2011 in Review: Top Ten Meals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10	Ocean Prime (Dallas, TX) This may have been rated higher (or lower) if I could vividly remember this meal.  But I think it was pretty good.  Plus it introduced me to Penner Ash Pinot Noir.
9	Le Perraudin  (Paris, France) A traditional French meal in a traditional French restaurant.
8	Schweine Janes (Dusseldorf, Germany) Slow roasted pork sandwich.  What more do you need to know?
7	Preist Station Cafe (Groveland, CA) An absolutely gorgeous view of the sunset and cheap bottle of wine to go with some pretty good comfort food.
6	Restaurant in Beilstein Germany I went with the Schnitzel.  It was delicious.  Plus, there was the beautiful view of the Mosel.
5	Wayfare Tavern (San Francisco, CA) After a weekend out basking in the beauty of the Sierra Nevadas, could there be a better way to celebrate than putting Effingham Inlet oysters in your face?
4	Hotel Villa Melsheimer (Reil, Germany) This is more because this may be my favorite day of 2011.  And this is my favorite meal of my favorite day of 2011.  There was a meal earlier in the day (and referenced about) that was tastier.  But for the overall vibe of Zweibelkuchen and Federweisser and 40+ kilometers of biking, nothing could beat this.  And, yes, I still love you Amy.
3	Au Bon Bol (Brussels, Belgium) .Of all the great meal I had in Europe in 2011, this is the one I obsess on.  It could be because I hadn’t eaten, thanks to Lufthansa’s 24 hour Gander delay, a good meal in two days.  It could be because, thanks to paleo, I hadn’t eaten any noodles in over 6 months.  But whatever the reason, the artisan noodles with crispy duck were absolutely sublime.
2	Lucia (Oak Cliff, Texas) The first time I ate at what I now consider my favorite Dallas restaurant I felt like I was in Portland. That’s how good I think this place is.  It takes me to a much better place.   The second time I ate here I surpassed my first experience.  Eat everything here all the time always.
1	Elliot’s Oyster House (Seattle WA) It is impossible to consider any other meal in 2011 as better than this one.  It started off with a dozen pacific oysters, followed by geoduck, crab cakes, a giant serving of more crab and then another dozen pacific oysters.  And all of this on a dock overlooking Puget Sound and drinking a couple of bottles of a delightful Oregon Pinot Noir.

2011 in Review: Top Fifteen Pictures

In reviewing my 2011 pictures two things became obvious to me.  One, I need to take more pictures.  Even though I took almost twice as many pictures as the year before, that was mostly due to taking many more pictures at fewer “picture” opportunities. The second was that there was no obvious best picture of 2011.

In 2009 this was by far the best picture I took of an old couple in a café in Paris.:

In 2010 it was this self explanatory picture:

So, for 2011 I narrowed it down to these fifteen in no particular order.

2011 in Review: Top Five TV Shows

The Golden age of TV that was the Oughts is long gone.  Must See Tee Vee like Lost, The Shield, The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood and The Wire are now just distant memories relived by Netfilx or HBO-Go streaming.  But there are still a few shows that demand my near immediate attention when they air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5	Portlandia (IFC) A quirky sketch comedy about my beloved Portland makes the list by mocking my beloved Portland in a very quirky, comedic and beloved way.
4	The League (FX) Nick Kroll may be just about the funniest person on TV right now.  And The League may have had the funniest scene on TV in 2011 with Sarah Silverman and Jeff Goldblum demonstrating how they eat sorbet.
3	Homeland (Showtime) Essentially a smarter 24 with Clarie Danes being much hotter and crazier than Keifer Sutherland and Mandy Patakin playing the same role he’s played on Criminal Minds and Dead Like Me.
2	Archer (FX)  Holy shit snacks!!  This is such classic me putting a show like this this high on my list.
1	Breaking Bad (AMC) It’s the only show on this list that rises to the level and even surpases the shows listed in the introduction.  In my opinion, and that of Chuck Klosterman, it’s the best show ever.

Also receiving votes:  Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Children's Hospital, Community and Modern Family

2011 in Reivew: Top Five Movies

Seriously??  Do you even read this blog?  I don’t go to movies. They are terrible.  There’s only been a handful of good movies made since Fargo.  So I don’t waste my time with them anymore. And I would advise you to do the same.

2011 in Review: Top Five Beverages

 

This was a good year to pour beverages down my face.  Let’s review, shall we?

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 (Tie)	Hendricks Martini at Mortons / Barb’s Hendricks Martini Having just be turned onto Hendricks Gin, I surprised Ryan the bartender at Mortons after he asked if I wanted my usual Saphire martini.  After my first he suggested that it would be good with muddled cucumber and a salt and pepper rim.  “I’ll have one of those then.” I said.  And then had another.  And maybe had another.  Now Barb makes a delicious version.  But don’t drink one if you’re trying to sober up.
4	La Chouffe This was my go to Belgian Rally Ale during the base playoffs.  And it worked right up until game seven.  Yes I had neglected to have any on hand for game six.  Oh, and they gave me that nice hat during their happy hour at the Belgian Beer Fest.
3	The Mèdoc at Le Perraudin This was easily the best wine I had in Euroland in 2011.  I wish I had taken a picture of the board so I could tell you exactly what it was.
2	Fedefweisser at Hotel Villa Melsheimer in Reil  I’m not sure if it was the intoxicating view of the Mosel Valley, the intoxicatingly delicious Zweibelkuchen, the intoxicatingly leisurely bike ride along the Mosel or our intoxicatingly cute waitress Amy, but this young, cloudy sweet wine hit the schpott.
1	Westvleteren Trappist Ale  They only sold it twice a day during the Belgian Beer Fest.  And I just happened to be in line returning my glass.  JT had poopooed it.  But he lies with his lying mouth.  It was real and spectacular.

