In a New York Minute

Most of my travel is related to my Neuromechanical Seminars, which are eight hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday. Typically, I fly out on Fridays and back on Sundays in any given city to be in the office to see patients again on Monday morning.

As the years go on, I have found time to take some extra days on each side of some of these trips. Especially when I'm in a city where family is located. The weekend of May 3-4 found me in New York for our seminar. My brother John and his family live on Long Island which was the perfect opportunity to stay for a couple of extra days. Still, it felt like a only New York minute.

Thursday must have been celebritday at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Right behind me in line going through security was Brett Michaels - the lead singer of the 1980's glam metalband, Poison. Brett reignited his celebrity status recently starring in the reality show Rock of Love on VH1. We exchanged small talk going through security and I found him to be a very down to earth guy.

When I arrived at the gate to board the plane to New York's JFK, I was seated next to Basketball star, Joakim Noah, who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls.

Noah is 6' 11" and stood truly head and shoulders above everyone else at the airport. He won two NCAA Basketball Championships in 2006 and 2007 while at the University of Florida. He came out early for the NBA draft after his Junior Year and was the 9th pick overall in 2007 with the Bulls.

Joakim was on his way back from vacationing in Maui to do an appearance in New York, and having just been in Maui in March myself, we talked about the peacefulness and tranquility of the island and how necessary recharging your battery on vacation is. I asked him about his transition to the NBA from being a National Champion at U Florida and he said it was a "whole different animal in the NBA." He said it was just awesome getting paid doing what he loves to do. I feel the same way.

In between my reading, and writing on the plane, we had good conversation about things ranging from our travels, business, Joakim's life in the NBA to French wine. Noah's dad is the former French Tennis star, Yannick Noah, who won the French Open in the 1980's. He currently is a pop music star in Europe. It was a great flight to New York with a First Class guy whom I was lucky to have had to pleasure to meet.

Arriving in New York on Thursday, I rented a car and drove out to Babylon, Long Island where my brother John and his family live. It's a great chance to visit with family and their four beautiful children.

The Colloca kids celebrating Daniel's eleventh birthday, Olivia, Daniel, Emily, and Jacqueline.

Being the youngest of eight children, I have 24 nieces and nephews, so needless to say, family is a very important part of my life and I love the opportunity to get together and visit with them.

On Friday, John and his lovely wife, Janet and I went into the City for lunch. Manhattan is an electrifying type of city with so much going on it's just amazing. I look completely like a tourist when I walk the streets of New York, staring up at the tall buildings.

It's a great feeling to be immersed in the City life and there is so much to see, I always try to get in to the City when in the area.

We made a reservation at Sparks in Midtown Manhattan, an old school New York steakhouse that I've enjoyed in the past. Spark's reputation for great steaks and fine wine was confirmed in 2001 when the New York Post declared it the "Best Steakhouse in Manhattan." Now that's a tall order!



Speaking of orders, Sparks is also known as the site where Gambino Family Mafia boss, Paul Castellano was gunned down on the orders of John Gotti at its entrance before having dinner in 1985.



Sparks Menu is complimented by an extensive wine list and we selected a 1999 Chateau Léoville-Barton, a classic 2nd Growth Bordeaux, and a 2002 Domaine Dujac Morey St Denis, a wonderful French Burgandy. I chose the Bordeaux, and John selected the Burgandy. Thoughtfully, the next evening John opened up a 1982 Domaine Dujac for comparison which was peaked for its age but opened up well after an hour.

Our waiter carefully decanted both of the wines and we enjoyed them in a side-by-side comparison with our meal. Lunch was as good as the company we shared and the wines were fantastic.

My brother John is the one responsible for my love of wine. He's been a collector since the 1970's and his cellar boasts some incredible wines from around the world - featuring aged Bordeaux's and a large collection of "Cult" California Cabernets, like Araujo and Dalla Valle among others.

For years, John has brought wine up to our hometown of Oswego, NY where we rendevous for holiday celebrations throughout the years, and has taken the time to share his passion for wine with me - teaching me about the different appellations and regions of the world. This passion has cost me thousands of dollars in converting me to an modern-day oenophile - but, I like it!

John is very generous when I come to visit, pouring some of his Cellars' gems. Over the course of the weekend, we had many fabulous wines, including a 3rd Classified Growth from the Margaux region of Bordeaux a 1970 Chateau Giscours, a 1988 Chateau Meyney from the St. Estephe region of Bordeaux, and a 1995 Chateau Faugeres, a Grand Cru from Bordeaux's Saint Emilion. He also opened a 1979 Stag's Leap Cabernet from Napa, CA, which even nearly 30 years old still showed immense structure and good fruit with a long finish.

As you savor these vintage wines you reflect back to the year that they were bottled and what you were doing then. For the Chateau Giscours - in 1970, I was two ... so just learning to walk, for the Meyney in 1988, I blew out my knee tearing my Anterior Cruciate Ligament and had reconstructive surgery while playing football at Ithaca College - we went on to win the Division III National Championship that year - and in 1995, I graduated from Chiropractic College - what a relief that was!

John also opened some older Burgandies to pair with his wife's incredible cooking. On Sunday evening, Janet made one of my favorites, Coq au Vin, which was out of this world. She also made cornmeal crusted fried Oysters as an appetizer in the style of the Post House that we've had there in the past and both of us adore.



The evening was capped with my nephew Daniel's Birthday cake, which he proceeded to blow the coconut topping off as he blew out the candles.


Dan's little sister, Olivia, made him a home-made birthday card that she was rightfully proud of. Oh, to be eleven again!

While in New York, we had to pay a visit to the Oyster Bar Restaurant in Grand Central Station. The place just oozes with history and all of the gradeur of old New York.

The oysters in season are proudly displayed on the board as you enter the main dining room. Oysters from around the country from as far away as Washington State and British Colombia make the grade.


We settled on a combination plate of Great White's and Bluepoints locally from Long Island and some Hama Hama's and Royal Miyagi's from the pacific northwest.

On Saturday evening following the seminar, we thought we'd go back into Manhattan for dinner.

Together with my co-instructor, Dr. Jim Gudgel and his wife Kathy, we went into the City to dine at the highly acclaimed DB Bistro Moderne - four-star chef Daniel Boulud’s modern French-American bistro in midtown.

It was tough to decide what to have, considering that they had a $32.00 hamburger on the menu - the noble DB Burger is stuffed with truffle-and-foie gras-laced short ribs.

I opted for the Florida Frog's Legs and Chicken Oyster Fricassee with Hazelnut Spatzle and Button Mushrooms as a starter, and Crispy Confit of Duck as the main. We paired our meals with a 2004 Kritt Pinot Blanc from Alsace, France, and a 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru from Burgandy which were greatly enjoyed.

Knowing that we had to teach the seminar on Sunday, we had to restrain ourselves from the nightlife of New York. We wandered down to Times Square for a look around before going back home. Jim had his "Certified Instrument Adjusting (CIA)" pin on his suit-coat lapel from the seminar, and was asked twice about his involvement in the CIA. This was the perfect deterrant for any would-be criminals we came in contact with.

The seminar was another great one and our time in New York, albeit brief, was another great time to remember.