Daily Archives: 11/19/2011

(Community Matters) I’ve always reminded people of someone else and this trip especially. Walking into the US Chamber of Commerce Friday morning, one of the desk guards started asking me a question, only to be stopped by his colleague who said, “you know who this is don’t you?” You could tell he was confused, caught himself and offered up, “oh yes, of course, Sir. I was just checking.” I have NO idea who they were referring to.

Disembarking the airplane yesterday in Istanbul, while approaching the customs lines, I was pulled aside by a customs agent, who said to follow him. Oh no . . . . he led me directly to a separate gated area and told another guard something in Turkish. I walked up to the customs booth and another agent took my passport, flipped through and asked me, “NATO?” I just looked perplexed, he winked, stamped it, and sent me through.  Since I hadn’t checked luggage, less than 5 minutes. [how I missed my driver and Brent and took a cab while they waited 2 hours is another story]

(Community Matters) I’ll post about this dinner in greater detail later. Wrote a long posting but lost at transmission.

Chef/owner Johnny Monis seems to be everyone’s favorite – 2007 Food & Wine’s Best Chef. Raised cooking in his parent’s Arlington, VA Mediterranean restaurant and spending summers at their birth town, a Greek island, Megan (our waitress) and John ( the sommelier) advised us to expect savory Greek/Mediterranean fare. The 15 courses paired w/ 5 wines and a rye beer were all surprises, nearly every one engaging the whole tongue. I have to go back with Steven. Though admittedly, this evening I took the metro, then the shuttle to Dulles, trying to even out a very generous spend. It’s very expensive and worth two nights at home, saving up that entertainment budget. Lovely and delightfully long evening w/ one of our dearest friends in the entire world, Sony Cohen Cramer. We started with drinks at my hotel, The Tabard, which happened to be just around the block from Komi. Ah – johnny’s Thai restaurant has just opened, Little Sorel (run). Posted from my blackberry

Komi, 1509 17th St NW, DuPont, Washington, DC