I had to turn the comments off because I am getting the most bizarre spam ‘comments’ attached. It is taking way too much time to go through and delete them all, so I stopped them. I am not sure what the point of having a blog is if no one can comment, though. Obviously anyone can email me and I can post the comments on for you, but that isn’t the same, is it. Not that I get many comments, I may be just talking to myself here, in which case this is more of a therapeutic journal than anything else-which is ok with me if it’s ok with you. I had big ideas for this blog. We would come together as a community and discuss food and wine and other fun things. So far it’s just me babbling like a little brook. I don’t mind, but I do want you to have the opportunity to comment if you want to. I don’t know what to do about it so if you do, please tell me. I am not all that technical and there may be an easy fix that I could never think of simply due to my lack of knowledge. Please help!

So on to the food…. I got to have great Indian food the other night and I realized that it has been way too long. Mom and I went to the Bombay Bistro on 6th in Tacoma and their food is really fabulous! The ambience is lovely, the proprietors are very friendly and the service was great, too. They have a more extensive wine and beer list than many of the Indian restaurants that I have been to, outside of Seattle, and they had some different dishes from the usual suspects. I love great Indian food and I really must go more often! The intensity and range of flavors excites my palate at every turn! I have heard people say ‘oh I don’t like curry’ and I wonder what they could possibly be talking about? Nearly every food region has curries or something like them, and they are all completely different. Indian food is so much more than curries! There are so many foods within that cuisine, just like all other cuisines, that I think only the pickiest of plain-food eaters could not find something they like.

Of course, I am the type of person who could find something that I like in any cuisine. I can probably find things I don’t like, as well, but I try not to look for those. I tried Pho for the first time last summer and I loved it. I first read about it in a book by Linda Ellerbee called ‘Take Big Bites’. I LOVE this book! If you enjoy reading about food and/or travel, you will enjoy it too. Of course, Linda Ellerbee has been an idol of mine for many years, so I was destined to like the book no matter what. She describes eating Pho in Vietnam and I feel like I have been there! I had to have it and I wanted it to be as authentic as possible so I got a recommendation and went to the International District in Tacoma. I can’t know how authentic it was but I sure loved it! I would love it for breakfast.

This Saturday Roberto Russo, our Italian chef and cookbook author is coming back to the cafe! He will make some dessert and spend the day entertaining everyone, even signing his books for you all. At 2 we are having our open house to talk about next year’s tour of Tuscany and Umbria. Roberto’s agriturismo is our first home away from home, so it will be great to hear from him and talk to him about his 16th century convent that he converted into a working farm and resort. We will snack and drink wine… it will be lovely! You should join us if you can.

Then next Thursday, the 20th, is our final wine event of the year. Tom Kelly from Small Vineyards Importers will be here to take us through a tasting of our winter wines. We will have some great food pairings, of course, and we will decide on our next house wines. Tom does a wonderful presentation and when you hear him it feels like you have been to Italy and have seen the vineyards. Of course, if you go to Italy with us next October you actually will see some of our vineyards! You will meet the farmers/winemakers and their families and taste the wines right there on the land where it grows! Nothing could be better. If you haven’t checked out our Itinerary you should do that now on our web site, it is the best bang for your buck that you could have! Plus you get to travel with Mark and me! How cool is that?

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