Latest D.C. Visit

When I head to D.C. to see my Lawyer and his friends (many of which I call acquaintances not to tarnish their political aspirations) I always take great pride in knowing nothing of which they speak. Like many parts of the world Washington D.C. has its own language, its own politics (taxation without representation), and its own way of life.

So when I found myself sitting with three Latinos eating lox-bagels-cream cheese, quiche pie, and some great tasting funky sausage (something like apple wood smoked turkey sausage or something like that) and fresh orange juice I could only think of Don King. Yep, that’s right; Don King would be quick to yell (not mumble or murmur) ONLY IN AMERICA!

The Food:

Of course M had me over just to chat and get caught up as to what was going on in my and my lawyer’s life. I’m sure when we walked in he could tell that not much had changed in our nightlife as we walked in a half an hour late and smelling like Tequila from the night before. So I’m sure he didn’t expect me to write about a quick brunch him and his wife put together for our visit, but the food was a pleasant delight so I figured I should talk about it.

I was rather surprised that my bagels tasted so fresh being that I’m a Manhattan snob and think that nothing can compare to NYC bagels…or those made by Jewish folks in Brooklyn. Then there was the lox which seemed fresh enough and I was told it was purchased at Costco…interesting. Fresh lox at Costco, I thought one is only suppose to purchase their lox from the deli. I never put onions and cappers on my bagels but I was in D.C. and when in D.C. do as the D.C. folk do (except for my lawyer who has some gag reflex when it comes to seafood). It was rather tasty and I must admit that the onions added a nice texture of crunch to something that would be rather slimy and smooth (i.e. the cream cheese and lox). The cappers added a nice bust of flavor although I thought that maybe too many flavors were taking away from the great tasting lox, but it worked for some reason…I will have to repeat this meal at home to see how it works, for one can’t be observing every bite at a friends home.

The apple wood smoke turkey sausage (or something like that) was rather tasty. Being that I love to eat such food I found them not to spurt with oil when I took a bite which was nice. I’m getting older and when the oil is spurting in your mouth you start to see visions of visiting doctors as you get older. They had a nice texture and weren’t over cooked which I find many people do with home sausage; I think this might be due to people growing up seeing sausage really burnt and eating it…people, sausage doesn’t have to be burnt to be cooked!!!

The Dialgoue:

Of course the discussion of the day was politics, mostly that of the West Coast politics. M was quick to point out some of the negotiations that take place behind closed doors…all the while not revealing any names. I guess this is kind of a code of silence people in D.C. take. I’m not going to say names, but I’m going to tell you some of the pieces and you can conclude your own theories, stories and put in whomever you wish. The game is fun and although I don’t know any of the players I take great joy in seeing people try and put the pieces together and eventually they will start to drop names for clues, but M was rock solid in staying pat on his words and this puzzle wasn’t completed. Only my lawyer saying, I know who you are talking about might have started to get names flowing, but I don’t think M was convinced and he stayed pat. I thought my lawyer was bluffing also because I have seen his face when he really knows who the participants are and he wasn’t strutting that face.

All this time M’s wife, who is beautiful and sweet as a Georgia Peach was laughing and asking who could be the sender of certain books. I really can’t expand here because the names of the people at the brunch should be concealed and this may give too many clues. But if you are giving a book to someone try and give a funny name of a person who it’s from. For instance, if you are giving a book about, Making a War on Fake Reports of Chemical Warheads…well you may want to address it ; From: Mr. Bush.

Of course when you are in a Latin home you need to have the dog incident. For those of you who don’t know, well every Latin home with a dog there is always this drama with the dog that puts everyone on tilt. This time it was the dog who managed to crawl under the fence and run loose out in the back alley…ahh! You have to love the dog drama and how at the drop of the dime everyone gets up from the table to go find the dog…too funny.

In closing, this visit reminded me about home and it was a great visit to get me ready for a visit home for the holiday season. Yes, home is where sitting down and talking is considered value time and one doesn’t have to be at the latest brunch hotspot and engage in pretentious dialogue. No, this brunch was about friends and acquaintances (I say this for my lawyer and M’s political aspirations) getting together to talk about some corporate issues, family, politics, and technology gadgets. It was just a nice break from the craziness that the East Coast exposes you to on the daily. I wanted to thank M and his wife for having me at their home and making me family for a day. And also for not holding back in their constant funny banter to up one another which was rather entertaining and fun to watch. I look forward to my next visit.

Guest Post by Human Head

As aforementioned, I have taken it upon myself to post on my food blog those friends that are far superior writers to me. Thus, without further hacking at my keyboard I present to you the HUMANHEAD. I’m not sure his real name either to be honest, but he’s a great writer who I ran into a few times in Vegas for Poker…did I mention his wife is hot…but hands off fellas’ he's a big guy. In any case, I’ve posted his take on the fine Restaurant named 3950 that can found at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas. Enjoy!

Guest Post On My Food Blog

As most of you know, I’m a hack when it comes to writing about my food, poker and city adventures. Thus, I have started to post up guest writers on my food site. The problem with having friends that are great writers is that you tend to feel a bit dwarfed and humbled at your limited writing abilities. Yet, what I have come to do is value, appreciate and try to promote my friends gifted writing styles. With that being said, I welcome you to read a recent post by one of the more sarcastic, humble, and degenerate gamblers I know. He goes by the name of BG and he knows food, horses, bad break-ups (my sarcastic humor) and is an underground scribe whose real name I don’t even know…so without further ado, I present to you Boy Genius. Please click on my Food Blog to read post.

Keeping it Local

I tend to be one of those individuals who promotes local stores in my community and thus, I try and spend my check there. You have to remember, there was a time when Harlem wasn’t so hip and the community needed every dollar it could garner from its locals. Now, well now we have coffee shops and good restaurants to boot.

One thing that has always stayed constant in my spending has been the local watering holes. They have always been there and they are one’s that I enjoy visiting most out of all the city bars. I hit a few local watering holes this Friday with “El Rey” we just went to grab a few beers. After talking a bit to a couple of females at the bar...one asked me how old I was. I tried my good old 26 year old lie...and for the first time I had bullshit called on me. I tried to convince her with another round of lies but she wasn’t going for it. As we walked out the bar El Rey looked at me and said, you should have tried 28. Nuff said.