What the hell is there to say? I’m back from Christmas in Boise, and didn’t get online even once. I also didn’t get in any poker. NONE. Things turned out pretty much as I speculated before we left, in that the trip ended up being more of a job than a good time. Along with all of the folks that needed to be seen left no time to play our wonderful game.
There were some highlights, however (if you could care less about food, skip this):
The Milky Way---This is an independent fine dining establishment that we went to the day after Christmas. I was there one other time shortly after they opened up a couple of years ago, and I was glad to see that they have done well and reopened in a larger and altogether nicer location. I ordered a new dish called the The Big Huge Pork Chop. It brought me near to tears with the first bite of perfectly cooked pork and it’s heavenly Portobello chipotle glaze, along with sweetened fried potatoes and assorted veggies. Other delights of the evening included a Portobello Wellington as well as a dish that can only be described as a haute chicken pot pie. Nothing short of amazing, and along with a couple of bottles of a very respectable Cabernet Sauvignon, a very reasonable check, coming in at under $200 (w/tip)
Shige—This place is a Boise mainstay, but no less worthy of mention. I have eaten my share of sushi in a variety of places all over the country, and the fare at this establishment remains in the upper regions of my list. If you factor in the pricing alongside the sushi, it hits the top. To this day, their unagi makes me want to twirl around and sing. Yes, it’s that good. Their service is always for shit, but it is a mild inconvenience when compared to the goodness Shige offers up.
If you’re ever in Boise, get yourself to one or both of these places as many times as you can.
The last highlight of the trip I deem worthy of its own little section. Due to the generally large amount of unhappy shit that had to be dealt with this holiday, my wife has officially jumped on my bandwagon and has signed the bill (which I quickly made binding) which states that next Christmas will be in…….wait for it………VEGAS!!!!! Believe it or not, I think she may be more excited about it than I am at this point. We now have 12 months to save and plan for a nothing-short-of-fabulous, fuck familial expectations and all of the unhappy shit they come with, holly jolly Christmas. I’ve been to Vegas nine times, but was on a pretty tight budget every time except the honeymoon. Come Christmas ’05, we are gonna Turn This Mother Out (pardon the MC Hammer reference). Poker, Shopping, and Fine Dining at all times, sounds good to me. I love my family, including the in-laws, but it's time for a damn break.
My apologies to those of you who showed up here after my absence hoping for poker content, instead finding that I have blogged a couple of meals instead. For those of you out there who love food as much as I do, I hope you got at least a little something out of it, because I’m thinking of adding food thoughts from time to time, being that I love to cook and all.
If I can snatch the time tonight, I’ll be on the PL tables trying to run up my free PP cash that I managed to quadruple before leaving. Christ, if the cards drop even slightly in my favor I will keep running it up. This should probably segue into my explanation of why I hate PartyPoker, and I will try to do it soon, just not right now. Some might form the opinion that I am full-on retarded for not playing on PP most or all of the time, and they would in many respects be correct, I suppose. I can only assure you that I am NOT retarded. I am simply neurotic and not earning as much as I suppose I could be.
Thinking Big. Head Much Bigger. You know the drill. I’m still behind on my rest, cleaning/unpacking, and schoolwork, so if you don’t hear from me tomorrow, worry not. Should tomorrow find me post-less, I will definitely be speaking my New Years mind on Jan 01. Have a safe and oh so prosperous New Years holiday!
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