2011 in Review: Top Five Worst Deaths

As noted in a previous blog entry, this was a year in which some truly horrible and death-worthy people died.  But it was also a year in which some great and visionary people died.

5	REM I’m not going to apologize for their being the significant college band of my college days.  Yes, they are mostly a parody of themselves now.  But back before MTV would show them, they were greatness.  RIP World Leader Pretend.
4	Peter Falk Columbo is one of my all-time favorite shows of all time forever, always.  And that would not be the case without the greatest of Peter Falk.  And try to find a funnier movie in the 70s than The InLaws.
3	Christopher Hitchens One of the great thinkers of the last half century.  His writings in The Nation, Slate and The Atlantic were go to articles for me the past decade.  I wish I was 1/10th as literate as he.
2	Steven Jobs There were personal computers before the Mac, There were MP3 players before the iPod.  There were smart phones before the iPhone.  There were tablet computers before the iPad.  But, through his leadership and guidance, the gold standard for all of those products were set.  If only more tech companies would follow his ethic of “we’re not going to sell crap that’s barely usable”.
1	Valcav Havel There certainly is something romantic about a writer leading his country against socialist totalitarians and into freedom and democracy.  It doesn’t hurt that I’ve personally seen the greatest that is the modern Czech Republic.   Mmmmmm beer and pork knuckle.   What???

2011 in Review: Top 5 Worst Moments

As years go, 2011 barely makes it into the top 10 of 21st Century years – thank you 2005.  While there was some incredible travel and food and wine and beer, there was also the hottest summer ever, and not in the fun way.

5	Landing in Gander, Newfoundland  There are few worse words you can hear while flying over the north Atlantic than “We’re having to turn back and land in Gander Canada.”  It’s even worse auf Deutsch.  A mysterious smell and a lack of Airbus 340 mechanics at this remote “international” airport delayed my trip to Europe by a day but added an additional country to my three country trip.  But the fuckers at Canadian customs didn’t even stamp my brand new passport.
4	Landing in Frankfurt Flughafen  After 24 of practically no sleep, I finally was in Frankfurt.  The problem, however, was that the original plan was to acclimate for a day in the ‘dorf.  But now there was no time to acclimate and didn’t even know what the new plan was.  Eventually JT talked me off the panic limb and I made my way to Brussels.
3	Signing Up for AT&T Uverse This was largely chronicled in this blog posting.  But I want to reiterate and make it perfectly clear – FUCK YOU AT&T!!!
2	Wallet Stolen in Paris  To be fair, if you’re going to get your wallet stolen, doing so in Paris makes a far better story than Pleasant Grove.  But try not to do it with less than €150 and your pre-paid train ticket home from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt.
1	David Fucking Freese

2011 in Review: Top Five Best Deaths

This was a great year for horrible people to die. Or for great characters to die horribly.  As morbid as it may seem, this is a list of my favorite deaths of 2011.

 

 

5	Muammar Quadafi – Sirte, Libya  Finally our long national struggle to spell his name the same way twice is over.
4	Osama bin Laden – Abbotabad, Pakistan My Tea Party friends tell me killing bin Laden is the only good thing Barack Hussein Obama has ever done. OK, I don’t have any friends in the Tea Party. And by “friends in the Tea Party”, I mean “friends”.
3	Kim Jong-Il – Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Truly one of the most horrible humans in a family of horrible humans.  He let his people starve as he ate and drank and fucked like a king.  But I hear it was an excellent golfer.  And he was most certainly a snazzy dresser.
1 (Tie)	Gustavo Fring and Uncle Tio – Santa Fe, NM *Spoiler Alert* But really, this happened months ago.  And if you’re not on board with Breaking Bad by now, then too bad*. They essentially died together.  Although Gus lasted a few glorious seconds longer.  And I included Uncle Tio because I was having a hard time coming up with a fifth great death. And this is as good of a time as any to go off on my Gus Fring rant.  While Breaking Bad is the greatest TV show ever (sorry about that. The Wire, you’ve been usurped), the character of Gus Fring, no matter how great he was, was simply unbelievable.  One becomes a drug lord for the money, the glamor the women and the power.  Not to pretend to be a manager of a chicken joint.

* But if this has persuaded you to try Breaking Bad and you wish to order the first season on Blu-Ray, may I recommend this link -- Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

Walkabout 2011: Day 12—Last Full Day in Euroland

They let you sleep anywhere in Paris.

One last Bröchten at Schweine Janes.

And the Schmutziger Führer is born.  (a joke for one).

Walkabout 2011: Day 11—A Farewell to Wallet (and Toenail)

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Walkabout 2011: Day 9–More Mozel and Federweißer

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Walkabout 2011: Day 8—Biking (and Drinking) Down the Mozel

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We actually started in Cochem, but I didn’t turn on my biking app on my iPhone until Valwig for a 40 mile bike ride.

Walkabout 2011: Day 6—A Day in the ‘Dorf

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This was pretty much a rest day. I just walk around the 'Dorf and got lost a few times. Luckily I found my way back to JT's where we were off for more Alt Bier and Italian food.

Walkabout 2011: Day 5—Final Day in Brussels

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Walkabout 2011: Day 4–More Belgian Beerfest Fun

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Walkabout 2011: Day 3–Finally in Belgium

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Winter League Week 9: The Pictures

Yeah, I’m way behind with this stuff.  Winter League is over and I’m just getting around to the penultimate (see what I did there?) week.

 

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