Wednesday, March 14, 2007
This Week's Restaurant Review: Pres a Vi in SF
We were looking for a memorable restaurant where we could celebrate our third-year anniversary, so we decided to give Pres a Vi in San Francisco’s Presidio a try. Pres a Vi loosely translates to "captivated by wine" in Spain's Catalan language. I had heard nothing but incredible things about Chef Kelly Degala's menu of eclectic international small plate selections. People have been gushing wonderful praise about Pres a Vi since it opened last December, so we’d heard a lot about the inventive menu, amazing atmosphere, great bar, professional service and the large international wine list complete with tasting notes. Many wines are offered by the glass at Pres a Vi, in addition to pre-arranged flights to allow diners to compare different wines and discover new favorites. When we walked in, we were immediately taken in by the warm interiors of brown and beige hues. On a hillside right next to the George Lucas Films campus, the place has a breathtaking view of the Palace of Fine Arts. Whenever you go to a restaurant, you’re taking the chance of experiencing both good and bad things and we know that. Maybe our expectations of Pres a Vi were too high, but, to be honest, our meal there was a series of ups and downs. First off, the staff put us off from the get-go. I had made the reservation at Pres a Vi several days day before, and on the day we were to go there, someone from the restaurant called and confirmed it, which is an added touch of professionalism that I always like. When we were getting ready to go there, I noticed we were running late, so I called to let them know. The woman who answered the phone hemmed and hawed and made it sound as if we might lose our spot if we showed up a half-hour late. And yet when we got there (15 minutes late) at 5:45 pm on a Tuesday night, the place was completely empty. We rushed down there worried we’d get bumped and when we got there I am not exaggerating when I say that there was literally NO ONE else there. What’s with that? As for the service, it was okay, except for one incident where the entrée changed after we ordered it. What was supposed to be a Napa Cabbage Raab transformed into a Broccoli Raab prior to being brought to the table. Our waitress told us beforehand and we said okay, but really they should have comped or at least discounted the item, due to the fact that it wasn’t what we ordered. The culinary highlights at Pres a Vi the evening we visited included the Ahi Tartare ($12), which was Hawaiian tuna blended with kukui nuts, meyer lemon zest, sesame oil, and soy topped with wasabi tobiko and accompanied with taro chips; the Hamachi (yellowtail) Carpaccio ($12) with truffle oil, avocado tartar and micro chives; and a Beet Salad ($10) that was fresh and inventive. The lowlights: A thing they call Jo-Jo’s ($6) roasted Kennebec potato wedges fried and tossed with Serrano ham and romesco. These potatoes were quite frankly soggy and tasteless. The Serrano ham mixture was very salty and didn’t work with the dish at all. Another disaster was the Avocado and Rock Shrimp Lumpias ($12) that were the equivalent of Geno’s frozen pizza rolls. They were uninspired and unimpressive. Of the six small plates we had, three were excellent, one was mediocre and two were awful. So, overall Pres a Vi batted a little below .500. Not a great score for a supposedly fine dining establishment with a good reputation. Pres a Vi is located at One Letterman Drive, Building D, Suite 150 in the Presidio in San Francisco. Make reservations and you’d better be on time. Their number is: (415) 409-3000.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Bombs Away, Barry!
"Is that the Grand Jury or a Spring Training Fly Ball Coming Down On My Oversized Head?"Monday, March 12, 2007
I Need to Go Back to Writing School
Every time I think I start to think that I should be nominated for a Pulitzer, I write a piece of sh-- that gets kicked back by an editor. It makes me think I'd be better off going back to journalism school. I guess writers never stop learning how to write. I wonder if Shakespeare, Hemingway, Woodward and/or Bernstein ever had these kind of problems?Katie Ain't Cutting It!
Why isn’t Katie Couric doing well in the ratings? Maybe it’s because people prefer her doing frivolous interviews with the owners of talking dogs and women who’ve had quintuplets. For their hard news, the public is having problems taking her seriously. Couric made headlines, and history, when she left 'Today' to anchor the 'CBS Evening News.' But six months after her debut, her newscast is a distant third in the ratings behind ABC and NBC. There was a huge deluge of publicity, but now the novelty has worn off. Now the network is bringing in a new executive producer. Will things turn around? And did she make a good career move?
