lifeasdaddy

Ago restaurant - 377 Greenwich Street

I think that Leo Schofield has sworn to  never again write another published restaurant review.   

This one in The New Yorker rivals Leo at his acerbic best.

Edward sees his first circus show under the Big Top.

You never forget your first circus.

Today we took Ed to the Big Top at St. Ives showgrounds to see Weber's Circus.

This is the real deal.  The arena is releatively small - which ensures that every seat has a great view of the action, although some may be slightly obscured by the solumns holding up the tent.

The local government doesn't permit the use of animals, but in every other respect there is a full range of top circus acts.  Solo trapeze, aerial steel ring, clowns (non-scary), contortionist, tightrope walk, juggling, dancers, aerial silk act, multiple hula hoops, and an honest to goodness wheel of death.

Edward's attention was captured for the nearly 2-hour show. 

Something he will never forget.

He told me the popcorn was good too.

The circus strikes the big top tomorrow, and then goes to give shows at St. Mary's and Liverpool.  See if you can get along there.  Tell them Bob sent you.

The big gun of Mosman

A couple of days ago we met our friends Alana, Sean and young Luca at a cafe on a headland above Mosman.  It's an amazing park with an amazing view. 

Set on a site which was once an artillery emplacement used to protect Sydney and its harbour it has been refurbished to provide studios for artists and a setting for a sculpture park.

As a homage to the site's military past there is also a preserved inoperable 6-inch Mark VII coastal gun on display.  According to historical surveys, the two World War II era Mark VII guns were moved from this site to South Head so this one must have been retrieved for dramatic effect.

In this picture at left we see the 6-inch Mark VII gun which was manufactured by the venerable British armourer Vickers.  The "6-inch" statistic relates to the internal diameter of the gun barrel, and hence the external diameter of the projectile shell.  The shell weighed around 100 pounds (48 kg) and the range was about 15 kilometres.

This photograph above gives a better idea of the gun's tactical field of fire, although this was not the exact position of the gun emplacement.  Sydney heads, the entrance to Sydney Harbour can be seen in the distance, North head at left, South Head at right.

Edward has seen the big gun before, but it still acted like a magnet to him.  Not so much because he has an interest in things military like his Dad, but because it is just so big.  And because it now has a fence around it - just making it so much more attractive to a young boy.

Ed also took some time out from military history to give vent to his artistic side and appreciate some sculpture.  Not so much from the aesthetic aspect as the athletic.

It turns out Fortune Cookies originated in Japan

Or so says Yasuko Nakamachi in this New York Times piece by Jennifer 8. Lee.

Cool middle name, 8, isn't it?

lifeasdaddy - The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plays VB Stubbies.

Victoria Bitter beer has had some great advertisements over the years, and this one is no exception, with the Melbourne Sympony Orchestra playing their version of the VB theme music.  The theme was actually composed by then newcomer Elmer Bernstein for the original soundtrack of the classic film The Magnificent Seven (1960).  Bernstein was nominated for an Oscar, but did not win.

Great!

[ Thanks to my friend Darren Waterworth for the tip ]

lifeasdaddy - On a picnic with Ed

Yesterday Edward and I went on a picnic in Davidson Park under the Roseville Bridge which is part of the larger Garigal National Park.  It is about 6 minutes drive from our residence, but it is more than ten years since I've visited the park.

We had sandwiches, fruit and fruit juice.

Parked neaby was a classic Chevrolet, probably a 1956 vintage.  

lifeadaddy - The conflict that creates high quality restaurants.

David McMillan writes a great blog about hospitality management with a focus on hotels.  I've just been catching up on his back catalogue and came across this post HOW SAD THAT WE DENOUNCE PEELING AND FLIPPING where he talks about how "... I discovered that only when conflict exists between kitchen and restaurant staff does quality exist."

Thinking back on my own time working in hotels and restaurants I have to agree with him.  When everyone in front and back of the restaurant are cozy with each other the output tends to be ordinary, mediocre and bland.  When there is creative tension quality rises.

I guess that's a warning for husband and wife restaurant teams which almost always find the two halves of the partnership working on opposite sides of the business.  One cooking, one hosting.

lifeasdaddy - Eating out on Oahu, Hawaii

Best meal we had during the trip was at John Domanis.  It was not mentioned in any of the 4 or 5 tourist guidebooks we consulted, but came as a personal recommendation to our friend and dining companion Jean-Marc from a long time resident.

John Domanis has great seafood, attentive service and a nice outlook over the ocean.  It is approached via part of Honolulu's working port, so don't be put off by that.  Valet parking is very reasonably priced too.  Check out the details and typical menus on the restaurant's website here.

