Alex

Rob told me he plans to release seats for reservations only 30 days out, so we have until the first week of June to make a final commitment and give him a head count. Feel free to post before then, of course, but I'll post another reminder toward the end of May. I'd also be glad to answer questions or give advice re Airbnb, Hotwire, or Priceline. And Rob also will be posting at some point about lodging, etc. I'm looking forward to this trip a lot.

Here are a couple of five-star Airbnbs for your consideration. This is a 600 sq ft cottage in Carondelet with a regular bed and a sofa bed (and an air mattress, if needed). It's absurdly cheap -- currently $262 for four nights. The only drawback is that it looks to have only one window air conditioner for the whole place. I'd ask the hosts about that. I'd also ask the hosts to confirm the free off-street parking ("free parking on premises"). This is an even cheaper ($204 for four nights) private bedroom w/private bath in Central West End. Again, I'd confirm the free off-street parking. Rob says that CWE has a lot of weekend partying going on, but the reviews say the place is quiet., And this one was our backup choice. It has three bedrooms, so it'd be perfect if anyone wants to arrange sharing a place. It's currently $424 for four nights. Also free off-street parking.

Ms Alex and I are big fans of Airbnb; in fact, we've already booked ours for this trip. In addition to whatever lodging information Rob provides, I'd be glad to list a few good-looking and very reasonably priced places that popped up during my search.

Confirmed Alex +1 kaybe #? robirdstx +1 DiggingDogFarm « Chris Hennes +1 joiei #? Maybe IowaDee cdh Smithy heidih chileheadmike

Thank you. Also, someone taking Antabuse (disulfiram) might still have a reaction.

Confirmed Alex +1 kaybe #? robirdstx +1 DiggingDogFarm « Chris Hennes +1 joiei #? Maybe IowaDee cdh Smithy

Sounds good. July 13 at Bulrush is a go, plus however many days on either side you choose to stay. We'll probably be in town at least Thursday through Monday. Hope you can make it; it'll be good to see you again.

Thanks for the quick replies. So far, we have: Alex +1 kaybe ? robirdstx +1 DiggingDogFarm « Chris Hennes +1 joiei ? (IowaDee is a maybe)

This forum has been quiet for a while ("Yeah, too quiet"), so I thought I bump it to see if anyone else wanted to join in. I also wanted to start firming up the date. I know it's still 4+ months away, but I'm a planner, and our summer is already filling in, with two conferences and two concerts already set. I also like getting an early start on lodging reservations. I haven't gotten joiei's final rank order yet, but it'll make a difference only with how close the top two dates are. The May and June dates are clearly at the bottom of the order. In fact, May has already been sent down to the minors. By all three decision methods -- plurality/majority, Borda count, and Condorcet -- July 12-14 edged July 26-27 for first place. And even if we were going to consider a run-off between the two, the former is still favored, as one person strongly preferred the 26th but could be there for the 12th, while another couldn't make the 26th at all. (This was the tiebreaker I mentioned in my OP). Also, I think it'd be moderately cool to celebrate Bastille Day in a city founded by the French (even if Louis IX did die while on a crusade). So let's say July 12-14 unless a compelling reason arises otherwise. The 13th makes the most sense for dinner at Bulrush. Then, if we like, we can work on other meals and activities when we reconvene our planning session in a few months. In the meantime, ideas and suggestions are more than welcome. However, just so Rob can do some preliminary planning, I think it would be a good idea to get an initial headcount. Could everyone post whether it'll be just you or if you'll have a +1, +2, etc? I'll be a +1. So far, we have, in order of appearance: Alex kaybe robirdstx DiggingDogFarm Chris Hennes joiei (IowaDee is a maybe) Thanks. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone (and Chris for the second time).

You can, but you have to play the Greweling Drinking Game. For each liqueur you omit, you have to consume ¾ oz of said liqueur, just to make sure you substitute appropriately. Actually, I have no idea what I'm talking about. The closest I ever got to making liqueur-enhanced chocolates was a batch of bourbon balls. But I did sample the bourbon.

