I know I haven't done much of this lately, sorry

I have been cooking.  I cook most days, in fact.  But I haven't had much joy in the cooking lately.  It's dinner.  It's a meal.  It's perfunctory.

In recent days, I've been messaging friends on Facebook.  Folks I haven't kept up with in a mighty long time, folks I thought it might be nice to say hello to and catch up with.  One of them responded (yay!), and in the response said that they missed my cooking photos.  I realized that no, I hadn't been posting many.  So here we are.

Van (and Olive, not pictured - she's had a lot of attention on here lately!) came over late afternoon for dinner here.  I didn't photograph the dessert either, a mango brown butter tart.  Tasty enough!  Conrad will take some of the leftovers to NOLA tomorrow.

But I did take photos of the dinner.  Now that we have some of the Russell Wright dishes from Vancouver, I decided to serve the meal in them.  Tomatillo braised country style pork ribs with rice cooked in black bead liquor. 

Not a bad meal at all!  I was pleased with it for a change.  A little more salt, perhaps?  But it was good.

On a side note, and as you all probably know, we like our cocktails.  The Last Word is our favourite, a concoction that relies on green chartreuse.  That spirit is hard to find (though I shan't confess to our stockpile).  And some people suggest substituting Genepy.  I've had that before, and we do have some on hand, but Van had never tried it.  So I made a Last Word with the Genepy, and that led to me having Conrad

and Van

do a comparison of the chartreuse and the Genepy.  That was interesting.  Genepy is lower ABV and easier to drink, but the chartreuse makes a better cocktail, we agreed.

It wasn't all Last Words, though.  I also had a Preakness to cap the evening.

And now Conrad will be heading out of town.  Darn it.  Time with Van ahead (yay!), but it will be good to have Conrad home.

he's back!

Ah yes, Conrad is home.  For all of 36 or so hours in between trips.  San Antonio behind him, off to New Orleans tomorrow.  And then he's home for a nice little spell.

Our morning walk plans were stymied or perhaps only postponed by the latest rain to move through southern California (and hooray for getting rain!), so we drove over to the grocery store and then strolled to Amara for some breakfast. 

To be sure, we were dampened,

but by the time we finished breakfast, there were patches of blue sky peeking through.

As for breakfast itself?  The usual:  an arepa and decaf oatmilk latte for me. 

And I couldn't be happier!

We'll get out for a walk later.  I think, I hope.  I have a mango tart about to come out of the oven in the meantime.  Happy Saturday, folks!

the Charlie Chaplin

It was monthly online happy hour with the gang last night, and the theme was Purim, as suggested by Rachel (who, alas, was under the weather and unable to join us).  I looked online for Purim-themed cocktails, and many of them were cocktails we already knew but with their names twisted into tortured puns (Estherito instead of mojito, Hamanhattan instead of Manhattan).  That didn't appeal to me, so I dug deeper and found that apricots are a typical foodstuff used at Purim, as in hamantaschen.  An apricot cocktail?  Sure!  So I rooted around and found a promising one called the Charlie Chaplin.  Equal parts lime juice, sloe gin, and apricot brandy.  And, happily, I already had all of those things on hand.  Thus, the Charlie Chaplin became the theme drink for me and Van (Conrad is in San Antonio and couldn't join us either).

Verdict?  Maybe try it again one day, but maybe not.  Weirdly sweet and sour, and not helped by the fact that the sloe gin, which I've not used in some time, seemed to have oxidized and had that unfortunate caramelized taste and smell.  I drank some, as did Van, and then we gave up.  I made us each a Don't Give Up the Ship instead, and we carried on with a nice time with our friends.

this little girl

I had to work late last night, but I knew what was waiting for me when I was done.  Van had dinner on the go for us, and cocktails at the ready.  More importantly, though, he had this fluffy little girl, home from the doggie salon earlier in the day.  All clean and soft and silky. 

 

And definitely happy to see me!

longest so far this year

I won't say how long.  It wasn't that long.  It really wasn't.  But this morning's swim was the longest of the year so far and probably the longest in some time before that.  I think.

No matter.  The endurance was there, but I was sluggish.  In the end, though, I climbed out of that pool having accomplished something!

this guy is still cute

Truly, he is.  Ladies and gentlemen and everyone else:  Conrad.

He's away at a conference.  I miss him already.

The Amsterdam

Ultimately, it didn't suit my mood, but for a brief moment last night, The Amsterdam (made with blood orange, hence the colour) was what I was sipping.

