Month: May 2005

LAW AND JUSTICES

TODAY’S WORRY

Maybe I’m just naïve but aren’t judges supposed to be followers of the law? Putting aside whether the minority party should use the filibuster to block Senate votes for judicial nominees or whether the majority should change the rules concerning filibusters, I think that people proposed for the bench, conservative or liberal, should follow the laws of the United States. Not pick and choose which ones they like best. If a judge indicates that he thinks certain people should be discriminated against, then he shouldn’t be a judge because that’s not what the law says. If he thinks that the Clean Air Act is a bunch of crap and that industry should have a free hand polluting the air, he needs to find a new job. Or if a judge feels that illegal immigrants should have the right to just cross the border and set up shop, find a new career. I just don’t get it. There are laws in the United States that I don’t agree with but I follow them because it’s the law and I respect our history and institutions. Judges shouldn’t be different in that respect from ordinary citizens.

Burger Bar, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV

There’s lots of hype surrounding Burger Bar, the Las Vegas creation of Hubert Keller known for his San Francisco restaurant, Fleur de Lys. I ate lunch there last week with John and our friends, Karen and George. There is an extensive burger menu and you can spend anywhere from $8 to $60 for a burger. There are all sorts of toppings for the burgers and lots of sides. We all ordered the Ridgefield beef burger, Karen opting for cheese as well. There were also two orders of onion rings and one of french fries. The burgers were perfectly cooked – the medium, medium-rare, and rare all cooked as requested. John felt his needed a little salt but I thought they were perfectly seasoned. Our son, Jonathan, ate here last year and his opinion is that the burgers are bland, but they were great last week. I felt the accompanying onions rings were too breaded for my taste but the others found them fine. The french fries were also very good. For a taste of what a hamburger on a bun should be, check out the Burger Bar the next time you are in Las Vegas.

Remembering that this is not haute cuisine –
Table consensus – A

GUESS THE RIGHT ANSWER

TODAY’S WORRY

It is alleged by my family that I do something that drives them nuts. I admit I am guilty as charged. My sin is that I play a head game with them called “Guess the Right Answer.” Here’s the way it works. For instance, I ask someone what they want to do or a give a choice of things we could do. My position is that I do not have a preference. Secretly though, I do have a preference but I want to give them the chance to make me happy by guessing the right answer. One time I said, “let’s go up to Napa and go wine tasting and we can either stop over night if we feel like it or drive back home the same day. Either way is fine with me.” So there was a fifty-fifty chance that John would choose let’s stay over and that would have made me very happy. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong answer and I was disappointed. See what a fun game this is? I am trying very hard to stop doing this because I play this game way too much; from what do you want to have for dinner to where do you want to take a vacation. I realize now that everyone is much happier if I just say what I want to do. And that includes me.

Equivocate

There is a statue of William Lloyd Garrison, the famous abolitionist, on the Commonwealth Mall in Boston. Inscribed on the statue are his words – “I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD.” Here’s a man who really said what he meant and stood by it.

In relation to my worry of the day, I tend to be an equivocator. It’s something I am trying to overcome.

equivocate – To be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or to avoid committing oneself to anything definite.

YOU GO, GIRL

TODAY’S WORRY

There was a piece on National Public Radio this week about the widening gap between male and female college graduates. The latest figures show that there were 200,000 more female graduates than male. Why should this be? There could be a number of reasons. The female population is slightly greater than the male but that’s probably not it. Maybe it is because girls are more conscientious in high school and less party-ers in college. So perhaps they start out closer in numbers but more girls graduate. Perhaps young women today see the tragedy of the older woman left divorced and skill-less. It’s certainly not enough to count on being a wife and mother anymore. Unfortunately, women are still under-represented in upper management and still make less in comparison to men. But maybe this will change as more and more women graduate from college widening the gap. Unless, of course, affirmative action for men is started.

Cafe Diablo, Torrey, Utah

From the sublime (Mesa Grill) to the ridiculous. I went with John and our friends to Café Diablo, a highly rated restaurant near Capitol Reef National Park. I was psyched. I had been eating under Utah rules for a long time. Perhaps I should have waited. Here’s what we ordered and what we thought.
Rattlesnake cakes – These cakes were either overpowered by the black beans and cilantro, rattlesnake is really subtle or there was no snake.
Firecrackers – These were deep fried items, some spicy, some not; all heavily breaded.
Empinadas – These were filled with Cotija cheese and sweet potatoes and were quite good.
Crown rack of glazed ribs – Three of us had this. They were supposed to be slow roasted in chipotle, molasses and rum glaze over a bed of sweet potatoes. In the center of the crown was a large fried potato stick served at room temperature. This made it greasy and inedible. The sweet potatoes were grainy and awful. The crown rack was neither gooey and sweet nor tart or anything other than a bunch of steamed ribs.
Pumpkin seed trout – A little overcooked with a great mélange of vegetables which didn’t really go with the trout. Oddly, instead of the wild rice pancake underneath, there was the non-rattlesnake cake.

Add to this, the undrinkable house red wine and the low level of ambiance, you come up with a restaurant that you hoped so much for and delivered so little.

Oh Utah, Utah, you are so beautiful and friendly. And I know you are overwhelmingly LDS. But there are those of us who want to retire here who crave fine restaurants and a wine list. Couldn’t you compromise a bit and try to make things a little more congenial for us? We would both prosper.

Table consensus – D

SENSORY OVERLOAD!

THIS WEEKEND’S INDULGENCE

Well, maybe not overload but almost! In the last five days, I have seen the intimate wonders of Snow Canyon State Park, the majesty of Zion National Park, the beauty of the often overlooked Capitol Reef National Park and the utter bizarreness of Bryce Canyon National Park. I’ve also stayed at the rustic Lodge at Red River Ranch and, for contrast, at the Aladdin hotel in Las Vegas. I’ve drunk a river of fine wines at home and away. I’ve seen the spectacle of Cirque du Soleil. I’ve eaten at the touted Cafe Diablo in Torrez, UT, at Emeril’s in Las Vegas, at Sullivan’s Cafe in Cedar City, at the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay, LV, had take out from Scaldoni’s in St. George and eaten a really great meal at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace in LV. There’s enough grist here for a lot of blogs. It was a wonderful long weekend made even better by sharing it with good friends.

Foodies

Since I’ve probably been all these things this weekend, here’s a definition of who’s who and why.

Gourmand – a person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess

Glutton – a person who eats or consumes immoderate amounts of food and drink

Epicurean – a devotee to sensuous and luxurious living

Gourmet – a connoisseur of fine food and drink