Heading home... and the British Museum

Yesterday was a day planned for the British Museum, however, due to my own personal quirks i cocked it up for Jenn and it was a rather frustrating day for the both of us. As you could probably guess, i was quite looking forward to the visit, and my, what a museum! What a sense of scale and grandeur. Jenn withstood the ridiculously long and disorganized queue for the multimedia audio/touch screen guide -- it took close to half an hour for her to finally score two of the guides -- while i figured out the lay of the land. i planned for us to visit first room 21, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, i know because i've built one everytime i played Civilization. It was a grand display... but it was also a very poorly labeled display. The "Amazon Frieze" was displayed on the left hand side of the room as you walked in. Under each "section" (not marked in anyway, you kinda guessed as in relations to where the placards are laid) is an one sentence description: "Greek striking fallen Amazon" or "Amazon defending fallen comrade" or "Amazon kicking Greek in the nads". One in particular struck me as interesting, "1008 Herakles clubbing Amazon"... however, 1007 and 1008 shares the same plaque and is mounted under a long section of the frieze featuring fighting persons with features well eroded and worn. At the end of the frieze was a larger plaque stating the importance of section 1008: "... It showed the expedition by Herakles and Theseus to Themiskyra, and the subsequent fierce battle with the Amazon women. The subject was a common theme in Greek art, but it was particularly relevant to Maussollos. According to Karian tradition (Maussollos, the person who's name the term Mausoleum is derived from, is the ruler of Karia), an axe once owned by the Amazon queen, Hippolyte, was housed at Labraunda, the ancestral sanctuary of the Hekatomnid dynasty. She is shown in combat with Herakles on one section of the frieze (Sculpture 1008), which is part of an unusually long slab. This focal point of the battle may have had a prominent position on the monument, perhaps at the centre of the principal side, which faced east." After reading that, i ventured back to where i thought 1008 was. And there, for the fact that a faint outline of where a club in relief was and the upraised arms, i found Herakles. Further scrutiny showed the outlines of the Nemean Lion skin that Herakles wears as a result of one of his labours further affirms that the eroded figure is indeed Herakles. After the fact, it turns out all this info is on the British Museum website (http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/s/slabs_from_amazonomachy_frieze.aspx) yet it was no where to be found at the display. It truly saddened me to see the throngs of people run by, snap a photo or simply by pass this "prominent" part of the frieze...

Anyhow, off to breakfast and then home.

Dr. David Livingstone

Today, a whole day at the British Museum, i can't tell you how excited i am. But first, a wee yarn to spin about a person buried in the Westminister Abbey.

Dr. David Livingstone is buried within the confines of the Westminister Abbey. A plaque marks his burial, and on it it proclaims him as Doctor, Explorer, and Missionary. He also has an interesting connection to the American Civil War. One of his six children, Robert Moffet Livingston, diverted from his planned trip from England to Kilmane, Portuguese East Africa and joined the 3rd New Hampshire Infantry in 1864 to fight for the Union side during the Civil War. Robert Livingstone fell to heat stroke during the time leading up to the Second Battle of Deep Bottom and was captured by the Confederate Army. Robert Livingstone ended up in Salisbry Prison, North Carolina where, during a chaotic prison break he was shot down and died ten days later of his wounds. After the uprising/break was put down, the bodies of Robert Livingstone and the 14 others who were killed were dumped in a trough.

Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, the explorer/journalist who uttered the famed and possibly fabricated phrase "Dr. Livingstone i presume" after finding Dr. David Livingstone in Africa, was a twenty year old Welsh immigrant in Arkansas when the Civil War broke out. He was "shamed" into joining the 6th Arkansas Infantry and was captured in the Battle of Shiloh. After his capture, Stanley quickly renounced allegiance to the Confederacy and joined the Union side and promptly deserted from the Union army and, after several adventures (including serving for a short time in the Union Navy) landed a job as a journalist for the New York Herald as a foreign correspondent after the Civil War. It was in this incarnation that this human chameleon was sent to Tanzania to recover Dr. David Livingstone.

