Petite filet mignon with blue cheese

The post-talk meal offered many choices. BOA is a legitimate steak house with a worthy selection. I chose the petite filet mignon with blue cheese (8 oz., $34) medium rare and in retrospect I regret the choice as being too conservative. Many restaurants sell a petite filet but BOA sold a bone-in filet (12 oz) as well as a wasgyu beef strip, which I've never had before. I should have been bolder in my choice. There was no reason to be conservative with so many excellent choices.
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The full plate

Adding to the filet was lobster mashed potatoes (a whopping $22 but totally, totally, totally worth it!) as well as asparagus in sauteed butter. True steakhouse fare and magnificent, especially with a 10:30 pm reservation. Synopsis to come...

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The Pre-Talk meal...

At Boulevard 16, the hotel bar at the Palomar Hotel, Los Angeles. Tuna sushi roll with dungeness crab inside along with fried calamari and zucchini. The staff at the restaurant raved that the tuna roll was the "best thing on the menu" and it was truly excellent, even though the crab was a tad watery. Still, as ratings go, the sushi receives a 3.7 out of a perfect 5.0.
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An inauspicious beginning....

What kind of foodie begins a blog with a post about McDonald's addiction? A worm-eating mofo, that's who...Looking forward to the real prospects, though, once we get started on the West Coast swing of the book tour.

There will be the San Francisco standbys, sushi:
Ebisu http://www.ebisusushi.com/
Blowfish Sushi to Die For: http://www.blowfishsushi.com/webform1.aspx

And some potential new ones, but NOT the French Laundry, damn it all. Quince (http://www.quincerestaurant.com/) has lots of potential...

But LA first and then Portland...Beast maybe? http://www.beastpdx.com/

WacArnold's is tearing this family apart!

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

There are numerous drugs I have never tried including but not limited to heroin, crack cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, mushrooms, opium, crank and Red Bull.

I have never tried a cigarette in my life. Unlike my esteemed editor Jena Janovy, I find Taco Bell to be truly reprehensible.

I do, however, have a problem with the Golden Arches.

There is nothing golden about them, but in the travel world, if you are sloppy and negligent, you are a prime candidate to be taken in by the tractor beam.

That would be me, and it must stop.
The good news is that I don't remember the last time I've eaten McDonald's when NOT either a) on the Eisenhower Interstate System or b) in an airport.

The bad news is that I use both frequently. When I was in Guatemala, my house mother Angelica referred to McDonald's as "McGusano's," Spanish for "McWorms."

So what was in the bag? Bacon and cheese Angus third pounder, fries, filet-o-fish. Gusanos, indeed...

Today's challenge: stop traveling or man up!

HB
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First stop: Boa, Los Angeles (West Hollywood)

Will arrive in Los Angeles Sunday night for Monday book reading/signing at Book Soup and as exciting as that will be, it will be rivaled by dinner reservations at Boa.  Have heard good things.   Check it out: http://www.boasteak.com/balboa/

Up and Running

After much deliberation and experimentation, Carpaccio is up! This is just a testing of the email palette. Or should I say "palate?"
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