Thoughts from the weekend...

This was a crazy busy weekend. Friday night, I worked as a sommelier for the Entre Upstairs portion of the underground restaurant scene. The theme this time was "A Fowl Affair", and everything had to do with chickens and ducks. I'm still amazed at what these guys can do with very little formal training, and small spaces to work with. Thoughts:

-I love the Clandestine Chef's take on White Castle burgers- I want a big bag of them for my birthday!

-People (me included) should realize when they are talking too much about a certain subject, and nobody else in the room gives a damn.

-Advil and Cava is a great combination to help sore joints.

-Sometimes, people in the restaurant service industry really hate their customers, and it makes me laugh.

Saturday night was the annual "In the Vineyard" event at Plaza Frontenac, to benefit the Edgewood Children's Home. A bunch of restaurants show up, and give out small bites, and local wine folks pour their wares. There are auctions to raise money for the home, and the ticket price goes to the charity as well. Thoughts:

-A HUGE thank you to my wife, and my friends Matt and Erin for helping me out. Even though there are other volunteers, you all were a great blessing!

-There are a lot of self-important, rich jerks in this town.

-I never thought I would try something like 2003 Harlan Maiden, and think "Wow, my palate must be getting tired, because this tastes like a lot of the other cabs I had tonight".
(Disclaimer- this is one of my favorite wines in the world. When you go to a wine tasting, you can only really taste about the first 8 or 10 wines you try. After that, palate fatigue sets in and it takes something with a lot of alcohol or acidity to stand out)

-The folks from Monarch, Niche, Acero, Herbies, etc can still cook in small portions- the food was amazing!)

-Canton liqueur is good.

That's it, folks- Have a fantastic week, don't let this bum weather get ya down. Tonight, I'm off to teach my class, and hit Dorm Room dinner at 33.

Cheers.