UA 427 BOS IAD 0719 0901 319 6F

Shady-side bulkhead, my favorite seat, including in F,
provided the middle stays empty. I slept through this
flight, took SuperShuttle to Bethesda, did some paperwork,
and then out of there.

UA 822 IAD BOS 1656 1833 752 13F
was 898 2210 2338 752 9A

I finished my errands way early and wanted to get out of
town, so I got SuperShuttle to pick me up 6 hours early.
Put myself on standby and became #1, but people kept
mysteriously clearing ahead of me. Ah, well, I got the
hated row 13 seat with no window, which was fine, as all
I wanted to do was drink and sleep. Had a Courvoisier in
plastic. My coupon was accepted. Snoozed.

Heard Tavi Ungerleider play a Beethoven sonata, then the
first Britten suite, then the Suite Italienne. He did a
fantastic job, and he's only 16. Someone rather tactlessly
asked my friend Marcus and me whether we were that good
at that age. I answered in the negative. Marcus didn't
deign to give a direct response, only mentioning that in
the orchestra he was in in high school, Perlman was in the
back of the first violin section, and Zukerman was in the
second violin section. This kid (and his twin brother Oren)
will go far unless he wants to become a doctor or something.

US1839 PVD CLT 1655 1909 E90 2F

Check-in took 30 seconds and security 5 minutes. A chatty
TSA person. I ended up with hours to kill, so I went to
Johnny Rocket's for a decent burger (in the In-n-Out well-
done thin patty way); as you can't get a beer here, I took
the burger to Wolfgang Puck's bar, where they let me chow
down provided I buy a beer, which I did, more than one
20-oz Sams. The combo is killer, and it's a pity one has
to do shenanigans to enjoy it. Turns out WP has a burger,
too, at twice the price, though the waiter allowed as mine
smelled pretty darn good.

Boarded early; pushed back (all pax apparently accounted
for) 12 early; took off a few early. Full F cabin on the
Embraer E190, which is an okay aircraft except for the
tiny A-side overheads. Some guy in 1D took up not only
the row 1 bin but also almost all of the row 2 bin (I
squeezed my laptop bag up there but had to manhandle my
rollaboard under the seatback in front of me.

A glass o' red was not what I expected it to be. It had
plums and lots of pineapple, a touch of Sonoma-ish beeswax.
Turned out to be Carta d'Imbarco Barbera. I hate to say
this, as this is a quintessentially mediocre wine, and US
is a quintessentially mediocre airline, but this stuff is
better than what UA serves. Through some odd alchemy it
makes Biscoffs taste as though they have eggs in them,
which they don't.

Snoozed some more. We were in clouds pretty much throughout
the flight, so there was nothing to look at anyhow.

I enjoyed the attitude of the FA and gave him an A&B.

Landed a little early, and I had time to stuff my face at
Bojangles, where the chicken, though fresh, was inadequately
seasoned, and the dirty rice was made with pork sausage.

US 311 CLT PHX 2010 2157 320 11C was 5A

My upgrade didn't clear. Though my boarding pass was
rejected with a chime, the agent smoothly processed me
through, so much for those hopes. The guy in B tried to
move me to a middle seat to sweeten a seat trade so he
could sit with his wife. I told him that I didn't want
to sleep in the middle seat, as I would likely flop over
and have to annoy one of my seatmates, whereas if I flopped
into the aisle, that wouldn't be quite so bad. He came back
with the offer that he would switch out with an attractive
young woman, and I could flop over on her, but I demurred.

Exit row is kind of nice and would be my first choice, but
perhaps not on a full full flight as this one was.

The flight was ovenlike - I'd say at least 90F, with the
vents blowing scirocco at us. Apparently, when they tried
to adjust the climate, F and the rear of the plane became
polar, while we remained tropical. I actually drank water
on this flight, that's how bad it was. Got a couple hours'
sleep only.

A quick cab ride to the R-C Phoenix, where I was greeted in
a most friendly way but with the unwelcome news that the bar
was going to close in 20 minutes. I hustled over and had a
Bass and the news that the front desk was wrong, either that
or she'd meant that the kitchen was closing in 20 minutes.
Nonetheless, I cut myself off after one and went to check
out my room, which was quite nice - the equal of the Atlanta
Marriott but not substantially superior, I'm surprised to
report. The furnishings, though kind of elegant, had a well
used aspect to them.

glasses: nice, heavy, well-designed glass
toiletries: Bvlgari
wireless: $9.95/day
bed: king with nice mattress, 4 pillows, 2 large bolster
pillows, 2 other bolsters

The bed was quite comfy and the room reasonably quiet,
except that as with almost all hotels, sounds leak through
the doorway, so that what goes on in the corridor is almost
as though it were in the room. Most notable was that the
room had no hotel-room or mildewy or disinfectant smell.

