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ChiantiandFava

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  1. And my non-traditional suggestion for this season would be Fantome L'Hiver--best saison producer on the planet (that I've tried so far).
  2. I decided to homebrew a Mad Elf clone this year, both to avoid the markups and as Xmas presents. I'll let everybody know how it turns out. Procrastinated for a little while so it's still in primary fermentation. If anyone decides to try this out too I'm sure I'll have some suggestions to make your attempt a little easier (11% is definitely the highest ABV I've aimed for).
  3. Just quickly while glancing at the bookshelf--The Dispossessed (LeGuin), Darkness at Noon (Koestler), Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller). Then there are a couple books in the sci-fi category that are partially concerned with dystopia like The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and Old Man's War by John Scalzi. I'll write more about the why later.
  4. Yes. A few of McCarthy's defining characteristics that spring to mind-- sparse/brutal syntax, layered/complex imagery, half-disembodiment/third person exploratory or three quarter's view. Regarding that last one, his characters are known as "the kid", "the man", "the boy", "the fisherman." Generally, you see what they see but not what they think--commentary seems to conjure itself ephemerally, rather than from an opinion/experience. Three quarters view is what's used in video games in which you see over your character's shoulder and control his/her actions but presumably not their thoughts. "The crumpled butcherpaper mountains lay in sharp shadowfold under the long blue dusk and in the middle distance the glazed bed of a dry lake lay shimmering like the mare imbrium and herds of deer were moving north in the last of the twilight, harried over the plain by wolves who were themselves the color of the desert floor. Glanton sat his horse and looked long out upon this scene. Sparse on the mesa the dry weeds lashed in the wind like the earth's long echo of lance and spear in old encounters forever unrecorded. All the sky seemed troubled and night came quickly over the evening land and small gray birds flew crying softly after the fled sun. He chucked up the horse. He passed and so passed all into the problematical destruction of darkness."
  5. In case you get addicted to McCarthy like I did after reading The Road-- In order of readability, easiest to most challenging (of what I've read)-- No Country for Old Men The Road Blood Meridian Suttree Just realized that list is almost in order of latest to earliest writings, very interesting. Re: Into the Wild. I enjoyed how harsh Krakauer was on McCandless at times--the film glorified him way too much. As to what I've read recently, I get trapped in the sci fi genre for half-years at a time. Greg Bear is a talented writer (Forerunner Trilogy, part of the Halo universe), Iain Banks (Culture series) was a bit disappointing--way too descriptive for me.
  6. It was both a generalization and a comment on class. There are tons of restaurant employees who view their work as their calling, or just as importantly, treat it as such. It's a convoluted argument and probably has little bearing on the OP's post but-- FOH employees have to invest both time and effort to attain a higher skill level, this is often undermined by a "this is only temporary" or "this is less important work" type attitude. That's true everywhere. I don't think it's difficult to see how a place like DC, filled with intense ambitions and expectations, could intensify or diffuse these mindsets.
  7. Power politics aren't very appetizing ehh? I think these dramas are more prevalent/exacerbated by the expectations of living in DC--that is, so many of your FOH employees aren't proud to be working in restaurants and would rather be in the non-profit/government world like their friends.
  8. Block 15 is a good spot. I thought of it as a great place to meet up/catch up with people rather than a dining destination--it's also a favorite of many OSU grad students because of the fair pricing. Too bad you didn't try out Les Caves, great beer bar and very trendy brunch spot.
  9. Ehh, sounds similar to how most wine is made. I am concerned, given the constant crush of demand and amount of power Pepsi/Coke wields, about the pressure put on workers rights and quality of life.
  10. "Mr. [Three Big Duds Writer], what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
  11. Just FYI round trip tickets to PDX from BWI are usually around $290 ($240 from PHL). I didn't get to check out a ton of places while I was out there in the fall but-- Heater Allen- Based in McMinnville, some of the best lagers I've ever had. Especially the "coastal" amber lager. Argyle- Situated right in the traffic nightmare of Dundee. Still wines were a mixed bag but their sparklers are splendid. Try to get the low/zero dosage if it's available. Old Oak- Right off the main drag in McMinnville. Nice slightly upscale neighborhood bar, very reasonable prices, no food. Blue Moon- Blue collar bar in the Mac. I'll have another patty melt and budweiser please.
  12. Maybe another angle to go with the possible glass/cork/other theories--late 80s, early 90s is when NZ SB took off. They were early champions of limiting to the utmost degree possible the amount of oxygen hitting their whites in the early stages of winemaking (by using closed presses, stainless steel everything, hoses charged with argon, etc.). The French, seeing their success, may have copied some of their practices/equipment. It's been shown a little oxygenation in the early stages can actually prep a white for aging. NZ SB is definitely not concerned with aging.
  13. I would expect other corporate style restaurants to take advantage of this move by going the opposite direction and playing up their good ol' fashioned human hospitality (I'm looking at you cracker barrel).
  14. [No list, just random comments] Glad to see a beer from Evolution mentioned, I mostly come across their IPA and ESB but both are damn good. My discoveries from this year have been beers from Horseheads Brewing (out of Horseheads, NY with almost no distribution), Ninkasi (great beers out of Eugene, OR) and Heater Allen (some of the best American lagers I've ever had, made in McMinnville, OR).
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