... in the last 2 days.
I quit my job yesterday afternoon. I just felt it was time to try to change my career path. I will really miss all those guys that I worked with, but the rational side of me said that it would be easier to move on if I cut it off now than to drag it along.
I was sick for 12 hours last night. I think it was some variant of food poisoning, and I was in and out of the bathroom 3-4 times an hour. After 11 hours I decided I needed to go to the emergency room at the local hospital (luckily it's only 8 blocks away). Hopefully they didn't cut my medical coverage right that day.
I came out of the hospital ok, they gave me some fluids and said there was no infection or anything serious. That was a relief, and when I was just about to go home and get some sleep, the landlord came by to tell me that the owner is taking back the house (for renovation or sale I don't know) and that I have until the end of the month to move out. Given that my flight for Hong Kong leaves on the 16th, that leaves me with 2 weeks to completely move.
I will probably elaborate on these things in later posts, but for now I just wanted to catch people up and gain some pity for all the shit (literally) that I've been through the last 2 days. Wellwishers welcome!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
VBOTD (Value bet of the day)
BOS@TB
Under 8.5
Same story as always. Two possibly dominant pitchers getting a good under. While Kazmir has been consistently good but not dominating this year, he does have a lifetime ERA of 2.60 against Boston. Matsuzaka has been awesome at times, but also generally suffers from a lack of run support. This might not be a pitcher's duel, but I think getting it at 8.5 is good value.
Running total: +535
Record: 10-5
Under 8.5
Same story as always. Two possibly dominant pitchers getting a good under. While Kazmir has been consistently good but not dominating this year, he does have a lifetime ERA of 2.60 against Boston. Matsuzaka has been awesome at times, but also generally suffers from a lack of run support. This might not be a pitcher's duel, but I think getting it at 8.5 is good value.
Running total: +535
Record: 10-5
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Dinner at Smith and Wollensky's (Restaurant Week)
My first experience with the high class steakhouse chains was Morton's. Even though the whole push cart presentation of the menu got old really quickly, the food was still very good and the prices were definitely not cheap. In fact, when I ate at Morton's in Hong Kong about 4 years ago, they were asking US$55/lb for lobster. Yikes. Since then I've also tried Ruth's Chris, but I never made my way to Smith and Wollensky's, even though they took up the space at the historic and impressive Castle at Park Plaza in Boston. So when my friend asked if I wanted to join her group to try S&W's for Restaurant Week, I decided it was worth stopping by because if I liked it, I'd have an excuse to visit the castle next time I was in Boston.
Atmosphere: Not a fancy power-lunch steakhouse crowd, this place was filled with diners chatting away amongst themselves and occasional tables with small children. The place was clean and there was lots of white and some green in the color scheme. The same white and green combination was on all the servers' jackets and it was just not for me.
Service: While not being a Del Frisco's type of atmosphere, this was also definitely not Del Frisco's type of service. Thick New York accents and dishes being almost dropped onto the table instead of being gently placed, the service reminded me more of Peter Luger's except that this wasn't a Peter Luger steak. Instead of coming back and refilling my water frequently, they just dropped off something that looked in between a jar and a decanter filled with water so that I could do it myself. Which wasn't bad in a way, but didn't ooze class.
Food: So for the Restaurant Week prix-fixe, you get an appetizer choice, an entree choice which includes a 12-oz filet, and a dessert choice. Except that the filet isn't dry-aged. This is exactly what I was writing about in my post on Restaurant Week. They end up going out of their way to serve something that wouldn't be on their menu regularly. With the filet not being dry-aged, it kind of defeats the purpose of coming to a big steakhouse. I'm sorry but I am definitely a steak snob. I don't order grilled skirt steak (unless Argentinian or Brazilian) when I go out and I shudder at the thought of paying US$20 for USDA Choice steak at Outback. So in our party of five, only one ordered from the prix-fixe and the other four ordered off the menu. We decided on the double sirloin for two and the chateaubriand for two as well as an order each of creamed spinach and wild mushrooms as our sides. The portions were not big and I ended up ordering a piece of chocolate peanut butter cake with a scoop of ice cream for dessert because I needed to eat more. Not something I usually do. Usually for me dessert at a steakhouse is purely indulgence.