All the information i entered here i learned from Amanda Foreman's excellent book, A World on Fire, Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War (Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, was the leader of the conservatives during the Civil War and played a major role in keeping the British Government toeing a strict line of neutrality.) The strict neutrality stance of the government could not prevent numerous professional soldiers and adventure seekers from Her Majesty's Army from joining either side of the Civil War conflict. When Britain sent reinforcements into Canada to prepare from a potential incursion by either the Union or Confederate Army(s), many soldiers took leave to join either the Union or Confederate side citing "boredom" while guarding the Canada/America border.

London again, 12-29-11

December 29th, 2011

After a butter soaked breakfast at The Dukes (every room is named after a Duke, our's is the Devonshire... after the Duke of Devonshire, who i fondly remember as, the "Creamy Duke" after the wonderful devonshire cream... incidentally, the restaurant where we enjoyed breakfast every morning is the Cavendish Restaurant... named after the Cavendish family, the family that holds the Duke of Devonshire peerage), we went to the Bath Rail Road Station to catch the 1043 train from Bath Spa to London Paddington Station. We sat in the First Class Quiet carriage and enjoyed the lush green hills of southern England all the way into London. A cab took us from Paddington to The Savoy hotel where the door man greeted us by name, ushered us into the beautiful Savoy lobby complete in marble elegance where we were met by a tall young woman holding a small sleek appointment book. She also greeted us by name and then offered to show us to our room which she hopes will be to our satisfaction. Who were we to say no? When we got to our room, she took the time to show us around the room before completing the check in process by taking down the information for the credit card we would like to keep on file for incidentals. Promising us that our butler will be with us shortly, the tall woman took her leave and, after a few short minutes, our butler, a young woman from Montreal, Canada, arrived to find out if we needed anything attended to. After she left, our luggage arrived at the door and was carefully put away by the bell hop. After walking around and touching everything, including our very own bedside photo of Kristin Scott-Thomas (as the caption says, she is a British actress and she stayed at The Savoy in November, 2006), we departed for Westminister Abbey. Yes... we too found the photo to be slightly strange but yet wonderful at the same time. A long queue greeted us at the Abbey, but after some investigation, we found out that it was the line for folks paying with credit cards. The cash only line, on the other side of the Abbey entrance, was much shorter and we hopped on in, as we were flush with cash. After getting our bags searched and informed that no photography was allowed, we were allowed in to the Abbey. The Abbey is... vast... even with all the huge monuments, statues stacked like strewn straw, and wall plaques galore. The interior is dark, 16 10 foot tall waterford chrystal chandeliers (gift from the Guiness family - yes, of the stout beer fame - for the Abbey's 900th anniversary) gave off brilliant light that just gets sucked away by the vast ceiling of the Abbey. With that vastness before us, we decided to buy an extra 3 pound per person ticket for a 90 minute guided tour. This, next to the duo of  pork pies (at 2 pound 50p per) we bought as we left The Queen's Arms in Corton Denham, was the best bargain we got on this trip thus far. The guide of our tour was Verger Peter (we found out that his job is to carry the virga or rod... the verger's job in the day of yore is to open a "hole" in the masses with their rod so that the clergy and other church folk and dignitaries can get through the unwashed folks) who kept a clip pace and was extensive and efficient in the transfer of his knowledge. Being on the tour has fantastic privileges. We got to sit in the choir pews and walk under into and through the beautiful choir screen, taking the route that a processional would take during major functions like, say, the last royal wedding (btw, Verger Peter was part of the procession of the wedding and got to sit on the high altar so that he was physically closer to the ceremony than even the Queen herself!). We got a private tour and a rest in the Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor. We also got to be led right up to the rope at pretty much all areas of the Abbey as our delightful Verger shoo'd people away... ha! Verger Peter was a font of knowledge and took requests as to who's monument we would like to spend more time on. It is amazing how many amazing and renown persons has their tomb stone or memorial stone in the Westeminister Abbey. Our tour started at 1430 and ended at 1600. At 1700 the Abbey conducts their Evensong service, and at the end of our tour, Verger Peter asked to see if anyone would like to stay for the service. Six of us raised our hands and Verger Peter promised to save us good seats. Sure enough, come time for the seating for the Evensong service, Verger Peter showed us to front row seats in the choir stand right next to the choir. For another 45 minutes, we were serenaded by beautiful choral vocals and organ music, interspersed with prayer and bits of religion from both the Old and New Testaments. What a wonderful afternoon it was, tour of an amazing Abbey, loads of history lessons and some great insights to the English people through the years to be terminated by wonderful religious music as i sit opposite the Abbey cantor and half of the choir with my silly ass Firefly tribute shirt... boy, did i feel poorly and inappropriately dressed!