I've enjoyed it in the past, I promise.  Just not last night.

trying out a new place

Over the course of the fall and into the new year, Conrad and I watched the progress of a new restaurant in town called Pez Coastal Kitchen.  Its predecessor in the space had been a popular burger joint, and though we never went to the burger place, we were surprised when it closed up shop.  And we were worried for our friends at Maestro when we heard that the new place was going to be tequila-focused and fine Mexican dining.

The new place opened about a month ago, and it's been busy every time we walk by.  We actually had plans to go there with friends a couple of weeks ago, but they made the reservation at the wrong restaurant, and we ended up enjoying pizza at U Street instead.  But last night, the three of us and Natasha headed over to Pez with a correct reservation in hand.

It was kind of funny, sitting in a window seat, watching the Saint Patrick's Day foot traffic head past.  More than a few wandered into the restaurant, and I saw a number of them realize that it was perhaps a little more refined and not as sports bar or Irish pub as they might want.  The clientele on a Sunday evening - including us! - was decidedly older, too, though a number of folks (including Natasha) were dressed in green somehow.

Here's what I liked about Pez:

• The drinks.  I had a cocktail called the Thai Dye, a concoction of gin, mezcal, Lillet, cucumber, lime, and basil oil. 
  
  
  Delicious.  I had a second.  Conrad ordered a Last Word, and they made it with yellow chartreuse.  We weren't mad about that, but we did ask if that was the case, and the manager who had checked on us and our drinks got them to make him a new one (and comped the old one).  Van's first cocktail was an interesting one with coconut cream in it, and then he had a very dirty martini made with vodka (as listed on the menu, not of his own devising), and it was perhaps too olive-y, but I think it would have been fine to have the martini first then his second drink.
• The food that I had.  Sweetbreads frito misto? 
  
  
  Yes please!  Nice to see sweetbreads on a menu, and I thought it was a good appetizer all together.  I also enjoyed my spaghetti with clams and mussels and an uni nage. 
  
  
  I spooned up all the sauce.  I also liked the bread we ordered. 
  
  
  No desserts for us - we were satisfied - though the options all were appealing.
• The setting.  They did a great job of the space, and it has a terrific corner location.  I had been worried about noise levels, but we found it quite easy to hear each other.  I'd like to try sitting at the bar for happy hour some time as well.

What I think needs a bit of work:

• Some of the other food.  I didn't try the crudo or ceviche that Conrad and Natasha had, but they seemed fine.  Conrad's fish was cooked marvelously well, but he found the risotto a little rich.  I tasted both, and I loved the fish, but Meyer lemon is a bit much sometimes, and I get what he means about the risotto.  A good dish, but perhaps needing a tweak?  Van had an endive salad that he said was good but I didn't try.  I did try his ribs, though, and I think they showed that Pez is a seafood place.  Very very smoky, and a hint of some sort of fuel after-taste to them.  They came on a bit of radicchio but could have benefited from a different side or two.  Also, they were advertised as baby back, but the fattiness and the cartilage I encountered have me thinking they were St Louis cut.  I wish Van had asked them for wet wipes or a finger bowl as well - they were quite a mess for him to eat, which is fun in the moment but when you are done, not so much.
• The service.  The manager/bar director/a little of everything stopped by a few times, and we chatted with him, asking how it was going.  The restaurant has been popular, and they appreciate that, but they also know they have to get people to come back, not just try it once.  Smart!  So I hope they'll pick things up a little.  We had a reservation at 6, and the entrees got to us at about 7:25.  Natasha called it leisurely and was unbothered, but there were gaps of time in getting things.  There were other small things as well.  The hostesses had that unfortunate attitude you see at so many restaurants nowadays, as if they're doing us a favour by entertaining our reservation.  By contrast, our waiter and the bar manager guy were both hospitable.  When we arrived (on time) we had to wait several minutes to be seated.  And then when we were, they didn't have menus for us until another table was done with them.  Just print up more menus, people!  That set me on edge a little, expecting a not great evening, but - the lags in service aside - it got better.

Verdict:  I'd go back.  It's a nice option for seafood and for a little more fine dining in Old Pasadena.  I'd also recommend it to friends.  They'll figure out the kinks and work on them, I'm pretty confident.  So then, welcome to the neighbourhood, Pez.  May you fit in well and find success.

Sunday breakfast

How awesome is it to have breakfast at home?  How even more awesome is it to have breakfast at home cooked by someone else?

I use home a little loosely - we walked to Van's yesterday, stopping to pick up a few breakfast supplies, and there we had our meal.  Conrad set the table and did the dishes, Van cooked. 

