Memorial Service

David's memorial service will be held at The National Arts Club in New York City on Saturday, March 10 at 1:00 PM. The address is 15 Gramercy Park South. Jackets are required for men.

We are better people for having had him in our lives.

David Doernberg died at his home in New York City on March 2 and his leaving diminishes our world. He was born August 29, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut, to Ray (now deceased) and Myrna Doernberg. In addition to his mother, David leaves his adored older brother, Michael, his dear sister-in-law Lynn and two nephews, Alex and Zach (Cary, NC).

Those who knew and loved Dave enjoyed watching him build a successful career as a production designer. At the start, David collaborated on music videos for such bands as Sonic Youth, Superchunk and Yo La Tengo. As his work became known, Dave was sought out for commercials and independent films. An eye for detail and an understated aesthetic are hallmarks of Dave’s memorable body of work. Though still young, David made the time to mentor other designers who admired his work and his collaborative style. Dave was especially proud of his contribution to such films as Junebug, Gummo, Palindromes and Meek’s Cutoff.

David never took for granted that life is precious. Above all, he valued family and friendship. His passion for food and cooking, the ocean, nicknames, film, music, architecture, design and the Yanks provide just a small sense of a life fully lived. David traveled and as with all of life, he experienced it with joy: the beaches of Shelter Island, the slopes of Jackson Hole, camping in Big Sur, a motorcycle trip through the mountains of Northern India were most memorable.

We will remember David as a devoted son, an extraordinary brother and loving uncle. Those who were fortunate to experience his unique brand of friendship will tell you how he provided encouragement, a welcoming ear, good counsel offered with humor, openness and warmth. The stamina with which he fought against a disease that would not let up has inspired strength, calm and courage in all who knew him. His memory lives on in whom he loved and all who loved him. We are better people for having had him in our lives.

There will be a memorial service at The National Arts Club in New York City on March 10 and a springtime tree planting will take place in Chapel Hill, NC - date to be determined.
Memorial contributions can be made to Doctors Without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org or No Kid Hungry http://www.nokidhungry.org

TUNA WITH PONZU SAUCE

Yesterday was an unseasonably warm day in NYC. Myrna and I took a long walk which included a trip to Chelsea Market. The tuna at The Lobster Place looked really good, so I got a small piece for dinner. It was easier to make than you think. I seared the tuna on both sides for a couple minutes, sliced up some red onions and cilantro and poured ponzu sauce over it. A few days ago I was at Sunrise Mart in the East Village and bought the bottle that had the most Japanese writing and the coolest design.

SALTIMBOCCA

Kim and Phil came over for dinner tonight so I made Saltimbocca. It's really easy and it's always a crowd-pleaser. You can use chicken, veal or pork pounded really thin. The guy at Citarella pounded the pork cutlets for me. I dredge each cutlet in flour and then put a slice of prosciutto on each one with some sage leaves tucked underneath. You can also use a toothpick to stick it all together but it will stay stuck even if you don't. After the pork is lightly browned on each side, I make a simple sauce by squeezing a bunch of lemon juice in the pan to scrape up all the brown bits, add a little butter and some capers. Pour the sauce over everything and garnish with a few thin slices of lemon. I used these cool wooden scissors Ford brought me from Mexico to serve everything up with. There were lots of left-overs that I think will make a nice breakfast with some scrambled eggs and toast.

ROCKMEISHA

Rockmeisha is half a block from my apartment but for a long time I never noticed it and didn't even considering going there. Amy told me they have excellent ramen, so Kim, Phil and I went there last night. It really is good. It's an Izakaya restaurant, lot's of small dishes and things to eat while drinking beer. I loved being there with my friends.

VEGETARIAN POT PIE

Kat and Tracy came over yesterday and we made vegetarian pot pie. We trekked to Lifethyme in the freezing cold and got some vegetables (parsnips, turnips, frozen peas, celery, potatoes and tarragon) I already had some mushrooms and carrots. On the way back we ran into a frozen Bill and Barbara who visited earlier and brought me a selection of jeans to try on from Raleigh Denim. They were visiting NYC to celebrate Bill Ryan's birthday-Happy Birthday Bill! When we got back to my place Ruby was there, she had spilled honey all over her self making "better than sex" tea, that I had gotten as a Christmas gift. (It's a blend of Roobios tea, chocolate and peppermint). We arrived just in time for kickoff of the Giants v. Packers game. Kat and Tracy did all the work: cutting up vegetables, sautéing, and rolling out the dough. The pies turned out great (although I would have liked it a little soupier) and were a perfect thing to eat on a bitter cold day while watching a great football game... and they make for some good leftovers.

