cahwyguy | Entries tagged with restaurants

userpic=van-nuys This collection of news chum has coalesced around the theme of Los Angeles — in particular, some well-known (or somewhat well-known) Los Angeles landmarks that are either gone or seemingly threatened… or coming back in different incarnations.

The Lucy / Desi Ranch. Lucille Ball and Desilu have been in the news of late due to the anniversary of Star Trek, which owes its existence to the comedic redhead. If you’ve read up on Lucy’s history, you’ll know that she and Desi had a ranch in Chatsworth, along Devonshire St. somewhere between Topanga Canyon and Reseda. I had always thought it was the ranch at the end of Winnetka, but this real interesting research piece locates it conclusively. It was just W of the corner of Corbin and Devonshire, on the S side, and is now roughly where Tuba St is (although the original ranch house was demolished in the 1970s when that area was developed).
Amoeba Records – Hollywood. Rumors began to circulate this week about the possible destruction and redevelopment of Amoeba Records in Hollywood, based on a rendering for a 20-story mixed used building on the site. By the end of the week, the furor had calmed down a little, thanks to reports that Amoeba will be staying…. for now. “We’re going to remain in our building for the duration of our lease — which is several years — and Amoeba and the building owner are open to us potentially staying longer,” the indie retail giant posted Monday evening on Twitter. Well that’s encouraging. For now.
Dutch Chocolate. The famous Dutch Chocolate building is up for sale. The building is rundown now, but once held on its ground floor the Dutch Chocolate Shop, a city landmark decorated top to bottom with elaborate tiles crafted by renowned Pasadena artist Ernest Batchelder. It’s considered by many experts to be the tilemaker’s most important commission. Renovating the building will be expensive, as it requires adding an exit. Let’s hope the tiles get saved and can once again be on view.
LAX. LAX is dirty and crowded, and clogged with traffic. That may change with a new plan being developed that will remove a lot of the buses and increase mass transit access. Renderings of the “new” LAX have just been released, and it will be interesting to see if they become reality. Some parts of historical LAX will remain, such as the theme building, and of course, the tiled tunnels.
The Sports Arena. The concrete hulk that once housed numerous sports teams and the 1960 Democratic Convention is becoming an ex-building. You can watch its destruction in real time. It is being replaced by a new arena for the LA Football Club, a soccer team.
Twains. Out in the valley, a wonderful Googie-style restaurant has been reborn. What was once Twain’s (and possibly Denny’s before that) has been remodeled into a Sharkey’s, and the designers have preserved many of the 1950s details.
The Penguin. Out in Santa Monica, another former 1950s diner is rumored to be getting a rebirth. What was once the Penguin restaurant at Lincoln and I-10… what had become a credit dentist… is rumored to be becoming a Mel’s Drive In. This is really nice — both for the history and because Mel’s is a great restaurant.

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Observation Stew Now that the highway pages are done, and the water heater is repaired, I can start some stew cooking on the stove. Loads of interesting articles in here. I’ll group them the best I can.

Things Dying and Dead, But Then Again….

The iPod Classic. Nine years ago, Apple introduced the iPod Classic. Last week, they introduced the iPhone 7. The iPod Classic had 160GB in a spinning hard disk, for $349. The iPhone 7 can have 256GB for almost $850. Is this the replacement for the Classic, finally? Or, is it still better to get a 7th Gen iPod Classic off eBay, or from that drawer you’ve been hiding it in, and replace the hard disk with a Tarkan board, some solid state memory (I put in 512GB), and keep the classic. Going the Tarkan route is less than $400, and gives you more memory for about the same cost. Oh, and it gives you a 3.5mm headphone jack as well, so you needn’t pay for adapters or lost AirPods. Then again, the headphone companies don’t care. They’ve got product to sell you.
The Colony Theatre. Oh, the poor Colony. We thought you would survive. Now you’re having to rent out your space just to stay alive. And your poor subscribers: We’re left holding the tickets for shows that we will never see (literally — there’s no way I’m gonna see Patty Duke in Mrs. Lincoln — both are dead). Will the Colony come back? At this point, I’m highly skeptical. What they need is new artistic direction, a new board, and a new way of thinking about things. Their collapse shows the perils of keeping the same leadership for far too long.
The Advertising Jingle. Perhaps you hadn’t noticed, but the advertising jingle is dead. Who killed it? Cover artists and the licensing of modified lyrics, that’s what. Those are more easily recognizable. So, our hats are off to you, “I’d like to teach the world to sing”, “Like a good neighbor”, and “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz”. We’re just left with the Empire Carpeting jingle.

Los Angeles Development

Earl Carroll Theatre. It looks like a massive development next to the Earl Carroll Theatre (→ Aquarius Theatre → Nickelodeon Studios) is going to occur. We may get a preserved outside, but offices it will remain. Live theatre will not grace the space again.
Baja Fresh and Pinkberry. The owner of Baja Fresh has been sold, and they are now owned by the same folks that own Pinkberry. Is this a good thing? I don’t know. Now that Sharkey’s has moved nearby, we go there instead of Baja Fresh.
Paper Airplanes and Grand Park. Giant paper airplanes are soon coming to Grand Park. The shade structure appropriately titled “Paper Airplane” will be unveiled Tuesday near the oft-photographed Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain (they’re actually made by “made of a mesh-like material”). Created by artists Elenita Torres and Dean Sherriff, it will look like a squadron of 11 giant paper planes floating across Olive Court. That’s the totally exposed area between Grand and Hill where food trucks line up during the weekday lunch hours.

