New Orleans

In a week I'll be off to New Orleans for the American Library Association conference. I've never been to Louisiana, let alone New Orleans, so I'm pretty excited...though I'm fairly nervous about the June weather there. Have you seen my curly hair?!  But I've got scarves ready to go, and I'm taking a bunch of up-do ideas with me, courtesy of Joanna Goddard of A Cup of Jo.

I also have some dinners planned that are work-related, committee entertaining and the like.  I made reservations for Galatoire's and The Palace Cafe, though I actually won't be attending the dinners.  I will, however, be able to attend a dinner at Bayona, and I can't wait!  We're going to try to hit up Cafe du Monde, of course: BEIGNETS!

The timing is perfect then for Alice Q. Foodie to be posting about New Orleans!  Check out her posts here and here.  Her photos are getting me so excited for the trip - check out the photos from the crawfish festival!!!

Amazing photo courtesy of Alice Q. Foodie

I do have one night free and I'll be going out with some colleagues.  When we do get a chance to be free from authors and guests, we tend to try to get to local places, if we can, and something very relaxed (since these are usually the only opportunities we have to get out of our business attire).  Those of you who have been to New Orleans, do you have any suggestions for something relatively close to the convention center that's relaxed with a local flair?  I know we'll be right in the French Quarter and, thus, probably in tourist hell...but there's got to be something, right?  Let me know!

Eat, drink, and hope this

California Food Love

I'm back from ALA Midwinter and so thrilled - I feel like the holidays and this conference have taken away so much of my free time.  I'm so ready to enjoy some food and time with my family!

I did have a truly awesome food moment at the conference: Liz Burns who blogs at A Chair, A Fireplace, and A Tea Cozy and Angie Manfredi (who blogs at Fat Girl Reading) stopped by the booth and told me they were going to In-N-Out, the greatest  fast food burger joint ever (as far as I'm concerned).  The California Girl in me oohed and aahed, and Liz and Angie were so affected by my food geekdom that they offered to bring some back for me.  One $40 round-trip taxi ride to In-N-Out later, and here is me gushing over my animal-style cheeseburger and cheese fries:

Amazing.  An absolute highlight for me.  It reassured me that, even though I live across the country, the things I love about home are still within reach.

Eat, drink, and get by with a little help from my friends (thanks, Liz and Angie!)

Home

Come Wednesday, I'll be flying to San Diego for the ALA Midwinter Meeting, and I'm trying really hard not to be bitter about the fact that I was just in California five days ago to visit my family*.  I can hardly believe I'm heading back to the West Coast again.  Which is one reason why this New Year's weekend has been so important to me: I have such a strong sense of homebody-ness.  I have spent the last three days really hunkering down and enjoying my own little home here in NYC, spending time with Adam and Bug.

The craziness aside, it is during weeks like this when menu planning becomes even more of a priority to me.  It's more than food - it also assures me that Adam and Bug will eat well in my absence and that there is a certain amount of order in a chaotic world.  I mean, when the going gets tough, the tough eat good food, right?:

 Monday: Oatmeal with Apples, Brioche Toast.  Breakfast for dinner?  Absolutely.  This recipe is one of my favorites from French Women Don't Get Fat - the apples make it even heartier and more fulfilling, not to mention that they lend a brightness to the oatmeal.  I'm stressed and tired before a conference...yet this makes me feel like I've still provided a comforting, satisfying meal to myself and my family.

Tuesday: Creamy Parmesan Polenta with Brussels Sprouts.  I use Ina Garten's new recipe for the polenta and Nigel Slater's uber-easy recipe for the Brussels sprouts.  This dinner will truly take me only 30 minutes to put together...but the rewards are endless: it's the culinary equivalent of a working brick fireplace in my apartment.

Wednesday: Nachos.  Guess who is now in San Diego...  This is Adam and Bug's table now.  Chips, cheese, black beans, olives, salsa, sour cream.  Naturally, everything is organic-y.

Thursday: Grilled Prosciutto and Cheese.  Again, I'm gone.  I added prosciutto to make it resemble something delicious and uptown.  Does it help that they'll be making the sandwiches with Comte and Fontina?

Friday: I leave them to their own devices.  It's either Breakfast (eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast) or they'll go out.  I'll be busy stacking up books in the booth, waiting for the two hours of madness that is the conference's "opening reception".