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Today, the grand tour of Bath... well, mostly just the Roman Baths, where i spent time chatting with Flavia Tiberius, a well to do woman of Aqua Sulis, about what goes into her hair, make up and daily life. We also took a free walking tour of Bath sponsored by the Mayor of Bath where we learned about the great homes and personages of Bath then and now. We also took a tour of the Roman Bath, given by a Seattle woman who has now been in England for 5 years, where we learned about the nature of the hot springs and the use and history of the Roman Bath and Sacred Spring. What an entirely wonderful day spent in Bath, a great and wonderful city! For dinner, we stopped into a place called Thai Weir that serves Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and some Indian food items on their extensive menu. We ended up ordering two (one to begin and one added on) "Cantonese Won Ton Soup", a Red Curry with Beef and rice for me and a Green Curry with Beef and rice for Jenn. A most satisfactory dinner indeed, quite enjoyable indeed! A fine day and a fine night to finish it with. Now, watching a BBC production of Ben Hur... with sex!

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12-27-11, Corton Denham to Bath

It was with a heavy heart that we left The Queen's Arms... boy... were we spoiled there, we were received as family by them and treated as such until we left. We will miss the entire staff of The Queen's Arms and... well... their fabulous Pork Pies... which will be featured in a number of photos that you will see below. Bath, and especially the Bath Abbey (the only real thing i have seen so far), is fabulously beautiful, i am eager for the sun to rise again so that i may see more of her beauty!

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12-26-11, Boxing Day

After a breakfast in The Queen's Arms, we went for a short walk to the village church and around the village. Going to take it easy today, tomorrow, Bath... enjoy the photos

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12-25-11

Day marked by scrumpie, hilarious fellow guests, and 2.5 mile walkies through the country side that allowed us to encounter "sucking mud" - jenn almost lost her boot! Filled up on scrumpie for the night... had to "neck" my last one... not sure it was scrumpie or just some sort of cider... i don't think it was even my pint... The Welsh are pushers! Now... collapse into bed... good god... how much food did i just eat?

Arrived @ Corton Denham

24 December, 2011; 1800, Cotton Denham, The Queen's Arms. Arrived in Cotton Denham after brief and sometimes intentional detours. shown to our room, no. 5, and now down at the pub havinfg a second pint and sharing a pork pie with Jenn, who is having a warm cider. lovely B&B even has free wi-fi, huzzah! Today was a day of travel, Brian, our excellent driver, drove us the 2.5 hours from London to Corton Denham in his black Mercedes station wagon. Lovely fellow and had excellent conversation and a short nap on the trip. The Queen's Arms is a fab pub/inn/restaurant. We had opted for the Christmas Eve dinner and it was not disappointing at all. Started with Spiced Butternut Squash soup (Jenn) and Salmon Fishcakes with Housemade Tarter Sauce (Me), had Monkfish Tail (Jenn) and Pork Fillet (Me) for mains, and Chocolate (molten) encased in puff pastry (Jenn, who may have burnt the inside of her cheek) and a "Tiramisu" that tasted like the best Opera Cake that i have had in ages (Me) for dessert. This was then followed by a pot of tea and a cheese board (four cheeses and biscuits). Wow... what a feast! What delicious food! Before dinner, i had two pints of a beer made special to Queen's Arms by Moore Beer (tag line, drink Moore beer) and half of Jenn's half pint of mulled cider... yum! Now, to bed, tomorrow Jenn's death march begins 8)

Alright... passed out last night after too many freshly baked madelines at St. John Restaurant... leaving for Corton Denham today so don't know about wifi or internet coverage... will update when i can, meanwhile, here are some photos from 12-23-2011... Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms... and some snaps of areas around our hotel in London.

