Vlad's Suggestions

I have begun compiling a list of recommendation from a colleague of mine. This will be a random list of items, from movies to books to foods to wine. There will be no order, nor rhyme nor reasons to this list just a list. Moving forward this list will be referred to as, "Vlad's Suggestions".

I will update this list as new recommendation come in, so return frequently because you don't want to miss a thing -

**** Items highlighted in green have been tried, completed, read etc

*** Update, June 9, 2006 - This just in...Vlad has refused to provide additional recommendations UNTIL I have acted upon, at least, one of his suggestions below. I was simply asking him for a nice wine recommendation and WHAM he hits me with this ultimatum. Arguably I agreed with him, so off to the book store I go to pick up "The Name of the Rose", afterall I refuse to eat Duck Liver Pate...

*** Update, June 13, 2006 - Well I made it to the book store Friday night and picked up two books - "The Loved One" and "The Name of the Rose". I hope to begin reading The Loved One soon.

*** Update, June 23, 2006 - Tried Gazpacho at lunch today - it's not too bad. I am not a big fan of vegatables in general, therefore since Gazpacho is made from fresh vegetables I didn't enjoy completely. However, the juice was tasty and reminded me of what my mother would call "butta butta", which I believe is Greek for dipping.

*** Update, June 24, 2006 - When Vlad and I made our WholeFood run on Friday to pickup the Gazpacho, I also picked up two Iggy's bagels - one plain and one multigrain. I had the multigrain one this morning toasted with butter - very, very good and tasty bagel! Typically bagels with toping almost alway loose their toping in the process of slicing toasting and buttering but this bagel held onto the majority of it topings.

*** Update, June 25, 2006 - Purchased a six-pack of "Old Speckled Hen" ale today and gave one a try - I enjoyed it, However, very expensive, as I paid $8.50ish for a six-pack...

*** Update, July 3, 2006 - At Vlad's request the "Cîroc® Vodka" needs to be removed from his list of recommendations below. Although this vodka came highly rated by Vlad origionally it has tumbled and it no longer a favorite. Too fruity a taste, which is too overwhelming when consuming this vodka in the quantities that Vlad drinks.

*** Update, July 20, 2006 - Today I tried Salmon caviar. It was meticulously prepared by Vlad himself on a piece of dark bread with plenty of butter. However, there's a bit of a discrepency with this 'tasting'. Apparently, Vlad doesn't believe it was a true tasting because there was "not enough quantity"...go figure.

*** Update, July 31, 2006 - We purchased from eBay, "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask". We just have to find the time to watch it...it's on the 'list'!

**** Movies ****

1. Woody Allen film - "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask" - starring: Woody Allen, Tony Randall, Lynn Redgrave, Gene Wilder & Burt Reynolds
2. Black Cat White Cat (1999) - starring: Bajram Severdzan and Srdjan Todo

**** Foods ****

1. Iggy's Bagel - "Iggy's Bread of the World" is at 130 Fawcett St., Cambridge, 617-491-7600. Iggy's bagels are sold at many Whole Foods Markets
2. Duck Liver Pate with Truffels...I'll be passing on this one, YUK!
3. Avocado - Cut in half, add salt, use spoon to scoop and eat.
4. Gazpacho - A Spanish-style soup that resembles a sort of chunky liquid salad, with lots of fresh, uncooked vegetables suspended in a broth of pureed tomatoes or tomato juice and chicken stock.
5. Pelmini - Are a national Eastern European (mainly Russian) dish - usually made with minced meat filling, wrapped in thin dough (made out of flour and eggs, sometimes with milk or water added). Pork, lamb, beef or any other kind of meat can be used as a filling and mixing several kinds is popular. Pelmeni belong to the family of dumplings.
6. Caviar (Salmon) - Caviar

**** Wine/Beer/Liquor ****

1. Old Speckled Hen - A most gratifying Ale.
2. Cîroc® -Vodka distilled from fine French grapes.
3. Matua Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - A distinctive and aromatic Marlborough sauvignon blanc, delivering bright and lively gooseberry and passionfruit characters with a hint of lime. Produced by Matua Valley Wines in West Auckland, New Zealand.

**** Books/Readings/Author's ****

1. Haiku
2. Evelyn Waugh - "The Loved One", "A Handful of Dust", "Put Our More Flags"
3. Umberto Eco - "Granita", "Misreadings", "The Name of The Rose"
4. Vladimir Nabokov - "Lolita
5. Gabriel García Márquez - "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
6. Paulo Coelho's
7. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada - "Bhagavad Gita"
8. Charles Bukowski - "The Most Beautiful Woman in Town and other short stories"

**** Miscellaneous ****

1. Netflix - Netflix link
2. Google Earth - Google Earth link
3. FAST LANE - The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's Electronic Toll Collection Program. FAST LANE is also operational anywhere E-ZPass is accepted.