Nora's -- 3 1/2 Stars

Last night we had a wonderful dinner out at Nora's. Nora's is self=titled the "first certified organic restaurant" in America. Whatever the truth of that claim, it is certainly true that Nora's does fantastic food. It's been roughly 2 years since last we went and our pleasure this time was enhanced by the fact that our daughter-in-law, Natalia, joined us. Natalia is in town for a couple of days on business and this seemed a good chance to share a great meal with her.

And it was great. For appetizers, Katy had a beet salad that was a wonderful medley of fresh tastes. Natalia had a Dungeness crab & avocado salad that looked scrumptious and Paul had a black trumpet mushroom and goat cheese tart that simply sang with sparkling on the tongue. We accompanied the meal with a Freeman Pinot Noir from Sonoma, that was very reasonably priced and had just the right level of fruit, without too much push to it. Delightful.

Main courses also hit the mark: Katy had an Amish Veal Roast with fennel; Natalia had Divers Scallops with cauliflower puree; and Paul had a fillet mignon with carmelized onion mashed potatoes and some bone marrow. Yum. We finished the meal with Chocolate mousse cake; pear & cranberry crisp; and Katy's traditional sorbet.

Nora's never fails to make good on its promise of good food, in a cozy and friendly atmosphere. Our servers were pleasant and helpful. Perhaps best of all, they make their own sparkling water, so the water was free! Talk about great deals.

A Chicago Quickie

We went back and forth to Chicago by car over the weekend. 24 hours of driving in 65 hours! Ugh. But we made it there and back and took possession of our new temporary apartment in Evanston. We'll be living there for 6 months while Paul has a Fellowship at Northwestern. We took out the first load of stuff in the car and spent a mad day buying "junk" to make it home (bath mats and paper towel holders; etc.).

We head out for good on 27 February. Should be fun. And the best part is we get to spend the time with two granddaughters who live there!

Petit St. Vincent

We just got back from a vacation in Petit St. Vincent. PSV is one of our favorite spots -- this is the fourth time we've gone back there. It's a small private island down in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, just north of Grenada. You have to =really= want to get away to make the trip -- its 3 flights (DC to Miami to Barbados to Union Island) plus a boat ride (Union to PSV) and it takes 12+ hours door-to-door.

But boy do we think the trip is worth it! Talk about understated elegance and relaxation. There are only 22 cottages on the island and there are no phones or TVs or radios. To get the attention of the staff, you raise a little yellow flag. If you don't want to be disturbed put up the red flag and nobody will bother you.

Our typical day at PSV is nothing but easy. We wake with the sunrise at 6:30 AM to find a coffee jug and cups sitting outside the door to our cottage. After that, an early morning walk clears the cobwebs and is followed by breakfast in the cottage. [Paul tried the kippered fish this time around and wasn't pleased -- too fishy. He stuck with eggs, cereal or French toast for the rest of the trip].

After breakfast comes the tough part -- you need to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Options include: walk down to the beach and lie in the shade watching the waves go by; a little yoga; a massage; or just sitting at your cottage and reading. Along the way someone will bring you lunch and, if you want, afternoon tea. The biggest challenge is rousing yourself to shower, get dressed and go down to the pavilion for pre-dinner drinks and dinner under the stars.

This trip was special for us for a couple of reasons. First, we had the great fortune to overlap for one night with our (step)son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Debbie. It was their 20th anniversary and, having heard about the place from us so many times they had, independently, decided to go and see it for themselves. When we got there, it was their last night on the island and we had a chance to share our enjoyment of it with them.

To make the trip better (if that is possible) we had also planned to share the island with a few of our friends, Rodger and Ann. They, in turn, invited Trudy and Doug, who brought along Larry and Lydia. By the time we were done, there were 4 couples on the island who knew each other. That made for pleasant evenings -- we would gather for drinks to watch the sun go down before transitioning to dinner together. It was the right balance of isolation and privacy during the days, with good friends and conversation in the evening.

Of course, all was not perfect on the trip (how could it ever be). Katy banged up her foot and that made it harder for her to get around some. And, as usual, we just can't seem to ever find a flight on American Airlines that is not problematic. Of the 4 flights we had on AA, the results were (in order): overweight/overbooked; delayed; delayed (3+ hours); and canceled. Can't do much "better" than that.

