London Food - First impressions......

How many times have you heard, "the food in London is bad." It seems to be a very common misconception. Perhaps this is based on actual past 'bad' experiences people have had or maybe people have just taken to saying it after hearing so many other people say it.  I can tell you that London has moved far beyond the fish and chips, meatpie reputation of old and into a culinary capital that boasts nearly as many Michelen stars as Paris.  When I moved there, I had an open mind (and appetite) to see if the bad press was true…..IT WAS NOT!   The first dinner I had in London with my wife, was at a Vietnamese restaurant called Cay Tre. While the ambience was very simple, the food was fantastic and authentic. The next night was a late dinner at Tayyabs, a Pakistani/Indian restaurant.  The place was bustling even at 11pm and after hearing the rumors of how good Indian food was in London, we were not disappointed.  Tayyabs is a fantastic restaurant, and in my opinion, an absolute must if you are visiting.  My only recommendation is to get a table downstairs as the aroma of the food may stick to your clothes for days if you are in the main dining room. My stories can go for quite a while on the great food I had in London.  My wife has an amazing touch in finding places but even without her magic touch, London has put it history of 'bad' food behind it and the cuisine is only getting better.

More to come on my London food adventures…

Cheers

DL

Back from Londontown

Almost 2 years ago I made a decision to leave the only place I ever worked and lived (NJ / NYC area) to move to London for a new job.  It wasn’t an easy decision as I had a good job and had just met the most amazing woman in the world in NYC we are now married :).  I took some personal risk and went outside my comfort zone by moving overseas by myself and it has been the best decision of my life.  While it has been hard at various points, it has taught me so much about myself.  My wife, Katie, has been so supportive and we have enjoyed every second of travelling, experiencing London and of course the large amounts of time spent in the BA lounge. I have learned to love London.  It is a place with amazing history, excellent food (yes there is) and so much to see and do. I love walking around on the weekend and experiencing the pubs, the people and the infectious British way of life.  I still love NYC more than anything, but London has captured my heart.  It is something that is hard to explain in words, but something you need to experience in person.  It is bittersweet that I am leaving and I hope we (Katie and I) will be back at some point.

In the coming weeks, I will be writing short posts on London and my experiences here.

Cheers

DL

Lehman...5 years later

Five years ago, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.  I walked into work that day and wondered what my future would be. I loved my job, but it didn't matter. The financial crisis was hitting Lehman square in the face.  Soon AIG would almost fail and firms were scrambling just to survive.  It was a surreal experience, seeing the firm you loved go bankrupt.  So many colleagues and friends were put in limbo and many never got their jobs back.  I was fortunate to move onto another firm, but this industry will never be the same.  Some would argue that is a good thing......only time will tell.

Apple.....were you excited?

Apple just released their new IPhone's with alot of media coverage and hoopla, however I miss the days of Apple shocking the market with amazing new products and innovation. Since the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple has continued to produce good products but the excitement is not there anymore. Their share price reflects this as its down 40% from its high. Maybe my expectations are too high for Apple as fingerprint technology, the IPad Mini, lightening fast processors and a larger iPhone screen were great, but nothing really blows me away. Too often technology companies are like athletes, they are great for a while but burnt out quickly. I hope Apple is too great to potentially follow that path. I hope one day I will be surprised and shaken again!

And please, the IWatch is not going to SHAKE ME :)))

Cheers

100th Entry...Inspiration and Passion

Since I started writing this blog over 15 months ago, my life has changed in so many ways. In the paste, I was often passionate about something but would never follow through. I also was not someone who lived in the present. I would say things like, “I would love writing about politics and current events”, but never would. Then I met Katie, who changed my life. She pushed me to be a better person and to be present in the moment. She encouraged me to follow my dreams and passions. It started with writing this blog and has spilled over to many other aspects of my life. I have moved to London for a job and she is NYC, but we get stronger and closer everyday. Each day I work to be the best boyfriend, partner and now fiancée I can be. We compliment each other and most importantly, she has taught me to be passionate and live in the moment! In the past 4 months, I have disappointed myself by not writing this blog on a regular basis. I will start writing a few times a week starting very soon and this will not stop!

I am passionate about writing and sharing my thoughts, opinions and views with you, my readers.

Cheerio and more to come........

Learning another language...it is about time

After living in London for 5 months and visiting Barcelona for the first time, I have renewed my strong desire to learn another language.  Most of the four years of Spanish I learned in high school has since been forgotten. I will start this month on my journey to learn a second language. Some of my close friends, family and my amazing girlfriend would argue that English is still a work in progress, but I do digress.....:-)

Wish me luck...or...."Desearme suerte"

US Tax Reform must happen!