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Polish Dinner in London Town

December 22, 2011
22:20 GMT

Tonight we had dinner at Gessler Restauracja at Daquise... yes, i know, flew all the way to London for Polish food... but man, it is wonderful Polish food! WONDERFUL!

Starters: Jenn and i shared an order (6) meat pirogies: These are things of beauty, served table side from the pan they were finished in, hot and steamy, topped with heaps of caramelized onions. Doughy on the outside, almost like biting and chewing into a thin film of mochi, and filled with finely ground meaty goodness within. The filling of beef was delicately seasoned so that it melded with the slight sweetness of the dough. The caramelized onions, along with the butter it was caramelized in, added a degree of rich luxury to the entire affair.

We also each ordered the mushroom soup: This was again, served table side (they serve everything table side here, including the duck, which was carved in the restaurant and then the plate assembled table side, quite a thing to look at and primed one's appetite better than any appetizer one could dream of). The soup is a dark, aromatic, clear consomme choked full of sliced mushrooms and strands of thing noodles. The flavor of the soup is dark, earthy, and warm. The left over fat from the consomme gave the mouth that feeling of richness. The mushrooms still retained some structure and gave a nice textural note that contrasted well with the cooked noodle strands. This was a fine soup, one i could've drank/eaten all night long. It was almost Frances good.

Entree: Jenn and i shared a main course, the rabbit: Again, served table side, each component served sequentially on to a clean white plate. First came the saddle of rabbit (Jay, you've never tasted so good) swimming in a rich light brown cream sauce that smelled of rich butter and a hint of spirits (vermouth?). Then came the egg noodles, large hectically formed pieces of cooked dough like a larger more robust version of spatzle, placed directly into the pool of sauce that is spreading across the plate. Finally, heaps of ginger and tarragon glazed carrots, a lively glistening red/orange that livened up the plate of more beige hues. The saddle of rabbit was finely prepared, cooked through, tender and fell off the bone (Jenn picked the spine clean). The flavor is full and the meat was juicy yet well structured. The sauce brought the entire dish together in its richness. It had nutty notes with an undercurrent of cooked off vermouth (sticking with that identification) that just gave it a bit of lightness. It was one of those sauces that made Jenn and i wipe the plate clean with the bread left on the table. The carrots... oh... the carrots! Sweet, hints of spice from the ginger, cooked through soft and bursted with carroty flavor goodness on every bite. The entire dish was just rustic elegance on a plate!

Dessert: Strawberry pirogies: As Jenn said, the Polish is not renown for desserts, but these delightful pirogies are a fine way to finish the meal. Slightly sweet and great with the pot of black tea. A slightly different dough than the meat pirogies, a bit more structure to this dough, but still retaining a nice chewiness that i find so wonderful.

Liquid dessert: The waiter kindly offered us a shot of herb and honey infused vodka to tie off the night... how can that be bad?

12-21/22-2011

Dec/22/2011, Bentley Hotel, London (Knightsbridge), UK

Vacation begins! The night of the 20th of December was rather hectic. Dinner with Rich and Chrisy and Chrisy's parents at Wakuriya went down a treat but then we had to deal with United till the wee mornings and finally ended up giving up our business class upgrades (i guess, unbeknownst to Jenn or myself and not disclosed when we bought the tickets months ago over the phone with United, there is no the specter of a "co-pay" if you qualify for upgrades with miles -- unless you are Premier or better that is. The "co-pay", as we were informed by the fellow from United Jenn was on the phone with on the night of the 20th, was to cover excess baggage costs. In our case, to the tune of $550 USD per person for just this one leg of the round trip ticket... excess baggage indeed!). At least, thanks to Jenn's heavy lifting, we've been 99.9% packed for the trip since the 18th.

Jenn, looking forward to an eating experience!

