Last night, I had one of the best dinners I’ve ever had. Sheryl and I ate at Tinto, which is Chef Jose Garces’ pintxos (Basque tapas) restaurant in Center City. I’m going to write up a 5-star review on Yelp, but suffice to say that I’ve eaten at some really great places in my life. This was one of the top 5 meals ever.
After dinner, we went to the Pennsylvania Ballet’s production of “Love and Longing.” The first piece was exquisite — 24 dancers working in fast-paced, frenetic dance that left the audience gasping and yelling when it ended. The second piece had 12 “roses,” which I would call Dance of the Beautiful Bodies. And the final piece was 9 short pieces danced to the music of Frank Sinatra. You know the audience went nuts when My Way was done as the finale.
You ever know how every once in a while things come together? The dinner far exceeded my high expectations. I was prepared to be crabby at the ballet because it was one of the shows at the Merriam Theatre, which has the seats crammed together from back in 1900. But once the show started…wow.
I can’t wait to go back to Tinto. Two words: Jamon Iberico.
by Frank Roche on December 15, 2008
in Food
I love that stuff. Peppermint bark. Yum.
That is all.
by Frank Roche on October 4, 2008
in Food
A year ago I said I wouldn’t eat another burger. I know that sounded like a proclamation bound to fail, especially for a guy who could eat a cheeseburger every day and not get tired of it. Well, it’s a year later, and I have not had a burger for 365 days. I’m on a roll.
by Frank Roche on September 25, 2008
in Food
[Photo credit: The Delete Bin]
Once upon a time I used to drink coffee with cream and sugar. Emphasis on cream and sugar. Mostly, I drank coffee-flavored sweet milk. That was a long time ago. Here’s the math at present, and why I can see the death of coffee.
Coffee + cream + sugar = Pure joy
Coffee + cream = General happiness
Decaffeinated coffee + cream = Some form of happiness
Decaffeinated coffee + nothing = Bitter, awful tasting swill
Here’s how I got here: A few years ago, Sheryl suggested that I should get off of sugared sodas and coffee. With the encroaching pounds I was packing on, I agreed. At first, I hated Diet Pepsi, and even worse, coffee with no sugar. But I got used to it. (No appreciable weight loss, btw. Just the opposite.)
Then the caffeine. Another of Sheryl’s suggestions. I went through the worst withdrawal symptoms for a couple of weeks, then I was cured of my addiction. Now it’s milk (or cream) in my coffee. It’s not worth the calories. And that leads me to The Death of Coffee.
I’m going to put coffee into the hamburger camp. I don’t need it. It’s bitter. It’s expensive. And I like tea more, especially when I don’t use milk. Coffee, I hardly knew ya.
I’ll lament later about all the things I end up giving up. Here’s one of my favorite quotes (author unknown): Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake.