Two problems, both of them alarm clocks. The clock radio is
very hard to set and beams an annoying bright light; and at
the desk there's a battery alarm clock that though elegant
in appearance ticks loudly. Solution: put clock radio face
down; removed battery of other clock.

Breakfast in the club lounge, where Jean took good care of
me. OJ was fresh squeezed with very ripe, somewhat alcoholic
oranges. There were two smoothie type offerings - a murky
red one that must have been strawberry banana and a mixed
berry one that was a muddy green and must have had algae
and/or acai or some similar trendy but not-great-tasting
antioxidant fruit. Both tasted weird and had a weird overly
healthy texture.

Smoked salmon was of quality but had begun to dry out - I
think turnover is slow. An almond croissant was delicious.

There were weird hot offerings: oatmeal in a crock and
vegetable frittata - frightening-looking things the size
and shape of a toddler's shoe - on the griddle. I passed.

Coffee: odd - what was labeled as regular was watery
and untasty, and what was labeled as decaf was robust and
good tasting. I wonder if the names had been switched.

In-room wired Internet was slow and intermittent. Wireless
was, surprisingly, more reliable.

Instead of trying to catch a baseball game ($30 cab ride
each way, plus ticket, plus beer and snacks) I decided to
take as full advantage of the Ritz as I could: sleep extra,
go on FT a lot, lounge around in front, and return to the
club for lunch.

At the club for lunch. The wines included:

Veuve de Verney was a nondescript sparkler, reminiscent of
the better sort of airline wine;

Steven Kent Ritz-Carlton Cuvee Cabernet, though soft and
rather wimpy, tasted pretty good, with black fruits and mint
and a touch I thought of smoke, but that might have been due
to the proximity of odd foods in the room;

Sterling Vintners Reserve Merlot had bright cherry fruits
and a bit of intriguing spice, and was also way soft, but
had a bit more character than the above. I think that Jean
brought this out because the Steven Kent was running out.

I had a shrimp salad BLT, a small sort of slider-size
sandwich, with at least as much bacon (in chopped, uncrisp
bits) as shrimp; it was delicious. Also they had smoked
turkey and mozz-and-tomato sandwiches, neither of which
appealed to me so much as shrimp and bacon.

Great thick-cut potato chips.

Little macaroons - orange, plain, and chocolate. The Cab
went well with all of these; the Merlot not so well. I
ended up eating 7 macaroons, which filled me up nicely.

The concierges as before were attentive.

Toddled off and checked out (you can't do late checkout
except in person), and JanAZ picked me up and took me to
the new digs that she and Dave had just moved into, in a
nice part of, I'm not sure, Glendale I think, maybe Peoria,
they're all the same to me. Said hi to the dogs and the new
ocicat, had a glass of Eagle Rare with Dave, and then off to
Tandoori Times 2, as Dave gets to have Indian food only when
Jan gets outvoted, or something.

This is in a strip mall off W. Bell and doesn't look
particularly Indian, but what the heck, the customers coming
in at the same time we did did, and that was a good sign.

We were told to sit anywhere and chose a biggish table, good
thing as we ended up with a biggish amount of food.

Spent an inordinate time over the biggish menu and then
pondered with the help of the waiter why 2 small Kingfishers
cost the same as one big one but contain 2 oz more beer, so
there's a stupidity penalty for ordering one big beer.

Garlic naan was fluffy and crisp, well done, not too
garlicky. Dave, enthusiastic about the opportunity, ordered
a tandoori lamb boti wrap cut in thirds for our appetizer.
It was quite nice but I think a way of recycling precooked
lamb from the previous meal.

Jan had tandoori lamb chops, well marinated but of course
not very spicy, nicely flavored and tender. Dave's lamb
korma was smooth and delicious; it was made with cashews,
which is sort of normal in my experience, but he said that
he'd had it only made with almonds before. I think that I
frequent classier Indian restaurants than he does.

My choice was what they spell as bengun bhartha - redolent
with ginger and onions, it was surprisingly the spiciest
dish on the table. I enjoyed it, but other baingan bhartas
I've had, including those I've made myself, have sweeter
spicing and some tomato.

The house rice is very good, so we had refills on that;
also more garlic naan.

