2007-09-18
Back in the nation’s capital for a round of visits with our delegation offices. It’s me and Lefty. We took the early flight in, but not before a visit to the PC for ‘free’ coffee, a bagel, and a paper. A little talk with another friend on ‘07 – ’10 and all I have to say is good luck in the 15th.
There’s something about DC that I miss because I’m there so often. It’s the awe and inspiration of the City and its architecture. I’ve been going there on and off for the last eight years and every once in a while I’ll stop to take a look around – the front of the Supreme Court, inside the Capitol Rotunda, or the best is the National Mall at night with the Capitol and the Washington Monument lit up. What a great country.
Which leads to me to dinner…. It’s been a while since I’ve been back, with the August recess, July vaca with the tribe and all. So me and Lefty are working the Hill and boy are we out of shape. But we have some great meetings and are making progress. Having had a full schedule of meetings, and looking down the barrel of a day of more of the same we decide that to go old school for dinner.
The Prime Rib. Now if you’re into no collar shirts, pointy “euro” trash shoes, avoid The Prime Rib. Me, I’m old school. I like the feel of this place. The maître d' is in a tux. Oh and if you show up without a tie and/or without a jacket, they have a nice selection for you at that coat check.
Having been here before, we get right in. Table in the back. Don’t give me the specials. Get me a nice glass of red and Dewar’s on the rocks for Lefty. While prime rib is the specialty, we both get the filet medium to medium-well, as I’m still struggling with the lifeless filet from the Frog in Chicago and Lefty doesn’t like to see it bleed.
Our waiter, who has an odd personality, but one that I like for an establishment like this, brings us our steaks, which I can only hope taste as good as they look….
The temp, the char…perfect. The knife cut through this perfect cut of meat as though Moses himself was at the table. As I was about to take my first bite, our waiter came by to check on the meal and offer fresh ground pepper. I wanted to taste it first, to which he replied “that’s the right answer.” (No kidding douche bag, is what I wanted to say in reply because this is what I live for.)
Inspirational is the only way to describe it. Lefty and me ate for five minutes without saying a word.
Which gets me back to the waiter. I think he was a real ball-buster because he came back and asked, in his dry sense of humor way, if we wanted A-1 or something. I almost stuck him with my knife right there. This guy has no idea how close he came to dieing.
Finishing the meal and calling it a night, I headed to my hotel only to find myself in that place of all places – the National Mall, with the Washington Monument in all of its glory to my right and the Capitol Building to my left….200+ years of history and democracy….
Now that is truly INSPIRATIONAL.
POTUS
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Hope springs eternal
2007-09-16
Let me interrupt this steak to talk about the Cleveland Browns. Me and Lefty went to the game today. Lefty’s got the best seats this side of Randy Learner. Cleveland fans are the best and the worst, all in the same day and sometimes in the same quarter.
So we’re walking to the game and after last week’s opener against Pittsburgh, the crowd seemed to be on a death march, bummed over the fact that they paid so much for their tickets and couldn’t find anyone to take them off their hands this week. DA’s first pass is off the mark and these losers are chanting for the Domer. Later that same quarter, these same ‘fans’ are cheering DA on and professing their faith in him and Coach Juliet.
The funnist thing about the whole day was the four guys sitting next to us on ‘customer’ tickets. These guys were totally out of their element. They started the day out very respectful of our in-state rival and by the end of the game they were using language that would make a trucker or a Pittsburgh fan blush and talking about kicking the ass of the Bengal’s fan sitting in front of them. Have another beer bishop!
Well we all know what happened. Cleveland held out for the victory and those fans, gotta love the fans. It was a victory march out of the stadium and talk of the playoffs and Arizona in February. Ah, Fall in Cleveland and hope springs eternal!
Let me interrupt this steak to talk about the Cleveland Browns. Me and Lefty went to the game today. Lefty’s got the best seats this side of Randy Learner. Cleveland fans are the best and the worst, all in the same day and sometimes in the same quarter.
So we’re walking to the game and after last week’s opener against Pittsburgh, the crowd seemed to be on a death march, bummed over the fact that they paid so much for their tickets and couldn’t find anyone to take them off their hands this week. DA’s first pass is off the mark and these losers are chanting for the Domer. Later that same quarter, these same ‘fans’ are cheering DA on and professing their faith in him and Coach Juliet.
The funnist thing about the whole day was the four guys sitting next to us on ‘customer’ tickets. These guys were totally out of their element. They started the day out very respectful of our in-state rival and by the end of the game they were using language that would make a trucker or a Pittsburgh fan blush and talking about kicking the ass of the Bengal’s fan sitting in front of them. Have another beer bishop!
