The Sixth Annual VUI Thanksgiving Political Awards

Again, VUI is handing out its coveted Thanksgiving political awards. This is the sixth year we have done so. This year, we will keep it simple and just list the winners.  Here we go. 

The Cornbread Dressing Award for Career Achievement goes to former State Representative Dan Cooper of Williamston.  Cooper resigned at the end of the session of General Assembly  this Spring.  Cooper served as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and was often a conservative voice with reason in that position. Cooper resigned to spend more time with his family, something we at VUI applaud.  Cooper served the people of South Carolina well in his time in office and earned our recognition. 

The Cranberry Sauce Award for Local Government achievement goes to Aiken County Assistant Solicitor Steve Kodman.  Kodman lost his battle with cancer on November 14th of this year. But, as he battled cancer, Kodman continued to move cases along as a prosecutor.  He showed how a man does things as he goes out.  Kodman served the people well until his last day.  That said, VUI must mention Kodman's boss, Strom Thurmond, Jr., and how he worked with and honored Kodman.

The Holiday Ham Award, given to the biggest self promoter in South Carolina politics again goes to Will Folks.  His self important blogging about his love hate relationship with Governor Haley and the University of South Carolina continues at a high level.  Folks is not a bad guy, but no one loves to read his own words on the internet more than he does. 

That brings us at VUI to the political Turkey of the Year Award.  This one is difficult.  There are so many to choose from.  Michelle Bachmann comes to mind.  Ron Paul comes to mind.  Herman Cain comes to mind.  President Obama has a claim.  But, in the end, we at VUI give the award to Lt. Governor Ken Ard. Ard was a hero a year ago, but remains under investigation for his campaign finance issues now.  We give the nod to Ard, because his antics give ammunition to people who want to make his position appointed instead of elected.  Few have degraded the prestige of their office the way Ard has.  It will only get worse in 2012.

That brings us to the Holiday Fruitcake Award.  This one has been controversial.  People get upset when their pet political figures are called fruitcakes.  Again, Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul come to mind. But in the end we dub the "Occupy" movement.  Those folks claim to be for the people, but they urinate and defecate in parks and grounds that belong to the people.  When responsible government officials ask to clear them and just clean up, the "Occupy" people sue and go nuts.  God bless them for excersing their rights to assemble and protest.  But, geez, come on, let people clean up after you.  What started out as a legitmitate protest has turned into people disrespecting their fellow taxpayers by defecating and urinating in public places.  Grow up people!

The Golden Drumstick goes to the politician or politico with the best performance.  Attorney General Alan Wilson deserves some recognition for his performance.  Wilson had a lot of naysayers, but he has turned out to be a proven crime fighter and good lawyer for South Carolina.  But, the Golden Drumstick goes to Newt Gingrich. Six months ago, Newt was done. The so called professionals left him.  Now his idea driven campaign makes him a real contender in South Carolina and for the nomination to be President of the United States.  Newt's return from the politically dead earns him the Golden Drumstick.

Newt Gingrich is the smartest man in the room

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich showed again Tuesday night what we at VUI have known all along, he is the smartest man in the room when Republicans get together to debate. 

Gingrich does not throw out red meat for conservative activists on issues like Medicare and immigration.  Instead he delivers heaping doses of reality and reason and argues for conservative approaches that deal with reality.  

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan is solid on the economic front.  But, frankly, Gingrich has more depth on the wide range of issues that faces a President of the United States.  Rick Perry seems lost.  Michelle Bachman and Ron Paul's ideological zeal does not embrace reality.  Jon Huntsman seems to be running for Secretary of State.  The former Senator from Pennsylvania seems to be running for the head of the Christian Coalition.  Mitt Romney, despite his money and the fact he has been running for five years, still comes across as a mid market tv news anchor trying to craft his words to keep his market share. 

