Tab Benoit & Richmond

Went to see Tab Benoit at the Thirsty Ear with R&J. OMG. I am only a fan of the blues in a "vegetables are good for you" kinda way. I know without the blues, all the flavors of rock would not exist. That said, in reality I tend to find a live show of a blues act to be a little monotonous. Until Tab Benoit. What a show. Love the Thirsty Ear; good folks, no teeny boppers, good beer. Everything flowed nicely. He is an amazing guitarist and an interesting, entertaining guy. One minor distraction was the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about how he would look naked. That is one fine looking man.

I visited my brother and his family in Richmond, VA for a few days in August. They are so wonderful. My sister-in-law is a stay-at-home mom who won a repeated battle with breast cancer. She spends her time making sure she teaches my 12 yo niece about life, love and responsibility. My niece is a rather amazing kid herself. She is kind, funny and caring, as well as charming and beautiful. She is a model an actress and it was a little annoying that while I was there she received checks that added up to about twice my monthly salary. We went to the Richmond museum of art (worth the time, Faberge exhibit) as well as Petersburg, a battlefield town just south of Richmond. Had a nice lunch and spent 2 hours in a vintage clothing store playing dress-up. It was nice getting to spend that kind of time. We then went to D.C. for the weekend. I was soooo excited, as I had never been. My bro wanted to go to the Newseum, which was amazing. They had one of the towers form Checkpoint Charlie, the Magna Carta and M&N were able to make their own newscast. N was funny as she wouldn't let M get a word in. Showboater:). We went to see both Roosevelts' memorials. That night, we went hungry, exhausted and stressed to find dinner in Alexandria. We found this amazing tapas restaurant where we had some lovely tasty items. And wine. Thank god for wine. My niece and I shared a hotel room and it may have been my favorite part of my visit. She is such a great young person and not spastic like some kids. And she doesn't snore. Next day, we went to the castle at the Smithsonian. What a great story about how it was started. Then we went to the National Gallery. I loved seeing the originals of so many things I've seen in movies and tv. Plus, I love museum gift shops and theirs was the BEST EVER. Next, we went to lunch at the native American museum. I took home a Tanka bar made of buffalo and cranberries. I just ate it yesterday and it was really good. If they weren't $4 a pop, I'd buy more. We also went to the Lincoln memorial and Korean War memorial. Basically, I learned that I need to go back to see all the stuff I didn't know I wanted to see. On the way back, I saw something that I thought was mythical. Those of you who are fans of Stephanie Plum will know what I'm talking about:

Shitstorm

And then things got difficult. Our door became difficult to close. Then it was closed or open, but could not do both. Father brought over hit tools and chiseled the doorframe so it was again operational. I am so relieved nobody came and knocked on the door. How embarrassing. Then there was the crack in the drywall. Called the Basement Doctor. He diagnosed acute droopiness, sorta like foundational Bell's palsy. He quoted either $3800, $12800 or $15800. That is like saying you either have hiccups, diabetes or heart failure. He recommended a structural engineer. The structural engineer said our shrubbery was causing bowing, water draining to nowhere causing drooping and our neighbor's tree causing more bowing. Grrr. So, now we need to have our house jacked up and a new door installed. Custom size of course. Then Mr S's truck started bucking like a bronco on crack. At least we are healthy. Then I had 2 terrifying nosebleeds in 2 days. I do not get nosebleeds. Now, one of the disadvantages of having a medical background is you know all the scary things that can cause a symptom. Fortunately, it is now the weekend, we have the current batch-o-crap under control, so I think I should have my stress under wraps. Unless my Buckeyes lose to Penn State.

Warhol at Wexner

The Wexner Center on the OSU campus managed a biggie by landing the Warhol Exhibit. A and I met there for Thursday happy hour and culture. Normally, it is $8, but Thursdays are free. They also had a free guided tour, but I often find those are TMI. We puttered around the first room that had 3 movie screens set up showing his screen tests of various people cooler than I. Also, lots of Mick Jagger and Truman Capote. There were cubbies all along one wall that you could sit in and listen to interviews. The looong hallway up to the rest of the exhibit was lined with tv screens playing more interviews from during the Factory days. The next room had memorabilia and a couple pop icons like the Marilyn photo and soup cans. The most amazing feature of this room was they had about 15 movie screens set up with sound craftily projected into the immediate area with foam and speakers. No walls. It was amazing. Next was a room with 40+ tvs suspended back-to-back from the ceiling displaying loops of his series 15 minutes. I could spend days in there, I particularly liked the interview with John Waters. Finally, there was an installation called...uh...Silver Clouds or something. It was a room defined by hanging metallic rope. Within the room were a couple dozen metallic helium balloons and fans. You could walk in and move the balloons around. Not sure how to describe it, but it was like time was different. Movement was slow and smooth and exaggerated. I will probably go back before it closes. Also, Cameron Mitchell has a small cafe there where we had a glass of wine and a really good turkey panini.

