I woke up this morning, packed my bag, and hopped in the car to head off on the 15 towards Los Angeles.
Save for my unrequited love of singing in the car, the drive was uneventful. I used my solo time to contemplate the coming weeks; then upon arrival spent hours cuddling with puppies.
We went to C & O Trattoria for dinner, near Venice Beach, where we had been several times before.
That's my brother in the picture, happily posing with the house Chianti. It's a self-serve wine ordeal, you simply use a crayon to mark how many glasses you've had. Gotta love the honor system!
They have gigantic portions, so we split a dish. Tonight's special was pasta with a pesto cream sauce, and very fresh shrimp, scallops, and swordfish. The pasta was al dente, and the seafood was flavorful and perfectly cooked. Very simple, but often the simple things are the best.
Dinner was followed by more puppies, and my last bottle of 03' Donatella "Prima Donna" Brunello di Montalcino, a truly great wine.
I've also been asked to assist some very amazing chefs at the Food and Wine magazine's grand tasting event next Saturday, the 6th. I'll be working with a Food and Wine best new chef winner, as well as Gail Simmons, and quite a few former Top Chef contestants including Fabio Vivani, who loved my food last time we met. It's a real honor, and I'm constantly humbled by being offered all of these incredible opportunities.
So I'll live it up for the next couple of days, then return to Las Vegas to work with Hubert Keller and several other highly regarded chefs.
It's going to be a good week.
Adios!
No comments:
Post a Comment