Being a Parent

Some of you that I know already have children and some of you are expecting. I found online some baby guidelines that might be helpful. I know I'll use them when we have kids! However, maybe not always the "Good" one! :P

Good Luck!

So I'm Off To LA!

Several weeks ago I applied for an Executive Chef position I found on Craigslist. It didn't list the name of the restaurant but gave a run down of what they were looking for and I knew I fit the bill. I applied and got a call back from a headhunter agency out of Los Angeles. I spoke with them in length about my past experience and they were very interested in placing me in a place called The Daily Grill. They have the same style menu as what I used to do at The Met Bar and Grill but not as fancy or new age. It's a cooperate restaurant so it's defiantly not the food scene of San Francisco but the pay is quite good and it would give me an opportunity to bank some cash and eat out more. I had a 4 hour meeting with the current chef there now who is moving onto another location(they have 28 restaurants across the US) and with the Area Director for Northern California locations. It went quite well and they are now flying me out to LA on Monday for the day so I can meet with the VP of Culinary. Hopefully it will all go well!!

Statues from China

Looking back on my photo's from China the other day, I found several pictures of statues that I took but never published.

These three wise men I took in XiAn while walking around.

A bust from the Tang Dynasty. During that dynasty, it was attractive to be fat.

 A scholar thinking in a park in Nanjing.

A famous General in Hefei.

Andi is standing on top of an elephant that also doubles as a slide(the trunk).

She was also here when she was a baby! Little fatty! :P

Star Wars Burgers Anyone?

In France, Star Wars The Phantom Menace is being re-released in 3D and a French/Belgium fast food company called Quick has decided to cash in on the action. They are kinda like a Burger King or McDonald's here in America. They are offering for a limited time only three burgers with Star Wars themes: The Dark Vador, The Jedi, and The Dark burger.

I have to say, the Dark Vador just looks wrong with the black bun! The Jedi Burger has to be hard to eat with all the cheese curds rolling around. And why not make the bun green if it's a Jedi Burger? You made the Dark Vador black!!

Same thing here: make the Dark Burger red. Either way though, they all seem a bit weird. However, being a Star Wars fan, I'd probably check them out!

Employed.....Temporarily

So I have a job....for the moment. I have signed on with a restaurant that is a historical landmark here in San Francisco called Original Joe's. I'm going to be a hourly manager helping to hire line cooks, making schedules, writing recipes, and getting the place open. In the meantime, it pays the bills and I can keep looking at my leisure. As for the restaurant, it started in 1937 and was located in the tenderloin of San Francisco serving all "walks of life from politicians to prostitutes." However in 2007 the kitchen had a fire and it has taken the owners 4 years to find just the right location to open again. They are pretty passionate about every aspect of the place since it was their grandfather's and they want to "do it right!" I took some photo's of the place with my phone so there not the greatest but you'll get the idea. They are still doing construction and we are heading into the kitchen this weekend to clean it up and start testing recipes.

The Bar. The bricks from the fireplace where brought over from the original restaurant that burnt down.

Two sections of the dining room.

This room is called the "Tony Bennett" room. The pictures on the wall are made from copper.

Kitchen line. It's an open kitchen with seating "diner style" on the left. The counter is made of marble and will seat nine people.

Brand new charcoal broiler.

And flattop.

Back prep kitchen and dish area. There's a good amount of equipment which is good because the menu his HUGE! I'll try to get a copy of it and post it shortly.