Louisville v UConn

Mr S's pathologist in charge is fabulous. She gave us tickets to the Louisville/UConn football game in Louisville, complete with awesome parking! Perfect excuse to go to my favorite breakfast place in the world, Lynn's Paradise Cafe, and my favorite boutique, Regalo. I also have been on a quest to find the perfect throw pillows for my new sofa. I reallllllly like Marimekko, so was hoping to see some pillows in person. We stopped in Hyde Park in Cinci at a store that was listed as having them, but they only had one pillow. Rats! I did buy an awesome shirt, though. On to L-Ville. We stayed at the Galt House, Louisville's largest, oldest, oddest hotels. Since we Pricelined and got the room for $75, we were put in the weird room 2 doors down from the restaurant. It was clean and the ac like a rocket, so it was just fine, if quite dated. The tower portion of the hotel was a bizarre flashback to the 70's. Lotsa wood paneling. It was great for $75 though. Last time we were in town, we paid $65 for a crappy motel off the interstate. \So onto the game. 2 hours before the game and tailgating was just starting. Coming from OSU land, we start drinking the day before. On the subject of drinking, we were at the bar of the freakishly-popular Spaghetti Factory and there were a bunch of girls starting the night of a bachelorette party. They were having none of that namby-pamby Mich Ultra, appletini stuff. They ordered Beam and coke, Maker's Mark on the rocks and other hairy chest drinks. Noticed that everywhere we went. Serious drinking is alive and well. Lynn's was awesome. I had the wild mushroom scramble with cheese grits and biscuits with sorghum butter. Oh man, sounds so good.

Uncle!

Ok. Fine. Not a Canadian Hurricane! Our friend Ike had a strong showing here in Central Ohio. Trees down everywhere (we lost one of the previously-matching pair in front of our house) and huge percentage of Ohioans out of power. Got to see a lot of my neighbors. Tales of life without power were the topic of the day for many days. One of my co-workers had an electric-powered water pump from their well, so they also had no water. My biggest worry was I was on call. Kinda hard to be tech support when you are in the stone age. At least I still had a phone so I could call the vendor and had co-workers who still had power. So the power went off Sunday afternoon, food destroyed by Monday. I was doing coiffeur at work. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. I was in bed Thursday, reading by flashlight, when I heard what I thought was a generator. I though "great, now I won't even be able to sleep with the windows open". Then I heard shouting, which was really cheering. Then saw the bathroom light was on!!! I added to the cheering. I was truly impressed by how much help was offered by those with power. Nice to see folks helping out like that.

Canadian Hurricane

(Ike)

So I'm watching Hurricane Ike coverage because I can't help it. There are a couple of things that keep going through my mind:

Windy Breezehair and Jock Winters from the Weather Channel, who have the camera on them for waaaay too much time(ok, because people like me keep watching), have this tick, like "um" or "like". They end every sentence with "as well", no matter what. Especially annoying is the combination with "also". The mantra: "just keep talking".

There were a bunch of people in areas in the direct path who chose to ride it out, in spite of evidence that the hurricane was going to be a doozy, with probable loss of life. First, people are too attached to their "stuff". Really, I do not have a single "thing" that I would give my life for. Plus, the stuff will be destroyed anyway, with the added bonus that they get to go with it. Second, it is another sign that the US continues on its path to an intellectual dark ages. People will completely disregard scientific evidence that there is a good chance that they could die because "the last hurricane wasn't as bad as they said it would be" or "God will protect me". You know what? I'm pretty sure your God would kick you in the  ass for ignoring the evidence presented. Finally, deciding to ride it our seems astoundingly selfish, because these same people who decided to ride it out are the same people more than willing to call 911 and put rescue personnel in danger. They will be the same ones criticizing emergency personnel for not responding quickly enough.

Finally, POTUS decided he'd better actually acknowledge this disaster sooner than Katrina. You know he had to bring up oil.

For the folks who did evacuate, it must be amazingly awful to watch the coverage, wondering if you will have a home ot return to. Good thoughts go out to them.

1st Lost Weekend

Hooray! My Buckeyes won! Crap!! Beanie Wells is out! I must say this, though: I feel terrible for the guy and the team, but I am getting quite sick of hearing the news coverage like it is the end of the season for the Bucks. It is a team sport. It takes the whole team to make him look that good. We'll be ok. We are knee-deep in the best of the best at OSU.