Double Sirloin: The double sirloin wasn't bad but it certainly was not anything exceptional. I would have thought that any big hunk of steak would come on the bone, but there was none. Maybe that affected the (lack of ) flavor. The accompanying steak sauce which as usual is some variation of the A1 style, wasn't needed to cut into the richness of the steak because it wasn't that rich.
Chateaubriand: The chateaubriand is a classical preparation of a thick cut of the tenderloin. It is not always seen on steakhouse menus because, like all filets, it is tender but not as naturally flavorful. As such, S&W's at least did bring some Bearnaise sauce to go with the filet. The seasoning on the outside edge was actually quite tasty, but it didn't permeate and I definitely needed the Bearnaise sauce for most of the meat. Unfortunately, the meat was quite inconsistent, as my three pieces were correctly medium, while my dining mate had 2 pieces that bordered on medium rare and beyond.
Creamed spinach: Again not my style. Not only tasted like a spinach dip, but the texture was definitely more like a spinach dip than any other creamed spinach I've had at the big steakhouses.
Wild mushrooms: Sadly, this was perhaps the best part of the meal. Nothing that couldn't be replicated elsewhere, but it had a nice herby, earthy taste.
Chocolate and peanut butter cake: Again, nothing that can't be repeated anywhere else. Except that they'd probably do it better at most other places. The crust was crisped rice covered in chocolate except that the rice wasn't crispy and the whole crust was more chewy. And yet it wasn't the nice gooey chewy like a real rice krispie treat.
Overall, a huge disappointment. For the price, there are just too many steakhouses in NYC with better meat and better service. That being said, we probably should have just stuck with our original reason for going there. The restaurant week menu, at US$35 and including a 12-oz filet, is pretty decent value for 3 courses.
Atmosphere: Not a fancy power-lunch steakhouse crowd, this place was filled with diners chatting away amongst themselves and occasional tables with small children. The place was clean and there was lots of white and some green in the color scheme. The same white and green combination was on all the servers' jackets and it was just not for me.
Service: While not being a Del Frisco's type of atmosphere, this was also definitely not Del Frisco's type of service. Thick New York accents and dishes being almost dropped onto the table instead of being gently placed, the service reminded me more of Peter Luger's except that this wasn't a Peter Luger steak. Instead of coming back and refilling my water frequently, they just dropped off something that looked in between a jar and a decanter filled with water so that I could do it myself. Which wasn't bad in a way, but didn't ooze class.
Food: So for the Restaurant Week prix-fixe, you get an appetizer choice, an entree choice which includes a 12-oz filet, and a dessert choice. Except that the filet isn't dry-aged. This is exactly what I was writing about in my post on Restaurant Week. They end up going out of their way to serve something that wouldn't be on their menu regularly. With the filet not being dry-aged, it kind of defeats the purpose of coming to a big steakhouse. I'm sorry but I am definitely a steak snob. I don't order grilled skirt steak (unless Argentinian or Brazilian) when I go out and I shudder at the thought of paying US$20 for USDA Choice steak at Outback. So in our party of five, only one ordered from the prix-fixe and the other four ordered off the menu. We decided on the double sirloin for two and the chateaubriand for two as well as an order each of creamed spinach and wild mushrooms as our sides. The portions were not big and I ended up ordering a piece of chocolate peanut butter cake with a scoop of ice cream for dessert because I needed to eat more. Not something I usually do. Usually for me dessert at a steakhouse is purely indulgence.
Double Sirloin: The double sirloin wasn't bad but it certainly was not anything exceptional. I would have thought that any big hunk of steak would come on the bone, but there was none. Maybe that affected the (lack of ) flavor. The accompanying steak sauce which as usual is some variation of the A1 style, wasn't needed to cut into the richness of the steak because it wasn't that rich.
Chateaubriand: The chateaubriand is a classical preparation of a thick cut of the tenderloin. It is not always seen on steakhouse menus because, like all filets, it is tender but not as naturally flavorful. As such, S&W's at least did bring some Bearnaise sauce to go with the filet. The seasoning on the outside edge was actually quite tasty, but it didn't permeate and I definitely needed the Bearnaise sauce for most of the meat. Unfortunately, the meat was quite inconsistent, as my three pieces were correctly medium, while my dining mate had 2 pieces that bordered on medium rare and beyond.
Creamed spinach: Again not my style. Not only tasted like a spinach dip, but the texture was definitely more like a spinach dip than any other creamed spinach I've had at the big steakhouses.
