• Not valid 2/7-2/12, 2/17-2/18, 3/2-3/3, 4/6-4/8, 4/13-4/14, 4/27-4/28, 5/11-5/12, 5/25-5/27, 6/1-9/2, 9/21-9/22, or 10/5-10/6

If you read that carefully, you can’t use this deal between JUNE – SEPTEMBER.

Further down,

• $209, valid Sunday–Thursday (a $320 value)
• $259, valid Friday and Saturday (a $500 value)

So really, you’re probably going to have to travel on an odd weekday (not ideal) or pay more than what you initially think when viewing the deal. Plus, you’ll be going to Carmel in less than ideal weather.

I think these are great deals if you search carefully and can make a quick vacation out of it, but so far I haven’t found any deal that really fits with the reality of my travel schedule.

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Groupon Fine Print

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Livingsocial Online Ordering

That, or quality control for Amazon is off its game. If only I needed one…

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Sweet Deal

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Jumbaco

- December 3-4: Flew to St. Louis where my Dad received the Cori Award. We had a very nice dinner at Niche which I must say gives the NY/SF restaurants a run for their money. (Kolina said this originally so giving credit where credit’s due).

- Dec 5: Flew to NYC and after dumping bags off at a friend’s apartment in the Upper West Side, we headed immediately to Blue in Green where we promptly spent lots of money on Japanese denim. 24 oz Samurai jeans here we go! We shopped around SoHo (I was very unimpressed with Uniqlo - the thermal stuff they have seems like a joke to me as the fashion will die in a few years). Dinner at Peter Luger. Probably one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. So rich and buttery! And then to top it off, drinks at momofuku ssam bar and then desserts at the momofuku milk bar. Not bad for the first day.

- Dec 6: After dropping off our bags at the Google Chelsea office, we checked out nearby Chelsea Market and decided to dine at Friedman’s Lunch, where I got an Asian style salad to detox from the richness that was yesterday’s dinner. We visited the National September 11th Memorial and made our way to Magnolia Bakery. The Memorial allowed for a somber reflection of the tragic attack – we spent a lot of time recounting where we were when the attacks occurred. I remember sitting in my Calculus class in High School when our Principal came over the loudspeaker to announce the first plane crashing into WTC. After class was over we had a study hall where we ended up watching CNN the whole time. The Memorial still isn’t complete and I would want to come back when it is.

Since we had a late dinner, we killed time at Ivy Bakery and played Connect 4. Dinner was at Lupa, was unfortunately wasn’t as good as I remembered. The prosciutto and pasta with oil and basil was magnificent, but their main courses were mediocre. Our waiter made it for it with some generous pours of Amaro to end the night.

- Dec 7: Jean-Georges for lunch. Probably my favorite meal of the trip. You get two courses for $38 which is well worth the service. My first plate was their “scallop sashimi, chipotle mayo, crispy rice”. Possibly the most unique and delicious four bites I had on the trip. The fresh scallop contrasted well with the crispy rice, as you normally expect sushi rice with sashimi. The chipotle mayo added a small but subtle kick to add a ton of character. I was sad I only got three pieces. The beef was a perfect medium rare and the desserts – well, they brought out a cart with a jar or marshmallows that they cut for you! They also gave us truffles and macaroons. The macaroons definitely give Bouchon a run for their money. This is #1 on places to go back to when I’m in New York again.

We went on the NBC Studio Tour today and walked around Rockefeller Center, which was super-packed. It was my first time on the Studio Tour and definitely thought it was worth the price. Seeing the famed SNL stage and hearing about all of the tricks played on your eyes to make characters/furniture seem larger was interesting. Next time I come back I hope to go to a live taping of a show. It was unfortunately raining so no one was skating but it also meant less people hitting you with their elbows to take photos. We ducked into Grand Central Terminal and grabbed an early dinner at Pearl’s Oyster Bar. Their oysters were comparable to Hog Island Oyster Co and their lobster roll was as delicious as I remembered. We then saw Hugh Jackman on Broadway. He did a solid one-man show and we saw Donald Trump in the audience. At the end he announced he was doing a special fundraiser for charity and was going to have folks bid on his undershirt from the performance. That undershirt (signed and with a photo of him), went for 20K! I left the theater thinking we saw a one-of-a-kind bidding, but it turns out he does that every show! What a liar! Not wanting to head back yet, we walked around Times Square and then ducked into Sake Bar Hagi and shared some good drinks and food to end the night.

- Dec 8: I woke up early and got us some fresh bagels at H&H Midtown Bagels before we walked down to the Apple Store and FAO Schwartz. We spent the afternoon at the Moma (I was very disappointed…ugh modern art…why does a piece of torn paper count as art?) before dinner at Gramercy Tavern. It was a solid dinner but I can’t say their pork loin is something I’d go back for. We checked out a swing club and Times Square again before calling it a night.

- Dec 9: We took a stroll across Central Park to Shake Shack where I had one of the better burgers. I think In-n-Out has it beat though, both in terms of price and the hamburger bun. Of all things, I think that’s what I think distinguishes a burger where the patty and toppings are consistent. To indulge even more, we got some gigantic cookies at Levain Bakery and walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum was too large to see everything, but the Egyptian and Asian art was definitely a treat. I particularly enjoyed seeing the intricate Chinese scrolls that must have taken years to make. I think I would choose the Met over the Moma, but the Moma probably has a better gift store (if that matters).

Dinner was at Per Se. The service and food was top notch and we were served a lot of food I’m not sure I can recall without the menu at hand (which we now have framed), but I think by this point in the trip we had already eaten ourselves full and it was hard to enjoy the four hour extravaganza. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing meal – pashmina scarf for Linda since she was cold, 24+ unique truffles to try, a nice view of Central Park, perfectly synchronized plate service, immaculate plating and presentation, but I think it would have been better to have the meal earlier on in the trip before we were consistently full all of the time.