Komi -- 4 Stars

Last night we had our annual dinner with our good friends Dev & Ellen. This year we went to Komi. Komi was rated #1 last year in all of Washington by Washingtonian Magazine and in the Top 10 by Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post.

The love is well deserved. Komi serves a tasting menu with a Greek/Italian influence. Each dish is just a bite or two but every last one of them is a taste sensation. Some are startling, some are subtle. And the kitchen is very accommodating -- they were more than happy to make substitutions for Katy to avoid cheeses and for Dev & Ellen, who aren't mad for raw fish. The only plates with more than a bite or two were the two entrees near the end. Here's a sampling of what we had (out of 15 separate courses):

Hamachi sashimi with a rock salt and a small onion slice
Lobster -- a small bite with garnish
Spanikopita inside out -- with a bread outside and a searing liquid inside
DC half-smoked sausage on a bun with home made mustard -- it tasted NOTHING like Ben's half-smokes.
Dates -- covered in a dash of rock salt
Casarelli -- a small pasta dish with eggplant
Boar and Duck -- the main entrees accompanied by home made tsadziki, eggplant puress and cabbage
Loukoumades -- baby Greek donuts

A special shout out to Kathryn the sommelier for helping with the wines. She didn't try to up sell us at all, but instead brought us two simply perfect bottles of wine: To start a 2008 Verdejo, Martinsancho Rueada from Spain that was perfect for the early lighter fish courses -- just the right level of fruit and sparkle on the tongue. For the entrees she brought a 2001 Merlot, Elena Walch, Alto Adige from Italy. We haven't had many Italian merlots but this one sure hit the mark -- just the right level of depth and tannin to complement the boar and duck without competing.

On the whole, a truly special (albeit pricey) place. If you have never been ... go.

The Day After Christmas

Our grandchildren came over for Christmas dinner last night. We had a wonderful dinner (thank you Katy) of Turkey, stuffing, veggies and the like. Debbie brought along the world-famous Hooshay (which, if you've never had, is just wonderful) and we spent a warm evening in the house in front of the fire opening Xmas presents. I think the hit of the evening was Aaron's new Rock Band 3 for Wii.

The kids spend the evening in a sleepover. This morning, Paul got up early and went to the gym with grandson Kyle, whose only wish on his 1oth birthday was, oddly enough, to go with grandpa to the gym and work out. Who knew? And who could say no?

After a breakfast of eggs and pancakes we went down to the National Botanical Garden. There is nothing like going into the jungle in the midst of a coming snow storm. And the place was packed! Everyone had come to see the trains and the orchids. As you can see the family had a good time.

The King's Speech -- 31/2 Stars

We aren't big movie goers and even when we do watch movies we tend to do so from the quiet of our own home. But we had heard such buzz about "The King's Speech" that we had to go and see for ourselves.

The buzz was right. This is simply an engaging, entertaining, enjoyable movie. It is amazing what good actors can do with good material, especially when the story isn't written to pander but rather to uplift. Colin Firth does a great job as King George VI -- he stammers in a way that makes you believe in the stammer; he isn't just an actor acting the part of the speech impediment. And Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist does a great job of conveying the quiet pride of a person who knows what his job is and can do it -- no matter who the patient is. We also thought Helena Bonham Carter was great, in a restrained portrayal of the King's wife who supports him. It's quite a different take from her Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series. [In fact, for Potter fans this movies was quite a reunion: Dumbledore plays Firth's father, King George V; and remarkably enough Wormtail plays Winston Churchill!!]

The producers have this movie on a limited engagement release -- no doubt trying to create a buzz for the Oscars. So it might not be available everywhere. But when it does come to you, see it -- we won't be surprise if it wins several awards for acting, screenplay, direction and best picture. It really is that good.

The Pageant of Peace

We went down to the Mall last night to listen to our grandson, Josh, sing in the Pageant of Peace. His school, Mayfield, was invited to present a medley of Xmas songs. In the professional opinion of his grandparents, Josh was magnificent, naturally. Along the way, we took this photo of the National Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays!