X-Radiation

We’re enjoying a wonderful Saturday tasting wine at Sullivan Vineyards with Canadian sportscaster Matt Cauz and Sean Sullivan. 2005 Coeur De Vigne in our glasses.

Corn Flavored Kit-cat

Last night after a wonderful tasting of Laphroaig, my friend Chris busted out with some amazing Kit-Kat bars he brought back from Japan. My personal favorites were the baked potato and buttered corn flavors but we also had soy flavor, mango flavor and green tea flavor kit-kat bars. Oishii!

Stopped at Gene’s in Greenville for lunch on the way back to the airport.

Country steak, fried okra, mac’N’cheese, apple/pecan/raisin/marshmallow salad, cornbread and sweet tea. Awesome!

This week I’m giving some lectures in South Carolina. I arrived this evening at Charlotte Douglas airport after a 4.5 hour flight from San Francisco. Dr. William Thacker of Winthrop University met me at the airport along with Lauren Cairco, the President of the Winthrop student ACM SIGGRAPH chapter. We had dinner at the Sheraton where I had my first taste of Cheese Grits with shrimp and andouille sausage. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking at Winthrop University and Furman University with a side trip for lunch at the Old Town Bistro in Rock Hill, former site of McRory’s where the Friendship Nine held a historic lunch counter sit-in similar to the one at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1961 as part of the American Civil Rights movement.

On Tuesday I’m addressing Wofford College and Clemson University then heading back to San Francisco to get on the ball at work. Meanwhile I’m looking forward to some Southern hospitality.

Last night was had one of the most interesting dinners I have ever tasted. We ate at an izakaya in Kyoto called Okariba. The taisho, Aoki-san, hunts his own wild game, forages his own mushrooms, grows his own vegetables and raises his own bees and locusts. On the menu last night:

Grilled Wild Boar Skewers

Steamed Bear Shoulder in lemon shoyu

Bear rump

Smoked goose

Misoyaki Vegetables

Grasshoppers

Bees and bee larvae

While shitake mushrooms

Grilled pan fried tofu

Black Snake Whisky

Red Snake Whisky

Okinanwa Snake Whisky

Giant Killer Bee Whisky

Wasabe Leaf Salad

If you ever make it to Kyoto and are a serious carnivore this is the place to go for a unique experience. Aoki-san was charming and welcommed us to try each dish with an explanation of it’s origin including when and where he bagged it. His hunting rifles are proudly on display in the restaurant.

If society ever falls apart, I have a feeling Aoki-san will be right at home.

Last night we went to a hunters izakaya in Kyoto. The taisho, Aoki-
san, hunts the game himself, picks the mushrooms and grows the
vegetables. It was an amazing dinner.

Here is the menu:

Wild boar
Steamed bear shoulder
Bear rump
Smoked goose
Miso yaki veg
Grasshopper
Bees and bee larvae
Wild shitake mushrooms
Grilled tofu
Black snake whisky
Red snake whisky
Okinawa snake whisky
Giant killer bee whisky
Wasabe leaf salad

A group of friends got together for a whisky pairing tasting menu this evening. Each guest brought a dish to share and a bottle to pair with their entree. We started with a bit of Finlaggan just to wet our whistles before diving into the tasting menu. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

The Kitchen and the Lineup

The Lineup

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This 1978 Ardbeg is even better. Casked before the shuttering of the original distillery which was subsequently bought and reopened by Glenmorangie. There is actually a very clear taste line between the Still Young Ardbeg and this 1978 expression, though the 1978 has much more iodine than the younger whisky. What a great night of tastes. Thanks Michael and Tim!

Heaven in a bottle!