Being a foodie runs in the family. My sister, for instance, is as adventurous as I am when it comes to dining out. And, on her recent trip to Miami, she sampled some of the best and most unusual the city had to offer. She gave me a rundown on a few of the spots she hit and one in particular stood out: a little place called Chocolate. Her thoughts:
“The salad was very tasty – tender mixed greens tossed in a not too tart vinaigrette, with dark chocolate pieces and slivered almonds. Even you would have loved it. The next dish was the crab and chocolate stuffed ravioli. Topped with a rosee sauce, sprinkled with slivered almonds, sun-dried tomatoes and dark chocolate pieces, and finally drizzled with a dark chocolate sauce, this dish really won me over. It had the perfect balance of salty/sweet that I love, plus the added crunch of almonds and tang of sun-dried tomato. I tried to eat slowly to savor every bite as taste-buds from all areas of my mouth fired up.”
I wonder if they do chocolate dessert too? I have got to check this place out.
Spent most of the day in editing today (Reunion is coming along swimmingly), taking a break for lunch and the Be All My Sins Remember’d read-through. I read the part of Caldwell and really killed. Alan McCullough read the part of the lovely Larrin and we were all blown away by the palpable chemistry between him and Joe Flanigan. If we’d known he’d do such a spectacular job, we’d have cast HIM for Travelers.
Picked up a few more books today before dinner including: Hal Clement’s Half-Life, a collected works of James Triptree Jr. and another collected works of Frederick Pohl, Castleview by Gene Wolfe, Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal (based on your recommendations), and Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials (as I’m planning a Jovian picnic for later in the week).
Today’s pics: that chocolate salad, that crab and chocolate-stuffed ravioli, an excited Martin Gero looks forward to the reading of his script, Carl enjoys the poetry of Martin’s verse, director Andy Mikita realizes what the hell he’s gotten into, Alan preps for his role of a lifetime, Jason and David chow down before the performance, Carl demonstrates some mallard pride, ace editor Rick Martin relaxes in his suite – by watching Atlantis dailies, Barlowe’s Guide.
Let’s take some questions –
M writes: “When something you (or any of the other writers) write is being filmed, do you go downstairs and hang around when they’re filming? Or do you just ocassionally pop in and check it out?”
Answer: None of the producers have the time to do much hanging around on set. That said, we do try to drop by whenever possible to answer and questions and weed out the drunk extras.
Anonymous #1 writes: “Do you ever find yourself putting down a book because of bad grammar, changes in point of view/tense?”
Answer: The past few books I’ve had to set aside I gave up on because they were – a) overwritten, b) devoid of plot and/or interesting characters, c) craptastic info dumps.
LogicSequence writes: “Do you have any favorite “southern U.S.” cuisine?”
Answer: I do enjoy Cajun a lot – gumbo, cochon de lait, crawfish pie, andouille sausage, and beignets. Unfortunately, not much in the way of Cajun cuisine in Vancouver.
Anne writes: “Wondering have your try Henry’s Kitchen yet?!”
Answer: I’ve heard mixed reviews. How is it?
Jeopardy Wilm writes: “I had dinner at the Fat Duck recently – a famous fusion food restaurant in the UK and I can say that I totally agree with you. Bacon and Egg icecream just isn’t a good combination!”
Answer: The Fat Duck was named Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant Magazine in 2005, coming in second last year. Bacon and Egg ice cream, huh? I may have to revise my opinion about fusion cuisine.
Mary writes: “ Ever eaten a Durian before? And if so, did you like it?”
Answer: I sampled Durian ice cream once. It was a most unpleasant experience.
Grace writes: “I thought you should look into this book I’m reading now “Kithchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain”
Answer: I read it. Some great advice in that book including don’t order seafood on a Monday and never, under any circumstances, order mussels or Hollandaise sauce.
Jen, the cow hugger writes: “Do you ever BBQ?”
Answer: Nope, but Rob Cooper is a master of the BBQ!
Anonymous #2 writes: “I will never understand people who choose to blame writers for bad episodes when it was budgeting, networking or other issues that made them crap.”
Answer: And, every once in a while, the writing.
Ghost writes: “What is your opinion on Hot Chocolate? Do you have a favorite kind?”