Wild mushrooms: Sadly, this was perhaps the best part of the meal. Nothing that couldn't be replicated elsewhere, but it had a nice herby, earthy taste.
Chocolate and peanut butter cake: Again, nothing that can't be repeated anywhere else. Except that they'd probably do it better at most other places. The crust was crisped rice covered in chocolate except that the rice wasn't crispy and the whole crust was more chewy. And yet it wasn't the nice gooey chewy like a real rice krispie treat.
Overall, a huge disappointment. For the price, there are just too many steakhouses in NYC with better meat and better service. That being said, we probably should have just stuck with our original reason for going there. The restaurant week menu, at US$35 and including a 12-oz filet, is pretty decent value for 3 courses.
Lunch at Tabla (Restaurant Week)
I did not even realize it was Restaurant Week. Tabla has always been one of those places strongly recommended by friends who know food and I was going to pay a visit sooner or later. Since I had to discuss some work-related things with a friend who worked in the building, I thought stopping by for lunch would be perfect for killing two birds with one stone.
Atmosphere: The decor was very interesting as I noticed a lot of colors in the design while I walked upstairs to the dining room. The crowd was a busy bustling lunch crowd, and I would imagine that this is the normal crowd even without restaurant week, since Tabla offers a prix-fixe lunch normally anyway.
Service: Seemed to be friendly when our main server was happy to take away our wine glasses and come back with water, except that she never came back with the water. She was then again happy to remove our bread plate and come back with more bread, except that she never came back with the bread. Like I said in my previous post, something like this could be caused by restaurant week, but she didn't seem to realize we ended up asking other employees for our water and bread.
Food: Choosing the best choices from a menu is usually my specialty. No matter where I am, I tend to be able to pick the right things off the menu to have as enjoyable a meal as possible. There were some tough choices here off the prix fixe in terms of traditional items versus more adventurous items, but in the end I went with the watermelon carpaccio, the pan roasted amish pork, and the tahitian vanilla kulfi.
The bread: The naan was nice and tender and the clear oil that was still all over it definitely kept it moist. However, I didn't get the real charcoal-y feel of the tandoor oven from this naan. It was still tasty though and we did ask for more.
Watermelon carpaccio: This was my decision to go adventurous and it just didn't work for me. Essentially it is some tiny slivers of spice-cured salmon mixed with a frisee salad over a thin round slice of watermelon. I thought that the watermelon would be very thinly sliced (as in carpaccio with meats) and be a sweet accent to some savory spiced salmon salad. Instead, there was a good amount of watermelon, and the salmon had a more salty flavor than a savory flavor. The combination of salty and very sweet just did not work for me and it was not refreshing in any way.
Pan roasted amish pork: This dish was very very good and is probably an example of why people I know give such high praise to this place. The pork was cooked and spiced perfectly and the accompanying broth with the fricasee of zucchini, summer tomatoes, and mustard was perfect. The perfect sweet and slightly sour kick to go with the pork and a hint of a spicy kick at the end from the mustard made this a memorable dish overall. Pretty decent sized portion too.
Vanilla kulfi: Living within walking distance to one of the biggest Indian neighborhoods in NYC, I come across kulfi all the time. This did not disappoint with a nice rich and dense flavor and texture, but what really made the dish was the accompanying warm ginger-peach compote with pecan streusel. I don't even eat peach but the combination was just so fabulous when mixed with the rich kulfi.
Except for the appetizer which might have just been an issue of my palate against the chef's, the meal was fantastic for restaurant week and certainly tempts me to go back and see what they can really do at a dinner service. To top it all off, there was a coupon equivalent to the price of the restaurant week meal for anyone who wished to go back for dinner during the summer. I will definitely be using that coupon before the summer is up.
Atmosphere: The decor was very interesting as I noticed a lot of colors in the design while I walked upstairs to the dining room. The crowd was a busy bustling lunch crowd, and I would imagine that this is the normal crowd even without restaurant week, since Tabla offers a prix-fixe lunch normally anyway.
Service: Seemed to be friendly when our main server was happy to take away our wine glasses and come back with water, except that she never came back with the water. She was then again happy to remove our bread plate and come back with more bread, except that she never came back with the bread. Like I said in my previous post, something like this could be caused by restaurant week, but she didn't seem to realize we ended up asking other employees for our water and bread.
