Cawl My Cell

My wife never sends me flirty texts like she did when we were first going out. Actually, I'm glad there was no such thing as a cell phone back then, especially in my college days. Otherwise I would have had to listen to girls from Long Island talking even more.

Dalí

I'm not a restaurant reviewer, but I'll take the gig if anyone is offering. The wife and I had a great meal Saturday night at Dalí. No town is complete without a quality Spanish joint and now San Mateo's got one. It's taken over half of the old Gator's space. I was sorry to see the neo-soul entry in the local dining scene bite the dust, but at least it wasn't replaced by an Applebee's.

http://www.sdalirestaurant.com/index2.html

There is quite an array of tapas on the menu so we had to mull it over a bit. I want to go there with my FC posse soon so we can order 20 plates or so and get a bite of each.

We were comped the Gambas al Ajillo (garlic shrimp) and they did not disappoint. The sauce was more broth based than what I've had in the past. I made my version for dinner last night, to rave reviews.

The Jamon Serrano was good but not the ethereal paper thin slices of Iberian ham I had conjured up. One of my future recipes calls for it but at $18 for 8 oz. at latienda.com, I think I'll have to make do with prosciutto.

The mainstay tapa you'll find in every bar in Spain was next. They called it Tortilla de Patatas but I've called it Tortilla Española ever since I was wolfing down chunks of it with a beer or coffee when I was roaming Madrid in the fall of 1980. I've had, and made, better than the Dali version. I've also had, and made, worse. Theirs was a little dry but pretty good.

We also had a damn good beet salad before they brought out the piece de resistance, Paella de Mariscos. My old land lady in Madrid cranked out a heavenly version but this one came close. The rice and seafood were cooked perfectly and it had chunks of chicken and chorizo. I've tried making this before and have only embarrassed myself. When I was living in sin on 7th Ave in SF many moons ago, I had friends come over for what has since become known as the “crunchy paella”.

Towards the end of the meal, we were visited by the Argentinian owner. We told her we saw The Chron review. She said the phone was ringing off the hook for days after that. She also informed us of the flamenco and tango shows they put on. I'm not sure how they make room for it in their tight space. I practiced the tango in my closet when I got home to get a feel for it. Anyway, at 8pm all the tables were full so I think we have a winner here.

As we walked down B St. to the car, I noticed a 20 something kid bopping down the road with his headphones on. I can't figure the younger generation out. When I'm walking the mean streets of San Mateo, I want to be alert to every nuance. Like the fact that a foot race was breaking out. Two prepubescent longhairs decided to take each other on, but they were polite enough to wait until we got out of their way.

See What Sticks

I topped 20,000 hits today. It took less than four years! I believe this is a singular achievement in the blog world.

I talked to TK today. He's on pins and needles waiting for my next post.

I think there's some bad juju hanging over the abode. Both the fridge and the dryer conked out this week. But it did give me an opportunity to help the economy and go appliance shopping with the wife.

I got some financial advice from The Wig on his recent visit. I asked him what I should do with my retirement account. He said he'd mull it over and come up with a plan. A few days later I got an email. “Put all $500 on red the next time you go to Vegas.”

Apparently, the Jersey shore has changed a great deal since I spent time there in the 60's and 70's with my parents, siblings and Philly cousins, at least according to the highbrow E show, Jersey Shore. In a related item, Mike “The Situation” will be Wolf Blitzer's special guest on The Situation Room. Yeah, I know The Soup did it first. They must have gotten the idea from my pending blog file.

I'm thinking about getting a cat suit like the one J Lo wore on New Year's Eve.

Whatever

Who was the shit for brains advertising genius that came up with this one?

I prefer this interpretation.

http://www.suckatlife.com/bucketOfDoes.html

The Tradition Continues

I mentioned Chapeau in my last post. Our forays into SF to dine there with the families we went to France with back in 2005 have become our newest tradition. We had another outstanding meal there Sunday, preceded by big excitement. We were on our way in when the Green Monster, aka #1's Expedition, lost all power. #1 morphed into Sully Sullenberger and safely navigated the crew into a gas station in Daly City on nothing but momentum and sangfroid.

After we came to a stop, we began to discuss our options while The Exec took a peek under the hood. He doesn't know anything about cars, he just wanted to see what an SUV engine looked like. We decided to cab it in to the city and were lucky enough to get a mini-van that could hold all of us, although not particularly comfortably. Mike got us to our destination within a few minutes of our reservation time. The effusive owner welcomed us with open arms and sat us immediately. Since nobody had to drive home, the boys started off with a couple Grey Goose and XO martinis, fine French vodkas each. We all went with the three course prix fixe and had a leisurely and exquisite meal, basking in bonhomie. When it was time to go home, Mike came back to get us. I think I still owe somebody taxi fare.

Overdue?

No, according to #1. I was concerned that I had to crank out a post yesterday, when I was not quite ready, but I got clarification from #1. I ran into him at our posh club, shortly after I had a locker room chat with The Exec. I asked #1 if I had to post yesterday. He let me know today was my deadline. What a relief! So next Sunday is my next deadline. My magnanimous friend even let me know that today's post didn't have to be complete by 1:22pm. He's clearly not one to stand on ceremony.

He and his wife also joined us last night at the Catfight, the annual hoops game at NDB pitting the Notre Dame Tigers against the Presentation Panthers. In a nail biter, the Tigers emerged victorious, their first league win this year. A friend behind us pointed out that my daughter had some smooth moves. I explained that genetics had played a major role.

I was fortunate earlier this week to receive a visit from my long time pal The Wig. The Jersey based boy was in Tahoe for a week's skiing with family, and made an overnight stop in the Bay Area. I was Poncho to his Cisco Kid, as he drank whiskey while I drank the wine. I served him some Woodford Reserve I had been hiding from my wife for a while. We had dinner at Sweet Basil, one of Foster City's few good restaurants. Give it a try sometime.

https://webpos.wlinformation.com/zonicorderingbr/?str=Sweet-Basil-Thai-Cuisine-Foster-City

Speaking of good chow, we're heading out to dinner tonight in the city. If you're lucky maybe I'll get some new blog material and you won't have to wait until next Sunday. I'm looking forward to our return to Chapeau!, our first time at its new location.

http://www.chapeausf.com/

Gotta Write

#1 says so, thus it must be. I know on which side my bread is buttered. He gave me some left over Pork Tinga, which I've just finished off. I've been running around the house warbling “Pork Tinga”, sung to the tune of “Goldfinger”.

SB1 left yesterday for DC. I slipped him a C note on his way out, mainly because I'm an easy mark. It came in handy as he had to grab a cab from Dulles because he got in late and the buses stopped running. At least that's what I was told.

I'm going to take SB2 to the natatorium today. We both need the exercise. We had an interesting event occur when we took him for a haircut the other day. It seems we forgot to take him to the bathroom for a while so when we sat down at the “salon”, my wife noticed his diaper was hanging at about his knees. Whoops! We sprung into action. Fortunately l had a spare in my car. When I got back in, my wife had him in one of those nylon robes the old ladies use when they get their hair dyed blue. “I'm ready for my perm, Mr. DeMille.”

Have I ever mentioned that my buddy The Exec is taking an Italian as a third language class?