Hey, guess who I heard from today? Mark Dacascos, aka The Chairman (Iron Chef America), aka Tyre (Stargate: Atlantis), aka Eric Draven (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven), aka Mani (Brotherhood of the Wolf) – and, most recently, Wo-Fat (Hawaii Five-O), who touched base after I mentioned him on my list of The Top 10 Food T.V. Personalities I Enjoy Watching (January 9, 2011: The Top 10 Food T.V. Personalities I Enjoy Watching!). Super stand up guy (after his stint on Atlantis, I had members of the crew walking up to me and asking if there was any way we could make him a regular – despite his character’s death and all). I have got to get to New York this year and watch him do his thing in Kitchen Stadium. And, while I’m there, check out some of the city’s good eats. Robert Cooper has already volunteered to be my culinary wingman and I’m sure I could convince Marty G. to join us.
Many of you have asked about Jelly, my 13 year old pug who is recovering from back surgery. Well, her conditions continues to improve and she’s finding it a lot easier to get around now –
Today, I met up with Lawren, Ashleigh, Ivon, and Sara for lunch at Romers (initially Chronic Tacos, but their West 4th location appears to: a) have just shut down operations or b) to be about a month away from starting up operations). I’ve had almost every burger on the menu and, each time, I end up regretting not having gone with the Magic Mushroom Burger. So, today, I did the Magic Mushroom Burger…
- Ashleigh wishes she was home eating tabouleh/watching Oprah.
It’s nice to have so many friends with free time.
Also, earlier in the week, I checked out that new barbecue place in Gastown = Peckinpah…
- Former Atlantis writer Ken Cuperus has been in town working on a show for months. He got in touch with me ages ago about meeting up for dinner. First, I was busy with my episode, then busy wrapping up the season, then busy in Tokyo, then busy with family, and finally – not that busy at all. So we got together for that long overdue dinner.
- The creamed corn was good as was the corn bread (although I prefer the version served up at the Memphis Blues Barbecue House). Thought the beef rib was good but a little dry.
Ken enjoyed his pulled pork which was served up sans barbecue sauce. The house barbecue sauce, available at every table, has a little more of a vinegar kick than others, in keeping with the Carolina-style theme.
We covered all three desserts on the menu…
- Pumpkin Bread Pudding with pecan crumble, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. It certainly looks good.
Peckinpah is a new addition to the Gastown restaurant row so I’m willing to dismiss some of the more disappointing aspects of this visit as “growing pains”. I’d like to give it a revisit in a month to see how things have improved. At present, nowhere near as good as the Memphis Blues Barbecue House. However, Peckinpah has something Memphis Blues doesn’t…
Okay, I’ve just about had it with Shaw Cable. I must get about a call a week from them. Last night, I recognized the number and answered. The girl on the other end of the line only had time to offer a “Good evening” before I launched into “Thanks for calling, but I have no intention of getting Shaw satellite television even though they’re internet provider and I’ll tell you why. I’ve been a Bell satellite customer for five years now and have never had a problem. My friends at work, on the other hand, are Shaw customers and all they do is complain about the problems they’ve experienced and the fact that they can never get someone from Shaw to go over and address the issues. So no thanks and if you could make a note of telling whoever was planning to call me next week that I still won’t be interested.”
A pause on the other end of the line and then: “So you’re basing your decision on what your friends say?”
“Yes,”I told her as the last of my patience evaporated away. “I’m basing my decision on my friends, your customers, who have nothing good to say about the service you provide.”
She seemed genuinely offended and hung up.
Hopefully, this will deter them from trying again. If they prove persistent, my next step is to drop them as my internet provider. Maybe that will get me off their call list.
Hitting the mailbag tomorrow so get your questions in.
And finish off The Iron Hunt! Discussion begins Monday and author (not so secret Stargate fan) Marjorie M. Liu will be swinging by later in the week to field your questions!
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