Sensitivity and Culture

Tiki Bars. Here’s an interesting question: If you were going to add a third arm to your body, where would you add it? Whoops, wrong question. Try this: Are Tiki Bars offensive to Polynesians? NPR endeavored to figure that out. It is hard to know: Tiki bars are about as close to something really Polynesian as the Chinese Food you got downtown in the 1950s and 1960s was to real Chinese food.
Napalm Girl. The furor yesterday was over Facebook and “Napalm Girl” — the famous photo of the napalmed Vietnamese girl. First it was taken down. Facebook banned it. Then they reversed themselves. It makes me think about a debate that occurred many many years ago when that photo was first published: Should photos like this be published? When does news value override sensitivity? These questions are still relevant today.

And the Rest…

A Ren Faire Musical. A Renaissance Faire themed musical is being penned by the creators of Legally Blonde – The Musical. This isn’t going to end well, is it. The musical, titled Huzzah!, is supposedly is about a family-owned mom-and-pop-type operation that is threatened mostly by its own family dysfunction.
Munchkin Arguments. No, not about the movie and whether they did Dorothy. (ducks and runs). Rather, about the Steve Jackson game and its endless, and I do mean endless, variants. Here’s the article to link to when arguments about Munchkin occur. You’ve been warned.
Language Arguments. Here’s an interesting opinion: Speak to your kids in a foreign language. They suggest Yiddish.
Going with Grace. The US Navy is naming their cyber center after Adm Grace Murry Hopper. This deserves a huzzah!
Dim Sum. LA Eaters essential Dim Sum restaurants. Do you agree?

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1857741.html

userpic=valley-los_angeles Before I start writing up this week’s Fringe shows, let me clear out a bit of news chum. Here are a bunch of articles, all related to Los Angeles (the city I love) and its environs:

Interchange Transformance: “A Simple Change Transformed One of LA’s Busiest Intersections Into One of its Safest“. At one intersection in Hollywood, LADOT made a simple change and dramatically transformed the intersection’s safety profile. What did they do? They changed Hollywood and Highland into a scramble-crosswalk interchange.
Finding Food in the City: “Urban Foraging: Unearthing The Wildcrafted Flavors Of Los Angeles“. One wouldn’t think you could find food growing wild in Los Angeles. You can… if you just know where to look.
Bar-be-que Yum Yum: “12 Smoky Barbecue Destinations in the San Fernando Valley“. What’s most interesting is that I don’t know most of these, and they omitted a number of my favorites. I still think their first item is overrated. In general, their choices for the west, central, and east valley are just bad or non-existent. What places do I think of? I wrote a bunch up in a February post, although it looks like Roger’s may have succumbed to the Pho-King Curse of Kenny Rogers. Related to the main BBQ article is this list of “Four New School Barbecue Options to Try Right Now in LA“
Lovin’ the Valley: “70 Things to Love About the Valley“. Ah, the valley. Where it is going to reach over 115 this week! But the valley is still a great place to live, and the article demonstrates why.
Burmese Food: “New Silver Lake Restaurant Finally Brings Burmese Food To Los Angeles“. While we were in Berkeley, our daughter took us to a Burmese restaurant. Interesting food. One just opened in LA; we’ll have to give it a try.
Development the First: North Hollywood / “Here Are the Two Possibilities for Huge Transit Hub Development“. They are talking about doing some massive development in and around the North Hollywood Red Line station. It is just going to be miserable while they do it, and I’m not sure I’ll like the results.
Development the Second: Westchester / “340 Acres Near LAX Getting Total Overhaul“. Over near the airport, the community of Westchester may also see new development: this time, it is the space that is between the residential neighborhood and the runways.
Development the Third: Burbank / “Revealed: Big Plans to Redevelop the Burbank Ikea Site“. There is a massive overhaul coming up to the Burbank Mall and the soon to be former Ikea facility. There’s going to be the new-style residential/business mix (first major residential push in Burbank in a while). There will also be an attempt to re-think and re-work the mall.
LA Theatre News: Two theatre related items. In the first, LA Stage Alliance has announced an Allies program for those that aren’t member theatres. I’ve signed up for it; hopefully you will as well. Second, it has been announced that Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo will be the lead in the upcoming Broadway version of Amalie. Why is this LA news? Amalie will be getting a pre-Broadway tryout in Los Angeles with Soo.
For CSUN Lovers: Lastly, seen on Facebook: A Sweatshirt that says “Never underestimate an old woman that went to CSUN“. I’d get one for my wife, but she’s not old.

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userpic=acsac Friday, the ACSAC conference ended for 2015. This year (and next year), the conference was in Los Angeles at the beautiful Universal City/Los Angeles Hilton; this meant that on top of my usual Training Chair hat, I was Local Arrangements Chair. That means I was the coordinator for the event: assigning the rooms, picking the dinner entertainment (more on that in the next post), and selecting all the menus. When I first saw the hotel menus, I was shocked at the prices: lunch prices between $40 and $50; and dinner prices even higher. In fact, when I got the end of day survey for the first day at the hotel, I had trouble answering the question: was this a good value for the price? How can you judge, when gallons of coffee are so expensive.

But as the week went on, I grew to understand the prices are so high. In many ways, this is the same reason that the prices are so high in well established and fancy restaurants. And, no, the reason is not “because they can”. The reason is service.

When you go to almost any restaurant, the bulk of the cost of your meal is not the food costs. Food costs, right now, are relatively low. Delivery costs to your location are higher, but even those aren’t the bulk of the cost due to the volume being shipped. The most significant factor in the cost of a meal out is the labor. In fact, the labor is so expensive they increase the size of the portion so you don’t feel guilty paying that price. [And, of course, we’ve all be taught to clear our plates and not waste food, and so you have one reason behind the growth in obesity. In fact, there might be an interesting statistical study in the correlation between the cost of labor, portion size, and obesity in society.]