Well we all know what happened. Cleveland held out for the victory and those fans, gotta love the fans. It was a victory march out of the stadium and talk of the playoffs and Arizona in February. Ah, Fall in Cleveland and hope springs eternal!
Friday, September 28, 2007
My kind of town... (part 2)
2007-09-13
I spent the whole day in session. GOTSOO loved the sessions. Lunch was wonderful – cold cuts! Cold cuts! Are you kidding me! I can have that at home. But at least at home I can get the best corned beef from Corky or Slyman or even Jack. Since corned beef, by definition, is beef I feel it’s important to rate it the InterContinental’s: F-!
So the day dragged on as I waited in anticipation for the night’s dinner on the 95th Floor of the John Hancock Tower’s Signature Room. But first I had to do my part for the economy by shooting out onto Michigan Avenue to get a couple a pairs of new kicks.
So dinner – the award for a day of sitting through speakers. Now let me tell you, GOTSOO disappointed. This is a guy who could kill you 10 different ways before you even knew he didn’t like you and who used to jump out of airplanes and Blackhawk helicopters, refused to have dinner on the 95th floor – something about terrorists, planes and it being September 13…. S.I.U. Nancy!
Let me just tell you, dinner on the 95th floor anywhere is awesome, but you just can’t beat the sunset from this height over a city as great a Chicago. Of course the open bar with top shelf everything doesn’t hurt either. The red with dinner was good for a banquet of 100+. We tipped the waiter to make sure he kept the wine flowing – thanks Hector.
The tip also helped to get us served first – “Grilled Filet of Beef with Caramelized Shallots; Natural Jus”. Maybe it’s just me, but when you serve a steak, especially a filet, it should come naked. I’m of the belief that if you’re putting something on it, you’re trying to hide something else. Now this being a banquet with 100+ people the Signature Room gets a pass, but alas it is not possible to get my A+ rating. Let me tell you something, in spite of the fact that this was a banquet and there was “Caramelized Shallots and Natural Jus” it was a pretty good filet. And it was actually better than the one from the night before (although that one did make for a great breakfast steak).
Me and a group of folks for Iowa finished the night at some 80’s playing dance club on Rush Street. I’m not sure what time I left or got home for that matter, but I do know this, I feel very comfortable in the fact that those Iowans will be the first to vote in the Presidential Primaries. Boy can they party!
And as for GOTSOO, he and CC ended up at ESPN Zone for a lame ass dinner of chicken fingers and French fries. What a missed opportunity.
Next stop – Our Nation’s Capital. Nothing says you love America and hate the terrorists like a big juicy steak in Washington DC.
I spent the whole day in session. GOTSOO loved the sessions. Lunch was wonderful – cold cuts! Cold cuts! Are you kidding me! I can have that at home. But at least at home I can get the best corned beef from Corky or Slyman or even Jack. Since corned beef, by definition, is beef I feel it’s important to rate it the InterContinental’s: F-!
So the day dragged on as I waited in anticipation for the night’s dinner on the 95th Floor of the John Hancock Tower’s Signature Room. But first I had to do my part for the economy by shooting out onto Michigan Avenue to get a couple a pairs of new kicks.
So dinner – the award for a day of sitting through speakers. Now let me tell you, GOTSOO disappointed. This is a guy who could kill you 10 different ways before you even knew he didn’t like you and who used to jump out of airplanes and Blackhawk helicopters, refused to have dinner on the 95th floor – something about terrorists, planes and it being September 13…. S.I.U. Nancy!
Let me just tell you, dinner on the 95th floor anywhere is awesome, but you just can’t beat the sunset from this height over a city as great a Chicago. Of course the open bar with top shelf everything doesn’t hurt either. The red with dinner was good for a banquet of 100+. We tipped the waiter to make sure he kept the wine flowing – thanks Hector.
The tip also helped to get us served first – “Grilled Filet of Beef with Caramelized Shallots; Natural Jus”. Maybe it’s just me, but when you serve a steak, especially a filet, it should come naked. I’m of the belief that if you’re putting something on it, you’re trying to hide something else. Now this being a banquet with 100+ people the Signature Room gets a pass, but alas it is not possible to get my A+ rating. Let me tell you something, in spite of the fact that this was a banquet and there was “Caramelized Shallots and Natural Jus” it was a pretty good filet. And it was actually better than the one from the night before (although that one did make for a great breakfast steak).
