To the Windy City

Looks like we will be making a quick Chicago trip for casting -- we will be in the Windy City April 9th and 10th. We are excited, as Chicago supposedly has some fabulous restaurants. I went for a couple of days when I was quite young, before my foodie-ism kicked in; David has not been to Chicago. Fun, fun.

On preparing for Madrid...Spanish classes!

Lest it seem from this blog that all David and I do is travel, eat, and drink, I must report that today I began a private, one-on-one Spanish tutorial at the Queen Sophia Institute here in Manhattan, to prepare for our impending Madrid casting trip. The session began at 8:30am and lasted 1.5 hours. I have a fairly extensive background in studying Spanish (8 years), but am shy about speaking and have not had any occasion to practice since my early years in Princeton... so I am rusty, to say the least. Oswaldo, mi profesor, was very patient, clear, and easy to talk to, very encouraging. We met and dived right into getting to know each other in Spanish, which was slightly jangling to me -- I don't know what I'd expected, I suppose I thought we'd sit and speak in English for a while about why I wanted to be tutored and what my objectives were, until I felt comfortable enough to start speaking Spanish. (I think I conflated the idea of having a Spanish tutor with having a linguistic shrink.) Oswaldo and I both realized quickly that my biggest challenge will be remembering what I had been taught in the past and overcoming my confidence issues in speaking in Spanish. As I warmed up, I was able to explain to him a great deal about our show, which was a funny experience -- having to explain and describe to a stranger about our show and the work that I do, in another language, made me realize yet again how complicated the show is. In any case, I had a very good initial session, have been given homework, and will take another class on Monday. Eleanor took a class with a different teacher today, too, had a lovely time, and David has signed up to begin classes next week. I think it will be great for all of us to have intensive and focused Spanish lessons before we immerse ourselves into Madrid casting and, come summer, rehearsals and life in Madrid.

I confess I enjoyed being back in a "class"/"schooling" situation today. Taking a class at 8:30am was not as bad as I thought it might be. We did have another day of casting today afterwards, however, which was, again, tiring, so I think I shall go to bed early-ish tonight.

Estoy muy cansada - voy a dormir bien esta noche.

A shoe-in chopstick wall

Hi there,
Last night mi esposa y yo (my wife and I) went to the Gen Art Film Festival launch party in a tres chic, three-leveled designer shoe store in SoHo called Te Casan. As customary at Gen Art events, the vodka was free, with an interesting, special-event, vodka-based martini containing herbal tea and some sort of juice also circulating. Not bad, although once the place was full, the line to the bar began to look more like a mosh pit than an appealing gateway to a free voddy. (Strangely enough -- or perhaps very cleverly -- attendees to the party could also try on and BUY shoes while getting drunk on free alcohol and socializing late into the night.)

The music was (as always) good, and the people were (as always) interesting to look at, but after looking at the lovely yet somewhat eccentric shoe offerings and the lovely and somewhat eccentric people, there was little left to do but turn our attention to the latter part of the evening - dinner and cocktails.

On our way to dinner we stopped by Thom bar (above Kittichai) @ 60 Thompson. The martinis here are good - you should go with the passion fruit cachaca martini, or the martini with mango and rum (my favourites). From here we moved onto Woo Lae Oak, a Haute cuisine Korean Restaurant on Mercer Street in SoHo. A little bit different from the usual Korea Town fare (which I love), the food here has a more refined and well-prepared air - and you'd expect it to have at these prices. We loved the food here. Awesome to cook fresh seafood at your table (we had scallop BBQ) combined with the aromatic, delicate flavours of the chef-prepared Korean dishes. The chef-prepared dishes included a short rib steak, a marinated Black Cod with daikon, and crab meat rolled in a spinach crepe - all extremely delicious. If you throw a bottle of delightfully floral sake in the mix, you've got yourself a ring-side seat at a beautiful evening out. We were seated in front of a wall full of celebrity chopsticks. The manager was all too happy to indulge the friendly couple at the end of the night with explanations as to whose chopsticks were who's on their wall of fame. Notable mentions were Jean Georges, Mike Meyers, Prodigy, Kate Hudson, Micheal J. Fox and many (small wall full of) more.

David

The 1.5 Mark

This past Tuesday, March 27th, was our "half anniversary." Not exactly a milestone, we know, and we will at some point get over the giggly factor of being married and learn to count anniversaries in their true meaning (e.g. annually).

