With Fondy awash in doggy-related paraphernalia, I was on my own for lunch today and, rather than celebrate my last Friday of my hiatus with a tin of Brunswick sardines and a bottle of spring water, I decided to go the Lonely Guy route and treat myself to a table for one at Fuel. Since we were planning to go out for dinner (as opposed to what exactly?), I decided to eat light. To that end, I skipped the oh-so-good chorizo sandwich with red onions in favor of the crispy rainbow trout and the organic “Celebration” salad.
Okay, now I’m admittedly the last person who would order a salad at a restaurant but this particular salad is, well, fantastic – comprised of an impossible variety of greens and dressed with firewood honey, confit lemon, and home-made ricotta. The trout – as wonderfully crispy-skinned as advertised – was delicate in both taste and texture, accompanied by sidestripe shrimp ravioli, dandelion greens, and a hazelnut-studded crème fraiche.
One of the nice things about eating alone is that people no doubt feel sorry for you and so are more inclined to stop by and chat. Both owner and sommelier extraordinaire Tom Doughty and ultra-talented Executive Chef Robert Belcham dropped by to talk about that organic salad (one of the leaves possesses an almost root beer-like flavor), discuss the new additions to the menu (a whole lobe of duck foie gras for the serious foie gras fanatic, and an enormous 35-day dry-aged bone-in rib-eye sure to satisfy the meatiest of meat-eaters), and sample their very own house cured subtly-smoky pork loin which fairly melted in my mouth.
Great service. Great food. And I am eyeing those two new additions to the dinner menu. But I may need some back-up. When’s Marty G. getting back in town?
Q&A –
Sandyeggobooks writes: “Why do you think that you probably won’t ever write a novel? Do you think there are different skill sets required for novel writing vs. script writing?”
Answers: To answer the second question first – yes, novel writing requires a different skill set and is, in my opinion, much more difficult and demanding. To answer the first question – if some time frees up, I just may give it a shot.
Lulu_wella writes: “ Speaking of chocolate superiority…have you ever tried a ‘tim tam’…”
Answer: Yes. We have an Aussie fan contingent (Seldear and co.) who send us a yearly shipment.
PG15 writes: “What did you mean when you said “It’ll be great to finally see the big men spare”? Big men spare? What is that?”
Answer: That’s was I get for not proofreading. I meant to write “see the big men spar”.
Anonymous #1 writes: “…during Seasons 8-10 of Stargate SG-1 when the fans would talk about the fact that they thought both of the Stargate shows were hurt because too many of the same writers, producers, directors, etc., were trying to do 2 shows (…) however now it seems that almost everyone who is involved with the Stargate shows who talks about it in interviews says how good it is NOT to be doing two…”
Answer: Sure. There’s a difference between saying the quality of the show suffered because we were producing 40 episodes of television (which is what YOU are saying) and saying there is less pressure producing half as many episodes (which is what WE are saying).
Zabadoo writes: “1)1.)Have you ever thought about directing? 2) Do you consider the fourth season of Atlantis to be a new chapter in the story? 3) Are you planning on answering a lot of long wondered questions this season of Atlantis or do you plan to just develop the questions further?”
Answers: 1) Sure, in much the same way I think about being an all-pro corner for the Los Angeles Raiders. 2) I see the fourth season as a deeper and richer development of the established storylines and characters. 3) We’ll be answering some questions, developing others.
Ccbarker writes: “Which do you prefer–Northern Italian or Southern Italian cuisine?”
Answer: My mother is from the south, so it was always more lasagna or pasta with tomato-based sauces over risottos and cream-based sauces. Still, I enjoy both. It really depends on my mood although, for the stuffed pastas (agnolotti, tortellini, gnocchi) I prefer the cream-based sauces.
Rderoch writes: “Is there also a gap in the directors schedule?”
Answer: Nope.
Pauline writes: “With the Wraith ships having organic looking fixtures…”
Answer: Very interesting thoughts. Season four will offer up some insight into some of the wraith organic tech.
Anonymous #2 writes: “How many pages are there in a script for an episode of Stargate Atlantis?”
Answer: Anywhere from 55-60 pages.
Anonymous #3 writes: “When the fans ask questions, do they have to stay strictly with questions about Stargate? I would love to know more about Chris and Michael’s ‘Rage Of Angels’ project, but I didn’t know if it would be rude to ask.”
Answer: Ask away.
Anonymous #4 writes: “Now that there are only a few episodes left to write for season four, are you able to tell us yet if Daniel will be in any episodes?”
Answer: We’ve been off for three weeks so nothing has changed.
Leave a Reply