Sunday, March 11, 2007
My MLB 2007 Season Predictions: The AL East
AL EAST
The American League East has been a two-horse race for the past decade, with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox taking turns trading titles for wild card entries. Last year, the Toronto Blue Jays passed the Bosox for the second spot, but only because Boston had more injuries than a geriatric softball team of 60-somethings playing in the Leisure Village Senior League. Once again, it figures to be the Big Apple vs. Bean town playing Abbott & Costello in the AL East, with the only question being “Who will be on first?” when it’s all said and done.
My pick to win it this season is the New York Yankees. Instead of turning their off-season into another annual garage sale, the Bronx Bombers played it smart and held their cards close to their chest during the winter. General Manager Pat Cashman has finally been allowed to run this team without Georgy Porgy getting in his way. The franchise has started to concentrate on building from within and the two most immediate examples of this are young promising pitchers Phil Hughes and Russ Ohlendorf. Neither of these future phenoms may be ready to contribute in 2007, but at least they represent baby steps in the right direction. The Yankees unloaded all-stars of the past Gary Sheffield and Randy Johnson while picking up solid team-oriented guys like Andy Pettite and Doug Mientkiewcz. The pitching staff in NYC is one of the reasons I’m picking them, led by Chien-Ming Wang (19-6, 3.63) and the always reliable Mike Mussina (15-7, 3.51). Offensively, it’s hard to believe that guys like Johnny Damon (.285, 24 HR 80 RBI), A-Rod (.290, 35 HR, 121 RBI) and Jason Giambi (.253, 37 HR, 113 RBI) could get better, but they can. The Yankees will live up to the hype and win the division, primarily because the circus has moved out of town.
The Boston Red Sox have a roster packed with talent. Guys like Ortiz, Lowell and Ramirez are savvy everyday performers that make up the core of a solid squad. By raiding the LA Dodgers and picking up fragile J.D. Drew (.283, 20 HR, 100 HR) and versatile Julio Lugo (.278, 12 HR 37RBI) during the off-season, the Red Hose have made themselves deeper and stronger. Throw in the promising rookie 2B Dustin Pedroia and the Japanese acquisition-of-the-year P Daisuke Matsuzaka, and you have a team that will rock Fenway Park and put a smile on Manager Terry Francona’s face. The only problem I can see here is their pitching depth. Curt Schilling (15-7, 3.97) and Josh Beckett (16-11, 5.01) did fairly well in 2006, but I have to believe they won’t be able to keep it up and will falter by mid-season. Schilling is old and rickety and Beckett is over and done. The biggest hole, however, is in the Bosox bullpen. With last year’s closer Jonathan Papelbon in the starting rotation, Boston is going with Joel Pineiro (8-13, 6.36) as their closer, which could be an enormous mistake. In many other divisions (like the AL West), the Red Sox would dominate, but in this one they’re only second-best.
The Toronto Blue Jays ended up in second place last year. The last time they were able to finish that high was when they won the World Series since 1993. To make any kind of run this year, they’re going to need better pitching, defense and situational hitting. Overbay, Glaus and Rios make up a strong offensive nucleus, and the best thing this team did during the off-season was retaining CF Vernon Wells (.303, 32, 106) a star today and for many years to come. Losing P Ted Lilly will hurt. Trying to replace him with John Thomson is like believing that Jay Leno could have ever possibly made us forget about Johnny Carson. Roy Hallady (16-5, 3.19) is one of the best in the game, and A.J. Burnett (10-8, 3.98) is no slouch either, but the Blue Jays don’t have enough live arms to make it to the postseason in 2007. They’re an improving bunch, however, and we may be hearing “Oh, Canada” being sung in the playoffs sooner than you think – just not this season.