For now, we are still newlyweds, after all.

Last year on our "half anniversary" we were in Hamburg -- in fact, the show had premiered the night before, which meant that we were severely hungover and, after 3 months of hotel-living, were desperately trying to pack up our belongings to return to New York the following day. We were tickled about our "half anniversary" and had dinner at Indochine, the only restaurant we came to like in Hamburg for its fresh vegetables. (Indochine also served up a fabulous cocktail made of crushed kumquats and gin, which made it even more appealing.)

(At Public on our 1.5 Anniversary)

This past Tuesday, on our 1.5 years married mark, we spent the day casting in New York. It was a long, exhausting day. We decided that we would take ourselves out for a celebration -- or rather, our half anniversary became a good excuse to drink ourselves silly on a Tuesday night, in style. We decided to go to Public again for its infused vodkas and deliciously fresh food... and were not disappointed. Again, we did not look through the wine list and instead devoted ourselves to the vodka list. There was a new flavor -- Pineapple & Pink Peppercorn -- which was gorgeous, very light and refreshing with just a hint of pepperiness. We had a delicious tasting of sorbet for dessert, which consisted of 6 different flavors served in little pots, and champagne. We had a lovely evening, thoroughly and successfully de-stressed from our day of casting, and merrily concluded our 1.5 anniversary jollily tipsy and full.

TM

L.A. Story

(Getting rather drunk at Lola's)

We spent 4 days in L.A. Unfortunately, we did not have much sunshine while there -- we saw an overcast L.A. But we enjoyed our time there, and spent what free time we had seeing friends and eating well. We didn’t see many celebrities, other than Joey Fatone staying at our hotel (for Dancing with the Stars), and a few recognizable actors who auditioned for our show (we won’t say who here, but you can always ask us about them and we will tell you in person :).

A bit of musing on our first visit to Los Angeles --

THOUGHTS ON L.A.:
Because we spent most of our time casting, we did not see very much of L.A. outside of our commute between our hotel and the audition venue, and our experiences with various restaurants. The weird thing about L.A., on our first visit there, is that everything seems slightly on the dingy side. Unlike hotels in New York, posh hotels in L.A. like the Chateau Marmont or the Mondrian look dingy from the outside, almost motel-like. Perhaps it is the weather in L.A. that “weathers” the facade of buildings a certain way, but I found the dingy factor in L.A. strange. I expected Hollywood glitz and sparkle. Even our hotel, while nice on the inside -- spacious rooms with balconies and fireplaces -- felt slightly less glamorous than it might have, especially from the outside. The restaurant served lovely breakfast with gorgeously crisp bacon, but the atmosphere felt more like a hospital cafeteria than a hotel restaurant. It lacked a certain sexiness that I thought would be abundant in L.A. Bars seemed to be this way, too. We were told that there is a “dive bar” scene in L.A. -- bars that are shabby chic, as opposed to fabulous hotel bars. Couple of the bars recommended by the hotel and touted on Citysearch L.A. as “to be seen” bars simply looked like sports bars. There is also a general “extended strip mall” aspect to the city -- roads and roads lined with shops, bars, restaurants. Maybe it was the gray weather we had... Maybe when the sun is out, everything would look brighter. But my first impression of L.A. is that it is more shabby than chic.

Perhaps this is just my Manhattan snobbishness reacting.

ON FOOD IN L.A.:
On our first night in L.A. (Sunday), we went to Koi for dinner with Eleanor and Rachel, our casting director. As Koi is often mentioned in gossip magazines as a place frequented by celebrities, we thought it might be a fun place go for a scene-y L.A. dinner. We were prepared for mediocre food served amidst an over-hyped restaurant glitz (much like the disappointing Asia de Cuba in London), but the food at Koi turned out to be spectacular: gorgeous sashimi (hamachi with soy citrus truffle essence); spicy seared albacore topped with crispy red onions; perfectly steamed sea bass with ginger and shitake mushrooms; creamy, “miso-bronzed black cod”; seared duck breast sliced over roasted shishito peppers (which were so mild David thought were okra). We shared all this, and finished off the meal with a molten chocolate cake. Rachel, Eleanor and I had martinis to start while David ordered a bottle of sake, to which Rachel and I turned post-martini. The sake was fabulous. We saw no celebrities we recognized, but we had a brilliant dinner. We even made friends with our waiter, who was an Australian actor married to an American teacher.