In a hotel — especially in a hotel that focuses on service such as a ★★★★ hotel — that cost is magnified more so. Everywhere I turned around at the HUC (Hilton Universal City) there was someone from Banquets making sure that all our needs were met, someone from IT making sure the A/V was right, someone from … you get the idea. Who pays for that service? It isn’t room rental — often room rental is gratis if you make a particular number of room nights and a minimum food and beverage. In fact, the answer is in that sentence: it is in the room rates, and the food and beverage costs. A certain amount of labor can be absorbed by the room rates, but the hotel also must be competitive. The bulk of the labor is captured in the F&B costs.

So, let’s go back to the question: is it a good value? We had only compliments on the quality of the food, and the quantity was almost too much (must remember that for next year). Most importantly, there were no complaints about service or the meeting rooms. The hotel staff was there whenever we needed them, often going above and beyond (with no additional charges). So, looking back in retrospect, I think it was a reasonably good value.

(Of course, that still didn’t mean I didn’t wince a little signing the final event orders. Who wouldn’t? But I also now better understood why I was paying what I was paying).

By the way, this is something that the great unwashed public — and even Congress — doesn’t understand. We’ve all read of the DOD acquiring toilet seats that cost $200 each, when they are $10 at the hardware store. We get incensed about the price, without knowing that they have unique manufacturing requirements that prohibit volume manufacturing, that they have documentation and maintenance requirements for their lifetime, and that they have the overhead of the administrative employees at the corporation that manufactures them, which has much lower volume to spread that overhead across when compared to a bulk manufacturer. Similarly, we hear stories of conferences with the $15 muffin or the $45 rubber chicken, and think the government is wasting money. It isn’t: that money goes to all the people employed by the hotel, providing all the service, and spending that money in the community. Yes, there are some conferences with boondoggles, but most food costs are not the boondoggles. Now you understand.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1806948.html

Observation Stew Let’s end this week of news chum posts with song lyrics in the title with a very apropos song for a “news chum stew” post: Pete Seeger’s All Mixed Up. The point of the song is a timely lesson for all of those who profess hatred or refuse to permit in refuges:

There were no red-headed Irishmen
Before the Vikings landed in Ireland
How many Romans had dark curly hair
Before they brought slaves from Africa?
No race of man is completely pure,
Nor is anyone’s mind, that’s for sure
The winds mix the dust of every land,
And so will woman and man.

And now, on with the stew:

These Poor Refuges, They Just Cause Trouble. Let’s start with the story of an immigrant refugee, a man who came to this country with nothing… and ended up not only as a founding father, but as a star on Broadway: Alexander Hamilton. We have two articles about this show: the first gives 20 things you might not have known about Hamilton; the second is about how the star of Hamilton is really… a woman.
Women on Broadway. Let’s go with this women theme for a minute. December 3rd is when the updated version of The Wiz is presented live on NBC… and the producers have let us know what their next project will be: They are bringing Bombshell (from Smash) to Broadway.
Girl… Scouts? This article raises a question that has oft been raised to me as President of a synagogue brotherhood: why do we still have brotherhoods and sisterhoods in congregations. If we are truly egalatarian, they seem archaic institution… especially in this era of trans-rights? We no longer see sex as binary, so why two organizations? What is the article? It seems that a group of girls in California have sued to become part of the Boy Scouts. (if the link doesn’t work, as NYT links might, do this search)
Racism on Campus. This one saddens me. According to the Daily Cal at UC Berkely, a bunch of students have created a White Student Union page for Berkeley on Facebook (ETA: Subsequenty deleted). This comes on top of the Reply All episode that reexplored racism on campus in light of the MizzU incident. Sad to say, but much as we think racism and bigotry is dead, it isn’t. In fact, we’ve just created new ways for it to rear its ugly head. ETAA: This may have been a hoax, at least with respect to the WSU.
Visible vs. Invisible. Here’s one that probably isn’t a surprise. With the drought in California, everyone was ripping out their lawns and replacing them with drought-friendly plants. But guess what? Although it was visible, it really didn’t save all that much water. Do you really want to save water? Do something invisible. Replace your toilets and your washing machine.
No Duh. Here’s a no brainer: If you’re ordering takeout on Christmas or Christmas Eve, odds are that it is Chinese food.
Music and Bicycling. Here’s an article about how cities are cracking down on distracted bicycling. Now, I’m all for safe bicycling. But I like to listen to my podcasts or music as I ride, just as I do in my car. Why can’t someone invent a bike helmet that can connect (either wired or bluetooth) to an iPod or MP3 player to play music and yet let you hear traffic noise.
I Never Knew. Lastly, here’s something that surfaced today. Did you know there is a crochet museum in Joshua Tree?

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1804239.html

userpic=levys This is a busy weekend, including the Granada Hills Street Fair (which I’m leaving for shortly). But first, a number of news chum articles about food:

Send a Salami to your Son in the Army. Yup, that was a real phrase, with all its double entendres. It comes from a fascinating article about how World War II shaped the view of the Jewish deli and of deli food. It explored how being in the army changed how Jews dealt with food, and how it increased the importance of the deli to a whole generation.
Coffee Combinations. I’m sure you know my opinion about coffee: It only belongs in ice cream or covered in dark chocolate. Still, there are those that love the bitter drink. For them, this week brought the news that Peets is buying Stumptown Roasters. This is just another in a series of consolidations in the coffee pushing business. For those that want unconsolidated coffee, there’s always Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Restaurants of Interest. Two articles on restaurants of interest. The first is a restaurant in West Hollywood that has gluten-free wings. The second is even closer: a little dive here in the valley that has mexican kosher ice cream.
Green Poop. Lastly, here’s an article on a side effect of the new black buns at Burger King. It appears they get the color from a mixture of food colorings, some of which aren’t absorbed, which makes your poop green.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1794818.html

userpic=cooking In the last day or two, I’ve been talking heavily about chum and stew. Hungry yet? Perhaps these food related items will whet your appetite:

Gluten Free Fads. As you know, I’m interested in the gluten free diet craze because my wife is celiac and has to each gluten free for medical reason. Over the last two weeks, a few articles caught my eye related to this. The first is an article from the BBC talking about the fad. The title is horrible, but the points are good: you should really only go gluten-free if you medically have to. Gluten-free food isn’t necessarily healthier; sometimes it is worse. Further, those who don’t really have sensitivities can muck up a restaurant’s idea of what is GF for those that will get really sick when they slip up. The second is an article about a pill that will supposedly make it safe for celiacs to eat gluten. My attitude on this is: let someone other than my wife test it (translated as: the risk that it won’t work is just too great). In many ways, I’m not sure this is a problem that needs pharmacological solution: the GF diet works, and those that follow it don’t miss much. The benefits of eating gluten aren’t that great, and the cost of the pill will surely outweigh any costs of special food. Lastly is a link to a purported gluten-free B&B in the area.
You Gotta Have Culture. Let’s move from what my wife eats to what I eat. Cottage cheese. Every day on my salad at lunch. You used to see cottage cheese everywhere. Today, it’s yogurt, yogurt, yogurt. But cottage cheese is wonderful — and not only with fruit. I like it mixed into almost anything — it adds a wonderful sweet cheesy flavor. NPR explores how that upstart yogurt got ahead of cottage cheese.
Fruit News You Can Use. Earlier in July, I had a news chum that talked about what fruits you should refrigerate, and which ones you shouldn’t. Here’s some more useful fruit news: how to know when the fruit you are getting at the market is ripe. This is always useful information, especially for melons and such.
Dining in the Valley. One last food related item: a list of 10 San Fernando Valley cheap eats. We’ve eaten at some of these (and some are favorites), such as Lum Ka-Naad (near our house), Bun Me, and Les Sisters. Others we’ll need to try.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1780324.html

Observation Stew The smell of stew cooking in the crockpot reminded me I need to post a stew of my own; with vacation and such, it’s been a few weeks. So let’s clear out those links…

Burger Continental is Gone. We discovered this as we returned home from the Ren Faire a few weeks ago: BC has closed their doors. No more can Adrian, their long-time waiter (and one of the owners, from what I’ve heard) flirt with my wife. They were a reliable dinner when we were going to the Pasadena Playhouse. I’ll miss them.
Airline Safety, Take 1: Fitting In The Butts. As we all know, airlines are squeezing passengers closer and closer together, both through thinner seats and decreased pitch. The big problem: That may not be safe. A consumer advisory group has asked DOT to look into the matter.
Airline Safety, Take 2: Reading the Signs. An interesting airline risk has just come to light — significant if you are flying Boeing 787s. It appears there is a software glitch that could cause power units (APUs) to go into failsafe mode after running continuously for more than 8 months. Specifically, if all four APUs were started at the same time, and run for 248.55 hours… they shut down. 248.55 just happens to be the point where a signed 32-bit integer holding time in hundreths of a second overflows and goes negative. No problem: That age old advice still works: “Have you tried turning it off, and back on again?”
Cleaning Out the Stash. One of the problem when your parents die is cleaning out what they left at the house. That problem turns weird when you discover their adult stash — i.e., their porn collection. Yes, your parents think about sex — who do you think made you the horndog you are? Yes, I’m looking at you. Luckily, there is an adult bookstore in London that will take that porn off of your, umm, hands.
Ah, Catherine the Great. As you probably remember, I loved Steve Allen’s Meeting of Minds. Therefore, it is with sad news that I report the passing of Mrs. Steve Allen, better known as Jayne Meadows, who started in numerous episodes. She made it to 95 and had a good life. I thank her for her contributions.
Security and Maturity. Here’s an interesting metric: Brian Krebs on measuring a company’s security maturity level.
Damn. Yesterday was National Naked Gardening Day. Here’s an interesting article on a garden rework in Beverlywood that not only saves water, but grows vegetables. For future reference…
Where to Go For Dinner. Another “for future reference”: Here’s a listing of 20 recommended places to eat in the Valley. We’ve actually been to about 2/3s of these.
But What Will I Watch in Hawaii. I don’t know what you did when you visited Hawaii in your college years, but I…. programmed. I have fond memories of listening to the Jerry Lewis Telethon (back in the late 1970s, mind you) and programming for the UCLA Computer Club. Today’s children will have to find something else to do: MDA has cancelled the Labor Day Telethon. I’ll note that it had really gone downhill without Jerry Lewis and the folks he drew in, and MDA parted ways with him a few years ago.

That’s your stew for this Sunday. Now go work out….