The comfort food theme began tonight with Cabbage and Straw, one of my favorite winter pasta meals.  It comes from Rachael Ray's magazine, in which she says "I cannot successfully transition from summer to fall without eating this Italian classic".  But don't listen to her.  This is too hearty to be a summer/fall transitional dish - it's winter through and through.

CABBAGE AND STRAW
Adapted from Rachael Ray


2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
9 oz. fresh fettuccine or pappardelle pasta (not dried)
1/2 large head Savoy cabbage - quartered, cored, and shredded
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves - smashed, skins removed, cloves quartered
20 fresh sage leaves, 10 whole and 10 thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it.  Add the potatoes and cook for 7 minutes.  Add the cabbage to the same pot and cook for 3 minutes.  Add pasta and cook for 2 minutes (fresh pasta needs to be cooked for much less time than dried, which is why I altered Ray's recipe).

While the potatoes and pasta are cooking, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet (I used non-stick) over medium heat.  Add the garlic and whole sage leaves.  Cook until the sage is crisp, 3-4 minutes.  Remove the garlic and sage leaves to a small plate.


Add the sliced sage and pepper to the skillet; just before draining the potatoes, pasta, and cabbage, add 2 ladles of the starchy cooking water.


Drain the potatoes, pasta, and cabbage and add to the skillet.  Stir it all together, adding the Parmesan as you work to get a cheesy, buttery coating.  Adjust the salt and garnish the pasta with the reserved whole sage leaves and garlic.


I drank a cheap but satisfying wine with it - Odfjell Babor Cabernet Sauvignon - and Adam really liked his Brooklyn Brewery Winter Lager pairing.

My point is that, even when you have no time, even when you're not home, planning balanced and satisfying meals is entirely possible.

Eat, drink, and make good food a priority.

* Oh, how I wish that I could have stayed there and just worked from my parents' house! 

Nonexistent Balance

The work-life balance has been a bit, um, unbalanced lately. Between leaving for ALA tomorrow and a flu-ridden sick kid, I'm being pulled a bajillion directions and feeling like nothing is ever going to get done. And certainly won't get done to the standards to which I hold myself and my performance.

But I'm sitting at home today, working from home, and just made myself a snack/lunch. I had buffalo mozzarella in the fridge, some crackers, and a half-drunk bottle of rose. I sprinkled the mozzarella with salt and pepper, grated some lemon zest over it, and drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the top. For the finishing touch, I cut basil from my balcony herb garden and julienned it. Here are the results:


So I once had someone ask me to put into words why I love food so much. Well, this is why. In the midst of insanity comes simplicity and nourishment. No matter what goes down at ALA (there's a certain author/illustrator I'm FREAKING out about!), I can still come home to this. Food gives me the balance that work and family certainly don't allow and forces me to take a moment for myself.

Eat, drink, and seek out meaningful experiences to you.

Weird Weekend

Like the post title says, it was a weird weekend. First, it was Saturday at NY Brewfest on Governor's Island (Kelso of Brooklyn was very good and Keegan's Mother's Milk was by far the best I tried) .
But we weren't fans of the event and probably wouldn't go again. The pictures from the ferry to the island were the best part. The company was great - me, Adam, our friend Josh (my friend-in-food, particularly the inspiration for Bacon Fest), and his friend Justin - but the thousands of other people at the Brewfest? Not so cool. Even in one of the best foodie cities in the world, you still get jerks that just want to slam beers and get drunk. Ugh.

Then Adam and I had squash blossoms on Sunday night that were unreal:

If you tell me that this is all namby-pamby fancy food, I'll dispute it 'til I'm red in the face. This was So Easy. First you mix fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary), salt, and pepper into ricotta. Then you stuff it into squash blossoms. Where does one find such fancy food? Either at your local farmers' market or, in this case, from Fresh Direct. Stuff the blossoms with the ricotta. Dredge in beaten eggs. Roll around in panko crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs. You could also use finely ground cornmeal or even regular bread crumbs). I seasoned my panko with lots of salt and pepper. Fry in vegetable oil until browned. Out of this world, melt in your mouth goodness. And paired with a flute of cava (or prosecco or Champagne)? Even better.

But we enjoyed it while Bug was in bed with a 103 fever. Weird, right?

Add to all this that I'm leaving for ALA in tomorrow. Even weirder.

