SF to Monterey-Great Food, Friends and a few books...

We checked out of the Carriage Inn (think typewriter carriage, not horse and...). It was as it has been previously, nice, clean, quite inexpensive and very well located for the shows at the Concourse. We look forward to returning in 2011.

Our luck on this trip continued (twice) today. When I went to pick up our rental car (in theory, a "mid-sized") for the one-way trip to LA, I was asked "if I minded" driving a larger/nicer car down. I said, "No...I really wanted the small POS car I had requested". The clerk, however, was charming and persuasive, so I finally relented and accepted the Ford Flex (it is the bastard child of a Ford Bronco and station wagon...largish and squarish). Interestingly, as soon as I plugged the my iPhone and iPod, the car synced my playlists to the car's system (not expecting this, surprised when the car spoke to me that it had synced ). It also effortlessly paired the car system to my phone. Very slick in a rental...

Thus we were off to Woodside, CA to visit old, dear friends and have an outrageously good lunch. We pulled into Whit and Mary's around 1 and immediately headed off to lunch (though, sadly, Mary could not join us as one of their wonderful Tibetan Mastiffs was just back from the doctor and she needed to baby her).

We returned to the scene of last year's gastronomic excess, The Village Pub...this time for lunch. The volume might be different for lunch, but the style, substance and flair is every bit as wonderful. We each ordered...with the agreement that we would all share...I love foodies. For lunch we had:

Delicata Squash Soup / Brown Butter (this was a gift of the house)

Rabbit Boudin Blanc / Braised Cabbage and Pancetta / Sautéed Pink Lady Apples (Ian)
Wild Nettle and Goat Cheese Agnolotti / Meyer Lemon Cream Sauce (Suzanne)
Slow Grilled Leg of Lamb / Mint Pistou / Chickpea Fries and Sauteed Rapini (Whit)

Pear and Frangipane Tart / Vanilla Ice Cream (Ian)
Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta / Huckleberry Compote / Sour Lemon Meringue (Suzanne)
Trio of Gelatos (Whit)
(and)
Bottle of 2005 Mas Doix "Salanques" Priorat (mostly Suz and Whit...Ian driving)
Tanzanian Peaberry coffee (French press) (Ian)

I am not going to go into further detail. Suffice it to say, The Village Pub is one of my favorite places to eat and I am very grateful (both re girth and wallet) that I am only in the area once a year or so. Do not miss an opportunity to eat there.

We had a nice visit, as always, with Whit talking about tech, crypto, food, wine, books, dogs, other bits of this and that (being nearer to Whit and Mary would be one of the few compelling reasons to move to the west coast). We made plans to meet in the east when Whit is over to speak (Bonus: Short TechReview Interview re Security & Cloud Computing). We also met the newest (and shyest) of the dogs. Though we missed Mary, we had a wonderful time.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

We then headed down to the B&B recommended by our friends Dan and Susan, The Jabberwock Inn in Monterey. Here our luck (on several fronts) continued. Having booked their smallest room (and been pleased to be extended a winter rate), we were very pleased when, after showing us the charming room we had reserved, proceeded to show us the much bigger, more lovely, and fireplace equipped room she had moved us into...complete with brandy in the room and many, many books. The inn has a lovely view over the bay (this, due to height, was less appealing as we trudged back up the hill from dinner). She had out hot hors d'oeuvres when we arrived (about 6pm), wine, sherry and limoncello (that they make from their own lemon trees). We are both looking forward to what appears for breakfast in the morning.

Still reeling a bit from our lunch, we decided to have a light dinner at the Crystal Fish (miso soup, sushi and sashimi). Everything was good, the tuna superb. We managed to drag ourselves back up the hill, made some tea and picked up a bit of dry fruit and headed to our room. A long and lovely day is done.

Tomorrow we head further south toward Shell Beach, through Big Sur. On the tentative agenda is Point Sur, Andrew Molera State Park, Nepenthe Restaurant (lunch?), Carpe Diem (if they are open early enough), and Hearst Castle. [Note: Images are of Suz's insanely good dessert and the spot in Serendipity Books where Jello used to hang (more on this later, it is a tease...).]

Set-up for (and a great dinner in) San Francisco...

Well, we have made it safely...our books made it safely and all is well. We arrived on Tuesday and had the afternoon to have a wonderful late lunch at House of Nanking. I was lucky, several years ago, to have the person who first recommended it tell me to ignore the menu completely and ask that the chef just send out little things (the functional equiv. of dim sum). They ask how hungry you are (very) and they send out the right amount. We also discovered that they have a newly opened sister restaurant (see below). I also picked up three new books...woohoo.

Wed. Suzanne worked while I, too, worked...however, her work involved phone calls and reports and cogent mental efforts, whereas my work involved going out to North Berkeley and visiting one of the few truly great experiential shops in the US. It is difficult to say how much I

love Serendipity Books, Peter B. and the nature and spirit of the shop. I found a few things and took home something that has hung in the shop as long as I can remember...more on this at some point in the distant future.

We had a very nice dinner Wed. night at Miss Siagon with Brad and Jeniffer (of The Book Shop). The food was good, the company was better. We went back to the hotel (our strange and pleasing little literary themed inn down the road from the hall)...I catalogued for a bit but mostly rested up.

We were at the hall at 8am. I left at about 5pm. To be fair, I kibitzed a fair bit and even did a bit of shopping. Thee booth looks pretty good...amazing what having nice books to show will do for a booth . It is always amazing what comes out of the woodwork at fairs. Strong contingent of UK booksellers, all of whom will head down to LA next weekend. Really just a great group. It is shaping up to be a good show...now we just need humans to come wanting to buy books.

A pretty big group of us (10) all traipsed over to Fang, the recently opened "sister restaurant" to House of Nanking. We were able to do the same thing...that is, ask the chef to bring out surprises for us and he did a remarkable job. All told, about 13 dishes were brought out (including some alternatives for the two vegetarians in the party). The two standouts for me were the "duck bun appetizer" (think peking duck slider...very interesting and wonderfully flavorful) and the "Lettuce Beef" (no lettuce, wickedly good). I had a nice unfiltered sake. We finished with a complimentary little desert and a chinese liqueur that was a lovely, simple finish.