Then, there is Gingrich.  He is a man with admitted personal baggage.  But, he has the experience and the depth of knowledge to know what he can do and what he can't do.  Gingrich is serious and thoughtful.  The others seem handled.  

Frankly put, a debate between President Obama and Gingrich would be one for the ages.  It would rival Kennedy and Nixon.  Such a race would give America a real debate and real choice between two heavyweights. 

In that match, VUI thinks Gingrich would prevail.  But, for that to happen, Gingrich must win the GOP nomination.  Nominating Gingrich would be the smart thing for the GOP to do, but the question is will the GOP do it? 

It will be a classic showdown.  Romney will have the professionally crafted soundbites.  Others will throw out the so call red meat.  Gingrich will appeal to thinking about solutions to our problems.  

One thing is certain, big Obama supporters do not want to face Gingrich.  They might act like they are chomping at the bit to go after his personal issues, but more than one Obama supporter has told VUI that they fear facing Gingrich in a debate. 

They should.  He is the smartest man in the room among the Republicans and would be with the President.  To be clear, the President can and will beat the others.  Gingrich would make the President seem like a lightweight. 

Emails are public record

Say what you will about the Occupy Columbia movement, but one of the attorneys representing the protesters stumbled upon something that should bother us all.  Governor Nikki Haley and her staff routinely delete taxpayer paid for email messages to one another.  

Now we all delete emails.  Most of our email inboxes are filled with junk emails ranging from schemes to get us to deposit money to get money to things that tell us how to have better sex lives.  

But, in this age, government emails are public records.  Emails are the typed memos of yesterday that give the public and the press an idea about how decisions are made in government and how state government officials react to events of the day.  The people are entitled to have such emails saved and available for public scrutiny. 

We now know that Governor Haley and her people delete their emails to one another.  Such is self serving and an insult to the people of South Carolina.  It is especially insulting when one considers how Governor Haley ran a campaign promising open and accountable state government. Frankly put, deleting emails slaps the face of every South Carolinian who voted for Governor Haley thinking she would be open. 

Perhaps Governor Haley and her people are just ignorant. But, one thing is clear.  The taxpayers of South Carolina pay for the government internet access and the emails in question.  As such, they are entitled to know the contents of such emails that they pay for. 

If Governor Haley and her staff have things that must be deleted, let them email via private accounts that they pay for.  Otherwise, deleting official emails plays into the hands of conspiracy theorists, activists and others.  In other words, it is just plain politically dumb.  

If you doubt that, look at what deleting official emails has done to Governor Haley's position on the Occupy Columbia crowd.  Haley had ordered them to leave State House grounds by 6PM.  Now she is backing off that stand as it becomes obvious that the Governor who promised to be so open is not that open after all. 

Chances are there is nothing sinister in the deleted emails.  But, the act of deleting them begs the question of what was in them.  Such a trivial thing can derail a Governor's agenda.  It also shows a marked ignorance of the world we live in today.

For we live in a world in which emails and text messages are the accepted form of communication.  When such things are deleted by government officials, it is as offensive to the public as destroying files and memos.  And it is certainly not the stuff a Governor and Administration committed to openness does.  

Steve Kodman

I lost one of my best friends recently.  Most of you in the political world will never know the name of Steve Kodman.  Frankly, Kodman would have it that way.

But, he was my friend, one of my truest friends.  I met him way back in 1988 at a scholarship competition at then Lander College.  We both were interviewing for full scholarships.  Kodman oozed confidence.  He spoke to me, right away, about a girl he wanted to date.  She was a softball star named Jennifer.  Steve and I both ended up at Lander with scholarships and we struck a friendship up that has been one of the richest in my life.  Steve taught me how to coach when we coached basketball together.

When Steve’s car was not up to par, I would drive him to Clemson to see his softball star. I was fortunate to be one of the men who stood by Steve as he took Jennifer for his wife back in 1994.  I was there when their first boy was born. As fate would have, I was one of the men who toted Steve to his final resting place.  All of it was a privilege .  Steve was there for me in so many ways.