Arrived at the airport at 3, thanks to Penny's kindness and promised to bring her home something British from the UK, she did specify something from the Arcade. Although i think everyone is getting short bread cookies from Harrod's. Perhaps in a commemorative Royal Wedding tin. The check-in line was long but not horrid, after 30 minutes of standing about and watching the changing of the check-in desk ladies, we were cruising through the security line where i had my largess photo'd by the full body scanner (something that i had wanted to have done for quite a while... finally!), huzzah! A quick lunch at Tomakatsu rounded out our International Terminal experience before we went through the abattoir and onto our seats in United Economy Class and the 10 hour flight filled with the type of wonderment and luxury portrayed on the hit TV show "PanAm"... or not (though one particular flight attendant kept sticking his buttocks in my face... and i didn't have to pay extra for all that "action"! Jenn and i, i think, got a combined total of 2 hours of sleep on the flight).

10AM GMT, December 22, 2011, we arrive at London Heathrow. Cleared customs in a breeze, got a bit turned around trying to find the store where we would pick up our mobile wi-fi (turns out that i can read well but am confused by prepositions, rendering me to not immediately realize that the mobile wi-fi store and the "Left Luggage" Store was one in the same) before we boarded the Heathrow Express train into Paddington Station. What an efficient system! Would've loved to have taken a shot of the station with a nice fish eye lens but i didn't have my act together. Mayhaps on the return trip!

Inside the train

Me, looking oh so fresh and relaxed!

Followed the sign of "way out" and hailed the first cab we saw outside of Paddington Station (bucket list item checked! Rode a English Cab!). Unlike american cabs (some of which i have driven) where drivers attempt home made contraptions through the bullet proof glass and the stab proof barrier to facilitate driver/customer communications, the British cab that we were in had it all sorted. The driver is mic'd and so is the cab where the customer is seated. Flawless conduction of voices... achieved! The cab driver was a chatty fellow, from him we got a few tips as to where to go and find food and the location of the MASSIVE Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Also found out his opinion on how well the city of London perform road maintenance/construction (not a high opinion, i assure you) and that his father-in-law is the oldest working taxi driver in London (aged 92 and drives one day a week -- Sundays).

Inside the cab, amazingly spacious.
The red light you see on the top right
is the indicator light that tells you
that the driver can hear you

The taxis are as the sign says!

The hotel we are booked into is the Bentley Hotel in the Knightsbridge neighborhood. Part of the Hilton family of hotels, this is located in close proximity to the Victoria and Albert and the Natural History Museums. The room, happily, was available for use when we checked in at around half past noon (that "i've
stewed on a plane feeling is never pleasant). The room is well appointed and amazingly spacious. After a quick shower, Jenn and i decided to venture out for a bite and visit the Victoria and Albert Museum. We didn't want to give in to the temptation of sleep in an effort to stave off jet lag. The short walk to Victoria and Albert was quite enjoyable and allowed me to feast my eyes upon the wonderful buildings that light the streets here... and to get used to looking the "correct way" before i cross the street. The helpful "look right --->" and "<---- look left" signs painted on the roads does help, but it takes a wee bit of getting used to.

Our room at the Bentley

with a spa tub!

The Victoria and Albert Museum, as we were informed by the nice Indian lady at the Info booth has over 6 miles of exhibition space. We saw maybe 5% of it and took pictures of sights along the way that we couldn't go and investigate. In the vast space is collected various decorative art pieces, from giant screens destined for churches to the smallest of rings and jewelry items (we by far spent the most time in the jewelry section... the collection of jewelry is vast and the space they exhibited it was fantastic! A mix of steel and glass with focus light in a dark space highlighted the glittering glimmering collection fabulously!). At the end of it all, we were simply too tired to be able to tour the entire thing. Admitting defeat, and both of us with cramping feet and legs, we walked the short distance back to the hotel and sought solace in the comforts of our room. Tomorrow... The Tower of London and Westminister! i think 8)

For all the photos:

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Eating Fool, part 1 - Cyrus of Healdsburg

May-23-2011. 6:30PM. Healdsburg, Cyrus Restaurant:

Chef’s Tasting Menu: 8 Courses: My wife had the Vegetarian Tasting Menu, also 8 Courses.

Canapes – a presentation focused on different tastes: sweet, savory, bitter, spicy, and umami. The stand out was the umami taste: Shitake Mushroom Broth, full of earth notes and spice from the ginger.