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1765922.html

userpic=levys Earlier today, Mark Evanier did a post where he talks about his favorite BBQ places in LA. We only had two in common: a dislike for Dr. Hogly Wogly’s, and a like for Outdoor Grill (although he liked the one in West LA, and we hit the one in Northridge). In case Mark ever comes to the valley, here are some more he might try:

Mom’s BBQ. Vanowen and Hazeltine. Perhaps the best Southern BBQ around, with loads of good fixins.
Rogers Rib Shack. Reseda and Chase. Not that far from us here in Northridge. Alas, they took the BBQ eggroll (with pork and greens inside) off the menu, but they still have great Q.
The Bear Pit. Sepulveda and the 118. Classic Missouri BBQ, that has been around for ages and ages.
Rosies. Tampa and Nordhoff. They’ve been around a while, but I think they’ve gone downhill a little.
Ribs USA. Burbank. Ate here the other day, and they were surprisingly good (better than I remembered).
Reds BBQ. Simi Valley. Lots of food, but more of a sauce than a smoke BBQ.
Les Sisters. Chatsworth. Louisiana BBQ.
Dickies. There’s one in Northridge now. Surprisingly good fast food BBQ.
My Brothers BBQ. Woodland Hills. Haven’t been there in years.
Famous Daves. There’s one in Simi. We never go there; they use soy sauce in the BBQ sauce.
Wood Ranch. We never go there — too corporate for our tastes.
Kansas City BBQ. North Hollywood. Minnette T. reminded me of these folks. Pretty good, especially before hitting a NoHo Theatre!

So where are your favorite places?

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1721508.html

Observation Stew This has been another busy week, what with trying to get the truth out about the kerfluffle at the REP in Santa Clarita (#IStandWithTheREP), my daughter Erin being in town getting ready to go off to a summer Yiddish program back east, installing and setting up a new password manager, and loads of stuff at work. Still, I grabbed a few articles of interest:

A Real Crappy Job. Here’s an interesting article about one of the dirtiest jobs involved in the construction of the Hoover Dam, and how the city of Boulder City is remembering… the man who cleaned all the toilets.
What’s In A Name? Scientists have discovered that hurricanes with female names are more deadly. I’m not making this up folks, but it may also be a perception issue.
Lechon Asado. Here’s a list of the best Cuban restaurants in Los Angeles. Back when my wife and I got together, I got this book called “Diving Out in Los Angeles”, and it let us to one of the restaurants on this list: Versailles in Palms. It became a favorite, and the desire to write a review for it let to the creation of the newsgroup that became la.eats.
OK, Google. My new phone (a Moto X), supports Google Now. Here’s a list of all Google Now commands.
Checking Out. Tomorrow morning, I’ll do my regular Sunday morning ritual — printing checks off the computer. It seems I’m a dinosaur. Atlantic has an article on the spectacular decline of the check.
Cleaning the Pot Lastly, here’s an interesting review of a product used to clean out those stubborn tea stains.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1716940.html

userpic=pastrami Earlier today I wrote about the dim sum restaurant that was the source of lunch. Continuing that trend, here’s some additional food news:

You Can’t Fry in Space. Want a deep fried Snickers the next time you go to the Moon. Sorry, you’re out of luck. It’s impossible to fry foods in the Zero-G of space.
You’re a Fathead. As we’re talking about fried foods, here are 9 lies about fat that might have destroyed your health.
Steaking It Out. Of course, a great place to get fat and cholesterol is at your local steakhouse. But the face of the old steakhouse is changing: it’s not the same meat and potatoes of yore. And as we’re talking about steakhouses, the college football players of Iowa and LSU, combined at 5,000 lbs of food at Outback Steakhouse at the annual Outback Bowl Welcome Dinner.
Reading the Signs. As those football players were in a restaurant, perhaps they observed a different type of hand signal than they see on the field, for it turns out that restaurants have their own set of hand signals.
Sweetening the Pot. And for dessert, we have coffee or tea. Would you like artificial sweetener in that? Be careful, thought, even the natural Stevia may not be as safe as you think.

And for the last word, it is important to remember the words of Alton Brown back in 2005:

Here’s what it comes down to kids. Ronald McDonald doesn’t give a damn about you. Neither does that little minx Wendy or any of the other icons of drivethroughdom. And you know what, they’re not supposed to. They’re businesses doing what businesses do. They don’t love you. They are not going to laugh with you on your birthdays, or hold you when you’re sick and sad. They won’t be with you when you graduate, when your children are born or when you die. You will be with you and your family and friends will be with you. And, if you’re any kind of human being, you will be there for them. And you know what, you and your family and friends are supposed to provide you with nourishment too. That’s right folks, feeding someone is an act of caring. We will always be fed best by those that care, be it ourselves or the aforementioned friends and family.

We are fat and sick and dying because we have handed a basic, fundamental and intimate function of life over to corporations. We choose to value our nourishment so little that we entrust it to strangers. We hand our lives over to big companies and then drag them to court when the deal goes bad. This is insanity.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1686182.html

userpic=levys Back in June, I wrote about how our usual dim sum palace, Empress Pavilion in Chinatown, had given up the ghost. This wasn’t that much of a loss, as Empress had been going downhill. Still, it necessitated a hunt for a new place.

During the summer, we foreyed out for dim sum again. I had gotten the Zagat list of top dim sum palaces in the city, and had selected NBC Seafood. Why? First, we had eaten there once before and I had good memories. They got decent reviews, had carts, and had a lot of parking. I had a whole chain of reasoning that, looking back, I never wrote down where I could find it again :-(.

A few days ago, a friend of my wife called and wanted to go out for dim sum. Our daughter asked her friend for suggestions, and he found the KCET list. They pushed to go to Seafood Harbour in Rosemead, which lots of folks thought was the best. Although I indicated I would prefer NBC Seafood (or even trying A&W Northridge, which is right around the corner), I was overrulled. So this morning we trudged out to Rosemead and Seafood Harbour.

My opinion: I don’t think we’ve found the Empress replacement yet. Seafood Harbour certainly isn’t it.

Let me start with the positives: the food was good. There was some dim sum we hadn’t seen before, and the quality of what we had was excellent. Perhaps this is why it is highly rated.

