Friday Five

The Excuse

None needed. W00t!

The Week

This week was a rarity for me – I traveled, but not via plane. My class this week was up in Anaheim. The situation worked out rather well for me.

First, I was able to do dinner with an old friend (Tamiko) who I hadn’t seen in quite a while. One thing I’ve found about true friends is that regardless of the time apart, you can pick right up where you left off. My relationship with Tamiko falls into that category; we had a wonderful dinner with conversation flowing the entire night.

Second, I was able to sneak down to San Diego for a reuben at The Linkery. I’ll talk about the reuben in my restaurant section, but I’ll mention here that it’s the best reuben I’ve ever had.

Third, I was able to see Liam for dinner on Wednesday. He’s doing well, working his way through college.

Lastly, it was only a three day class, so I’ve spent the last two days at home. Not only did this give me time to spend with Karin, but it also gave us a chance to finish off season 4 of Dexter. I know I have at least one reader who hasn’t seen it yet, so I won’t say anything except to say that it was an incredible season.

The Exercise

Well, it starts tomorrow. In April there is a Warrior Dash just north of here. Jumbo and I are going to run the race, and I need to get in shape for it. This gives me something to work towards.

The Restaurant

I’m rather amazed I haven’t yet featured The Linkery here. I know I’ve mentioned it in the past, but as best as I can tell it’s never been my featured restaurant in a Friday Five. Time to fix that.

The Linkery is unique in many ways. They do sausages in-house, something I’ve never seen in a restaurant before. They don’t accept tips; instead they add on an 18% “service charge”. They offer “farm to table” food, meaning they work directly with farms and feature food that is fresh and in season. This means the menu is constantly in flux, and every trip is unique.

Periodically, they’ll offer up a reuben. Keeping with the spirit of the restaurant, it’s all made in house. House cured corned beef. House made sauerkraut and Russian dressing. House made beer bread. Local gouda. After having one of these it will ruin you to reubens for the rest of your life.

The Travel Note

Because my class was in Anaheim, I was able to just drive up there, which gave me a chance to actually drive my Miata for a change. I’ve owned it now for 3.5 years – and I’ve just now crossed 15,000 miles.

The Five

I’m sort of teasing a part in next week’s Friday Five, but Karin and I have tickets to the Chargers/Jets playoff game on Sunday. This will be the first time I’ve ever seen a playoff game. In honor of that, I figured I’d list the five best sporting events I’ve ever seen live.

1. In 2008, Karin and I saw a Red Sox/Yankees game in Yankee stadium. While ESPN and FOX show the Sox/Yanks games on television too often, I can attest the rivalry atmosphere is as advertised.
2. Basically any Padres/Dodgers game, but in particular the game when Kevin Brown came back to San Diego after jilting the Padres for the Dodgers.
3. While I’m still not a huge soccer fan, there’s something to be said for being there live. Especially if it’s the championship game of the Women’s World Cup in the Rose Bowl.
4. This is more about the seats than the game itself, but one time Jumbo and I were lucky enough to get the “How did you get those seats” seats to the Padres game – dugout seats. They’re $350 face value, and while I wouldn’t necessarily pay that, they give you plenty for the price, including free food and free drink. It was an awesome experience, and I owe a special thank you to Brent & Ron for thinking of me when they heard about them.
5. This is all about the picture. One of my clients has a luxury box for the Houston Rockets. During the game they send a pair of cheerleaders to each box. Needless to say I had to get a picture. Did I mention I love that picture?