I've a few new slips to clip and then to sleep. Show opens at 10am. Come join us if you can.

Best recipe in years: Corn Soup with Candied Bacon and Chives

The brilliant and deranged mind of Portland Food Coma is to be thanked for this. I've made it several times now. Far and away the best soup I've made/had in years. Candied Bacon...it's not just for breakfast anymore:

Corn Soup with Candied Bacon and Chives

1 Tbl. Olive Oil
1 Small White Onion, Diced
2 Shallots, Diced
5 Garlic Cloves, peeled
3 Fresh Chilis - Preferably Cherry Peppers, Sliced
3 Cups Fresh Corn Kernels
1 lb. of good, thick slab bacon (grey salt and rosemary is nice).
Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 Quart Whole Milk
1 1/12 Tbl. Ancho Chili Powder
1/2 Stick Butter or more........
Salt + Pepper
Chives, chopped for garnish
Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
1. Make the candied bacon. Lay all of the strips on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Sprinkle each with brown sugar and bake until golden and crispy. Remove to a paper towel to drain and chop up. You'll probably eat most of it before the soup's done.
2. Heat half of the oil and butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add Half Of the onion, shallots, and garlic and cook for 4 minutes.. Then add Half Of the corn and fresh chilis and cook for 3 minutes more - stirring frequently. Transfer contents of the pan into the food processor and add 1 cup of the milk. Process to a smooth puree. Now pour the puree through a mesh strainer to remove the skins of the corn (I like to use the back of a ladle to work it through [or a Foley Mill]). Repeat this step with the other half of the onion, garlic, shallots, corn, and chilis.
3. Return the pan to medium heat and pour the puree in, whisking frequently as it comes to a simmer. Be careful not to burn it at this point like I often do. Stir in the remaining milk, as well as the smoked chili powder, and simmer for a few minutes more. Add the cream, taking care the soup doesn't get too hot or it will break. Season with salt (I like alot of it but maybe that's why I have such high blood pressure) and pepper. Garnish with the candied bacon and chives. Serve.

Note: All soups get better overnight - and candied bacon is good for everything.

N.B. I used a wand to puree everything and a Foley Mill for the processing of the soup and thus could do it in a single batch. Seriously, buy a Foley Mill...outstanding kitchen tool.

Finding Lobster in a Blizzard, or The Continuing Story of Why I Love Maine:

Today is T2's birthday and the joint party for both boys. The main(e) course of the dinner was to be lobster. This is usually not a problem, as there are a couple of places here on the Tenants Harbor peninsula that are open pretty much all the time (read, even Sundays). This Sunday, however, we have had at least 6 hours of steady, near white out snow...and it has been cold enough for the last 4-5 days that very few of the lobsterman have been going out.

Dad and I set out, four-wheel drive equipped and driving slowly, only to discover that all 4 places that we "counted on" were closed. I called a local disty who told me that he hadn't had anyone bring in lobster for the last few days due to the cold. Things were looking bleak.

As we stood in the General Store, pondering what we would do instead of lobster (e.g. clam spaghetti, scampi or the like), Bill I. pulled in with his plow to get a cup of coffee. The sales clerk asked him if he knew anywhere we might find lobster today and he said, "Sure, me." He warned us that we would have to be willing to pay "blizzard prices" for it and we agreed. Though we offered to follow him to the pier, he said he had to come back for his coffee, and we should just wait. He returned, 10 minutes later with 10 lobsters that had been in the harbor moments before...he charged us $4/pound.

The boys are writing him thank you letters. I love living in Maine.

Day Three in Baltimore - More fun and Salt II

Day three started with a long, hot bath in hopes that I might not have to amputate my feet. The jury remains out but I was at least able to walk over to the hall. The show was, again, solidly busy all day. Lots of looking. Lots of good questions. A few sales and a number that we will just have to wait and see if they close.... Overall, a great day.

Interestingly, there seems to be a good deal more dealer to dealer action. I know we were looking for Wrong Coast material (sorry, left coast) for Seattle, SF and LA. It really seemed as if some good material was moving here and there...certainly more than I've seen at recent shows.

The show is running as smoothly as always. I've said it before, these guys should really offer classes to others as to how to run great shows. They've done great marketing, the hall looks great (the spend more on flowers than most promoters spend on all elements of show infrastructure). It is just a great...and well run...show.

Suz and I returned to Salt again tonight, this time with Adam and Kate. I know that Baltimore has many more places to offer, but I truly doubt they could be *better*. It is hard to go somewhere else that *might* be good when there is a known place that is simply wonderful. The company was great fun, we talked books and silliness all evening. The food was just what we expected...the goat cheese doughnuts in lavender infused honey were, again, insanely good. Adam summed it up aptly, "I'm pretty certain this is the best meal I've ever had."

Tomorrow is the final day and pack-up. For the first time, we will be returning to our hotel after. The rate was so good that it made more sense than hitting the road and driving for a few hours. I hope it will make the drive home on Monday less torturous... We shall see.

Day Two in Baltimore: FoodPorn Issue

The day was good fun. A few sales, a few good buys, several great clients stopped by to say hi. Fun had by all. An then it was over and the best part of the day began.

We had 9pm reservations at Salt. We gathered first in our room (Josh, Sunday, Lauren, Cythia, Suz & ijk) Wine and some munchies and much laughter. Nice to settle down (and be off one's feet) after the day and before dinner.

We arrived shortly before 9pm. The hostess (owner?!?) remembered me from past years and was particularly lovely. Given that we are only in town once a year, it was very nice that she remembered us...more so that she seemed pleased and amused to have us back (admittedly, we did eat there twice during last year's visit). Two of our party of six were new to the fare, but feel in love.

As is often the case, we opted to share appetizers and

selected the following:

Eastern Shore Corn and Shellfish

Chowder: Applewood bacon, fresh thyme

Corvina Ceviche: Ginger, lime, cilantro, aji amarillo, red onion, cusco corn, sweet potatoes (x2)

Duck Fat French Fries: With a trio of aioli (x2)

Crispy Hoisin Duck Spring Roll: Spicy Chinese mustard dipping sauce (x2)

The Ceviche was made with grouper and was wonderful (an interesting contrast to last year's shrimp). The chowder was

exceptional and the spring rolls were basically peking duck deep fried and crispy...just delicious. The fries were, as always, delicious.