For the former, The Little Beet Table.

Hello, Arnold. Could you tell us something about yourself, what sorts of food or beverage topics you're especially interested in, etc?

Thanks, joiei. Obviously the two July dates are preferred, but could you rank-order the four weekends anyway?

Thanks, Rob. Southwest used to run a very cheap non-stop from Grand Rapids to STL, but it was discontinued a couple of years ago.

Chris, could you still rate those three, please, even if they're very close?

What are the closest commercial airports to you?

Lovely stuff! And welcome to eG.

I suspect most of you have read gfron1's forum, "Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)." That new restaurant, Bulrush, is, fingers crossed, only about a month away from opening and has already generated some buzz, primarily for its focus on foraged ingredients. Some of us were thinking, then, that it'd be fun to head to St Louis this summer to have dinner at Bulrush and, it's hoped, spend some time with Rob. And there are a bunch of other great attractions in the city, including art museums, the City Museum, Botanical Garden, and Major League Baseball (St Louis Cardinals). Oh, and St Louis-style pizza and ribs. Later on we can organize any activities (e.g., ballgame) and decide which night to eat at Bulrush (Saturday seems the most likely). In the meantime, here are four possible weekends, chosen because the Cards will be playing at home. So if you could humor my inner geek, please rank-order them from your most-preferred to your least-preferred weekend. You can do this however you like, but the easiest probably would be simply putting 1, 2, 3, and 4 by the dates. Some dates may be tied -- for example, if you have two weekends that are equally good (or equally bad) -- but please think hard and rank-order them anyway. Separate from the rankings, please say if you might attend one of the weekends, but the odds are less than 50-50 at this point. Also, please say which weekend, if any, is absolutely out of the question. I'll potentially use that information as a kind of tiebreaker. May 31-June 2 June 21-23 July 12-14 July 26-28

Dave's two, of course. Also these: Bar Sótano, Rick Bayless's new speakeasy underneath Frontera Grill, Kumiko, "a formal bar," by former Oriole folks (the restaurant, not the baseball team) The Albert, a restaurant, features "science-minded cocktails" (Albert = Albert Einstein)

Are you especially interested in any particular area(s) of the city?

There was an interesting comment yesterday in Tom Sietsema's weekly chat in the Washington Post about Black Dirt in Kansas City:

That's good information, Franci. Here are my thoughts, then. FWIW, we currently have five coolers in our wine cellar (aka our basement), not counting the two dead ones out back. It sounds like you plan to move in the not-too-distant future, so not-too-big and not-too-expensive would be the way to go for now, I think. And it looks like an awkward space, so you probably wouldn't want anything too large or intrusive. And just from an aestheic standpoint, putting a wine fridge against the short end of the island doesn't feel right. Could you put a relatively narrow one in front of the outlet we see in the picture? One choice for you to make is the cooling system: thermoelectric or compressor. Thermoelectric is lighter; puts out a bit less heat; is usually, but not always, quieter; and usually, but not always, costs less to run. They're pretty much all made in China. Compressor units, especially the aforementioned GE and other higher-end brands like Marvel (we have one of each) tend to be sturdier and more reliable. A Google search will provide lots of links about this. In addition to the two compressor units, we also have two 32-bottle Cuisinart thermoelectric coolers, which are no longer being made, plus the first one we ever bought, a two-door Vinotemp, one side of which recently died. (The two dead ones out back are both thermoelectric.) So if I were in your shoes, my feet probably would hurt. I also would opt for a narrow (18 or 21 bottle capacity) and less expensive thermoelectric unit from Bed Bath & Beyond and their ubiquitous 20%-off coupons. If you do decide to go bigger and better, you might want to check out this used GE fridge near Pompano Beach. If it works well and isn't noisy, I'd offer $400 and settle for $450.

Questions: What capacity (current + anticipated future purchases) would you like? Free-standing or under-counter? Any size constraints? Maximum price (if any)?

I never met an olive I didn't like -- except for those green ones stuffed with pimentos, which I despise.

My solution