Music and Food
In last week’s Kitchen Table Kibitzing I mentioned that we would be attending a Mark Knopfler concert. Well, it was beyond wonderful, with 11 of the finest musicians anywhere providing 6,000 fans a perfect evening. Although they didn’t play Sultans of Swing, they played my second favorite, Romeo and Juliet. Our seats were so perfect I felt fortunate, though not when we arrived. Here’s what we saw when we sat down.
Here’s the view when we got there. The tents are visible.
As more and more folks arrived they looked nervously at each other, concerned about the fact that we couldn’t see the stage! Ushers walked up and assured us that the tents would be taken down before the concert, which they were.
Driving home was interesting; it took about 45 minutes to exit the parking garage. Then we had to drive past thousands of students, all of whom were on cellphones and were totally oblivious to traffic, all wearing black so as to be invisible in the dark. Survival of the fittest, I hope they make it.
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On another subject, restaurants and the role of a chef, and media. In Sebastopol there was a restaurant which by any stretch of the imagination could only be described as ordinary. It was a neighborhood place which served “food” but not “cuisine”. This standard was maintained in the face of the appearance of many higher-end places. The restaurant changed hands and a new innovative chef was hired. After a few months our Sunday paper, which reviews a restaurant every week, did a glowing review. We made reservations (fortunately) and were amazed at the combination of quality food, large portions, and reasonable prices. Word has gotten around, and now it’s tough to get in, with lines out the door.
Every week The New Yorker reviews a restaurant, usually positive but occasionally brutal. With 8 million residents I often wonder about the fate of these; do hundreds of people inundate a small “discovered” restaurant to the dismay of its regulars?
Do you read reviews and check out interesting places? How about Yelp reviews? Do you trust them? How is the longevity of your old favorites? Have you found a favorite via word-of-mouth?
As folks know, I love restaurants, but as always this is an open thread.
We are preparing for our trip up the coast. I’ll be taking lots of photos which I will share on the KTK two weeks from today.