The list is out. Eenie Meenie Miney Moe.

1) El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain ▲1
2) Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark ▼
3) Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy ▲2
4) Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain ▼ 1
5) Eleven Madison Park, New York, USA ▲5
6) D.O.M, Sao Paulo, Brazil ▼ 2
7) Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London, UK ▲2
8) Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain =
9) Steirereck, Vienna, Austria ▲2
10) Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany ▲13
11) Per Se, New York, USA ▼ 5
12) Frantzén/Lindeberg, Stockholm, Sweden ▲8
13) The Ledbury, London, UK ▲1
14) Astrid y Gastón, Lima, Peru ▲21
15) Alinea, Chicago, USA ▼8
16) L’Arpège, Paris, France =
17) Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico ▲19
18) Le Chateaubriand, Paris, France ▼3
19) Le Bernardin, New York, USA =
20) Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan ▲7
21) Attica, Melbourne, Australia New entry
22) Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo, Japan ▲6
23) L’Astrance, Paris, France ▼5
24) L’Atelier Saint-Germain de Joël Robuchon, Paris, France ▼12
25) Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium ▲17
26) Quique Dacosta, Dénia, Spain ▲14
27) Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy ▲5
28) Mirazur, Menton, France ▼4
29) Daniel, New York, USA ▼4
30) Aqua, Wolfsburg, Germany ▼8
31) Biko, Mexico City, Mexico ▲7
32) Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand ▲18
33) The Fat Duck, Bray, UK ▼20
34) Fäviken Järpen, Sweden =
35) Oud Sluis, Sluis, Netherlands ▼14
36) Amber, Hong Kong, China ▲8
37) Vila Joya, Albufeira, Portugal ▲8
38) Restaurant Andre, Singapore New entry
39) 8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong, China New entry
40) Combal.Zero, Rivoli, Italy Re-entry
41) Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy New entry
42) Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland ▼12
43) Mr & Mrs Bund, Shanghai, China New entry
44) Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain ▼13
45) Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark ▲4
46) Mani, São Paulo, Brazil New entry
47) The French Laundry, Yountville, USA ▼4
48) Quay, Sydney, Australia ▼19
49) Septime, Paris, France New entry +33
50) Central, Lima, Peru New entry
51) Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
52) Manresa, Los Gatos, USA
53) The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, Franschhoek, S.Africa
54) La Grenouillère La Madelaine sous, Montreuil, France
55) Mathias Dahlgren, Stockholm, Sweden
56) Restaurant Relae, Copenhagen, Denmark
57) De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands
58) Coi, San Francisco, USA
59) Viajante London, England
60) Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai, China
61) The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa
62) La Vie, Osnabrück, Germany
63) Blue Hill At Stone Barns, Westchester, USA
64) Martin Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain
65) Iggy’s, Singapore
66) Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand
67) Chez Dominique, Helsinki, Finland
68) Waku Ghin, Singapore
69) Bras, Laguiole, France
70) Hedone, London, UK
71) St John, London, UK
72) In De Wulf, Dranouter, Belgium
73) Caprice Hong Kong, China
74) Dal Pescatore, Canneto sull’Oglio, Italy
75) Lung King Heen, Hong Kong, China
76) Malabar, Lima, Peru
77) Tickets, Barcelona, Spain
78) Hertog Jan, Bruges, Belgium
79) Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris, France
80) Roberta Sudbrack, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
81) Les Amis, Singapore
82) Ristorante Cracco, Milan, Italy
83) Die Schwarzwaldstube, Baiersbronn, Germany
84) Pollen Street Socia,l London, UK
85) Tantris, Munich, Germany
86) Momofuku Ssäm Bar, New York, USA
87) Zuma, Dubai, UAE
88) Hotel de Ville, Crissier, Switzerland
89) Momofuku Seiobo, Sydney, Australia
90) Bo Innovation, Hong Kong, China
91) Masa, New York, USA
92) La Petite Maison, Dubai, UAE
93) Momofuku Ko, New York, USA
94) La Maison Troisgros, Roanne, France
95) Quintessence, Tokyo, Japan
96) Le Louis Xv, Monte Carlo, France
97) Spondi, Athens, Greece
98) Jean Georges, New York, USA
99) Le Meurice, Paris, France
100) Varvary, Moscow, Russia

#76 is going to fall soon.

Enjoyed some rib tips at Bludso’s BBQ.

Celebrated my friend and former writing partner’s 40th birthday in Hollywood.

Food truck Friday in Burbank. Went with a couple of burgers from the Paddy Wagon.

