Is there such a thing as Too Rich: Al Waleed

I have been obsessed with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal since I learned about him from our B&B hosts at Pencarrow in Queenstown. Bill and Kari, the owners of the B&B, lived in Saudi Arabia and worked as Alwaleed's personal pilot and flight attendant, flying him around the world on his various supped-up aircrafts for 12 years.

The man is one of the wealthiest in the world, is known as the "Arabian Warren Buffet," and keeps company with George Bush and the leaders of every county in the middle east. We're talking uber rich.

Here are just a few little tidbits that have me utterly fascinated:
At one point, he was the fifth richest person in the world.

His $100 million dollar 317-room palace is nearly 500,000 square feet, and every square foot is ornately decked out. See a french video of his palace, here.

Apparently the man can't find a big enough plane. Bill flew him around in a 737, but he bought a 747 after Bill left his employ. Now he's going to be the first and only private owner of the largest jet available today, the Airbus 380. Airbus had the unfortunate task of telling Alwaleed that, no, you can't put a swimming pool in a plane. See pictures of his jet, here.

He owns 300 cars.

He purchased his old yacht from Donald Trump for the bargain price of $40 million, who in turn bought it from the Sultan of Brunei. But it is far too shabby for this prince. So he's building a new $500 million dollar yacht that will look like this:

He spent a week with a Forbes journalist for the sole purpose of proving that he's richer than Forbes reports he is.

How must it be to live like that? Would I even want to? Bill reports that Alwaleed is constantly surrounded by people who want something from him and he uses just 2 of the 317 rooms in his palace, his office and a small TV room, and is pretty lonely most of the time. It's easy to condemn a man that lives this much in excess, but he is also something of a philanthropist: he believes in equality for women (and has only 1 wife as opposed to the usual 4 for other Saudi princes and allows his female employees to dress in designer western clothes bought with their $60,000 clothing allowance instead of the traditional abaya and veil), he routinely takes to the streets to deliver envelopes filled with money to those in need, he donated $10 million to WTC Victims Fund after 9/11 (though Giuliani ultimately rejected it), and he's been a major investor in Citi and hasn't pulled his investment, preferring to go down with the ship. The man also is relatively self-made (not resting on his oil trust fund laurels). So there's as much to admire as there is to criticize.

Saudi succession experts doubt Prince Alwaleed will become King, but I think the world could do much worse. One thing's for certain, this Silicon Valley educated prince has a lot invested in our little country and let's hope he continues to spread the wealth.

French Cuisine in Agua Dulce: Le Chene

Our very good friends H+M reside in the Santa Clarita Valley and while we enjoy wining and dining with them, we have to do a little digging to find non-chain restaurants on their side of town that meet our admittedly snobby foodie expectations. This weekend we were blown away by Le Chene, a nearly 30-year old french bistro on Sierra Hwy in Agua Dulce.

The restaurant resembles a large stone wine cellar, fitting considering the spectacular wines we found within. For starters, H & I split the tongue vinaigrette while the boys had crab cakes. I haven't had tongue in years but this tasted better than I remember. It was served cold with a tangy tomatillo vinaigrette, and was tender and tasty. As long as you don't think too much about what you're actually eating, it's quite good. Next I ordered creme of lettuce soup, which resembled split pea in color and thickness. The soup was rich and perfectly seasoned.

Back to the wine, Le Chene's list is worth the trek to Agua Dulce. It boasts hundreds of french bottles spanning decades, including Ch. d'Yquem, a few Margauxs, and several Ch. Lafite-Rothchilds, among other notable bottles. Best of all the mark-up is nearly non-existent. Here you can try amazing french wines rarely seen outside of private libraries at reasonable prices. We decided to stay in Bordeaux, and started the evening with a 1995 Ch. Moulinet-Lasserre from Pomerol (a very good year for the right bank Bordeauxs, think Petrus!). Our timing was perfect, as this find was tasting beautifully. Merlot dominant, on the nose we picked up rich earth, mushroom, violets, and dark chocolate, while on the palate we experienced mostly dark, ripe fruits including black cherry and plum, and a little clove and cinnamon. Gorgeous.

By the time our dinners arrived (filet au poivre for me and H, ostrich medallions for Big N, and buffalo steak for M), we were so thrilled with our right bank beauty we ordered a 2001 Ch. D'Assault Grand Cru Classe from St. Emilion (yes, the same D'Assault that makes airplanes). This wine, also from the right bank and merlot dominant with cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, was more fruit forward on the nose, with bing cherries, ripe blackberries, white floral, and wood, and lush ripe deep fruits and cardamon spice on the palate. It paired beautifully with my perfectly cooked filet and rich buttery au poivre sauce.

Dessert of chocolate covered poached pears and vanilla ice cream was good but not memorable, but I forgive them for it.

We had a wonderful time, and can't wait to return to raid Le Chene's wine cellar again.

Adventures in Sushi: Matsuhisa

Since Big N and I don't brave the Westside traffic very often (not that we're complaining), when we do we like to make the most of it by trying a new restaurant. After our whirlwind shopping trip the other day, we decided to try Matsuhisa, the original restaurant that started the Nobu sensation (thanks in large part to Nobu Matsuhisa's partnership with Robert De Niro).

The restaurant itself lacks the flair of the trendy Nobu establishments and resembles your typical neighborhood sushi restaurant, except for a few autographed movie posters. Specials are written on a white board and the sushi chefs playfully flirt with customers at the bar. We decided to go for the tasting menu. (I know, another tasting menu. But I make the sacrifice for you dear readers, as it is the easiest way to try the best the restaurant has to offer so I can report back to you all). Matsuhisa offers 3 tasting menus: each consists of 7 courses, but the 3 price ranges dictate the quality of the fish you receive. We went big, natch.

