sean brendan

How about something writing about something that wasn’t disappointing?
Bodegas Tomas Cusine El Vilosell
If you see this on a menu, order it. If you see it at a local wine shop, buy a couple bottles.   This is a tasty blend of 50% Tempranillo, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Garnacha, and 8% Merlot that is right at […]

Lets get this thing started already.  Its nice to be the underdog again, even though we are seeded higher than Davidson, have more talent, play a tougher schedule, have won bigger games this year, and have a more prestigious program.  Go Zags!

That game on Monday in San Diego was brutal.  I was there and just watched it on the dvr.  San Diego flat out, out played us in the second half.  They out-rebounded us, out-hustled us, and out-coached us. This team still has not found a way to play together as a team, and I think […]

My favorite time of the year. March is right up there with September when football starts, and the weather is perfect.  March is about spring and basketball and Zags.  With two weeks left until Selection Sunday and a lot of basketball left to be played, I’m going to take a guess at the top 16 […]

Speaking of social networking, LInkedIn just published a bold site upgrade today, and it looks more like facebook now with pictures, status, and the general layout.  I use both, check both a couple times a week, but would not consider myself a very active user, other than checking for more Gonzaga basketball trivia  questions on […]

Castello Di Verduno - once reviewed by Food & Wine as one of the must visit spots in the Piedmont region.
100% Nebbiolo. Pomegranate hue, nose of new leather. Powerful with full fruit, mouth-filling fruit and round. 550 cases
What I think: I’ll be honest, I was looking for an Italian wine I hadn’t had much […]

From Owen Roe.
We enjoyed this wine this afternoon with good friends at the Grape Choice in downtown Kirkland.  Beside sporting a fantastic label with a great story (read  more below), this Washington grown wine is made in Oregon and is flat out really good.  it went perfectly with our afternoon sitting on the porch in […]

From Guest Blogger, Liz O’Connor:
Valentine’s Day has come and gone but my memories of the wine we enjoyed that night have not. Sean prepared our traditional Valentine’s meal of lamb alongside small, yellow potatoes and green beans. The bottle of 2003 Kennedy Shah Syrah from Woodhouse Family Wine Cellars, couldn’t have complimented the dinner […]

Anyone who’s feeling the music on their portable media player of choice has gotten a little stale needs to check out Pandora. I’ve discovered some great new bands, artists, and have commercial free radio to listen to at work and home.  I wonder if there is a plugin to make it work within Vista Media […]

One of our Kirkland favorites recently underwent a serious facelift, for the worse… The restaurant formerly known as Mama Lucia’s, the warm home of friendly staff, perfect pizzas, inviting entrees, and the prime card discount has been replaced with a loud, cold, and overpriced restaurant that will compete in the same overcrowded niche as Purple […]

I’d be pretty ok with this.

According to the good folks at Joseph Swan: We are exceedingly slow to release zinfandels…. Our zinfandels are made, in the words of Robert Parker, “in a divergent style.” We have great fruit sources and we try to make wines from t hem that reflect the character and terroir… Our philosophy is to allow the […]

It’s Gonzaga basketball time of the year again…just in time to stave off the depression that sets in with the onset with the end of Daylight Savings time. It sounds like the Zags had their way with Emporia State tonight, winning by about 30, after a toocloseforcomfort halftime score.

Both of these headlines in today’s Seattle Times really jumped out at me. How different, different groups can be culturally.
Google’s Sputnik salute angers some conservatives
Taco Bell’s fare baffles Mexicans

Continuing the tour of Italian restaurants in downtown Kirkland, Liz and I recently ventured out to Ristorante Paradiso. Let’s get this straight - we have a really, really hard time with most Italian restaurants in the United States. There are far too many restaurants like the Olive Garden serving American-Italian food and giving diners […]