Dinner at Bouchon

I had the pleasure of enjoying a meal at Thomas Keller's restaurant Bouchon in Las Vegas on Saturday. The dining experience was truly a pleasure as I was joined by my beautiful fiancee Denny and her son Nick. I have been t0 Bouchon for lunch two years ago and by chance got a dinner reservation for an early dinner. Let me say.....wonderful, flavorful and sublime!

Marinated olives and wonderful bread to start. The service was excellent and the patio on a perfect night added to the experience. Every detail was attended to even down to the water and butter. I had Snake River Pork Lon with a Pear Emulsion. The sauce was the star of the meal and made the beans and pork beyond words. Denny had French Onion soup and I being a bit turned off by onion, loved the soup. Perfect presentation and flavor. Denny and Nick had the Steak frittes and the fries were fried to perfection in peanut oil. The crunch and the texture were unmatched. The steak was tender and flavorful. Few time has food and company combined for such a good evening.

The dessert menu was a no lose proposition. I wanted the Lemon Tart. Denny had Creme Brulee and Nick had three brownies with salted caramel ice cream with toffee. May I say I was not disappointed at all. If you go to Bouchon, skip the salad and wait for dessert. The texture of the creme brulee was perfect! Nothing I have had in the past touches the flavor and texture of the creme. I will return to the Venetian as it is a beautiful hotel. But I will truly long for a return to Bouchon and the best meal I have had in many, many months. Good work Thomas Keller! Your vision and creative approach to food made from scratch did not disappoint. It was incredible!

Parents and Children

I work all day with children. As a Pediatric Dentist I meet all kind of children and parents. Some kids are little and some are much larger than I am. Some scream and others are calm and stoic. I take each patient encounter as a new challenge and seek to stay out of judgement. Honestly, I seldom look at my own parenting and wonder what will become of my own kids. Brian and Amy are good kids and I have had few problems with them. The highlight of my life was the birth process and the love that grew as infants for them that has not died down. If I had to grade my parenting I would probably not be very happy. I have made many efforts that were a stretch and seem truly selfless for them. I am nowhere near perfect! I smile when I see photos of them in the waves in Maui, the grand canal in Venice or in New York City. They are my legacy and I wish them well in their journey. I love them.

I found this piece about parenting and thought I would share it.

" If I had my Child to Raise Over Again"- by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise over again,

I would finger paint more and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting,

and more connecting.

I would take my eye off my watch,

and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less,

and know to care more.

I would take more hikes,

and fly more kites.

I would stop playing serious,

and seriously play.

I would run through more fields,

and gaze at more stars.

I would do more hugging,

and far less tugging.

I would be firm less often,

and affirm much more.

I would build self-esteem first,

and build on the house later.

I would teach less about the love of power,

and teach more about the power of love.

My kids are a definite work in progress. I can look at them now and guide them when they let me. As adults I must allow them to think for themselves. My influence is limited by school and popularity. I am very comfortable in my place right now. I look at the little ones in my life daily and more often than not, I silently pray for them to have calm and peace. Some have little chance-based on the social situation alone. After 17 years of seeing kids grow and parents live their lives, the great thing is the number of times I have been happily suprised to see children succeed beyond my dreams. The sweetness of success is a constant reminder that the power of the mind is endless. Never stop believing that good things can occur. That concept that great people can come from all circumstances is the best part of my job!

My Frustration with the World

As I watch the daily news, some ideas are never adequately addressed and must be on every thinking persons mind. I honestly do not know which biased news organization to believe. I know why the press is stepping carefully, there are some items that nobody wants to talk about. They don't want political or religious retribution.

I know one thing for sure. We need to get out of Afghanistan! It is not a winnable conflict and unless we are willing to go to lengths that the Russians and British would not go, we should stop. What do we do with the hellhole and it's stone age inhabitants with a victory anyway?Bring the troops home and stop spending billions of dollars on this conflict. The people of Afghanistan can fight each other. The Taliban can move on and they can work out their problems. The smart Afghanis left the country years ago. In fact the whole Islamic world can continue to be a Wasps nest of fanaticism and chaos. We can come home and let us take care of ourselves and reward quality citizens and countries that seek peace. Why bomb Libya? Why not cross over into Pakistan and do some real damage? Why, why, why?

Fundamental Islam is spreading. Islam is THE problem of the century! If you take away the internet, the news channels, and oil- they fall back to primitive and uneducated followers of a violent political idealogy/religion. Why are they the only religion blowing stuff up- over and over and over. If some Catholics of Baptists even blew up one bus or flew one plane into a building the world would be shocked. The fact is nearly all killing in the name of "God" is from Islam. IF you want to see the scorecard loop up the website titled "The Religion of Peace". I am not saying all Islamic people are wicked. If you support honor killing, you are just screwed in the head! Most people want all of the same things- peace, shelter, family and love. The recipe for fundamentalism however is present and any discouraged person can take a one way trip to paradise. And take several innocent people with them. Seventy-two virgins? Really?

The treatment of women in this world still amazes me as well. Why do so many see women as second class? Women are wonderful and deserve the same rights for being human as any man. I wonder how this planet would be if the women ruled and men worked to make the whole planet better. I think we all need to act locally at improving the planet. When we tell our children that one religion is the ONLY truth and we cannot take criticism. We are set up to have fanatical behavior. My definition of a fanatic is a person who doubles their speed when they do not know where they are going.

The world cannot accept calculated wasting of human lives. Read the book entitled "Murder City" by Charles Bowden. It will blow your mind and you will see how twisted the "truth" can become. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico murder and silent terror is the only way of life. It is truly tragic when killing and death fog the streets of once a large and wonderful city. Corruption is on all sides and truth becomes the first major casualty of war. We hear the news and it is always biased, whether Fox or CNN- one has to sort out the nuggets of reality and see if we can believe it. We need to be educated and understand that our world is changing and changing fast. Sharia law cannot be allowed to dictate the behavior of a subset of Islamic Americans. It doesn't work and if you don't like it go home. Go back to your" hard to find a book and an air conditioner" place you came from and then look objectively at America. Our constitution is hanging and really stretched. It becomes a problem when a religion becomes a powerful and deceitful political party. The US constitution must be defended and supported. If one portion changes for Islam, what else changes?

Seek peace in your own world, within your own homes. There is a time to take a stand and I am at that point and well beyond. I want change! I want congressional term limits and I want my fellow soldiers home! I look forward to a time when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Chr"ist is Lord and Savior. I also know there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in "Craplakistan and in the rest of the Islamic world. Islam is the major problem on planet earth. Just ask the Japanese how much looting they had after the earthquake- zero! They respect themselves and their countrymen. Islamic persons would steal the place blind. Tell me I am lying! Take a look and live. Stop blowing people up! In fact stop the threats-grow up!