Fundamental reform of the US tax code is critical for the future of the US and within reach if President Obama and Congress have the will to push it forward. The US tax code currently is thousands of pages of rules with so many loopholes that it is hard for anyone to really understand it. The tax industry generates billion of dollars every year from people trying to maximize their returns and NOT pay taxes. The US government should be finding ways to simplify the tax code. This will encourage people to spend less time trying to avoid paying taxes. My core principles for tax reform, that I share with many members of Congress, are now getting support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Here are the main principles.

First, reduce overall tax rates. This will encourage investment and growth in the US. Lower rates allow people to take home more income and invest their take home pay as they see fit.

Secondly, offset the reduced tax revenues from lower rates. In order to do this, Congress needs to reduce itemized deductions. Simplification of the tax code is the key to generating more revenues, as people will not spend hours searching for deductions and loopholes, but simply pay their taxes. This concept will be extremely tough for higher tax states in the Northeast and California. Residents of these states offset their large state and property tax bills on their federal returns. Doing this offers a huge tax benefit to them and reduces their overall federal tax bill. Although people living in these states will lose the deductions for their state and property taxes, I believe they will benefit from the lower marginal tax rates which will offset a good portion of the increased tax liability. Moreover, it will ensure that the Federal government does not continue to subsidize states that overtax their residents. Higher taxes in California or New York take money directly out of the federal government. We as a nation eventually pay for that cost through higher taxes or unfunded governmental debt.

Lastly, we should eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). This tax was originally supposed to affect a small number of millionaires, but now affects tens of millions of Americans into its complex web. It is archaic and overly complicated.

If these concepts are implemented, I believe, the US will be catapulted into another unprecedented growth cycle with revenues coming into the government at all time highs.

Too Big to Fail?

The FED and US government officials have stated that no firm will be ‘bailed out” or rescued like Bear Stearns or AIG. They are not being honest with us. Everything now is TOO BIG TO FAIL! What do they plan to do in the event of another major financial crisis? Banks and financial firms have never been larger and riskier. The mechanisms in Dodd Frank for an “orderly” wind-down of a large financial firm is to prevent widespread market panic. However, anyone who understands finance knows that markets behave irrationally.  How can the federal government or the FED say nothing is too big to fail after the debacle of Lehman Brothers? While it is true that Lehman and other financial firms caused their own demise, the chaos of letting Lehman fail exacerbated the financial crisis.  Can you imagine Citigroup being left to fail? The economy is still in a shaky recovery. Letting big financial firms fail will never happen again because of the overall damage to the US and global economy. When Ben Bernanke and the government claim they will not ‘bail out firms in the event of another crisis' it makes me think they are lying to everyone.

The Rutgers Debacle....Failure of Leadership

As Rutgers alumni, the Mike Rice situation is disturbing. Unfortunately, this behavior is not uncommon and is becoming emblematic of college sports today. More and more we are seeing individuals in college athletics who should not be in leadership roles. For background, Mike Rice, the Head Men’s basketball coach, was videotaped violently shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at his players along with using gay slurs. The athletic director, Tim Pernetti, was given the information and the university conducted an investigation. Ultimately, they fined Mike Rice $50,000 and ordered him to go to anger management classes.  Recently, the incident took center stage when ESPN’s 'Outside the Lines' aired the video footage. The outrage was palpable across the country with many politicians, including the NJ governor Chris Christie, speaking out due to the violent, abusive and racist behavior of Mike Rice.

I can write pages and pages on how college sports have issues that are hugely problematic. It is unacceptable to have this violent, racist behavior especially when the money to pay the Rutgers employees comes mostly by the state taxpayers. These types of issues and cover-ups happen in politics and corporations frequently.  Many people are outraged when it happens but at least the people are grown adults and not young men and women in the formative years of their lives. In college athletics, the focus should be on the student’s education and personal growth. Having people such as Mike Rice and Tim Pernetti try to cover up and sweep under the rug this type of behavior is more reprehensible because we entrust these individuals to care for these students like they were their own children.  Did we also not learn from Penn State that lying and covering up incidents is the worst thing you can do?  Getting paid millions of dollars to be a racist bully is a disgrace for Rutgers and overall college athletics.

Let’s try to restore the confidence people have in college athletics and let’s start with firing the whole Rutgers athletic administration.