Amuse-Bouche – Japanese Tai Shashimi with Cherry Blossom Gelee.

Course #1 – Corn and Bacon Tomago dofu with Pickled Okra: This is like a cold corn and bacon chawamushi topped with corn and bacon bits, pickled okra and dashi cooked kale. The okra was still slimy but the pickling cuts through a lot of the mucus. The cold chawamushi was like a firm dashi flavored flan with a hint of corn. The crunch of the bacon bits is a fine textural note.

-          Paired with Deutcher Sekt, Raunland “I. Triumvirat Grand Cuvee” Rheinhausen Germany, 2001.

My wife’s Course #1 – White Asparagus “custard” with Lavender Honey Foam, Chervil and Crispy Shallots: A very interesting presentation and a nice light start to dinner. The custard was very neutral in flavor with a smooth texture offset with the crisp shallots.

Course #2 – Sea scallop with Sweet Potato Passion Fruit Puree and Turnip Poke: One giant scallop, well seared and caramelized on both sides with a tempting grey pink middle and a pleasant white exterior. The scallop was a tad chewy on some of the rims but neglectable. The sweet potato passion fruit puree had no dominance other than subtle sweetness that enhanced the scallop well but could be left out.

-          Paired with Movia “veliko Bianco” Brada, Slovenia 2006.

My wife’s Course #2 – A choice from the normal tasting menu that My wife couldn’t pass up, seared Foie Gras with Morels and Fava Beans: The fava and morels were wrapped in a pasta pocket slipped gently under the foie gras. A wonderful sauce held flavor the foie gras. The morel only accentuated the earthy tastes and balanced ou the richness of the foi gras.

-          Paired with Boal Madeira, Barbieto “Cask 48 and 84” Portugal, 2001.

Corse #3 – Sea Bass with Artichokes in Sake Lees with Pea Sprouts and Dashi: This dish was interesting and disappointing all at the same time. When I heard dashi, my ears perked up. After all, dashi is about my most favorite thing to enjoy. However, the course was served in a fairly shallow platter. The plate was presented with a piece of seared sea bass – a perfect golden brown and a strip of crisp salty skin left on to add to the flavor of the fish. The sea bass was set atop pea sprouts with three spears of artichoke heart strewn around the perimeter. Once presented, the dashi was poured over the fish and artichokes by the server from a silver container.

As I said, the fish was very well prepared. However, the fish had areas of overwhelming saltiness. This saltiness was only enhanced by the dashi broth that had a strong current of acid going through it., rather jarring the otherwise clean and elegant fragrance of the dashi broth and the clean and elegant taste that the dashi broth was supposed to have. Added to this was the fact that, with the shallow platter, it was next to impossible to get a full spoonful of the broth to taste.

-          Proligny-Montrachet, Paul Pernot, Burgundy, France, 2009.

My wife’s Course #3 – Artichoke a la Barigoule, Corona Beans, Arugula and Green Garlic: This was an interesting dish. The artichoke, the way it was prepared, gives a nice note of acid that brightened the accompanying vegetables and beans. The beans itself actually added a bit of richness and mouth feel akin to fat! Very nicely executed indeed.

Course #4 – Miso Marinated Sous-vide’d Chicken Breast with Spring Onions and Maitake Mushroom: This was another dish that threw me a curve ball. The single breast comes covered in a reddish orange glaze that was described as an “orange ginger glaze”. The taste of the glaze was subtle, nothing really leapt forward to grab one’s attention. The chicken was juicy, having been sous-vide’d at what we were told was 57^oC. The texture of the chicken was off putting to My wife and i can easily see where she is coming from, the chicken had a texture that reminded one of forced, pressed meat. Although, anything is better than saw dust dry chicken breast. The maitake mushroom, beautifully fanned out and set on a dollop of spring onion puree, was clean and delicious, a telling contrast to the chicken, unfortunately.

-          Pinot Noir, Du Mol, Russian River Valley, 2008. A wonderfully elegant Pinot Noir. Strawberry and cherry jam in the nose. Soft and elegant body with a pleasant spice at the finish.