On our second night in L.A., we met up with our friend Philip. After a few drinks at his beautiful and spacious apartment (we were very jealous), a game of golf and bowling on his Wii and a couple of magic tricks (Philip is an excellent magician), we went to Mozza, a newly opened Mario Batali restaurant. It is basically an L.A. counterpart to Batali’s New York restaurant, Otto -- an up-market pizzaria with a selection of antipasti, salads, and an appealing list of wines. While we had a wonderful time catching up with Philip, we were not too impressed with the food -- the pizzas were not as thin and crispy as the ones at Otto. Of all the Mario Batali restaurants we have eaten in, this was our least favorite.

On our third night in L.A., we went to a Thai restaurant called Natalie Thai with two girl friends from Princeton -- Devin and her boyfriend Brett, and Noelia and her boyfriend Victor. It was our first triple date experience, and the evening was full of laughter and merriment. The food was inexpensive but delicious, and the portions massive.

On our last night in L.A., David and I decided to go for a romantic dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. Again, we did not see any celebrities, but we felt plenty glamorous on our own. We had a gorgeous bottle of Californian Viognier (a recent discovery). I had an appetizer of sizzling mussels, which were fabulous, and David had gnocchi with lamb ragu, also superb. We both had Catonese-style duck for our mains, which were less special than the appetizers. The portions were generous for both courses, so we had no room for dessert. We ordered pots of tea instead, and were served petits fours. The petits fours were gorgeous and varied (cakes, cookies, jellies - the largest petits fours selection we have seen), so we ended up asking to take them home as we could not eat them all but were loathe to part with them, too.

After Spago, carrying our take-away box of petits fours, we went to Lola’s, a martini lounge that claims to have concocted the very first apple martini. Despite an interior that looks more like a dive bar (with a doorman) than a martini lounge, Lola's offers an expansive variation on the martini -- 50 on the menu. David had a martini made of 42 Below Manuka honey vodka, pear juice, sweet and sour, and dash of black pepper, while I had a straight up martini made with 42 Below Manuka honey vodka. The martinis were massive (seems like a theme in L.A. -- food and drinks in generous portions). Drinking my martini was akin to drinking vodka out of a bucket. David loved his martini, and has proclaimed it his most favorite ever. We had a wonderful time at Lola’s, found ourselves completely hammered by one martini each, and barely made it back to our hotel.

RETURNING TO NEW YORK:
Our days in L.A. passed quickly, it seemed, and we were exhausted by the time we flew home to New York. We never quite got over our jet-lag, I think. I slept through most of the flight. David took some gorgeous photos of the Grand Canyon. We definitely want to return to L.A. and explore it properly, go shopping, sightseeing; next time we go out there, I'd also love for us to go down to San Diego. I think David liked L.A. better than I did. Maybe some of my East Coast instincts conflict with certain West Coast aspects. Or maybe it is simply because I cannot drive and don't really want to learn, and L.A. is not a non-driver-friendly city. I can't just put my hand up and hail a taxi like I can in New York, and this difference does put a strain on one's freedom to move around in a city. Within the 4 days in L.A., I didn't fall in love with it, as I have with some other cities I've been to, like Rome and Sydney. I know I haven't seen very much of L.A., and perhaps have not given it its fair chance, but my first impressions of L.A. is that it is not really for me. I loved seeing my L.A. friends, enjoyed the meals we ate, we had a lot of fun, but ultimately I missed New York and was happy to go home.

(Incidentally, I did not make a dent on the Pynchon. To David's chagrin, we carried it around the entire trip like a glorified paper weight.)

TM

Tuck-in to a Pie

Hi there,
Tomoko and I got back from LA very early Friday morning but we haven't written anything about it yet. We have many stories and photos to blog, but before we can get to that I have to tell you about the meat pie I had last night. It was good, and not just because I was a couple of vodkas shy of collapse.

We all know the immense pleasure of biting into a wonderfully flavourful, altogether beautiful meat pie - or maybe you don't. Even in Aussieland the above mentioned can be an all too distant, possibly extinct phenomena, a fabled creature akin to the bunyip - something to tell the grandkiddies about. But not any more - at least if you know where the Tuck Shop is. Yes, New Yorkians, your time in the sun has arrived and you can now enjoy what must be regarded as one of the best culinary pleasures available for human consumption... the good MEAT PIE.