It's fair - I do so much in the kitchen, they can take care of me for once.

Pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, a tomato blistered in the oven - it was more than satisfying. 

Though I'd also stopped at Starbucks for a decaf latte, I got Conrad to brew me some decaf to enjoy. 

And all was good.

The little girl?  Hopeful as always when she smells our food!🐶🤣

gosh darn cute

Look at her!

Just look at her!

Melts my heart, she does.  I'm wrapped around her paw, and she knows it.

overdue (but we made it in the end!)

As mentioned before, we were overdue for Maestro, and our intention was to make it there.  And friends, we did.  Saturday evening, sitting outside enjoying food and music and saying hello to the staff we've missed.  How lovely it all was, even if we might have wished for it to be a little warmer!

I tried a new cocktail special, a tangerine smash,

and liked it, though I did switch to my usual, the mezcal campfire, after the first drink.  We shared everything, starting with the guacamole and plantain chips

and the queso fundido,

then moving on to the calamari. 

The cochinita pibil

and the esquites with bone marrow

were our mains, and for dessert, we opted to have the Oaxacan chocolate mole torte. 

All of it was so very good.

We should be back there on Friday, and I cannot wait!

a limited view of Sacramento

I swear, there is more to the city of Sacramento than the iconic bridge by my hotel

and the state Capitol. 

Truly.  It's a handsome city, from what I have seen of it in the past.

Alas, this time, I didn't get myself out and about at all, save for a Friday morning walk to a Starbucks.  And, of course, I took photos of those two prominent structures.  Nothing else.  Well, selfies,

but nothing Sacramento.

A lost opportunity, but I'll be back some day.  And when I do return, I'll try to capture photos of other parts of the city just to prove that it exists!

back to normal for one weekend

Wait, scratch that:  I think the two Saturdays after this one will be here in Pasadena, and we'll be able to go to Amara.  Wow.

(And add to that that we're going to Maestro tonight for the first time in far too long, and, well, it's weirdly like regular life!)

At the end of our morning walk, Conrad

and I

parked ourselves for breakfast.  The usual for each of us

- sorry that we're kind of boring.  Van (not pictured) even showed up.  Will wonders never cease?

Travel for all of us recently, and Conrad heads out again on Tuesday.  So it is that a normal kind of weekend routine is very welcome these days.  I'm happy we had that opportunity!

Tower Bridge

A quick entry, sorry.  I got back to my room after having a burger at the hotel bar for dinner last night, and when I looked out the window, I could see the last bit of blue in the sky behind the nearby Tower Bridge.  It's a Sacramento icon, so I headed downstairs and outside to get a few photos.  Beautiful!  I don't know Sacramento at all well despite multiple visits here, but I find the sight of the bridge welcome indeed.

unexpected!

Look, I own my snobbishness, and I am sorry.  But I did NOT expect to find that the bar at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento had multiple bottles of green chartreuse in stock.

So yes, I had Last Words tonight, and I am so glad of it.  Thank you, Embassy Suites.

off to Sacramento

Gosh, the last time I was in Sacramento for meetings, I caught COVID.  May that not be the case this time!

Yes, meetings in the state capital today and tomorrow.  And that afforded me an opportunity to see friends.  Hooray for that!  So it was that I set off for Sacramento yesterday.

I would normally fly out of LAX, but I decided for this trip to go in and out of Burbank.  A smaller airport closer to home, easier to get to and navigate through.  Plus, it means a slightly different flight path, at least at the outset, and viewing of different parts of the area.  I was watching out my window as we followed the 5 past Castaic Lake

and on over the Grapevine to the Central Valley this time.  And then I dozed.

Flying out of Burbank did mean connecting through SFO, which is not a hardship.  What was cool was that when I came off the plane into the jet bridge, a United staff person was awaiting me.  I was escorted down to the tarmac

and offered a car service to the lounge nearest my gate.  Cool!  A small thrill.

From there it was a short, 18-minute flight to Sacramento Airport (and what a cool installation in the baggage claim),

and it was there that Peter met me. 

I get to see a lot of Peter this year, and that's always welcome.  Also very welcome?  Getting to see his husband, Matt.  He's such a sweetheart.  I stayed the night at their place, and the three of us had a good, filling dinner out.

It's meetings starting in a little while and carrying through tomorrow.  I'll hope for time in and around them to get out on foot a little in the city.  I've been here several times now, and I do like visiting.

And then it's back home later Friday evening and no trips scheduled again until a short visit to San Diego next month.