I like small parties, the intimate gatherings with just enough booze and good friends to fill a room with laughter and maybe answer one of life’s great questions or two. One recent Saturday evening I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours with my dear friend the Disaffected Scanner Jockey, her fiance, and one more. Because we could… and maybe at my insistence, when the conversation drifted towards The Best Sit-Coms of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and Aughts, we recorded our findings.

To eliminate your need to have the long conversations (or give you a reason to argue with our conclusions) here are the winners and all nominees.

Best of the 70s – winners in BOLD

All in the Family

M*A*S*H

Mary Tyler Moore

Sanford and Sons

The Jefferson’s

WKRP in Cincinnati

Alice

The Odd Couple

Best of the 80s – winners in BOLD

Golden Girls

Cheers

Cosby Show

Wonder Years

Newhart

Best of the 90s – winners in BOLD

Seinfeld

Simpson’s

Frasier

Friends

3^rd Rock from the Sun

News Radio

Just Shoot Me

Sex and the City

Best of the 00s – winners in BOLD

The Office

30 Rock

South Park

Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Entourage

Caveats:

When a show crossed multiple decades, the best block of years determined the decade of inclusion.

While cultural significance was a deciding factor, it was never allowed to be the primary factor.

All ties between shows were settled by the question: which show would you rather watch again today.

After the nominees were initially selected, other shows that were worthy of notation may have been mentioned but were not necessarily recorded if it was determined that they would not have been among the winners… mostly because I forgot to write them down.

Some of the “hybrid dramadies” were included for nomination and considered for the top awards. However, the fact that none of them won is not inherently indicative of that hybrid status.

Argue amongst yourselves.

“Not to put too fine a point on things, but go fuck yourself. You, my former friend, should know me well enough to know how difficult it is to reach the ends of both my vocabulary and patience. Somehow all these years, it escaped my notice that you’re such an unfuckingbelievable douchebag that you could find the limits of my words and patience in the same fucking day.

In case I wasn’t clear enough, the point wasn’t fine enough, lose my number. Forget my email address. I’ll miss your dog, but you… can. go. fuck. yourself.”

For anyone wondering why I haven’t continued with NaBloPoMo activities for this month, or for people wondering about my general radio silence, I had a conversation that concluded with the passage above. I’m a little off kilter at the moment.

Feel free to send an email if you require additional instructions.

So apparently DC restaurateurs aren’t very pop-culturally aware, have really crappy public relations teams (from experience, I’m betting yes on this one,) make piss-poor efforts at electronic marketing and updating of websites (again, from a position of expertise, I am putting my money on this one) or some combination of all of the aforementioned; because I could only find two places that are hosting parties for tonight’s premier of Top Chef DC.  I could teach a class on the wasted opportunity this represents for too many places.

Vitriolic soliloquy on the theory of money not earned being more significant than money lost aside, I have found the following places for people to watch with fellow fans, gourmands, and gadflies alike:

Good Stuff Eatery, Capital Hill, 9 – 11pm, TC Alums Carla Hall, Brian Voltaggio, Mike Isabella, and Good Stuff owner, Spike Mendelssohn are listed as attending. RR Prediction – it will be extremely crowded, you’ll be lucky to get a moment with any of the TC Alums, and drinking options are limited.

Oval Room – the restaurant boasts one of their own as a contestant, Sous Chef Tamesha Warren (editor’s note: Chef Warren is a delightful and lovely woman I have known for more than a minute and the cheftestant for whom I will be rooting.)  Viewing from 9 – 11pm, RR Prediction – more low key environment that will provide a decent opportunity to actually watch the show; caveat: Oval Room is not an inexpensive place to sip and sup for that amount of time.

Your Local – assuming you have a local, or even if you don’t this is a great time to sort of fake it and create a relationship with a bar.  Any place worth the time wants to make their regulars (and strangers too) happy, so call them early in the afternoon (but after lunch if they’re open during that time) and ask if they would be willing to show Top Chef.  If they have a television in a somewhat secluded area they should accommodate.  Please be mindful that if your Local is prone to loud music then they cannot and probably should not accommodate.  Choose a place that is capable of airing the show, ask for the manager, and always introduce yourself over the phone… it helps if you begin the conversation with “a few of my girlfriends and I were looking for a place to watch Top Chef this season…”  A few of my friends will also work but is less effective on the straight male managers.

My mother loaned me out on Sunday.

That opening sentence doesn’t seem to effectively make the case as loaned seems a rather benign word.  Pimped would be an appropriate term except that in that circumstance I would have at least received some compensation even if a small percentage of the total paid.  No, my mother loaned my Personal Chef  service to a couple of her friends for a Mother’s Day dinner.  It was another example of “no good deed going unpunished.”