CORIAN TABLE

I miss working. I liked creating environments, working with others and changing a space to become something it wasn't before I started. For the past few weeks I've been "working" on my apartment. I've always wanted to have a large table where people could eat, I could work on projects and sit with others and talk. I had this table made. It's big. It's got solid walnut legs and a Corian top (which is usually used for kitchen counters) I found this light at PW Vintage Lighting and today Tony installed it for me. It's sort of like a pulley, it's counter-balanced so you can adjust the height of the light as you desire, and you can pivot it around to where you need light most. I bought two more chairs on Etsy that should arrive in the next few days. They don't match the ones I have but I think they'll look good. They are simple, white, wooden chairs sort of in the Windsor chair style. I really like it, I feel like I've changed the environment in my small apartment pretty drastically.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ruby, Matt, Myrna, Joe and I enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve in my apartment. Ruby made lentil soup and we watched Louis C.K.'s new stand up performance from The Beacon Theater. Since it's been so hard to eat, I'm now getting nutrition through TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition). It's like an IV but it has a pump which drips a milky solution through my port. It takes about 12 hours so I start around 7 or 8 and sleep with it through the night. Tonight we had an unusual occurrence. Instead of the milky solution going in the port, blood started coming out. I called the on-call nurse and she said to re-prime the pump. We drained the liquid into a tupperware container and it looked like this:

Which reminded me of the ecko logo.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I came down to North Carolina to celebrate Christmas. Andrea and Mac threw a party for my family and friends. Phil was in charge of decorations. Andrea made my all time favorite, ham biscuits. She also had a giant pile of ham and sausages, and some cheeses she brought home from a recent trip to England. We had Zuppa di pesce, with clams, shrimp and wild striped bass and crusty bread to sop up the broth. Outside, near the wood burning oven, Mac set up a clam and oyster shucking station. We utilized last years gift: Clam Rams, to open the raw clams. My nephew Zach figured out how to use it and tried his first raw clam, he liked it.

CEILING FAN DUST

This is the view from my bed, which I've spent a lot of time in this week. The chemo hit me pretty hard and I've been very nauseous and exhausted. Staring at the dust collecting on my ceiling fan blades was driving me crazy so Ford came over today and took care of it for me. He did a great job, got the tops of the blades and the dust that collected on the ceiling near the fan. I'm able to sleep a lot better now, knowing it's clean up there.

CHEMOTHERAPY PART TWO

After meeting with a number of doctors and other experts following the results of my recent PET scan I decided to get treatment at a private oncology clinic. Most of the doctors I met with recommended the same course of chemotherapy but this one also offered some additional "targeted treatments", the use of amino acids, a concentration on nutrition, supplements, meditation and breathing exercises.

I started yesterday, Phil came with me. It's sort of a high end place, so chatting with the clientele was interesting. We were there most of the day. Early on, I felt nauseous and was gagging into a bucket, just then the doctor walked by and told me to rub a bit of green powder he had in his pocket under my nose. It worked to make me feel better. He had just gotten back from India and was interested in trying out some of his new "alternative" medications.

So far the chemo is OK, a little nausea and my hands feel tingly and numb (it's hard to type). We asked about this weird photograph (there a few like this around the office) but the doctor just said it had to do with offerings and meditation. I look forward to getting to the bottom of this.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was particularly special to me this year. My family came up from North Carolina along with Phil's mom and grand dad. Ruby came from LA, Kelly from Portland as well as Susan and Tony from NYC. Mindy hosted us.

I decided to grill the turkey this year. It came from Heritage Foods at the Essex Street Market. Andrea and Mott both grilled too, so we kept in touch all morning monitoring grill temperatures, etc. It was fun but stressful. I salted it the night before and after getting to room temperature in the morning I stuffed it with apples, onions and sage.It was tricky trying to keep the grill temperature at an even 35o degrees, when my brother showed up he took over and got things straight. We added some applewood that had been soaked in water. Andrea brought it for me, provided by "NC's most prominent Jewish farmer"
There was a pan underneath that we used to collect the drippings (that Tony turned into a delicious gravy). Using my new Thermapen, I was able to quickly determine the inside temperature of the bird. Once we got the grill temperature right, it cooked pretty quickly, approximately two and half hours for a sixteen pound turkey. Zach and Alex (my nephews) did a great job of monitoring the temperature, checking it every ten minutes. I was afraid it would be dry but the white meat was perfectly juicy. My older brother let me carve the turkey (usually his job) and I think I did a pretty good job.