Answer: I actually make my own hot chocolate by melting down premium dark chocolate in boiling water, then whisking it up with a milk frother.
CD writes: “Do you think the 2 middle-eastern men will play a part in the end of “The Sopranos” or were they just a red herring?”
Answer: I believe that when the war between NY and NJ (Go Jersey!) heats up, the Feds will step in and offer Tony a deal for his cooperation in some anti-terrorism case they are pursuing.
More Than Secret writes: “Is there any chance of being granted access to your sets/offices to see the “magic” behind the magic?”
Answer: If I could, I’d bring everyone to work with me but, alas, so long as production is ongoing the sets are closed to the general public.
JOe,
What eps was the read through?
And gonna keep hush hush on who is on the three hour tour of the boat trip in Continuum?
Got to recommend BBQ’ing is great fun; what does Rob Cooper make on the grill thats tastey?
Dear Joe,
That sound like a good hot chocolate recipe. Are you a marshmallow or non-marshmallow man? Spiked or not spiked?
I love chocolate…but don’t you think that’s a tiny bit excessive? Chocolate on everything?
Ok, nevermind, I just remembered who I’m asking. *snerk*
These read-throughs sound like fun. Do the producers and writers who participate in the actual read-throughs ham it up really good or do they usually do it professionally?
Oh, and any chance of one of these read-throughs ending up as a DVD extra? Pretty please?
Sorry for double posting, but I forgot to ask; have you guys started shooting “Miller’s Crossing” yet?
Yay for awesome pictures :D! It’s always a thrill to see some of the editing in progress as well as the people who do the editing (by far an under-recognised group). And what is David eating in those dailies? Some sort of candy? Tell Alan ‘nice shirt’ for us. Very stylish. So stylish, in fact, that we think this creative consultant should get some on-screen time. Hopefully more than just a ‘man in stall’ <3. And so many remotes...
And here we were, all attached to the name ‘Evan’ T-T. I think it’s fitting. Heh. We have a Major with presumable no first name and a Technician with no last name ^^;. Rooting for Chuck’s last name to be Campbell. Or possibly Smith, if ya’ll wanted to make it a theme of naming characters after actors >> -ha ha-. They’ve got to stick together, right? 😉
Maybe I just have Pirates on the brain but Jason reminds me of Johnny Depp in that picture.
What is your favorite part about creating an episode? Least favorite?
Mr. Mallozzi,
Couldn’t get away from the internet even on vacation, but most importantly missed your blog greatly. Jamaica is really the place to go to release some steam and to be honest not a bad place to retire. Our family stayed at the Gran Lido Braco, all I can say is wow, its just so beautiful: Beaches, entertainment, sports, and yes food from very very competent chefs. Unfortunately, I asked many locals if they knew about STARGATE ATLANTIS, they had no clue or asked me if it was an airplane brand. By the way happy late anniversary for you and miss fondy, I’ve just been reading all the past blogs since my departure. My question for you today is a very easy one… What city has the overall best restaurants, our city or vancouver? Oh yea, your mom’s kitchen is not included, since that would tip the favor to montreal.
cheers,
your montreal fan
Crab and chocolate…nope, just can’t get into that. I’m not that adventurous, I guess. Day 4 of No Dad: I have no idea what GeekBoy ate today (hot dogs, ice cream, and hot dogs, he says). I pretty much didn’t eat. I spent four hours typing colorectal surgery reports, and somehow I just wasn’t very hungry after that.
The race in travellers are they going to be an on going like “Tok’ra”?
Are they evil?
do you know where “Bad Guys” was filmed?
Who decides what goes onto the DVDs as special features?
Hi Joe!
If you were trapped in the back of the sinking jumper, what would you do if you had to choose between saving Rodney Mckay or Zelenka and why?
Chocolate salad, huh. Crab with chocolate, huh. Interesting. I had tamago roll sushi today. It was… sweet, in a really odd way. I guess I just like my raw fish.
Out of curiousity (because I’m always curious), have you ever taken part in the Halloween Film Haunt @ Bridge?