So you'll probably get radio silence from me for awhile. I'm back from ALA for one day and then off to Hawaii and Oregon for two weeks after that. I'd love to blog from there...but I make no promises.

Eat, drink, and cheers to the end of the tunnel that is ALA...

IRA 2010 recap

As mentioned earlier, IRA was my second conference in April. TLA for a week...home for a week...then Chicago for a week. I know, it's a hard job but someone has to do it.

Chicago tortured me...as I shared here. I can't wait to go back.

And that was just the beginning. Here are the highlights:

• For heaven's sake, Seymour Simon and his wife, Liz. They will be the highlight at any event I attend where they are present so get used to hearing their names. I'm going to cap myself here because I could write my entire post about how much I adore them. But Seymour was on Facebook saying that they wanted to adopt me and Liz and I shared garlic and truffle infused ice cream at Bistro 110 together...I mean, helloooo. Enough said, right? By the way, the ice cream was sick. As in, good. But Seymour would have told you that. Because he's way more tech-savvy and hip than I'll ever be.
• Seeing Monica again. I'd think she was stalking me, except that she's so sweet and so wonderful and I love seeing her. Again, I never think you guys are actually going to say "hi" when we're in the booth together, but that is two conferences that I've seen Monica and her presence has become totally grounding. Thanks for stopping by!
• Going to Publican. Guys, it's RIDONKULOUSLY loud in that place. And the chairs are hideous. And to be quite frank, I wouldn't host a publisher-type dinner there again. But somehow it came together this instance, sort of. Henry Cole and our assistant got into an in-depth discussion of all things Marilyn Monroe. Which got us - Henry, Stephanie, Neal Shusterman, and me - into the Hepburns...and Cary Grant...and All About Eve. And all these people just got how much I love these classics. I was in heaven. The location wasn't ideal for a dinner with 10 people...and yet...it came together and I still soaked in the fabulous conversations.
• Getting On Meadowview Street signed by Henry Cole. I've been a fan of Henry's for years...in my previous life as a librarian. I sat across from him at dinner and apologized before reciting Why Do Kittens Purr? to him. I know the whole damn book by heart. And the illustrations? Swoooon. And here is a little known secret: in my new job, I rarely remember to have an author and/or illustrator sign a book for me. I'm usually too busy with Post-its, line management, etc. to remember my own geeked up fandom (i.e. Ryan Smithson at TLA - I can't believe I didn't have him sign a book for me!). But I remembered with Henry and I'm entirely grateful to him.
• Frontera Grill. Okay, so here's a disclaimer: we did Frontera Grill the last night of the conference so...to say that we were tired was an understatement. And yet...and yet...Dina (my predecessor) says to me in a hushed whisper, "Laura! Laura! Is that Rick Bayless?!?!" Yes, everyone. I'm here to confirm that it was. And I lost my cool. All my professionalism. Rick-friggin-Bayless!!!!! And, ladies, he looked gooood. That was enough for me. Especially seeing as he had a man near him who was warding off the fan boys and girls...like me. Sure, I could have used my feminine wiles to get close but, seeing as he was already dining with a beautiful silver-haired older woman, I had no chance. I mean, it was the last day of the conference! I was not at my best, looks-wise...

April kicked my arse...but DAMN I had a good time. So a huge thank you to Chicago and San Antonio...and PLEASE keep stopping by the booth to say hi - I love chatting with all of you and I hope you're not alarmed by the hugs and happy dances!

Eat, drink, and look forward to ALA...

ALA Midwinter highlights

It can be officially declared that I don't think I'll ever have time to blog at a conference, and I probably won't have time to tweet either. It's just too crazy. So I hope to make this a feature instead: highlights from the conference. I won't cover everything that happened, of course, but I'll share with you the best bits for me. As a reminder, I did this for NCTE as well.

