Long Time Gone

Hey y'all...

I know I haven't posted in quite awhile... please accept my apology. I guess it's a combination of laziness and not being inspired. But I figured that I ought to post something today, as I'll be gone with TS this weekend.

TS is playing at the House of Blues in Cleveland again this Saturday night, and then at Bodles Opera House in Chester, NY Sunday night. These are the last two gigs for the year (so far), unless we get a New Year's Eve gig.

Nothing much new has been going on except that I've been to a couple new restaurants, so I must brag.

The first was the brand new Cheesecake Factory in the Green Hills Mall. The wait was a little long, but the restaurant was brand new, so I can overlook that. The food was absolutely AMAZING! I can't remember what all everybody had, but every dish was superb! And the fact that the dessert menu had 50+ flavors of cheesecake made the CF a winner! I also became a fan of the "Cable Car Martini" which is Captain Morgan's Rum, Orange Curacao and fresh lime juice served shaken in a martini glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar. Not exactly a "manly" drink, but yummy nonetheless.

The next new place was Maggiano's. A SUPER upscale Italian place that had the air of being invited into someone's home kitchen. A pharmaceutical rep for Dr. Newsome took us all to dinner that evening. I sampled another new drink concoction there as well. This time it was a pint of Guinness with a shot of Tia Maria in the bottom of the glass. A very different flavor, but very enjoyable. For the meal, we settled on the "Family Style" form of dining. This included 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 pasta dishes, 2 main courses AND 2 desserts. All of the portions were for 10 people, so needless to say there was A LOT of food. We had Spinach-Artichoke Dip and Fried Calamari for the appetizers. The dip was delicious... but I didn't try the squid. The salads were outstanding as were the pasta dishes. We got Veal Scallopini and Chicken Picatta for the main dishes. They were unbelievable as well. And the desserts were a whole other world. We got Spumoni and a pastry based dessert. The pastry was a bit hard, but the Spumoni was out of this world. Apparently Maggianos has an ice cream company in Chicago that makes this especially for them. The quality shows. Absolutely one of the best meals I've EVER had.

I'm going to see "Walk The Line" tonight. I'm not too keen on Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny. Mostly from a singing standpoint than acting. Visually, he's a dead ringer for young John. The clips I've heard of his singing though almost turn my stomach. I know that no one is EVER going to sound like Johnny Cash (and I wouldn't want them to), but I've heard lots of cover versions of Cash songs that I really enjoyed. Sadly, Joaquin Phoenix' versions won't be included. I haven't heard Reese Witherspoon sing yet though, so I might like her stuff. I love Reese as an actress, so I think she'll do just fine as June Carter. I'm also really stoked to see Shooter Jennings portraying his dad, Waylon. I will probably leave the theater tonight with tears in my eyes, but hopefully not cause the movie sucked. If I get teary-eyed it will be because I'll be reminded of what a genius the music world lost when we lost Johnny Cash. His music helped me realize that less is truly more, and also how a simple, chugging rhythm can move more people than the most complicated pattern. Be on the lookout for my review of the movie.

Adios for now!