Ruby, Lynn, Myrna, Jan, Mindy and Susan were in charge of side dishes. Everything turned out great and on time. We had mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie with marshmallows, brussels sprouts, pureed squash (with young ginger Andrea sent from NC), corn soufflé, roasted cauliflower with capers (from Il Buco) and chestnut stuffing from a Martha Stewart recipe that Kim recommended. Myrna made cranberry chutney and we also had canned cranberry gel, that everyone seems to prefer to the real thing.

Jan and Lynn brought pies from Bubby's: Pumpkin, Apple Whiskey and Pecan. Susan brought rum cake from Blue Ribbon Bakery. Phil was in charge of de-crumbing the table and Poppy (Phil's grand dad) set the tone by having a little of each dessert. Kelly led the clean-up crew.

This was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. The weather was perfect, it was fun to cook with all my family and friends and the food tasted great. I am truly thankful.

LE BERNARDIN

Ruby got me these little plastic organizers to help keep track of my pain medicine. I took some pills last night that helped reduce the pain so I could enjoy a four course tasting at Le Bernardin. They recently started serving the whole menu in the lounge area so you can walk in without a reservation, although men are supposed to be wearing jackets. Andrea, Phil, Mac and I started with some oysters (before the regular menu)
They start you off with a few small bites: tuna, sea urchin and salmon.
You can choose from a large variety for each course (which makes going back appealing). I started with hamachi wrapped around lettuce, thai basil and carrots.
Lobster poached in citrus sauce.
Dover Sole in brown butter sauce.
This was a "pre-dessert": an egg filled with chocolate mousse and maple syrup.
I chose "religieuse" for dessert, which was fluffy balls filled with elderflower cream.

PET RESULTS

I got the results of my PET scan back and it was bad news. The cancer has spread to a number of lymph nodes in my abdomen and some of my bones including my spine, shoulder blades and ribs. I'm meeting with some doctors and other experts trying to figure out what to do next. My spirits are good and I am ready to do what I have to in order to fight the growth of the cancer. Tony got me this great robe from Society, I love it, I've always wanted a robe.

SUSHI SOTO

I've walked by Sushi Soto a million times and never thought to go there. It's real plain looking and they have no sign. I'd heard that they specialize in uni (sea urchin) so Andrea and I decided to give it a try last night. We started with two types of tofu. And then had a variety of uni preparations: uni tempura with uni powder.
Uni cocktail with a soy sauce reduction.
Uni with yuba (tofu skin)
Uni with squid and quail egg.
They also have normal sushi, this is miso marinated tuna with shiso.

THE OPPOSITE SEX

Have you ever thought about what you would look like if you were the opposite sex? I have. I’d be pretty small, but not thin, I’d have a nice butt and medium sized boobs that would flair off to the sides. My legs would be nice and I’d have pretty curly hair, I’d be cute but no great beauty.

SOFT PRETZELS

Phil and Timory came over for dinner last night. I made soft pretzels using Alton Brown's recipe. The key was to boil them in baking soda water and coating them with egg yolk, it gave them that dark brown color. I'm going to try making bagels using this same technique soon. We also had pork that had been braised in tomato sauce and wine, cipollini onions in balsamic vinegar, and brussel sprouts with pancetta.

O'CONNELL'S

It's hard to find a normal fitting shirt these days, they are either too stylish or too boxy. Since I've lost a lot of weight I was looking for some new shirts. Mark suggested O'Connell's in Buffalo. They have a whole section of new/old shirts and the ones they make themselves fit like a shirt used to.

TAKEOUT

Last night Stacy brought me a steak from the Strip House. It took a lot of will power not to eat the whole thing, but I knew it would have caused a lot of pain if I had. For breakfast I had leftover steak and a fried egg.

RUSSELL MOCCASIN

About six months ago I ordered these shoes from Russell Moccasin to replace a pair that is getting worn out. Danielle calls them my aging hipster shoes. Russell Moccasin sends you a pattern where you trace your foot and provide a number of other measurements. They keep this paper on file and whenever you want they'll make a new pair of custom shoes for you, but it takes a while.