“Spent most of the day in editing today (Reunion is coming along swimmingly), taking a break for lunch and the Be All My Sins Remember’d read-through. I read the part of Caldwell and really killed. Alan McCullough read the part of the lovely Larrin and we were all blown away by the palpable chemistry between him and Joe Flanigan. If we’d known he’d do such a spectacular job, we’d have cast HIM for Travelers.”
No offense to Alan, but I know Jill Wagner is much better to look at and I believe is a better actor. I haven’t seen any of Alan’s acting but I have of Jill’s. 🙂 I had heard Larrin would be in “Spoils of War.” Does this mean her and her people are in both episodes with their Ancient warship?
A Jill-a-maniac
P.S. A great example of poor writing being bad for show is in Blade: The Series, IMHO.
As a Sens fan I feel duty bound to make rude noises at Carl, but tell him it’s nothing personal 🙂
The Fat Duck is amazing. Always nice to have a little bit of mentality at the dinner table, although snail porridge is probably taking it a bit far.
Joe,
First, you answered my question my about chocolate. ( Thank you ) Next I read your past blog about the chocolate party , with all those wonderful photographs . Then I come here & read about a Chocolate restaurant ! Its 5am & there is no chocolate in the house.
You wrote
“Answer: The past few books I’ve had to set aside I gave up on because they were – a) overwritten, b) devoid of plot and/or interesting characters, c) craptastic info dumps. “
Assuming a book has had good reviews or been highly recommended by a trusted source, how much effort do you put into it before discarding it ?
Excluding non-fiction or classic literature , do you ever finish a book you dislike for the sake of ‘cultural literacy’; to discuss or debate it ? Something with the prominence or controversy of Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ or the ‘DaVinci Code’ ?
What compels you to buy a book from an author you’re totally unfamiliar with & noone has recommended. ?
I missed seeing a new episode of Stargate Fri. night. We watched Avalon Sunday, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thank you
Silver
Regarding your comment on your last post about Dumbledore being alive…If you believe that, what do you make of Rowling’s flat-out saying that no, he really is dead? Do you suspect this to be some ruse to throw us off? Also, what do you think has/will become of Sirius? Personally, I think Dumbledore’s dead, but Sirius will be coming back. (I saw an amusing fanart someone did in which Sirius Black skips grey and becomes Sirius the White Wizard.)
Also, as I am a huge Michael fan, I wonder if you could tell us how many eps he’s in next season, and how long we’ll have to wait to see him?
Aha! Rick Martin is using Macs to edit Atlantis! I figured as much. Joe, can you please find out if Rick uses Final Cut Pro or Avid to edit the shows?
Does David Hewlett always do read throughs in costume?
Joe
I like that description of Carl “Mallard Pride” cool.. but I miss his smile.. Could you post a picture of yourself soon.. Just want to check and see if your o.k. after your bout with stomach sickness.. By the way your blog receives about 3000 hits a day and quite a few comments.. Is this a sort of phenonomon? It would appear to me to be a very unusual thing for a blog to receive this much attention.. you must be doing something right. Wow You know I just experienced deja vu..I actually remember writing this before… Do you ever have moments like that..
Anyway I’m reading The Lies of Loche Lamorra and am enjoying it .. I do believe that you single handedly have promoted and increased reading for a substantial amount of people and chapters should provide all your books for free.
Have a great day
Dori
Have you ever considered diets or faddy diets?
avez vous des nouvelles de Torri?? que va-t-elle faire puisqu’elle n’est plus dans Stargate??
Dear Joe, What’s going on for torri since she’s not in stargate??
Hi Joe:
Inspiration can hit anywhere at anytime…what is the strangest situation or strangest location you have been at when an idea for a story or an idea for a script that you have been working on has popped in to your head?
🙂
Have you changed camera’s lately Joe? Your piccies are looking quite spiffy 😀 The prefix “DSC” suggests a Sony?
I hope you’re feeling better – I still can’t eat chicken quesadillas after an ill-judged outing to IHOP at 10pm in Seattle on the way home from the Vancouver con last year *shudder*
Do you blame yourself for Irresponsible being so horrible?
I actually enjoyed the Batman argument.
Hi Joe!
I’m glad to see you’re eating good food again. I always enjoy seeing your pics and drooling on them since I’m a student and my food budget allows me mostly sandwiches and apples with an occasional bite of chocolate.