No room for dessert, but we were full and happy.

Next day, Jan and I met TransWorldOne at Maryvale to see
the Mariners and Brewers. A gorgeous day was not enough to
bring out more than 2371 fans watch an exciting seesaw game,
in which the visitors jumped out to a 3-0 lead, which became
7-3 the other way, then tied at 7-7, with the Brewers taking
it 9-7 on a walkoff homer by someone named McGeehee.

During slow moments, there was tolerable park fare from a
Bill Johnson's catering stand. I had a half rack of ribs
(good pork, rubbed with a sugar rub, cooked right though a
bit light on the smoke; the sauce on the side was diabetes
central) with cole slaw, most of which I gave to Jan, who
had a pulled chicken sandwich hold the bun. The guy offered
to give her some extra chicken to make up, but she declined.

The best beers in this stadium are Budweiser American Ale
(reddish, slightly hoppier than all-American beer, not
nearly so attractive as the craft brews that it is designed
to compete with), and Michelob Amber Bock, which though
sweet has some character.

Funnel cake was greasy and sugary, and I'm glad I had only a
couple bites.

Jan had stuff to do so TW1 and I went off to dinner at noca,
owned by an eGullet guy who is totally passionate for food
but apparently approaches middle age not having been in the
restaurant biz before.

We were greeted with an amuse, blue cheese foam with
walnuts, which I said I couldn't take, so what came for me
was beet tartare with pistachio, quite beety, with a tiny
nugget of sweetness hidden in the spoon someplace.

Tap water out of these lever-topped bottles. Very New
York 1980s.

The cream of cauliflower with fried chorizo pearls was
very cauliflowery, the chorizo things very chorizoy and
with an interesting crisp texture; it was compromised by the
presentation, which was: Strew the chorizo things on the
bottom of an oversized soup plate along with a few bits
of cooked carrot and cauliflower, then start pouring the
soup, then, when the soup refuses to come out of the
pitcher, invert the pitcher and shake gently, meanwhile
making the remark that the kitchen ought to thin out the
soup a little.

After which, TW1 had an heirloom baby beet salad with big
croutons and goat cheese with dill. The beets were fine, but
goat cheese with dill, a standard combo these days, does
nothing for either of us.

The preciously named bacon and eggs was Berkshire pork belly
with a fried poached egg atop onion jam. I guess the problem
was of pulling punches. The crispy poached egg was a fun
conceit, but the yolk was almost solid, depriving the dish
of some of the richness I'd hoped for. The pigmeat was nice
and crisp but way way too lean - it was almost like regular
pork. TW1 said that if he'd ordered it he would have sent it
back. What I think I should have done: ask for a remedial
piece of fat. The onion jam was almost fatally sweet.

Fried sweetbreads, ginger jus, garnished with fava beans,
which we both had, was an unmitigated success, the offal
properly preprepared and cooked crisp, the sauce flavorsome
and light. And fava beans are intrinsically cool. These were
barely cooked and very nice.

For wine we went for the local product, Pillsbury "Roan Red"
06, made just a few miles north. Contrary to the reviews,
this didn't seem very Rhonish to me; in fact the style
reminded me more of a California Meritage. That said, I
enjoyed it, and TW1 said that it was the best Arizona wine
he'd ever had.

TW1 had the interesting combo of Meyer lemon tart, coconut
tapioca, meringue gelato: I didn't see the point of the
juxtaposition, though all the elements were as advertised.

I went for an assortment of gelati - chocolate, which was
deep and bitter and satisfying; malted vanilla, just as
expected; and the intriguing salted butter.

Weird freebies that came out. Green cotton candy - this was
Midori-flavored. I enjoyed playing with it more than eating
it. A malted vanilla milkshake was kind of nice, with the
same gelato I think, but it seemed as though it had been
made with something like 1% milk.

We passed on after-dinner booze, as there was a bottle of
Inniskillin sparkling Vidal ice wine 2001 waiting for us
back home. This turned out to be, though not in its first
youth, a complex, interesting wine. Owing partially to its
advanced age, its effervescence was mild and unobtrusive,
its color deep dark brown. Aromas of tropical and stone
fruit mixed with a bit of spice, brown sugar, honey. Very
complex. Quite acid, which must have helped the wine live
as long as it did.

I have learned to read your TRs after a meal so as not to spoil an upcoming Central American "tipico" meal.

And who would of thunk Indian food in Glendale, Aridzona?

thanks for the usual good read!

