Text 9350, 95 rader
Skriven 2014-01-31 20:54:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: travel (not time) 125
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So Lilli and I went to check in, and behind my boarding
pass (in the anticipated class of service) the machine
gave me a little chit that sid, please see a United
representative for an important message. It also had
the telltale code R after the flight number. I think
the letters are F, A, R, and X for first, C, D, J, P,
I, and O for business (depending on how much you paid,
whether you were upgraded, and so on), and all others
peonage.

It has been pointed out, including here, that "status"
on the airline doesn't correspond to anything in
particular in real life, and I noted here, no, on RIME
Cuisine I think, that United was the only corporation
silly enough to dub me an executive of any sort. One
thing that status gives me is upgrades, so I don't
complain much about all this bogusness. They gave me an
artificial honor, so they have to do something to make
it seem in some way real. When I first made "Premier
Executive 100K" a United person told me, now you will
never have to fly coach again, if you don't want to."
Which I didn't for a while, but then times got tough. 

Anyhow, the question was should I go and get this
important message, or should I play dumb. It seemed
clear that even though I'd booked both our tickets
under the same record, we were not together any more
in this rough and tumble world. So: if there had been
two seats up front, no problem, we'd have automatically
been put there. If there had been no seats, there would
have been no notice. The thing is that if they were
going to be unaccustomedly efficient, and I did nothing,
I'd have a new boarding pass waiting at the gate, and
we'd be separated, which we didn't want. Ergo. I hustled
to the United Club where I might expect to find a United
rep and cancel, but no, the staff said they were contract
workers and were not authorized to do something so simple
as to cancel an upgrade. I asked them to call the office
and get things cleared up, but they said they weren't
authorized to do that either. So I had to go down to the
gate early and tell them that I wanted to keep my original
seat, which they were able to get back by typing many
keystrokes, presumably making somebody else happy in the
end.

We ended up reasonably happy with our seats, which were
5 rows behind where I would have been, but that 5 row gap
might have felt like a significant gulf, and I am supposed
to go on several more trips with Lilli after this.

Chinese Chili
categories: New York, not Chinese, soups/stews, time travel
servings: 6

2 lb lean brisket
1/4 c soy sauce, more to taste
1/4 c hoisin sauce
2 lg onions, finely chopped
1 lg green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and slivered
1 habanero or other hot fresh chile, seeded and slivered
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 in piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 Tb Sichuan peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
1 Tb five-spice powder
12 oz beer, preferably amber ale
14 oz cn whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
1 Tb rice vinegar
Chinese hot chile oil
2 Tb finely chopped cilantro

Reserve about 1 Tb of the fat from the brisket and cut
the meat in 1/2" dice. Lightly brown the fat on
medium-high in a large saute pan to slick the bottom.
Add meat and cook until it loses its redness. Transfer
meat and any juices to a bowl. Toss with soy sauce and
hoisin.

Reduce heat to low, add onions, bell pepper, jalapenos,
habanero, garlic and ginger and cook until softened.
Add Sichuan peppercorns and five spice, stir, then add
ale. Bring to a simmer. Add tomatoes. Return meat and
juices to the pan. Cover and simmer 90 min, until the
meat is tender.

Stir in vinegar. Mixture should be somewhat soupy; add
some water if needed. Drizzle in chile oil to taste.
Adjust salt with soy sauce. Garnish with cilantro and
serve.

New York Times, February 5, 2014
(should be April 1, I think)
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