Happy Birthday to me (and Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn, Mae West, and Tom Saunders) and a treat from Chris Opperman

This is a piece of artwork created by keyboard wizard Chris Opperman, called Yes "Star Day" which I thought would be a perfect virtual birthday card. You can take a look at some more of Chris' artwork, even purchase some, listen to his awesome music, etc. at his website right here!

Speaking of Chris, I'm on his mailing list and yesterday I received the world's best birthday gift -- he sent out two links to film clips of the New York show in which Eric was his drummer and which are posted on his site, but I will make it easy for you and post the links here. They are so, so awesome...and of course so is my son!

Link One

Link Two
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These are incredibly enjoyable and it's pretty obvious Eric is ready to move beyond Rock School now.

Speaking of Rock School, hopefully a lot of people got to watch Queer Eye last night and saw Eric, Julie, Madison, Stevie, CJ, and Teddi. They only showed a few seconds of them actually on stage, but I got to see glimpses of them throughout the entire second half of the show. It was bizarre. Seeing them in the documentary was crazy enough, but seeing them on TV in that situation was insane!

The most surreal part? Hearing Eric utter four words beforehand I would never expect to experience in my life. At 10:00 p.m., just as the show was about to air, he called his father.

"DAD! QUEER EYE IS ON!"

Hahahahaha - if you know or have ever seen Gary, this is one hell of a macho guy and I laughed for the first fifteen minutes of the show.

Anyway, I know I'm prejudiced, but the camera loves my daughter. I don't know where she got that gorgeous smile (not from miserable me, that's for sure) but it seemed to linger on her more than just a few times. Eric, too. The funniest part, and I think I may have mentioned it here before, was that after the taping of the show in June, the producer of the show came up to Eric, handed him her business card, and wanted him to be a contestant (is that what you call them? A makeover, maybe?) on the show. Like Eric would do that...he was embarrassed enough watching last night as it is. This is a serious musician who worships Zappa and Miles Davis!

Ah well, it was a nice send off. Friday's smashing of guitars at Times Square, Saturday night's final All Star show at the World Cafe (for this group of All Stars, anyway), and then watching Queer Eye last night and laughing my ass off. As I said, the end of an era for sure.

Queer Eye reruns all week and last night's episode will be shown again this morning at 11:00 a.m., tonight at 5:00 p.m., and well, check with www.bravotv.com for the rest of the schedule. Oh, what was also great was that the Queer Eye fellows remarked several times on screen how fantastic and unbelievably talented the Rock School kids are and Madison even got to promote the New York Rock School! Way to go, Madison!

Speaking of my birthday, this time last year I was getting off the Rock School tour bus in Wyoming, en route to Fort Collins, Colorado, about to have breakfast at a gas station cafe loved by truckers because they serve fried chicken and congealed creamed chipped beef for breakfast. Yes. A gas station cafe. I remember being so, so stressed and sleepy; dirty and in need of a shower, and feeling very sad that I didn't have cards or a birthday cake. My son went to the gas station gift shop and presented me with a keychain that said "Robin" on a Wyoming license plate (which I use and stare at all melancholy every day) as well as some cassette tapes of 80s music (har har). My daughter gave me a folded up piece of notebook paper on which she had written "Good for one trip anywhere in the world".

At the time, I almost threw it at her; I was so homesick and so overtired. Heh. Wait until dinner tonight. I'm gonna tell her I'm cashing it in and want to go to Paris.

Anyway, you will note that I also wished Happy Birthday to my fellow Leos Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn (poor ex-wife Madonna...heh...did you see how she spent her birthday yesterday? She's so busy trying to be an aristocratic English country woman she rode a "new horse" (they are all "new" to her, laughed the Brits in various newspapers in the UK) and was thrown, breaking a whole bunch of bones and wounding her ego for sure). You may not be familiar with the other name I mentioned -- Tom Saunders. Tom is a writer friend of mine from the UK and he is brilliant. He has a collection of short stories you can purchase here and a very, very cool blog which you can read here.