We decided that we would basically share entrees as well. This was a great idea, as it is so hard to make choices as too many things beckon you...

We settled on the following:

Grilled Atlantic Wahoo: Quinoa and vegetable salad, mango chimichurri sauce

Coriander and Pepper Crusted Tuna: Served over seaweed salad with spicy tuna pot stickers and ginger soy glaze

Grilled Lamb Sirloin: Curried carrot fritter, watercress and bean salad, feta vinaigrette

Fresh Pasta with Corn, Asparagus and Chiles: Sweet corn butter, fresh thyme, shaved Pecorino Romano (x2 (1 split between the two more or less veggies at the table))

Dinner was simply exceptional. Not only have I not had a bad meal at Salt, I've never had a bad dish. While everything was genuinely great, it was the tuna that stole the show for me...seered about .25 of an inch in, the rest was cool and raw. It was beyond good. Just the best tuna I've ever eaten.

We finished our meal and wicked, wicked waiter told us the desert options. We decided to be good:

Trio of Ice Cream Cones (house-made icecream, orea, blueberry and white choc. and key lime) (x2)

Goat Cheese Doughnuts drizzled with Lavender Honey and a wee cup of house-made coffee icecream

Dark Chocolate Gelato with fresh fruit and Grand Marnier

The trio(s) were delicious and the gelato smooth and wonderful. The doughnuts, however, were in a class by themselves. Lauren forced us (against our will and better judgement) to order as second serving of them them...to be fair, she also ate most of the second round...sacrificing herself to save us from ourselves. There is no way to describe just how good they were. Come to Baltimore. Eat at Salt. Have them yourself. You will not regret it.

We finished the evening at the end of a pier watching and/or dancing the tango. Fish were jumping, music playing, people dancing. Such a good day...

Rare Book School 2009 Day 2 in C'ville

Our first full day at RBS started with a wonderful breakfast at our inn. While they generally do not start breakfast until 8am, they were ready to serve those of us attending RBS at 740 so we could make it by our 830 start. Breakfast included a pesto and prosciutto strata, fresh melon, apple crumble muffin and peppered bacon. What a great day to start the day.

The class is just great and I can, after one day, not recommend it highly enough to anyone so inclined. The class is small (12), the instructor brilliant (Terry Belanger) and the subject matter extremely interesting. Getting to handle examples of everything while discussing it is great. Being handed blocks and tools and told we have three days to carve the block should be interesting...if not "good".

The day ended with a wonderful presentation by Stephen Greenberg of special collections at the National Library of Medicine. He spoke of treasures and exhibits at NHL, like Turning the Pages Online (allowing the examination of selections from their collections); the wonderful exhibit "Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine" and, the famed Disney, ADA project, "Clara Cleans Her Teeth". It was good fun and very interesting.

Dinner with friends. About to start carving my block (image, at some point, to follow). What a great day.

Great evening with the family and an outstanding Indian meal...

I just had the best Indian meal I've had in a very long time. If and when you are in the Brunswick, ME area, I strongly encourage you to enjoy Bombay Mahal. 

They have 15 different iterations of Nan and Paratha, they make their own yogurt, rosewater and chutneys. It was one of the most intricately spiced meals I've had, balance, layered, just wonderful. Do not miss the Moghalai Chicken (Boneless pieces of chicken, soaked overnight in a marinade of eggs, yogurt, ginger, garlic and spices and then sautéed in sweet butter, yogurt and tomato sauce and garnished with almonds). 

They have been there for 18 years. I look forward to eating there for another 18. Oh, save room for the home-made pistachio and cashew ice-cream. 

Day Three - Buying one’s way to a good show (and/or eating one’s way):

Day Three was long and largely uneventful. There was rather good, steady traffic, a fair number of engaged visitors. I had about a dozen people fill out newsletter/interest cards. I had two really good things offered to me and acquired. Overall, a pretty good day.

And then came dinner. I went out to dinner with The Duck and it was good. Arguably over the top, but very, very good. We had dinner at Central-Michel Richard. They apparently just won the 2008 "James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant." We had difficulty choosing what to order...so we ordered, er, extra. We shared most things. I'll just list want ended up on our table:

App./Salads

Cherry tomato & burrata mozzarella

Fried oysters with a tartar base

Spinach & goat cheese torte

Entree/Burgers

Lobster Burger (Very lightly moistened, bit of scallop mixed in, served with Central mayonnaise and potato tuiles (which offered a very interesting crunch to the burger). We split this)

Braised rabbit with spaetzle & carrots (Boneless side on a country mustard sauce and a "tenderloin" dressed down the side. Spaetzle is made there and had a touch of fennel with it, very surprising...worked very well with rabbit. Carrots were lovely, touch of molasses, perhaps...funny on the plate with the rabbit. My entree.)

Lamb shank with creamy corn polenta (garnished with onion strings. Tasted this, wonderful.)

Dessert

Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream (TD)

Mango and Pear Sorbet (LM)

We both had their "House made grapefruit soda" (or two)...outstanding.

With all that was brought to the table, we barely scratched the menu...and we had a great table to watch what came out of the kitchen (and was being done in it). Great meal and a very fun evening. I just can not eat for the next few days .

Two great meals and some nice/fun ones...

We effectively ate our way across (a very small portion) of San Francisco...we clearly need many more days and weeks there. On the recommendation of Amy Hahn and Forrest Proper, we had dinner our second night at Kokkari (where Amy's brother is the manager). It was Greek at its very best. 

We went with Brian Cassidy after the first day of set-up. We spent far too long looking over the menu, failed completely to make reasonable choices and resorted to taking a tapas approach and ordering nearly all the appetizers. The highlights were: for Suz, the zucchini cakes; for Brian, the fried sardines; for me, the grilled octopus...and the spanakotiropita was exceptional. We finished the meal by splitting a Galaktoboureko (semolina custard in filo with Meyer lemon spoonsweet and creme fraiche ice cream) and Milo Furnisto (baked cinnamon and walnut stuffed apple

 with masticha gelato. Finally, we all had a cup of their greek

 coffee, "stone-ground coffee heated over hot sand"  (see the

 second photo, showing the "coffee maker").  Absolutely wonderful. 