Does Jason Momoa wear glasses or are those just for show? Do you use glasses, Joe?
Keep blogging, Joe, and make my breakfast a happier meal! Thank you! 😀
I know we won since Carl wore his Anaheim Ducks shirt. It’s lovely by the way. Will he continue to wear it for the duration of the finals?
First of all — THAT’S Jason Momoa? Hot guy in nerdy glasses = hilarious. Still amazingly (astoundingly) hot, but hilarious nonetheless.
I don’t watch the Sopranos, because of my Italian husband. I know you (and I, actually) can separate fact from fiction, but he (and my father-in-law) are apparently kind of offended — or at least fed up — with the way Italians are portrayed on the show. Now maybe it’s because my husband’s family is from New York while you’re from Canada — I don’t know, do you think being geographically closer to the setting of the show has anything to do with the level of offense? The odd thing is, my brother-in-law likes the show and doesn’t see anything wrong with it, but he’s always been at opposite ends of anything my husband and his father are into, except the Mets and the Jets.
Finally, a food question, or more like a restaurant question: do the wait staff look at you weird when you start taking pictures, or are they used to you by now? Ever since my blurry first attempts to document a kaiseki meal (some sort of chilled green soup with foie gras, lobster sashimi, and I think a braised beef dish presented in a sizzling bowl made of lava rock, I can’t remember the rest), I’ve been wanting to document memorable dinners. I’m going to Spice Market for my birthday, so do you have any tips on how to take pictures?
Joe,
Next time you guys have a meeting with Sci Fi, you guys should point out that their normal movie suck very badly and could benefit from a ton of Stargate movies (in any fashion ie. a movie about the ancients 🙂 ). They don’t need anymore killer snake movies. I think the first 5 were enough.
Joe:
Which Pohl collection did you get, The Platinum Pohl (recent) or The Best of Frederick Pohl (out-of-print, but worthwhile). Although the Platinum collection contains more recent stories (and all are worthwhile), the Best of collection, which was published like 25 years ago, is actually better. It starts with “Tunnel Under the World” which remains one of my all time favorite Pohl stories.
Have you read any of the Eschaton books he wrote? I liked those even better than the HeeCee series.
Dave K
When you had your chocolate party a while back you had some chocolates sent in from Denver if I remember correctly. Where did you order them from? Any other recommendations? My dad is a choco-holic and I thought I’d get him a nice spread for Father’s Day…
Mourning has begun for Sunday 🙁
I do enjoy Cajun a lot – gumbo, cochon de lait, crawfish pie, andouille sausage, and beignets. Unfortunately, not much in the way of Cajun cuisine in Vancouver.
No I’d imagine there wouldn’t be. Creole and Cajun cuisine hasn’t really taken off as far as national/international restaurants are concerned. Which is too bad, most of the food is amazing, though i am a little biased.
If you like crawfish (and crawfish pie) i think you’d enjoy crawfish etouffee (here’s a picture i googled of it: http://justinsomnia.org/images/crawfish_etouffee_in_portland.jpg). It’s a lot like gumbo, but somewhat less of a soup, it’s served over rice.
Andouille is quite good, our family always includes it in our thanksgiving dressing, it spices up an otherwise traditional dish.
If you ever get the chance, another Cajun sausage that is very popular is Boudin sausage (http://www.pochesmarket.com/poche_prod/prodsub/images/Boudin_10.jpg). Unfortunately i doubt you’d ever find it outside of Louisiana, perhaps Texas. But if you ever come this way, it’s a must try. And i do believe you can order it from several local facilities online, to be delivered anywhere in North America.
Is there any type or nationality of food that you’ve never gotten to try, that you really would like to?
Have a good day!
Oh, Joe–I do so love reading your blog!!!
It’s me, again… with a question this time.
I just noticed that in Redemption Part 1, Jonas said that the weather channel was like “predicting the future”. Later in the season, we have the episode Prophecy. I was wondering if that was perhaps an intentional connection (either forethought or looking back) or a happy coincidence?
Oh come on, Joe. Give us some Continuum pictures. Rick, Shanks, the Judge man. Anything.