Britney Spears has a better chance of getting through rehab than the Baltimore Orioles do of getting through 2007 without a series of disasters coming their way. This entire team needs an intervention, starting with their bullpen (5.27 ERA in 2006, ranked 13th in the AL). The O’s signed a plethora of arms in hopes of taking up the slack – cast-offs like Danys Baez, Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford – which will only cause the wounds created by Baltimore’s starting staff to bleed even more. If it weren’t for the quality players that the Orioles were able to steal from the Oakland A’s over the last several years – namely SS Miguel Tejada (.330, 24 HR, 100 RBI) and C Ramon Hernandez (.275, 23 HR, 91 HR), Baltimore fans would be rooting for hot dog vendors.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays should be hoping that global warming would hurry up and flood their ball park – washing away the embarrassing season that’s coming their way in 2007. The team has some promising talent – players like 3B Akinon Iwamura, OF Delmon Young, Infielder B.J. Upton and SS Ben Zobrist are all up-and-comers. But, that’s not going to be enough to catapult the Rays out of the MLB’s little leagues. P Scott Kazmir (10-8, 3.24) pitched amazingly well with little support last year, but the rest of the starting staff all feature ERA’s between 5.00 and 8.00. If Al Gore is right, Tampa Bay isn’t long for this planet. And that may not be such a disaster.
So, it’s the Yanks, the Bosox, the Jays and then who cares in the AL East in 2007. It will be a fun year featuring a century-old, super intense rivalry -- complete with gyro balls, green monsters, witty Boston Herald and New York Times’ headlines and enough hand wringing and rolling eyes to keep us on the edge of our seats all season long.
The American League East has been a two-horse race for the past decade, with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox taking turns trading titles for wild card entries. Last year, the Toronto Blue Jays passed the Bosox for the second spot, but only because Boston had more injuries than a geriatric softball team of 60-somethings playing in the Leisure Village Senior League. Once again, it figures to be the Big Apple vs. Bean town playing Abbott & Costello in the AL East, with the only question being “Who will be on first?” when it’s all said and done.
My pick to win it this season is the New York Yankees. Instead of turning their off-season into another annual garage sale, the Bronx Bombers played it smart and held their cards close to their chest during the winter. General Manager Pat Cashman has finally been allowed to run this team without Georgy Porgy getting in his way. The franchise has started to concentrate on building from within and the two most immediate examples of this are young promising pitchers Phil Hughes and Russ Ohlendorf. Neither of these future phenoms may be ready to contribute in 2007, but at least they represent baby steps in the right direction. The Yankees unloaded all-stars of the past Gary Sheffield and Randy Johnson while picking up solid team-oriented guys like Andy Pettite and Doug Mientkiewcz. The pitching staff in NYC is one of the reasons I’m picking them, led by Chien-Ming Wang (19-6, 3.63) and the always reliable Mike Mussina (15-7, 3.51). Offensively, it’s hard to believe that guys like Johnny Damon (.285, 24 HR 80 RBI), A-Rod (.290, 35 HR, 121 RBI) and Jason Giambi (.253, 37 HR, 113 RBI) could get better, but they can. The Yankees will live up to the hype and win the division, primarily because the circus has moved out of town.
The Boston Red Sox have a roster packed with talent. Guys like Ortiz, Lowell and Ramirez are savvy everyday performers that make up the core of a solid squad. By raiding the LA Dodgers and picking up fragile J.D. Drew (.283, 20 HR, 100 HR) and versatile Julio Lugo (.278, 12 HR 37RBI) during the off-season, the Red Hose have made themselves deeper and stronger. Throw in the promising rookie 2B Dustin Pedroia and the Japanese acquisition-of-the-year P Daisuke Matsuzaka, and you have a team that will rock Fenway Park and put a smile on Manager Terry Francona’s face. The only problem I can see here is their pitching depth. Curt Schilling (15-7, 3.97) and Josh Beckett (16-11, 5.01) did fairly well in 2006, but I have to believe they won’t be able to keep it up and will falter by mid-season. Schilling is old and rickety and Beckett is over and done. The biggest hole, however, is in the Bosox bullpen. With last year’s closer Jonathan Papelbon in the starting rotation, Boston is going with Joel Pineiro (8-13, 6.36) as their closer, which could be an enormous mistake. In many other divisions (like the AL West), the Red Sox would dominate, but in this one they’re only second-best.