Not even in Aus does the meat pie get such careful, first class attention. The lovely juicy flavour, the correct balance of meat and gravy, the flaky but not overly abundant pastry, the way it burns your mouth as you try and eat it as fast as you can - all elements were executed beautifully. I think that in Aus the "humble pie" is severely being eaten. Every bakery makes them there. There are dedicated pie shops, meat pies are everywhere, and yet the only pie I can remember ever tasting as good in my 25 years of pie eating experience in Aus was at Harry's Cafe De Wheels in Potts Point Sydney - that's a great place and they even give you mushy peas.

The Tuck Shop (NYC) even sells Tim Tams (they were out when we went), and some other Aussie confectionery. They also have many other varieties of pies. Steak and Guinness, and Chicken Curry were the other two types I knocked back last night after a very fun night out for Tarlan's birthday. So if you're in the mood for a pastry encased protein you'll be in luck if you're around 1st Ave and 1st Street. Tell them I sent you - and they'll probably give you a quizzical look (I don't know them). I'll wager all the pies are good but if you're looking for an authentic and bloody great treat go for the traditional "Meat Pie".

Adios (I'm practicing Espanol)
XXX David

Back in the Big Apple

We just got home from L.A. after a very busy few days - stories on food and semi-celebrity sightings to come. In the mean time, we are happy to be back in New York sitting on our green couch, even if surrounded by luggage and clutter.

On our Las Vegas experience... A look back.

(View onto the Strip from the Bellagio, where we saw "O".)

The recent weather in New York had an unexpected impact on our audition process in Las Vegas: our casting director did not make it to casting. Her flight was canceled on Friday, then New York airports closed. The earliest flight available to her was one that left New York Saturday night, by which point we had finished our one day of casting in Las Vegas. This was a slight problem.

Luckily, David and I left New York early enough on Friday to make our way to Las Vegas. Our flight took off just as the snow/ice came down, so that we were only delayed about fifteen minutes. We arrived in Vegas safe and sound without much ado, discovered sunshine and 80 degree temperature, checked into our massive room at the Venetian, ate lunch, and made our way to the roof-top pool. There, we spent the afternoon sunning and sipping cocktails. We had no awareness of the blizzard in New York -- spring break was in the air.

Auditions on Saturday, despite our casting director’s absence, went smoothly. We found a couple of people... But we did not see any showgirl types that we had thought we’d come to Vegas to see. This was strange, since it would seem to us that leggy, blonde, big-boobed female dancers would be the order of the day in Vegas.

But so it goes.

In brief about our two days in Las Vegas:

Did we gamble? -- Yes. We spent $2. Lost $1. Won $1. That was the extent of our gambling. Looking back, we wish we’d folded when we had found ourselves, on our $1, up at $1.50. But we were greedy gamblers. Luckily, we resisted gambling addiction setting in.

Our biggest question about Vegas: Is breast augmentation mandatory in Las Vegas? I (Tomoko) felt as if I had forgotten to bring my pair of fake boobs to fully acclimatize to the general culture. (David calls them “saline stocking stuffers” and loves his alliteration in the description.)

Did we eat well? -- Lunch on Friday, to put it simply, sucked. We ate in an Italian restaurant in faux Venice, which was just odd. To be fair, our lunch choice does not reflect our best gourmet moment, as we missed the restaurant where we had intended to lunch (and booked) by about 15 minutes. We ate Friday dinner at Bouchon -- it was nice and quietly refined, although we expected more out of Thomas Keller. We wonder if these haute cuisine restaurants are not unlike the shows in Vegas -- scaled down. Broadway shows that come to Vegas, such as Mama Mia and Spamalot, necessarily get cut down from their original length to 90 minutes with no intermission (evidently due to the A.D.D. gambling culture). We began to wonder maybe this “cutting down” happened with restaurants -- one can find restaurants by Joel Robouchon, Bobby Flay, Thomas Keller, but perhaps they are not as fabulous as their counterpart restaurants would be in a city, say, like New York. On Saturday night, though, we ate at Le Cirque, and that was fabulous, if expensive.

Did we see a show? -- Yes, we saw Cirque du Soleil’s “O,” which everyone says is the BEST show in Vegas. There were certainly some gorgeous moments. David enjoyed it. Tomoko slept through half of the 90 minute show, which is never a good indication.