I sent my mom to Europe as a Mother’s Day present (calm down, I’m not really that generous; she had a friend from church who was going for business, so the only real expense was the flight and walking-around cash.)  As soon as I booked her trip, my mom declared “since you’re not cooking for me, I told your Aunt Sandy that you would make Mother’s Day dinner for her and a few of her friends.”

Sandy is not my aunt.

Sandy is one of my mother’s friends with whom I’ve never had a particularly special relationship.  Sandy is, like my mother, a slightly cantankerous 70something black woman who doesn’t understand:

• why I am not married
• what I do for a living
• why I am “wasting” my degrees
• why she doesn’t have more grandkids
• And did I mention why I’m not married? Yeah, she definitely doesn’t understand that.

I was loaned-out.

We made our way through seven courses, meaningless chatter about the aforementioned things that my mother nor Sandy understand, and a couple of attempts to set me up with a daughter at this Mother’s Day dinner.  At some point between the last savory course and the cheese board, Sandy came into the kitchen and said “Refugee, everything has been so amazing.  I know that your mother is so proud of you, and that she’s really happy you’re here”.

Two of her three declarations were true.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you (everyone has a mother) even to moms and offspring who have complicated relationships.

…and yes, I know that this post is coming in just under the wire before declaring belated wishes to moms.

One might reasonably conclude that all of the snowed-in time might has provided me considerable time to write.  One would only be partially correct as replying to the Winter Meme I wrote last Friday is all I have been able to muster.

1. If you had to move away from your current city, what two or three cities you’ve never visited would top your list of choices? Because we are eliminating every city I have visited, most of the world’s major cities are off limits.  Because I cannot fathom living in a non metropolitan area my top choices are: Toronto for the close proximity to NYC and, from what I can tell from television, a very cosmopolitan feel (the high quality health care doesn’t hurt,) Portland, OR for its easy access to wine regions of Oregon and California and what my buddy Jimmy contends is an incredibly livable city, Madrid because when one is considering a move, not listing at least one city with old world European charm would just be silly.
2. What was the last thing that stayed in Vegas? I’ve never been a fan of strip clubs – something about the notion of men paying hundreds, thousands of dollars to be teased by women with whom their chances are roughly the same as John Grisham winning a Pulitzer Prize, seems a bit silly if not flat out pathetic.  However, on my last trip to Vegas, I got roped into going to a strip joint with my crew.  Upon returning from a trip to the restroom, a statuesque red head wearing an ankle length gown told me she had “instructions from my friends to take [me] in the backroom and give [me] a very special lap dance.”  For about two minutes, I forgot that she was just doing a job and didn’t really like me.  I felt like a fool for having the thought.  The last things that stayed in Vegas where a few hundred dollars in her garter and a piece of my dignity.
3. You are about to be snowed-in for two days and can pick any non-spouse, non-romantic partner, non-one of your children to be with you.  With whom would you like to be snowed-in (real life friend, and/or person you’ve never met)? Among my real life friends, I would happily be snowed-in with my dear friend the Only Slightly Sleazy Lobbyist, there are a couple of people on my blog roll who also fit that description.  Among the people I’ve never met, Rachel Maddow, John Stewart, and Salma Hayek are the short list.
4. What song should be kept in a case that reads “break glass in case of emergency or [insert your name here] is really depressed or being a raving lunatic? General emergency song is easy: Bobby Darrin’s 1962 live version of Mack the Knife; depressed or raving lunatic either John Coltrane & Duke Ellington’s sublime duet, Sentimental Mood, or the Tito Puente recording of Lush Life from the Concorde Years.
5. What was the first book that changed your sensibilities? I am sure that there is a better answer than this, and if I racked my brain, I might be able to find it.  However, the first book that comes to mind and keeps coming to mind is Mad at Miles: Deals with the Devil and other Reasons to Riot by Pearl Cleage.
6. When meeting someone of the gender to which you’re oriented (professionally, socially, casually, on a train, wherever,) what’s the first thing that you notice about them? Face, I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty face.  It also takes me about 3.2 seconds to notice a woman’s intellect
7. If you won a $1,000 today – assuming that today is not the day of snowmageddon and you have all of the flexibility you could want – how would you spend it? As I write this there is another (and completely non-charming, non-funny) edition of snowmageddon falling, so today I would spend it on a team of dogs to get me far enough south such that I could fly to the Keys.  Any other day I would spend it on a new set of cufflinks, a couple of spectacular bottles of wine, and dinner.
8. A great first date must involve ____________, and how does your answer change when in a relationship and it’s a date night? Great conversation is the easy part, I am sure that most people would say that.  I am going to assume that conversation is a given and say that a few really honest moments are essential.  Too many first dates are with people who are a cross between their own PR rep and their avatar, so give me a few really honest and unfiltered moments, and moments when I can be the same.  Regarding how my answer changes once in a relationship, it has been so long for me that I speculate and say that it would have to include an honest moment to discuss whatever might be recently problematic.  Not to suggest that something has to be problematic or that it must be discussed on date night, just that a great date night should have that kind of trust and openness that would allow for it to be discussed should we choose.
9. Upon a final edit, I realized that this question was a duplicate of #5.  Given that I have about three minutes to publish before leaving, and all of the art and everything else is labeled with Baker’s Dozen meme, what question do you wish I would have asked? As this was my meme this doesn’t really apply.

