More travel. Two interesting stops …
New York City, Greenwich Village: We had dinner at Otto Enoteca Pizzaria last week. It’s owned by the Food Network’s Mario Batali. When a friend suggested it, I was worried it might be pretentious or culinary overkill. Nothing could be further from the truth. The food was incredible and the wine list was extensive. Price wasn’t too bad, either. We had several pizzas, all fantastic, and finished the meal with a sampling of gelato. My favorite was, surprisingly, a pumpkin gelato. While in New York, we also stopped by the Chelsea Market. What a great place. Not something you’d expect to encounter in the middle of New York.
Fort Worth, Texas: We went to see Willie Nelson at Billy Bob’s in the Stockyards. I had high hopes but was sorely disappointed. Willie was phoning this one in, and Billy Bob’s was horrible. It claims it’s the world’s largest roadhouse, but it was really a sprawling shopping mall of a place. Terrible venue. Thank god we went to the Loon that afternoon. Now that’s a real bar …
This week, it’s Stuart and Naples in Florida, then on to Memphis. Maybe I’ll get some decent barbecue there. Or at least bump into Elvis …
Now Playing: Restless Wind from the album The Earth Rolls On by Billy Joe Shaver
One reply on “On the road again …”
Have fun. I just got back from California…Emeryville, to be exact, about halfway between Oakland and Berkeley. Spent most of my time in meetings so I didn’t really get to go anywhere, but they have a place called … damn, I forget what it’s called, but it’s sort of an international food court, with fairly decent, not-too-Americanized stands offering Korean, Afghani(sic?), Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Japanese/Sushi, Caribbean/Jerk, German, Italian, Greek, Mexican, Philly (heh), and burgers/fries. It was good stuff, and I noticed most of the crowd was non-Anglo and getting food from the stands representing their respective ethnicities.
Interesting sodas and beers as well.
My plane was hit by lightning on the way out there, which was disconcerting, and I spent most of my time trying to absorb a month’s worth of geek-speak in two days, so I was rattled the entire time.
Made it out alive, though.