After Per Se we headed to Rockefeller Center and went up to the Top of the Rock. It was a fairly clear night and not so cold, so we got a nice view of the City. The top story reminded me a lot of one of the scenes from The Adjustment Bureau, and it turns out this is where it was shot!

- Dec 10: B. Cafe for brunch. I had a very good burger but the service was horrendous! We had to ask to order and three groups, two that came in after us, ordered, ate, and left before us. So, after an extended brunch, we decided to do more sightseeing. We checked out the NY Public Library, Bryant Park, the gigantic Macy’s, and Penn Station. As the sun set, it got increasingly colder, and by the time we were in Brooklyn to go eat at Grimaldi’s Pizza it was 34 degrees Farenheit. My hands were freezing as I took photos of the Brooklyn Bridge and we had to stand outside of the pizza place for 45 minutes to get a spot. The pizza was good, but I’m not sure anyone would say it was worth the wait. We were more happy to just get indoors.

After dinner we went for another stop at Momofuku Milk Bar and finally, drinks at Match 65 near our apartment to call it an end to a fabulous trip. After packing my things, the girls headed to bed and Eric and I walked to the Halal Guys at 53rd and 6th at 2am. We passed the Apple Store, which turned out to be open 24 hours a day! We went downstairs and were surprised to see some folks getting computer help while a janitor cleaned half of the store’s floor. Very eerie to see it so empty, compared to the teeming crowds earlier in the day. The Halal Guys definitely lived up to their name, providing a hefty portion of chicken and rice and some ridiculously spicy sauce! I couldn’t finish half of the dish, especially since I had eaten at Per Se earlier, but it was a great late night snack. A few hours later I woke up Kolina and we headed out on the subway for our flight home to San Francisco.

All in all, a great trip! A lot of great restaurants, but I probably would only make a point to go back to Pearl’s, Lupa (just for appetizers), Shake Shack, Jean-Georges, and all of the bakeries we went to. Thankfully NYC has a ton of other fantastic restaurants that would be great to try out. Maybe in a few years…and with a working memory card!

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

New York Recap

And just to be clear, not sure why the wedding goal was $2,166. I think I picked an arbitrary number when trying out Mint alerts. The average cost of a wedding in Sunnyvale is $32,000. I won’t disclose if we were above or below average :)

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

I don’t know

2. Visit one country I’ve never been to (Costa Rica???)

3. GMAT

4. Cook more

5. Cleanup backyard and make a garden

6. Build something out of wood (dresser/bookshelf)

7. Workout!

8. Blog more

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

2012 Resolutions

Project 52 – Made it through half the year but fizzled out. Planning a wedding and finding time to take artistic shots was much harder than I thought.

Lose 10 pounds – nope and it was a battle throughout the year to stay at a decent weight.

Get married – DONE and DONE

Travel to one new country – French Polynesia + Singapore!

More wine corks – Yes, a lot! Especially if you count wine from the wedding.

No gambling – no Vegas, no problem!

No raw denim – 2 pairs purchased. Oops!

Gmat prep course – post-wedding this definitely did not happen. Maybe 2012?

Expand my network – I was better about it, but there’s always room for improvement.

Looking back, I would say 2011 was a great year. Getting married and a wonderful honeymoon and trips to St. Louis, NYC, and Singapore/India made it a fantastic year and to top it off, we now have a dog! Although I didn’t take enough photos or bike enough, I’ve cooked a lot more and am thoroughly enjoying it. As I think about 2012, a definite theme will be frugality. 2011 was good, but 2012 should be better!

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

2011 Resolutions – How did I do?

- Braised Beef Spare Ribs (from cooks.com – need subscription to view)

My sister originally made this for us. I put this together for Christmas Day dinner with the In-Laws. The trial run on Friday night wasn’t so great, but that’s because I started late and didn’t reduce the sauce as much as I should have. I also cooked the beef for too long. Recipe says 4-6 minutes per side. I had much better results from 1-2 minutes per side, especially with smaller pieces I had to debone. You have to have patience with this one. Took me nearly 4 hours to make. But, the results are amazing. The beef and sauce is delicious and the carrots are very soft and almost sweet. If I would change anything, I would double the amount of carrots.

- Bacon Garlic Mashed Potatoes (from Williams-Sonoma)

A mainstay thanks to Thanksgiving, this is my go to mashed potato recipe. Make sure you make the bacon crispy. It’s creamy but the bacon and garlic add a lot of flavor. You don’t even need gravy for this one.

These two were served for a nice Christmas dinner with Kolina’s family.

- Parchment Paper Salmon (from Food Network)

I borrowed this one from my Dad and swapped out fennel for shiitake mushrooms and added some Korean style BBQ sauce. The only problem here was presentation. I can’t wrap parchment paper very well and that’s what this recipe hinges on, it seems. Nonetheless, it was one of the first times I’ve really tried cooking fish and it went alright!

- Slow-cooked Lasagna (from Williams-Sonoma)

I was amazed by all the cheese that goes into this, but when you pile it on, it can’t go bad. I swapped the slow cooker for a 200 degree F oven and used the good old Dutch Oven. Delicious, but now I have a ton of leftovers!

I’ve also made pizzelles and brownies lately, and since I have 24 eggs to use, I’ll probably make madelines or lemon curd.

Maybe I should quit my day job and pursue my own Ratatouille? I’ll keep dreaming..

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Cooking Frenzy

Traveling light and not backing up my photos each day prevented me from saving a few days worth of photos. I should have done a daily backup like I have in the past! Sad! Luckily, I now can rely on Eric/Linda’s photos to remember a most amazing trip. Highlights forthcoming!

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Ugh SD Cards