Me and a group of folks for Iowa finished the night at some 80’s playing dance club on Rush Street. I’m not sure what time I left or got home for that matter, but I do know this, I feel very comfortable in the fact that those Iowans will be the first to vote in the Presidential Primaries. Boy can they party!
And as for GOTSOO, he and CC ended up at ESPN Zone for a lame ass dinner of chicken fingers and French fries. What a missed opportunity.
Next stop – Our Nation’s Capital. Nothing says you love America and hate the terrorists like a big juicy steak in Washington DC.
My kind of town…
2007-09-12
It’s September and that means flying to Chicago for the annual Midwest lobbyist conference. I’m not sure why we go. We’re years ahead of just about everyone there, but it’s a good excuse to grab what else… a good STEAK. So it’s me and the Governor of the Steak of Ohio crammed into an aluminum tube that passes for an airplane. While we’re waiting on the tarmac to depart because O’Hare has too much traffic (get your act together FAA!) I get on the blackberry (good thing TSA/CIA/NSA wasn’t listing…) and shoot an email to the Collector, Don Corleone and Michael Corleone (all with vast Chicago knowledge) to get some STEAK ideas.
At the suggestion of MC, we end up at the Frog Bar, next to another great steak joint – Gibsons. Were a little early so we hang out outside to enjoy the Rush Street atmosphere. I could have done without the bum trying to hit us up twice, but hey it’s the big city. Oh I forgot our earlier app at this little pizza joint off Michigan Ave. Great XL pep thin crust. (We paid for it later.)
Anyhow, the GOTSOO gets the petite filet (yeah that’s what I said), I get the regular filet and Co-Conspirator gets crab cakes. (in spite of the fact that the closest body of saltwater is the overweight guy sweating in the corner eating what appears to be his last meal.) So we get the steak. Now GOTSOO gets his medium well, seared on the outside – he loves it. Mine on the other hand is supposed to be medium well, warm and pink on the inside (don’t go there) and seared on the outside. Well its seared, but I’m still trying to figure out the inside. I wasn’t warm. It wasn’t cold. It wasn’t pink. It wasn’t bloody. It just was steak. I have to say though the sear made the steak. I just wish the inside would have been as inspiring. (And just so you know, I never send a steak back. They have to get it right the first time and if they don’t and you send it back they just drop in the deepfryer – ask MC – that’s what they used to do at the GM Grill. Well I didn’t finish the steak due to the previously mentioned XL pizza. So I took it home for my morning breakfast. You just don’t throw out good steak.
However the best part of the evening was when we split the check. We asked the waiter to put mine and GOTSOO on one bill and CC on another, because I was expensing mine and GOTSOO and GOTSOO was paying for CC. Well the waiter really thought that me and GOTSOO were “together” if you know what I mean. GOTSOO didn’t get what the waiter said and attempted to explain his marital status with CC. The waiter wasn’t really sure what was going on but what the heck did he care – he got a nice tip from his easiest table all evening.
In summary, the Steak rating for Frog is a B+ from me and I’m guessing an A from GOTSOO.
Tomorrow night – more steak.
POTUS
It’s September and that means flying to Chicago for the annual Midwest lobbyist conference. I’m not sure why we go. We’re years ahead of just about everyone there, but it’s a good excuse to grab what else… a good STEAK. So it’s me and the Governor of the Steak of Ohio crammed into an aluminum tube that passes for an airplane. While we’re waiting on the tarmac to depart because O’Hare has too much traffic (get your act together FAA!) I get on the blackberry (good thing TSA/CIA/NSA wasn’t listing…) and shoot an email to the Collector, Don Corleone and Michael Corleone (all with vast Chicago knowledge) to get some STEAK ideas.
At the suggestion of MC, we end up at the Frog Bar, next to another great steak joint – Gibsons. Were a little early so we hang out outside to enjoy the Rush Street atmosphere. I could have done without the bum trying to hit us up twice, but hey it’s the big city. Oh I forgot our earlier app at this little pizza joint off Michigan Ave. Great XL pep thin crust. (We paid for it later.)
Anyhow, the GOTSOO gets the petite filet (yeah that’s what I said), I get the regular filet and Co-Conspirator gets crab cakes. (in spite of the fact that the closest body of saltwater is the overweight guy sweating in the corner eating what appears to be his last meal.) So we get the steak. Now GOTSOO gets his medium well, seared on the outside – he loves it. Mine on the other hand is supposed to be medium well, warm and pink on the inside (don’t go there) and seared on the outside. Well its seared, but I’m still trying to figure out the inside. I wasn’t warm. It wasn’t cold. It wasn’t pink. It wasn’t bloody. It just was steak. I have to say though the sear made the steak. I just wish the inside would have been as inspiring. (And just so you know, I never send a steak back. They have to get it right the first time and if they don’t and you send it back they just drop in the deepfryer – ask MC – that’s what they used to do at the GM Grill. Well I didn’t finish the steak due to the previously mentioned XL pizza. So I took it home for my morning breakfast. You just don’t throw out good steak.