While we were banging around SanFran, we also had more than our share of dim sum (thank you Kan's and, especially, Hang ah Tea Room) and some very good other bits of this and that. Also notable was The Chieftain, a very good Irish pub with the best fish and chips I've had in a long time...

On our last day, we were invited to dinner by friends in Woodside at The Village Pub. Woodside is a village in the loosest definition of the term and the Village Pub is...er...not a pub. It is, however, one of the very best, most interesting, restaurants we've been to in a very long time. 

First off, while sending out special little treats is nice and relatively common, the VP gilded the lily. First, before

 anything else arrived, the chef sent out a shot of a sort of lobster bisque...lovely.  Between the appetizers and the dinner, he sent each of us out a ravioli (Meyer lemon and robiola cheese). Finally, he sent out a small basket of beignets after desert. Also, when the three of us ordered appetizers, the chef sent out a small greens salad (walnut oil vinaigrette) for Suzanne, so she would have something to fiddle with (it was, I'm told, delicious). 

My appetizer was the Dungeness crab salad, pictured here. A mass of Dungeness on a bed of gelled blood orange reduction, off the the left is a lovely little julienned apple and blood orange salad. Simply exceptional. 

My entree was a grilled Moroccan spiced quail with glazed carrots and toasted almond couscous. Two boneless (save their wee legs) birds on a bed of couscous. It was, without a doubt, the best quail I have had...well...pretty much for as

 long as I can remember. Unbelievably good. 

For desert, I had the Meyer lemon mousse bar, balanced on a sliver of pound cake and topped with wafers of sour lemon meringue. It was very nice and a great counter to the spices of the quail. That said, Suzanne's desert (see image) was exceptional. She had the "Opera Cake", a mocha buttercream with chocolate ganache. It tasted *better* than it looked...no small feat.

Our host brought two bottles from his cellar, thought we only opened one of them (as we were approaching having to make the trek back to SFO for our departure. Before we ordered, our server decanted a bottle of Chateau Clos Saint-Martin - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, a wonderful bordeaux that worked well with everything we had...and was, in its own right, simply wonderful.

It was an amazing way to end a wonderful week in San 

Francisco. We had had such fun, all week, catching up with friends and colleagues...and eating and drinking all about town. To finish with old friends and such a wonderful meal was just a perfect end to the week. I hope they will come East, so we can return the favor...else there is always next year.

Addendum: On Saturday night the "young members" of the ABAA gathered to drink and shout at each other over the all too loud pub music that played in the back ground at Vesuvio's. It was great fun, though the absinthe was unnecessarily sweet and not chilled enough for my taste. Images can be found at my Facebook page. 

Before we went arrived at Vesuvio's, we had dinner (with Brian Cassidy and Garrett Scott. Just a few doors down from the bar, there is a storefront japanese/sushi place that looked clean, empty (earlyish) and...well...open. So in we

 trooped. The sushi was great, the spicy tuna was pretty much the spiciest I've had and, best of all, they served "Monkey Balls". How can you not order them...just on principle. We ordered one that Brian and I split...it was remarkably good cool, raw fish within halved balls of deep fried (very quickly) rice balls. The moral is, never pass up a chance to have good, hot monkey balls...

I should get one or two more SF ABAA posts up in the next 24 hours or so. Too many balls [sadly not monkey] in the air...as usual...

Cocoa-based Typography

Printeresting has a great post on Cocoa-based typography. As much as I love Apple, it seems like type in German chocolate is much more enjoyable than coding in cocoa. 

Also, Printeresting, whose tagline is "Since 2008, the thinking person's favorite online resource for interesting printmaking miscellany...", it a great read.

Thanks to LB for the heads up on this...

NÉ ABAA Holiday gathering...

Last night was the N.E. Chapter of the ABAA holiday dinner. In attendance was John Rutter (Ars Libri), Ken Gloss and Joyce Kosofsky (Brattle Books), Joe and Susan Phillips (Commonwealth Books), Chuck Vilnis and Helen Kelly (Boston Book Company), Barry Scott (and his wife whose name, I am embarassed to admit, I can not recall), Tom Boss, John Waite and Suzanne Hamlin and your humble blogger (Lux Mentis).

The dinner was at Oceana in Boston. The food was very good, the service was inexplicably slow...and would have been annoying had we not been having such fun chatting (and drinking). We were there from about 6 to nearly 1030pm. The lobster bisque was particularly good. The company, however, made the evening. The cost of the dinner was very reasonable and was donated entirely to the ABAA's Benevolent Fund... It is always nice when you can spend time with friends, eat well and feel like you are doing something useful. We would like to thank the NE Chapter for sponsoring such a nice evening (and for picking up the proverbial tab).

Wrestling Ken Sanders...

We've been told of a previously unknown ABAA initiation involves wrestling Ken Sanders...the two youngest members in the room, no less. Brian Cassidy and I were very surprised by this previously unknown rule. Who'd have thunk it..

[addendum: have been told by a reliable source (thanks Kent) that such attempts brings nothing but pain and bruises...informer then broke down...twitching at the memory. We have managed to avoid the task this far...for how long, we can only guess...]

Day Three, Salt 2

Today was interesting. There was really rather good traffic and a lot of good questions and interest. I had several very good conversations...one with three young people was particularly interesting...I love new/emerging collectors. I had a several reasonably good sales...which is very nice...though I would still like at least one really good one. Hope spring eternal.

Interestingly, one of my sales was to a gentleman who called me yesterday having seen an item listed online and asking about it. I told him I was at a fair and that the item was with me...and asked him were he was...only to have him say that he was in Baltimore. I left him a ticket at Will Call, he came and purchased the item...now, does it get sourced to the internet or the book fair?

A reasonably large group of us (11) all trekked out to Salt yet again. I know there are many other good places here in town...but we had promised some friends to go there with them and...well...it is just really good . We were much better controlled tonight. Suzanne and I split orders of Duck Fat Fries and the Trio of Gazpacho...even more impressively, we split a wonderful filet (with smoked corn and wilted green polenta, onion ring, tomato relish, horseradish and bacon creme fraiche) and a honeydew melon and goat cheese salad with a fresh mint and Macadamia nut vinaigrette. We finished dinner by splitting their "sunday"...with fried wontons (stuffed with chocolate and banana, carmel ice cream, marachino cherry whipped cream and homemade carmel sauce. Needless to say, it was exceptional. The food and the company was wonderful.