When I first met Tom, we became instant friends because of our mutual taste in music (Tom remarked that John Lennon is the closest thing he has to a hero which of course echoed my sentiments exactly) and our mutual birthday of August 17. So Happy Birthday, Tom!

Okay, then. I think that covers everything for today. I'm off to celebrate!

Rock School on Queer Eye tonight...and the end of an era

Sigh...so much to write about and so little time.

Okay, first things first. Tonight, on Bravo TV, at 10:00 p.m. please watch Queer Eye! Rock School All-Stars/Hall of Famers Julie Slick, Eric Slick, Teddi Tarnoff, C.J. Tywoniak, Madison Flego, and Stevie Roberts were part of the taping of the show and performed two songs at the end. Here's the details and when you read them, you'll understand why Rock School was chosen to be a part of the program:


Name: Danny K.
Age: 39
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 190 lbs
Status: Single
Occupation: Business Owner
Category: Apprentice Castaway Straight Guy
Location: Chelsea, New York
Event: Cocktail Gala Charity Event

Danny was thrust into the national limelight as a candidate for The Apprentice. Though, lasting only for three tasks, you may remember him as the guitar playing, polyster suit wearing, on-the-spot singing entrepreneur. You would think the criticisms he received from "The Donald" and others would be enough for him to change his look, it wasn't because he's the same disheveled, hapless self.

Even though the mainstream corporate world may not be ready for Danny, he's certainly ready for the corporate world as he is the founder and owner of two successful businesses. Not only that, he's trying to get funding for a charity he's started, "School Bus Rocks," a subsidiary of the Big brother/Big sister program aimed at finding adult mentors that are musicians who can bring the joy of music to children/inner-city schools. The Fab Five's mission: Give Danny a look that will "wow" the donors as well as Donald Trump.

***********

If for some reason you can't stay up that late tonight, check the schedule at www.bravotv.com because it will rerun all week.

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Anyway, I've been sort of putting off writing about Saturday night's final show for this current batch of All-Stars because it's been difficult for me to do without getting all teary eyed. First of all, what a send off! I know last year's All-Stars got to end their Rock School tenure by jumping into a pool at a condemned trucker's hotel in Las Vegas and it's pretty hard to beat that, but the music this year at the World Cafe made it a tie for sure. Everyone was at the very top of their game for both the 7:00 p.m. and the 10:00 p.m. shows; there were no glitches, no awkward moments...it was about as perfect a concert Rock School has ever performed. I seriously wondered how the All-Star program was going to get on without Eric Slick, Brian Purcell, Jeremy Blessing, Max DiMezza, Dan Nitz, Fil Smith, Larry Allen, Lauren Pollock, Madison Flego, Liam McGlynn, and Chris Gargano and the impending departures of Andrew Haff, Julia Ranier, Matt Manser, Joe Randazzo, and Dom Malandro but I saw first hand Saturday night that the batons are being passed to some very capable hands. Dave Maruzella on drums blew me away and he's like, what, 14? Sarah Zimmerman is freaking amazing on slide guitar...she's a young Bonnie Raitt...Kenny Luu and Bosco...I may have to come to future shows anyway, even though my son is retired...the music is that mind blowing.

I watched the kids on stage with such pride Saturday night. Besides the incredible musical talent Paul has nurtured, it was amazing to see how far these kids have come confidence wise; style wise (oh my god, they look so freaking good up on that stage as you will see in a moment...I'm only posting some pics because grrr...I still need help uploading and Julie and Eric only did a few photos for me but I swear to God, I am pinning them down this week and making them show me how to do it myself once and for all so I don't have to keep asking them and getting their empty promises!) and as I always stress, the unique comradery this group of kids has courtesy of their years with Mr. Green. Ten years from now some of these kids will meet up at rock festivals where they'll be performing with their own bands in like, the UK or Italy...they'll be megastars and they'll sit backstage with each other, talking old times...Rolling Stone will come interview them and they'll talk about the old days and how they came to meet and Paul's name will come up and...

Okay. I'll stop.

