They couldn’t accommodate 20 people outside so we dined inside. There is another 12+ table in the same room – the restaurant is huge with many rooms and areas. There is only one serve, luckily she’s very good at what she does. The service is slow – not sure it’s due to the kitchen or one server: it takes an hour between sitting down to the food.
after ww ii, head SSU later became CIA, in Berlin, till 1960
took over family’s wine business … making Blue Nun the largest brand in the world
I drank a lot of Blue Nun in Hong Kong. There wasn’t much competition. I remembered a Chinese lady Sabrina was doing German wine biz in HK at time but it was a very small scale operation.
Tonight, our wine club wine-dinner invited his daughter Bettina Sichel to join us. Three of the four wines we tasted are from her Laurel Glen Vineyard in Sonoma, which she purchased in 2011.
Her vineyard is similar to the few we visited in 2015: small and exclusive, and you need to join their club. Distributor Tom who knows Jay. Her grapes are NE exposure (cooler side) that gives her crop extra power.
Why did her father sell his vineyard?
记得在香港时 Blue Nun 大概是最出名的白餐酒. 今晚的酒商就是他三个娃之一. 她说爸爸把生意卖了… 她最后自己买了一个加州的酒园. 今晚四个酒 三个是她的. 非常喜欢和.
Unaware they open at 5, when the door is locked, we decided to go to the Cantonese restaurant a few doors to the left. Unfortunately it closes on Tuesdays. So we turned around, heading to the Beijing House, which is to Red Bowl’s right. As we’re passing by RB, a couple goes in. Guess were we a few seconds early or late, would have missed their grand entrance, and our opportunity. A few seconds make a difference.
Good service and delicious food. We’ve mapo tofu and Dan Dan noodle.
One young girl is serving, who suggested to me to order mild for my noodles, even I told her that I enjoy jalapeño and wanted the medium. As it turned out, ‘mild’ degree tastes like no spicy at all; so the server brought me a little chilly powder.
The Dandan noodle, is delicious but it’s not authentic one I remembered. To be fair, theirs is like nearly all other restaurants, with soup, veggies … I thought it should be dry like Alfredo. Maybe what I remembered wasn’t the right way to do it due to lack of ingredients in Beijing at the time.
A Chinese lady (owner? Chef?) came out to social. She hugged the woman who came in first. Then came to our table, said “I heard your noodle isn’t spicy enough.” I told her that the powder works fine and thank her for taking the time to check on us. She then moves to the table behind us and chats in Mandarin with the young couple.
By the time we left, one more young Chinese couple came.
Mr. Ford is here to take about his book/novel, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy (2022).
Afong Moy (1815/20-?) was from Guangzhou, the first Chinese woman to immigrate to US, in 1834. She became a prop, an curiosity, being exhibited across the U.S., especially her bounded feet. She was ‘famous’ and was even summoned to White House to meet President Andrew Jackson (in office 1829-37). However, by 1850, news about her was all vanished. Rumor had it that she died on the street in Guangzhou (?).
This, perhaps is my first author meet. There are about 40 or so people attending, mostly women and mostly white. Three Chinese, two are, perhaps ABCs.
Ford is a very engaging presenter, precise and clear. He first talks about himself (4 daughters, etc.), his books (him in Henry… aims to entertain and educate), and this book (all about inherit traumas; Dorothy 2043 is the main character ), read a paragraph of this book (perhaps readers want to listen how the author read with own work, as concert goers would love to listen to composer plays their own work – how to interpret …), then Q&A.
being banned: collateral damage – from 2010 to 2017 his book was banned in Arizona due to ban on ethnic study – not to incite resentment. He said “meaning make white people uncomfortable.”
Norway 100% literacy
Sparknote – summer reading.
this book translated into 35 languages
China Shanghai publisher gave him a great deal that he wondered if it’s a typo; but took 18 months to go through sensor. It’s a best seller in Taiwan and HK, in traditional characters. 中国 以繁体字出版 是台湾和香港的畅销书. 上海一出版社给了他很棒的合同, 好到他怀疑人生 – 是不是打错字; 但花了18 个月才通过了审查. 可能马上会出版 说是又在/还在 嚼文咽字ing.
Gulfport is a popular name: there is one in Mississippi, and one in Illinois. Any more?
This Florida one is in Pinellas County, incorporated in 1910. Current population is 11,783 (2020 census), with a mayor (Samuel Henderson) and a city manager (James E. O’Reilly).