Next day I couldn't find anyone to take me out to the crowd;
so I rode the bus and the light rail (a pretty snazzy train,
but a pity there's only one line) to Phoenix Municipal
Stadium, where I saw the Royals get whupped by the Athletics
7-2. TW1 called me an hour into the game; it was already the
middle of the 4th, 2-0 Oakland. He said he might be able to
make it by 7th inning stretch. Shortly thereafter, they put
it away with a big inning capped by a 3-run triple by Travis
Buck. Nonetheless, TW1 didn't get there until the end of the
7th (by this time, though, the parking attendants had quit
charging, the ticket sellers weren't selling, and the ticket
takers didn't care). Attendance a pathetic 3183. Beer a
pathetic selection. I tasted the Pyramid apricot ale but
wasn't thrilled, so I went to the VFW booth, where Kona
Longboard was being offered, by far the best thing at the
stadium.

Stopped off at Four Peaks for a pitcher of Hop Knot, sided
with beer-battered bacon and pretzels.

For dinner: we swung by the grocery at the Chinese
Cultural Center, where I picked up an assortment of
shellfish. We had steamed ark shells and gambas al ajillo
with an appetizer of fried shrimp shells; with this the
Barefoot Pinot Gris, aka one of the best $5 wines around,
went nicely. Apricot and apple, bright, a little sweet on
the finish. After which TW1 grilled Prime ribeyes from
Costco I think, with which the Justin Justification 06,
aka one of the best $40 wines around, went well. I asked
for my steak to be put on the grill partially frozen, so
it came out perfectly blue rare but seared outside. Most
enjoyable. The wine: black fruits, earthy, a slight herbal
quality. Mostly Cab Franc. As good as Isosceles, I think,
but perhaps a little cheaper.

Sesame mochi from the Soft Indicator Food Co. (Taipei) were
somewhat stiff and stale, and the peanut filling was very
stiff and stale.

We finished with the rest of the Inniskillin, which had lost
some of its effervescence and some of its depth but was
still impressive.

Next day I dithered about going to the airport early for
US1546, which was showing seats in F, vs. hanging around and
taking my scheduled 1550, which was zeroed out. TW1 was
watching upgrade availability for me like a hawk, and I got
a call that the seat had opened up, so I got the Gold desk
to give it to me. (Turns out, actually, that I would have
likely gotten one anyhow, as they ended up pulling up
someone from the back to fill a seat in row 3 and gave the
one next to me to a disappointed volunteer.)

Took the 70 bus to the rental car facility and the shuttle
from there, easy as 3.14159. It must have been quite a good
fly day, as the customer service counter had nothing to do.
The people there seemed relieved to have a customer and were
kind of tickled when I asked where the best place to eat was
- one of the agents steered me to the "high A" pier, where
there was a better assortment of fast food than at the "low
A" pier, where, she informed me (looking at me) that all
there was was American food. I trucked on over to high A
and had a machaca burrito at Blue Burrito. It was actually
pretty decent, the pot-roast meat quite flavorful and
oniony, the burrito fixings fresh. A cup of quite spicy
salsa on the side. Oh, yes, the cheese refused to melt -
later I found from the Website that it's lowfat.

You know what's annoying? All the desperate people pursuing
you down the corridor flogging the US Airways credit card.

Got to the low-A club in time to ascertain that the drink
special was a $5 Mimosa made with J. Roget. Boulder Canyon
chips, lots of cookies (I had a chocolate one), salty
crunchy junk. US Air no longer blocks the airport wi-fi.

US1550 PHX CLT 1454 2134 321 1A

The disappointed volunteer next to me turned out to be an
interesting utopian leftist of some kind with a refreshing
take on middle east politics. Would that I believed with
him that communication among Israelis and Palestinians
through Internet chat rooms is going to produce peace in
our time. Otherwise: a pleasant and industrious FA, an
unpleasant and quite bumpy flight.

My first Glenlivet didn't seem to be a Glenlivet, either
that or the quality control has gone way down. Refills
were back to normal.

Lunch: fettuccine alfredo with sun-dried tomatoes and salmon
- a most unsavory odor wafted in from the galley, and I was
regretting my choice, but when the food came, it was
actually not unpalatable, the pasta thick but characterful,
the sauce okay, the fish not as rotten as it smelled. A
pretty fresh green salad accompanied. The other choice was a
turkey-cheese sandwich sided with pasta salad. My seatmate
ate every scrap of his, so it was probably okay, either that
or his several Tanqueray and tonics steeled him to the task.

