Fussili and wine

Several points...
One: Schockingschadenfreude, you ass, why do you not live where I live so I could have invited you to dinner tonight?

Two: Fucking fussili. My mom was addicted to them, and as a kid I really didn't get it, but I think I'm beginning to. Tonight's dish: baked fussili with tomatoes, onion, super-hooper-dooper organic asparagus (*perfect* thickness stalks, thank you very much), black olives, capers, button mushrooms, olive oil and fancy black pepper, and crumbled feta on top. Basically what was in the fridge, minus the leeks which I'm saving for a frittata with turkey bacon -- to die for. Holy crap, is it good! And it's going to be better tomorrow. How do I know? My mom's fussili creations, which I positively dreaded as a kid, were always better the next day, after the tomato had lost its zing and the rest of the flavors (always black olives, always!) had melted together.

Three: Fucking Rex Goliath Pinot Noir! Total bullshit by itself, awesome, I mean epic, with a mediterranean dish.

Clearly I've had, like, half a bottle of the stuff :-)

All the pretty horses

I started this book during my trip to Death Valley and just finished it. Whether because the setting in which I read it was perfect or simply because it sweeps you along with its impeccable pace, I really enjoyed it. It's hardly a deep book, but it was enjoyable, in a simple way.
Unlike Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy does not bother me with the liberties he takes with English grammar and syntax. I'm debating whether to read the remaining two Border Trilogy books. Probably sometime, but not right away.

My Blueberry Nights

The new Wong Kar Wai movie has received mediocre reviews in the press, but I thought it was amazing. This is WKW's first movie made in America with Hollywood actors, and he picked good ones: Jude Law and Natalie Portman were incredible together in Closer, and both do a great job here. Norah Jones is fantastic, and I love how her hair actually has a screen presence. Rachel Weisz is brilliant, as always, and David Strathairn, who was an unknown to me, impressed me. The most memorable thing about the movie is the grain, although the fact that "Try a little tenderness" is deconstructed during the first half of the second love story is up there too. Yeah, I don't know what the critics were complaining about: this is not an obvious masterpiece like "In the mood for love", but it's really really excellent.

Three memorable wines

I hosted a wine night last night, and we went through 3 bottles of whites and 12 bottles of reds. I didn't sample everything, because I was too busy talking to people, but I did try maybe 5 or 6 of them, and three stood out. I had the Orleans Hill Cote Zero (2006) early in the night, and liked it, despite the "organic sulfite free" label. I noticed the Stolpman 2005 Syrah later in the night, and Jeff told me a little bit about where it's made and who Stolpman is. And finally, I wrapped up the night with the 2005 Echelon Pinot Grigio, which I will come back to and try to cook for some time. All in all, a great success!

Point Break

BoingBoing has been doing a series of videos about a fictional French-German action-hero wannabe called Klaus Pierre. This Klaus Pierre dude is supposed to have come to LA because he wants to be America's next big action hero, and starts his quest by auditioning for a role as Keanu Reeves' character in Point Break ... which brings me to my post. Point Break was recently added to Hulu, so I had the opportunity to watch it a couple nights ago, and I really enjoyed it. Keanu has undoubtedly improved as an actor since, but Patrick Swayze was absolutely on top of his game at the time of this movie. The places, the atmosphere, the themes, they all made sense, and Isham's music was, as usual, fantastic. I especially liked the night surfing scenes, because they were really authentic as far as capturing the feel of a SoCal beach at night.

Honey Moon 2006 Viognier

I love this wine. I realize it's gimmicky, in the sense that you feel like you're drinking honeysuckle juice and not wine, but I could drink a bottle of it without realizing it. And tonight my housemate has made some really fancy iranian food, so I'm looking forward to reporting how it went with that...

Per Se

Per Se reminds the CC of why he doesn't go out to eat in the "white tablecloth" restaurants.

Pitch perfect food but emotionally frigid.

The CC assumes readers have heard of the above restaurant and Thomas Keller. There was a 9-course menu, etc. and it was excellent. However, it was the equivalent of dancing with someone who spends all their time more concerned about their hair not falling out of place than having a good time.

The CC will also note the nosebleed borderline-larcenious prices.

Mr. Keller should note that at those prices errors are not forgiven. A waiter trying to take away a course before the diner has finished not once but four times is clearly not acceptable particularly when the restaurant is 60% empty for "second seating" on a Saturday!

Leaning over to refill water and coffee in front of the diner while he/she is speaking is pretty much a no-no straight out of the Culinary School 101. That it happened repeatedly is simply unforgivable.

The idea isn't that Mr. Keller isn't brilliant (he is, and the CC is competely and utterly in awe!) It's that now that "sous vide" and "shaved salt" has spread far and wide into the repertoire of the average talented culinary student, and that Mr. Keller's discoveries are accessible to the average homecook, he needs to amp up his game, or drop the prices (or both.)

Let's turn to some current pop songs to finish the review.

Is the CC sorry he went?

Non, je ne regrette rien!

Would the CC go again?

Don't take me back to Per Se, no, No, NO!