We had a great support group meeting at the La Jolla library on Saturday. Fifteen people of varying ages and occupations showed up to talk about their acoustic neuromas, their treatment and issues. We had a Costco employee, a life coach, singer, teacher, mechanic/chef, house cleaner, two chiropractors, a nurse and an engineer. Ages ranged from 25 to 76. Our youngest person was only 4 weeks out from her surgery and had suffered a CSF leak which required re-hospitalization - she looked great and was mending quickly. We all talked and listened to each other for 3 hours without even a bathroom break. Plenty of useful information was traded. Sharing a room with people who all "get" what you experience is therapeutic. They know what wonky head is and about the staggering and lack of directional hearing, big box store trauma, fear of social events (because you can't hear anyone), "bad" days, the stress of straining to hear, AN exhaustion. We all go through the same stuff.
On our way home we stopped at The Barrel Room in Rancho Bernardo for dinner. Richard had an excellent barramundi with pureed fava beans; a salad of shaved asparagus, white bean paste and stuffed squash blossoms and a glass of "Complicated" wine - a red blend. I had the short rib pappardelle with ricotta which was good but served in an awkward dish on which I couldn't rest my knife. Wherever I put it, it slid down into the ricotta, getting the handle all gooey. They should serve the bowl on an underliner. The bowl was kind of like this one....
I know it seems excessively picky to comment on this, but it's one of those things we used to pay close attention to when working in the food business. Somebody (not the developer) must always sit down and consume each new item with the utensils intended for use....it's just as much a factor in product development as the food itself. Believe me, I learned this the hard way.
I was so impressed with the attention to detail in the dining rooms on the Oceania cruise line - for instance if you're wearing black, they give you a black napkin. A small thing, but a big clue that they are paying attention.
Finally, I laid my knife down on the bare table between each use, getting the table sticky and making a mess. By the time I finished eating the dish, my knife handle was covered with ricotta. Aside from that, the pappardelle dish was fine....well, the short rib meat was overly-steamed or sous-vided to the point of being soft. There's a big difference between tender and soft. I'll leave it at that. The wine list in the restaurant is excellent and the wines are well priced. The noise level was tolerable when we were there and the ambiance convivial. Service was excellent.
We'd go back, but only for an early dinner. It was 5:00 when we sat down and by the time we left at 6:30, it was getting noisy and crowded.
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| Not the actual dish, but one like it. |
I was so impressed with the attention to detail in the dining rooms on the Oceania cruise line - for instance if you're wearing black, they give you a black napkin. A small thing, but a big clue that they are paying attention.
Finally, I laid my knife down on the bare table between each use, getting the table sticky and making a mess. By the time I finished eating the dish, my knife handle was covered with ricotta. Aside from that, the pappardelle dish was fine....well, the short rib meat was overly-steamed or sous-vided to the point of being soft. There's a big difference between tender and soft. I'll leave it at that. The wine list in the restaurant is excellent and the wines are well priced. The noise level was tolerable when we were there and the ambiance convivial. Service was excellent.
We'd go back, but only for an early dinner. It was 5:00 when we sat down and by the time we left at 6:30, it was getting noisy and crowded.