Fraternally, he was my “big brother,” ushering me through the pledging process.  But, more than that, he always was a brother to me. He was a real big brother.  He was my coach, my mentor. He was a man who showed me, even sick, how to be a man.   I always looked up to him and followed him to USC Law and took his career advice.  At my lowest moments, Steve always had my back.

So, it crushed me when I could not have his.  After we worked together to get Alan Wilson nominated as the Republican candidate for Attorney General last summer, I learned that Steve was diagnosed with Stage Four Lung Cancer.  When he was diagnosed, Steve had cancer that had spread to his bones in his ribs.

Steve spent his life fighting for the right things, as a prosecutor in Aiken, Lexington and Horry counties and in the Attorney General’s office.  So when faced with the fight of his life, Steve fought with the courage that defined him.  Steve had a way of encouraging people who were trying to encourage him. That was his way.  Steve Kodman was John Wayne in a puissant world and I will get sideways with anyone who says otherwise.

But, like so many, Steve lost his fight.  I lost one of the best friends I ever had.  But my own self pity is tempered when I think how his wife Jennifer lost a beloved husband and how his boys, Patrick, Thomas and Drew lost a devoted father.

I have traveled a lot through this state.  I met all kinds of people.  God has blessed me with that.  But, in all my travels, in all my experiences, I never met a soul more dedicated to doing right than Steve Kodman.  He was loyal to his wife and kids.  He was loyal to his friends.  He fought for justice.  I will miss him so much, and this world will be less without him in it.  Rest in Peace, my brother.

Cobéa -- Restaurant Review

 

Cobéa Restaurant

11, rue Raymond Losserand
75014 Paris
tel : +33(1) 43 20 21 39
reservation@cobea.fr
Closed Sunday and Monday

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor
€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; $$$$ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on plats--main course)
1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)

  2.5 - Stars.............................................€€€....................................................1 - Bell

An online friend, John Talbott, who is now my "BFF", has a very popular food blog http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/that I’ve been a big fan of since moving to Paris in 2008. He invited us to join him for lunch. I didn’t really care where we were going  for lunch, I was more excited to finally meet him in person.  He recommended Cobéa http://cobea.fr/en/since it was recommended by a friend, so it would be a new experience for all of us.

The restaurant was a concept from Philippe Bélissent, formerly of Laurent, Ledoyen, and Le Restaurant in L’Hôtel, and his partner, the maître d’ Jérôme Cobou, located close to Montparnasse. Recently opened, a little more than 2-months ago.

Black/Gray/White interior

Our reservation was for 12:30, and as we stepped in I noticed a very monochromatic color scheme of white, black and gray.  It was pretty devoid of any color, probably so diners can focus on the food.  The restaurant layout et.al. was actually quite nice, if you like that modern feel. It didn’t seem French to me at all.  And, they had an interesting glass floor by the bathroom where you could see the wine cellar below.

Glass floor overlooking wine cellar

John showed up shortly after we arrived, and our waiter gave us the menu and wine list.  We started first by ordering wine, primarily by price (cheapest), Rasteau Cotes du Rhone Villages, but turned out to be one of the highlights for lunch.

We pretty much all decided we were going to the pre-fix menu for 38€, which included the following:

Appetizer:

Razor-fish; squid and parsley or Foie Gras; pan-fried, pasta and girolles

Main:

Cod Fish; cauliflower or Wild Young Partridge, caramelized chicory

 Desserts and coffee

Gimmicky hand wash

 

We got a small little white rolled up tube, what looked to me like a tampon, sorry if I offended any of my woman friends, but that's what it looked like.  Our waiter explained that we needed to plop into our glass, then use it to clean our hands.  And, as I did, it literally sucked up all the water.  I was curious if there was any lemon or alcohol in this hand wash, so being the crude person that I am took a sip of it, yuk, oh well, you can’t take me anywhere!