My wife’s Course #4 – Sweet Corn and Black Truffle Risotto Taleggio: This dish – a stand out for dinner tonight! The corn was sweet and screamed of summer. The truffle gave a strong note of earth and the taleggio gave the salt and sharpness to the creamy toothsome risotto. Two thumbs up!

Course #5 – Beef Short Ribs with Mung Bean Sprouts and Cherry Tomato Confit, Hoisin Sauce Glaze: This was a dish that our server was excited about. It seems the short ribs were slowly sous-vide’d for 40 some hours. The resulting dish was good., but it could’ve been so much more. The shor ribs were tender and yielding to a simple fork. However, I do miss the stickiness from a more traditional preparation of short ribs. The mung bean sprouts provided a cooling and lightening effect to the beef. The Hoisin Sauce, however, was lost in the background.

-          Syra, Radio-coteau, “Cherry Camp”, Sonoma coast, 2008. Delicious, full bodied, dark berries, low  tannin, smooth full finish.

My wife’s Course #5 – “Nakamura Miso” Glazed Tofu with Peas, Spring Onions and Carrots: This was a funny dish. Beautiful to behold but odd to the taste. First, the miso was really sweet, tasted to me of honey mustard more than anything else. The tofu, made in house, was firm with good bite resistance and elasticity. The peas, spring onions, and carrots were beautifully prepared and carried the dish.

Course #6 – Cheese Cart Presentation: An excellent selection of cheeses well presented on a long cart. i went stinky and runny and My wife went creamy and mild. Overall, a fab cheese course served with two slices of cour dough baguette, two slices of a fruit and nut bread, two pieces of crispy fried flat bread, and two slices of a date and walnut (wonderfully dense too) cake/bread. Also present were pear butter and two spoons of date jelly with embedded date chunks.

-          Eric Bordelet, Poire “Granit”, Normandy, France 2008: An excellent pear cider and a bold choice for the course. Good bubbles and non-intrusive fermentation and a strong pear flavor.

Course #7: Vanilla Bean Fontainebleau with Rhubarb, Hibiscus and Lime. Yogurt Streusel: This was like a room temp vanilla ice cream crumble. What fun! The hibiscus was present but didn’t dominate, adding just a hint of the floral notes. The yogurt streusel adds a firm solid texture for the “crumble” and was not overly sweet. This dish outshined some of the savory dishes presented previously.

-          Bugey-Cerdon, Patrick Bollex “La cueille” France: Don’t know what to make of this rose looking sparkling. The taste is mild and indistinct or were my taste buds failing?

Course #8 – Plum Wine cake with Strawberry: A delightful presentation of red and white. Three rounds of cake standing like upright, ancient, half columns in a sea of red and swirled white. The flavors were floral and subtle with the sweet strawberries enhancing and not leading.

-          Tokaji Aszu, Kiralyndvan “6 puttonyos” Hungary, 2003: It’s a 6 puttanyos tokaji, what more can i say? i did learn that Kiralyndvan is now owned by an US businessman. He had bought the (described to me as “closed and run down”) Kiralyndvan. In 1993, resurrecting it from communist neglect. Go him!

My wife’s Course #8 – Milk chocolate Peanut bar with Honey Comb Parfait.: My wife loved this dish; i wish I had more room to further enjoy this dish. The chocolate peanut “bar” was a “beam” of chocolate peanut butter mousse topped with a wafer thin layer of milk chocolate. The honey comb parfait was out of this world. The crunch of the honey comb (dried? Baked? Magic’d?) and the subtle honey flavored parfait was just divine.

Mignardices: It was all we could do to humor the kind mignardices mistress – wearing spectacular Harry Potter-esque spectacles – and pick three items each. They were all very good and provided a nice sweet note to the coffee. The standout was the Samoa Girl Scout cookie inspired French Macaroon. Caramel sweet with notes of coconut and a nice toothy chew, the confection makers of Cyrus did a wonderful job.