Hi Joe this is a plea from midwives every where, if Teyla is pregnant. On TV there are three basic child birth scenarios;-
1/ The scream push-child born
2/Waters go then as above
3/ The lets leave out the gore and go for a Caesarean Section, nice neat delivery.
Oh the fun we have the day after watching a delivery on a TV show. Pulling it to bits!
Teyla being from Athos will probably want to go home to give birth it’s a nesting thing. And I remind you standing in the way of a warrior like Tayla especially when she is with child is not the smartest thing to do!
To emphasise the level of pain we are talking about imagine delivering an eight pound turkey down your left nostril and that will give you a passing idea of what is involved.
So please don’t do like many shows do and show women as mild and acquiescing flowers during pregnancy and birth show them for what they are quite capable of ,murdering any man who says “The pain can’t be that bad darling”.
My money would be on McKay to deliver the baby and ???who is the father?
Love the blog Pauline (and yes I am a midwife)
What type of computer/laptop do you use when writing the episodes?
héy!! salut joe^^!!
trés belle photo aujourd hui!
je vient de découvrir l éxistance de la salade au chocolat^^! sa doit étre trés bon!!
Alors mes questions de la journée:
1)Ou avez vous apris a parler francais?2)que pensez vous de Michael Moor?
Voila!merci!
bonne journée ou bonne soirée ou bonne nuit…(je ne sais pas quel moment de la journée il est chez vous…^^)
Salut Joe,
Quel épisode tournez-vous en ce moment ?
“Oh come on, Joe. Give us some Continuum pictures. Rick, Shanks, the Judge man. Anything.”
I’ll second the request for the last two plus Claudia and Ben.
Hi Joe,
Could you sneak in a few more spoilers in your blog for Continuum? I’m most anxious to know what’s going on with Daniel in the movie. Teal’c, Vala and Ba’al are off together and Sam and Mitchell are off together, so where’s Daniel? Any tidbit would be appreciated Joe.
Thanks and *Hugs* for your blog and all the great pictures.
Is the Teyla pregnancy thing going to be over and done within a few episodes, or is Teyla going to be hauling around a magical Pegasus papoose (heavin forbid) for the rest of the series?
Hi Joe!
I’m in Louisiana, heart of all great Cajun food! Wish I could send you some of our great food but I don’t think it would travel too well. If I could, what one dish would you like? I’ll be happy to send it if you spill some goodies about Shep in S-4. (or if possible could we have him shirtless?) I’m shameless I know…..go figure.
Were you aware you have an appreciation thread over at GateWorld? “Tis true.
Have a good day!
Hey Joe How are you? And I was wondering where if anywhere one could get those really cool Atlantis Jackets
Joe,
Are you involved in the development of “Stargate Universe”? IS there any development??? Anything you could tell, please?
Thank´s!
Thank you muchly for the Hewlett pic! *Continues to hope for Rodney whumppage*
That really put me in the mood for hot chocolate…especially since I’m having the biggest migraine ever right now…I’l have to try that one day.
Anyway–you really think Dumbledore’s alive? I think the only way we’ll see him again is in the picture. Have you seen the US cover for Deathly Hallows? What do you make of the fact that niether Harry or Voldemort are not holding wands?? I go to a discussion group, and we have thie theory on wandless magic, and that it’s going to play a big part in the last battle. We also continue to have friendly debate on whether Harry is a horcrux or not. What do you think?
I know that’s alot of questions. Don’t become victim to my Harry Potter rant if you wish not to…
Hi Joe!
About Barlowe’s Guide… I think it seems an interesting book, specially for to get references or ideas in creation process… Thanks for sharing!
About science fiction books there is another interesting book… I don’t know if you have read, but if you like scifi genre books,I recommend it to you.
It is “Second origin typescript” by Manuel de Pedrolo.
This book belongs to my “adolescence age” and it pipe much success in that epoch.
*waves*
Hiya Joe, thanks for the pix. Nice to see everyone hard at work. Any chance I could come and work for you. I like the look of the perks in your office. 😀
Quick question before bed. Are you and the other writers planning on continuing the Shakespeare themed titles? (Which I’m loving btw) And are there any more titles that you can reveal? *puts on her most cheekiest smile* 😀
Many thanks Mr M you’re as always a very kind and wise man.
