A night in the life.

With the Brewhouse closed on Monday, I was able to break away for a staff meeting and strategy session for Food & Dining magazine. I've been writing beer columns for F & D since 2004, which surprisingly makes me one of the veterans, and yet I've never attended a session like last evening's.

Mr. G, who has been contributing features, kindly offered to drive so that we could carpool to Lake Forest. Publisher John White anchored the proceedings, which included introductions and Sarah Fritschner's debut as the magazine's editor. Many of you will remember Sarah from the Courier-Journal, where she was the food editor for many years, touting concepts like slow food and farmers' markets long before these notions became fashionable.

Food & Dining, a querterly, will remain much the same in the sense of its mission to report on the local dining scene, but it is anticipated that there'll be more material about cooking at home. The web site will undergo an overhaul. Free lancers like me are being asked to contribute ideas and content outside our core areas.

All in all, it was an exciting evening, and our hosts prepared marvelous ribs and salad for social hour after the evening. The Merlot didn't hurt, either. You should begin seeing the new ideas in the forthcoming issue, which will hit the streets just before Derby.