10.  What was the worst job you’ve ever had, and how much money would you have to be paid to do that job again for a year? There was a job that almost killed me, and I cannot describe it for professional reasons.  The part of me that has too much faith in his own intellect would suggest that, armed with my current knowledge, I could easily last a year in that gig and would do it for a million dollars.  I also know that it is a moot point, and more importantly, I know that I would never take it because there are too many other things with far too much value.

11.  If you were guaranteed honest responses to any three questions, to whom would you direct questions, and what would you ask? Casting Agent for CSI Miami: Does David Caruso have pictures of you naked with a goat?  Vice President of Customer Service for Comcast, or Verizon, or Sprint, or Direct TV, et. Al: How in the name of bacon and all things holy do you still have a job?  John McCain: do you feel guilty about the choice you made back in summer 08, do you feel guilty about the ramifications of it?

12.  As you’ve gotten older, to which list have you added more items: list of romantic deal-breakers, or list of romantic must-haves? What was the latest item added to either list? Each list has seen additions and subtractions over the years.  The deal breakers list has net additions and the must-have list is probably net subtractions.  The last deal-breaking addition was the “ability to be purposefully hurtful.”  I expect that everyone can be hurtful at some point in a relationship, however, I cannot trust those who have the capacity to do so deliberately.

13.  What is your most frequently occurring day dream? Moving to some place like Savannah, GA or Providence, RI and opening a B&B… assuming that the second “B” stands for brunch because I will not be rising that early.

There is a pretty short list of reasons for a gentleman to refuse a drink…

Mr. Thomas was a perspective client… well that is a bit of a misnomer as he and his partners spent the better part of a year jerking my chain and pumping me for free information regarding their new venture.  I allowed this one sided flow of information for so long because it held the promise of a perfect gig for me, one which would intersect my loves for dark liquors, wine, cigars and restaurants.

I spent untold and uncompensated hours dropping meal-sized bread crumbs of information about how to open and operate a successful place. My efforts to ration information in a manner that would underscore rather than eliminate their need for me were mostly effective and resulted in numerous confirmations that “I [was] their guy.”

My spidey sense told me not to invest too much emotional hope in their promises, however, when third parties began to congratulate me for the new client and contract, I let my skepticism relax.  Still, I was surprised but not shocked when other second-hand, but very reliable, sources told me that they were “going in a different direction.”

For the last couple of months, he’s moved in another different direction when we shared the same space – cowards tend to avoid issues – as occurred with some frequency due to our sharing of a bar or two, which was the impetus for our intial meeting.  Last night was different.

I saw Mr. Thomas sitting at the far right end of the bar just after I gave salutations to the bartender.  It was a brief glimpse, a sideways glance in which I identified him more from his distinctive shadow rather than his face.  I ignored him and expected that he would get his tab and flee as he has done most times since I heard “the news.”

About three quarters of the way through my bourbon, a server produces another with a cheery “This is compliments of Mr. Thomas.”

The server was two steps away before pride kicked-in and I said “take it back; I don’t want a drink from him.”

The Thanksgiving post is one of those clichés that I really like.  Bloggers the world over profess their gratitude for the readers, commenters, lurkers, and other bloggers who give context to our virtual world and outlet to our expression.  In a world that is so often self-absorbed, it is a refreshing act of gratitude.

Thank you to all of you.  You have been a source of great comfort, validation, a check to my ego, partner with whom to bend an elbow, a worthy foil, and so many other things.

I am

Thankful

For

You.

I recently created a feature, The RR-20, which is a list of the twenty restaurants I most readily trust with my cash, and my free time.  It began as just a list with hyperlinks to the restaurants websites.  That simple list will still be there, but I have begun to augment it with brief reviews/descriptions of the places on the list in a section titled The RR-20 Expanded.

Today I added Komi, Restaurant Eve, Palena, Regent Thai, and Coppi’s Organic Pizza.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Check my math and send me an email if you’d like details.

So in the spirit of “Something else I have started but may not finish,” I am kinda sorta, maybe, don’t hold it against me if I don’t quite finish, participating in NaBloPoMo.  There is a new post over on My Recipe Blog – go read about my take on Lomo Saltado – so this counts.

I hope you have a great evening and decide to forward some random kindness in the world.

I found this note on the Metro yesterday, and I began to wonder “what can we accomplish with post-it-notes?”  I don’t know that answer; but I did go buy a pack of em’.

If you were going to leave a note to a random stranger, what would it say?