So here are the particularly special things that happened at Midwinter:

• Meeting so many special authors. Linda Urban wandered into our booth and, being a huge fan of Crooked Kind of Perfect, I was able to gush and slobber all over her. I'm sure it wasn't as good for her as it was for me, but I loved seeing her. Loree Griffin Burns, author of Tracking Trash, was with Linda and they were both incredibly sweet and gracious, given that they were dealing with a crazy fangirl. I also met Stuart Murphy rather spontaneously and, as a librarian, I always found his books invaluable because they filled such a particular niche. Holly Cupala also stopped by the booth, as Harper is publishing her upcoming book Tell Me a Secret. She is a sweetheart with a smile that'll stop traffic (who also turned me on to Sock Dreams).
• Eating at Hamersley's Bistro. They had a crispy duck confit that stopped me dead. Perfect in every way. Kayleigh had the roast chicken and believe me when I assure you that it was in no way ordinary or plain. In fact, I never knew chicken could melt in your mouth. And I mean that in the best way possible.
• Eating (always food, right?) at Taberna de Haro. The food was pretty good, but the dessert...well, I had an intimate experience with the dessert. The server put the plate on the table with three small truffles and some small pieces of grilled bread. He sprinkled a generous amount of sea salt on the truffles, followed by a good shake of cocoa powder, and then poured olive oil over all of it. The olive oil and chocolate became this decadently goopy syrup and we used the bread to mop it up. The truffles were super dark and, combined with the salt, were small pieces of ecstasy. It was a once-in-a-lifetime dessert.
• The ALA Youth Media Awards. Even though it's a bit different now that I'm working for a publisher (I have a team to root for now!), I still experienced the same thrill and excitement as before. And I loved the Printz announcement - the room was in an uproar as there was one surprise after another. They shook it up big time, and thank goodness for that. It was a hoot.
• The ALA Tweet-Up. It was insane, just insane, but it was also a great chance for me to hook up with old friends (Liz, Heather, and Jen) and meet some new ones (Laura and Melissa Rabey).
• The Seaport Hotel. Need a place to stay in Boston that, frankly, is not terribly near convenient stuff? Stay here. The decor in the room wasn't anything spectacular, but the staff was super nice and there were all kinds of cute amenities: terrycloth robes, a "pillow library", an umbrella in the closet, and a black washcloth labeled "makeup" on the toiletries shelf. And the quality of the room service food was very good. And the "tip is already included" policy was awfully nice as well.
• I got a kick out of this: Saturday's top tweets as chosen by Library Journal. And here are Sunday's as well.

I have no complaints about this conference at all, though I do have to ask what the heck is up with Bostonian cabbies - they're infinitely more shady than the NYC variety. Wow.

Eat, drink, and finally get some sleep.

2010 ALA Midwinter Conference

Patty, my boss, warned me that the Midwinter conference would come screaming around the corner after NCTE, and she wasn't lyin'. My second conference since joining Harper is coming up this week, and I'm fired up. For one thing, ALA folks are my peeps, my friends. Second, having one conference under my belt, I have a better idea of what to expect when I get to the convention center (clue: endless boxes...go armed with a box cutter).

Here are some more reasons I'm excited to get up to Boston:

• Three words: Megan. Whalen. Turner. As you may know, her next book, Conspiracy of Kings, is coming out this year (Apr 2010). While we're not having her sign in our booth, she will be doing a signing at Harvard Bookstore on Saturday, January 16th at 12:00 pm. See more details at Megan's website.


• Foodie field trip! I'm going to score some sticky buns from Flour Bakery with Kayleigh (The Roaring 20s) on Friday morning!


• The fab ladies of the HarperCollins Children's school & library marketing team (that would be Patty, Emilie, and yours truly) will be presenting titles for our upcoming 2010 spring and summer season. There will be food, there will be laughs, there will be FREE BOOKS. See our website for the full details. All are welcome, no need to RSVP. Be there or be square.


• I love the Youth Media Awards. Love them. The anticipation, the surprises, the cheering, the crowds. I'll be there in person, but you can watch the live webcast here.


• In addition to Flour Bakery, I'll also be eating at Hamersley's Bistro and, tentatively, Taberna de Haro. Anyone else have any must-eat recommendations in the downtown Boston area?

Again, if you're in the Boston area and/or will be at the conference, make sure to stop by and say hi (just like Monica did at NCTE)! I'll be in booth #1404, waiting for you with a smile and free books!

Eat, drink, and don't be shy!

Rolling the dice

I have officially thrown my name in the hat for the 2012 Caldecott Committee.

Here's hoping!

Going to Denver anytime soon?

I've been meaning to do this since ALA Midwinter Conference but I just kept putting it off...

