Night at Penn

So last night I went to University of Pennsylvania for this big annual concert called Spring Fling and spent the night afterwards.

Immediately noticed the dearth of good places to eat that were open late on campus. There was a Wawa and a pizza place and that was about it. That's gonna be a problem next year.

Went to the Philly diner on campus for breakfast. Had a monster breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage. Wasn't great. Gonna have to discover the good places to grub on campus.

Spain 1

Dude. Here I am. 1.5 weeks left of school in my senior year. I started this puppy up back in freshman year. I was reading the blog French Laundry at Home and I noticed a "Create a Blog" button in the top right. The rest is history.

But the rest after that is mystery. I don't really know what's gonna happen with this blog or my food life in general. Next year when I'm at the University of Pennsylvania, I will be required to join a meal plan, which means I'll be eating the majority of my meals in the cafeterias, where, everyone seems to agree, the food is what it is--cafeteria grub. Unless I get lucky with housing, I won't have a kitchen in my dorm either.

So will readers wanna hear about that? Will a student's attempt to make the most of a measly meal situation create a compelling storyline? I don't really know, but I'll try to make it work and we will see what happens. I'm here for now though.

And I've really missed writing on my blog. I've missed writing the disjointed, non-flowing sentences and paragraphs, and incomplete thoughts that I feel is really my style, but can only create on the blog. I've had my mind on other things: finishing my senior year, graduation, prom, Lacroix, what I'm doing over the summer. But I'm happy I'm back here writing. Cause ya know blogging is the coolest thing ever. The fact that I basically just talk about myself, and people listen, and offer support, really blows my mind.

Now to Spain.


A few months ago I was chillin at my friend's house, and my friends dad, a big-time psychologist, approached me. Knowing that I'm really into food, he told me that he was asked to speak at a conference in Spain hosted by the restaurant Mugaritz.

I freaked out. Then he said I could come. I freaked out more and with good reason. My trip to San Sebastian was the best vacation I had ever been on. It was so perfect for me. Everybody always says that San Sebastian has more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere on earth and our trip turned out to be a completely food oriented trip. I loved it so much.

We were brought to Spain by this company that was was organizing the conference and we were treated like absolute royalty. They paid for us to stay in this incredible hotel, and they payed for incredible meals every lunch and dinner. I really hit the jackpot on this trip. I was experiencing all the incredible food and wine in San Sebastian without breaking the bank.

The hotel even had a bidet!

Some vegetables and serrano ham with olive oil at Bar Hazea, a random tapas bar in San Sebastian that was actually the tapas bar that Anthony Bourdain visited in No Reservations.

At a Txakoli winery overlooking the Cantabrian Sea. Txakoli is a sparkling wine native to the Basque region of Spain. The grape that makes the wine is found only in Basque country. The wine is typically taken in the early afternoon with some tapas or whatever. It was great. I ordered it everywhere we went. Champagne San Sebastian style.

Tuna and anchovies from the sea that the winery overlooks to go with the wine.

That's me in the white shirt talking to the manager of Mugaritz.

Fish testacles. Absolutely delicious. Seriously. I ate a lot of these.

My friend's sisters.

Me and Isabel Conde, one of our guides who works for the company that put the conference together. She's told me that she's engaged to Ferran Adria's right-hand man.

There's a shot of Andoni Adruiz, head chef of Mugaritz. We were essentially his guests so we were hanging out with him non-stop and I was able to talk with him in-depth about his philosophy on cooking etc. Unfortunately, my Spanish is good, but not great, and he doesn't speak English, and so a good amount was lost in translation.

More about Spain to come. I feel like I didn't do a good job of explaining the experience in this post so I will work on that more in the next.

New Post

I'm kind of a dick. I've just left the blog behind. A post about why I've done so and all about my recent trip to San Sebastian coming within the next two or three weeks.

I ate like a freakin king in San Sebastian. Got some good pics too. Was chillin with the chef at Mugaritz. Yea, that Mugaritz http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners

Hershey's Cookies and Cream Blondies

I made these blondies as my secret santa gift to my buddy whose favorite candy is Hershey's cookies and cream bars. They're absolutely loaded with cut-up chunks of the bar. Go here to learn my easy recipe for extremely rich, dense, delicious blondies.

