Inna's Birthday dinner at the Plumed Horse

To celebrate Inna's birthday, I've been trying to set up a dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, Alex came down with pneumonia, and we had to reschedule her birthday dinner multiple times.

We were finally able to enjoy the food and hospitality of The Plumed Horse in Saratoga. The Plumed Horse is a Michelin 1-star restaurant and is one of our favorite alternatives to Manresa.

When we arrived, we ordered some Dr. Loosen Spatlese Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany. We visited Mosel a few years ago and enjoyed the food and wine there. The wine was sweet and delicious.

After reviewing the menu, Inna decided to try the Chef's tasting menu, which included a series of small dishes:

• Cauliflower Panna Cotta (kampachi, Brussels sprouts, bonito)
• Nantucket Bay Scallops (sunchoke veloute, radishes, dashi foam)
• California Halibut (charred onion, red wine marmalade, consomme)
• Roasted Squab (polenta ravioli, braised Squab, black trumpet mushroom)
• Braised Veal Cheek (celery root, veal sweetbread, pickled allium)
• Key Lime semifreddo (toasted meringue, fingerling "pop" rocks, graham streusel
• Manjari Chocolates ganache

Inna's first entree was the Cauliflower Panna Cotta. It looked exciting and tasted beautiful.

The next dish was the Nantucket Bay Scallops. The portion was small - enough for a single bite.

The California Halibut followed the scallops and was a well-sized portion of fish. It was very well-seasoned and tasted delicious.

The Roasted Squab came next, and it was good for one bite.

The Braised Veal Cheek was the best dish on the tasting menu. It was so delicious! Inna shared it with me, and it was absolutely the best veal I have ever tried. It was so delicate and so tender and juicy.

The Key Lime semifreddo was one of Inna's desserts and was a good beginning.

The Manjari chocolate ganache was a small dessert with delicious dark chocolate. It was rich and satisfying.

I chose from the standard menu and ordered the following two dishes:

• Chicory & Escarole Salad (roasted & pickled Bartlett pear, walnut, pomegranate molasses)
• Sea Bass

The Chef brought us a complimentary portion of Bisque soup. The soup was warm and delicious.

The Chicory & Escarole Salad came next, and it was a small salad dish with primary leaves. It served as a good appetizer.

My main dish, "Sea Bass," came next, and it was more generously sized, well prepared, and delicious. The sauce really added to the taste.

The Plumed Horse waiter brought us some fabulous desserts to clean the palate before our main dessert.

For dessert, I ordered some Apple Beignets (tiny donuts). They were soft, chewy, and quite delicious, and I am not a fan of donuts.

The staff brought out a nice Birthday Surprise dessert for Inna.

We enjoyed our dinner very much. The food quality and presentation are as good as the two Michelin star-rated Manresa.

This is my first time wearing my brand new Brooks Brothers suit. 

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Snowboarding Sugar Bowl

I got up at around 6:00 a.m. for the long drive to North Lake Tahoe. I took I-680 North to I-80 East. There was little traffic in the morning, and I arrived at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort at around 9:30 a.m.

I parked at the Village Gondola and changed into my snowboarding outfit. I rode the village gondola to the Village Lodge. It's a short ride to the village and avoids all parking hassles. Since I pre-ordered my tickets online ($15 off/day for early purchases), I stopped by the ticket counter to pick them up.

I then strapped on my new Ride Berzerker 162 snowboard and took the Disney Express chair to the top of Mt. Disney. This was the first time I got to try the board (I purchased it two years ago at REI but never got to try it due to poor snow conditions at Lake Tahoe). I had my old K2 Clicker bindings and Clicker-compatible books to try out. (Since K2 stopped manufacturing Clicker bindings, I had to buy a used set on eBay).

The ride down was adequate but a bit too short.

The day was sunny and beautiful, with no clouds in the sky. The snow was a bit icy initially, but it warmed up/turned slushy in the afternoon. After a quick ride down the mountain, I stopped by the Euro Snack cafe for a waffle and a hot chocolate. The warm waffle was really great!

I took the Lincoln Express next to the top of Mt. Lincoln, where I rode "Lake View" and "Crawley's Traverse" trails down. These are blue-rated runs, but they are not terribly challenging.

I took an early video of my runs down the mountain. As you can see, the snow coverage was meager, but it was still fun to be there. The views of the surrounding Tahoe forests and lakes were magnificent.

I really liked my Ride Berzerker snowboard. It holds its line down the mountain exceptionally well. With my K2 Clicker step-in bindings, it was a great combination. It's too bad you can't buy K2 Clickers anymore. There are such great bindings.



I saw a few interesting dressed-up characters at Sugar Bowl. I even saw a few snowboarders riding in shorts!

I did a lot of quick runs down the mountain. It was never very crowded, and each run took me 15 minutes at most (including the ride to the top).

I snowboarded until about 4:00 p.m. Afterward, I drove to Truckee, where I stayed with friends (we rented a house for two days).

I enjoyed a bottle of delicious Lagunitas Censored beer that my friends brought along.

Afterward, we had a wonderful dinner, and I rested the rest of the day.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

I got up around 8:00 a.m. (there was a return from daylight savings time), so I lost one hour of sleep. After a breakfast of hamburgers and tea, I drove to Sugar Bowl for one more day of snowboarding.

I found a few places at Sugar Bowl where I could do a few jumps.

This was another beautiful day - but just a bit colder, and the snow was a bit icier than on Saturday. The view of the surrounding woods and the nearby Lake Mary are really spectacular.

I had a great time doing jumps (though these are not as great as the ones in Whistler's Nintendo Park).

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Pops Concert at Dartmouth Middle School

The Dartmouth Middle School Band (where Alex plays trumpet in the Beginning Band) presented a Pops Concert in March 2015.

Alex was scheduled to play trumpet in the Beginning Band. While waiting in line for the concert, Inna received a call from Alex - he forgot his notes at home. Inna rushed to get his notes and handed them off to Mr. Neipp. Alex was then able to walk in and sit down.

The band played the following compositions:

Jazz Band

• It Is What It Is by Victoria Lopez
• The Blues Walk by Clifford Brown

Choir

• Come Sail Away arranged by Kirby Shaw
• Landslide arranged by Adam Anders
• Faithfully arranged by Adam Billingsley

Beginning Band (Alex playing trumpet)

• Lean On Me arranged by Robert Longfield
• What A Wonderful World arranged by Robert Longfield
• Best Day of My Life arranged by James Kazik

Concert Band

• Respect arranged by Johnnie Vinson
• Dark Horse arranged by Victor Lopez
• Bang Bang arranged by Michael Brown

Symphonic Band

• Happy arranged by Michael Brown
• Skyfall arranged by Jay Bocook
• Metal! arranged by Sean O'Loughlin

It was a fun concert and well-directed by Sam Neipp. My favorite performance was of Skyfall.

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