I love me some kibbe!

Steven made kibbe last night. I had no idea what it was, but he never steers me wrong in the food department, so I was game.

It was so delicious. He made it in little ramekins and I ate it directly out of them with a fork. The outside mixture is a very different flavor, using allspice and different seasonings, while inside is a feta cheese surprise. Mmmm, delicious. We ate dinner while watching The Secret Diaries of A Call Girl on NetFlix. It is a wonderful show and we are sad that there aren't any more episode out right now. Oh well, good things come to those who wait!

The Wine Cellar - dining out in Fort Lauderdale/Oakland Park/Wilton Manors

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful meal at The Wine Cellar. We had been wanting to go to this restaurant for some time, especially after several friends raved about how delicious the food is.

I tried to take Steven for his birthday, but they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Over the weekend we made plans with a group of friends to go to this restaurant on Sunday night, but the group had to cancel, so Steven and I decided to go by ourselves. We weren't disappointed.

The restaurant is cute, in a dated sort of way. Our waitress was VERY nice. We asked for "Russian Water", but they were out. She brought us amaretto instead. I ordered the jagerschnitzel and Steven ordered the ramschnitzel. Both came with lobster bisque as an appetizer, as well as delicious dark-rye onion rolls. So delicious. In addition to our entrees, they brought us red cabbage and creamed spinach. You will not leave this place hungry. We paired that with pinot grigio (pretty much the only wine I drink regularly). The entire meal was outstanding, we even had leftovers to bring home, something that almost NEVER happens, but we just couldn't eat any more.

With all the food, wine, and multiple shots of amaretto, the bill was $51. I'm not kidding. This is a total deal.

If you're in the Fort Lauderdale area, be sure to check out The Wine Cellar. You will be glad you did!

Lula Kebab House, Sunny Isles, Florida

For years Steven worked for a company with ties to Russia. He travelled there a number of times and has always remarked on how good food from that region is. Recently he found a Russian restaurant not too far from us. Lula Kebab House, in Sunny Isles, Florida, is an authentic Russian restaurant located across the street from the beach in North Miami.

We arrived early (early for us, 6:30) to be sure that there wasn't a wait. There wasn't. In fact, we were the only people there, save for the waitstaff. That wasn't a good sign, but not to worry, about 20 minutes later people started streaming in. We were the only non-Russians, but that was fine with us. The service was pretty good. I had my first taste of borscht as an appetizer. I really enjoyed it. It came with sour cream that you mixed in with the soup. Besides the delicious beets and cabbage, there was a chunk of tender beef. Mmmmm. For entrees, we both had the kebabs, mine was beef and Steven's was lamb. I have never been a fan of lamb (I don't dig the smell), but I tried a bite of his and it wasn't bad. My beef kebab was delicious. It came with rice, raw red onions, and a unique dipping "salsa" that I quite enjoyed. We paired this with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

What surprised me most about this restaurant was how modern it was. For some reason I pictured an older, dark, small restaurant. What I found was quite the opposite. It was a bright, open, airy place done up in an uber modern decor. There was a large TV on the wall near us and they put in a Russian music DVD for us to watch while we ate. Steven noted that they didn't offer us vodka before dinner, which was OK with me, but the other diners, who were Russian, all had shots of vodka. He also noted that they gave us different rolls than the other people, who had really dark, rye rolls. We both agreed that the next time we go there we will ask for vodka and dark rolls.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. We tend to forget that we are very close to Miami. We have a gift certificate to Charley's Crab. Next up, gifts from the sea!

Where has the time gone?

I was chatting with a friend today who mentioned that she is going to be turning 40 next month. This shocked me because I clearly remember her 30th birthday party and in my mind it was 5 years ago, not 10.

It makes me sad a bit, thinking about how the past 10 years have seemingly gone by in a blur. I have had so much fun and am very grateful for my wonderful family and friends, but what the hell happened to the time? My mother always told me that as you get older, time moves faster. I never believed her at the time, but now I know exactly what she was talking about. I'd like to slow things down a bit.

On another note, I am totally in love with the 90's "Alternative" channel on iTunes. It is a free radio station that plays all the songs I loved in my teens and early 20s. You can get to it on iTunes by going to Radio > 90's Hits > Big R Radio - 90s Alternative. They are playing 'Hey Man, Nice Shot', by Filter right now. I remember seeing them at Avalon.

US Air kind of sucks donkey dick

My most recent trip, sadly only a 23-hour trip to Springfield for my stepsister's wedding, was purchased on priceline.com. For some reason my flights up to New England were on US Air and the way back was on Continental. No problem, it doesn't really matter to me. But what drove me abso-fucking-lutely apeshit was the fact that US Air no longer allows ANY free checked baggage. None. I didn't think this would be a problem for me, since I wasn't checking anything, but boy was I wrong. How people get away with not checking bags is to bring all their fucking crap with them AS CARRY-ONS. Oh, great. So now the boarding process takes an hour because no one can find any space in the overhead bins and the seating process completely falls apart. US Air ended up checking a bunch of luggage at the gate, a practice that I found funny. So, people still got to check their bags, this time for free, and at the gate. Way to go, US Air. Fucking dumb douchebags.

Continental, on the other hand, has been quite lovely. None of the baggage bullshit, and I am a happy boy.