*-)- welcome aboard *-)-
just me. my current interests and stories for the interwebs.
Andrew Zimmern vlogs about his three top choices in San Diego. One of them was featured on his show and all three are listed below after the video.
Love his tip about avoiding the Gaslamp District. But I'm more excited to hit up Nobu and try some fresh sea urchin!
Fernet what?
The easiest way to explain the taste is to imagine Jägermeister without the sugar. You shoot it, immediately getting a strong hit of mouthwash - drying the mouth out, stinging the tongue. Its kind of like getting hit in the nose. Your brain hurts, your eyes sting and water, you cough a bit. Then, as soon as it begins a warm wave of relief washes over and you are left baptized in Italian herbals and golf ball eyed awake.
Of course, The Atlantic called it a few years ago as the Liquour you're still not drinking. I'll admit it's been a while but it's because I'm not searching. Have you tried it lately?
I wrote this article a few months ago after first trying it in no other city than San Francisco but The Bold Italic just released an awesome infographic so I thought I'd finally publish.
And always, don't forget my recent post on Esquire's drinking recommendation. ^_^
The thing about one drink — a glass of liquor we're talking about, hopefully a stiff pour — is that it doesn't involve enough alcohol to make anything stop working. Your eyesight, your natural grace, your moral compass — they're all left intact. Because one drink doesn't compromise anything. It enhances. You have one drink and your world becomes slightly better. The bar is a slightly better bar. Your dog is a slightly better dog. Your work is slightly more brilliant. And for that, you pay no price.
I completely agree. Had one drink last week with a friend at her favorte burger joint Minetta Tavern and it was perfection. Company and food also were very much copmlimentary. ^_^
I'll review the place later, but don't take my word for it. Check out their reviews on Yelp!. We split the Black Label Burger and Minetta Burger. Great choices all around. Maybe I'll do it up Bone Marrow style next time.
photo by Lori L. via Yelp
This latest ruling is baffling. Not only is it just unbelievable but crazy?!?! What is our world coming to? Nationwide is definitely not on your side.
Part of the court's reasoning was, according to Galen Sherwin of the American Civil Liberties Union, “that even if Angela had been fired because she was breast-feeding, that was not sex discrimination, in part because men can lactate under certain circumstances.”
via Slate
The state of ramen by Momofuku’s David Chang.
When we first opened Momofuku, I feel like our ramen made sense at the time; we were figuring out what it was like to make ramen in America. But now ramen is everywhere, and a lot of it is the same. I don’t want to go to every city and taste the same fucking thing. Everyone’s serving tonkotsu ramen, everyone’s serving pork. You could do a blind taste test and not have any idea where the fuck you’re eating. Everyone is sharing the same experiences, but ramen is not supposed to be about that; it’s food for people that don’t want the same experience, that don’t want to be part of the mainstream. Even in Japan, cooks are returning to pure, clean, simple chicken ramen, because everything else has been done. That’s it—you’ve taken noodle soup as far as you can fucking go, and now it’s gotta go back to the beginning.
I'm merely highlighting a paragraph that clearly says it all. One of my goals when Norah could start eating more foods was to introduce her to new cheeses every week / month together and explore that world. I can't wait to expand her palette even more. If you continue and read through the NY Times article, it's quite amazing the variety that other cultures present as compared to us here in the United States.
I love the part of Toyo / Bangus Tocho.
It is only through repeated exposure and mimicry that toddlers adjust to new tastes — breakfast instead of, say, dinner. That we don’t put pickle relish on waffles or eat Honey Bunches of Oats for supper are rules of culture, not of nature. As children grow, their palates continue to be shaped by the food environment they were born into (as well as by the savvy marketers of sugar cereals who advertise directly to the 10-and-under set and their tired parents). This early enculturation means a child in the Philippines might happily consume garlic fried rice topped with dried and salted fish called tuyo at 6 in the morning, while many American kids would balk at such a meal (even at dinnertime). We learn to be disgusted, just as we learn to want a second helping.
By now, if you haven't heard about the restaurant Botto Bistro you have to head over and read their Yelp Reviews. Trying to achieve the opposite of the highest rating via Yelp!, owner David Cerretini is arguing that it's the best business move he's made in years. If you give it a 1-star rating, you get 25% off your meal to boot!
