Brian L. Colbert

Archive for the ‘personal’ Category

On Thursday Nihal and I went to dinner at Commis and it was simply fantastic.

It was the best meal that I’ve had in the Bay Area and one of best anywhere.

My expectations were high and Commis somehow managed to exceed them.  Commis is in Oaktown, so it was a bit of a journey.  A quick jaunt from Nob Hill to grab BART in downtown SF, a 15 minute BART trip under the Bay, a 10 minute ride on the Oakland bus system (of which 5 minutes were spent stuck in traffic) and then a quick two minute walk after exiting the bus.

There is no name on the outside of Commis, just a white awning and some frosted windows facing Blockbuster (are they still in business) across the street.

Let’s get right too it, t the three course prix fixe, amuse bouche and palate cleanser were  simply divine.

Special kudos  to Scott our server and Sarah, the sommelier.  Both of them the made us feel as if we  had stepped into a restaurant in which we are long time regulars.   They sensed our needs before we knew them ourselves  and patiently, even humorously answered all of our questions.  Thanks Scott and Sarah

We lead off with a fresh Jasmine-Hibiscus soda, a shot of frothy goodness that had been plucked straight from the banks of the Nile and delivered immediately to our table.

The amuse bouche was a 1 1/2 hour  poached egged nestled in an onion soup topped steel cut oats, dates and arugula.

The first two courses were  local halibut tartare with pickled radishes and some kind crazy “ginger snow.”   I won’t even try to describe “ginger snow,” but that’s what it tasted like.  Nihal opted for a leek soup with chanterelle mushrooms and some kind of off-the-wall-ham.  Both were off the proverbial hook.

The two second course dishes duck and lamb.  The duck had been done for 12 hours, was accompanied by (can’t read my notes) and was perfection.

The lamb matched duck.  Nothing more to say.  I was too busy enjoying the experience to take diligent notes.

Dessert was a chocolate ganache cake with vanilla bean  ice cream.  I finished this feast with panna cotta topped with a beet-blood  orange sorbet.

Did I mention the wine pairings?  I’m not a drinker, but a well-done wine pairing does really accentuate and complement a meal.  All of the wine pairings were excellent, but the final wine, a Tintero paired with the panna cotta was like dancing a tango somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn.

In no way does this post do justice to the meal.

I have already made a reservation to return to Commis next month.

I celebrated the New (Lunar) Year with lunch at Spruce.  , I had some sort of shredded pork fazzoletti and Nihal had Spruce’s version of a Waldorf salad.  Both were excellent.  The meal was topped off with house Beignets with Araguani Chocolate Sauce and creme anglaise, which were scrumptous, truly outstanding.  The service was just a tad off, it seemed like the staff was a wee bit distracted, but it did not distract from the meal.  A great way to celebrate President’s Day.

Have you checked out SavantMD.com lately, there’s fresh wellness tips Monday through Friday.  Follow SavantMD on twitter, so you never miss a health and wellness tip.  SavantMD’s Wellness tips on now on Asianweek.com.

Last night was CALICO’s monthly board meeting. I’m now co-chair of our fundraising committe.  If you’re looking get involved with an organization that making a difference in the lives of children that need help, drop me line.  There’s a number of ways to get involved with CALICO and I’m happy to discuss them.

Don’t forget — CALICO’s annual gals is April 24th.  Want do sponsor or attend?

The best thing about having buddies that are entrepreneurs is that you can swap stories and get honest feedback to difficulties.    I think that Twain said something like “History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.”  Or he’s get the credit for it.  But I think that’s true.  Every situation is  unique, but the challenges are similar: how to scale up, how to find to good people that are going to bring value.  And the insight that comes from truthful conversation can sometimes lead to useful and actionable answers.

CALICO, was in full force at The Boardmatch 2010 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco last night.

