“Chefs Timmy and Denny”
I really had great intentions of posting here every week – any more and it’s too much work to remember the details. Things just got too busy again. Anyway, here goes with what I can remember.
On Monday, November 27th, we flew from San Francisco to Austin. This time we chose Alaska airlines as they had the only direct flight. The flight was comfortable and uneventful. The food on American is certainly better than on Alaska.
I was disappointed to find that Thom’s Market, just around the corner from our hotel, had stopped carrying Taco Deli breakfast tacos. I had been looking forward to my Tuesday morning breakfast treat. They had some new company providing tacos, and they were not nearly as good. Apparently they parted ways by “mutual understanding.” I’m going to have to go to the real Taco Deli next visit.
We were in Austin to attend my company Holiday Party on Wednesday night, and Tim (our CFO) invited the Executive Team to his home for dinner on Tuesday night. We drove around in circles for a while as our crack Administrative Assistant team had dropped one of the digits from the address. Had we been observant, we would have seen that there was only one house with a large blow up koala bear out front.
Tim and his wife, Heidi, put together an excellent feast for us. Tim loves to cook meat on his various grills, and this time served a delicious, melt in your mouth ribeye steak. We all commented that it was much nicer to eat like a family around the dining room table than to go to a restaurant.
The Holiday Party was a big success. We hosted it at Bar Peached again and had the whole restaurant and outside areas to ourselves. I thought the cocktail menu was very clever, and the snacks were delicious – particularly the hoisin duck baos. Spouses were invited this year and so Diana and Lisa had a good time chatting with everyone.
We flew from Austin back to New Orleans on Thursday afternoon. The flight was a little late, but otherwise all was smooth with the trip.
On Friday, I made another excursion to the Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV.) I thought that I had all the papers necessary to register our car, but no – missing a copy of the title. I’ll round that up and try again…
I heard on Friday afternoon that two of my favourite restaurants were closing – Rabbit’s Foot and Seafood Sally’s. I was just getting used to walking to Rabbit’s Foot and enjoying a nice coffee and wonderful breakfast sandwich. Seafood Sally’s had a good oyster happy hour and a great outdoor seating location on Oak Street. Rabbit’s Foot was carrying too much debt from a very slow summer, and Sally’s had a kitchen floor inspection issue that shut them down for several months. Very sad, but I was determined to have one more visit to Rabbit’s Foot.
We had a lot of rain overnight on Friday, and several drainage pump units were not working properly. This made Rabbit’s Foot quite difficult to get to. I persevered only to find they weren’t able to open because too many employees couldn’t get there. Ugh!
This was the scene on the street to the right of the photo of the coffee shop:
After things dried out a bit and the flooding subsided, Diana and I visited the local toy shop to get some gifts for the “Toys for Tots” party on Saturday night. I really enjoyed browsing around the small, local toy shop. The party was two houses down from us at Roeland and Jules home. There were well over a hundred people in attendance, and you would not have known anything was going on from outside. We had a nice time and had a very interesting chat with our neighbor Hugh, Colleen’s brother from across the street. He has some 3-D printing businesses and is in the process of testing printed lungs in baboons – crazy technology.
Kenny’s official Fire Department retirement party was on Sunday. Denny was kind enough to pick us up and deliver us to the Union Hall. We had an enjoyable chat with Kenny’s mum, Miss Sue. She remembered meeting us last year and was still as sharp as a tack at ninety.
On Tuesday, I made another excursion to the Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV.) This time I had all the documents they could possibly need and was successful in obtaining a new license plate for the BBB. I was shocked when it came time to pay – online information had me thinking it would be around $66. Then the lady said it was over $1,200 – bit of a discrepancy. Apparently some sales tax scam for new residents. I had already paid sales tax in Texas, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. Always something with this move. At least we’re all legal now.
Diana and the girls had oyster Happy Hour on Tuesday evening, so Kenny came over and we went to watch a basketball that his son, Ian was helping to coach. Denny joined us and we decided to visit the local Milan lounge for some pre-game entertainment. The folks in the bar were entertained as Kenny yelled out answer after answer for Jeopardy questions.
The basketball was good entertainment, with the Willow team losing in the last minute. We met Diana and Kara at the Kingpin, and were entertained to find Fred with a friend at a table in there.
On Wednesday night, we had Sips at Commander’s Palace down the street. This was an early birthday gift for Diana from Merry Lee and Jeff. One could sample around eighty different champagnes and wines, while enjoying the delicious snacks – the little cups of soup were ridiculous.
Jeff and Merry Lee came back to the house for a while and we listened to some eclectic Christmas music on the turntable.
Marcia Ball, Shelley King, and Carolyn Wonderland had their “Home for the Holidays” show at the House of Blues on Thursday night. I had two suggestions for a pre-concert dinner for Diana to choose between – Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 49 or Kingfish. She opted for the tiki inspired option. The dinner was excellent, finishing with some perfectly cooked and very large scallops.
A short walk, and we were seated and ready for the show.
The girls did their usual great job and we enjoyed it very much. Here are a couple of clips:
We walked several miles on Saturday morning, checking for gift inspiration in the small, local stores on Magazine Street. Unfortunately, we returned empty handed. Diana couldn’t even find any shoes in the “Feet First” store – very unusual.
Chef Denny invited the boys over for a steak night on Saturday. Alex, Kenny, Greg, Thom and I enjoyed the feast that Denny had put together. Hangar steak, twice baked potatoes, creamed spinach, and a yummy red wine sauce. Thom brought a selection of wines that we sampled. Good fun hanging out with the boys.
Sunday began with a couple of laps around Audubon park. Twenty mile an hour plus winds blew out the cobwebs during that walk. The Saints had a good win, and now I’m getting excited for the Cowboys and Eagles game this evening – a very important game for playoff positioning.
I borrowed “The Descendants” by Kaui Hart Hemmings from Clorinda’s library. This was a good read – mixing some ribald teenage character humour, with some very poignant and sad scenes. I would recommend it. It did take me a while to stop thinking of the main character as George Clooney, who played him in the movie version. Here’s an online summary:
“Narrated in a bold, fearless, unforgettable voice and set against the lush, panoramic backdrop of Hawaii, The Descendants is a stunning debut novel about an unconventional family forced to come together and re-create its own legacy.
Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors were financially and culturally progressive–one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners.
Now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control: Ten-year-old Scottie is a smart-ass with a desperate need for attention, and seventeen-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. Matt’s charismatic, thrill-seeking, high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident and will soon be taken off life support. The Kings can hardly picture life without her, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them–and spurs them into surprising actions.
Before honoring Joanie’s living will, Matt must gather her friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation made worse by the sudden discovery that there is one person who hasn’t been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair, quite possibly the one man she ever truly loved. Forced to examine what he owes not only to the living but to the dead, Matt takes to the road with his daughters to find his wife’s lover, a memorable journey that leads to both painful revelations and unforeseen humor and growth.”
Kenny sent me this video of Joe Krown playing Booker’s “Classified” at Dos Jefes. It’s like he has four hands:
A great song from the new Band of Heathens acoustic album:
And finally, something from Josh Ritter:
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!