Now for the negatives: parking was tighter than NBC, and due to the fact the restaurant was smaller, the wait was significantly longer (we got there at 10:30am, and were not seated until after 11:30am). There are no carts — you have to order from a picture menu, and you can do two rounds. I prefer carts — first, you may discover something new that looks tasty; second, there is less of a tendancy to over-order. More significantly, some of my favorites — plain BBQ pork and lemon tarts — we not on the menu. Further, it was harder to special order and obtain gluten-free items for my wife. I also felt that the bill total was a little high.

I think that next time we’ll either go back to NBC Seafood in Monterey Park, perhaps try Ocean Star in Monterey Park (which is up the street from NBC), both of which are honorable mentions on the LA Weekly list. Perhaps we’ll try the local A&W in either Northridge or Granada Hills. Another possibility is Empress Harbor, which was on the LA Weekly list. Elite, which is also on many lists, is out for being cart-less. For those reading this in Southern California: Do you have a favorite place you want to recommend?

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1685933.html

Observation Stew Now for the rest of the Saturday News Chum Stew. All of these times deal with the changes wrought by modern times…

Wiping It Up. Our society is obsessed with cleanliness. We’ve all seen the effect of overuse of antibiotics, and keeping our children out of the dirt. Here’s another one. Toilet paper, it seems is no longer good enough. Nowadays, people need “premoistened wipes” to get themselves clean. The problem? The wipes, although small enough to be “flushable”, aren’t breaking apart and are clogging the sewer systems. Eschew their use in your sewer systems.
Gourmet McDonalds. Two articles on McDonalds. First, McDonalds is getting healthier — in major markets, McDonalds will soon be providing the option to have salads instead of fries with your combo meals. In many ways, this is demonstrating that McDonalds may not be quite the evil empire — yes, they are interested in profits, but they don’t want the tag of being totally unhealthy. They’ll foist that title off to Burger King. In other McDonalds news, they have invited celebrity chefs into their kitchens to create gourmet food with the ingredients found in your normal fast food restaurant. Why have they done this? Simple — marketing. They want to show they use good ingredients, to draw people in. Remember, Ronald doesn’t love and care about you, he cares about separating you from what is in your wallet.
Signing Books. Here’s another modern times problem: How do you sign an eBook? Apple has the answer. They’ve patented an approach for signing an ebook, and including a picture of you with the author on the signature page. Watch for it in a future version of the Apple software.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1665484.html

userpic=pastrami Today’s collection of news chum covers the food field, from the ground to the grocer, with the cleanup afterwards thrown in:

A Pepper Up. Ever wonder how Szechuan Pepper works … that is, how does the spice create that tingling feeling. National Geographic has investigated, and has discovered pepper works by stimulating the same nerves that a light touch stimulates. Similarly, hot peppers stimulate the same nerves that burns effect. Ummm, cool.
Seeing Red. You probably know that much of our red dye comes from crushed insects. Ever wonder what they look like? Here’s a picture. They are very tiny, but produce a safe red dye. The linked article also talks about how to make clothing dye from the bugs.
Fresh and Easy. By now, you know that the Fresh and Easy chain is being bought by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. This is great news, because all but 50 stores are staying open (we regularly shop at the one in Northridge). A list hasn’t been posted of the closing stores, but if your store is having a 25% off everything sale, that mean’s it is on the closing list.
Origins in Store. This short article, and accompanying audio piece, explore the history of many of Southern California’s markets, including Ralphs, Von’s, and Trader Joe’s.
Deli Food. Here’s a list that purports to be a guide to the Jewish Deli’s in Los Angeles. I wouldn’t believe it. It doesn’t have Brents at the top of the list. It fails to mention Weilers at all. It fails to mention the Jerry’s Famous chain, the new Uncle Bernies, or Morts in Tarzana. In short, except for Arts, it ignores the San Fernando Valley. Who knows what it omits on the West Side or elsewhere in Los Angeles.
Cleaning Up. When you cook, you’ve got to clean up. Here’s a list of 32 things you should probably be cleaning, but likely aren’t. My favorite: putting vacuum cleaner filters and parts through the dishwasher.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1660643.html

userpic=pastrami Recently, a new “build-your-own” pizza place opened up near us, on the edge of CSUN: Pieology. This is competition for the other “build-your-own” pizza place three blocks north, Pizza Rev. So tonight we went over to Pieology to give them a try. I think we’ll stick with Pizza Rev. Here’s why:

Both have gluten-free crusts (important for my wife). But Pizza Rev has sauce for gluten-free crusts in separate squirt bottles, with a separate utensil to spread the sauce, and separate trays for cooking. Pieology uses shared sauce and shared spreaders. Bzzzzt, you lose, if you are celiac.
Pizza Rev has a greater variety of sauces: olive oil, red sauce, white sauce, BBQ sauce. Pieology has red sauce, herb butter, and olive oil.
Pieology optionally spreads olive oil on their crusts. Although this results in a browner crust, it also results in a greasier pizza.
Pizza Rev has a greater variety of cheese: mozzarella, reduced-fat mozzarella, feta, bleu, ricotta, and vegan cheese. Pieology: mozzarella, ricotta, parmesian, and gorgonzola.
Pizza Rev has a greater variety of protein: pepperoni, spicy pepperoni, beef pepperoni, Italian sausage, sweet fennel sausage, spicy chorizo, crumbled beef meatball, canadian bacon, crispy bacon, grilled chicken, and anchovies. Pieology … quite a lot less: pepperoni, sausage, meatball, chicken, ham, bacon.
Pizza Rev has a greater variety of veggies: Pizza Rev: mushrooms, red onions, green bell peppers, tomatoes, pineapple, black olives, kalamata olives, basil, spinach, garlic, pepperoncinis, jalapeños, fennel seed, arugula, capers, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes. Pieology: black olives, mushrooms, red onions, green peppers, artichokes, tomato, pineapple, jalapeños, basil, cilantro, and garlic. The only thing unique to Pieology is cilantro, whereas Pizza Rev is the only one with kalamata olives, spinach, pepperoncinis, fennel seed, arugula, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes.

