Our Yearly Playlist

#100 In Progress

#100: Prepare ten meals at home So, I’m giving a company called Blue Apron a try. They ship you the ingredients and “easy” recipes for three meals a week. First try was this pizza panini and salad. I’d rather have a chef, but not bad.

#64 Ideas

#64: Eat at one of the world’s top restaurants Pellegrino named its top 50 restaurants in the world today. 50. Waku Ghin, Singapore 49. Coi Restaurant, San Francisco, U.S. 48. The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa (and Best in Africa) 47. The Fat Duck, Berkshire, U.K. 46. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy 45. Hof van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium 44. The French Laundry, Napa Valley,…

#48 Done

#48 Done: Attend a Music Festival We got our country on at Stagecoach music festival.

Stage Coach Country Music Festival Day 1

The iPhone camera doesn’t do it justice. Lynyrd Skynyrd

#45 Done

#45: Nap in a Hammock Got in a good 2 hour nap in the warm desert air.

#21 Done

#21 Palm Springs.

#47 In Progress

#47: Lounge by five hotel pools Lounging at the Miramonte in Rancho Mirage.

#61 Done

#61: Wine Refrigerator Protecting the wine shipments that continue to come in from our Napa trip.

Easter

Enjoyed a beautiful Easter day with family. Brittany found the golden egg.

Me: Let me take a picture Brittany: No Me: You’re barely ever home Brittany: Fine, but no flash Me: Flash it is

Hemingway couldn’t believe it when he woke up this morning. It was the first Saturday in a long, long time that Brittany was home and Sonia and I were still in bed. Come Hell or high water it was going to be a pool day. He whined until noon, but finally got his way.

#100 in Progress

#100: Find a Regular Barber This one was an old school neighborhood barbershop. One of the better cuts thus far.

#73 Done

#73: A Forever Pen A most excellent birthday gift from my Dad and Georgeanne.

A great belated birthday dinner at Rivera with my Dad and Georgeanne.

The Follow Up.

Bourbon Street, 2008. I was naive to think my “Big Ass Beers” post would be the final say in regards to my marriage to Sonia. In the past few years I have become accustomed to a text or a Facebook “like” as the only response to a life moment. Today, my sister, Michelle, actually called me to congratulate us. Unfortunately she also asked for…

Is That A Ring On Your Finger?

Why yes, yes it is. Nearly seventeen years after moving in together, Sonia and I tied one on and tied the knot (not in that order). This will serve as our official wedding picture. Traditional? Not so much. Fitting? I’d like to think so. Although witnessed by none of those we care for the most, all of you were most certainly in our thoughts…

#33 Done

#33: See 5 Bar Bands We saw ten on Saturday alone.

#80 Done

#80 N’awlins Spent the better part of the weekend with our clients from Nashville. Hopefully a New Orleans outpost is coming soon. Oysters shucked and served right on the counter. And alligator corn dogs as an afternoon snack. As long as you have your own lawn chair you can plop it in front of any bar and get served. There’s no city like it.

Made up for last weekend in Vegas.

#42 Done

#42: Have a drink in a Hemingway haunt The rotating carousel bar at the Hotel Monteleone was a favorite Hemingway haunt in N’awlins.

Left the camera at home, so only a few iPhone pics. The quarter was buzzing. Everywhere we turned was another great band.

N’awlins, Day One

A picture perfect day to kick off the French Quarter Festival. New Orleans

Breakfast at the Classic Cafe Du Monde

First meal as a 41 year old…. A dirty water chili dog on Bourbon Street.

Maude

Celebrity chef, Curtis Stone, opened his first brick and mortar restaurant in Beverly Hills about three months ago. That’s the same amount of time it took us to get a reservation. The restaurant revolves around a monthly single ingredient pre fixe menu. This month it is peas. Sonia hates peas, but Curtis figured out how to make her love her meal.

#23 Done

#23: Out of State Concert

#47 in Progress

#47 Lounge by five hotel pools Recovering from a massacre at the craps table.

This used to be the spot of our favorite hole in the wall casino. Progress I guess.

Looks like we’ll miss a beautiful day in LA.

#88 in Progress

#88. Certified Wine Professional Nothing like a three hour course at UCLA to cap off a stressful Monday. At least there was wine. This is the beginning of a two year program that will certify us as wine professionals.

Training Devin and Brittany for the zombie apocalypse.

The Secret Beef Restaurant

It’s been said to be the most exclusive restaurant in LA. The only way to get a reservation at Totoraku is to have Chef’s phone number. We were fortunate enough to be invited by Anna, one of our buyers, who is currently being wooed by a boy with the digits. The chef, Kaz Oyama, is considered the king of beef. Almost everything served (there…

Working was not exactly what Brittany had in mind for Spring Break.

Went to a proper soccer bar to watch the “Classico” Barcelona vs. Madrid game. Had an English breakfast and then a walk.

As I have said before, chefs are our rock stars and tonight we got to hang with some good ones at the All Star Chef Classic. The legendary Roy Choi who is credited with the gourmet food truck revolution was a highlight, as was Donald Link whose New Orleans restaurant, Couchon, is one of my favorites.

Wait honey, it’s not what you think.

#33 in Progress

33. See Five Bar Bands He’s not what he used to be, but Michael McDonald in a bar was worth the price of admission.

Waiting for the drilling to begin.

#18 Done

#18: Small Town Festival Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Festival is only second to New York’s in size. The normally 75,000 person town grew to over 1.2 million last year when St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Saturday. Because this year fell on a rainy Monday, crowds were closer to 400K, but festive as ever.