Unfortunately this year I had to travel to Baltimore that same week, so I arrived on Sat Sep 12th after 8:30 pm to San Jose airport, to late to have a real birthday celebration. After clearing the Hudson St apartment and donating many items, opening boxes in San Jose, and also donating many items I was having a hard time choosing a birthday present for Virantha. The question was if I bought something where was it going to go? I have been trying to consolidate and find places for all our belongings, and for those that know me that is a very hard task for me. Fortunately email lists can become useful once in a while. Manresa had send me and update about their events, and one of them was taking place Sep 19 and Sep 20th. The event was called Tomato Modernista dinner. Love Farms and Manresa were getting together to provide a degustation menu inspired on Heirloom Tomatoes. Well so I choose and that was the present, and I have to say that was also a present for me! As I got to join Virantha ; ). We arrived punctually at 5 pm, we were the second table of the evening. We sat in a corner table that, the table setting was white table cloth and a set of three tomatoes in the vine, yellow, red and green, they were gorgeous, they were labeled with their names in very cute handwriting. Virantha decided to accompany the dinner with the wine degustation. And the adventure began (courses on in order followed by the picture - this time I did not let anything stop me from having a visual memory of my plate):
It really was a delightful event! We enjoyed every little bite and sip of what was placed in front of us. Of course we had our favorites, mine was: and Virantha’s : I do not think I could say if they had placed a different wine in front of me accompanying a particular dish if it was better or not, probably need to study more. To me they were nicely paired. We left with our tomato table ornament and more than two caramels offered by the Manager after you leave.
You can see the description of the plates in the pictures when they become larger.
After the food we strolled through Los Gatos, Halloween windows are starting to appear. We also spend some time at a candy store that has all sort of treats. Then a short drive home to end this birthday celebration.
Traditional Wine Pairings
N.V. Bailly-Lapierre Cremant de Bourgogne Burgundy
2008 Soalheiro Alvarinho Vinho Verde Portugal
2006 The Scholium Project The Prince In His Caves Farina Vineyards
2008 La Sibilla Piedrosso Campi Flegrei Italy
2006 Jacques Puffeney Pinot Noir Arbois France
2007 Bodegas Olivares Altos de la Hoya Monastrell Jumilla Spain
2007 Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise-France
On Sunday my parents went to see fridges - it is a necessary appliance : ). Gaby, Virantha and Mariajose took the metro to the Bellas Artes. We were pretty lucky as we did not have to wait for the metro cars long and our transfers were easy (a little walking though). We arrived to the exit in front of the Postal Palace, we first used the bathrooms in Sanborns and then went into the Postal Museum, we saw beautiful Cri Cri stamps and bicentenary stamps were just gorgeous. Even though it was Sunday one of the cashiers was open and I tried to get some stamps, they had none of the ones I wanted. Then we went into Bellas Artes, the store did not have the alebrijes that we wanted.
We then went to the blue tiles Sanborns and had lunch: enchiladas de mole and chilaquiles. We walked to the MAP store, behind the Sheraton hotel. There are plenty of choices and we like it because is it is not for profit store - the money goes back to artisans. Mariajose had seen in a brochure (she got it from Siqueiros’ house) that there was a pinata exhibit somewhere and it was in the MAP museum! so we went in. The building looked beautiful! There so many of them, they were very colorful. We went to the 4th floor and from there went down, Mariajose wanted to take pictures of all of them… but she did not. She did take a picture of the 1st place without knowing of Mi huicholito.
We then went back by metro, Alonso and my dad picked us up. We then had dinner, bacalao - cod (in english) red and white (this was a portuguese recipe that my mom made). It was so good, I want to learn how to make both of them.
On Saturday we drove to the State of Hidalgo. Gaby and Carlos went to the Nena and Sergio’s house and Alonso had his law group Willem. We got there and saw it was changed, there was a Museum which we visited. Then we walked several miles to get to the figures. We had to climb a small pyramid and took plenty of pictures. We then climb the pyramid on the other side and took more pictures.