The space occupied by Cyrus is an interesting one. Though it is sharing the building with the Les Mars hotel, it uses its own door set off to the side of the grand hotel entry way. The door, a non-descript glass door seen at offices of strip malls all over, leads right into an impressive bar where casual (well, more casual than i) guests sat and enjoyed food and drinks. There were also four tour tops between the bar and the door for walk-ins. The hostess stand stood at the end of the bar, at the entrance to the hallway that linked the bar to the dining room. The dining room is ot large, longer than it is wide, the tables are comfortably situated in long banquets with stand alone tables in the middle. The ends of the long banquets are set up as face to face two tops. The tables in the middle of the banquets are set up as side by side two tops or face to face four tops. The use of these middle tables as side by side two tops frees up much needed space to accommodate the three large carts that dominates the room. One cart contains the champagne/sparkling wine and caviar service, another, a long delightful cheese cart with folding ends, and the last, the mignardises cart. With the carts in motion, one realizes how tight the space is and how skinny one needs to be to work at Cyrus.

Through out the evening the bread service arrives in a rustic basket. The baker is a stand out! Fantastic brioche, a herb scone that puts some very good southern biscuits to shame, and a flaky buttery olive and feta stuffed “croissant” roll were some of the memorable baked dreams. Served with the bread were two butters (one from goat milk and one from cow milk) and two salts (one English and one from the Hawaii islands). Had I less self control, I would’ve come back to the hotel with the basket loaded down with the scones, brioche and the olive and fet croissant wonderfulness stuffed in my pockets.

The most simple things...

Along with recently returning this dormant blog due to random comments by our dear friend Mr/Mrs/Ms Anonymous, i've recently begun a new job. It was an anticipated move. The time it took for me to finally decide to move on was, i think, surprising for those close to me.

Now, i return to a start-up environment. A squad of scientific adventurers tossing and bobbing about this uncertain economy in a world that has seemingly gone sideways.

Starting down a new path is always a rather odd experience. One feels a certain need to prove oneself to be valuable and capable. One feels a certain need to demonstrate that the choice in the hire was not a mistaken one. To that need to prove worth, i have added upon myself the absolute need to prove that i am worthy of the title i was hired in as. Traditionally, to hold a title of "Scientist", an advanced degree is viewed as a requirement. One of the benefits in working at a small start-up, however, is that the requirement of higher degrees is less set in stone. That being said, to make it to a post of "scientist" without an advanced degree in a start-up is still something of an rarity and something that speaks to the perceived skill and abilities of the "scientist" in question.


So it was with this need to prove myself gnawing at the back of my mind when i suddenly find myself unable to perform a simple Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay. ELISAs are one of the most basic of biology research techniques. It is something that is taught to high school students in biotechnology classes and something that is expected to be able to be effectively performed by the most junior of research assistants.


The ELISA i was failing to perform was not complex nor was it a first attempt at making it work. i had been performing it perfectly, generating reams and reams of data with it, for the past three weeks. Suddenly, with the introduction of a new lot of ELISA plates, the assay went dead. It didn't fade out. It just went from working to absolutely dead in the water.


Why is it? Why is it always the most simple things?


So it was. A week of systematic trouble shooting. New buffers, every day, tweaking the components just a little bit to isolate individual bits of the assay to assure that it was still working. Checking through all the steps. Poisoning various steps to try to reproduce the catastrophic failure. A week of tinkering at the cost of a week of data generation is not only frustrating, it is a massive waste of time for a start-up running on limited venture funding.


The most simple things. The most simple, simple, simple things.


Finally, today, Sunday, result. The general conclusion that could be reached was that there was something a bit off with the new lot of plates i am working with. With a bit of levity, i coated a large number of plates to prepare for a week of catch up beginning tomorrow. However, as i coat the plates, a little nagging worry gnaws at me. What if i didn't pin point the culprit? i did coat a different set/type of plates. Plates i know without a doubt to work well in ELISA type assays and with proven consistency between lots. Yet, the gnawing "what if" keeps nudging at me.


The most simple things. The most simple things.

The road home

The road home begins with one post... this post. Aye, i have been gone for sometime and walked down a few roads to dead ends, dead falls, and otherwise unresolved ends. All were great experiences that allowed me to grow and learn and picked up some great friends that made my life richer and more full of meaning. Now, i begin at home, going down a new road of possibilities... let the stories begin anew.