I thought this would be interesting, I just came across a thread that asks to list the best things of your own hometown and the opening post listed the best things that came from Philidelphia. Well this is a little different. Since audiophiles tend to be more analytical and observant than non-audiophiles I thought alot can be learned from each other if we list the things we have come to appreciate in our life. I will start with a few things that I happen to appreciate greatly! Beer: (what better place to start) ...... Belgian is the country to choose for beer with charecter and layers of flavors and hints of fruit and herbs or cheese. But the very best of the best of the best as in not only in the best beer of the world but more like as in all food is: duchese de Bourgogne, just amazing!!! Food, the best dish ever: Fish Taco, in New Canaan Connection at Rosie's. Everything they make is awesome! Champagne: Vueve Clicquot, prior to this one I never ever liked champagne, but this one I love, not expensive only $40 +- Cheese: La tur, great with grapes,alot of flavors in there Best picture with Peter Sellers: After The Fox
Right now it's my Imac 24, feeding my MHDT Havana Dac, which feeds my fully modded Woo Audio 6 (with the Sophia rectifier), then on to my AKG 701's and into my old noggin.
Best guitars...My Collings D3 dreadnought and the 1968 Les Paul Custom stolen from me in 1974. OK, there are a couple dozen other guitars I crave, too...
Pedrillo- If you like Veuve Cliquot at $40, try Scharffenberger at ca. $20. I was amazed. Best price/performance ratio I've tasted and I LOVE the bubbly. BTW, do you live in CT area?
Swampwalker, No I live in NYC. But visit New Canaan to pick up raw milk and of course fish tacos. If you are any where near N.C. you must visit Rosie's. Thanks for the champagne recommendation. Peter
Swampwalker, When at Rosie's check out their quesadilla that is awesome and so is the lobster roll! If you appreciate rare tuna their ahi tuna taco is also great. Any wine recommendations? I just had a nice petite sirah believe it was by JT. Just JT. If you are ever in nyc check out pascalou's amazing menu! New American.
Well I too have something to speak of in terms of culinary talent, maybe not as complicated as hot sauce(never attempted to make it), but I do make a killer pizza. If anyone here wants to attempt to make what my friends consider the best pizza, the recipes can be found in a book called The Pizza book by Evelyn Slomon. http://www.amazon.ca/Pizza-Book-Evelyne-Slomon/dp/081291113X Mind as well indulge in the dough that you can make at home. Sorry but I couldn't help myself.
Well here is a big surprise, in an audio forum, music has been the one constant in my life since grammer school days. Instruments, audio equipment and hobby related interests, women, sports, cars, cameras, booze etc have all come and gone, often in a cycle, but apart from 'family' nothing else has, and continues to, hold my attention and is as rewarding as music. Well, I do enjoy a good book too I guess. Hog in heaven = reading a good book with some appropriate music. :-)
I used to say: a beautiful wife, content children, a ugly dog, a capable doctor and shyster lawyer. I have all five.
For those Audiogoners in So Cal:
Best hole-in-wall Mexican: Marias, Glendora Best Surf Mexican: La Sirena Grill, Laguna Beach Worth a Trip: Phillipes The Original, Chinatown/LA Japanese Soul Food: Fukada, Irvine Red Sauce Joint: Vince's Spaghetti, Ontario Best Wine Store: Wine Expo, Santa Monica
Best Beaches: Hamoa Beach, Hana, Maui--most beautiful outside CA In-town: Victoria Beach, Laguna Beach Pescador, Malibu
Record Shops:
Ameoba, Hollywood Boo Boo, San Luis Obispo Rhino, Claremont
After 3 million air miles in four decades of travel:
You should only travel to countries where their National Beer beats their National Airline.
Best Mexican Restaurant in L.A.? El Tepeyac! The Hollenback Burrito. It's in East L.A. and the locals call it Manuel's.
Best 4 legged animal: The Wapiti (Elk). Best Dog: Buddy. Without missing a single day, he gets the newspaper from the front yard and brings it to me. Pretty good for a 12 year old Lab/Pointer mix. Best Rock Guitar solo: Crossroads Best drummer: Art Blakey (or Tony Williams) Best Fish: Salmon Best state: impaired
Philefreak- LOL; that comes dangerously close to a very politically incorrect joke that I forgot about til now. "Loose shoes, tight p---- and a warm place to sh-t."
Zenblaster- That dates you and me both. I remember taking dates there after a movie in downtown Hartford at the Asylum!
Oregon, I second El Tepeyac. In fact I ate there today. I am working on a project a few blocks away. The hollenback is great, just make sure you not to finish in one sitting.
Since you guys brought up restauarants, here are my top places in the NYC area. (sorry no Mexican...NY doesn't have anything close to LA Mex-wise). But we have this: Venetian: Al Di La Thai: Sripraphai Indian: Chola Steak: Peter Luger Pizza: DiFara's (greatest on planet)
Hi Swamp, Yea, we old timers know a thing or two about the great things in life! Bottom line is, as we grow older the person we find to put up with us is all we have. Find that someone and hold on to them for all we're worth. My ex-wife (who is an Internal Medicine MD) say's, no one well to do or not, want's more money in the end. It's all about that conection with someone you loved!
Women are indeed very special, treat them gently and with respect. I agree Philefreak, I think that one of life's greatest pleasures is having that one woman that we love immensely. It is the greatest gift in life!!