But I really don't know how to thank Paul. When I think of the past seven years and the effect he's had on both Julie and Eric I can barely get my thoughts together. Those kids have been featured in Spin Magazine, the New York Times, the London Observer....gah...I can't even name all the pubs. They've played on stage with Eddie Vedder, Stewart Copeland, Ann Wilson, Jon Anderson, Marky Ramone, Carlos Alomar, Chris Opperman, Alice Cooper, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ike Willis, Mike Keneally...my mind is still boggled. Both Julie and Eric are well on their way to some pretty thrilling careers in music...both have a few secrets up their sleeves right now which I will reveal when the time is right, but for now, it's not goodbye, they are both still active at Rock School -- Eric teaches drums and is assisting in the production of future shows like Devo and Jethro Tull; Julie does recording and administrative work; even their dad is helping out with the Rockabilly show, but yep, it's true, their RS performing days are over because they are adults now. (choke, gasp, sob...)

I wouldn't have traded the past seven years for anything in the world. What an amazing time it's been for our entire family. Life changing for sure.

If I had one wish, it would be to have last summer back, so that I could go on that 17 day Rock School All-Star bus tour across America with a different attitude. Because of course now when I think of it, I remember only the good stuff, the music, the kids, and what a great time it really was. I guess there should be a rule, though, that no one over 25 should have to sleep on a bus and not take showers and eat at McDonalds because it does tend to make a person of that age or over cranky...but hey, it was an experience I will never, ever forget and I think even I learned a lot from it and have made adjustments in my own character...i.e., I'm still working out some pretty awful flaws like negativity and always expecting doom and gloom when I should be looking at the cliched half full glass instead.

And as I've said here on a few occasions, the mini-tour of Hollywood and Seattle in May and June of this year in which I accompanied Julie, Eric and other Rock School All-Stars for the premier of the movie still leaves me speechless and I will never, ever be able to thank Paul enough for that, either. Oh, and Zappanale...the trips to Germany...both Gary and I, though we went separately, me to Zappanale 14 in 2003, Gary to Zappanale 16 in 2005, were probably the highlight of our lives. I just remarked to Gary yesterday: "Who the hell would ever think you and I would have passports?" (Gary was adamant he would never, ever get on a plane in his lifetime; I just never thought I'd have the time or a reason to leave the U.S. but of course now I not only want to leave, I want to leave permanently with Commander Half a Brain in charge)

Anyway, without further ado, here are some pics from Saturday night. I think once I get the kids to upload all of my pics to my photobucket site, I will make the site available to all of you because I have hundreds of pics from all of the shows in there and obviously I haven't been able to post them all here.

Mr. Jeremy Blessing:



Ms. Madison Flego getting a goodbye hug from Paul Green:



Mr. Max DiMezza singing Young Lust, with Matt Manser and Julia Rainer:



Eric Slick standing with his official and amazing Thom Lessner portrait, which will be autographed and placed on the Rock School Hall of Fame Wall:



One of my favorite moments of the show, Joe "Reno" Randazzo, saying his own special goodbye to fellow drummer Eric Slick:

The final Rock School Show for Eric Slick: Tonight at the World Cafe, the All-Stars perform the music of Pink Floyd

So tonight is very bittersweet for me. My son Eric will be on drums for his final Rock School show ever when the All-Stars perform the music of Pink Floyd at the World Cafe. There are two shows, one at 7:00 p.m. and one at 10:00 p.m. and they are two distinct sets. You can purchase tickets at the door or order them online here.

A couple of things. First of all, Paul could not have said it better when he posted the following on the Rock School forum board:

"I am already getting a little sad about Saturday. This group has meant the world to me, and to see you go is very difficult. The only thing that tempers it is the knowledge that great things lay ahead for each of you. So to Slick, J-Bless, Gargano, Madison, Lauren Polley, Liam, Max DiMezza, Fil, Nitz, and Larry Allen...THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING."

For those who don't know, the above eight kids are now over 18 years of age and tonight marks "graduation"...99% of them have their own bands now; my son Eric is involved in four different projects and will be touring very shortly -- his drumming with other established bands may take him all over the world this year but I'm sure he's going to have tears in his eyes tonight when the last song is played. Unlike other Rock School All-Stars who have "retired" in the past only to come back and perform at special events on Paul's behalf, Eric is steadfast that tonight is his last show; he is moving on.


