we cancelled your reservation because some woman called and thought someone was playing a trick on her and calling her about fake reservations." Apparently, I mistyped my phone number into opentables.com and the woman who was unlucky enough to have my phone number sans one digit got a lot of calls. Sorry 1027!

Our table was oddly close to the bar and the bar was an old apothecary table (may or may not be true). We had an amazing rose - i need to start writing these things down...but the food was also fantastically plentiful. A big ups to Lisa who ordered OFF the RW menu because she does not eat meat. Here is the RW menu. And of course, Lisa's account of the evening here.

Cripspy Skate Fingers, Bacon-crusted Blue Fish

Hangar Steak, Summer Berry Shortcake

Regular Menu: Troutlings

crispy, fresh and pure joy

Truffled Orzo

Broccolini, pecorino romano and magic

Duck-Fat Fries

They're known for these and they didn't disappoint!

Our RW meals were great and very plentiful, but as you can see, the regular menu was spectacular. I would come back anytime - to either The Modern or The Harrison (slight post-modern) for a meal. Though, now that RW is extended...why not go back!

Double, double toil and trouble

After my review of HP6, I mellowed out for a while and then figured that maybe i was a bit harsh on my assessment of the movie. A bunch of hardcore book-lovers had the same lukewarm reaction as i did (mainly because they remembered the story very well), but a lot of people also loved it. It's hard not to love HP - it's visually stunning and there's so much built-in fun with magic and castle-mysteries...but after a few weeks, more people who haven't read the books saw the movie. Here are some questions I got that confirms that the movie was indeed lacking:

1. wait, what's a horcrux?

2. can you tell me what happened after the swirling pool thing...i fell asleep...

3. what happened to voldemort?

4. why isn't voldemort the half-blood prince?

5. why is snape the half-blood prince?

6. what the hell is a half-blood prince?

7. why was harry in a random tube station in the beginning?

8. so, they're not going back to school again?

9. who were those people with draco malfoy?

10. why couldn't they put out the house fire?

11. can you re-explain the movie to me?

12. dumbledore dying was stupid...(ok that's just me)

ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED IN THE BOOK!

I'll conclude this entry with one of the best reviews I've read of the movie - it comes from a 15 year-old boy in high school from Peoria, Illinois (has some typos, but great anyway). Check it out.

NYC Restaurant Week Lunches

Funny thing is that i haven't participated in NYCRW in a couple of seasons. I'm not sure why - the food quality certainly has not gone down and the deals are not any less worthwhile. The only excuse I can give is that sometimes when you start traveling around you start forgetting that great food exists in NYC and it's right at your doorstep...either that, or I'm lazy and I didn't feel like battling opentable for reservations [funny story about opentable on next blog].

I really have to thank twitter (nycgo, newyorkology, notablenyc) this year for giving me a heads up to when RW would be, and which restaurants normally participate during this time. Making reservations early is a good strategy if you know your schedule beforehand or if you want to take your chances.

Today's entry is just about the lunches - both of which, I forgot to take pictures of the food. I remembered at dessert, so I have dessert photos and some borrowed from other sites that depict the food I ate at said establishment.

GOTHAM BAR AND GRILL- not sure why i've never been here, but it's always been on my top 10 places! Had a delightful lunch with my friend Lori who luckily had a pretty relaxed afternoon and could take a full 2 hour lunch. Full RW Lunch Menu.

Asparagus Salad and Chilled Corn Soup (courtesy of Yelp)

Both were wonderful and summery. I had the Asparagus salad and the dijon mustard dressing was magical. The soup was surprisingly sweet and completely reinvented the concept of corn.

Chicken Sausage and Mezze Rigatoni with Braised Duck (courtesy of nyctastes.blogspot.com)

I was so full after eating the chicken sausage - it had wonderful seasoning and great accompaniments on the side. Lori's Rigatoni was also very good - the duck was tender and very flavorful.

Toasted Corn Cake and Gotham Chocolate Cake (my own pics!)

Yes, that's a lemon thyme popsicle! The corn cake, blueberry and lemon flavors mixed together beautifully. The Chocolate cake was ridiculously decadent - more ice cream was needed to balance out the chocolatey-ness.

BAR BOULUD - Very unassuming location by lincoln center with a great outdoor seating area. Very nice scenery outside and modern comfortable look inside. I've been to DB and other Daniel Boulud establishments and this one is definitely up there with it's lighter (french food is sometimes too much for me) fare and less expensive prices. Restaurant Week MENU

Pate Grand Mere w/ slices of toasted baguette - Amazing.

(pic thanks to eatingintranslation)

Coq au Vin - this picture is from DB, but it looks exactly the same (pic from joseph mallozzi).

Three large pieces of chicken in a great wine reduction - 1/2 of this came home in a doggie bag with me. The pate with toasted baguette was a meal in itself.

Both desserts - Praline Rouge Bavaroise and the Macaron au Chocolat

The Bavaroise was like a berry panna cotta on a praline cracker in a lemon sauce - tart, sweet and refreshing! The chocolate cookie and ice cream melted in your mouth - best thing ever.

This concludes my restaurant week lunches - next entry will be about the dinners. There are even more pictures of those...thank god i only went to two of each!