The pizza at Pizza Rev was about $1 more, and I think it tastes better. It will be interesting to see which wins in the long run. It all depends on the fickleness of CSUN students.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1652202.html

Observation Stew It’s Saturday, and you know what that means. That’s right — it’s time to go to Games Day 55. So while I’m playing games, you can enjoy some tasty news chum stew:

Draining Out. Ever wonder what would happen if you were to drain the oceans? Wonder no more.
Diving Out. Here’s a guide to some iconic greasy spoons in Los Angeles. I’ve eaten at quite a few of these. I tend to like Raes, Panns, and Apple Pan.
Driving Out. Alas, it looks like the Petersen Automotive Museum on the Miracle Mile is changing its focus and getting rid of a lot of its collection. This makes me sad. But then again, it may actually be taking moves to improve its collection. On the third hand, there are those that think it is violating the museum’s trust. OK, now I’m just confused.
Going Out. For my friends in the San Francisco Bay Area — go see this for me. A theatre in San Francisco is giving the musical Camelot a very gritty makeover, moving it back in time and making it much more rough. Quoth the director: “It’s a favorite of mine, but I think ‘Camelot’ has always been a troubled show. The music is brilliant, but the book definitely leaves something to be desired. So I’d always wanted to try to reinvent it. I wanted to make Camelot a lot grittier. We’re setting it farther back, more in the Dark Ages, more ‘Braveheart’ – I’ve cut all the references to shining armor and that kind of stuff. These knights are a pretty rough bunch, like bikers with clubs.” Having seen an attempt at a bare-bones “Camelot”, I’m really curious whether this one works or doesn’t.
Out at School. Here are 40 signs that you went to Berkeley. I already see a lot of them in my daughter.
Out Above The Audience. Here’s an interesting article on how they make Mary Poppins fly… in a 6 acre, 10K+ seat open air amphitheatre (e.g., the Muny Opera).
Outing Stupid Government Employees. The latest Freakonomics podcast sheds light on a very interesting government document: The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure [you can get it here (2013 additions here)]. It is an ethics guide for government employees, full of true stories about epic screw-ups. Sounds like interesting reading.
Out of Sight. Here is a list of the final resting places of a large number of childhood icons. Yes, Howdy Doody is here (he was a little before my time), but also numerous others that were not.
Out of Bed. I’m an early riser; the rest of my family sleeps in. Here are 14 things us early risers know that that late risers can only dream about. While they are sleeping. In the morning.
Pigging Out on Fruit. Here is an interesting article from the Atlantic on a number of different types of fruit that are even more awesome than what you typically find at the market.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1645433.html

userpic=levys Today brings yet another installment of news chum related to food, or should that be chews num felated to rood?

Dim Sum No More. Today’s LA Times brings really sad news for our dim sum habit: our regular dim sum outing-spot, Empress Pavillion, has closed due to eviction/landlord problems. I started eating dim sum with the UCLA Computer Club (I still remember that club reunion with bao), and we’ve continued to make regular treks downtown. I’m not sure of any dim sum palaces left in Chinatown, although our friend Anthony mentioned Golden Dragon as a possibility. I also have a recollection of NBC Seafood in Monterey Park, and Yelp also recommends some place called Elite. Don’t think there are any comparable places in the valley.
Get Your Lollys at the Lolly Store. Here’s just the thing for those with an oral fixation. A company called Lollyphile has introduced a breastmilk flavored lollypop. I’m sure question #1 is how did they get the flavor right? The founder of the company tried breast milk from four of his friends who were new mothers. He and his flavor specialists then got to work developing the flavor. Question #2, of course, is how do they turn the breastmilk into a lollypop? The answer is (unlike the breastmilk ice cream) that these lollypops are vegan: sugar, corn syrup, and natural flavors. Order yours today, but keep them out of the hands of children. (I’ll stop there before I make a boob of myself)
The Big Cheese. My weakness isn’t lollypops (even the ones above)… it is cheese. So naturally I love an infographic from BuzzFeed all about the different types of cheese. I tend to go for the semi-hard non-blue cheese, particularly super sharp cheddar. I guess I’m just a rat.
Goodies for Dad. Need to get something for dad for Fathers Day. How about Oscar Meyer Bacon Boxes. They are available by mail order. If you’re in a city with a “Counter” burger joint, he can get a free burger at most locations on Dad’s Day if you just say “My dad is a BFD”.
Origin Stories. Lastly, two origin stories. First, here are 14 dark secrets of how your food is made. After reading these, I’ll never look at hot dogs or shredded cheese the same again. They truly emphasize why it is important to get food with the least processing possible. The second origin story provides information on the surprising origins of 10 of the biggest casual dining restaurants.

