Fine Search Dining: Google Friday Menu

I'm having lunch today with a buddy who works at Google, and thought I'd share with you today's menu there:

TABLE BREAD BASTKETS
*Assortment of Artisan Breads
Russian Rye, Assorted Pretzels, Salted Bread Sticks, Sour Wheat,
Kalamata Olive, Walnut-Cranberry-Raisin.
If you have Nut or Seed Allergies, Avoid Table Breads.

Today’s Bread Basket Spread: Lemon Dill Butter (Dill, Lemon Zest, Butter)

GREENS
Composed Salad of the Week: “Rock Shrimp Caesar Salad”
Baby Romaine Hearts, Chilled Sautéed Rock Shrimp, Classic Caesar Dressing, Croutons,
Spanish Anchovy Filet, Parmigiano-Reggiano

Create Your Own
Salad Toppings Include:
Housemade Pickled Vegetables, Grilled Bartlett Pears, Dressed Fuji Apples,
Grilled Marinated Fennel, Lima Beans, Hard Boiled Egg, Edamame Beans,
Red Kidney Beans, Olive Oil Croutons, Crisp Carrot Sticks
and Spicy Peanuts

*Fettuccini with Olives and Capers
Fettuccini Pasta, Balsamic Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive, Roasted Red Peppers,
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

SOUPS
*Root Vegetable Vichyssoise
Puree of Potato, Parsnips, Celery Root and Leek, simmered
with a Housemade Vegetable Stock, Milk, Herbs and Spices
Garnished with Carrot Coulis, Crisp Leek and Black Truffle Oil

Turkey Chili
Black Bean and Turkey Chili, Classic Chili Ingredients, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Cumin, Paprika, Chile, Coriander, Oregano, Topped with Crème Fraiche and Cilantro

Three-Onion Soup
Vidalia Onion, Leek, Chive, Rich Duck Stock, Crouton, Smoked Swiss Cheese

**Ginger-Coconut Broth
Vegetable Stock Infused with Ginger and Coconut Milk with Thai Basil, Scallion, Enoki Mushroom and Julienne Red Chili over Glass Noodles

DELICATESSAN
Sandwich of the Week:
*Roast Turkey, Swiss and Avocado
Roast Turkey, Swiss Cheese, Avocado, Romaine, Roasted Roma Tomato, Mayonnaise
and Dijon Mustard on Dutch Crunch Bread

Grilled Vegetables, Egg Salad,
Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms, Coleman’s Natural Smoked Turkey,
Roast Beef, Black Forest Ham, Assorted Salami

SIDES
*Butternut Squash Gratin
Butternut Squash Sliced Thin and Baked with Garlic, Cream, Nutmeg, Parmesan, Gruyere
and Topped with Herb Bread Crumbs and Browned

**Roasted Fingerlings with Thyme and Balsamic Syrup
Fingerling Potatoes Roasted with Garlic and Thyme then Drizzled
with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Finished
with Balsamic Syrup

**Broccolini with Caramelized Shallots and Lemon Zest
Broccolini Sautéed in Rice Bran Oil with Garlic, and Caramelized Shallots
and Finished with Lemon Zest

*Ginger Glazed Carrots
Sliced Carrots Sauteed with Butter and Finished with a Sweet Ginger Glaze
and Chives

**Vegetable Medley
Nunez Farms Warm Winter Produce.
Tossed Lightly with a Fuji Apple Vinaigrette
(Steamed Preparation Available!)

MAIN PLATES
Steak Dianne
Thin Sliced Roast Tri-Tip Topped with a Peppercorn Brandy Sauce
(Butter, Onion, Garlic, Worcestershire, Cream, Parsley, Cremini Mushroom, Brandy)

Snapper en Papillote
Snapper Topped with Sauteed Julienne Carrots, Zucchini, Shallots, Parsley, Tarragon, Garlic, White Wine, Lemon Zest, Chili Flake, and Butter Wrapped in Parchment Paper
and Baked in the Oven

Piazzon’s Jerk Chicken
Whole Rocky Jr. Chicken Marinated with Green Onion, Thyme, Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Soy Sauce, Ginger, Habanero Peppers, Bay Leaf, Black Pepper, Cilantro, Nutmeg, Allspice
(We Will Happily Serve the Chicken Skinless, Just Ask)

BRICK OVEN
*Three Cheese Pesto Pizza
Thin Semolina Crust, Classic Pesto, Olive Oil, Parmesan, Mozzarella
and Fontina Cheese Finished with Cracked Black Pepper