Did we party? -- Yes. We generally drank as much as possible while on a BUSINESS TRIP. Our biggest night turned out to be our first night in Vegas, when we went to Tao. The odd thing about Vegas is that the people -- besides us, obviously -- are extremely unattractive. It’s as if there were a high pitched call unheard by attractive people that inspires the other, less aesthetically-gifted to flock to Vegas. The ugly factor in the young people partying in Vegas worked in our advantage, however, as, when we went to Tao, we bypassed the long lines and were let in without a fuss. Tao was fun, if too crowded. We danced a bit, marveled at more fake boobs that abound the place, and then called it a night. We did not end up going out on Saturday night, as it was St. Patty’s Day and too chaotic. We made sure to raid the mini-bar in our own suite instead. That was fun.

Did David have a killer hangover that made him cranky? YES. Did Tomoko have a hangover? NO. She is a professional.

Did we get a tan? -- Tomoko has begun a healthy summer glow. David is just lucky that he is not burnt like a boiled lobster. (He continues to glow like moonshine on a summer’s night.)

How did we find the locals? -- Super duper nice. Nice people from the hotel staff to PAs for our auditions to the barista at Starbuck’s. People in Las Vegas are truly laid-back, friendly, and conversational.

In summary, we enjoyed Las Vegas. It’s an odd place, and not a place that we’d go back to for an extended stay. But this weekend was a great experience to have had, if slightly sleep-depriving.

And onto L.A. --

Still need to post photos and recap Las Vegas. For now, just reporting that we are in L.A. It seems that we are staying at the same place Joey Fatone is staying whilst he rehearses for "Dancing with the Stars." He was in the lobby carrying dance shoes in a plastic bag. How odd. And his dance partner is none other than Kym Johnson, an Australian ballroom dancer we know from Sydney. Strange world. We hope for more surrealist L.A. stories to report... in the mean time, we are going to take a nap before dinner tonight at Koi.

First Impressions of Vegas

Our first day ever in Las Vegas -- already, we have plenty of snap shots with commentaries to match about it. We are a bit tired now, however, as we have not slept very much due to travel and have been up clubbing tonight at Tao (in the name of cultural exposure). We hope to post a few photos tomorrow. For the time being, one aspect of Las Vegas stands out to us more than others: this is the land of fake boobs. We haven't been to L.A. yet, we know, but for now, we have never seen more fake boobs than we have on our first day in Las Vegas.

TM & DS

On discovering that I have not improved on packing...

No matter how often we travel, I don't seem to improve on my packing abilities. I do feel that I have become a more clever packer (three words: zip loc bags), but the luggage I pack do not appear to get any lighter with experience. This is the point, at midnight with the car coming to pick us up in 5 1/2 hours, that I begin not to know what I have packed, or hardly have the energy to care. At this point, the way I see it, the more things I bring, the more likely that there will be something useful (probability, you see).

David and I have forgone having any shame concerning our indecision and vanity. We too often bring an irrational number of shoes. So much so that we carry an extra luggage shared between us containing, mostly, shoes. We do carry equipment in this shared luggage (cords, cables, small printer, etc.)... but really, even I question why we both need so many pairs of shoes.

And to top it off, as if we weren't carrying enough things with us for a trip that is not, in all honesty, very long, and domestic, I have decided that this trip was the trip on which I shall read "Against the Day" by Thomas Pynchon. It is a book of mere... 1085 pages... and hardcover.

Looking at all this, I begin to think that perhaps I should stick to trashy magazines (disposable along the way). And I certainly have not improved on packing. But truthfully, I don't think I could give up shoes any time soon. It's all about the choices, you see.

TM

On prepping for travel...

Tomoko has become the proud owner of a pair of fancy aviator sunglasses. Bring on Vegas, bring on LA, Tomoko's eyes will be very well protected.

On the importance of a haircut before traveling...

David sporting his new shorter Mod hair, courtesy of his trusty hairdresser in New York.

One of the things one deeply misses when spending time away from home is one's hairdresser. In Hamburg, I had my hair butchered by a hairdresser at what seemed in all its appearances a posh salon -- awards on walls and framed magazine clippings featuring its glories. What ensued at this salon was a nightmare: my hairdresser and I could not communicate with each other (I spoke no German and she spoke no English); she kept barking "Pony, pony!!!" at me (which I later learnt referred to my bangs), and before I could process, she had lopped off a huge chunk of my hair to create this "pony," which was a very architectural-looking mass that would be, henceforth, my "bangs"; she continued to cut despite my best efforts to gesture to her that I did not want my hair short, and finally, upon seeing that I did not appear to be happy about all this, she took out a flattening iron and straightened my hair pin straight.

