Columbus Circle - late night

Exiting the Stone Rose 4/17/08, after downing

Perfect Rob Roys and multiple Stone Roses

(Maker's Mark reserve bourbon, Grand Marnier,

cranberry juice, and simple syrup).

Old friends take in Yankees v. Red Sox

Thursday April 17th really marked the first beautiful, perfect day of spring.... a 70 degree day full of sunshine and spring filled spirits. It also was the second night of a two day home game series between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Yanks won in brilliant fashion on Wednesday, with one of the highest outputs in runs between the two teams in over 60 years! Thursday night turned out to be high octane too, but the Yankees didn't fare as well in the end.

In the morning, after dealing with my bathroom wall getting ripped open so a plumber could replace a leaky cold-water valve, I was the beneficiary of an extra ticket from Ryan Quinn to join him, James and Mike Jordan. So, after buzzing up to the stadium, the four of us finally met and were set to go in the game. We faced two distinct obstacles. First, Mike hiked his blood pressure through the clouds having to sacrifice his backpack for uptight security precautions. Second, as we presented our tickets to the ticket taker, they amusingly pointed out that we were holding tickets to the Yankees/ Red Sox game set for Tuesday, August 26th! Ryan came down to NYC with the wrong game tickets. Thankfully, he was able to convince customer service to print up four new tickets for last night's game, and we made it to our seats in the bottom of the third inning- Yanks 0, Red Sox 2. And then Manny uncorked a huge two-run homer to put the Red Sox up 4-nil.

The crowd turned out to be as entertaining as the late comeback by the Yankees, who ultimately fell short in a 7-5 loss. Multiple fights took place right around us. A cop got hit in the back of the head by a hot dog (bringing intense rage upon his face), and even though a Yankee fan threw it, all hands pointed to a Red Sox joker. A pretty little g-stringed bearing lass, who clearly had too much to drink, also started yelling at anything that moved... with more spunk and stupidity than you could believe.



We emptied the stadium that Ruth built, in its last year to host the Yankees (new stadium pictured above), and went off for beers and burgers before dredging off separately to NYC, Brooklyn, NJ and Connecticut. Yankees/Red Sox, good college friends, 12 beers each and burgers... always a great time.

Haubentake2

With long travel times from the four corners of the U.S. and high expectations, friends of Adam Golfenreich descended upon Sunset Beach, N.C., for a weekend of debauchery and recounting old tall tales about Lord Golfenreich. The cast of characters included Adam, Kevin, Raj, Jim, Shane, Brian, Dave Min, myself, Greg, Dave Nemecek, Tony and Rene. Friday night began with a feast of a half a swine (pictured right), fried chicken, baked beans, hush puppies and coleslaw.




All imbibed mass quantities of beer and Jack Daniels Green Label over rounds of beer pong, cups and non-stop laughs. We all eventually trailed off to sleep to get up early for a round of golf at Thistle golf club. Battling decent breezes, sand and water traps, we splashed and lost many balls during a beautiful day on the course.

Waiting by the 18th green (pictured left), the groups gathered to memorialize a day where Nemo took the longest drive and closest to the pin awards. What a testament to everyone else sucking today.

After a brief respite, we loaded into the chariot (a Black stretch hummer), and headed to Rioz for a great Brazilian steakhouse style dinner, enough drinks to kill a small army, and a good base before heading to the Masters. Mrs. Haubenreich even confirmed we were in the presence of a state bible champion! The Masters couldn't have been a better opportunity to see the best players in the country and have our eyes opened by some of the most incredible shots out there. No one left without a smile on their face this weekend, including this guy....
... and next, the wedding!

Up on the East Side.

So, after a whirlwind February and March in my life, I've pretty much completed set up at the new apartment in midtown-upper east Manhattan... just in time for my 31st birthday on March 31st. The place is coming together nicely, and it will be a great space for entertaining friends, enjoying good wines and great eats from the BBQ on the patio. The new flat screen is successfully mounted, the hand woven carpet from Delhi, India graces the dining room floor, and the place is really starting to feel like a home. With the break of spring, I'm looking forward to planting the garden area and sharing tasty blogs about upcoming shin digs with friends, family or whoever.

Del Friscos Double Eagle Steakhouse (June 30, 2006)

Dinner at Del Frisco's was exquisite, beginning with massive shrimp w/ three sauces, breadless lumped crabcakes and 3 dozen oysters. A bone-in rib eye came seared with a perfectly pink cool medium-rare center, and impeccable flavors from the natural fats, cracked pepper rub and grill char. However, sommelier Scott Gould treated the table to an unbelievable progression of old world wine, rich and deep cabernet alternatives in the tempranillo and shiraz, and a pristine, inspiring brandy-like 1912 Malvazia (port). The corks pulled as follows:

• Charmes-Chambertin: 2002, A. Rousseau Pere & Fils, Pinot Noir (Cotes de Nuits - Burgundy)
• Chateau Rayas Reserva: 2001, Red Rhone Blend (Chateauneuf-du-Pape - Rhone)
• Chateau-de-Beaucastel: 1995, Red Rhone Blend (Chateauneuf-du-Pape - Rhone)
• Bodega Numanthia Termes: 2003, Tempranillo (Castillo y Leon - Toro, Spain)
• Marquis Phillips Integrity: 2002, Shiraz (McLaren Vale - South Australia)
• Barbieto: Riserva Velha 1912, Malvazia (Bual - Madiera, Portugal)

The night was capped off with Banfi grappa and a little shop talk with friends from work. Definitely a highlight in my relatively short time appreciating wine.