While I was in Denver in January for the conference, I found myself with some unexpected free time on Tuesday.  Most of my colleagues had started home by that point and all my meetings were finished.  So all you book people will know where I headed: Tattered Cover book store , of course!  It was every bit as lovely as I had expected - dark wood, lots of hushed intellectual conversation, nice people, plush seating.  After a couple of hours of perusal, I purchased a few books: Real Food Fast by Nigel Slater, Cooking from the Heart of Spain: Food of La Mancha by Janet Mendel, Gallop! by Rufus Butler Seder, and Judy Moody Gets Famous by Megan McDonald.  I'm guessing you can tell which were for me and which were presents for Kiddo.

As I left the store and walked down Wynkoop Street, I saw this symbol on a sign with an arrow pointing down the alleyway: 

Wines off Wynkoop.

I thought to myself, "Why not?"  So I diverted myself down the alley and entered the wine store.  It had a similar feel to Tattered Cover: dark wood, cozy, bright.  I asked the friendly guy behind the counter about their local wine section: "What would you recommend in a red and a white?"  He recommended the Trail Ridge 2006 Gewurztraminer, explaining that he personally didn't go for Gewurztraminer, typically, but the Trail Ridge was milder and more food-friendly than other versions.  

Upon drinking it when I got home, I found his assessment to be spot-on.  It still had that typical crisp sweetness, but it wasn't cloying or over-the-top.  The Colorado version wasn't nearly as showy, which is a compliment.

The red he recommended was the Verso 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Again, like the Gewurztraminer, I felt like this was the wallflower version of a true Cabernet: it was jammy and dark, but not as much as you would expect from a typical Cab.  And this is again a compliment: in an age of so much in-your-faceness, I found this Cabernet's shyness refreshing.

And as if I wasn't already having a fantastic day, I finished that night eating dinner alone at Osteria Marco.  If you find yourself in downtown Denver this is the place to go.  I loved the way that you enter through a modern lobby but, once you take the stairs down, you enter this dark-wooded, cozy atmosphere.  The service was attentive without being hovering, and the food was outstanding.  I finally (!) was able to try burrata (which I had heard so much about from Art & Aioli): Osteria Marco makes their own in-house version, along with all their charcuterie, and it was delectable.  

Here is one thing that happens when you eat alone: you end up sitting in weird nooks and crannies of restaurants.  I should know: I love eating at a restaurant alone so this happens to me quite a bit.  In this case, I ended up sitting near the guy who makes the paninis so I was able to watch him man the presses.  And I learned a ton.  For one thing, he had the heat much lower than I have mine at home because those sandwiches were there for a long time.  He also pressed them down...and down some more...to make them super-thin.  I don't worry that much about mine - I usually throw some weight on top of them and then walk away.  I know now that I shouldn't be so flip about them in the future.  Well, the guy noticed I was watching him intently and I think he told the manager because he eventually came over and chatted it up with me.  I learned about the restaurant and that the manager was planning on opening his own restaurant someday.  And I also got a good laugh when I told the manager I was in Denver for the ALA conference and, showing no restraint, he exclaimed, "But you're under 40!  And thin!"  To be fair, he was apologetic for his outburst - I didn't take it personally - you have to be able to laugh at your profession, right?

Overall, it was such a beautiful, phenomenal day in Denver.  It's been difficult to look back at that time with fond memories, as it makes me miss Kate and Kathy so tremendously, but Denver really was one of my favorite conference experiences to date.  With a special thanks to Kate and Kathy (of course), Patricia, Brenda Bowen , Jenny, my friends at Random House, and Kathy Nuzum.  

Eat, drink, and look forward to the opportunity to visit Denver again.

Sigh of relief

I just found out I got funding to go to ALA Midwinter in Denver - I was really worried I wasn't going to get it with all the economic brouhaha and all.  

Huzzah.  And phew!

So I can now post this:

Eat, drink, and network while doing so!

Slightly OT: mad people, international languages, and kids' empty heads

* Miss Erin once again proves her awesomeness. Squeaky Books interviewed her for their newsletter and, in the interview, Miss Erin lists this as her favorite quote of all time:

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars…" ~Jack Kerouac

That. Is. Awesome. I've never read that quote before; I particularly love "desirous of everything at the same time." That very brief phrase describes me entirely.

* Thanks to my AL Direct email, I have discovered Livemocha where you can take online language courses (free!) and chat with fellow language learners around the world (free!). I signed up for a course in French but I haven't had lots of time to get into it. I'd like to take Spanish too, just to learn some basics to get along. But I'm stoked. This is a great idea!