I had never cried after a haircut. This Hamburg experience would inspire my first tears shed for a haircut gone wrong. And it happened a day before opening night. I cried all the way back to the hotel room, inconsolable, David trying to make me laugh yet hardly able to mask his disbelief at the most atrocious haircut I had just received. I locked myself in the bathroom and wept hysterically that my life had been ruined, I would never leave the bathroom, would never be seen outside, would certainly not attend the glamorous premiere the next evening.

Then something snapped -- a sense of deep injustice boiled in me. I unlocked the bathroom door, retrieved my coat, declared to shocked David that I was going back to the salon to demand someone else fix my hair. So I stormed all the way back into the city to the posh salon (with David championing my decision), demanded to see the top stylist there, explained about my hair and about its consequences on my life. I was firm, I am proud to recall, neither hysterical nor angry. And the top stylist fixed it (still not perfect, but now I was able to leave the house and be seen again). It turned out he was invited to the opening night of our show as well, so we said we would see each other at the party. We never did.

This Hamburg experience made us very careful when getting our haircuts abroad, or by people other than the hairdressers we have come to love in New York. I know there wouldn't be a language problem in Las Vegas or LA, but, hey, one never knows.

TM

Venetian Vegas

We found out that we will be staying at The Venetian in Las Vegas -- which seems nice, if perhaps overwhelmingly "Venetian." According to its website, the resort-casino promises that, there, we will "experience the romance of Italy" as it "evokes the spirit of Venice." It even has gondola rides on the Grand Canal!!! When we were in Venice for the first time last November, we thought that it may be a while before we return to the floating city. Who knew we'd experience it again Las Vegas-style! Cannot wait -- should be unlike any other experience we have had. David imagines it as a drugged up Jupiters Casino in the Gold Coast (with about 10,000 times the potency in casino-glitz). We both hope that the hotel can't be too bad if there is a Thomas Keller restaurant in it.

[Interestingly, someone just told me that one of the nicknames for Venice -- the real one -- is "the city of lights" (does Paris know about this?)... which I guess, then, makes it more appropriate in a kind of humorous/double entendre manner that there is a Venice in Vegas, as the latter is also a city of lights -- "bright lights." Of course, I must remember that am talking about the same place that boasts a Sphynx, so maybe I am reaching a bit here.]

TM

Studying Spanish can give body to your hair...

David diligently doing his Spanish lesson for the day (in preparation for the Madrid production - rehearsals begin mid-July).

Pre-trip thoughts on Las Vegas

David and I fly to Las Vegas this Friday morning to cast for the Toronto production. We will spend just one day casting in Sin City (Saturday); then, on Sunday we fly to L.A. for three more days of casting starting Monday. These auditions are specifically for the principal roles of Baby, Johnny, and Penny (and their understudies). It should be an interesting casting trip, if maybe on the intense-side as we will try to see as many people as possible in a relatively short period of time.

I have never been to Las Vegas or L.A., neither has David. In fact, since moving to the US, David has seen more of Canada, perhaps, than of the US. In Canada, he's been to Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal for at least a few days in each city; in the US, outside of NYC where we live, he's been to a tiny Vermont town, to a wedding on Long Island, and has accompanied me to my Fifth Reunion at Princeton (New Jersey)... not exactly an in depth exploration of the US or even the East Coast (although he absolutely loves Vermont).

David is excited about his first adventure to the West Coast.

Being a total non-gambler, I've never had a real desire to go to Vegas -- I don't even like to gamble on a new sandwich at a familiar lunch source if I already have my well-established favorite there. My impressions of Vegas derive from movies such as The Cooler (love it) and Showgirls (...) -- impressions toward the desperate and depressing. (David, by the way, explains that he bases his impressions on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I don't know is a good or a bad thing.) As most young people, I have entertained the fun-possibility of going to Vegas for a weekend party with friends, but have never done so. In the end, it always ultimately seemed better to stay in New York if I were home and party in this city of bright lights -- where I know where to go and what I like -- as opposed to the one out in Nevada.