Best tourist restaurant experience was at Duke's Waikiki. Duke's Canoe Club Waikiki is located inside the Outrigger Waikiki hotel. This restaurant is mentioned in every tourist guidebook. The food was pretty good, but what you really come here for is the ambience and people watching.  There's the restaurant, then there's the hotel's pool, and then on the other side the most famous beach in the world.  The restaurant is chock full of memorabilia about Duke Kahanamoku, the father of surfing.

HINT: We read that Duke's does not accept reservations for dinner, so early in the afternoon we asked the restaurant hostesses what time they suggested we attend to have the shortest wait for a dinner table.  On that Saturday, they suggested we arrive at 6.15pm, and expect one hour waiting time.  We arrived at 6.00pm and reported to the restaurant reception desk.  They noted our names, and we were advised to come back at 7.10pm.  Returning on time, we had to wait only 5 more minutes to be seated at our table.   The one hour waiting time gave us enough time to go next door to have a cocktail at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel's  Mai Tai  Bar.  Again, one of those quintessential experiences.  Sure it's commercial - but this is Waikiki baby, and money talks.  We had fun drinking our outrageously kitsch cocktails, and the friendly bassist from the bar's jazz trio who was on his break kindly took our group photograph.  (Photo will be posted when it comes to hand.)

DINING WITH CHILDREN ON OAHU

For dinner, the standout for kids is the Pacific Beach Hotel's Oceanarium Restaurant.  The aquarium is huge.  Maybe 6 metres high, and 30 metres long. The photo attached to the restaurant's website gives some scale against the dining tables and chairs.

The restaurant is very busy, and probably has at least 3 seatings per night.This place is obviously a favourite of locals, and there were at least 3 kids' birthday parties.  Not the place for a romantic dinner for two. The tables are generally long, seating 9 or ten people.  Prime tables abut the aquarium tank and the gimmick here is that a diver in the water swims up to the table celebrating a birthday and places a sign against the glass "Happy Birthday Billie".   When the birthday cake comes out for the boy or girl of the moment, 9 or 10 waiters gather around the table and sing Happy Birthday to You.   It's hokey, but the pay off is the ear-to-ear grin of the birthday boy or girl.  If I were 7 or 8 years old, I would think it was the bee's knees.  Bookings essential, and I assume to get one of those prime tables on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night you would need to book weeks ahead.  Gabrielle and I probably got more out of the aquarium aspect than Edward did, but he enjoyed the food, the general hubbub and sense of occasion.

The food is OK for a high volume buffet.  Like Duke's, you don't come here for the food, you come because this ambience is something you can't get anywhere else.

I couldn't take suitable photographs there, but here's some Flickr sets.   There's a nightly Dinner  Buffet, and on the Sunday night we dined the Dim Sum Station was active.

I'm not exactly sure how much  the Oceanarium Restaurant charges for the buffet, but we went with 5 adults and 3 kids under 4 years old, and paid about $35 each for the adults and nothing for the children.  Check their children's prices before you go. Drinks and tax were extra.  A great kids' holiday experience. 

For casual lunch eating with the kids, a standout was the  Poolside Grill at the Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa.

I mentioned this place when I was writing about beaches for kids, but what I didn't tell you is that less than a metre from our table was a giant pond full of hammerhead sharks.   On the two days that we lunched there, a hotel staff member came around with a group of hotel guests at 11.30am and fed the sharks.  The sharks feeders and guests actually stand in the pond, but are protected from the predators by a small rock wall.  This rock wall also allows the small fish to swim out of the reach of the sharks so there are no disturbing displays of the natural world to bring on tears in the little kids.

The food was tasty and hearty, and reasonably priced for an establishment of this type (read moderately expensive) The bonus is that a spend of more than $25 yields free parking in the resort car park, close to the Ko Olina lagoons where it is otherwise near impossible to park.

Generally, everywhere we went on Oahu children were warmly welcomed.

lifeasdaddy - Overheard at Starbucks.

Jina Moore of the Chrisitan Science Monitor has written an interesting article about conversations, many of a personal nature, which people feel they can conduct in Starbucks coffee houses without care that they will be overheard by others.  These are some of the observations made by Temple University's Professor Bryant Simons who is researching and writing a book about Starbucks.

There's also some interesting sociological insights in this New Yorker snippet about Prof. Simon's research for the book.

Here's a YouTube clip of Prof. Simon lecturing about his Starbucks stuff, especially the brand and how people consume there.  It's a form of self-gifting.  It's a desire for belonging. "Starbucks is a multi-media corporation which stages performances, and puts the consumer at the center of those performances."

lifeasdaddy - Bed & Breakfast in a Frank Lloyd Wright marvel?

Fancy staying overnight in a Frank Lloyd Wright house?  The Muirhead Farmhouse has surely got to be unique in the B&B category.

I love the style of their website too. 

How do I know about it?  Because Terry Teachout told me so.

[ Added:  Mr. Teachout also mentions 4 other Frank Lloyd Wright houses in which you may spend the night here. ]