The Boardmatch is a job-fair style event featuring Bay Area nonprofits whose leadership was on hand to talk to interested candidates about serving on their organization’s board of directors.  It was great!!  CALICO’s contingent was led by the BDC (Board Development Committee), which is led by me, your tireless and intrepid reporter.  The entire BDC battalion was there, Gloria, Holly and Patricia.  Joining in the cause was Vicky, CALICO’s Executive Director and Mark (a fellow board member).  It was great opportunity to talk about CALICO’s mission in a relaxed setting.  We met some really exciting candidates and are  looking forward to following up with them in the near future.

If you are interested in getting involved with CALICO, as a possible board member, sponsoring our Spring Gala or just volunteering,  get in touch with CALICO or drop me a line; these kids need everybody’s help.

• Bill Belechick is a liberal-arts major from Wesleyan, and I’ve always had a certain appreciation for his coaching skills, but the Patriots got killed today.   And I went to Oberlin, not Wesleyan.
• Played around with some AV equipment to see if I can embark on a video blogging project.    The Oscars await.
• The most precious commodity an entrepreneur has is time.  If people haven’t started a business,they tend not get the idea.

Came back to the apartment to find the third notice in the last two months from the San Francisco Housing Department taped to the wall next to the door.  Not entirely clear what’s going to happen but I read the words “public nuisance” and “unsafe.”  Not sure about the possible outcome, but it seems there is more than a slight possibility that I’ll be homeless in the very near future.

Watched the Wrestler the other night.  I’ve always had a soft spot for Mickey Rourke, every since the days of Barfly and Johnny Handsome (with Ellen Barkin).   The wrestler was ok, Rourke’s performance was certainly watchable, but the plot was sooo predictable.  If you ever watched “professional” wrestling as a kid, or still do, you’ll enjoy the backstage antics.

Did anyone pickup the flyer that was distributed on Muni buses today.  The transport workers union distributed it in response to the charges that Muni worker were receiving bonuses.  I was not persuaded by the union’s position, but it was interesting that it chose to pass out flyers selected bus routes.

I’m not a big ice cream (other than red bean), but I the eggnog ice at the original Swensens here in San Francisco.

Been busy lately.

Wrote up a contract last week which was mentally challenging and fulfilling  at the same time.

Had a great San Francisco Weekend.  Grabbed some food at the  Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday and then went back for an early dinner at Slanted Door.  Finished up the evening at the Top of the Mark, which has really great views.  Unfortunately the sound system was bad so it felt like my ears where going to explode every five minutes.

Sunday was spent out in Napa, a quick stop in Tiburon to visit, lunch at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher and then wandering back to SF, hitting some wineries along the way.

Monday was back to the grind, capped off by a great meal at Lark Creek Steak House.  The pork chop was great, but their biscuits are simply transcendent.

On Wednesday, around midday I was heading on BART over to the East Bay to check out this month’s Infusion.  I entered BART at the Civic Center stop, which is a loooong football throw from City Hall in beautiful San Francisco.

As I sat in the middle of the platform reading Holman Jenkin’s  column on the “Backdating Molehill.”  a couple (of sorts) sauntered past me.  They were either having relationship issues or he was a potential stalker.  Turns out it was a latter.  About five minutes later, I saw the young man shouting loudly at another man at another BART.  They were about 10 feet away from me and the young man was screaming, “Don’t try to run up on me.”  I was unfamiliar with the phrase, “run up on me,” but I quickly deduced that that young hoodlum, hooligan, ruffian, man thought that the other guy was trying to pick him up. It was also clear that that young man was completely out of his mind.  After a few minutes of shouting he began to madly flail and hit the other guy, screaming, “Don’t try to run up on me,” the entire time.

As I sat there, I wondered if I was watching a bizarre reenactment of Dan’s rather’s surreal, “What’s the frequency Kenneth,” experience.  As I sat humming they lyrics to,” What’s the Frequecy Kenneth by REM, a less contemplative BART passenger defused the situation.

Then to my surprise the man approached me, wildly gesticulating and screaming, “did you see him try to run up on me.  Taken aback, I relied up the time worn strategy of a warrior born in Fairfield County, CT … I hid behind my Wall Street Journal!!

And it worked.   It must have been the editorial page that scared him off.  Somewhere Robert Bartley is smiling.