The model Destiny sitting in Brad’s office is pretty sweet but, as nice as it looks, the fact that it is under glass kind of defeats the purpose. “How do I get it out of there?”Brad asked the other day. The short answer: “You don’t.”. What Brad was looking for was not so much a Destiny for Display as it was a Destiny for Play – something he could bring to the various meetings and point to, study, angle this way and that, and generally fly around the room when the meetings lag. Apparently, he’s getting a second (less detailed) version specifically made for clumsy handling purposes.
My first foray into truffle-making did not go quite as smoothly as I’d hoped. I made six different batches but only three firmed up to the point where I could actually complete the rolling/dusting process. I ended up freezing the other three batches overnight and got to work on finishing them up yesterday…
- Fresh Blueberry and Advokaat White Chocolate Truffles. Both the alcohol and high sugar content ensured this one remained soft even in the freezer. A disaster. But tasty disaster nevertheless.
- Fresh Fig and Black Muscat Milk Chocolate Truffles. This batch firmed up nicely in the freezer, long enough for me roll and dust them with cacao powder. Only moments after leaving the freezer’s cool confines, however, they began to lose their shape. Also delicious, but next time I’ll use half as much fig and liquor.
- Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Amaretti Truffles. These were mind-blowingly good. I mixed hazelnuts and Frangelico in with the dark chocolate and then, following a night in the freezer, rolled the truffles, dipped them in Nutella, and coated them with crushed hazelnuts and amaretti cookies. They tasted amazing frozen.
Our work done, Akemi and I headed out for dinner. She felt like having Japanese and suggested we go to Dan on West Broadway. So we got there a little after 6:30 p.m. and, since we didn’t have reservations, settled for two seats at the counter. The food was great –
- Shishamo
- Grilled fish head.
- Sushi
So we were finishing up our meal when Akemi fell into conversation with one of the young waitresses. They were chatting away in Japanese when they were suddenly interrupted by the Chef (presumably the owner?) who snapped at the waitress. They fell silent and Akemi seemed mortified. The waitress shuffled off and, when I asked what was up, Akemi informed me that the Chef had told the waitress to get back to work. I didn’t think anything more of it until, moments later, when a suddenly very quiet Akemi asked if we could go. I paid the bill and we left. No sooner had we walked out the door than Akemi burst into tears. Once we returned to the car and she’d settled down a bit, I asked what had so upset her. The Chef probably wanted the waitress to see to some other tables and, besides, having worked in the Japanese service industry I assumed she’d be used to that sort of behavior. She informed me that that sort of behavior was unheard of in Japan. It’s one thing to berate an employee privately, but quite another to do so publicly, in front of a customer and, in so doing, indirectly rebuke the customer as well. Looking back on it now, I’d have to agree. It WAS pretty damn rude.
Well, needless to say, that was our last visit to Dan.
Jelly continues to improve following a stem cell procedure to treat her hip dysplasia and arthritic elbows and shoulders. A little over a month ago, she could barely manage the few stiff-legged staggered steps from bed to water bowl. Now, look at her go…
Thanks to Dr. Alan Kuzma and the gang at Canada West Veterinary Specialists as well as the good folks at Vet-Stem (http://www.facebook.com/VetStem).
Various members of the media are filtering into Vancouver for Friday’s big press junket. One of the early arrivals was journalist Curt Wagner covers the show for Redeye Chicago (http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/show-patrol/). He dropped by the office today enroute to a grand tour of the Visual Effects Department –
Great guy. My writing partner Paul swung by and we ended up having a great chat about SGU’s first season, what lies ahead in season two, challenges, character arcs, shocks and surprises, and the Japanese Chef who was rude to my friend Akemi.
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