They say you should never meet your heroes...
...lest they turn out to be less than what you imagine them to be.
They are wrong.
Last night, I met one of my heroes. None other than Mr. Alton Brown.
He did a book signing at the B&N in Paramus. The Q&A session beforehand was highly entertaining. (Can you say Bunny Hop?) During said session, he mentioned having made a Buttermilk Maple ice cream with Bacon this past Saturday. I raised my hand and asked if we could get the recipe. He complemented my glasses, and said that we should all go to the Food and Wine Festival in NYC this Saturday, at which point somebody shouted out that it conflicts with ComicCon, and the whole conversation got derailed.
After the Q&A, we all queued up to get our books/what-have-you signed. There were tons of people, but the employees assured us that Mr. Brown would sign something for everyone, no matter how long it took.
When it was finally my turn, I only turned into a little bit of a gibbering idiot. He smiled, and shook my hand*, and seemed generally interested in me. He even remembered my question from earlier. I asked him very nicely if he could maybe put the recipe for the ice cream online, since my parents are coming to buy me laundry machines for the new house this weekend. He agreed, told me that laundry is important, and congratulated me on the house.
Alton was so kind, and gracious. I wasn't so much surprised as relieved. So often we hear about people we admire being less-than-nice in real life, but Alton was a true gentleman. I think I would give my eye teeth to be able to take that man out for a beer.
I've been through some tough times recently, but those two minutes with one of my heroes made everything just that much better.
*(I considered never washing my hands again, but I don't think Alton would approve.)
P.S.-There's lots going on, and I haven't been on the internet much lately. I probably won't be around much for a while yet, but if you have my cell phone number, please do use it!
They are wrong.
Last night, I met one of my heroes. None other than Mr. Alton Brown.
He did a book signing at the B&N in Paramus. The Q&A session beforehand was highly entertaining. (Can you say Bunny Hop?) During said session, he mentioned having made a Buttermilk Maple ice cream with Bacon this past Saturday. I raised my hand and asked if we could get the recipe. He complemented my glasses, and said that we should all go to the Food and Wine Festival in NYC this Saturday, at which point somebody shouted out that it conflicts with ComicCon, and the whole conversation got derailed.
After the Q&A, we all queued up to get our books/what-have-you signed. There were tons of people, but the employees assured us that Mr. Brown would sign something for everyone, no matter how long it took.
When it was finally my turn, I only turned into a little bit of a gibbering idiot. He smiled, and shook my hand*, and seemed generally interested in me. He even remembered my question from earlier. I asked him very nicely if he could maybe put the recipe for the ice cream online, since my parents are coming to buy me laundry machines for the new house this weekend. He agreed, told me that laundry is important, and congratulated me on the house.
Alton was so kind, and gracious. I wasn't so much surprised as relieved. So often we hear about people we admire being less-than-nice in real life, but Alton was a true gentleman. I think I would give my eye teeth to be able to take that man out for a beer.
I've been through some tough times recently, but those two minutes with one of my heroes made everything just that much better.
*(I considered never washing my hands again, but I don't think Alton would approve.)
P.S.-There's lots going on, and I haven't been on the internet much lately. I probably won't be around much for a while yet, but if you have my cell phone number, please do use it!