Gourmet Living – by Gary Smolker

There Are Many Forms of Gourmet Living

Freedom To Let People Know What You Really Think

and

The Kind of Person You Really Are

Below are photographs of women exercising their right to express their true real unashamed selves; they are exercising their freedom to express who they really are.

I took the photograph below of the woman who is announcing to the world that she is allergic to mornings, after obtaining her permission to do so, while she was standing in line behind me at the check out counter at the local Ralph’s store located a few blocks away from where I live in Van Nuys, California.

I took the picture below of the woman who loves weekends, coffee and dogs, after obtaining her permission to do so, in a coffee shop in the City of Simi while I was waiting in a coffee shop for my GTR to be serviced.

Freedom To Own Property and to Exercise Private Property Rights

I strongly believe in the right to own property and in private property rights.

One of the things I loved about visiting Ouray, Colorado was the number of “No Trespassing” signs I saw there.

I saw the same kind of signs in Colfax, Washington.

 

Freedom To Treat Different People Differently

Freedom To Eat Chocolate

I think one of the most important freedoms a person can exercise is the freedom to eat whatever they want.

Personally, I think chocolate is a health food.

 

Freedom to Travel to See Land Being Farmed

The photographs below were taken by my friend Saeed Yadegar, M.D. on a trip we recently took to Palouse, Washington to see rolling fields of crops growing.

Freedom to Choose to Eat A Variety of Sweet Things

I’ve been told that eating products containing refined sugar, i.e. “sweets”, is harmful to your health; that more people die from eating sugar than from drugs.

But what a way to die.

I get my chocolates from Belgium fix at Lady Chocolat in Los Angeles, California.

I took the photographs below at Lady Chocolat located at 12008 Wilshire Blvd. in West Los Angeles, California.

 

 

 

I took the photographs below pies which were on a desert table while I was having a Sunday brunch at the Swag in Waynesville, North Carolina, which is near the Eastern Border of Tennessee and the Western Border of North Carolina and a few feet away from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I enjoyed a piece of each of the pies pictured below with two of my three daughters and my friends Ray and Sue Woodcock while my daughters and I were staying at the Swag.

I tasted each of the pies shown in the pictures below.

 

 

 

For pure luxury amid the full grandeur of one of the largest varieties of natural beauty in the world, the Swag is one of the places you ought to visit before you die.

The Swag is located a hop skip and away from a forest that contains 125 types of trees, more than 1,300 types of wildflowers and flowering plants, and more than 240 species of birds.

The forest that borders on the Swag is arguably the most diverse temperate forest in the whole world excluding the rain forests.

My Favorite Market in the World Is The Spice Market in Istanbul, Turkey

Below are two pictures of the Spice Market in Istanbul, Turkey, taken by my youngest daughter Leah while Leah and I were shopping in the Spice Market in Istanbul.

My favorite product sold in the Spice Market is raw honeycomb.

I bought a lot of raw honeycomb in the Spice Market in Istanbul, Turkey and brought it back with me to Los Angeles, California when Leah and I came back to the United States.

I had no problem bringing back the raw honeycomb I bought in Istanbul, Turkey to the United States when I entered the United States.

Leah and I flew back to the United States on a Russian plane, a commercial Aeroflot jet which we caught in Moscow at the Moscow Airport on our way back to the United States from Turkey.

 

Freedom to Enjoy A Variety of Desserts

 

 

Freedom to Travel For the Sole Purpose of Enjoying Nature

 

 

Freedom to Own and to Restore Classic Automobiles

  

  

  

     

Freedom To Meet New People

 

 

Freedom to Cook with Gourmet Cooking Wood

What Is A Swag and What Is the Swag?

In the Appalachian Mountains a “swag” is a dip between two mountain peaks not deep enough to be called a gap.

“The Swag” is a famous country inn in the Smoky Mountains.

Locale

The Swag is located in Western North Carolina, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains 500,530 acres, and is 40 times the size of Manhattan.

The Smokies boast more than 1,300 flowering plants, more than 240 species of birds, 125 types of trees and various types of wild animals ranging from black bear to bobcat and wild boar to red wolf, all of which can be seen when one hikes around the Swag or goes next door into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Smoky Mountains have one of the most diverse eco-systems in the world, and is arguably the most diverse temperate forest in the whole world excluding the rain forests.

Two thirds of the American population can drive to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in less than a day and a half.

More people visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park than any other national park.

Each year 8 million visitors visit the Smoky Mountains National Park.

Buildings

The oldest part of the Swag dates to 1795.

Food Service

Full breakfast is served at the Swag from 8 to 10 a.m., Monday through Saturday.

On Sunday only a continental breakfast is served from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

Sunday brunch begins at 11 a.m.

Luncheon is primarily a packed backpack lunch or a picnic lunch or snack lunch.

“High Tea” is served daily from 3 to 5 p.m.

Dinner: Hors d’oeuvres at at 6 p.m. and dinner is served at one seating at 7 p.m.

The food served at the Swag is fabulous.

The Sunday brunch at the Swag is unbelievable.

The dinner menu at the Swag is imaginative, creative and strictly gourmet.

Amenities

The private rooms at the Swag and the locale are soothing, relaxing and gorgeous.

The common areas at the Swag ( dining area, libraries, and grounds) are remarkable.