* Last, from my AL Direct email again, this picture was in the sidebar of the email:

Am I the only one who finds this image deeeeply disturbing????

ALA Annual: First night, stunning food and people

Finally!

As I mentioned before, I resorted to writing blog posts on scraps of paper during ALA. Here is the first post I wrote:

I’m severely jet-lagged – it’s 2 a.m. NYC eastern time, but I had to record tonight’s events…

Here I’ve been reading Gastronomical Me and My Life in France, and I’ve been envying Julia and MFK for their writing skills and travels. They experienced so much of life and food, where it seemed I had done neither. Well, no longer.

A member of my Emerging Leaders group, A__, is a native Hawaiian and lives on Oahu. He invited our group (four of us) over to his suite tonight to work on our poster session. His wife, his wife’s cousin, and his “Hawaiian sister” were there, and they surprised us with what can only be described as a feast. Two kinds of seaweed from the islands that tasted exactly like the ocean: briny, salty, living. Raw crab! Dumplings – some fried, some baked – filled with taro, pork, and all kinds of seasonings I couldn’t identify. Raw onions sprinkled with Hawaiian sea salt made by A__’s relatives. Smoked marlin and dried tuna, caught, dried, and smoked by his family. Limpets, dead and uncooked, in a bowl – they were chewy and tasted like the sea too. He gave us the detailed account of how difficult it is to master the art of getting the limpet detached from the rocks. He told us that he had wanted to prepare a traditional mango dessert but, alas, the agriculture people seized those at the airport. He rattled off the Hawaiian names of everything, rapidly and fluidly, hardly taking a breath.

I was voracious. I couldn’t eat enough. I couldn’t remember the names of anything.

But there’s more. When the feasting was winding down, A__’s wife played the ukulele and sang a Hawaiian song with him. Then his cousin sang a heartbreaking song a cappella about Hawaii’s queen* locked away in her own palace by the white settlers. I was already feeling blessed and overwhelmed…but there was still more! A__ danced a hula while everyone sang a song in Hawaiian, which was apparently all about sex, according to our hosts. A__ kept storytelling throughout, explaining the origin of each song. I felt full, content, satisfied.

Tonight, in a Residence Inn suite, I felt like I saw the Real Hawaii: warm hospitality, full hearts, endless giving, sadness, complicated flavors and emotions, love, community. I’ll never forget it my whole life – the day I flew to Anaheim to experience Hawaii.

Eat, drink, and a warm-hearted mahalo nui loa to A__ and the rest of my Emerging Leaders group for an unforgettable experience.


* I did some research because I couldn’t remember the name of the Queen…however, I came up with a couple names and I don’t want to offend anyone by printing the wrong name here.

California: Reality Check

I’m ecstatic to go back to California*. Really, I can’t express it in words. It’s not that sort of excitement: “Yay! Vacay!” No, it’s more soulful, more guttural. I can live in NYC the rest of my life, but I will always be a “West Coaster”. I will always have that friendly, relaxed, tell-you-everything-about-my-life sort of manner that West Coasters have. This trip to ALA and then to see friends and family will be a cleansing deep breath for my soul.

HOWEVER, I really have a love-hate relationship with California right now. Namely, the car culture there. Keep in mind that one of the Top 3 reasons I moved to NYC was because I didn’t want to drive again…ever (for more on this, check out Justine Larbalestier’s post on Non-Drivers). So I’m not renting a car at ALA. I refuse…because I’m stubborn…and scared. But remember I posted about all the fabu restaurants I was going to try while I was in Anaheim? Well, Google maps tells me that these are the actual distances from my hotel to each restaurant:

Café Casse-Croute: 4.3 miles
Café Contigo: 2.7 miles
Sarkis Pastry : 4.5 miles

Now, I’m certainly not opposed to walking 2.7 miles and back for good food – in fact, I’d welcome the opportunity. However, anyone who has attended any sort of major conference knows that there just isn’t time to do all that. I’ve got meetings and sessions and the exhibit floor and…

Additionally, I’m meeting with my Emerging Leaders group on Thursday night to prepare for our poster session, eat dinner, and drink wine. I volunteered to bring wine. I started searching for wine shops in the area and found some really fantastic possibilities. And then I looked up the distances:

Twisted Vine: 8 miles
Wine Exchange: 6 miles
Italia Wine Imports: 3.8 miles

I’m tempted to just pack a bottle in my suitcase but that could be bad… On principle, it seems ridiculous to pack a bottle from NYC when I should be exploring Anaheim’s local culture. Yeah, it’s CAR culture! So I’m not bringing a bottle with me. Instead, I’ll ask at the front desk of the hotel if there’s a wine/liquor store I can walk to. See what happens. I might be pleasantly surprised. I’m just lucky I discovered all this before I actually started walking to the specific stores and restaurants. That would have been bad and I most likely would have cried. And I would have received multiple blisters on my feet as a reward for my efforts.