Scored another million dollar dinner experience. Trois Mec is Ludo Lefebrve’s first permanent restaurant. They have one dinner sitting a night, Monday through Friday. You have to buy a ticket (pre-pay for dinner) prior to coming. Tickets go faster than a popular concert. Currently there are no tickets available for the next month. A perfect dinner.

The engine is finally rebuilt.

Our Pilates instructor canceled on us today, so Sonia and I took it upon ourselves (first time ever) to work out on our own. We biked Burbank and ended up at a Mexican restaurant in horse country. This used to be the singing cowboy, Gene Autry’s local restaurant. People still ride right up to the place, tie down their horses and grab a bite to eat. Burbank has some interesting quirks, but we’re still leaving once Brittany graduates.

One fine day.

Sorry, Matt, you’ve been overruled by the majority. Food porn from here on out.

Enjoyed Rivabella very much. Witnessed another odd celebrity pairing… Gene Simmons from Kiss and Dog the Bounty Hunter. I have some great food pics, but my buddy, Matt, shamed me into not posting pictures of food anymore.

The French TV Chef, Ludo Lefebvre’s take on fried chicken. Pretty good.

Transmission, transfer case and front axel are now rebuilt.

Hemingway is a believer.

This one had been on the list for the three years now. Finally knocked it out.

Hemingway’s six toed cats.

Our client’s boutique in Key West. See, it was a business trip all along.

Enjoyed a drink at Hemingway’s favorite Key West bars, Captain Tony’s and Sloppy Joes. Happy to see the Marquette Flag hanging in Sloppy Joes.

More of the same.

A great neighborhood fish shack for dinner.

For my sister, Michelle. You don’t even have to ask, they just give you Key Lime Pie wherever you go.

Sunset at Mallory Square in Key West.

Poolside at the Casa Marina, Key West.

Recovering from the Red Eye.

This is 9 or 10.

This is today. This is 40.

I’m starting to age a bit more significantly. I haven’t been carded in a bar for the last couple of years. I guess time is speeding up, so I can’t afford to get stuck again. There was a time not too long ago that I believed that this birthday would be as significant as some make it out to be. But now I see it as just another marker in what is a very short and fragile life. A little over five years ago I was at my personal rock bottom. I had just finished up year ten of a screenwriting career that resulted in zero productions, $52,000 in school loans, and approximately $50,000 in pay, or $1.92 an hour. I love to write, but I chose screenwriting because that’s where the money was. It would be a means to an end. I was always a dreamer. Big dreams cost big money. Needless to say, I failed. And failed dreams are heavy. So I went bankrupt, wrote less and less, broke up with Sonia, moved in with Dad, and spent the next miserable month at Barnes and Noble reading and drinking coffee. I thought a lot about my Grandpa during this time. He was a kindred spirit. He had the heart and mind of a poet. As a young man, he had big dreams. Instead, as so often is the case, he lived the life given to him instead of the one he wanted. I wondered if that was just life. I idolized Ernest Hemingway, not so much for his writing, but for the way he lived. He was reckless, spontaneous and a world traveler. Everything I wanted to be. But expectations to conform is a difficult barrier to overcome. But there I was at Barnes and Noble when I came across this passage written by Jack London:

And that was it. I moved back home with Sonia and together we decided to live a different life. We had two options. We could lower the bar or start living the dream. We chose the latter. With one month’s rent in the bank, she quit her paying job and I quit my nonpaying job, and together we started our company. Unlike screenwriting, luck wasn’t needed. Just hard work. The more we put in, the more we got out. I’m proud of what we have created, but in the end it’s just a means to live a more spontaneous and reckless life. There will no doubt be consequences. Hardships are certain to come and we won’t be as prepared as we could’ve been. But no matter how bad it may get… We had Paris. We had oysters. And we had fun.

I don’t care how Liberace it appears to be, I like nice shoes. And much to my surprise, my Dad not only accepted this, but decided to brave the fabulous currents of West Hollywood and visited the Men’s Christian Louboutin store in search of a birthday present for his oldest son. It turns out my Dad is much more progressive than me, so I risked hurting his feelings and exchanged the above shoes for the black ones below.

Splurged on a casual pair as well.

The perfect post hike meal at The Ivy.

The Bat Cave Hike.

An early birthday celebration. Nice to be joined by so much family.

Tried The Village in Studio City. A nice gastropub.

That boy’s gotta lotta balls.

A good lunch.

Pre-wedding flashback of my brother and Sister-In-Law. Glad I’m not 40 yet.

Always a good day.