25 Random Things About Food, Cocktails, Wine and Me

In the same vein as the popular “25 Random Things About Me” trend, I decided to put things in focus a bit more and concentrate on the things that probably bring you here in the first place, food, cocktails and wine.

1.I love to try new things. If its eaten in some culture on planet earth, I'll give it a go. Stewed silkworm cocoons, live octopus tentacles, fried scorpion, its all gone into my mouth.
2. I rarely meet a meat is murder vegetarian that I like.
3. My favorite thing in the world is a lazy Sunday brunch with the NY Times, my girl and my dog. Not in that order.
4. I actually prefer wine to cocktails. Imagine that!
5. My mother is the best home cook I've ever seen or tasted. Luckily enough for me, my mother in law runs a very close second. I owe both women a lot for improving my palate.
6. I could never eat chicken again and not even notice. Except great fried chicken. I love world class fried chicken.
7. I have more bottles of hard liquor than should be allowed. Most of it ends up in the basement.
8. I despise commercial mayonnaise. Can't do it.
9. I hate the texture of dried coconut. Yuck.
10. I love me some red wine. Zin is my first love but I'm a sucker for vintage Bordeaux or a great Burgundy.
11. I've eaten at 3* Michelin restaurants in both the US and Europe. Too stuffy for me. I like to have more of a connection to a restaurant rather than have a team of servants.
12. Carmel is a place on the California coast. Caramel is a type of sweet.
13. I love charcuterie. And variety meats.
14. During the winter, nothing says comfort food to me more than braised meats.
15. I never imagined that someday I would have so many different salts. Hawaiian pink is probably my favorite.
16. I'm germ phobic, but only in the US. If I'm out of the country and someone is chopping meat on an old tree stump, I'm game.
17. I didn't begin drinking gin until I met my wife. I used to have a "gin face"
18.I don't chew gum. Ever. It annoys me.
19. I collect red wine. I've got stuff going back to the mid 1960s.
20. I'm hoping to make Beaker and Flask my last position where I work as an employee. I'm getting to the point that I want my own place. Beaker is going to be special though.
21. Bartending should be fun. I can't stand it when people take the joy out of such a great job. Why look constipated behind the bar? Life is too short.
22. I can't bake to save my life. Seriously.
23. If I got to choose my last meal, I would dine at Chez Panisse.
24. I used to like microbrews, but since I hit my 30s, I'm really a sucker for a decent lager. Sapporo may be my favorite beer.
25. "Cocktail" is the worst movie ever made. Period.