The Combination
Classic Crust, Arrabiata Sauce, Fontina Val d’ Aosta, Italian Sausage, Pepperoni,
Wild Mushrooms, Red Onion, Green Peppers, Black Olives

*Black Bean and Cojito Cheese Calzone
Classic Crust Filled with Black Beans, Red Onion, Poblano Chili, Red Pepper, Cilantro, Garlic, Cojito Cheese, Served with Jalapeño-Lime Sour Cream

Pulled BBQ Pork Stromboli
Classic Crust Filled with Braised Premium Standard Farms BBQ Pork,
Provolone Cheese and Caramelized Onions

SWEETS
*Tutti Fruiti
Layered Strawberry & Passionfruit Mousse, Swirled with
Chantilly Cream
*German Chocolate “Cheesecake”
Callebaut Chocolate Cheesecake, Topped with a Coconut & Pecan Frosting
*Cookies for the Week
*Coconut & Chocolate Chip Macaroons
*White Chocolate Chip & Macadamia Nut Cookies
*Frozen Yogurt!
Non-Fat Pistachio & Non-Fat Country Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
Served with the Following Toppings:
Heathbar, Chopped Almonds, Peanut Butter Cup Crumbles,
Butterfinger Crumbles

Ask.com & Maverick's - Best Search Sponsorship...Ever

I received the below email from Sean Cummings, Director of Marketing at Ask.com. On the heels of a great Web2.0 conference after-party, Ask.com is sponsoring the upcoming Maverick's Big Wave Surf Contest. Tubular details from Sean below. If you love big waves and paid search, this is The Event Of 2007. I will see you there:

"...hella-stoked! (practicing my NorCal speak) ... So if anyone is interested in crazy people riding 40' waves over jagged rocks in frigid water check here to get the lowdown. The contest goes off on only 24 hours notice; probably in the next two weeks, but that depends on the swells coming in. You can go here and signup for a text alert to find out when it's on.

And if anyone is in San Francisco, pop on down to our tent at the event when the contest is on to say hi. I will be suffering, having to take a day off and hang out at the beach all day, watching crazy people from the Ask.com booth. Just click here and find out how to get there, or here and get directions from AskCity :)"

[Travel logistics note from a buddy who's gone the last few years:
If you drive some good advice would be to throw your bike in the rear of your rig – park at the Safeway (end of highway 92) & ride the mile or so to pillar point. The traffic the last two years has been bumper to bumper form highway 92 to the town of Princeton where mavericks is located. This little 2 mile stretch can take over an hour or even two - there is no parking at all @ Mavericks so you will have to park at the little airport down the road & be shuttled in. Even better advice is to drive over highway 84 (through la Honda stop at Applejacks have some breakfast & a beer) take a right on highway 1 & then up the road to where the traffic starts, park & ride ]

More On Distribution Fraud in Search

Happy New Year everyone; I've not posted in ages, but hopefully I'll have a bit more time to post going forward.

I wrote back in December about distribution fraud in the world of search, and the article quickly became the 3rd most read entry on my blog. In it I talked about the fact that a growing percentage of Google's search network traffic is, in fact, AdSense for Domains traffic where there's no searching involved - only navigational clicks and non-contextual ones at that.

Google's decision to condone this distribution fraud will cost them tens of billions in market cap - mark my words. For the time being it appears they're going to choose pleasing investors over pleasing advertisers, and the result will be either

a) chargebacks by advertisers, perhaps aided by class action lawyers who, unlike SEM's and advertisers, don't need to stay in the good graces of Google to conduct business

b) accelerated advertiser adoption of Ask.com and AOL direct ppc ad buys. After all, once an advertiser has Google.com, Ask.com and AOL search traffic, they can turn of Google's search network with no appreciable loss in conversions.

c) accelerated adoption of Yahoo and MSN ppc

d) hastening of the arrival of the point of diminishing returns for advertisers on Google and thus deceleration in Google's growth rates

There's a SEW thread on the topic of AdSense for Domains; start reading post #21 on page 2 and go from there. The thread started over a year ago and picked up again early Jan ’07. In it there are some pretty powerful, negative anecdotes on the ROI advertisers are seeing from AdSense for Domains – and strong opinions on why Google is doing evil by not letting advertisers opt out of it.

The second is an equally detailed blog post by Richard Ball at Apogee Web Consulting which covers both the history of AdSense domain traffic and what appears – to Richard and I and many others, at least – to be a very clear cut case of Google’s revenue ambitions getting the better of their ‘do no evil’ mantra.