London Food....Gola

After my first London “football” game between Brazil and Russia at Chelsea Stadium, my work colleague recommended a small Italian place called Gola on Fulham Road for dinner. He knew the owner and since my colleauge was named Vicenzo, I trusted his judgment.  After being frozen to the bone, I welcomed a warm place and was looking forward to great Italian food and wine.  As we were seated, I knew we were in for a treat.  My colleague and the owner slung Italian back and forth as I perused the menu.  The owner suggested a wine from where he was from (Puglia) and it was really nice.  He also recommend some appetizers and seamlessly attended to my gluten allergy and noted that he will make almost anything gluten-free.  The eggplant and baked cheese appetizers were great and for a main I got a risotto with sausage and porcini mushrooms. My colleague ordered a veal Milanese which was the size of his head (not exaggerating).  Since he was only midway through his dinner and I was still hungry, the owner whipped up something with fusilli, hard shaved ricotta cheese with some braciola.  It was soooo good! A little limoncello and the meal was finished.

 Great meal, service and atmosphere.  Gola is a winner!

 http://www.golalondon.com/index1.html

Detroit.....can we save this amazing city?

How can we save Detroit? I understand the car industry made the economic engine of Detroit run and was a large part of its downfall as the industry collapsed and many of the jobs went away.  But when a city had 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the 50's and now only has 27,000, you can see the profound and devastating impact that it would have on any city. When I hear the poverty rate is at 35% and the murder rate is as high at the early 1980's I wonder how this can be turned around.  I have gotten to know more about Detroit in the past year as my girlfriend's family are natives.  I finally got to experience the city and saw some vibrant neighborhoods, but mostly utter poverty.   It is still a vibrant city with a great music and art culture.  It has great parks and outdoor spaces but most have fallen in disrepair.

I am not saying we "bailout" Detroit,  but let's "put a think on it" and try and save this amazing city.

More to come...

London Michelin Star Tour 2013..want to join me?

One of my passions is food and wine so I surmised a good way to start experiencing London would be to hit all of the Michelin star restaurants here..... Here is the list and the reviews will follow shortly.....

  • NEW Alyn Williams at the Westbury
  • NEW Dabbous, Fitzrovia
  • NEW Hedone, Chiswick
  • NEW Medlar, Chelsea
  • NEW Trishna, Marylebone
  • NEW St John, Soho
  • NEW Launceston Place, Kensington
  • NEW Tom Aikens, Chelsea
  • Chapter One, Farnborough
  • Hakkasan Hanway Place, Bloomsbury
  • Pied à Terre, Bloomsbury
  • Club Gascon, City of London
  • Rhodes Twenty Four, City of London
  • Harwood Arms, Fulham
  • River Café, Hammersmith
  • La Trompette, Chiswick
  • North Road, Clerkenwell
  • St John, Clerkenwell
  • Rasoi, Chelsea
  • Kitchen W8, Kensington
  • The Glasshouse, Kew
  • Petersham Nurseries Café, Richmond
  • Viajante, Bethnal Green
  • Galvin La Chapelle, Spitalfields
  • Chez Bruce, Wandsworth
  • Amaya, Belgravia
  • Apsleys (at Lanesborough Hotel), Belgravia
  • Pétrus, Belgravia
  • Dinner by Heston Blumenthal(at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park), Hyde Park & Knightsbridge
  • Benares, Mayfair
  • Galvin at Windows (at London Hilton Hotel), Mayfair
  • Greenhouse, Mayfair
  • Hakkasan Mayfair, Mayfair
  • Kai, Mayfair
  • Maze, Mayfair
  • Murano, Mayfair
  • Nobu (at The Metropolitan Hotel), Mayfair
  • Nobu Berkeley St, Mayfair
  • Pollen Street Social, Mayfair
  • Semplice, Mayfair
  • Tamarind, Mayfair
  • Umu, Mayfair
  • Wild Honey, Mayfair
  • L'Autre Pied, Regent's Park & Marylebone
  • Locanda Locatelli, Regent's Park & Marylebone
  • Rhodes W1 (Restaurant), Regent's Park & Marylebone
  • Texture, Regent's Park & Marylebone
  • Seven Park Place (at St James's Hotel and Club), St James's
  • Arbutus, Soho
  • Yauatcha, Soho
  • Quilon, Victoria

Bloomie and his gun $$$

Well Michael Bloomberg the seemingly 9 term (its only been three) mayor of NYC is putting his considerable money behind his mouth ($12m worth) to put ads on TV for tougher gun laws and the NRA is up in arms saying he "can not buy America".  Guns is a very sensitive topic now and with multiple shooting like Sandy Hook and the one in Colorado, we understand that the issue is not purely guns, but maybe parenting, mental health care and other circumstances.  What we can control is the easy purchase of assault weapons which in my view have no place with anyone.  I am not going to tell people they can't own guns and hunt, but NO one needs an AK 47.  In the end we can never make guns go away whether they are legal or not, but can't we all agree that assault weapons should be illegal........

