Month: January 2009

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You Want to Do in 2009

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You Want to Do in 2009

From this site comes this week’s Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You Want to Do in 2009. In no particular order, mine are: Continue to lose weight. I’m down approximately 20 pounds since August 2008! Compete in Culinary Competitions through the American Culinary Federation. This…

Quote of the Day — January 7, 2009

Quote of the Day — January 7, 2009

Show me another pleasure like dinner that comes every day and lasts an hour. — Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You're Really Good At

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You're Really Good At

From this site comes this week’s Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You’re Really Good At. In no particular order, mine are:

  1. SCUBA diving. Wendy & I are certified at the Rescue Diver level.
  2. Humor. I’m a funny guy. What can I say?
  3. Cooking. I’m a damn fine cook. Should be — I’ve trained enough and love it completely!
  4. Teaching. I really enjoy teaching.
  5. Working with college students. Akin to #4, above, these are skills developed in my job.
  6. Being a husband. I think I’m finally getting good at this!
  7. Traveling. I am a good travel partner.
  8. I’m unusually good at judging if something will fit… For example, if we’re packing the car, I can look at what needs to go in and correctly estimate if it will fit or not. Sad that this is one of my super-powers.
  9. Proof-reading and editing. With all the technical writing I’ve done, I developed pretty good editing skills (and some bad habits — like writing in passive voice).
  10. Setting long-term goals and accomplishing them.
  11. I’m really good at putting my foot in my mouth. One might think after 40+ years on this earth that I’d cease doing that. Not so! Only the frequency has changed — thankfully, it has decreased. But it still happens.
Productivity Books Galore

Productivity Books Galore

Recently, I’ve been sent several very interesting productivity books and am slowly working my way through them. The titles I’ve received: Zen to Done by Leo Babauta The Power of Less by Leo Babauta Making It All Work by David Allen Never Eat Alone by…

An Apology to the World

An Apology to the World

Dear World, The United States of America, your quality supplier of ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for its 2001-2008 service outage.The technical fault that led to this eight-year service interruption has been located. Replacement components were ordered Tuesday, November 4th, 2008,…

Jean-Robert at Pigall's to close February 28, 2009

Jean-Robert at Pigall's to close February 28, 2009

After an extremely successful run in Cincinnati, Jean-Robert at Pigall’s will close on February 28, 2009, this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer confirms.

The restaurant on 4th Street  in downtown Cincinnati, is majority owned by Marilyn and Martin Wade and run by Executive Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel, opened for business in 2002. Since that time, it has been awarded 4 stars by Mobil for 5 consecutive years, and is the only restaurant in Ohio, Indiana, or Kentucky with that high a rating.

The closing of Pigall’s presents a great opportunity for Chef Jean-Robert to reinvent himself, unshackled from growth-hungry non-restaurateur owners!

The closing of Jean-Robert at Pigall’s is a tremendous loss for the city, of course, but that will be only temporary. I am confident that whatever Chef de Cavel decides to do will far surpass the considerable greatness of Pigall’s. My dearest hope right now is for peace for JR and his family through this difficult transition. My second hope is that they will stay in Cincinnati and open another restaurant.

It has been my considerable pleasure to dine many times at Pigall’s under Chef’s direct care and partake of truly astounding, life-changing meals. And it has been my honor to work in the kitchens of the restaurant since January 2005. I have learned a tremendous amount from Chef and the staff at Pigall’s — both as a customer and an employee — and will always be grateful. The culinary team at the restaurant have become friends and have enriched my life.

Farewell Jean-Robert at Pigall’s. Long live Jean-Robert de Cavel!