Eat, drink, and create your own adventures


* For the record, I grew up in the foothills of Northern California where you really don't see palm trees. Evergreens were the norm and no celebrities were sighted there. I'm fiercely loyal to NoCal.

Gearing up for ALA...Anaheim-style

You may not see much of me in the next 2-3 weeks: in addition to having friends staying with us this weekend, I’m gearing up for ALA*’s Annual Conference in Anaheim next weekend. After that, it’s a week with my family in Northern Cal. Then two days in the Berkeley/Oakland area with more friends. By my account, I should be back blogging regularly about mid-July. In the meantime, here is a schizo post on a sunny Friday afternoon:

- I’ve never been to New Orleans and, until today, I’ve never really had a desire. I’ve only considered myself a true foodie in the past year and, up until 3 years ago, the ongoing joke among family and friends was that I ate only white food. So New Orleans didn’t sound like my kind of place with all that flashing-strangers-at-Mardi-Gras and okra and spicy stuff. Well, in the past three years, a new world has opened up to me….and today, Omnivore Herbivore Carnivore has expanded that world even further. Check out Kyla's culinary adventures in the city and you too will want to head on down there ASAP…or at least wait until autumn…

- I am the happiest clam! Look at the two ARCs I received this week!

- Most of my meals at ALA Annual are being very generously provided by publishers (thanks, guys!)…however, I do want to try and strike out on my own and see what Anaheim has to offer. I have very little free time so I’m going to have to schedule any foodie adventures down to the minute. Nevertheless, I have to at least try. In the latest SLJ there are some intriguing restaurant suggestions. I get into Anaheim around lunchtime on Thursday so I’m thinking of hiking to Café Contigo for Cuban sandwiches that “will change the way you look at sandwiches…promise”. I’ve got the most time on Saturday so I’m hoping to get to Sarkis Pastry for breakfast**, which is rather ambitious since it’s, you know, the morning. I also have lunch free on Saturday (how decadent!) so I’m planning on Café Casse Croute (French-Canadian cuisine, Vietnamese-owned). Anyone reading this who wants to check out any of these restaurants with me, let me know – I’m always open to hanging out with a fellow food explorer! Likewise, if you know of any great food places close to the convention center, let me know…I don’t suppose I’m going to find a farmers’ market that close, am I?

- A night of Stephenie Meyer and Blue October? Oh, how I desperately want to go! Desperately. But quite frankly, I really don’t want to compete with thronging groups of tween girls to get a ticket and to go to the event. Especially since I don’t know another librarian in her (or his) right mind who would go with me. So I’ll stay home, turn on Blue October, and imagine Justin Furstenfeld singing only to me. Just like a tween girl would do. Oh, the irony.

- Courtesy of my daily Shelf Awareness email, I leave you with this fantabulous quote from Huck Finn (as quoted by Jennie Shortridge): “I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself, ‘All right, then, I'll GO to hell.’” That totally made my Friday.

Eat, drink, and ride the wave

* When, oh when, will I realize my dream of being on the Newbery committee?!

** Because baklava is one of my all-time favorite desserts...in those rare moments when I eat sweets.

What is it with Jacques Torres and Google?

Remember I told you all that Jacques Torres came to visit Google? Well, this box of Jacques Torres chocolates you see is the thank you that Adam's co-workers gave him for being so funny and sarcastic and awesome.* There really is no justice. I'm shaping our nation's children and I get $2 tickets to the Mets and the chance to mooch off publishers at ALA conferences.**

I really need to think about a change in profession.

Eat, drink, and picket the union for better swag


* It should be noted that I took a bite out of every one of these chocolates. Yeah, I'm one of those people. Adam scolded me until I pointed out that he certainly wasn't going to eat these (he's a cheesecake/tiramisu kind of guy). He admitted I was right and let me keep nibbling. Anyone else a chocolate nibbler?