Great moment today during the Kentucky/Louisville game:  A 310# defensive tackle from Kentucky picked up a fumble and returned it 70-something yards for a touchdown. He was being chased by the 309# L'Ville center. I love those plays. Any end-zone celebration is one of amazement. Announcer: "You could time that race with a sundial."

13 Wasted Saturdays

Ahhhhhh. Football season again!!!!

Smacked

Based on a recommendation by Columbus Foodie, I tried Sunday Brunch at Smackie Smokehouse. Was a no-go for Mr. S and he want with a pull pork sand while I hit the trough. The selection was small and let's just say low on fiber. I tried collard greens for the first time. I liked them, but it could be the flavor of something swine-related that made them tasty. I learned that the combination of fried chicken and waffles originated in Harlem, which was cool because I asked that very question just the other week. The fried chicken looked tasty, but unfortunately was veeerrrryyyy rubbery. Didn't finish it. Passed on the waffles. The mac n cheese was ala Velveeta. There were a couple of items I did really like: the brisket was very tasty and is better than any I've had in C-Bus. The "banana puddin" was scrumptious, as was the sausage gravy. I do not see us going back for dinner or brunch, but I could see us picking up some brisket on occasion. The man at the table next to us had a problem with mucus. A very loud problem. To be honest, it probably negatively impacted our impression of the restaurant. Not necessarily fair, but it was the equivalent of someone blowing their nose every 30 seconds throughout the entire meal. The service was very good, timely and friendly. Check another one off.

The perfect dinner

I had read about Pistacia Vera from several local food bloggers, but never made the trip. A local restaurant organization, Dine Originals, has a gift certificate sale a couple times a year and PV is a member. I put my dessert-lovin' foot down and purchased one. Talked with J&D and they agreed a dessert happy hour might be worth a try. Well D was all like "perhaps we should have some sort of dinner before dessert". Whatever. Ok fine. Then I guess we should have a beer too if you're going to get all normal. So we had a bev at Club 185, the club voted most likely to look like a crack den from the outside. I like it on the inside, although they could use a more rounded beer list. next, Katzinger's for a sandwich (Reuben, yum, half of which was wrapped up for lunch the next day). Finally, PV awaited. Also known as my new favorite place in the whole world. The store was adorable and the desserts were amazing. There were 12 flavors of macarons. We settled on white chocolate coconut, strawberry balsamic, chocolate bergamot and mint chocolate. They have these gumdrops they call pate de fruit that are just amazing. We has cherry kirsch and grapefruit campari. We had a sweet wine tea cookie, a cashew caramel, a pistachio nougat and a pistachio mascarpone dacquoise. For the love of Mike. I can still taste every bite. I think my faves were the cherry kirsch pate de fruit and the pistachio mascarpone dacquoise. The former was this intense burst of flavor and the latter this light creamy nutty cloudy misty spongy stack of amazingness. Lookie:

Catching Up

I'm going to play catch-up. Part of the reason I dawdled was the enormity of the task. So I'm going to start from the present and catch up as I feel like it. Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.

Starting Back Up

Testing Windows Live Writer on my new laptop.

Today I was amazed to learn that someone I always felt was reaaallyy cool was even more awesome.

Today I learned that Julia Child was a spy. As if being a fabulous chef, entertaining personality and all-around interesting person wasn't enough.

