Schneier

I have already decided that caffeine is the correct strategy. Bruce

I've been to both Craft in NY and CraftSteak in Vegas before. Both are good restaurants, and I expect I'll have a great meal. I'm more worried about staying awake for a 10:30 show. That's 1:30 AM body-clock time. Bruce

Do you know this place? How long has it been open? Bruce

Hmmm...this should be interesting. Less interesting than it could be. I have dinner reservations--with my company--at CraftSteak at the MGM Grand tomorrow night. And I fly home early Friday morning. Karen is coming with, and we're going to see the new Cirque de Soleil show, Zumanity, after dinner. Bruce

Today I had to wake up early to do a radio show. I was the guest on some random East Coast show, talking about my new book. I went back to sleep after I was done. When I woke up a second time, I ate something. Wednesday Breakfast: Apple turnover from Patricks French Bakery and Cafe, brought over last night by our dinner guest. Orange juice. I know; not very exciting. I need to have a chat with Mr. Breakfast. This morning I have to deal with a bunch of boxes that are heading into storage, and to write a short article on the JetBlue privacy flap. Tomorrow I'm flying off to Las Vegas. Where is everybody? This sort of thing is way more fun with people making snide comments in the background. Bruce

I've done that. I've done worse, too. I've flown overnight to Europe, given a lecture, and then flown home that day without ever renting a hotel room. It's not very fun. Bruce

Which brings up an interesting question.... Who the hell invented honey roasted peanuts, and what were they thinking? Those things are awful with a capital "A." In American Airlines first class, you get little bags of almonds. Marginally better. Bruce

Insert obligatory "buy it on eBay" suggestion here. Bruce

Is that the name of Kellers new place? Now that's an inspired suggestion. Bruce

One more item.... Last night I opened this wine with dinner: Oremus Tokaji Furmint 2001. It's a dry tokaji, from Hungary, that is great with things like salad. Only one bottle left in my basement. Bruce

Airplane yummies? What airline do you travel? Bruce

We put it raw in the salad. I'll probably put more in today's salad. Bruce

Thanks. I've been needing some new Seattle suggestions. Does anyone know if the restaurant in the W Hotel is any good? Bruce

This year we joined a CSA. That's "Community Supported Agriculture." Basically, you pay one price in the beginning of the year and get a box of vegetables per week, all summer long. You don't get to decide what you get; you get whatever's fresh. We share a share with another couple. This week our box included: a pie pumpkin, an acorn squash, salad mix (assorted interesting greens), spinach, bell peppers, onions, beets, broccoli, mizuna, an unripe tomato. On the way home we decided what to cook. Tuesday Dinner: Salad (greens, spinach, mizuna, peppers) with assorted dressing choices. Baked squash, both the acorn and the pumpkin. Onion soup. The onion soup only came out okay. The onions were the random ones from the CSA. The stock was a chicken/vegetable stock we made in a pressure cooker out of our freezer stock bag. The cheese was a combination of leftover cheeses from the refrigerator that we thought would work. Karen thinks she cooked the onions a bit too long. I figured that the cheese would cancel out the soup's ills, and for the most part they did. (I wondered if onion soup is always like that: the cheese is necessary to balance out the flavors. Karen remembers that Julia Child says that onion soup can be served with or without cheese, implying that it is supposed to taste good either way.) We talked about inviting people over for dinner, but decided to eat alone. About a half hour before eating, though, a friend called and wanted to drop something off for us. So we invited her to dinner. We easily had enough food for three. She arrived with a trio of fantastic desserts from this new bakery: Patrick's French Bakery and Cafe, on 66th Street in Richfield: an apple chibouste tart, a pear-chocolate chibouste tart, and a strawberry chocolate fondant cake. All delicious. The leftover pumpkin and acorn squash is going to become a pie, maybe tomorrow. And one of the links above claims that mizuna is good in soups--we may try that tomorrow, too. Bruce

It feels weird eating with all you people looking over my shoulder. I kind of want to set a good example for everyone. Maybe I will tomorrow. Tuesday lunch: A bologna sandwich. It was better than it sounds. Boar's Head Lebanon Belogna--it's sometimes available in supermarket delis, and worth seeking out--cooked in the toaster oven. I like cooking it; it's a bit crispy, more flavorful, warm, and less greasy. Wheat bread, and two different mustards: a coarse French mustard I bought the last time I was in Beaune, and Ridleys Dograpper smooth and strong English mustard. I like them both, so I put each on half a sandwich. Cornichons. Fresh apple cider from some random orchard in LaCrescent. I have to make a trip to the Post Office. Later we get our shipment of CSA vegetables, which is likely to determine dinner's direction. Bruce

Wow. Can I come along next time? I've noticed the same phenomenon, actually. When you taste great wine after great wine, your scale temporally out of whack, and you start saying critical things about a wine that's probably better than anything else being drunk elsewhere on the planet. Bruce

Mistral. Wild Ginger. Shiro's Sushi. Bruce

Re breakfast: It's less organization and more time. I almost never have to wake to an alarm clock, and almost never have to rush out the door. Exceptions are when I have 6:00 AM flights--like I will on Thursday. Then I'm stuck scrounging something not-too-annoying to eat at the airport. Re travel: In some ways it makes it easier. I eat at good restaurants all over the country because I'm there anyway. Bruce

Mississippi Market in St. Paul. Bruce

I've done that before. I can do it again. Bruce

Hi, I'm Bruce. Looks like I got tagged for this week. I'm going to start with today, because I'm not sure I can remember yesterday in enough detail. Last week I flew to Hartford, CT on Wednesday, to San Diego on Thursday, to New York on Saturday, and home on Sunday. Karen met me in San Diego, came to New York, and we returned home together. The reason that's relevant is that there wasn't much food in the house when we returned. Yesterday we did a quick shopping trip at a co-op we had to drive by. I like co-ops, but it can be hard to get normal food there. The selection of breakfast cereals is pretty bizarre: nothing normal, only various brands of Healthy-Os. Tuesday Breakfast: Spelt flakes and milk. If quinoa is the super grain of the future, spelt is the regular grain of the past. It's got a nice nutty flavor, and it's not too sweet. (For more information, visit www.spelt.com--where else?) Oh, and a banana. (Sadly, you can also visit www.banana.com. "The banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world's largest herb!" The Internet knows everything....) Do people still eat cereal and milk for breakfast? (Looks like www.breakfast.com is still up for grabs.) Bruce

Yipes! Um, okay, er, well. I guess I can do this. It'll be complicated.... Bruce

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, Nathan's was my absolute favorite restaurant out there. They served french fries in these plastic boats, which made great bathtub toys. Bruce

A cabin "up North" is de rigur for Minnesotans. Us, we go to Canoe Bay. The food is better, and we don't have to cook, clean, wash, or get dressed if we don't want to. Bruce

I loved Perugia. Bruce