** I speak in jest, dear publishers who read this. I assure you that I'm sometimes embarrassed by the scavenger-esque behavior of my fellow librarians at the conferences. That said, I do enormously appreciate the wine, without which socializing at those things would be so thoroughly unpleasant.

"18 Cinematic Trips to the Library Stacks"

Courtesy of my American Libraries Direct email, I had a delightful time this morning reading Entertainment Weekly's "18 Sexy Trips to the Library Stacks". There are a couple of really rad ones, but here are my favorites:

Am I the only one that finds Nicholas Cage totally unbelievable in this role (well, in fact, in most his roles)? This last one is unintentionally hilarious. How does he always manage to look so confused?

Libraries and Food: A Natural Relationship

So you don’t need me to tell you that ALA’s youth media awards came out yesterday. But just in case you didn’t know that, then here’s the link to it.

It was my first ALA Midwinter conference and it was just friggin awesome. I had some of the most interesting and entertaining conversations of my life, and I have come back to Queens invigorated and excited about being a librarian again – which is good because I was really in a place where I wasn’t so sure about working in a library anymore. Now I’m ready to kick some ass…in a good way, of course.

If anyone reading this is a librarian who has had their degree for less than 5 years OR is younger than 35, I highly encourage you to apply for the 2009 ALA Emerging Leaders program. It’s really a fantastic program that made me feel empowered and inspired. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask me (via comments or email me personally). I definitely think Leslie Burger was on to something when she created this program – it’s a wonderful way to include up-and-coming librarians in the process and to elicit their ideas about the direction of ALA and the profession as a whole.

I even managed to fit in my love of all things food-related: Harcourt invited me to a dinner at Fork, a swoon-worthy restaurant on Market and 3^rd. Fantastic food. For an appetizer I had the flatbread with sautéed calamari, parmesan cheese, and white beans. A little on the dry side, but the calamari was really flavorful. For my entrée, I got the hangar steak with frites and it rocked. I asked for it rare and they actually gave it to me RARE! It’s an anomaly in the restaurant world – you folks who like your meat rare will know what I mean. For dessert, I had the dark chocolate mousse with cognac, which was very light and flavorful…but I don’t know if I made the right choice. Ellen Greene, Harcourt’s library marketing guru, ordered the ricotta cheesecake and I’ve never tasted anything like it in my life. I normally don’t go for cheesecake because it’s so dense but, lordy, that’s because I’ve never tried Fork’s cheesecake. Light as friggin air. Amazing. And of course, there was wine. See, I prove again how books, wine, and food are so completely interrelated. This whole meal – and Harcourt’s generosity in hosting it – will continue to be the major highlight of the conference for me.

But enough of that, let’s talk about the BOOKS! I still can’t believe it was just yesterday morning that I was sitting in that enormous ballroom, listening to the book award winners announced right before my eyes. As the Batchelder and Schneider Family awards were being announced, I felt all tingly and thrilled and excited. Then…as the moment of truth arrived…I felt all tense. Why? I realized that I was nervous because WHAT IF I HADN’T ORDERED THE RIGHT BOOKS ALL YEAR?! What if I had NONE of the major award winners in ANY of the libraries?!?!?! Luckily, though, I was golden. Granted, not every single library had a copy of every single book but at least we had some libraries holding all of some of the books. You know? Phew! I do have to say – and no description will truly capture it unless you were there – but listening to that enormous audible gasp when Hugo Cabret was announced was awesome, and the wild applause afterward was a thrill. And can I even tell you how pleased I am that Let It Shine got the CSK Award? Well-deserved. Overall, I’m enormously pleased with the award recipients, though there are a few question marks: Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County? Jabberwocky? Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian? And I sure was hoping that Jonathan Bean would get some well-deserved love but, alas, it wasn’t his year. Not to worry because I know his time is coming any year now.

All my gushing aside, it’s damn good to be home and make myself a home-cooked meal for the first time in five days. Even if it was as simple as a salad and a melty camembert grilled cheese sandwich. And pinot noir, of course.

Movin' on Up to a Deluxe Apartment in Skyyyyy!

Guess who just got selected to participate in ALA's 2008 Emerging Leaders program.





Just guess.





Who could it be?





Guess. Come on.





????????

Does that give it away? If you haven't guessed now then there's no hope for you. Seriously.

Wait, should an emerging leader heckle her readers? Probably not. I'll have to change my ways.