Chevré balls

Our amuse bouche was a croquette stuffed with chevré (goat cheese). I liked it, but it was deep-fried and who wouldn’t like something fried, n’est-ce pas?  Surprisingly, another amouse bouche came out and it was a teeny, tiny stuffed crab. I liked it because it tasted like crab. John is from Baltimore, renowned for crab, he mentioned that typically French crabs are not very good.  But for me, it was tasty, but I’m not a crab connoisseur.

Stuffed teeny-tiny crab

For our entrées, Jack got the razor back clams which was the highlight of Jack’s meal. He loved it, I tasted it, I don’t particularly care for “foams”, but it was extremely tasty. 

Razor clam

Foie gras with stuffed pasta

John and I had the foie gras, and the pasta with girolles.  The pasta was a small shell pasta stuffed with girolles and some type of unidentifiable meat. The pasta was not al dente, but rubbery. However, the foie gras was nice and seared on the outside and nice and tender inside.

Now here’s where we start going down hill, our main courses:

Cabillaud

Jack and I had the Cod Fish and cauliflower. I have to say it did look pretty; however, I haven’t tasted anything so bland in a long time.  I would’ve even preferred it to be fishy over having no taste at all. It desperately needed some acid, lemon would’ve definitely given it some depth.  The sauce was also quite glutinous, almost “”cornstarchy”, if there is such an adjective.  We had to ask for salt and pepper. I must’ve doused so much pepper, the pristine white plate looked like someone splattered dirt on it, oh well.

Partridge

John had the partridge. I had a taste of it, but it was a bit rubbery, and it was not very exciting.  John did ask for it to be on the more rare side; unfortunately, it was more on the well done side. For all I know it could’ve been a piece of overcooked chicken.

Interestingly, John uses a phrase called “U” meal.  Wow, I asked, “what does this mean?” Basically, the food is on a high then it starts declining and maybe goes back up again.  So, I asked if I could use this phrase, ‘cause I love it.

Comté

Jack was the only one who had a cheese course.  He had the comté.  It was accompanied by a sabayon (which he didn't want). I thought for sure it was going to be a sweet sabayon.  I tasted it, and it was not pleasant. It was savory and “salty” that could have been used on the fish.  I can’t imagine adding that sabayon to the comté, since comté already has a strong taste.  The cheese had “colored” sprinkles on top of it, according to Jack it didn’t taste like anything, it was just superfluous.  Well the red did give the restaurant some color at least.

Afterwards, desserts came:

It was an odd mix of very, very sour dishes and very, very sweet dishes.  I get sweet and sour in one dish, but this was a bit odd for me.

Spéculoos Mousse

For our first dessert we got a sorbet of lemon and ginger. I wanted to say, man this is sour, but my lips puckered up so much, I couldn’t even say the words.  It was one of the most sour desserts I’ve ever tasted.  The second dessert was a spéculoos mousse over a spéculoos cookie sitting atop some chocolate ganache. The mousse was very creamy and as you dug in and hit the chocolate it was a nice little surprise. I happen to like spéculoos, so it was good dessert for me.

Passion fruit

Then we got a plate of passion fruit (lilikoi) and some lemon tarts.  The passion fruit was just awful. I'm a tropical fruit, so I know my fruit. Whoever their provider is, needs to be fired. Passion fruit should be succulent, sweet, aromatic and make you want to be passionate.  All it did for me was make me bitchy.

Lemon tarts

The lemon tart crust was interesting, it was encrusted with “demara” sugar. I liked the crust part better than the filling.

Summary:

This is an expensive restaurant for the type of food you get. For 3-people, the bill came to almost 200 Euros.  All of us gave the food a 2 over 5 score; however, I gave them credit for their service. The service was excellent, so I bumped up my overall score to 2 1/2 .  Would I go back?  probably not. Will it improve? I hope so, because they do have a great concept albeit a lot of clichés.  And, in their defense, they still are relatively new, so probably still refining their menu.