*hugs*
Lita said…
If you were trapped in the back of the sinking jumper, what would you do if you had to choose between saving Rodney Mckay or Zelenka and why?
I’d like to answer this as well: I would save McKay, who would then, no doubt, quickly determine a way to save Zelenka. That is how things work in that universe, at least.
It would be even better if McKay and Zelenka had severely quarrelled just prior to this incident, and the act of McKay saving Zalenka could be an act of redemption. People love that stuff.
Or maybe I would have staged the whole ‘sinking jumper’ thing in some strange turn of fiendish events. I would love to be the baddie for once.
Most Serious and Important Question:
What if…?
Being the apparent food buff that you are, have you tried any specifically Australian foods? ie. Vegemite, The good Aussie meat pie or Tim Tams? And, with us being the only country in the world that actually eats the animals on their national emblem, would you try Kangaroo if offered?
A Fedex box is coming your way, hopefully on Wednesday. I’ve made truffles and sent you a few dozen. I just hope the contents aren’t too jostled. I thought I had packed it better, but I heard them rolling about. I hope y’all enjoy them!
Licking the ganache bowl was a dirty job, but I did it. Someone had to!
They are my way of saying thanks for answering the many and varied questions on your blog, and the ever so tantalizing tidbits of Sheppard whump!
Hi there. Thanks again for the fantastic blogs!
I have just one question for you. I really like to write, not too sure if I want to do it proffessionally yet, but I always have problems tying up the ends, as well as coming up with clever titles that really grab interest. Do you have any pointers?
Thanks so much! And I hope the new SGA scripts are turning out awesome!
Being a foodie, do you care for lamb at all? If so, how do you best like it prepared?
Also, in the pic from yesterday, what are Jason and David eating?
And your Guide to Extraterrestrials is missing an Asgard!
Frederick Pohl is a lovely man. I was fortunate to have dinner with him along with my friends the Haldemans. I’m sure that having a collection of his work will be wonderful.
And Pratchett’s GOING POSTAL is brilliant. I listened to the audio book last year when I was driving back to Florida from Los Angeles. I fell completely in love. I highly recommend Pratchett’s BROMELIAD TRILOGY. I think it’s even better than the Disc World books.
You would enjoy eating with Joe Haldeman. He’s an excellent cook, and very adventurous. He lives here in Gainesville part of the year and is a cycling buddy of my boyfriend’s, so I’ve been fortunate enough to sample his great food.
Sarah
Glad to hear you’re feeling btter, Joe. My mum and step-dad are both getting over an awful flu at the moment – feeling ill is never enjoyable, even if it does give you time off work. Not worth it, in my opinion.
Speaking of interesting food combinations, while the bacon and egg ice cream sounds a little odd…
have you ever tried bacon wrapped around a piece of banana and grilled on the barbecue? Apparently they do it in Hawaii all the time, a friend of mine who’d gone down there for school made some at a BBQ she had last summer. I didn’t expect to like it, but it was surprisingly good.
Take care,
Ayla McKay
Nova Scotia
Joe–
Also, I had to set aside the book Plenty. There’s only so much reading about ‘eating locally within 100 miles of Vancouver’ that a girl can stand.
Mr. Mallozzi,
I hate to be negative, but you’ve RUINED my image of Jason (Ronon) ! Sitting there eating with David, and wearing GLASSES ! It kinda takes the ‘ass-kicking’ image down a notch. Even though I KNOW he can do so easily WITHOUT ‘stunts’.
Thanks for the prompt response, Joe. I guess I’ll just have to find something else to do in this tiny, tiny town… Cheers!
Dark chocolate is the new “healthy health food” so you’ll find it everywhere I think. I know I start off each day with some health food really, really dark chocolate that I couldn’t help buying. I’m not so sure about Chocolate ravioli, however.
I like your take on Pauli’s demise in the final episodes of the Sopranos. I’ve wanted to off him since the first season – he drives me nuts. I watched him filming once (since I live where much of the series is/was filmed) and he’s pretty much the same way in real life. Anyway, we’ll have to see about the rest of your predictions.
Glad to see you’re feeling better and are eating out again, but don’t you ever just eat a simple at home?