Underdone chocolate-chip cookie, cold and doughy in the
middle. The gesture was appreciated, though.

More turbulence. Thank goodness for the Chardonnay, which
was an unoaked cheapie whose name I didn't recognize.

1774 CLT PVD 2209 2355 319 1A

We loaded up a hair late and landed a hair late. I slept
from takeoff to touchdown and was so out that the FA
remarked, as I left, that I must be working way too hard.

My buddy Rosie was there to pick me up.
==
TW1 had strongly recommended La Laiterie in Providence, and I
was amused by the peculiarity of an Arizona boy recommending
a Rhode Island restaurant, but also I do respect his palate,
so we decided to go. Got there at about 6:30 on a weekday,
and there was space at the bar or at the little counter
overlooking the street. We chose the latter as more quiet.
There are four seats: one was empty, the second occupied by
Ellen, a woman of close to my age; we started talking.
Turns out she haunts some of the same places I used to (in
the Boston area, not in Providence); we had a pleasant chat.
I took her wine recommendation and had the Terredora di
Paolo Falanghina 07, a bright and tropical-fruity though
quite flinty wine. Rosie had L'Ecole 41 Chenin Blanc 06,
which I thought overwhelming with honey and jasmine. Started
with a dish of fried chicken skin, 4 pieces each about the
size of a dollar bill, $4. Delicious, though the malt
vinegar aioli was a bit of a muchness. We took Ellen's next
recommendation and had "our baked cheesemonger's mac n'
cheese with a molten center & a golden, crusty top $11" -
this was a pound of extremely rich food, quite tasty but on
the salty side. Following this, the "seared naturally-raised
chicken livers, crunchy onion rings & pan jus with bacon
$12" - a sizable portion of livers that were delicious and
tender but done a shade or two more than I would do myself,
topped with lots of lardons of excellent bacon and a potent
deglacage: on the side three giant onion rings, fried crisp
in a fragile batter. Very nice. I had a glass of The Crusher
Petite Sirah 07, which was a riot of brambles and vanilla
on the nose, strong blackberries and dark-roast coffee
with a touch of herbs and mint on the palate. This carried
over to our dessert, kahlua brownie with homemade Bailey's
ice cream. A lot of coffee flavors going on complemented the
chocolate nicely.

Next day I couldn't find anyone to take me out to the crowd;
so I rode the bus and the light rail (a pretty snazzy train,
but a pity there's only one line) to Phoenix Municipal
Stadium, where I saw the Royals get whupped by the Athletics
7-2. TW1 called me an hour into the game; it was already the
middle of the 4th, 2-0 Oakland. He said he might be able to
make it by 7th inning stretch. Shortly thereafter, they put
it away with a big inning capped by a 3-run triple by Travis
Buck. Nonetheless, TW1 didn't get there until the end of the
7th (by this time, though, the parking attendants had quit
charging, the ticket sellers weren't selling, and the ticket
takers didn't care). Attendance a pathetic 3183. Beer a
pathetic selection. I tasted the Pyramid apricot ale but
wasn't thrilled, so I went to the VFW booth, where Kona
Longboard was being offered, by far the best thing at the
stadium.

Stopped off at Four Peaks for a pitcher of Hop Knot, sided
with beer-battered bacon and pretzels.

For dinner: we swung by the grocery at the Chinese
Cultural Center, where I picked up an assortment of
shellfish. We had steamed ark shells and gambas al ajillo
with an appetizer of fried shrimp shells; with this the
Barefoot Pinot Gris, aka one of the best $5 wines around,
went nicely. Apricot and apple, bright, a little sweet on
the finish. After which TW1 grilled Prime ribeyes from
Costco I think, with which the Justin Justification 06,
aka one of the best $40 wines around, went well. I asked
for my steak to be put on the grill partially frozen, so
it came out perfectly blue rare but seared outside. Most
enjoyable. The wine: black fruits, earthy, a slight herbal
quality. Mostly Cab Franc. As good as Isosceles, I think,
but perhaps a little cheaper.

Sesame mochi from the Soft Indicator Food Co. (Taipei) were
somewhat stiff and stale, and the peanut filling was very
stiff and stale.

We finished with the rest of the Inniskillin, which had lost
some of its effervescence and some of its depth but was
still impressive.

Next day I dithered about going to the airport early for
US1546, which was showing seats in F, vs. hanging around and
taking my scheduled 1550, which was zeroed out. TW1 was
watching upgrade availability for me like a hawk, and he called
to say that the seat had opened up, so I got the Gold desk
to give it to me. (Turns out, actually, that I would have
likely gotten one anyhow, as they ended up pulling up
someone from the back to fill a seat in row 3 and gave the
one next to me to a disappointed volunteer.)

