Eatin' with Eden: My Lunch with Mylunsch

originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Lou Kessler:

Ok, we're going to play a variation of 20 questions. Now we listened to some music last Thursday in the company of John Kongsgaard so I know John's taste in music which probably corresponds to his wine likes & dislikes. What music does Eden "cotton up to"?
Didn't Eden used to work for Kermit Lynch?

Lou, I would never presume to be savvy to all of Eden's probably varied tastes in music, but I will say that Eden waxed ecstatic about the music of Ike Riley to the extent that I was given an Ike Riley CD prior to my departure. Draw from this whatever conclusions one chooses. Eden is also a font of knowledge about the Blues and R&B and had lots to say about jazz, too. We also chatted about Afro-pop for a while, but I confess that my memories of that part of the conversation are somewhat hazy now.

Mark Lipton

p.s. So, in return, tell us of John Kongsgaard's tastes, Lou. Metallica? Hsker D? Zappa and the Mothers? Do tell.
John is a huge classical music fan, especially chamber music of all kinds, older classical and more modern classical. Actuall John and his wife are in charge of chambermusicnapa.org. He does a fabulous job of getting first rate musicians here every year. Check it out if you have an interest like we do with this kind of music.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Jonathan and Darlene Edwards?

I'm a card-carrying fan club member. Sing it, Darlene!

I'm sure Eden is hip enough to appreciate their subtle approach to melody and rhythm. The best musicians always are.
 
I'm so sorry about the lateness in my response. In fact, don't think of it as being tardy, just consider it an homage to Coadian thread resurrection, okay? I've been up to my eyeballs in work and have been so backed up that, no shit, I was beginning to feel like a charter member of the breakfast fiber club, but a bit of space has opened up and I've got the opportunity to thank Mark for dropping by.

I mean, the last time a chemist came by the condo was some guy who claimed to be a research assistant of Stanley Owsley and I gotta say, I saw some stuff that week that I'll never forget. Upon arrival, Lipton explained that he wasn't "that" kind of chemist.

We went off to lunch anyway.

The wines were as delightful as he described them: '99 Nikolaihof Grner Veltliner Federspiel Imweingebirge was shockingly good when first poured and continued to blossom for a little while but eventually sort of faded away after about 90 minutes in the glass. The Tyrell's went on and on and on, a beautiful example of a style of wine that Australia's been doing well with for about 150+ years (it took about 100 years of experimentation to reach the point where they got it together). I wish I had more older Semillon in the locker. Right now it's the odd bottle of Hunter Semillon and a case or so of Kalin from different vintages.

After about an hour at the restaurant, it dawned on me that we'd heard "Candle In The Wind" by Elton John about 22 times in a row. I'm used to hearing complete albums on repeat in restaurants (Brubeck's "Take Five" and "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis seem to be real popular with "hip-but-inoffensive" music consultants) but I've never before had something quite this banal played over and over. Don't get me wrong- I appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the composition, the heartfelt nature of the lyrics, and the extraordinary quality of the performance and the role of the producer in pulling it all together. I get it, I respect it, just don't make me listen to it. The dining area is set off some distance from the counter, so a quick phone call to the cook resulted in a change to something more appropriate to the atmosphere, a relatively obscure CD of "Walter Wanderley Meets Jimmy Smith, w/the Ray Charles Singers". I'm not sure just how that disc made it to Malibu Seafood, but better that than "Barry Manilow Sings the Bing Crosby Songbook" or "C+W", the long-lost Carol Channing/Webb Pierce duet on Shelby Singleton's label.

While dining (albeit casually) we were also treated to a car chase, with lots of LA County Sheriff cars whizzing past with sirens a-blazing. I think they were chasing after a paparazzi who was chasing after a starlet or something. Not sure what exactly it was, other than 'exciting'.

It was a great afternoon all around. Mark should get a cush job at UCLA or Pepperdine and then we could get together more often.

originally posted by Thor:
How was the acid in the semillon?

If you're asking about acidification, there wasn't any that we could detect. The Hunter Valley just isn't the sort of place where it's necessary on any regular basis. Adding sugar, maybe, but Semillon does okay on its own. And if you're talking about the disciple of Owsley and his kind of acid, that's a different story, one that wasn't delved into that afternoon (besides, I hear Lipton's into 'shrooms anyway).

originally posted by Lou Kessler:

Ok, we're going to play a variation of 20 questions. Now we listened to some music last Thursday in the company of John Kongsgaard so I know John's taste in music which probably corresponds to his wine likes & dislikes. What music does Eden "cotton up to"?
Didn't Eden used to work for Kermit Lynch?

My father used to be in the same business as Kongsgaard's father but I would have to suspect that my musical tastes are a little less focused than John's are. I like the stuff he listens to but I don't imagine him with quite as broad a selection of music from which to choose. It's kind of like my wine collection - I'm more interested in diversity, but there are always chunks of things that inspire to dig deeper into a particular artist, genre, or even record company (eg: I've got a lot of Audio Fidelity albums).

originally posted by Lou Kessler:
Didn't Eden used to work for Kermit Lynch?

Yes I did, but now I only buy wine with the Louis-Dressner back label, unless it's Austrian wine, in which case I focus on the Circo Vino portfolio.

-Eden (in addition to Ike Reilly, I've been listening a lot to Rene Lopez )
 
Did Mark make up the part about the leather pants, stiletto heels and (faux?) leopard-skin coat? Sounds too much like his ultimate conspicuous consumption fantasy.

PS: you would have us believe that the Walter Wanderley was a coincidence?
 
The Hunter Valley just isn't the sort of place where it's necessary on any regular basis.
There's a rumor going 'round that opinions on this matter differ. Me, I just drink the stuff.
 
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