My Experience at the Swag

I enjoyed every moment of every experience I had while I was at the Swag.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 by Gary S. Smolker, All Rights Reserved

 

Dinner with the Two Most Interesting Men In the World and Femme Fatale

Last night Femme Fatale and I had dinner with the two most interesting men in the world: Ghassan Sader and Lou Coronado.

Below is a picture of Ghassan.

Below is a photo of Femme Fatale.

 

Ghassan’s (Gus’s) hobby is designing and making custom designed [one of the kind] “bags”, clutches, purses and brief cases out of animal skins — in a unique color chosen by a colorist (or the-owner-to-be) to match whatever outfit a man or woman will to choose to wear.

You will not see someone else carrying your one of a kind bag/clutch/purse or brief case designed by Gus.

Last night Gus brought a beautiful alligator “bag” he had designed for himself in which to carry his keys, money, credit cards and whatever else.  He had a book and video he had brought to dinner to give me.

 

For dinner we shared ideas and dishes of:

olives

corn salad

clams

Snapper

Sea Bass

Pappardelle

Cauliflower

 

and for dessert we enjoyed:

Pot De Crème, and

Choc Torta

and I had a couple of cups of coffee to accompany my portion of dessert.

 

Femme Fatale was thirsty when we arrived — Femme Fatale sipped a glass of Prosecco and chatted with Gus as we waited for Lou to arrive.

Gus chose a bottle of Selene for us to drink with our meal. an excellent choice.

 

Since age eight, Gus knew he wanted to be in the hospitality business.

Once upon a time, when Gus graduated from school in Switzerland, Gus had memorized the smells and details of 75 different wines and could blindly identify each one of them by smell alone.

 

Today, Gus’s day job includes managing hotels and resorts in eleven different countries.

At dinner, Gus told us that 47% of business travelers today are women traveling alone.

 

In hotels that Gus’s Firm (Sader Hospitality International) manages special rooms are set aside for business women traveling alone.

In each of those rooms are such things as a mannequin on which she may put/hang her business suit.

 

While selecting dessert for us, Femme Fatale asked if it would be okay to order a Pot De Crème and a Chocolate Torta for desert.

Femme Fatale asked because of my concern about my sugar intake. 

I replied, “It’s okay,  Cedars Sinai Hospital is across the street.”

 

As the night progressed, I asked the hostess, Why are scientists at JPL (California Institute of Technology Laboratory) trying to land a man on Mars — when they can eat (have a meal)  at A.O.L.?  She agreed.

One of A Kind Custom Designed Crocodile Bags

 

By the way, I am going to post a picture of at least one of Gus’ custom made crocodile bags.

 

Gus can custom make a one of a kind bag/purse/clutch/briefcase within 20 days after matching the color to whatever a person will wear.

Level of Creativity

In my imagination/estimation — my friends can produce one or more products superior to whatever unique gift Neiman Marcus comes up with in the Neiman Marcus annual Christmas gift catalogue.  This morning I challenged five of my friends to do so.

Helping Lou Overcome Shyness

 

During dinner, Lou told Femme Fatale that Lou was glad Lou was born after Femme Fatale because if Lou had been born at the same time as Femme Fatale Lou would have had to kill himself when Femme Fatale denied Lou the privilege of being one of Femme Fatale’s active suitors.

Below is a self-portrait of Femme Fatale, painted by Femme Fatale when Femme Fatale was a young woman.

Lou also told Femme Fatale: Lou is sure there is a special grave yard occupied by men whose advances Femme Fatale has turned down.

 

One of my projects for the rest of this year, is to help Lou become out-going. Below is a photograph of Lou with some of Lou’s friends.

Dudes Guide to Women’s Shoes

Lou and I recently launched a website blog Dudes Guide to Women’s Shoes at http://www.dudesguidetowomensshoes.com. 

Femme Fatale and Gus and Lou and I are the sole members of the Dudes Guide to Women’s Shoes Faculty, Instructors.

The dinner last night was the first formal meeting of the Shoe Faculty of the Dudes Guide to Women’s Shoes Internet based venture Lou and I launched last week at http://www.dudesguidetowomensshoes.com. 

We held our first Dudes Guide to Women’s Shoes’ Shoe Faculty meeting [dined] at A.O.C. located at 8700 W Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048, which is across the street from the world famous Cedars Sinai Hospital and Medical Center.

 

By the way, the hostess at A.O.C. and her assistant were taken aback by the dress Femme Fatale wore; they remarked that the dress Femme Fatale wore was stunning.

Readers Suggest Future Articles for this Blog

See string of email correspondence below.

 

GREAT XX vs XY CHROMOSOME STORY

—–Original Message—–
From: Grahame Elder <grahame.elder@gmail.com>
To: Gary Smolker <GSmolker@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Sep 1, 2016 12:51 pm
Subject: Fwd: Gender geography
Gary – Please consider this as your next category for you intensive investigation…

———- Forwarded message ———-

The Geography of a Woman   Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa. Half discovered, half wild and naturally Beautiful!     Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe. Well developed and open to trade, especially for someone of real value.     Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain, very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.     Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece, gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.     Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain , with a glorious and all conquering past.     Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel, has been through war, doesn’t make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.     Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada, self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.     After 70, she becomes Tibet. Wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages. An adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge.     THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN     Between about 18 and 90, a man is like North Korea, ruled by a pair of nuts.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 by Gary S. Smolker, All Rights Reserved