After that we walked back and bought some sodas to refresh ourselves. We then drove to Tepozotlan, we made a mistake and drove the libramiento two times. We got to the convent and entered, we walked quickly as they did not want the church to close. We took many pictures. Then we walked through the convent, full of religious paintings and some really nice center gardens. As it was Christmas time they had a nativity scene, it was very nice, my favorite was the devil, pretty original. We also threw coins into the fountain - Mariajose’s coin was pretty close to the center but did not make it into the shell.
My aunt and us bought some wooden spoons, my uncle bought ice cream, my mom pineapple empanadas, my father some wooden massage things, and then we headed home were we ate spinach tortilla, some arrachera, and pasta with huitlacoche. Juan Carlos arrived from Cuba and took Jimena to see Twelve Angry Men.
When we got home we found a sad surprise: the fridge was not working…
I woke up and had to wait for them so we could open presents! as a little kid. We had breakfast and opened presents. My parents liked the wireless frame Virantha picked for them. Virantha got a very nice shirt and I got a very original necklace from Pineda Cavalli.
After everyone showered we went to Perisur, which to our surprise most stores were closed. We walked to see what was open, and we went through the polar bears village. We bought some sweet bread at El Globo. My dad and I took the bread to the car and walked to the movie theatre to make a line, it was very full and even though we were not so far from the entrance we ended up sitting down in the fourth row. I had to fight some people because the rest of the family took for ever to get into the theatre. We watched Australia and my father did not fall asleep! We all liked it. There was some crying and some surprise yelling.
Then we went back home and had some food. There were tamales, romeritos, turkey with mole, bread, and lots of avocado. It was all very yummy. We had some sweet bread and mexican sweets for dessert. Jimena was happy with the yoda and the two nail polish colors : ).
Virantha’s plane arrived on time! It was the six of us for Christmas Eve.
My Mom cooked an excellent meal for all of us. We started with Vietnamese rolls, we brought the rice paper and dipping sauce from CA. We forgot the mint but they were good anyways. The next plate was breaded shrimp with what we call Russian salad, it is made with peas, hard boiled egg, onion, and mayo. This time my mom made home made mayo (per Gaby’s request) with olive oil and egg yolks, it was amazing. Then we had potatoes, spinach and french cut lamb. Everything was really good. For dessert my mom made individual fondant du chocolat. For wine we had the same wine that we enjoyed at my sisters wedding: Dragonero Rosso 2000.
I wore the Egyptian dress my father brought a long time ago as you can see from the pictures. We were also very happy as Giuliana & Carlos with the rest of the Chilean family sent us four videos. It was a great surprise.
Virantha was in Baltimore for his birthday. We decided to get some nice dinner of Friday, we tried a new restaurant in Harbor East. The name is Cinghiale Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf, the same people from Pazos. We called and they said they had no space, then they changed their mind and it was good because they had more than enough tables. The restaurant is divided in two the Osteria and the Enoteca, the first one is the fancy with white table cloths - the Enoteca is more casual - with a beautiful wooden bar on the back.
We decided to go a la carte instead of the tasting menu. Virantha started with Il Prosciutto di Cinghiale: Umbrian Wild Boar Prosciutto with Fresh Horseradish, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and followed with Stuffed Giant Shell Pasta, Lump Crab, Basil, Spicy Tomato Sauce. My starter was the Degustazion dei Formaggi Piemontese: Robiola: earthy - soft ripened bled of cow’s and sheep’s milk cheese, Bra Duro: salty, crumbly cow’s milk cheese from town of Bra and Gorgonzola Dolce: rich, creamy, and sweet cow’s milk blue from Lombardia and I followed with Gli Spaghetti House Made Spaghetti “Alla Chitarra” Tomato & Basil Sauce.
For dessert I asked the hostess to bring us something chocolaty. She recommended a chocolate layered cake that was made with dark chocolate, meringue on top, a Guinness sauce on the side and sea salt. It was pretty good. For drinking I had a glass of X and Virantha tried the red flight: Pinot Nero J. Hofstatter “Mezcan” (Alto Adige) 2007, Langhe Rosso G.D. Vajra (Piedmonte) 2006 and Barbera Castelvero (Piedmonte) 2006. Overall I thought it was a very nice dinner. That night It was raining like crazy.