The Toronto Blue Jays ended up in second place last year. The last time they were able to finish that high was when they won the World Series since 1993. To make any kind of run this year, they’re going to need better pitching, defense and situational hitting. Overbay, Glaus and Rios make up a strong offensive nucleus, and the best thing this team did during the off-season was retaining CF Vernon Wells (.303, 32, 106) a star today and for many years to come. Losing P Ted Lilly will hurt. Trying to replace him with John Thomson is like believing that Jay Leno could have ever possibly made us forget about Johnny Carson. Roy Hallady (16-5, 3.19) is one of the best in the game, and A.J. Burnett (10-8, 3.98) is no slouch either, but the Blue Jays don’t have enough live arms to make it to the postseason in 2007. They’re an improving bunch, however, and we may be hearing “Oh, Canada” being sung in the playoffs sooner than you think – just not this season.
Britney Spears has a better chance of getting through rehab than the Baltimore Orioles do of getting through 2007 without a series of disasters coming their way. This entire team needs an intervention, starting with their bullpen (5.27 ERA in 2006, ranked 13th in the AL). The O’s signed a plethora of arms in hopes of taking up the slack – cast-offs like Danys Baez, Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford – which will only cause the wounds created by Baltimore’s starting staff to bleed even more. If it weren’t for the quality players that the Orioles were able to steal from the Oakland A’s over the last several years – namely SS Miguel Tejada (.330, 24 HR, 100 RBI) and C Ramon Hernandez (.275, 23 HR, 91 HR), Baltimore fans would be rooting for hot dog vendors.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays should be hoping that global warming would hurry up and flood their ball park – washing away the embarrassing season that’s coming their way in 2007. The team has some promising talent – players like 3B Akinon Iwamura, OF Delmon Young, Infielder B.J. Upton and SS Ben Zobrist are all up-and-comers. But, that’s not going to be enough to catapult the Rays out of the MLB’s little leagues. P Scott Kazmir (10-8, 3.24) pitched amazingly well with little support last year, but the rest of the starting staff all feature ERA’s between 5.00 and 8.00. If Al Gore is right, Tampa Bay isn’t long for this planet. And that may not be such a disaster.
So, it’s the Yanks, the Bosox, the Jays and then who cares in the AL East in 2007. It will be a fun year featuring a century-old, super intense rivalry -- complete with gyro balls, green monsters, witty Boston Herald and New York Times’ headlines and enough hand wringing and rolling eyes to keep us on the edge of our seats all season long.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
30-Days Back to Better Health
Starting March 19th and running through April 17th, I am going to embark on the Isagenix Diet and Cleansing Program. Many people have recommended it as a full-body cleansing program that really works. I will be doing postings twice a week during the 30 days, to let my friends know how it’s working. It’s not going to be easy, because I won’t be able to drink any beer, but I want to get my weight down and this seems like a great, healthy way to do it. Wish me luck. I will write more as I get ready to start the program!
Here is what they say about the Isagenix 30 Day Program on their web site:
Become healthier, leaner, and achieve peak performance with our 30 Day Program. It's the recommended program to start with to help you lose weight at a steady pace. (Plus, the 30 Day Program Pak has enough product to follow a 9 Day Program, should you choose to do so.) The program feeds your body cleansing nutrients like aloe, herbal teas, vitamins, and ionic trace minerals. Then, it helps kick-start your metabolism to burn fat naturally. No stimulants are used. Losing weight becomes easy and enjoyable with a delicious wave of nutrients from IsaLean Shakes. You may also gain more energy, build muscle, reduce unhealthy cravings, and improve your mental clarity. In addition, Ionix Supreme provides healthy adaptogens to encourage optimum health, IsaFlush encourages regularity, and Want More Energy?, our natural electrolyte drink, gives you more energy.