Jeremy Blessing

I've witnessed incredible changes in a lot of these kids. Jeremy Blessing I remember as a young 14 year old with short hair and braces...but you could see he was a rising star even back then. Yesterday in New York City at the Hard Rock Cafe opening, people were staring at him, like, WHO IS THAT? And the infamous Naked Cowboy, there himself for the guitar smash, brought along his teenaged daughter who shyly came up behind Dad when he tapped Jeremy on the shoulder and said "My daughter thinks you are cute and would love to have her picture taken with you."

And she hasn't heard him play! Remember his name. He's going to be a superstar.


Lauren Pollock with Jeremy, Chris Gargano, and Fil Smith in the background

Lauren Pollock. I first heard her sing about three years ago and I was like Holy shit, this girl is 15? She has such soul in her voice, such incredible range...there is no way she isn't going to be major league famous. The fact that she is drop dead gorgeous won't hurt her cause, either, and she's one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet.


Madison Flego

Madison Flego. I don't think even I was aware of the vastness of her guitar playing talent until I heard the opening solo in Shine On You Crazy Diamond in Germany last weekend. I had goosebumps just from watching the webcast and from what I hear from those in the audience live, 5,000 people were brought to their knees. I cannot wait to own the DVD of this show (should be ready in about 3 weeks I hear). I was always aware that this chick could sing. Again, her vocals in "Summertime" give me the shivers.


Max DiMezza, Fil Smith, and Eric Slick

Max DiMezza - I literally watched him grow up before my eyes. He is one of the best bass players (well, besides my daughter Julie and her boyfriend Matt) to ever come out of Rock School. He's got a unique jazzy talent; you can tell he's in love with the blues and has awesome taste because he brings a certain class to his playing which distinquishes him from everyone else. I'm not sure if Max plans a career in music or will end up a brain surgeon, but whatever he does, he's going to rule.

Fil Smith has always been a favorite of mine. I think he's got an amazing singing voice; he's probably Rock School's best rhythm and acoustic guitarist ever, and I think he brings a quiet dignity to his leads as well. He's off to Oberlin College and he's another kid who is going to be a success in whatever field he ultimately decides to pursue.


Larry Allen in the forefront

Larry Allen is a fucking awesome keyboard player. I know Larry is going away to college and it's my guess he's going to end up an attorney, but this kid could play the keys with any major rock or jazz band, he's that good. And he's smart and nice, too, and though I've known him only a couple of years, I've really enjoyed any interaction I've had with him. Last year on the bus tour he remained good natured and stoic even when a lot of us were losing our minds.

Nitz I'm pissed at because he is playing bass in my son's band, Flamingo, instead of my daughter, when bass is not his instrument. Hahahahaha - but what can you do, there's a whole story there but I still say he's a nice kid and a great, great guitarist. Nah, really, I'm cool...just can't find his photo anywhere but I will continue to look. He recently brought out his trumpet on a couple of songs and really impressed me.

Liam and Chris Gargano I really never got a chance to know because they were just added as All-Stars this year but I've enjoyed watching and listening to them and they were great additions to the program.

So that's all for now -- please try and make it to the show tonight and I'll be back tomorrow with a review of the show and a formal goodbye and thank you to Paul.

Eric Slick and Rock School All-Stars Smash Guitars at Grand Opening of Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square

So yeah, today my son, Eric, featured front and back above, along with Paul Green and a small group of All-Stars -- Madison Flego, Lauren Pollock, C.J. Tywoniak, Jeremy Blessing, Joe Randazzo, and Sarah Zimmerman were part of group of 100 celebrities smashing guitars to celebrate the grand opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. They got to smash axes with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Little Steven of Bruce Springsteen/Soprano's fame.