And food too is special so here are some awesome places to eat in and around nyc!!!! Italian: Il corallos trattoria, on prince st. French/New American: Pascalou, 93rd and Madison Greek: Stamatis, Astoria broadway and 34th Japanese: Takahachi, Duane or Reade st. Tribeca Brazilian: Favela, Astoria 28th ave. 34th st. Best Fish Taco: Rosie's, in New Canaan Conn. Best Raw Bar: Aquagrill, Spring st and 6th ave. and..........: Oceangrill, Columbus and 77 Best Belgian Bar: Burp Castle 7st off 2nd Ave.
A Vindaloo or Chicken Korma, Pillau Rice, Sag Aloo, Nan Bread and poppadom's 'Ruby Murray'(cockney slang for an Indian Curry). The best place to get the best Ruby is not in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or any other Country in that part of the world, but good old London Town! I miss 'em so much.
If you are a wine lover check out Cameron Hughes.com. The wine you can get for $20- a bottle is incredible and they have great champagne also.
The best lobster roll- The little lobster shack at the end of Commercial St in little, sleepy Clinton CT, out of this world, Just hot lobster meat with a little butter and lemon and and extra long fresh hot dog roll. It's a 3 minute walk from my house and I spend way to much money/time there. It was written up in last sundays NY Times so I am expecting longer lines. Bring a bottle of Reisling from Cameron Hughes and Heaven awaits
1) Health. 2) Wife. 3) Financial independence. 4) Unpressured free time. 5) Running. 6) Having house & grounds in good shape. 7) The Internet. 8) Music/audio system. 9) Building a computer and having it work the first time it is turned on. 10) "Casablanca"; Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights"; any film by Eric Rohmer; most films by Woody Allen. 11) 1982 Chateau Pichon Lalande; 1978 Chateau Palmer (both better, by a slight margin, than any of several Lafite, Mouton, and Margaux I have tasted). 12) Finding a desirable antique radio in good shape. 13) A world series title by the New York Yankees.
""Casablanca"; Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights"; any film by Eric Rohmer; most films by Woody Allen."
..a few of my favorite films:
1.All About Eve 2.A Woman Under The Influence 3.Cherry Blossoms (new addition)- a film by director Doris Dorrie 4.Chinatown 5.Citizen Kane 6.Forbidden Games 7.400 Blows 8.Hannah and her Sisters 9.I Am Cuba 10.Knife in the Water (and/or Crazed Fruit: boats and sensuality big in both films) 11.La Strada 12.Nights of Cabiria 13.Notorious 14.Pandora's Box 15.Raging Bull 16.Rebecca 17.Sansho the Bailiff 18.Seventh Seal 19.Stroszek 20.Sunset Boulevard 21.The Battle of Algiers 22.The Marriage of Maria Braun 23.The Third Man 24.The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 25.Through a Glass Darkly 26.To Kill a Mockingbird 27.Ugetsu 28.Vertigo 29.Virgin Spring 30.Wages of Fear 31.Winter Light
I don't like calling this a "best of" list because there are just so many great films from every corner of the world that I have not seen. Note: Chaplin and Keaton favorites not on this list, but 'City Lights' and 'The General' are certainly classics films, and lest we forget the insightful documentaries from the Maysles brothers. The films "The Man with a Camera" and "Berlin: Symphony of a Great City" are well worth watching for an insight into human activity and sights from the final year of the 1920's. "The Man with the Camera" has a superbly imaginative soundtrack as well. With increasingly short attention spans, many film viewers don't have the patience to sit through an epic 4-disc saga, but if you are willing - please do yourself a favor and see Masaki Kobayashi's "The Human Condition".
That's a really excellent list, ByeGolly! I might have included "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" on my very brief list, if I had thought of it at the time.
Luis Bunuel is probably worthy of mention as well. If you've never seen it, check out "Nazarin" when you get a chance -- one of his lesser known works, but in my opinion his best.
"Luis Bunuel is probably worthy of mention as well."
I've seen most of Bunuel's films - and that's well before Netflix launched.
Noticed how many go on & on about Blu-Ray (and their home theater setups). I'll stay focused on content of film over new technologies in film/film playback every time. Kinda like audio where the music matters more to me than the equipment I play it on (C:
"Waking up is the single "Greatest" thing IMHO that is."
..unless you're waking up in an ICU bed with a dozen tubes in you, a pool of urine between your back and the plastic mattress cover and pain every f-ing where.
..unless it's after a serious binge accompanied with a headache like a cluster migraine with someone jack hammering in the room next to you.
In these (and other) cases, not waking up is the single greatest thing that is.
Six days spent on the Black Sea coast near Crimea Ukraine. It's a place and time of my life that I regularly enjoy only if in memory, so in a sense it became a part of me.
My Fender Stratocaster,a good Montecristo Victorie, and staying at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. But that would all change if I thought for one second my wife would read this thread, LMAO!
My 5 year old daughter, My new and improved second wife, hiking the Himalayas in Nepal,living in Hawaii, Skiing fresh powder in Crested Butte and living there for 8 years, driving out west through the many awesome National Parks and exploring them. Scuba Diving, Live music, Rock Climbing, Art, internet, Pittsburgh, New York Times, watching a great dvd on my 42 plasma while snuggling my wife. Kayaking a scenic river. Life is GREAT !!!
My wife and I watching our 1 year old daughter run, dance, play, and laugh. To me, that's the best thing in life and is true happiness. In comparison, everything else is a cheap imitation at best.
Many for me, but one of the best is my 3 yr old Australian Shepherd genuinly happy to see me every time I walk in the door...even if I've only been gone for 30 minutes.
For me, the best things in life are usually the small things...like laying in bed and watching the sunrise.
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