However the best part of the evening was when we split the check. We asked the waiter to put mine and GOTSOO on one bill and CC on another, because I was expensing mine and GOTSOO and GOTSOO was paying for CC. Well the waiter really thought that me and GOTSOO were “together” if you know what I mean. GOTSOO didn’t get what the waiter said and attempted to explain his marital status with CC. The waiter wasn’t really sure what was going on but what the heck did he care – he got a nice tip from his easiest table all evening.
In summary, the Steak rating for Frog is a B+ from me and I’m guessing an A from GOTSOO.
Tomorrow night – more steak.
POTUS
Many years in the making
2007/09/28
Why you ask, a blog about steak? I’d have to say it’s been a running joke for several years now. It doesn’t matter where I go for dinner I almost always order steak and when I don’t, I usually wish I had.
As blogs have come of age, I thought to myself – a blog might be fun to do, but it might also be a real pain in the ass. So taking a cue from some very successful people, I thought I might attempt to write about something I love to do – EAT STEAK!
I have to be honest, I’m such a non-tech person that I had to recruit my colleague the Governor of the Steak of Ohio, who you will certainly hear more about later, to help me set this thing up. We probably talked about it for three weeks, so in the mean time I started writing my first posts (as I happened to be eating steak while on business and I will load them all at once) and waited for GOTSOO to set me up with the SteakMatters blog. And even after he got it registered, I wasted a week before posting anything.
Additional kudos goto GOTSOO for his collaboration on the name. It was during a brainstorming session (I think we were drinking. Actually I’m sure we were drinking.) that he suggested SteakMatters because of its double meaning. (Still doesn’t mean you’re getting paid!)
So here we go with the blog. I hope you enjoy it, but first some ground rules:
1) Life’s short. Eat Steak.
2) It’s about steak, my steak experiences and my friends’ steak experiences. I may also comment about other things (politics, things that piss me off), if you don’t like it, refer to rule #1
3) I was never a good speller. So if I misspell something or use improper grammar, don’t waste your time posting comments about my errors, instead refer to rule #1.
4) I will attempt to post my steak reports in a timely manner, but I expect that work and family, but more likely vino may provide challenges from time to time. When delayed, refer to #1
5) Finally, I reserve the right to add ground rules as we go along.
And with that, I look forward to this new adventure….
Sincerely,
POTUS
President of the United Steaks
Why you ask, a blog about steak? I’d have to say it’s been a running joke for several years now. It doesn’t matter where I go for dinner I almost always order steak and when I don’t, I usually wish I had.
As blogs have come of age, I thought to myself – a blog might be fun to do, but it might also be a real pain in the ass. So taking a cue from some very successful people, I thought I might attempt to write about something I love to do – EAT STEAK!
I have to be honest, I’m such a non-tech person that I had to recruit my colleague the Governor of the Steak of Ohio, who you will certainly hear more about later, to help me set this thing up. We probably talked about it for three weeks, so in the mean time I started writing my first posts (as I happened to be eating steak while on business and I will load them all at once) and waited for GOTSOO to set me up with the SteakMatters blog. And even after he got it registered, I wasted a week before posting anything.
Additional kudos goto GOTSOO for his collaboration on the name. It was during a brainstorming session (I think we were drinking. Actually I’m sure we were drinking.) that he suggested SteakMatters because of its double meaning. (Still doesn’t mean you’re getting paid!)
So here we go with the blog. I hope you enjoy it, but first some ground rules:
1) Life’s short. Eat Steak.
2) It’s about steak, my steak experiences and my friends’ steak experiences. I may also comment about other things (politics, things that piss me off), if you don’t like it, refer to rule #1
3) I was never a good speller. So if I misspell something or use improper grammar, don’t waste your time posting comments about my errors, instead refer to rule #1.
4) I will attempt to post my steak reports in a timely manner, but I expect that work and family, but more likely vino may provide challenges from time to time. When delayed, refer to #1
5) Finally, I reserve the right to add ground rules as we go along.
And with that, I look forward to this new adventure….
Sincerely,
POTUS
President of the United Steaks
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