Here is what they say about the Isagenix 30 Day Program on their web site:
Become healthier, leaner, and achieve peak performance with our 30 Day Program. It's the recommended program to start with to help you lose weight at a steady pace. (Plus, the 30 Day Program Pak has enough product to follow a 9 Day Program, should you choose to do so.) The program feeds your body cleansing nutrients like aloe, herbal teas, vitamins, and ionic trace minerals. Then, it helps kick-start your metabolism to burn fat naturally. No stimulants are used. Losing weight becomes easy and enjoyable with a delicious wave of nutrients from IsaLean Shakes. You may also gain more energy, build muscle, reduce unhealthy cravings, and improve your mental clarity. In addition, Ionix Supreme provides healthy adaptogens to encourage optimum health, IsaFlush encourages regularity, and Want More Energy?, our natural electrolyte drink, gives you more energy.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Don't Lose Your Memory
Ahhhhh, the memory. There’s nothing more satisfying that knowing your computer has sufficient computer memory to run properly. There’s a web site called the memory store where you can get all of the best memory products out there on the computer cyber market today. You can compare name brand memory or take a long gander at one hundred per cent guaranteed compatible memory. They let you do the choosing, which I find very amusing and not the least bit confusing. Check out the memory store today. You’ll never forget the place!
Hampton Hurt Again?
What a rip off pitcher Mike Hampton has turned out to be. This guy signed for some outrageous amount of money a few years back and hasn’t earned one single penny of it. He’s been hurt pretty much the entire time. Guys like this should feel guilty for taking tons of money they never came close to earning, but I’m sure they don’t. If this guy had a decent (un-injured bone) in his body, he’d return some of his salary. Fat chance!
This appeared on http://www.cbssportsline.com/ today:
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Left-hander Mark Redman agreed Friday to a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves, who learned a day earlier that Mike Hampton will be sidelined for up to two months.
Redman was scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. If he is added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $750,000, one-year contract and the chance to earn $500,000 in performance bonuses based on starts
The 33-year-old was an AL All-Star last year, when he went 11-10 with a 5.71 ERA for the Kansas City Royals. An eight-year major league veteran, he is 64-76 with a 4.65 ERA in 186 starts and 12 relief appearances.
Redman began his career with the Minnesota Twins in 1995 and reached the majors in 1999. He was scheduled to report to the Braves on Friday night.
Hampton, coming off reconstructive elbow surgery that caused him to miss last season, strained his left oblique during batting practice Wednesday.
Redman was scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. If he is added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $750,000, one-year contract and the chance to earn $500,000 in performance bonuses based on starts
The 33-year-old was an AL All-Star last year, when he went 11-10 with a 5.71 ERA for the Kansas City Royals. An eight-year major league veteran, he is 64-76 with a 4.65 ERA in 186 starts and 12 relief appearances.
Redman began his career with the Minnesota Twins in 1995 and reached the majors in 1999. He was scheduled to report to the Braves on Friday night.
Hampton, coming off reconstructive elbow surgery that caused him to miss last season, strained his left oblique during batting practice Wednesday.
I Need a Break...In Orlando!
I need a vacation big-time. This overcrowded yuppie-infested city is driving me completely out of my mind. Before I go insane, I’m looking into an Orlando Vacation Rental. Orlando is a great vacation spot, with the ocean, great weather, all of the amusement parks and a whole lot more. San Francisco is full of mean, rude people, while folks in Florida and more genuine and down to earth. I need some time off to hit the beaches of Orlando!
Sleeper Sofas are Convenient...For A lot of Things
If you’re going to have friends staying overnight, or for when you get in trouble with your significant other and you have to sleep on the sofa, it’s great to have one of those sleeper sofas. They come in a wide range of styles, colors and sizes and they’re much more comfortable than they used to be back in the day. I remember those old ones where the mattresses were paper-thin, but the new ones they make nowadays are very comfortable.
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