London Food....Pho..get it

So the other foodie in this relationship is Miss @KatSolar . When she is not rocking clubs and charity events, she is a foodie that trump my passion. When I first moved here she was in the mood for some Vietnamese so she googled the area and found a Pho place down on Old Street.  After some wrong turns, we arrived for our first London meal.  I know what you are thinking, very traditional London meal of Pho and summer rolls, but we were cold and this food hit the spot.  We really enjoyed our meal and it was a perfect kickoff to our London food journey. A few days later, we had walked past a place in Clerkenwell called the Pho Cafe and we decided to try it that day or the next.  The food there was just as good if not better than the first place.  Spring and summer rolls and of course the PHO.  Pho is a broth and rice noodle dish that usually has beef or chicken in it with a side of bean sprouts, herbs, chilis and limes.  It is the perfect meal for all year round but especially on a snowy / rainy London day.  We proceeded to go back there multiple times and even did there "Pho to Go".

Great place and would go back anytime I could.....

http://www.phocafe.co.uk/locations/clerkenwell

London food - Goodman Steakhouse

After a good workout, what is better than a bone in strip steak? Well that was my dream when I visited Goodman steakhouse in London city last week. They have a few locations but luckily right before my tube stop (or subway station for your New Yorkers like me) there is one. I wandered in and got seated a nice bar seat. The bartender served me a nice glass of wine and sparkling water. He recommended the bone in strip steak and a few of the appetisers. I of course chose a pork belly (they didn't have bacon) and the strip steak with chili and garlic spinach and truffle fries. The portions were smaller than American places but was more than enough good. Loved everything especially the steak and the spinach. Finished it off with a creme brûlée so I was quite happy.

Overall great service, food and atmosphere!!! Go London!!!

London food - Byron

Well here is my first and not last london food review. I will have others in the coming days that were important but I have to get this off my chest. No burger place should ever give you a cheeseburger with unmelted cheese. I experienced this today at Byron, a chain burger place in London that is kind of a five guys ish place. Service was very good and the chipotle mayo rocked but getting a burger with out the bun and seeing those two said unmelted pieces of cheese, really made me sad. Fries were ok but nothing made me want to come back again.

Sorry Byron, but you have seen the last of stretchnelson.

Tomorrow will be more places that I went to...and I promise were sooo much better

Cheerio!

Cyprus

The whole Cyprus situation brings to light the fragility of the Euro. Such a small nation but it is pretty much bankrupt and the euro folks can't agree on a way forward as forcing depositors to shoulder part of the bailout failed. I often wonder when i see the stock market rocketing ahead across the globe whether people still see the fragility of the debt bomb we have out there. Europe I believe is more prone to having issues due to the euro nations having huge growth issues on with their economies. Growth is the debt bombs only elixir, not taxes and austerity. More to come, but it will be interesting what happens on this little nation....

Oh Paul oh Paul

Paul Ryan's plan to reduce the debt which basically changes the Medicare program is bold. I have also stated before  that his plan will never happen. I understand he truly believes that this is the way to cut the budget and I agree with him that entitlement reform is the key, but fundamentally changing Medicare for seniors will never happen especially when you offer a repeal of ObamaCare with it. I am all for being principled but maybe he could spend sometime working on a solution that COULD be enacted into law. I am not saying Medicare doesn't need to be reformed but making it a voucher program for millions of seniors is not ever going to pass.

Dow climbing....government sinking

The US stock market is hitting highs seen right before the financial crisis even as the government continues to bungle the sequester and creating a real fiscal plan for the US. I do not know what to make of this situation except to believe that people really want to invest and get out of this malaise for the past 5 years. I really thought that the POTUS or congress would step up and start realising we can't maintain our debt unless people think it's so much better in the US than in Europe. The debt spigot and cheap money will eventually end and then we will realise the impact of doing nothing. Only in government can you promise something that will never happen and ignore when people talk about it.