We need to apologize for being so MIA. Liz has been busy as shit with her new internship at the Italy/America Chamber of Commerce and I just finished a month of grad school auditions (I'm going to NYU in the fall, yay!). In addition to that, Ian and I just moved out of our apartment in the hood and will be in our sweet new apartment in a real neighbor"hood" in a little more than a week. Meanwhile we are staying with the other dirtyspoon who is making us feel right at home. I spend the daytime looking for a job (a third job) then Liz and I make dinner and drink wine. Ian will usually come back from work/rehearsal to be immediately sat down to a late night meal and libation.
Places I went for auditions: Boston, Boulder, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Luckily, New York was my favorite :). Aside from having a crap-ass experience auditioning at Boston University, I ate some pretty dreadful things while I was there. While I must admit, that the clam chowder at Legal Seafoods (a restaurant chain in Boston) was quite good, their crab cakes were sickeningly mayonnaise-y and the orzo that came on the side was prepared without intention to thrill or much less hold anyones interest.
Now the thing that was truly awful was my introduction to dunkin' donuts. Somehow this:

is considered good on the east coast. Keep in mind that Dunkin' Donuts coffee is now available to buy at your local supermarket. People choose this over all the other great coffee out there! Over Lavazza, Peet's, and Illy! I would have actually rather had coffee from 7-Eleven or Starbucks than this piss-poor shit. The donuts are also a sad story. Never had I eaten a donut that was so much like a piece of wonderbread that had been deep fried and coated with some chocolate-like substance. Long Beach, which supposedly has the 2nd highest number of donut shops per capita behind Fort Worth (while not necessarily something to celebrate), has donut making down way better than this boring national chain.
Let's see. . . .Boulder was cold and windy, but I'm sure it's beautiful in spring and summer. I found a place that had 1/2 off oyster shooter Tuesdays after my audition. Chicago was actually pretty cool but just way too damn cold. San Francisco was a lot grungier than I remember, and I didn't have time to seek the perfect bakery or anything like that. I certain didn't have the budget for a feast at French Laundry or Chez Panisse.
What else has happened to me since the last post? I had an interview at Morry's of Naples which is a wine store in LB. In preparation I have been reading the Wine Bible which is a great book, but I had only gotten through the chapter on France by the time my interview rolled around. Basically, my interview consisted of me feeling like an idiot because I couldn't describe the flavor profile of a Syrah (although if they just let me try one of theirs as a reference point I might have been able to do it:)) nor could I list the wine regions of Italy (damnit, that was the next chapter!). My interviewer then asked, "So basically you know nothing about wine." Dammit. I gotta say that this personal failure has inspired me to learn more about wine!