Food: Choosing the best choices from a menu is usually my specialty. No matter where I am, I tend to be able to pick the right things off the menu to have as enjoyable a meal as possible. There were some tough choices here off the prix fixe in terms of traditional items versus more adventurous items, but in the end I went with the watermelon carpaccio, the pan roasted amish pork, and the tahitian vanilla kulfi.
The bread: The naan was nice and tender and the clear oil that was still all over it definitely kept it moist. However, I didn't get the real charcoal-y feel of the tandoor oven from this naan. It was still tasty though and we did ask for more.
Watermelon carpaccio: This was my decision to go adventurous and it just didn't work for me. Essentially it is some tiny slivers of spice-cured salmon mixed with a frisee salad over a thin round slice of watermelon. I thought that the watermelon would be very thinly sliced (as in carpaccio with meats) and be a sweet accent to some savory spiced salmon salad. Instead, there was a good amount of watermelon, and the salmon had a more salty flavor than a savory flavor. The combination of salty and very sweet just did not work for me and it was not refreshing in any way.
Pan roasted amish pork: This dish was very very good and is probably an example of why people I know give such high praise to this place. The pork was cooked and spiced perfectly and the accompanying broth with the fricasee of zucchini, summer tomatoes, and mustard was perfect. The perfect sweet and slightly sour kick to go with the pork and a hint of a spicy kick at the end from the mustard made this a memorable dish overall. Pretty decent sized portion too.
Vanilla kulfi: Living within walking distance to one of the biggest Indian neighborhoods in NYC, I come across kulfi all the time. This did not disappoint with a nice rich and dense flavor and texture, but what really made the dish was the accompanying warm ginger-peach compote with pecan streusel. I don't even eat peach but the combination was just so fabulous when mixed with the rich kulfi.
Except for the appetizer which might have just been an issue of my palate against the chef's, the meal was fantastic for restaurant week and certainly tempts me to go back and see what they can really do at a dinner service. To top it all off, there was a coupon equivalent to the price of the restaurant week meal for anyone who wished to go back for dinner during the summer. I will definitely be using that coupon before the summer is up.
Restaurant Week NYC
I am not a fan of Restaurant Week at all. If you can afford to eat at these restaurants in a normal dinner service, you shouldn't go during Restaurant Week. First, the menu is contrived. It is specially designed for the prix-fixe price and because of that is much less likely to reflect on what the chef is actually good at. Second, the higher volume and turnover than normal will usually lead to rougher service. Kitchens and servers in restaurants do well when they get in a groove with the tempo. To completely change how the restaurant tempo runs takes away a lot from the service. Lastly, Restaurant Week is definitely a social experience rather than a dining experience. Rarely does one go alone to a restaurant during Restaurant Week. Rather, people use the occasion to go out as groups and have an extra topic to talk about.
All that being said, I did go to two restaurants during Restaurant Week as I am not completely anti-social. Tabla for lunch and Smith and Wollensky's for dinner. I'll write reviews in my next posts.
All that being said, I did go to two restaurants during Restaurant Week as I am not completely anti-social. Tabla for lunch and Smith and Wollensky's for dinner. I'll write reviews in my next posts.
VBOTD
TOR@CHW
Under 8.5
Buehrle got rocked last time out, but that shouldn't take away from his string of 8 consecutive quality starts before then. Halladay, meanwhile, put together a complete game shutout in his last outing. Yet again, this is a case where getting under 8.5 is a good value when either of these pitchers is capable of going deep and dominating.
Running total: +435
Record: 9-5
Under 8.5
Buehrle got rocked last time out, but that shouldn't take away from his string of 8 consecutive quality starts before then. Halladay, meanwhile, put together a complete game shutout in his last outing. Yet again, this is a case where getting under 8.5 is a good value when either of these pitchers is capable of going deep and dominating.
Running total: +435
Record: 9-5
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
VBOTD
BOS@CLE
Under 9
Was sick yesterday so missed out on the under last night, but it may not be too late. Daisuke and Sabathia both shut down pretty potent offenses but both the pitchers tonight are capable of doing it again. No matter how good the offenses can be, any time you can get under 8.5 or better when both starting pitchers are capable of going deep and shutting down the other team it's good value.
Running total: +335
Record: 8-5
Under 9
Was sick yesterday so missed out on the under last night, but it may not be too late. Daisuke and Sabathia both shut down pretty potent offenses but both the pitchers tonight are capable of doing it again. No matter how good the offenses can be, any time you can get under 8.5 or better when both starting pitchers are capable of going deep and shutting down the other team it's good value.