Took the 70 bus to the rental car facility and the shuttle
from there, easy as 3.14159. It must have been quite a good
fly day, as the customer service counter had nothing to do.
The people there seemed relieved to have a customer and were
kind of tickled when I asked where the best place to eat was
- one of the agents steered me to the "high A" pier, where
there was a better assortment of fast food than at the "low
A" pier, where, she informed me (looking at me) that all
there was was American food. I trucked on over to high A
and had a machaca burrito at Blue Burrito. It was actually
pretty decent, the pot-roast meat quite flavorful and
oniony, the burrito fixings fresh. A cup of quite spicy
salsa on the side. Oh, yes, the cheese refused to melt -
later I found from the Website that it's lowfat.

You know what's annoying? All the desperate people pursuing
you down the corridor flogging the US Airways credit card.

Got to the low-A club in time to ascertain that the drink
special was a $5 Mimosa made with J. Roget. Boulder Canyon
chips, lots of cookies (I had a chocolate one), salty
crunchy junk. US Air no longer blocks the airport wi-fi.

US1550 PHX CLT 1454 2134 321 1A

The disappointed volunteer next to me turned out to be an
interesting utopian leftist of some kind with a refreshing
take on middle east politics. Would that I believed with
him that communication among Israelis and Palestinians
through Internet chat rooms is going to produce peace in
our time. Otherwise: a pleasant and industrious FA, an
unpleasant and quite bumpy flight.

My first Glenlivet didn't seem to be a Glenlivet, either
that or the quality control has gone way down. Refills
were back to normal.

Lunch: fettuccine alfredo with sun-dried tomatoes and salmon
- a most unsavory odor wafted in from the galley, and I was
regretting my choice, but when the food came, it was
actually not unpalatable, the pasta thick but characterful,
the sauce okay, the fish not as rotten as it smelled. A
pretty fresh green salad accompanied. The other choice was a
turkey-cheese sandwich sided with pasta salad. My seatmate
ate every scrap of his, so it was probably okay, either that
or his several Tanqueray and tonics steeled him to the task.

Underdone chocolate-chip cookie, cold and doughy in the
middle. The gesture was appreciated, though.

More turbulence. Thank goodness for the Chardonnay, which
was an unoaked cheapie whose name I didn't recognize.

1774 CLT PVD 2209 2355 319 1A

We loaded up a hair late and landed a hair late. I slept
from takeoff to touchdown and was so out that the FA
remarked, as I left, that I must be working way too hard.

My buddy Rosie was there to pick me up.
==
TW1 had strongly recommended La Laiterie in Providence, and I
was amused by the peculiarity of an Arizona boy recommending
a Rhode Island restaurant, but also I do respect his palate,
so we decided to go. Got there at about 6:30 on a weekday,
and there was space at the bar or at the little counter
overlooking the street. We chose the latter as more quiet.
There are four seats: one was empty, the second occupied by
Ellen, a woman of close to my age; we started talking.
Turns out she haunts some of the same places I used to (in
the Boston area, not in Providence); we had a pleasant chat.
I took her wine recommendation and had the Terredora di
Paolo Falanghina 07, a bright and tropical-fruity though
quite flinty wine. Rosie had L'Ecole 41 Chenin Blanc 06,
which I thought overwhelming with honey and jasmine. Started
with a dish of fried chicken skin, 4 pieces each about the
size of a dollar bill, $4. Delicious, though the malt
vinegar aioli was a bit of a muchness. We took Ellen's next
recommendation and had "our baked cheesemonger's mac n'
cheese with a molten center & a golden, crusty top $11" -
this was a pound of extremely rich food, quite tasty but on
the salty side. Following this, the "seared naturally-raised
chicken livers, crunchy onion rings & pan jus with bacon
$12" - a sizable portion of livers that were delicious and
tender but done a shade or two more than I would do myself,
topped with lots of lardons of excellent bacon and a potent
deglacage: on the side three giant onion rings, fried crisp
in a fragile batter. Very nice. I had a glass of The Crusher
Petite Sirah 07, which was a riot of brambles and vanilla
on the nose, strong blackberries and dark-roast coffee
with a touch of herbs and mint on the palate. This carried
over to our dessert, kahlua brownie with homemade Bailey's
ice cream. A lot of coffee flavors going on complemented the
chocolate nicely.