Now in hotel room...not working on the presentation I need to do tomorrow .

3am, long day, good day, great evening... SALT 1

Today was good...fairly strong traffic...many good conversations...several strong leads and follow-up opportunities and the like. Tonight was outstanding. John Wronoski of Lame Duck Books fame came to town and invited us to join us him (and two others) for dinner at SALT. As he had picked the restaurant on my suggestion (see, eg, this), I could not very well say no ("please, don't throw me into the brier patch").

We arrived at about 845 or so. The five of us sat down, reviewed the menu, could not make rational choice, so we ordered nearly everything. I was just going to list what I had...but as we shared basically every item...I thought I should just list it all:

appetizers

House Salad
Fresh mixed greens, marinated tomatoes, kalamata olives, red wine vinaigrette, shaved Parmesan Reggiano

Fried Oyster Salad
Arugula, bacon croutons, tomatoes, buttermilk dressing

Eastern Shore Corn Salad
Spicy crab and avocado ball, sweet onion vinaigrette

Trio of Gazpacho [x 2]
Amish tomato, watermelon chili and mango jicama

Gulf Shrimp Ceviche
Orange, lime, cilantro, cusco corn, red onion, aji amarillo

Foie Gras & Kobe Beef Slider
With truffle aioli and red onion marmalade

Duck Fat French Fries
With a trio of aioli

entrees

Seared Day Boat Scallops
Spicy crab topping, summer succotash of corn, peas and peppers

Coriander and Pepper Crusted Tuna
Served over seaweed salad with spicy tuna pot stickers and ginger soy glace

Grilled Petite Lamb Chops
Warm Moroccan chicpea salad, orange, onions, fresh herbs

Atlantic Wahoo Loin
Marinated in sweet chili-soy, quinoa salad, mango,chimichurri

Duck Confit Ravioli
Truffled forest mushroom broth, green onions, Parmesan Reggiano

Yes, that is right...5 people ordered 7 appitizers...and then 5 entrees...and dessert: A) a trio of ice creams (three small cones of home made ice cream (Mocha, Carmel and something I no longer remember)); their iteration of a banana sunday (bananas fried in cannoli rolls, peach ice cream, home-made camel sauce) and a lemon and wild blueberry creme brule.

It was exceptional...the standouts were probably the mango jicama gazpacho and my crusted tuna was absolutely wonderful. We ate too much, drank just about the correct amount and failed in fighting John over the bill and I am going to have to figure out a way to thank him for the wonderful meal...and for what followed. We retired to the home of John's friend, a Baltimoron (his term) and a collector on a level few could believe. I have been in a lot of homes of a lot of book lovers...many of whom own [too] many books. The bar has been completely reset. Quite literally, every room is lined with books...several floor to ceiling...several more than one layer deep. The library has 15 foot(ish) ceilings, shelves lining all the walls (13 shelves)...most stacked *three* deep. Wonderful things. Serious things. Frivolous things. It was truly unbelievable.

If possible, better than the books was sitting (for hours) in the library...drinking single malt/port/aquavit/etc...and talking with our host (or just listening to his stories). I have not had an evening this enjoyable in a very long time...and I will never forget it.

Day one over...urgh...

It was a long day...busy...lots of traffic and interest. We shall see how much translates to closed sales. I was interviewed today for next years promo spots...hope my twitching was under control . Picked up some *really* good Thai food at My Thai and watched Obamarama with friends (B&B Books and Prints Charming). Fun was had by all.

Days One and Two of the FABA fair (and a great meal)

Friday night was very interesting. There was a really big line/group waiting to get in at 530pm and the hall was filled and busy until it closed at 9:30. People were active and engaged....asking great questions, etc. I must admit, I was a bit surprised. Tampa/St. Petersburg can field a genuinely large and sophisticated biblio-crowd. On the other hand, I did not have a single sale all evening....until the last fifteen minutes where one sale made the fair/weekend/week/month. This is, of course, often the case...but it is always nice when things fall into place. So overall, it was just a great day. An easy setup, quick dinner, great evening event and a late-night dip in the hot-tub to sooth my aching feet. Fun had by all.

Saturday started early. We had breakfast on the way. I had something wildly unhealthy that is only *really* good below the Mason/Dixon Line...made correctly, you can actually feel the major arteries in your chest as you eat it. The fair started at 10am and closed up at 5pm. Again, it was genuinely busy all day long. While actual sales were reasonably soft, I had a large number of really "engaged" conversations and am confident that several are going to either result in new material coming in and/or new clients on the development side. There were also a large number of people who were very clearly "shopping" today with the intent of coming back tomorrow to buy. We shall see.

We were on the waiting list for this show for at least two years (and, actually, I think think three). I very nearly passed when they called because I have been just straight out this spring but Suzanne convinced me that we should really take a try at it. I could not be more pleased. Much to my surprise and pleasure, this is a great town for a book fair (and having an excuse to come south in early March is not too bad, either). Oh, and the buying at this fair has been very good, as well...more on this, perhaps, as the dust settles.

Finally, dinner was just great. Our hotel is less than a block from BayWalk, an open-air shopping/dinning complex. There we found Banbu. Banbu is bascally a Mongolian grill. If you are not familiar with the concept, you get a wee bowl and make your dinner (more than once, if you are so inclined). The first stage is the "seafood/meat" station with fresh squid, shrimp, chicken, pork, lamb, several iterations of dead cow and the like. Then there is the huge veggie section with everything from fresh mango to edanami to baby corn and freshly minced garlic. Finally, you go and choose your "sauce" and again, there is a tremendous range from the expected (sweet and sour, teriyaki, and peanut sauce) to the funky and fresh (outstanding Asian ginger, stunningly fiery "Banbu Red Pepper Ginger" and too many others to even fathom (there were at least 18 different sauces).