Our meal started off with an eggroll topped with cavier in an artful martini glass, then proceeded quickly to a nicely presented four-dish appetizer consisting of toro tartare, salmon with dried miso, a japanese oyster, and kampachi with a spicy chili gelee. Next we were served a sushi salad with leeks instead of lettuce and single pieces of king crab, octopus, and other types of fish.

We moved into the hot dishes with a delicious lobster and enoki mushroom number in a soy based sauce. Next was the piece de resistance: kobe beef. Now I've had both kobe and wagyu before, at reputable establishments too that swear it's the real stuff from Japan, but I've never tasted anything like Matsuhisa's kobe. We were served 4 small slices of very very fatty tenderloin. The meat was marbled throughout and literally melted in my mouth. It was seared ever so slightly and served in on a sizzling clay plate with mushrooms and vegetables. I've never tasted anything like it. It was so rich I gave Big N the rest of mine after a few bites. After the kobe we had another plate of sushi consisting of eel, blue fin tuna, yellow tail, and a couple of others. Finally they sent out two desserts. The first was a trio of creme brulee: mocha, vanilla bean with black truffles, and coconut. The second was molten chocolate cake with ice cream and raspberries.

The entire meal was first class, no doubt. We left feeling full but not overstuffed. For the money though I must admit that I'd rather go big at Melisse or Providence, or my San Francisco favorite Gary Danko. At those restaurants for some reason the tasting menu feels more special because each dish is a work of art. Here, though the food was great and it displayed some talented knife work, for me it didn't quite live up to the price. If you go I recommend having a few choice pieces of sushi or the kobe. No need to do the tasting menu. But do try Nobu's home made beer, a refreshing and slightly tangy complement to the meal.

Cheating with Bacon: Seared Grouper

Query: is it cheating to make a dish fantastic by adding a little bacon? Possibly, but who's keeping track?

Tonight I made seared grouper (a thick mild white flesh fish, similar to sea bass) with a bacon and hot house tomato sauce. I served that with steamed artichoke with roasted red pepper aioli.

I seasoned my grouper with salt and pepper and seared it in grape seed oil. Once I got a nice brown crust I popped it into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes to finish it off due to the thickness of the fish. I didn't have much on hand for my sauce, so I threw a few ingredients together just for fun. I fried up some thick cut bacon and shallot, and to that I added fresh thyme, white pepper, a few capers, and hothouse tomatoes. I also reduced some good aged balsamic vinegar for a little zing.

The spicy aioli for my steamed artichoke was made by blending roasted red peppers, mayonnaise, white pepper, red pepper flakes, salt, and a little garlic with my stick blender.

I served my new creation with 2007 Curtis Heritage Blanc, a Rhone style blend from Santa Ynez consisting mostly of Viognier, with a little Roussane and Marsanne. The Viognier made the wine especially aromatic but with a creamy viscosity, with notes of guava, lanolin, vanilla, and ripe peaches, and peaches, melon, and key lime on the palette. The wine stood up to the spiciness of my aioli but didn't overpower the lightness of the fish. It also had enough acidity to complement the bacon sauce.

Big N especially liked my fish, which he described as a "rib eye", because it was big and meaty but also tender and flavorful. Satisfying. I was pleased with this one. Two words: Ba Con.

Interior Design: Buying Good Taste

Though Big N and I purchased our home in September, it wasn't until recently that we decided to buy some furniture. So we devoted a whole Saturday to the task, naively thinking that we'd score the perfect sofa, bed, or dining room table in just the day. Of course we realized pretty quickly that we were *way* out of our league when we spent most of the day just trying to find a store that didn't sell the Tuscan/Euro/Revival furniture that really isn't what we're going for (e.g., above at right, no offense if you love this stuff).

As two busy professionals who don't want to spend every weekend scrounging for furniture, we gave up and hired a designer. We interviewed a few but knew instantly that Luis Ortega was the one for us: he's experienced, Cuban, and oozes effortless style. He implicitly understood our vision of starting with contemporary furniture with clean lines in neutral tones to complement our modern home but to add natural organic elements to create warmth and comfort. (Eg., this brilliantly designed NYC flat by Rose Tarlow, architect Richard Meier, from last month's Architectural Digest). Plus, Luis said he'd take me shopping, HIRED!

Yesterday Luis took us on a speed shopping trip around Beverly Hills and in the Pacific Design Center- Awesome! We met Luis at his Beverly Hills studio where he showed us pictures of some of the ideas he has for pieces in our home; then we hopped in his car for a whirlwind tour of 8 showrooms in under 2 hours. The man was *efficient*. We saw countless tables, chairs, sofas, rugs, and pieces of art. We found inspiration in a store called D.A.O (Design Around Objects, love the double entendre), which had very cool wood pieces including petrified wood end tables and tree root coffee tables. We also saw original Eames loungers and a few rare impeccably designed Brazilian chairs from the early 60's. And we saw a few sofas with the clean lines in neutral tones that we'd been envisioning. I realized that designers make their money simply because they know the right places to go to get the stuff, that and their wholesale discount.
Convinced that Luis was the right choice, we gave him the go-ahead to put a design plan together. With a little luck, we should have a brand new home in 3 months. I'll post before and afters for your viewing pleasure.