Fry’s in Renton is indeed open; in fact some eyewitnesses reported a Tuesday opening. We made it down on Wednesday and happily soaked in the familiarity of their usual displays, the electronic player piano, the rows of soda fridges along one wall, and pallets in the aisles stacked with merchandise. There is no clear theme, but enlarged historical photos of the area line the upper walls. From the copious stock of certain products I can take a guess at what the loss leaders (or “break evens”) may be on grand opening day. The unfamiliar aspects were the lack of boxes with “returned merchandise” stickers and the uncountable number of times we were asked if we needed assistance. But as usual there was a loss prevention specialist to check our receipt on the way out. We now have our retail therapy for homesickness.

The success of Vanilla Coke has prompted rival Pepsi to launch its own vanilla version. 90 million cases of Vanilla Coke were sold last year in a very successful introduction.
Pepsi Vanilla and Diet Pepsi Vanilla arrived in stores earlier this month. Pepsi claims a “lighter and smoother” version but their advertising campaign is emphasizing the young, fun Pepsi image. The disappointing Pepsi Blue, intended for that youthful fun-seeking market, sold only 17 million cases last year.

The NY Times continues its Steinway articles with a look at the difference between the Steinways produced in Germany and those made in the U.S. The Germany factory, opened by one of the elder Steinway’s five sons, is still making Steinways an ocean away from its New York relative. Most experts will claim that the German Steinways are different in tone and sound than their American counterparts. Over the years however, their suppliers and materials have converged (American woods, an Ohio iron foundry) and differences in the final product have more to do with the unique variations in the piano itself, not where it was made. But still musicians claim to hear consistent differences between the two production lines. At that level of quality and pricing, perhaps the hairs are worth splitting.

Two new peanut varieties have been developed containing higher amounts of oleic acid, a “healthy” fat. The fat in typical peanuts is comprised of 50% oleic acid. These amount in these new peanuts is 75%. However, the saturated fat content remains the same at 20%. Peanuts have already been touted as a healthy food with studies showing that they may increase metabolism and lower triglyceride levels.

Following through on the revival of interest in the designs of Russel Wright, two books of his own material have been published. First is “Russel Wright’s Menu Cookbook: A Guide to Easier Entertaining
” with complete menus for 15 meals, including table setting recommendations. It was put together by his daughter from his own collection of recipes. The publisher has also re-released Russel and Mary Wright’s “Guide to Easier Living” a bestseller in the 1950s.

You may have stumbled across General Electric’s eye-catching online ad which featured an animated marker and drawing program. Viewers could draw their own little sketches and watch the marker animate the lines back to them. The email to friends feature further increased the visibility of the ad. This simple, but compelling advertisement went on to win industry awards and had a click-through rate three times higher than average. The email option had a 28% higher “opening rate” than average. Happy with the results, GE is planning something new but similar for January 2004.

A new Charlie Brown television special is airing this Friday on ABC. In “Lucy Must Be Traded Charlie Brown” the ever suffering manager of a team with 900 straight losses (our zig-zag shirted hero) must deal with his incompetent right fielder who has never caught a ball. A trade is proposed and the usual Peanuts brand of angst and humor ensues. The special kicks off ABC’s annual Charlie Brown season which will continue with the Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chirstmas, and Valentine specials. David Benoit interprets Vince Guaraldi’s jazz piano themes for the newer programs.

TV Picks reports that West Wing DVDs (yes, the U.S. ones, finally) for Season 1 are available for pre-order from Amazon. Release date is November 18, 2003, which makes me wonder what Bravo’s $1 million per episode syndication deal stipulated about the DVD release conditions. They did not get much time.

Throughout grade school we were often treated to filmstrips of picture books. Sometimes the teacher read the book aloud to the projected images but more often there was an accompanying cassette tape with a “ding” to indicate when the strip should be advanced. There were many eagerly raised hands when the teacher asked for a volunteer to run the projector. These filmstrips were usually branded with a familiar three-triangle logo, symbolizing the trees and “W” of the company Weston Woods. Weston is a little town near my Connecticut hometown and I never considered that these filmstrips from a local company were being sent to schools across the U.S. I ran across their logo again recently and looked them up. Weston Woods became part of Scholastic, Inc in 1996. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel who went on to found the Weston Woods Institute, “a nonprofit group that supports innovative techniques in educational and cultural communications with children.”

Anniversary Dinner #2
For our second anniversary dinner, far from our “known quantity” Bay Area restaurants, my husband selected Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Washington. Set on a side road with a non-descript exterior, the restaurant has a cozy interior with just enough light to see your companions and meal. Service was professional but not overly formal, and dress was business casual.

Overall the dishes were a study in contrasts, with textures and flavors working
together in a superb melange. Here is the menu I selected:

Grilled Octopus with Fennel, Chickpeas and Green Sauce
Long thin pieces of octopus grilled to an almost crispy texture contrasted well
with neutral chickpeas. The spicy fennel was yet another contrast and the green
sauce served mainly as a backdrop with olive oil dominating.

Arugula, Grilled Nectarine and Fennel with Pinenuts, and Shaved Cured Foie Gras
Strong, fresh arugula sat in the middle covered generously with thin, buttery
foie gras slices. The grilled nectarine was surprisingly not very sweet, but a nice
match for the other flavors. The fennel and pinenuts added additional layers of
flavor, but the scrumptious foie gras ruled over all.

Rabbit Braised in Arneis with Pancetta, Chickpea Crepe and Arugula
The rabbit was presented both on the bone and in small boneless pieces, effectively
creating two different meats. The dark meat was of course the more flavorful, with
a salty pancetta flavor outside. The chickpea crepe was large, folded into crisp
quarters. Again, spicy arugula provided the right contrast.

Valhrona Chocolate Truffle Cake with Fresh Mint Gelato, Espresso Sauce and Sara’s Thin Mint
The cake was a small warm circle, gooey on the inside. The cold gelato scoop on top was
a perfect match as it melted onto its dark chocolately pedestal. A surrounding ring of espresso sauce
was perhaps too sweet and gooey, but for a dessert that may be a silly complaint. The
slice of thin mint was a crystalline green layer of minty sugar sandwiched between a
dark chocolate coating.