La Bodega, Asheville

 Just had lunch here. We shared everything. 

PESCADITO FRITO * fried anchovies, green peppercorn mayo, lemon

ENSALADA gem lettuce, pistachio vinaigrette, idiazabal, citrus, olives

BOCADILLO DE GAMBAS FRITAS * crispy red shrimp, all i oli, piparra peppers, arugula, baguette

DAILY SPECIAL * Prince Edward Mussels in a tomato broth with wine and soppressata in it among other ingredients.

TARTA DE QUESO basque style cheesecake, walnut brittle, seasonal fruit

I had a glass of white Rioja: Ontanon ‘Vetiver’ Viura, Rioja 2020

Everything was outstanding including the service. They make fabulous bread and we're going back tomorrow morning to get coffee and a breakfast pastry before hitting the road. The restaurant is above the bakery. Definitely a gem in Asheville and I think it was far more interesting than the Curaté restaurant itself.

TW: Completely concur with GC.  Fabulous!

Elements, Chapel Hill

Lunch here with Mauricio. We shared the Chicken Potstickers: Pan Seared Dumplings, Truffle Soy Sauce

Mauricio had the Saigon Noodles: Wokked Lemongrass Flank Steak, Cool Rice Noodles, Pickled Vegetables, Cucumber, Bean Sprouts, Nuoc Cham, Crispy Shallots, Peanuts

TW had the Fresh Catch of the Day (salmon): Pan Roasted, Stir Fried Vegetables, Jasmine Rice 

I had the Panko Chicken: Thai Yellow Curry, Stir Fried Vegetables, Jasmine Rice 

Everything was superbly prepared and presented. This place is a winner. 2 on the NIH scale.

TW says: only drawback was that her dish was heavily sweetened (sweet soy sauce perhaps).  Not what she would have preferred. But the setting was lovely, including about 10 orchid plants in the window where we were seated.

The Med, Asheville, NC

 Breakfast here this morning. Super cool place in a slightly grungy neighborhood. I had a great breakfast burrito and TW had two eggs over easy with breakfast potatoes and a side of collard greens. Would go back here anytime- this is the kind of place where you get inspiration as you cure a hangover. Nice background music too. Two on the NIH scale if you combine ambience and food. 

TW: the breakfast potatoes were deep fried, making them really not all that good for her tastes.  Collard greens were yummy.  She appreciates the server who had sure she didn't mind that there was pork in her collards. She would give a score of 4.

https://www.themedavl.com/

Andaaz, Ashveville NC

We popped in here after a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Nothing terrible but the place is quite uninspiring. The lunch buffet has a limited selection. The naan was soggy. The tandoori chicken wasn't burnt but was otherwise weak on flavor. A generous score of 6 on the NIH scale. I would not go back. 

TW agrees with the criticism and the score, but liked the Madras Chicken.  The soggy naan was really a bad show. 

Hawthorne and Wood, Chapel Hill

June 9. Outstanding food. The shrimp was out of this world. The service was a little hearty but well-meant and the table next to us was a little noisy.

Starters.

• black truffle arancini; cured egg yolk, parmigiano-reggiano chilled north carolina shrimp; puffed rice, spiced cashew, sesame peanut vinaigrette, thai basil

Mains:

• sauteéd potato gnocchi; poached egg*, arugula pesto, spring onion soubise, asparagus, hazelnut, beauregarde snow peas
• wild virginia striped bass; romanesco, sunchoke purée, artichoke, bacon vinaigrette, haricots (spelt haircots on the website) verts

I had a Basque rose and a Finger Lakes Riesling to go with the starters and main respectively. We ended up tasting each others food and splitting a semi-fredo like dessert with candied kumquats and caramelised banana. 

TW adds: the shrimp appetizer had a cashew puree which was incredible.  The use of mint in that dish (and in some others) was delicate and fabulous. This chef is creative and makes food that you love but aren't sure exactly what's in it.  This was just fabulous.  Score of 2.  I wish next time to sit outside.

Z Cucina di Spirito - Columbus

Dinner on June 8. We got there at 5:00 so we had the patio almost completely to ourselves. We'd been there in April 2017 and remembered it as a good place so it was nice to revisit. I've always liked the Grandview area, it's changed a bit and parking isn't as nice any more. The food was summer-themed, we had pizza with fig and prosciutto as a starter and then I felt leafy so I ordered a spinach salad. Both were excellent. For mains, TW had an outstanding mushroom risotto and I had roast lamb loin with some fantastic brocollini and assorted vegetables. We could not resist dessert so we split an order of the cannoli. It's a good place to go to. 

Brickhouse Coffee, IN

June 8, 2024. We stopped at Brickhouse Coffee on 9771 Fall Creek Road Indianapolis, IN 46256 where I had the best espresso in my life. TW's cappucino was of similar quality.  Till then, the best espresso had been at Oliveto in Oakland, CA outcompeting creditable experiences in DC, London, Paris, and Italy. The previous (and only time) I'd been to Brickhouse the espresso had been very good but all the stars must have aligned that morning along with the choice of bean and the barista's skill. Brickhouse is a good place to stop by when you travel from Champaign to Columbus. 

Why I try to avoid flying

Over the years, air travel has become increasingly unpleasant, bureaucratic, and uncomfortable. I'm inclined to blame duplicitous corporate behavior, especially the massively overcompensated upper management. 

My response is not to fly unless I absolutely have to. On the rare occasions I travel internationally, I try and fly some European airlines since the service tends to be better. I pay extra for premium economy and business class when it's affordable. I completely ignore frequent flyer programs and I never use the airport lounges unless I get a business class freebie. Using economics speak- the marginal utility of another trip is <= 0.

The impact of my behavior is that instead of flying 6-12 times a year, I now fly once a year. I never fly around the holidays except perhaps the day after Thanksgiving when flights tend to be less full (at least in my experience). This is a win win policy- good for climate change and good for my stress levels. My favorite airlines are Swiss andAir France. Lufthansa, KLM, and Icelandair (no frills but not bad at all barring Reykjavik airport, which is disorganized) come in next. I had a nice flight on Aer Lingus between Boston and Shannon. I will never fly Ryanair and the like. 

My worst flight experience in the US ever was Frontier Airlines. Completely chaotic and horrible unconfortable seats. Occasionally unpleasant is United and Southwest. Best flight experience ever was Delta. American is somewhere in between Delta and United. The puddle-hopper flight between Champaign and Chicago is sometimes comical in its unreliability. Other times it's quite pleasant amd Willard is a really nice airport.