Then you bring your wee bowl of meat and veggie and prep bowl of sauce to the "bar" around a huge circular cooking surface (think very shallow wok with a hole in the center). The cook takes your bowl and puts it out in a "line" on the surface...along with those others who are ready. You stand there chatting while it cooks, the cooks come by and shuffle things about and, at the end, drizzle your chosen sauce over the top (only at the end as most have some sugar component that will caramelize to burn if on at the start). Then they scrap it off the grill and onto a plate for you. A few shakes of roasted sesame seeds and you are off.

Everything is extremely fresh and nice. The service was great and the food was just fabulous. The trick, is fighting the urge to make a nice big bowl of whatever yummy combo you have in mind and making a lovely *small* bowl. This way, you can make several trips through the system and try all sorts of good things. Suffice it to say that I had several courses and finished with a lovely "desert" of grilled pineapple, mandarin orange and mango with a splash of asian ginger at the finish.

Back to the hotel by 8pm and two hoursish in the pool with Aidan and off to bed and blogging well sated and prune-y. Tomorrow runs from 11am to 4pm and then we pack up, pick up our car and drive to the Jupiter area to see Suzanne's parents.

Greenwich Day Two...

Note to self, being effectively the last booth as people exit a fair is nice...as everyone pretty much has to go by you...but is not so nice as many/most are so spent by that time that they wander by, dazed and confused and wanting nothing more than to flee. This is the conclusion John and I have arrived at...such is life. It was a good day, just the same.

We started the day comfortably...leisurely morning rituals followed by a nice deli breakfast. The show ran from 12 to 6. It was supposed to be done at 5...but apparently those not in the other room near the exit thought staying there an extra hour would be great fun. It was nice for customers and I can't begrudge it at all. Eli was really great. Overall, very nice and charming and generally the best boy he could be. His reward for this exceptional behavior was a swim in the pool here at the hotel until he got good and prunny (the surest sign of a good swim).

Lots of nice conversations and a good deal of interest in a number of things....we shall see. The highpoint, so to speak, of the day was the amazing spread put out be the fine folks at Pryor and Johnson. At the end of the day, around 4pm (who knew we would be open another 2 hours), they put out fresh fruit, a wide selection of wonderful cheeses, about 5 pounds of pate, shrimp, smoked salmon, etc....and liquor. Nice wines, very nice ports and whiskeys, etc. I had some cheese and fruit and a finger or so of Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old Single Malt. If I ever produce a book fair, they are my first call (I will not, ever, produce a book fair...ever).

Show opens tomorrow at 12. Closes for good at 4pm (unless, perhaps, the front room decides we should stay until early evening) and then pack up and, most likely, the long drive home. Then no show until March and St. Petersburg.

Set in SF and a very fun evening....

So after another very nice breakfast at what is rapidly becoming our favorite hotel, we were off to the Concourse. We toyed with walking, but ended up in a cab as we had our carry-ons and show bag and misc. other bits of brick-a-braq. It is only about 1.1 miles from the venue and we were there in short order.

We arrived and found pretty much exactly what can be seen in the first image [N.B. If you right click on any of these pictures (or yesterday's, etc) and choose open in a new tab (or window) and it will open a really nice big image]. It is a big and reasonably well lit hall and the pipe-and-drape system is interesting and quite elegantly designed. Best of all, they is designed to "take" adjustable shelving. I've never seen this before, but it let us put up a "top" shelf, above the folding shelves, to display some oversized books and plate sets in a nice way. When we made it to our booth, we found our 13 big black cases waiting for us (8 of ours, 5 of Don's). Having schlepped a booth full of cases into a hall the previous week, I can not express how nice it was to see that big pile happily waiting for us.

We shoved the big cases around a little bit and figured out a way to use some of the extra tables we found stacked in our booth. We ended up with a big trophy on each "side" with a four-foot peninsula at the center and we each have one eight-foot table down the side. The center counter case is slightly off center which allowed use to tuck in a little four-foot table on Don's side (at least a picture or two tomorrow showing the entire booth...Don was not set up before we finished). We ended up pulling our big table forward a bit and staking some of the Pelican cases and covering them with the very red plastic table cloth(ish) material we found in the booth...anything for a bit more horizontal surface(s).

Once we got the tables set up and the shelves up, everything just fell into place nicely. Oh, we checked all our leg supports and shelf supports in the cases. I can not stress strongly enough how important it is to check them. I saw a table go down on someone a year go or so and never want it to be me...and did have a shelf let go (luckily, it was with the first book placed and it had not fully left my grip. I check *carefully* before each setup.

We've sold a handful of things...sadly, one of them being one of the items I was most amused to bring out to this show (more on this in a later post). The booth is set up and ready for the morning. I have had email from a half-dozen people or so who have told me they are coming and tomorrow should be really fun.

We left well before set-up finished (close to a first for us (read, "me"). We walked, uphill, to the hotel to get ready to meet some of Suzanne's friends. San Francisco is a great city...in desperate need of an ironing. We met Suzanne's friends at Bourbon & Branch, a speakeasy cocktail bar a few blocks away (down). Reservations strongly recommended, you get a password to get into the unmarked door. It is very well designed, has a great feel and you can actually have a pleasant conversation with your friends without shouting. The drinks were great, the company even better. It was really a place. We left, picked up some great Pakistani food on the way back (up) to the hotel and called it a night. Show starts at 10 tomorrow.

Morning, heading out and Obamerama...

Good morning campers. I feel human again. It is quite shocking. I slept well and long. The water pressure here is such that it can be adjusted to "painful" (something that I wish I could do at home). Breakfast was, as promised, a treat. Great coffee, fresh pastries (the little wild blueberry and mandarin orange danishes were amazing), wild mushroom quiche, sausage and a sort of french toast strata just scratches the surface. It was very good.

We were joined at breakfast by one of Suzanne's classmates from HBS. VC, investment banking, smelt breeding research and the book trade makes for fun and strange conversation.

I checked email before heading off to do some booking hunting and found a message from a friend who is doing some work with/for the Obama campaign. I clicked the link included in his missive and was brought to the page clipped above. It is a very good sign, I think, when support for your campaign is such that it manages to overwhelm your rather robust ecomm servers. Doubly interesting that basically at the same time Hillary is having to loan her campaign $5MM, Obamerama's campaign has raised over $7MM. It is going to be a fun few more weeks...