Beach Blvd South is their Art District. From the Public Library down south to the shore, the few blocks are filled shops, cafes, restaurants, Pia Trattoria, bars, and arty vendors filled either sides of the sidewalks.
Loofahs 丝瓜 are selling at $14 at one vendor on the western side of the street. I remembered using it at bath in Beijing. Out of curiosity, I googled loofah:
Is Your Loofah Full of Bacteria? by Cleveland Clinic showed on top:
“This puffy shower accessory can become lodged with skin cells (and other gross things), so make sure you dry it daily and clean it once a week”
My cousin told me that loofah 丝瓜很好种,好吃,产量高 Luffa is easy to grow, delicious, and has a high yield.
The casino @ 5500 Shore Blvd S, Gulfport, FL 33707 was built in 1934. But looks like been an event venue for some time and is closed current, probably due to the storm too.
This Italian restaurant is family owned and operates, with two locations, across street from each other. The indoor one has been in biz for 20 years and the northern side of the street has mostly outdoor – opened three years ago. They looked rambling and is sizable.
We dinned in the outdoor side because we did’t have reservation for this Friday – reservation is recommended for weekends.
Lush. Great atmosphere on a 67° day. Generous spacing between tables. Good service and food. Two men band plays jazz after 6pm.
Reportedly their bread is excellent but we didn’t order – too much to stomach. Maybe next time.
Wine glasses could use something better – but the outdoor tables are on the shaky ground. So I’m resting my case -:)
The house wine GL Italian cab is better than the Mont D’Abruzzo.
We’ve
calamari (not fried)
mussels in red wine
eggplant parm
They’re all yummy. Large portion. No seafood fork provided for my mussels. Mussels are clean and all opened. I would have the tiramisu but I also wanted to catch the sunset. So next time too -:)
Outside of the bathroom, there is handwriting note on the wall:
Before the show starts, a man (forgot his name) said the theater is planing a renovation. Fundraising is underway: one can spend $1,000+ to name a seat. Hope the new theater would usher in new conduct, such as, enforce the later comers will have to stay till the intermission; no candy warpers … Gosh … sometimes it could feel like a zoo.
The production / singer / acting are all decent. On average, the actors have better figures than the opera.
The River’s Edge Bar & Grill is average. Casual. Relaxing. Pool tables. Bikers. I don’t think they’ve deck guys to help boaters, on the Alafia River.
We’ve BLT and stuffed crab: all good. P.S.: they’ll take $1 off if you don’t want coleslaw & fries.
Bikers vests are beautiful.
Live music is about to start as we’re leaving at 1:30.
Their bathrooms are between permanent and port-a-potty: they’re outside but they have regular toilets and sinks. Not sure they’ve a/c too, during the hot days.
We pass by this restaurant all the time. So decided to come here for my celebratory dinner: the frivolous lawsuit filed by Hales Blackbrick of Tampa against me over my review in December 2023 has just been dismissed without prejudice this morning. They sure will come back and try again, but that won’t deter me from celebrating my first milestone: defending my right to speak truth.
Forbici has high ceiling, industrial decor, with great service and delicious foods. It has mixed clientele: dressed up women, and family/mothers with kids.
I particularly like
– deliciously red sauce
– good stems
– hot and frothy milk with hot coffee
– tiramisu – the best in Florida so far
The hot coffee claim: this may sound petty and bewildering but it’s NOT: the coffee at Hales Blackbrick was lukewarm – enough, resting my case here.
The hot milk – it’s the best because I love my milk hot and NO One that I’ve been to does this – this alone worth returning.
The wines – the super Tuscan is just super.
The staff is helpful and genuine – thank you.
We’ve
– Suppli: tasty and soft, filling.
– Meatball: yummy but not fluffy
– lasagne: yummy
– mussels: chubby and clean
– coffee: hot
– tiramisu: the best in Florida – both texture and taste
The meatball is rather dead – this is in light of me comparing it to Chinese lionhead which are large and soft. Silly me.
Hope they won’t forget the container for the mussel shells next time. The young kid did say that he’ll bring one but I’d rather use their bread plate – pretty.
The bathroom – neat and handsome. But the first two stalls are messy – one has toilet tissue on the floor and the second one has a plastic cup in the toilet bowl – hey patrons, pls pick up after your self, your cleaner isn’t there to do it for you.
Being at one end of the chichi street, it makes parking easier.
The CCC has just opened recently (1 to 2 years). The previous owner of the stripe was a Chinese who allowed up to three Chinese restaurants to open here.
, which is better than average. The tater tots is crisply delicious.
和
.