How to Avoid Packing on those Extra Holiday Pounds

I love pigging out on the holidays. It just feels so right. And you really should treat yourself. Eating is probably what I enjoy most about the holiday season (I really wish people ate stuffing year round) and if you're reading my blog, it's probably what you most enjoy as well. Friends and family are great too, but really, who needs them when you got your best friend food dressed up nicely in front of you at the holiday table.

Of course hanging out with your best buddy can have negative consequences. Especially during holiday time, he's always there, looking up at you from the holiday table, begging you to pig out. And so I've devised an exercise plan that tempers the negative effects of big-time holiday grubbin.

It's called the pasta plan. All you have to do is make large quantities of pasta and knead for 30 minutes a day if your just starting out, or 45 minutes for advanced gym, I mean "kitchen rats." I recently put my grandma on the plan and she's gone from flab to fab in JUST TWO WEEKS! Ya see, the workout really tones the arms, so if you're feelin a little flabby back there, but really want to wear that sleeveless for New Year's, START NOW!

My plan will cut through those Christmas cake calories from like cutlery in the kitchen. E-mail me now and receive fresh pasta dough delivered to your door. This workout is guaranteed to work almost as well as the shake weight. So if you try the program, send me some before and after pictures to put up on the site.

But seriously, I'm not tryna get sued here. Talk to you doctor before engaging in any serious workout plan like this.

Fortuitous Meeting at Lacroix

I couldn't do any work last Friday. I sat in school, my mind a stone wall to any information coming my way. I thought about why I might get in, or might not get in 1000 times. I listed all the pros--I work at a nice restaurant, I get good grades, I'm really into business--and cons--I'm not that strong in math, I don't have many school-related extra-curriculars--then back to pros and back to cons again. I thought about getting in and what I would do. Jump up and down? Run around the block? Or would acceptance not elicit that much emotion. I couldn't tell. Then I thought about getting rejected. Would I cry? Would I lock myself in my room for the week? Would I hit the cheesecake? Or would I brush it off? I had no idea.

The day dragged by thusly, me envisioning both circumstances, accepted or rejected, embraced or eschewed. I knew that I would be able to check exactly at 3 pm--that's what the website said--and so I rushed home after school. I got there at 2:58 and stayed in my car. A slow, sad song came on the radio. Was it an omen? 2:59. I was going to stay in here and check. I didn't wanna look in front of my mom and grandparents. My heart starts beating out of control. I begin to type in my user name and password. My hands are shaking. It's difficult. 3:00. I log in. Congratulations! You have been accepted to the class of 2015.

I ran out. I screamed. The neighborhood knows I'm into college because of that scream. I started running. I told my mom. Then I ran back outside, unaware of the freezing cold. I was yelling again now. A lady walking her dog was staring at me. "I just got into college, sorry."

And so two days later I went into Lacroix working front of the house. I went behind the host stand and took a look at the reservations. Miller, Condron, Gutman, pause. The first name was Amy, party of two. Amy Gutman.

"Is that Amy Gutman, as in the president of UPenn?" I asked the manager. "Yes I just made the reservation a minute ago." I couldn't believe it. What a coincidence. The day dragged on, like the day at school before I discovered my acceptance. And then at one o clock, she came in. I sat her at table 9 in the back by the window, and following right behind me was the manager. I gave her her menu, but before I could say another word the manager was at the table.

"Good afternoon Ms. Gutman this is Nicholas, he just got into UPenn two days ago. He's been with us for four years. He's a hard worker and we're very proud of him."

Wow. Haha. That was more than I could've asked for. I work with good people.

"Nice to meet you, you must be very special, we had more early decision applicants than ever before. Where do you live?"

"Ardmore"

"Great. I'll see you around campus."

What a treat. Really. That was great. Later I was making coffee, and she called to me.

"Nick (yes she remembered my name) I have someone I'd like you to meet"

And she introduced me to Eduardo Glant the dean of engineering. I told him that I was actually admitted to Wharton but that I knew some people admitted to the engineering school.

"Well we like you anyway" he said jokingly.

Gutman was so pleasant. She wasn't the least bit condescending. She acted like just an average human being. She didn't need to display her power.

I went home amazed at the fortuitous meeting. It was a very special weekend.

GOT INTO WHARTON!!!!!

I thought once I got into college all my work would disappear, but sadly, that's not the case. I'll be back with more soon. I promise.