Romancing the Grape

My other friend D always goes to Romancing the Grape with her husband, also a D with 2 n's. It is a benefit for Easter Seals of Ohio:
Join Easter Seals for an evening of fine wines and culinary delights. Taste a variety of the world's finest wines and enjoy hors d'oevres from top area restaurants. The evening also includes entertainment, silent auction, and the presentation of the Second Annual John Daniels Wine Awards. All proceeds benefit people with disabilities in central Ohio. For more information, please call (614) 228-5523 or visit www.EasterSealsCentralOhio.org
Since D was out of town this year, they were so generous and asked me to take D's ticket, since he still wanted to donate but could not attend. I only get red wine occasionally due to the extreme pain it causes in the noggular region, so I burned a red wine coupon and bellied up. Pulled out the cleavage dress so nobody would notice the size of my ass and hit the benefit set. Really interesting crowd, all the way from Columbus Society (I know, small pond) to kids in jeans and flip-flops. Found a couple of new wines (fave was "Sangre de Toro"and the rest of the Torres Spanish wines) and the food was amazing. Next year, I will park myself next to the Refectory table and only move to get more vino. They had these scallops, but they were more than scallops, because they were actually a mousse with scallops, egg and cream, molded, cooked by elves and served with creamy sunshine. Oh my god, I must have eaten 20. They also had a cucumber on bread filled with a blue cheese...frapee whipped yumminess. Also, a few tables had shrimp scampi and it wasn't the "crowd of cheap people going for the trough, so let's give em the crap", this was huge, wonderful, perfectly prepared scampi. La Chatelaine had to-go boxes for pastries. Next year, must remember to bring a bigger purse :) I believe I will be buying my own ticket next year. Even though it was for charity and I actually paid nothing, I really felt that had I paid I would have gotten my money's worth, especially with the group we went with. Also, Columbus is a really casual town and I married a really casual man, so it was nice to get dressed up a bit. Whew! Home to the fuzzy slippers.
Actually, we had an Open House scheduled for us Sunday, so no rest for the wicked (or mildly hungover). Up at 8 to start the cleaning checklist. Left from 1-4, got home, cracked a beer in Club Mo with the kitties and got a call that someone else wanted to come by to look, so we had 15 minutes to pack it back up and leave. Actually had a nice time with Mr S but the end result was a completely ruined Sunday. Think it might be time to take the house off the market. Need to relax a bit.

In the nick of time

Seemed like a really long winter. I am not usually one to get the doldrums, but this year kicked my butt. Seems like someone let spring in all of a sudden and everybody was ready to climb out of their shells, entertaining and socializing. Some friends had a cookout that was absolutely perfect. Great combination of folks, tasty brats, a buncha wine (tried a nice albarino-chardonnay blend). Firepit and a lot of laughs. Felt like a weight was lifted. They also had a shiatsu chair that perhaps aided in the relaxation. In case Mr S does happen to glance at this... nudge nudge.

Lab Week

Since the other 51 weeks a year are Nurse's Week, lab folk get one a year. Basically, we find a way to get a huge jolt of sugar in the afternoon every day. We did get nice shirts this year, which will be good for one wardrobe selection a week until they fall apart. We also raise a helluva lotta dough for Operation Feed every year. How else does one get rid of that 6 cans of organic baked beans one bought on sale? just kiiiiiiding. But I do have to decide how much I am willing to part with one of my boxes of Kraft mac n cheese every year. But seriously, not only do we get to feed a bunch of folks less fortunate (a number that is obviously rocketing), but we get to kick the rest of the hospital's collective ass once a year.

Switch of roles

Mr Stockula had foot surgery. My turn to step up to the plate. I can't say I behaved all that admirably for the first couple of weeks, but I think I am doing better, especially since he does the laundry now. I have mowed the lawn for the first time in my 39 years. Now that the mystique is gone, I kinda like it. Good thing Mr S thinks my blog is boring. I really want him to resume mowing when he is better.

shameful secret

So, I have a weakness for hollandaise. I am not a snob about it. Trader Joe's has taken my favorite sauce and packaged it in a jar. Although I know it is so so wrong, I can't help but be happy about Eggs Benedict in 5 minutes on a random Tuesday night.

Eating the elephant

They say a journey of 1000 miles starts with a single post, or something like that. So, back on the ole blogwagon I go.

We've been kinda hunkered down recently. Mr S had foot surgery and we've still got the house on the market, although I have no clue why. On the plus side, the house is always clean. In the minus column, where the f&#k is my tart pan?!?!?

Headed to Pontiac, MI to see Stars, a band I enjoyed at ACL 2 years ago. I love going to exotic locations like Pontiac and Cleveland. The trip up was nice and Mr S wanted to hit Ann Arbor since it was close, so I put on my OSU earrings as a talisman and mapped it out. Stopped for lunch at Arbor Brewing, cute place with tasty food and beer in a cute little district of shops and restaurants. Definitely want to go there again.

This was M seeing the new table of delightful young ones thundering screaming invading the table next to us. That is the only problem with brew pubs. They have a different name than "bar", so parents feel free to bring their kids, which tempers my pleasure, I must say. But the Alt Ale was very tasty and so was the portabella sandwich.

Off to U of M. Stopped at a store to buy M some michigan clothing in its natural habitat. They had much better stuff than OSU! He scored a nice Columbia jacket for $49 and the usual flotsam and jetsam like a lanyard and a hat.

Had a bev at the Red Hawk Tavern. M ws happy b/c they had Great Lakes on tap and I dug the New Holland Red Tulip Ale.
Have to stop for now. Finish catching up soon!

