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Hi Ruth, thanks for sharing this wonderful article! I have a story to share--about 5 or 6 years ago I was in Maui with my parents and family and we went to Spago on our last night there. We were having an amazing dinner and about 20 minutes after we sat down we noticed a huge atmosphere change. The waiters started walking faster, the place got really quiet, was very weird and then we saw that Wolfgang and his wife and kids were sitting down to dinner RIGHT next to us. We were both at larger round tables and my dad ended up being about two feet away from Wolfgang elbow to elbow. At one point, Wolfgang looked over and asked my dad how dinner was and they exchanged some nice words, my dad asked which wine he went for and so on. Then a chef brought over a HUGE platter with a giant wholly cooked fish on it, and a million small plates for the chef and his family to try. My dad, joking, said, "where's that on the menu?" Wolfgang then said, "oh this was caught today, you must try it" and made them cut the fish in half and send half to our table. It was very good, and I remember watching my dad, who is a SUPER picky eater, gleefully spoon the mystery fish into his mouth with little reserve because he recognized that being sent a fish prepared for Wolfgang Puck, at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

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So fun to read about Wolfgang Puck and Spago! Also, LOVE the cup recommendation - but Amazon says it can't ship to my address (Washington State) :-(

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Reading about Spago was such fun. For all I know, you made me visit it in the 1980s, when I did and was knocked out by what I no doubt thought was a cosmic experience. I was, after all, reading your work back then. Can't quite pull from memory what I ate that lunch but I'm settling on smoked salmon pizza and sticking with it. [guide.michelin.com/us/en/article/features/wolfgang-puck-smoked-salmon-pizza] Many thanks for the memories!

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Would love to hear about Reims...we have a grandson at university there. I am hoping to visit some day, so any intel...thanks

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Wonderful memories, thank you for sharing!

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