Running total: +335
Record: 8-5
Monday, July 23, 2007
RDT
The number of quality TV shows dies down significantly after May sweeps, so I haven't been watching much TV of late. However, I do watch Hell's Kitchen (FOX Mondays 9pm) and I love it. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I love watching how the kitchen works, how a master chef thinks and all the little parts to the restaurant business. Also, there were a lot of characters on the show this year that definitely made it even better, including the fat, 48-year old, asian guy who wore a cowboy hat and fainted with his eyes opened. Right now they're down to 3 contestants left, one of whom is Roc, the guy who supposedly will win this according to a leak that made Bodog suspend all betting on the show after about the third week.
Another food related show that I've been watching was The Next Food Network Star, which just ended last night. This was another show with some interesting contestants, including a gay guy who actually looked somewhat like the Jack character from Will and Grace. I thought Amy was the most qualified to win, but that Rory was more of a crowd-pleaser. In the end, Amy won in the fan voting, after she was eliminated but made it back due to JAG's resignation for lying about some of his past experiences. I actually think that the Food Network had intended JAG to be their Latino food personality, and that was why he was given a lot of leeway on some of the challenges and managed to continue till the very end. But when JAG resigned from the competition due to some facts popping up, they had to scramble to put another Latino food program on. And I think that is why every time I'm watching the Food Network they keep bombarding me with this commercial for Simply Delicioso.
Another food related show that I've been watching was The Next Food Network Star, which just ended last night. This was another show with some interesting contestants, including a gay guy who actually looked somewhat like the Jack character from Will and Grace. I thought Amy was the most qualified to win, but that Rory was more of a crowd-pleaser. In the end, Amy won in the fan voting, after she was eliminated but made it back due to JAG's resignation for lying about some of his past experiences. I actually think that the Food Network had intended JAG to be their Latino food personality, and that was why he was given a lot of leeway on some of the challenges and managed to continue till the very end. But when JAG resigned from the competition due to some facts popping up, they had to scramble to put another Latino food program on. And I think that is why every time I'm watching the Food Network they keep bombarding me with this commercial for Simply Delicioso.
VBOTD
MIL@CIN
CIN -120
Cincinatti just cooled off a bit recently but they have their ace on the mound at home. Capuano, on the other hand, started the season 5-0 and has not had a win since. In his last 10 starts, he's had 6 losses and 4 no decisions, and the Brewers haven't won a single one of those starts.
Running total: +235
Record: 7-5
Needed all 8.5 runs yesterday, but it goes to show the value of getting unders at 8, 8.5 when there's a pitcher on the mound capable of completely shutting down the opposing team.
CIN -120
Cincinatti just cooled off a bit recently but they have their ace on the mound at home. Capuano, on the other hand, started the season 5-0 and has not had a win since. In his last 10 starts, he's had 6 losses and 4 no decisions, and the Brewers haven't won a single one of those starts.
Running total: +235
Record: 7-5
Needed all 8.5 runs yesterday, but it goes to show the value of getting unders at 8, 8.5 when there's a pitcher on the mound capable of completely shutting down the opposing team.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
RDT (Random daily thought)
Scott Baio is 45.
Brett Michaels is 44.
First of all, I'm still a little shocked that I've been watching both their shows on VH1. But most of all, it's shocking to realize two icons from my childhood are now into middle-age. Reminding me yet again that I'm no spring chicken. This is not the first time, however, that I've felt my age and felt the shift into adulthood. I think a person realizes he is no longer a kid when the major sports/pop icon of the era is much younger than he is. So for me, the moment of realization came about 4 years ago when Lebron James entered the scene. For those who are still young at heart, when did this moment of realization come for you? My guess is for people a few years older than me, it was Britney Spears.
Brett Michaels is 44.
First of all, I'm still a little shocked that I've been watching both their shows on VH1. But most of all, it's shocking to realize two icons from my childhood are now into middle-age. Reminding me yet again that I'm no spring chicken. This is not the first time, however, that I've felt my age and felt the shift into adulthood. I think a person realizes he is no longer a kid when the major sports/pop icon of the era is much younger than he is. So for me, the moment of realization came about 4 years ago when Lebron James entered the scene. For those who are still young at heart, when did this moment of realization come for you? My guess is for people a few years older than me, it was Britney Spears.
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