But then, I was never a gambler.

I would like to think that being a non-gambler doesn't mean I am not curious to try new things -- I do, and am willing, I might just take a bit more time to reflect and contemplate on the new endeavor than most. I like to be informed in an instance where I am opting to do A when I might have done B -- weighing the scenario. Being this sort of a person, traveling for work gives me a great opportunity to be my "non-gambler"-self and yet comfortably go to places I might have hesitated to go to or may not have gone at all. It will be great to see Las Vegas without having to ask myself, "Is this the best way to spend my weekend?" -- I will be there for work, and it will be great to have a glimpse of it. And should I go out to a fun club while there, the experience becomes only a plus -- much better than feeling any kind of pressure that being in Vegas means I must have at least one crazy story to tell when I return home.

Perhaps I am slightly neurotic about travel. But I think I get better as I do so.

It will, in any case, be an intriguing trip to Las Vegas -- I, a non-gambler, had not anticipated my first trip to Las Vegas would be (1) for work and (2) with my husband (I mean... as one of my colleagues... most people our age go there single-and-to-debauch or to get hitched, don't they?). What kind of performers will we see? Will they be noticeably different from those in NYC or elsewhere we've cast?

I hope we find a fun restaurant and club to go to...

TM

On How Infused Vodka is Our New Shochu

We went to Public last night for the first time, for dinner. We will write in more detail about the virtues of the meal we had when we have fully recovered from the weekend and find a moment to reflect more contemplatively (and without headaches) about it all.

We do feel compelled to note, before we can responsibly begin and go about our Sunday, that Public has some of the most gorgeous infused vodkas we have drunk to date. We drank the flavors offered simply on the rocks. My favorite was the Spicy Pumpkin: think liquid pumpkin pie filling with less sugar and with a more grown-up punch of cinnamon, which goes down like a nice smooth shochu -- not too strong, but with sensational impact. David's favorite was the Mango-Yuzu-Red Chili, which was smooth and delicate, with well-balanced flavors that kicked slightly on the aftertaste. The Fig-Fennel was, to put it simply, sexy yet almost too overwhelming to drink with dinner -- it paired perfectly with a trio of gorgeous desserts at the end.

When we were in London, we became quite involved with infused shochu at the the Shochu Lounge under one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Roka. Since then, we've wondered why shochu bars have not popped up in the New York City nightlife. For the time being, though, we feel we have found perfectly acceptable substitutes when our mood strikes for shochu: infused vodkas at Public.

(Next time at Public we should, of course, look at its extensive wine list... but it will be difficult to keep away from the vodkas, for sure.)

TM

To the Wild Wild West

We will be heading out to Las Vegas (one day) and Los Angeles (four days) the end of next week! More details to come... but in the meantime, if you have eating and drinking recommendations, please do enlighten us.

TM & DS xxx

Induction:

For a while now, David and I had talked about beginning a blog to record and capture our travels and experiences as we work on Dirty Dancing. Our journey with the show has been extraordinary (to say the very least), and it is difficult to imagine that we will ever have, exactly, the kind of opportunity we currently have: working on the same massive show (as a married couple), and traveling to and living in various cities around the world with it. So far on our travels, we have eaten some memorably phenomenal foods as well as some hauntingly awful foods; we've marveled at certain cultural differences in a few cities and felt only too ready to leave others. In most of the cities, we successfully found a salsa club to go to (except in Hamburg, but we won't talk about that). All these experiences tend to happen quickly for us, succeeded by others, and we began to think that we must write down some of our stories... if only so that, when we reach a calmer time from our work and our travels, we could look back and truly appreciate -- in a different, perhaps less immediate yet fond way -- what adventures we undertook and shared.

And since we eat out at restaurants predominantly while living abroad -- and pickily, too -- I hope that this blog will naturally grow into a kind of...unofficial Zagat ... for the traveling foodie. We want to use this blog to annotate some of our more noteworthy gourmet endeavors.

I hope, too, that this blog will be a good way to let our friends at home know what we are up to as we travel away from them too often. This blog will not, of course, replace personal emails and phone calls, but I hope that it will give our beloved friends an insight into our more quotidien life.

(And it seems this blogging device may prove useful in reminding us of funny and good stories we have. With all the wine and vodka drinking around the world, at some point, the good stories will merge with each other, lose specificity and, really, we can't risk that, can we?)

TM