Kaplan Stock Growing (there were 3) at Pink Taco!

To cap off a great visit to LA for work, I was psyched to be able to meet Mike, Dena and Elijah Kaplan at Pink Taco. It was the first time getting to see the first edition Kapspan, and he's a collectible. An adorable kid with an endless interest in smiling, Elijah was a stunning resemblance of both of his parents (in looks and amazing character).

We were able to meet up in Century City by Mike's office at Irell and mine at Colony. I think Dena and Elijah came up from their house in West Bev Hills. It was a great opportunity for us all to catch up on progresses at work, the earthquake, plans with family and home improvement developments. I'm definitely excited to visit again soon and see the development of the new home they'll be building in Santa Monica. Wonder if it will be done before I move back to LA! Whenever the time, I'm certainly looking forward to seeing more of them and their adorable kid.

As for lunch, Pink Taco is probably more exciting to me for it's controversial name than the quality of it's classic pink taco's. The food was pretty good, special appetizer was great and pork tacos were better than most on the east coast... but didn't quite compare to those for a buck at Kay & Dave's the other night.

Blogosphere hits Rustic Canyon

They've hit the blogosphere; been blogospied and finally kerblogged. The LA crew were able to meet up for dinner again, this time at Rustic Canyon (Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen) in Santa Monica. The newly renovated space specialized in South American wines and was a perfect setting for Evan, Ryan, Amanda, Pablo and myself to meet up and catch up on new times and old times. Amanda and Pablo have been recently and happily married; Evan, Ryan and I never missed a beat cracking jokes at each other, looking forward to the Bills season, and talking about the exciting things going on in LA (curious to hear how the Bob Sagett friars roast was) and NY.

We each had one or two glasses of wine at the bar area, and then a couple bottles at dinner. For dinner, EP, RG and I split appetizers and entrees, all of which were out of the park homeruns. First, we had the Carlsbad mussels, succulent in a butter & white wine, garlic, and wild herbs sauce with grilled dipping bread. For dinner we split the (i) Niman ranch ‘cast iron’ burger with crispy onion rings, sharp Vermont cheddar, homemade pickles and wild arugula - served with hand cut french fries, (ii) pan roasted jidori chicken with artichokes, fingerling potatoes and pan jus and (iii) grilled Niman ranch flat iron steak with olive oil, sea salt and hand-cut french fries. The meat was perfectly cooked, tasty as hell, and the service was as friendly your grandmother on Easter Sunday.

I'm sailing! I'm sailing!

So it wasn't quite a "What About Bob?" moment on the boat, as I've done it before, but my sisters, dad and I were in for an eventful sail with other friends. Initially, it seemed as though the race would never start as dark, rain filled skies and 25+ knot wind pounded the lake at Tuscarora Yacht Club. The fleet stayed in the harbor until the wet storm passed, and we were able to put our rain jackets below to sail under a suddenly clear, rainbow-filled blue sky. We were off to a quick start, but were eventually passed and couldn't quite regain the lead. It wasn't all about winning tonight, it was just great to spend time with family doing something we haven't done together in a long time with us spread across the northeast. We even saw the green flash as the sun set!

After the race we had a few drinks, Buffalo chicken wings and other eats at Jean's in Wilson, and were able to spend time with my cousin Jeff, Aunt Ro and Uncle Roger. Jeff looked pretty good, and I hope he keeps healthy and away from partying too much. Hopefully things will be all good and we'll be able to enjoy the football season together, because it will be great to share in the experience of going to the games this season.

Now I get to look forward to working on my car tomorrow with Pops before heading to Binghamton and then home to NYC.

You Audi Know Better

It's a sunny Wednesday morning in New York City, and I've decided to take the rest of the week off. Not quite what you'd call a vacation, but an opportunity nonetheless to drive to Buffalo, spend time with my entire family, and also get some much needed work done on my car. For a couple months I'd been driving on three brakes (one caliper failed and completely wore the pads down). I'd also take advantage of the time to replace a headlight assembly, change the oil and do other general maintenance. After working on the car, sailing with the family and kicking back for a little while in Wilson, I'd then head to Binghamton on Friday to visit Peter and Sue Malejs, and participate in the Keegan Classic golf benefit for their good friends.

Little did I know that I'd make a premature stop this Wednesday in Binghamton, because my entire electrical system failed 11 miles south on Highway 81. The car suddenly bucked, fuel pressure diminished and speed dropped rapidly, the song on the radio slowed sounding like an old warbling record player and all general power started to disappear. I noticed quickly that my only chance was to coast up the nearby exit to the Welcome to New York rest stop. Once up there I was able to call my dad and troubleshoot, and thankfully get a hold of Pete who was just getting out of a summer teaching session.

Pete came to the rescue (thanks buddy), we were able to make it to an automotive store in town (leaving the Audi behind), buy a new battery and make our way back to the rest stop and the car. We replaced the battery, were able to drive the car into town, but also discover the alternator wasn't working. This was a big deal since the alternator keeps the battery consistently charging. Without it I'd be without power in another 15 minutes. Advance Auto Parts had the spare alternator, and a most helpful employee (see picture right) also had a connection - at nearly 5pm now - to replace the alternator. All the pieces fell into place perfectly, the alternator seemed to work keeping the battery charged; after leaving at 7am in the morning I finally pulled into my parents driveway at about 9pm. [Note on August 7th, the new alternator kicked the bucket on 2nd Ave and 7th Street in NYC, causing me to have to get it towed and repaired again for another $500! It's still working... knock on wood... but who knows what the future brings with my road trips back to Buffalo for this football season.]