Feeling Surly

Since my last time at Surly Girl, I've wanted very much to return for another peeptini, both for a photo and because they are tasty. Tried a couple weeks ago and they were closed for an employee party. Next, March 15th, Saturday at 1pm. Packed to the rafters with enthusiastic, if precocious, St. Patty's revelers. I was beginning to think it was going to turn into a Whiskey River.
Digression: the term Whiskey River comes from a case of musical disfulfillment I've had with Mr Nelson for years. We were going to join Willie and 100K of our closest friends for his annual 4th of July picnic. I had never seen him, but had been told he always started his shows with Whiskey River. It was rolling around in my head for the 2 weeks leading up to the show. And he didn't start with it. And he didn't play it when he came onstage for the second time. We stayed in 95deg heat for 10 hours and he didn't play it. Enjoyed the other musicians, at least most of them, I can do without Pat Green, but left unsatisfied and sunburned. Next, he was the headliner for the ACL Festival. Spent the day watching other bands but counting on getting this itch scratched. We were so far back we couldn't hear the song. We did hear lots and lots of people in front of us having a great time. Someday.
Back to Surly Girl. Clouds parted, angels sang:
Now, the thing I like most about SG is the juxtaposition of diverse motifs that come together to make a very interesting, comfortable restaurant. The folks who work there are real, the food is excellent: if you want vegetarian, you've got the best vegetarian. If you want carnivore, you've got really good carnivore. You want skulls, Johnny Cash, peeptinis, a drink called Satan's Little Helper, roller derby, punk rock aerobics, beaded chandeliers, Wonder Woman, you're in luck! Just love the place. This is the opposite of a chain, formula restaurant. Just clicked on their MySpace, warning cool, loud music.
One interesting pattern I've begun to notice is there always is a person who will not stop talking. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah....
Last time was March 4th (primary day) and this guy was at the bar lecturing this other patron about his voting responsibilities, loudly, not interactively, ad nauseum. He was yelling at the guy to get his lazy ass off the barstool and go vote. As we had already done our civic duty, it was bothersome and it did not let the whole time we were there. Hey buddy, can I buy you a shot of Shut the Hell Up? I'm trying to have a birthday drink over here.
So yesterday's trip, there was this little girl with the same problem, but it wasn't even backed up with intelligence. It was this ditzy, teenager-on-the-phone monologue that did not end. It was possible to tune it out every so often, but then it would come back. Even Mr S commented "Does she ever shut up?" As well as the verbosity, she had the voice of Carol Kane. Man, I just spent 15 minutes of my life trying to find her last name. Finally googled "actress carol high-pitched voice" and was reminded of her most famous role as Latka's wife. Whew. I'd hate to have that bugging me too.

Fork at Trattoria Roma

As I was High Fork Hostess for the month of March, I selected Trattoria Roma, one of those restaurants that have been around forever, rated highly, but one that never made the schedule. If you click the link you get cheesy music and the picture of the restaurant has a ...watermark for lack of a better term, with a guy who looks pretty tough. Kind of an odd subliminal message. I think he is the owner. And he's not having much fun? So I wanted to keep the menu open to reference, but there is no sound off for the music that sounds like it a bad ring tone from my cell phone. Must be quick.
The food, service, atmosphere and price were all great.

For apps, I recommend the antipasti plate and the daily foccacia, which on that day was this pancetta-heaped creation that started things off right. No wait, that was the martini, one of many tasty selections from the martini menu.

For dinner, I chose the CONCHIGLIA AMATRICANA Fresh sea scallops pan seared, served with farro tossed in a crispy pancetta tomato marinara.
It was amazing, the scallops were chewy and flavorful on the outside, but tender, not overdone on the inside. This was my first experience with farro and it made a great accompaniment. J had POLLO CON GORGONZOLA Grilled chicken, mixed mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and gorgonzola with linguine tossed in a light basil infused olive oil which was visually impressive as well as very tasty. Another notable was the BEEF BRACIOLE Thinly sliced sirloin wrapped around ground veal, sausage, beef and fontinella cheese, braised with tomatoes, peppers and onions, served with rigatoni: meat wrapped in meat wrapped in meat, kinda like a terducken but not disgusting.

Dessert may have been my favorite part. Per usual, we ordered the complete list. Their creme brulee wasn't anything I'd order again and the tiramisu wasn't what I was used to, a little dry. The lemon tart was fabulous and I think I now have a new favorite dessert in town: A chocolate Pots de creme. Even better now that I know how to pronounce it. Had the flavor of the perfect chocolate mousse, my favorite dessert of all if done right, and this was. I may have a new favorite meal: Trattoria tini, Foccacia and antipasti and Pots de creme. Well now I'm hungry.