love letter

I remember a summer's day
I remember walking up to you
I remember my face turned red
And I remember staring at my feet
I remember before we met
I remember sitting next to you
And I remember pretending I wasn't looking

So we'll try and try
Even if it lasts an hour
With all our might
We'll try and make it ours
Cause we're on our way
We're on our way to fall in love

I remember conversations that only you will understand. The ones we've shared quietly drifting off to sleep, the ones that we laughed at together when the light turns green.

I remember decisions that we made. The ones that mean something. The ones that will impact tomorrow and the day after. Cabrillo. Lima. Madeleine cookies...

I remember watching the sun dry up the March rain and being happy. I remember my body splayed across my large bed and being happy that it's only for a moment.

I remember feeling that it's almost time and being happy.

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botegga in yountville

Ash Wednesday. No meat. I've been successful thus far. What better way to cure that insatiable carnivorous craving than to write about it?

A couple of weekends ago, Emmelle planned a wonderful Sunday afternoon for us highlighted by a splendid Thai massage and an afternoon meal at Michael Chiarello's Bottega restaurant in Napa Valley. We've been waiting to eat here for a long time, even having had to cancel a reservation a year earlier. Who wouldn't want to eat here? We have a finalist from Top Chef Masters' inaugural season in our own backyard!

I actually remember watching Chiarello on PBS a few years before food became a staple of television entertainment and always thought that he made great, exquisite food (I could also sense that he's probably a bit of a prick). Even now, I'll always stop and watch until at least the end of a segment if his Food TV show happens to be on air; everything he makes appears stunning, and he executes complex techniques so effortlessly. Even now, I feel like I can prepare a great rack of lamb and serve it to a group of ten on my backyard deck. I've never tried and I don't have a backyard, but Chiarello tells me I can. Not even Rachel Ray's thirty minute calorie bombs instill that sort of confidence in me.

I digress.

Our experience was enjoyable. It was a busy Sunday afternoon, and weekend wine aficionados packed the large dining area. Hands down the best thing we ate was the sumptuous Green Eggs and Ham (below), which coincidentally, appeared on Food TV's Best Thing I Ever Ate program.

In general, I try to limit our epicurean excursions of Italian places to uniquely exceptional establishments. I can't stand slurping down a pricey plate of pasta when I know that I can execute it better in my own kitchen with my dull knives and substandard skills. However, when we do dine at finer Italian (or Italian-inspired) restaurants, I absolutely love the notion that the pasta dish is a build up to the main course. An appetizer. It's my type of cuisine.

Somebody get me a pasta maker. And a flight to Rome.



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mobile uploads

Did you know that you can take pictures on your mobile phone and either upload/email them to your computer or directly share it through a social media platform? Of course you didn't; that's why I'm around to teach you these things. What a great time to be alive, right now, in 2011, where we can for the very first time, start to pilot this fascinating technology.



I accompanied my parents on Saturday morning to meet an acquaintance from Korea at the Union Square Hilton Hotel. I'd never been there before but knew that it's frequented largely by international travelers. While seated in a quiet section of the lobby, I noticed a large congregation of Korean Air stewardesses form a huddle around their pilot to my left. There were probably about 15 young ladies reviewing itineraries and giggling at the captain's lame jokes (I actually didn't hear a word he said).



Cars were cleared by the city on Emmelle's street on Sunday due to a Honda commercial. We got a sneak peak at the 2012 Civic; I can't wait to see if we can recognize her neighborhood when the spots (I'm assuming they are for local dealerships) air.

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may 21, 2011 - someone else's perspective

Emmelle and I just booked our honeymoon travel to Paris, France. However, I stumbled upon this CNN video which suggests that Paris won't be around after our wedding date - neither will planes, the sky or anything. That's tough; I've always considered the honeymoon to be a just reward for all of the planning and preparation that has consumed this past year.

It would be extremely helpful to know when exactly the rapture will arrive on May 21. I'm really hoping that we'll be able to squeeze in the father-son dance that I've been rehearsing. This also severely jeopardizes the planned talent show portion of the reception.



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stronachie 12 years

A few weeks ago, I trekked out in the pouring rain to my local BevMo store for a new bottle of whisky. After staring at the same set of bottles in the store for twenty minutes or so, I left with the Stronachie 12 years (pronounced "Stronachie 12 years"). I am actually familliar with this bottle; I purchased one for Emmelle's uncle just a couple of months ago after a whisky merchant recommended it as a good combination of sweet and smoke. I remember liking it when I sat down with Emmelle's family to drink it; or at least I remember liking it because I made a point to. Remember, whiskies are for strong and virile men! While still a novice in the single malt game, I definitely know that I prefer a peatier, saltier dram. Thus, I was disappointed with the sweeter properties of the Stronachie and seemingly similar characteristics to the first two single malts I had purchased (Highland Park 12 years and Yamazaki 12 years). That's not to say that this single malt is bad, I think it's just what I'm not looking for at this point. And I can confidently say that I enjoy the first two more. And for whatever reason, I've had an incredibly difficult time identifying what I'm tasting with this single malt. What I can detect: some cinnamon/nutmeg nodes, a distinct oak flavor, malt and a smoke that coats your mouth with every nip. (I read in a tasting note online the presence of raisins, which I certainly agree with. I wish I could have identified that on my own. I stink at this.) Ultimately, this is a decent scotch for me, but I don't think I'll be purchasing it again anytime soon. I'll try to keep this around for guests. Come over and drink it. Return to the GreensandBrowns home page

wedding rings

Wedding rings are in...but cannot be worn. Or can they?