On Saturday we spent a very lazy day. We saw tv and ate and slept and ate more. We watched the Lifetime movie with Shirley MacLaine of the story of Coco Chanel - it was interesting.
On Sunday we decided to fulfill our seafood craving and as the sun had come out - we went to Anne Arundel Seafood. We got ~ 1/2 lb of shrimp, 1/2 dozen oysters, 3 large crabs and 1 corn cob. It was all delicious.
This weekend we drove to White Plains NY to Chris & Amy’s wedding. Chris is also a student in Rajit’s lab and spent some time in Achronix. I had a long meeting with Algeonomics so we set out pretty late. I drove and we reached the Crowne Plaza hotel after mid-night. The rooms were pretty nice. They gave you a mask, a lavender spray for your pillow, ear plugs and a cd for relaxing. We showered and went to bed. The next day we went to the mall for breakfast: Au Bon Pain - two breakfast sandwiches, I had prosciutto and egg and Virantha had sausage and eggs. We share a large orange juice and a chocolate croissant. We then walked up searching for a nails place and I found it! After the spa I bought a sandwich from a place were two Mexicans make mozzarella cheese from scratch.
After getting ready we headed to the church, the rain was in full force. Luckily we had two umbrellas and we found parking pretty close. The church was a beautiful place, full of historical paintings. The ceremony was beautiful. I thought the priest did a great job. At the time of exchanging the rings Chris performed a great catch when the rings slipped out. It was pretty neat. We then headed to the reception. One of the rooms had a bar mitzva just ending. I had never seen better favor and present bags from a party.
While they were opening the reception room they offered us champagne with strawberries. we met some of the other guests. The reception room was incredibly nice and the appetizers are the best I have had at a wedding. There was a sushi table, caviar, salmon and vodka table (which was the favorite location for Phillip, Ylia Clint and Virantha, cheeses and charcuteria table, were they had a beautiful bowl with olive oil, rosemary and sea salt. There was also a table with seafood. It was a feast by itself. Then we went into the dining room and sat in table 5. The food kept coming and the LaFrieda steaks were delicious. It was a great meal. Of course we ate too much. We also had a great time dancing, the band was extremely talented.
It was in a great day. Thank you Chris and Amy for letting us be part!
After picking up Virantha from BWI I finally found out what my surprise was: we were spending a weekend in Annapolis. We drove there and checked in the Westin. It was extremely hot so to refresh we took a shower and got ready for dinner. We drove to downtown as it was too hot to walk.
For my bday dinner Virantha had reservations at Piccolo Roma, it was early around 6 pm. We started with a plate of scallops over a pea and mint sauce, then we both followed with pasta. Virantha: tomatoes, crab and red pepper flakes. Mariajose: capers, pinenut, olives, tomatoes, and sundried tomatoes. For dessert: tiramisu. We both had a glass of wine, Virantha: Cabernet Sauvignon and Mariajose: cannot remember : (, but I think it started with a D. We tried to do some walking but it was just unbearably so we went back to the hotel.
Sunday morning breakfast at Chick and Ruths: omelette, egg sandwich, juice and cereal. It was an interesting place. We walked a little. Then drove to Quiet Waters Park: were even though we had intentions of renting a kayak or some sort of floating device, the temperature deterred us from it. We went back to the hotel were we took a much needed nap, we are sure a result of heat exhaustion. Then woke up went for dinner to the Yin Yankee Cafe: sushi & seaweed salad. We then had a great ice cream: brownie batter and mint chocolate chip. Were we saw a spoon with Ithaca NY written on it: coincidence? Walked to the Theatre Under the Stars, bought a bottle of water and enjoyed On the Town. It was cute and it reminded us of the Hangar Theatre.
Monday morning we drove back to reality. Thank you sweetie it was a superb romantic weekend!
Undergraduate graduation is always happy and sad. Very emotional day. So Virantha and I decided to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in the Canton area: Sushi San Thai Jai Dee. This is a look at out staple dessert sticky rice and mango. It is really good.