Music: Blast: An Explosive Musical Celebration (2000 Original Broadway Cast): “Split Complimentaries”

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1632651.html

userpic=levys Today’s end-of-the-day news chum brings together a number of articles all related to dining or food:

Truly Honest Reviews. What do you get when your food critic is 4-years old? You get this wonderful series of pictures wherein a 4-year old reviews Mission Chinese in San Francisco.
Loving That Chinese Food. Let’s continue on the Chinese food theme. Here’s a guy that has eaten at almost 3,000 Chinese restaurants, and has kept a written record of all of them. In doing so, he’s traced the history of Chinese food in Los Angeles.
An Apple A Day. My favorite type of apple is the Newtown Pippin. Alas, you never see them any more — nor most of the old varietals. This article explains why you only see 5 types of apples, and what one man is doing about it.
Coffee, Tea, or …. Before there was Starbucks, and before there was Peets, there was Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a local chain in Los Angeles. They still do their roasting locally, and here’s a picture essay to prove it.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1619587.html

userpic=angry-dog It’s Saturday. Time to clear out the bookmarks from the week that didn’t form into otherwise coherent themes. As always, these are news articles or other items that came across my RSS feed during the week:

Where Does Your Money Go? Have you ever wondered, as you buy things from corporate America, exactly which billionaire’s pockets you were lining? This special report from Forbes allows you to map corporate brands to the wealthy people behind them. Some of these I knew, such as the folks behind Aldi being behind Trader Joes as well. Some I didn’t, such as the Koch Brothers being behind Brawny, or some of the same folks being behind both Burger King and Budweiser. It’s like a giant game of concentration.
Historical Money. In the musical Tenderloin, one of the songs makes reference to a “double eagle”, and I’ve always wondered what that was. I found my answer in this Mental Floss article, which looks at 10 of the lesser known coins in the US. This is more than just Suzies and Sacajaweas. It is things like Gold Buffalos, Unions, Stellas, and various odd coin denominations such as ½¢, 2¢, 3¢, 20¢, half-dimes, and $3. Speaking of the ½¢, here’s another related item: Why are coupons worth ¹/₁₀₀^th of a cent? Hint: The answer goes back to trading stamps. Remember those?
Food Issues. Another twofer of food items. The first looks at a niche in the world of Chinese restaurants in Monterey Park, CA: Organic Chinese Food. Monterey Park is an Asian community east of Los Angeles, home to loads and loads of great Chinese restaurants. Many of these place the emphasis on quick and cheap. A few are bucking the trend attempting to go for organic and healthy cuisine (something that would go well in West LA), and the article looks at their struggles. Also food-related is a petition effort from a number of food bloggers to get Kraft to remove the food dyes from their Mac&Cheese. Of course, what they fail to realize is that one eats Kraft Mac & Cheese expressly for the food dye (it’s a food group, don’tcha know?); if you want healthy food for your family, don’t depend on the corporations — make it yourself! Great mac and cheese isn’t hard to make.
Plumbing Issues. This one I discovered through Boing Boing: An article about a fellow who buys a new house, has a drain problem, calls a plumber, and enters into the rabbit hole of plumbing problems. This is something I’ve run into — especially the situation of tarpaper sewage pipes, which we had in our front yard (our house was built in 1962). Plumbing is one of the reasons I hate houses built on concrete slabs — I still remember, as a kid, having plumbing leaks under the slab and having to rip up the carpets and jackhammer the floor.
Body Issues and Acceptance. One of the folks I read on Livejournal is TheFerrett. A wonderful writer, he often has very insightful essays (for example, his recent essay on being the dumb one in the room). This week he reposted an essay he had originally posted over at Fetlife, a fetish-oriented bulletin board. This essay looked at body image from the genitalia point of view, noting that whatever you’ve got, there’s someone else that finds it sexy. This essay hit a nerve with a lot of people — it is a very positive statement of body acceptance, and one that many people need to remember. It is something to think about everytime you see a couple and go: Why is he/she with her/him? The answer is because each has something the other loves. Related to this: The Nu Project kickstarter, as of when I write this, has about 3 hours left. This is your last chance to get the Nu Project book at a discounted price; the Nu project presents pictures of women of all shapes and sizes, taken in their homes, demonstrating that all bodies are beautiful.

Music: If Not Now When? (Debbie Friedman): “Kumi Lach”

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1606024.html

userpic=pastrami This is an offshoot of the previous news chum post that is specifically focused on food news:

Packaging and Its Influence. Our first item, from Bon Appetit, is from a food psychologist and explores why we eat the way we do. It posits the notion that we would eat a lot less if our plates were smaller, among other things (e.g., package size influences what we eat). I blame our mothers who taught us to clean our plates before we could leave the table.
Bound in Chains. Our second article, from Slate, explores what it takes to open a chain restaurant. I tend to discount chains in deference to local shops, but each chain is really a local shop, hiring from the community and serving the community. The real questions should be: (a) is the menu what you want; (b) is the food prepared on premesis; (c) does the food have the quality and price you want?
What’s The Bowl Without Beer? Our third article, from NPR, explores the world of Gluten-Free Beers and performs a taste test. Now, I’m not a beer drinking, but I know those who are. My wife (who used to be one before going GF) has tried some of these, and says they are pretty good.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1594360.html

Observations Along The Road... at Dreamwidth

Roadkill Along The Information Superhighway

Los Angeles: Going, Going, Gone

Some Tasty Afternoon Stew

Los Angeles News Chum

A Dinner Costs How Much?!?

And take a tip from La Belle France: “Viva la difference!”

Food News: Pastrami, Mexican Kosher Ice Cream, and Green Poop

Some Tasty Items: Gluten Free, Cottage Cheese, Fruits, and Cheap Eats

A Day Late and a Dollar… Saturday Stew on Sunday

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things…

Something To Stew About

You Can’t Fry in Space and other Food News

Filling a Dim Sum Hole

Modern Times Stew

From Ground to Grocer

Pieology vs. Pizza Rev

Saturday News Chum Stew: On The Outs

Nood Fews: Sim Dum, Meastbrilk Pollilops, Dacon for Bad, and More

Friday Food Frenzy

Saturday Miscellany: Money, Food, Plumbing, and Body Acceptance

Food In The News

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June 2025

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