Here's a favorite review of mine.
Also, here's a pic of the board that they have up in the restaurant.
The whole story here via SFGate.
"It’s chock-full of protein, has more iron than spinach, as much calcium as milk, all the amino acids, tons of omega 3, and tons of B12," he says. "So not only does it taste good, it’s also unbelievably healthy." A single pound of cricket flour contains 317 grams of protein and costs $40 online, making it more akin (in nutritional content and price) to protein powder than baking flour.
- via The Verge
I'm thinking about buying a pound of this stuff to make some cookies. Anyone interested?
update: Here's the founder of bitty foods Megan Miller at a TEDx talk in Manhattan just this past March. You can buy Cricket Flour that's used for baking for $20 and some cookies for $10 on their online shop now!
http://youtu.be/BwC4WRKi5QY
Perhaps not surprisingly, the top children’s cereals all feature a character with a downward gaze.
Every time I go grocery shopping, I'll now be well aware of what my little Norah is looking at. I'll make sure she's on my shoulders when we go through the cereal aisle!
via [FiveThirtyEight][1]
NPR's "The Salt" goes into the the details of what a great grinder can do for your morning cup of joe. I have a Baratza Virtuoso at home but have been thinking of a hand cranker since I usually find myself away stuck at an airport or hotel as of late. Specifically, I'm looking at either the Hario Slim, Hario Ceramic Skerton, or the Porlex Mini to bring along with me on trips. I'll also keep my Aeropress handy for brewing =). Below are the hand crank coffee mills in order.
The whirling blade grinder that most people have at home just doesn't cut it. The blade smashes coffee to smithereens, making boulders and fines all over the place. Instead, the coffee pros use burr grinders, which chew the beans up to a precise, consistent size by funneling them through a set of steel or ceramic teeth.
In other words, a good grinder can make all the difference between a cup of sludge and a rich, aromatic morning mug of Joe.
If you really want to, you can go for the gold and grab Orphan Espresso's Lido 2 for $175.
via NPR
Dr. Terry Wahls at TEDxIowaCity presents the science behind feeding your Mitochondria and brain cells. http://youtu.be/KLjgBLwH3Wc
Dr. Terry Wahls learned how to properly fuel her body. Using the lessons she learned at the subcellular level, she used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair.
I'm definitely thinking of a life change right about now especially after those diabolical nachos.
One of the main reasons why I was so interested in the Sansaire Sous Vide machine... Pork Buns!
...if pork belly cooked through regular means is regular Mario, pork belly cooked sous-vide is Mario with a fire flower and an invincibility star. If regular pork belly is a hot dog, then pork belly sous-vide is a million hot dogs. If regular pork belly is you thinking you're clever for propping up the wobbly table with a folded coaster, then pork belly sous-vide is MacGyver building a bomb out of a tuna fish sandwich and a bobby pin.
I received mine this afternoon via USPS (actually my wife text me a photo asking what this mysterious package was at the door) so it's going to be a week or so until I get my first shot at it but I'm super excited! I'm sure she is too.
I just have to figure out a method for vacuum sealing as I haven't gotten my Vacuvita Machine yet. They do say that a Ziploc bag is all I really need.
The list of top brewers in the World recently debuted for 2014 at ratebeer.com and there are 16 alone in California. Even better, five are right in my very own backyard including the #1 rated brewer which I have yet to try! Three specifically are listed in San Diego while the other two are listed as Alpine and Escondido which I also consider San Diego County. I've taken the liberty to list them along with their most popular brews, in alphabetical order, down below. Did you brewer or beer make the list?
If you haven't done so yourself, check out the Stone Brewing Company pictures that I posted a while back at their new flagship restaurant in Pt. Loma, San Diego. It's over 11,000 square feet and is definitely a gorgeous location for any event.
I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of overly hoppy but that's just me. If you haven't read it yet, there's a great article from a few months back that talks about the west coast polarization towards more and more hops. You can read that here. What are your favorites beers? I'm still a Chimay Blue Grand Reserve kind of guy.