Brian Wilson


Little Steven


Brian Wilson and Little Steven


Group shot

Here's a portion of the press release:


HARD ROCK ROCKS TIMES SQUARE
Hard Rock Cafe Opens at Historic 1501 Broadway Building

Opening Day August 12 to Be Celebrated with the World's Largest Guitar Smash

New York, NY, August 11, 2005 - New York City will be rocking on August 12 when Hard Rock International opens its flagship cafe in the center of Times Square. Hard Rock International will be moving from its original location on 57th Street to occupy the former site of the historic Paramount Theater. As part of the move, Hard Rock will be transferring music memorabilia from its unparalleled collection, including priceless pieces from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Billy Joel, The Ramones and Elvis Presley.

The new Hard Rock Cafe New York will officially open at its new location at 1501 Broadway upon the smashing of more than 100 Gibson guitars, branding the moment as the World's Largest Guitar Smash. The historic guitar smash and opening of the Times Square cafe will kick off a month-long celebration, which will include rockin' concerts and special events, as well as a grand opening party, featuring a live performance by super group Velvet Revolver. The grand opening celebration will benefit Peace Games, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the trend of violence in the U.S. by teaching children to become peacemakers in their schools and communities...

The memorabilia being featured in the new Hard Rock Cafe New York includes some of the most valued and treasured pieces of rock history," adds Dodds. "The doors to the Beatles' Abbey Road Studios, Elvis' tuxedo, hand-written lyrics by Jimi Hendrix, guitars cherished by legends, including Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, and more contemporary items, including stage costumes worn by Madonna and Gwen Stefani -- the rock artifacts that can be seen in this space are truly breathtaking for music fans.

Even Pete Townshend Will Be Impressed by This Guitar Smash! Traditionally, Hard Rock executives smash a guitar or two at the opening of a cafe. However, Hard Rock has decided to make its grand entrance by smashing 100 guitars, creating the World's Largest Guitar Smash on the world's greatest stage Times Square.

On Friday, August 12, more than 100 Gibson guitars will be smashed simultaneously outside the new home of Hard Rock Cafe New York, signaling its official opening. Members of the Hard Rock family will be joined by several New York notables and celebrities, including Steven Van Zandt and Brian Wilson, for the guitar smash, a moment that will go down in rock history. For each guitar smashed, Hard Rock will donate a new guitar to Peace Games, extending the influence of music to the masses. Rita Gilligan, one of the original servers from the 1971 opening of the first Hard Rock Cafe in London, will be leading this historic smash.

I'm in Opium! (no, no, not what you are thinking...though I suppose at one time....)

So how cool is this, I have a story published today in one of my all time favorite magazines, Opium. Check it out!.

Also, a bunch of insane writers from Zoetrope are planning a meet-up in honor of Opium's first print issue...please e-mail me if you are interested in joining us for drinks, dinner, and drinks beforehand. Here's the details of the Opium event itself, where we will, of course, eventually end up:

Opium Magazine Presents . . .
The OpiumMagazine.print #1 Launch Party!

When: August 20 , 2005, 7:00 p.m. (Saturday)
Where: New York, NY
Happy Ending (212) 334-9676
302 Broome St. (@ Forsyth)
Directions
Subways:
B,D to Grand Street
F, J, M, Z to Delancey
How Much : Free!

After four years of unrivaled online publishing, Opium Magazine is ecstatic to present the debut of their first tangible venture: OpiumMagazine.print #1, A Whopping Collection of Fanatical Literary Brilliance. This first-ever print issue features original works of fiction, poetry, cartoons, art and interviews (53 contributors in all!).

To celebrate, Opium will host contributors from around the world on August 20, 2005 (at 7:00 p.m.), for a one-night only extravaganza at NYC’s Happy Ending ( 302 Broome St). There will be readings (by actors), two-question Q&A’s (with contributors) and a story read all the way from China (in English), via-satellite! There will be giveaways (an Opium-branded toaster, for one), and a cartoon auction, followed by a party that will deliriously captivate, and potentially drunken. Plus, everyone who attends will receive an OpiumMagazine.button for the lapel of their choice!

You’ll laugh aloud, we’ll cry silently, and throughout the night we will gladly trade one of our copies of Opium’s .print for a discounted cash fee.

