Habitat for Humanity

After doing relief work in Louisiana post-Katrina, I returned home with a vow to make more time for similarly meaningful work in my own back yard. This summer was my second volunteering for the “Good News House” project of Huron Valley Habitat for Humanity.

“What church to you go to?” asked Donna, Good News House webmaster. “Oh, I don’t attend,” I told her. “I guess you could say I’m the token pagan.” “You’d be surprised,” she responded, “I think we have quite a few of those here.”

The Good News House is sponsored by a coalition of churches in Washtenaw County, primarily Methodists. This year’s project house is located on Harvest Lane in Ypsilanti, and Diana Valencia and her three children are the partner family. With the economic situation in Michigan, you would think that Habitat has families lined up around the block. However, I learned at a steering committee meeting that there’s a difference between applying for a Habitat house, and successfully becoming a partner family. One of the biggest obstacles is debt – in order to qualify for a house, a family must be debt free.

“Many of the families have so much credit card debt,” a board member explained. “And student loans that haven’t actually been used for college. That’s a huge debt problem for many.” Habitat can’t assign a build to someone who hasn’t learned to manage their money well enough to have a reasonable chance of keeping the house. Some Habitat organizations partner with local financial institutions to offer programs to help applicants organize their finances.

Last year I was on the paint crew, and this year in addition to that job I signed up to be a “short notice” volunteer. Starting in June, projects at the Good News House are staffed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday by volunteers from each participating church, and sometimes from local businesses. Monday through Wednesdays are usually for the skilled trades, but often there’s work for volunteers, too – that’s when the short-notice crew is contacted.

Bob Whitacre is the man who puts out the call via email to the short-notice team. A retired school administrator, Bob is the “house leader” or project manager and this is his eighth Habitat house. He is totally organized, but most importantly he’s PATIENT – probably the most important trait for anyone managing so many volunteers. Working year-round on planning, starting in May Bob routinely puts in many twelve-hour days. “Someone should nominate Bob for the Ann Arbor News Citizen of the Year,” a fellow volunteer pointed out to me.

Diana closed on the house on Harvest Lane on October 11, and her family is in the process of moving. Many good wishes to them, and hoping that they're another Habitat for Humanity success story!

High Profile Dining in Vegas

(In a previous post, I pointed out the similarities between Ann Arbor and Las Vegas. Continuing in that vein, Vegas – like our own fair city– is also very serious about fine dining...)

A dozen years ago or so, Las Vegas hotel casinos like New York New York and Treasure Island–with their roller coaster rides and "arrggh matey" themes–took a stab at appealing to a more wholesome revenue stream. But in the past couple years, the Strip has essentially abandoned any pretense of "family friendly."

Now the angle is all about conspicuous consumption. Ferragamo at The Forum Shops. $500 spa treatments at the Bellagio. And the restaurants of internationally known signature chefs at The Wynn.

I can't afford the ankle-strap pumps, and a $150 massage is extravagant even for me. So in the spirit of investigative blogging, I did a little restaurant hopping. After all, a girl's gotta eat.

The MGM Grand is home to two restaurants by Joel Robuchon, one of those intimidatingly fantastic French chefs one reads about in Saveur. We dined in L'atelier de Robuchon, essentially the bar/low rent district of his signature restaurant next door. And by low rent, I mean it cost almost $80 each for one "small plate" (smaller than appetizer) and drinks. Yikes!

Our waiter at L'atelier, Namid, was very patient in a guide-the-Clampetts-
through-the-intricacies-of-nouvelle-cuisine sort of way. I ordered the chestnut veloute with caramelized foie gras and crispy bacon. And, my god, it was good! The foie gras was earthy and smooth on the tongue, and the chestnut veloute - the foamy stuff - had a complementary, nutty sweetness.I asked Namid how often Chef Robuchon visits the Las Vegas restaurants, since this is an issue of some contention in the food world. (Steve Wynn has made a marketing angle of the fact that the celebrity chefs at his restaurants are required to live in town.) Robuchon visits about once every two months. "Does Chef create new dishes in collaboration with the Las Vegas staff, or is he more 'professorial' when he comes into town?" I asked. "Oh, definitely more professorial," Namid responded.

We adjourned to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant for dessert. A much more rambunctious atmosphere welcomed us there, and we enjoyed after-dinner drinks and a lovely chocolate souffle topped off with a warm cream sauce. Tres jolie!

Connie had exhorted me via email to dine at Sensi in the Bellagio, and so I stopped in one night for dinner at the restaurant's bar. You can bump into some interesting (in a good way) folks at the bar of a posh restaurant, particularly in a tourist town like Vegas. And you often experience that "six-degrees-of-separation" thing. Chrys and Jim were enjoying a pre-Cirque de Soleil dinner, and it turns out that Jim and I had a connection through my former employer.
I had the Tuna 3 Ways appetizer, which included hamachi with a cool, coconut sauce that was just lovely. And then, based on the bartender's recommendation, I ordered the braised short rib as my entree. "Slow cooked for over 24 hours," John explained in a charming, low voice as if he were admiring the scent of my cologne, rather than describing a tarted-up pot roast. But it was melt-in-your-mouth good, though I probably left two thirds on my plate (a drawback to dining alone - no one with whom to share). And there was that foamy stuff again, which I really didn't feel added much to the party. Must be a chef thing.
Finally, while Las Vegas hotel casinos are home to some of the most exciting (and expensive) dining in the country, the ubiquitous buffet is still a staple in a town that welcomes over 30 million visitors each year (seemingly half of whom zip around on motorized wheelchairs). And normally I would never recommend a buffet, but Gardunos Mexican Cafe in the Palms is an exception. I met friends there for Sunday brunch, which included made-to-order fajitas, enchiladas, cocktail shrimp, fresh guacamole and salsa, and bottomless margaritas. But best of all, Gardunos offers poolside tables - much more pleasant than the typical view of slot machines and gift shops.

Ann Arbor. Las Vegas. Not So Different.

The Brou is on location this week in Las Vegas. And really, things here are not so different from Ann Arbor. For instance, their main drag and our Main Street....
Shoe shopping is diverting in both towns...













Boating....Controversial figurative sculpture....












Pleasing fountains...The beauty of Mother Nature in the Fall...













...and, most importantly, friendly bartenders. (John at Sensi in Bellagio, and Rafe at Old Town on Liberty.)