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chipotle buy one get one free

Yesterday, a co-worker informed me that Chipotle was offering a buy-one-get-one-free promotion through an integrated campaign on its Facebook Page and offline partnership with a new television series. As a digital marketer, perhaps I should weigh in on the effectiveness and innovation of an online-offline campaign such as this one. But I'd rather not, because you know, I don't like to talk about work unless it's absolutely necessary.

What I do want to talk about (and remember) though is the fact that I immediately printed out the coupon, left work early, considered multiple restaurant locations and routes home and redeemed the exciting coupon for a chicken and steak burrito with all of the tex-mex-cali fixins'. A proper and cost-effective Monday feast with Emmelle. I voraciously scarfed down 1.5 burritos to avoid turning to a soggy, refrigerated burrito days later.

What a great meal for our wedding planning penny pinching needs. What a terrible meal for our wedding planning dieting needs.

Years from now, when my life is considerably different from where and what it is now, I'd like to think that I will have the same zeal for coupons...and food...especially when they go together.

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la folie in san francisco (russian hill) & a quick note on Check! Please Bay Area

It's been quite some time since I last wrote about a Bay Area gastronomic adventure. And Emmelle has certainly expressed her dismay at our recent epicurean futility. Well, I can certainly take a hint when I'm bludgeoned over the head with it, which led to a reservation at the highly regarded La Folie on Polk Street. We actually made the reservation after watching a re-run of Check, Please! Bay Area.

Quick side note, how awesome is Check, Please!? It rivals Top Chef as my favorite television food show. Like Yelp, you have to take individual reviews with a grain of salt - the shows producers do a great job of finding some serious weirdos to journey around the Bay Area's food scene. They can't be trusted. But it's fairly easy to get a sense of each place, and whether or not it's worthy of a visit. The most interesting part of the half hour show occurs when one of the guests complains about a dining experience (chosen by another guest), completely offending the other. Great TV when you put together real folks who don't understand how to conduct themselves on television (I guess that's the point of reality TV).

As for La Folie, it was an extremely pleasurable dining experience. Let's go backwards because it's easier to remember it that way, a few select highlights:

• Emmelle's bread pudding dessert was accompanied by a Maker's Mark ice cream (I think we have an ice cream maker on our wedding gift registry. I'll just be feeding a bottle of Maker's Mark into the machine the first time we make any kind of vanilla ice cream).
  
• Our main courses, duck and rack of lamb (exquisite), were topped with tongue pieces of each animal. I've never had duck tongue or lamb tongue, and both were pretty good. I'm too tired to try to explain it.
  
• Butter poached lobster on squash ravioli; lobster and mushroom risotto - wow.
  
• I had a foie gras dish that included (among other things), quince chutney, a peanut butter "graham cracker" (didn't really know what it was) and some brioche bread. You're basically compiling a PB&J sandwich with foie gras. Decadent. This appetizer pretty much knocked me out.
  
• Two amuse bouche (bouches?). Quantity isn't the most important aspect of a meal of this nature but the exquisite taste of each was not wasted on us.

I'm of the opinion that anytime you are dropping serious coin on a French or Japanese meal, you are sitting down to potentially a "best meal of all time" situation. La Folie was definitely one of the better meals I've had. The best? That's too hard to say because I just ate what could only be described as an inspiring bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Here's the Check, Please! Bay Area La Folie episode from Season 2, Episode 21. I have no pictures to share because I accidentally left the DSLR in the car before passing the car off to the valet service.



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yamazaki 12 years

About a week after I purchased Highland Park 12 years, I returned to the wine merchant near my office intent on bringing home a second bottle of scotch. I made it my objective to procure a smokier, peatier scotch as a worthy counterpart to Highland Park's honeyed qualities. Well, I guess I failed in some sense because The Yamazaki 12 year (not a scotch, not peaty) rests comfortably next to the HP12 (not Harry Potter) on top of my fridge at the moment. I knew nothing of this whisky before purchase other than Emmelle's proclamation that one of her co-workers had said it was a good one. Sold!

I did just a bit of research after my purchase - first single malt whisky distillery of its kind outside of Scotland, started sometime in the early 1920s. While only a Scottish borne whisky can truly be a scotch, the distillation process is very similar. A good whisky is a good whisky is a good whisky, and I definitely enjoy this one. It smells of toffee, and that initial experience on the nose remains when you touch it on your lips and tongue. One might mistake the Yamazaki for a bottle of maple syrup; it smells and tastes like it too. It's pretty pleasing and finishes with a relaxing smoke in your throat.

However, because of my relatively poor ability to identify flavors on their own, I relied on a direct comparison with the HP12. I would say that the Highland Park 12 year is a bit more viscous and definitely more complex. The Yamazaki 12 year, while good, was more of a one note experience for me. Ultimately, it may be slightly too sweet for my preference, but great to nip on after a meal.

If I were to rate it on a scale of 0 - 1 with 0 being undrinkable and 1 being drinkable, I would rate the Yamazaki 12 year with a resounding 1!

Togna came over to enjoy the tasting with me, and he made the connection between the parent distillery (Suntory) and the indie film favorite Lost in Translation (below). We also concluded that nothing is a collection until you have at least five of whatever it is you are trying to collecting. I love collecting thoughts about collecting things.



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phillips head screw cufflinks

I recently stumbled upon an interesting ecommerce site, Uncommongoods, which offers a variety of knick knacks, accessories and home decor items. Among some of the cooler pieces, I've found myself completely enamored with the phillips head screw cufflinks.

The $85 price tag on this set is pretty steep (for now), but from a purely aesthetic point of view, these would make a nice addition to any man's cufflink collection (I'm always drawn to shiny objects, aren't you?).

The weekend is here, meaning that outdoor activities should combat my ridiculous urge to purchase these cufflinks.

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