Join Opiates . . . Todd Zuniga, Pia Z. Ehrhardt, Will Layman, Heather Kelley, Jim Ruland, Nick Antosca, Larry Gaffney, Susan Henderson, Tao Lin, Rose Gowen, Tom Fugalli, C.J. Kershner, James J. Williams III, Diana Grove, C. Allen Rearick, David Barringer, Ryan Bird, Angela Lovell, Kim Chinquee, Anthony Tognazzini, Thomas O’Donnell, C.M. Evans, Vince LiCata and many more!

Ike and Reno

Ike Willis and Joe Randazzo in Germany last week. Perfect, eh?

This isn't one of Gary's photos, this is one I found on line which for some reason cracked me the hell up.

More later...lots of family stuff to deal with right now for a change.

Oh my god...

The Rock School set list from Zappanale 14

Can't do a proper post now but two things:

Rock School All Stars - start saving your money as I will soon be blackmailing you all -- Gary told me EVERYTHING! HAHAHAHAHAHA - Oh my god, I so wish I'd gone. YOU GUYS ARE HILARIOUS!

Seriously, and more importantly:

Olaf of the Arf Society slipped Gary a DVD of nothing but Rock School's Friday night Zappa performance and I've never, ever, ever seen or heard anything so great in my life. And in a teary eyed mother moment for sure, the back of the 2005 Zappanale DVD talks about the history of Rock School - the title says 'THE KIDS ARE BACK", there's an awesome photo from 2003, and right on the cover it talks about my daughter Julie and says that she's so great even John Entwistle would have gone crazy. It also gives a nod to Ms. Lauren Pollock and Dom Malandro.

Eric and Gary also came home with rare Zappa imports - DVDs and CDS, a Pink Floyd bootleg CD with a live version of Echoes and a stripped down version of Great Gig without the female singers; a bootleg of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles playing together (oh my god, I almost fainted when I heard Dandelion), and the Stones with Muddy Waters.

I am one happy woman today.

More...much, much more...later. They used a 35 mm camera so I need to take 16 (yep) rolls of film to get developed and made into a CD so that I can post them...Gary said he took pics of every All-Star and a lot of...moments...which is why you All Stars had better start saving your money. (Kidding, kidding)

Just heard from Germany!

(Julie and me at Zappanale 14 - photo courtesy of Janine Pollock. I'm the one with the beer har har)

Okay, hooray for Joanne Milandro who has an international cell phone. Gary just called me. It's well after 3:00 a.m. in Germany now and he said it was insane -- the crowd would not let the kids off the stage and he's so excited he can't sleep (they just got back to the hostel!) He said the audience kept screaming for the kids to play more; over 5,000 people were in fucking awe and the Paul Green School of Rock Music stole the entire Zappanale 16. He said he's never experienced anything like it EVER (and Gary saw not only the Beatles play at JFK Stadium but Jimi Hendrix as well); that the kids -- every one of them -- played the best music of their lives; that they are all superstars and are being treated as such by every adult fellow musician in attendance from all over the world, many of whom played with Frank Zappa at some point in their careers; and that the only low of the trip is that it's 44 degrees and hailing! Gary said it's so cold smoke is coming out of their mouths when they talk, but that the folks running the festival handed out free sweatshirts (very cool Zappanale 16 ones) to all of them. Wow. When I was there with the kids two years ago at Zappanale 14 it was so hot we wore tank tops or t-shirts and shorts. But oh my god, they played for three and a half hours tonight. That's like...unreal.

Anyway, most importantly, I instructed Gary to bring home many DVDs so that all the parents can have one and Linda, Joey is doing fine; the kids are all eating more than enough...in fact, they are getting their faces stuffed by everyone everywhere -- Gary said the food at the festival is incredible and the kids don't have to pay for anything. Gary is sharing a room with 10 kids - Jeremy, Dom, Haffy, Matt, Bosco, Cameron, Joey, Mike, Dan, and Chris. He said he's taking care of all of them and they told him he's the coolest dad ever (hahaha - unlike me on tour, who probably scared the hell out of all of them because I'm so fucking neurotic).