Holiday wrap-up...

Somewhat fitting on New Year's Eve. We are back down in Portland after spending the x-mas holiday in Tenants Harbor with my parents. It was the usual crazy, slightly masochistic fun that all family gatherings should be...

We had our traditional lobster dinner on the Eve (10 people, as many dead crustaceans). This was followed by everyone getting night gowns/night shirts/pajamas from my Grandmother and, once changed, the annual reading of D. Thomas', A Child's Christmas in Wales. (Here if you would like a copy of Dylan his very self reading this wonderful classic.) I will not mention that after the boys went to bed, we all watched "V for Vendetta", because that seems a less than jolly flick for the Eve. On x-mas day, we had our annual roast beef and Yorkshire pudding extravaganza. We had special holiday poppers this year that had a musical theme. In addition to our wee paper crowns and jokes, each "prize" was a numbered whistle. After the meal, baton in hand, my mother led us on a variety of very poorly played (and off-tune) holiday songs...very funny.

The tree this year was quite exceptional...over 12 feet tall and very "open", allowing my mother to work her magic and show off her many, many antique and repo ornaments...blown glass to big pickles to strange feltwork...and glass bead chains that came over from Germany many generations ago. There is a smaller tree in the big bay window overlooking the harbor and the electric train and antique village (made by my great-great grandfather) was set up under it. Just beautiful and very holiday-ish for all.

Everyone got way too much...but I was the luckiest boy. The first image shows the 350ish pound circa 1850 guillotine paper cutter that was under the tree for me from my parents. It is in exceptional condition, much of the original paint/gilt work is still on it after all these years. I can now cut an entire ream of paper in one slice. It is, quite possibly, the coolest present I have received since my teens (the competition being a MacPlus in the year they came out). The only problem was the 350ish poundness of it...I nearly pulled several "things" while schlepping it out to the car.

The boys got matching jammies...this included the newest addition, my nephew Oliver who joined the family last November. The boys all had a great time. The older two looked pretty cool in their trains and had a great time. They (and the family, et al) got a Wii and, "don't Wii in the living room" jokes from their grandfather notwithstanding, it was a smashing success. I hate to admit how much fun it is and how brutally cool the controller technology is. Watching my mother pay tennis with the boys made the holiday...great fun for all.

Oliver proved that he is, indeed a proper member of the family my picking up a book and amusing himself during dinner with it. He'll be reading in no time...

Many books changed hands in many directions. Andy (my BiL) and Oliver and my two boys and I all received a copy of The Dangerous Book For Boys. The boys got many, from the new (and strange) Ripley's Believe It or Not to some good kids lit, to add to their ever growing collection(s). Suz gave me a hardback copy of Gaskell's, A New Introduction to Bibliography. I have already started it, in preparation for attending the UVA Rare Book School this coming year.

I have one last entry before the new year...a minor rant that I want to get out so I can start the year fresh and happy *laughing*. I hope everyone had a wonderful bookish holiday.

The after-party was a boar...

...in the best possible sense. John Wronoski hosted his annual cocktail/dinner party at his shop/gallery space, Lame Duck Books/Pierre Merand Gallery. The main course revolved around the whole wild boar and suckling pig...with far too many other options and sides (and a wee bit of beer, wine, champagne...just a touch).

The boar was hunted for the event (preserve raised) and was extremely good (great taste, subtly gamy) and there were a half dozen options on barbecue sause(s).

The attendees were an interesting and diverse crowd with nearly all engaged in various conversations (between bits). I had a great conversation with Joseph Phillips of Commonwealth Books and Edward Pollack was his always charming self.

It was a great party and a perfect end to a great day.

Anatomy of a perfect evening...

When you have spent a week or so doing little but cataloguing books, prepping for the Boston show(s) and a myriad of other minor/major tasks and are basically basically frazzled to the point of blathering, taking a few hours off to have dinner and hear a presentation might not leap to mind as the best way to spend one's time (sleep, for instance, would be a very good idea). It was, however, the best evening I have had in a very long time. Simon Winchester (of Professor and the Madman, A Crack in the Edge of the World, The Chart that Changed the World and many others) was the speaker at the Baxter Society this evening and we had a lovely dinner before the event.

The dinner before the presentation was at Ciaola's in Portland's West End. The food was wonderful and our charming little private room was very nice. The company was outstanding. Among the group of 12, we had the author and wife, the owner of one of Maine's great fine press shops, the head of the Maine Historical Society's Library, a medical historian, a vinophile, a book artist, and others...it was a great group. Great stories, great conversation and just a great time.

Simon spoke on his soon-to-be-published biographical work on the life of Joseph Needham. I will not go into details of the man's life...but his life is a remarkable story and I can not wait to read Simon's new book The Man Who Loved China: Joseph Needham and the Making of a Masterpiece (ARCs in Dec with a Jan release). Suffice it to say, he was a chain smoking Cambridge educated scientist, communist, serial philanderer nudist who created one of the truly great works of the 20th century. His book, Science and Civilization in China, was originally proposed as a single volume 6-800 page work. As it turned out, the first volume was published in 1954...the 17th volume in 1995 at Needham's death and is now at 24 volumes (using his notes and/or structure). It is, apparently, the longest book ever published and it quite literally changed the West's conception and perception of China at nearly all levels. The "Needham Question" remains at the core of figuring what happened with China in the "modern" age and what/or what may happen going forward...

This was the first time Simon spoke about this work in public and he read the entire prologue to set the stage. In addition to the tales about and around Needham, he told some wonderful stories that arose during/from his adventures in researching this book. For example: Having copies of Needham's diaries (he was meticulous diary keeper), Simon quite literally followed in Needham's footsteps on many of his journeys.

He told of following his route to one of the remote university cities, quite literally on the far side of the Gobi Desert...while en route and quite literally in the middle of nowhere and with no traffic about, he broke down with an oil leak. When his temporary repair of chewing gum only worked for about 5 miles, he was dead at the side of the road. Quite worried about his prospects, he turned on his cell phone, hoping that there might be the hint of a signal...only to discover that China has apparently built towers pretty much everywhere...not only did he have solid coverage, he had data and was able, at the side of the road, in the middle of the Gobi Desert, in the dead of night, to google his hotel, get a number and call them [N.B. this annoys me a great deal, as there are at least 3 *major* dead spots between Portland and Tentants Harbor, Maine (and no coverage at all in TH....but high speed data in the Gobi]. After a brief description of his situation, he was told by the hotel clerk (500 miles away) to put his flashers on and go to sleep and to look for lights in 5 hours. 5 hours later, he saw two sets of lights, a tow-truck for the car and a vehicle for him...complete with noodles and beer. Just remarkable.

