Orin's Place

I guess I'm actually going to have to try my hand at writing since I forgot to take pictures of the food at Orin's bbq/house-warming party/concert. Roei and I arrived at the new Highland Park place around 6:30 to find a shrimp -kebab assembly line working at the kitchen table. The shrimp were rubbed in curry, jalepenos, and lime juice before they were skewered and cooked on the grill. Next to them stood a heaping platter of veggie kebabs with red and yellow bell peppers, purple red onions, and mushrooms all cut precisely the same and putting many a Bon Appetit cover to shame. Not realizing beforehand that it was a house full of vegetarians (minus Orin, of course) I brought lamb chops marinated in oregano and lemon juice. They weren't nearly as colorful as the shrimp or the veggies, but they were mighty tasty.

I actually managed to have a good time in spite of the fact that I only knew Orin and one other person, barely, when I arrived AND in spite of the fact that Roei left for a few hours in the middle of the bbq to go eat at McDonalds.

Orin's cupboards, as always, contain all sorts of fun stuff. If you dig deep in his alcohol cabinet, you'll find non-alcoholic black currant syrup. In his fridge were mini bottles of Pellegrino. It didn't take me long to get the two together and I found the perfect drink. Here's the recipe:

Open individual sized bottle of San Pellegrino. Take three medium-sized sips. Fill empty space with Zergut black currant syrup. Drink.

FINALLY for the first time last night, I heard Orin play violin when he wasn't at a wedding. I managed to stay until midnight when the concert actually started. And, though I'm not capable of appreciating the type of music they played, I couldn't get over how amazing it was to go to a really easy going barbecue where no one was cool, everyone cooked, and everyone sat around til the wee hours playing music for each other.

AND Orin's new place is great. It even has an avocado tree.