Carolyn, Gary also told me he took Eric shopping for something special for you, so, err..act surprised.

Anyway, he sounded so wired on the phone now he has me all wired and I can't sleep either...and we have to all wake up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow because yep, that's when the finale begins in Germany, only it will be 11:00 a.m. there.

Night night.

Reminder!

Beginning in just a half hour, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, the Zappanale Festival begins broadcasting right here!. While my son, Eric, and the rest of the Paul Green School of Rock Music All-Stars will not take the stage until after 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, the kids will be standing in front or by the side of the stage throughout the whole concert watching the other bands until it's time for their performance and who knows, the camera may very well pan the audience.

While Eric Slick and the Paul Green School of Rock Stars are in Germany performing at Zappanale 16...Robin Slick unemployed, days 3 and 4 Part I

Asparagus appetizer at Chloe Restaurant

Hi, there.

Well, I haven't posted in my blog for a few days because I've been too busy eating. This is sad but true. No, actually, it's not sad, it's fantastic. Eric and his daddy left for Germany yesterday at 12:30 p.m. and Julie and I immediately embarked on our latest culinary tour of Philadelphia.

We had dinner at Chloe at 2nd and Arch Street. Chloe may now be my all time favorite restaurant. Okay, okay, I know I say that about every cool place I visit, but my God, this is as good as it gets, and it's BYOB...people were showing up with a bottle o'red and a bottle o'white and drinking them all down with each course. Next time, I will do the same; this time, because I was with a 19 year old and it was 100 degrees out and she is making me walk everywhere (there and back...mapquested it...6 miles roundtrip) I decided to stick with water.

First up: A warm bread basket with complimentary homemade hummus. Hummus like I've never tasted. Not merely rank cloves of garlic and mashed chick peas, but a puree of chick peas, corn (yep, corn) and chipotle, rimmed with a circle of high quality olive oil. Julie and I started eating it with a spoon; they give you so much it was like eating the world's best mashed potatoes with half the calories.

Okay. Appetizers next.

Julie elected to have the daily special, which was a chilled peach soup with champagne. (Oh sure, she got to drink...I tasted it and there was like half a bottle poured in there so I helped her finish it bigtime). It was topped with an adorable miniature almond taco. It was tart, refreshing, and maybe the best cold soup ever.

My appetizer ended my search (at last!) for the best freaking mussels I ever ate in my life. These were from New Zealand, and each mussel was the size of my fist. There were at least a dozen of them, floating in a sauce made of white wine, tarragon butter, leeks, and dijon mustard. Came with grilled bread. When I was finished the mussels, I used an empty shell as a tablespoon to eat all the "soup" once I'd killed the bread. I will dream about these mussels for weeks to come; in fact, my birthday is in two weeks and this is what I will be having.

Pictured above was the appetizer I almost got and will certainly try on another occasion -- grilled asparagus wrapped with apple wood smoked bacon and boursin cheese, served with spicy tomatoes and reduced balsamic vinegar.

For entrees, Julie chose sushi grade tuna seared rare in banana ginger soy broth with jasmine rice, seaweed salad and crispy wonton chips. I don't even like tuna that much but went nuts over the forkful she reluctantly, well, forked over.

But mine was the real winner. Pan seared sea scallops served atop a crispy potato pancake with spicy watercress and red onion salad and smoked chile and sour cream drizzle. Oh my god, I never wanted that dinner to end.

Dessert? Oh yeah, we had room. I don't know how we had room, because the portions were so big they were falling off the plate, but we made ourselves have room because the desserts, which are daily specials and change every day (duh), were so spectacular. We did decide to share, though, which was smart, because that too was HUGE.

Hot banana bread pudding sitting in a pool of half caramel, half raspberry, topped with home made toasted coconut ice cream.

Sigh...

More later. I just realized how much I miss Eric and now I need to go upstairs and listen to the Rock School soundtrack so I can hear him play drums.

By the way, please buy the CD. You can find it at www.towerrecords.com or www.amazon.com, etc.