As many of you may know, he had written about 14 books *before* Professor and the Madman (The Surgeon of Crowthorne if you have a British edition). These books, in his words, "went from the publisher directly to the remainder tables". While not entirely true, it was clearly his breakthrough work...but do track down some of those early, easy as most have been republished in recent years. I strongly recommend, The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time.

I'll stop here. I could rave about his presentation for hours. Do not miss an opportunity to hear Simon speak, it is hard to think of a way to spend one's time more pleasingly.

[photo shows Simon Winchester, his wife Setsuko (in back) and Dr. Harold Osher (per Simon, "Ahhh, the Map Chap"]

Day Two, pack out and dinner

Well, so much for slow Sundays. This was possibly the best Sunday show day we’ve had. Again, the crowd was good sized and steady throughout the day…better yet, they were engaged and interested in strange bits of this and that (a strength of mine, strange bits of this and that). Better still, the engaged and interested people were buying. Pretty much a perfect storm for a book fair.

The highpoint of the weekend for me was helping sell what I think may have been the “coolest” thing at fair this weekend (sadly, not my book). Don Lindgren, whom I shared a booth with, had a truly spectacular item from 1971…a “book” printed on tractor fed paper, one of 10 numbered copies (16 total) that is comprised of every permutation of a 4 by 4 grid of dots. The runtime was 9 hours 44 minutes and a handful of seconds (the length of time it took to print the job and it included a colophon and the signatures of the authors/programmers. It found a great home…one where its significance will be enjoyed for a very long time.

It was an interesting show for sales…we sold pretty much across the board. Book arts, illustrated, books on books, Americana, fine press and antiquarian. We brought a thin sampling of reasonably special/pretty/sexy things from many areas…hoping to have something interesting for just about anyone to look at…at the same time, we didn’t expect to sell broadly…most shows tend to track in one direction or another. This show seemed to have real interest in many areas.

The fair ended at 4pm. We were able to get everything packed and to FedEx by 545pm…very good, as it closed at 6pm. We schlepped the rest back to the hotel and then had a very nice dinner at the Icon Grill. Tomorrow we are going to meet with a friend or two of Suzanne’s and do a bit of book hunting.

It was a great fair. Great dealers from all over, met some folks I’ve been wanting to meet, met some folks I didn’t know I wanted to meet, but am very pleased to have met them (and look forward to doing so again). Sold some good books. Met some new clients. Life is good. Have I mentioned recently I truly love this business.

Day Four and out...

Sunday started a bit slow and then picked up a great deal. It was, I think, the busiest Sunday at any fair we've done. I had a client (one of my favorites) I was expecting show up with her husband and she and 3 or 4 others made it yet another solid day in Baltimore.

I did my seminar at 1pm and it was well received (no one fell asleep and no one threw anything, so it was a success). I had a number of people tell me afterward that it they enjoyed it and a dealer who I respect a great deal (and who has been in the business about as long as I have been alive) told me he learned something...which was pretty much the nicest thing he could say to me...

The show closed at 6pm. We were packed an ready to go by about 830ish (not bad for us, sadly). Unfortunately, by that time the line to get it was so long that it was about 10ish or so before Suz was able to get the car into the hall (400 plus vehicles takes a very long time...). We made it back to Annapolis around 11:30.

It was a great show and a great weekend. We are already signed up for next year. I think I will be doing another post on the "meta" of this show...there is a lot about this show that I would love to see integrated into others...genuine PR efforts being a biggie.

We are taking the slow path back to Maine. We are planning to stop by the Bradywine Museum and make our pilgrimage to the Rosenbach Museum (I am, as usual, way too excited about this).
Then one more meal at Rein's Deli and be home... Updates to follow as connections allow...

Day Three...

Well, I was up at 5:45 to get ready for my 49 seconds of fame on the local Sat. morning show. I did the wee interview with the antique dealer George Subkoff (a wonderful gentleman with simply stunning items). We both showed off a bit of wares and spoke (very briefly) about collecting. It was pretty fun.

The day started a bit slow, but was very busy overall. I think a lot of the DC/PA (and perhaps NY) folk wrap up work and head to Balt. on the weekend. It was pretty much as busy yesterday as it was on the first day. Great interest, some potentially strong leads and very solid sales (and the buying remained good too...the longer the show lasts, the more books one finds...).

Suzanne trekked off to visit Royal Books and Kelmscott Books shops...conveniently located next to each other. There she found Brian of Appledore Books and Joe Maynard (book dealer, artist and raconteur) and The Colonel (Robert) from Blue Ridge Books and they all did some damage at both shops (Joe and Brian having left their long suffering partner to fend for themselves among the teaming bibliophiles at the show for 3.5 hours...if you listen closely, you can almost hear the gnashing of teeth).

We finished the day by going to dinner with Brian, Joe, Robert, Ira (Prints Charming), Ian and a friend/client of mine (and respective spice) all went to dinner together at Salt. The company was great fun and the food was simply outstanding. I had our wonderful waitress (Teresa) write me a note as to what I had because it was so good I wanted to be certain I would miss nothing in describing it. I started with their "Trio of Soup" (three perfect servings of Cream of Asparagus with goat cheese, Roasted Red Pepper and Crab Bisque, Cool Yellow Tomato). For an entree I had one of the last two plates of the venison special: Grilled Venison Tenderloin with caramelized endive, a cassolet of fingerling potatoes with goat cheese, parmesan, bacon and caramelized onion finished with a juniper berry demi-glaze. It was, with no exageration, the best meal I have had in months and months. I would recommend a trip to Balt just to eat here.

Sunday should be long and painful (I have blisters on my feet). I am speaking at 1pm. We run until 6pm and then have to pack up. I expect to get to Annapolis to night around midnight or so. Urgh.