Some time ago, Boing Boing reported that the squid biomass had exceeded the human biomass. After a report of jumbo squid washing ashore in California, I posted a popplers entry entitled, Next up, a rain of frogs, wherein I made the Kent Brockman-inspired comment, "I, for one, welcome our new squid overlords." Well, so did everyone else. A quick Google search on the phrase welcome squid.overlord returns almost 1800 hits. And Mule Design has made a t-shirt.
Just a quick comment about the hotel where I stayed: Loews Philadelphia. Based on some of the reviews at tripadvisor.com, I was a little worried about what I would find when I arrived. But I was pleasantly surprised— the PSFS Building is extremely cool. (That site has great pix of the lobby and SoleFood restaurant, too.)
It was built in 1932 by Howe & Lescaze, and is considered one of the first modern skyscrapers. For more pix and historical info, check out:
Happy birthday, Abe Vigoda!
As of this moment, I am relieved to learn that Mr. Vigoda is still alive. (Note: abevigoda.com works under IE, but doesn't seem to play well with Firefox. However, Firefox users can avail themselves of Bob Vesterman's AbeVigodaStatus extension, which displays Abe's alive/dead status in the browser's status bar. His developer notes amused me.)
Foamy time machine bonus: One fish, two fish…
Trippy. I stared at this for a long time before realizing that I could interact with it by moving the mouse around.
Via Neil Gaiman: Jack Chalker's obituary. I met him in passing at least once (at a Worldcon, I think). Many moons ago, I remember searching out the Well of Souls books; Snuffy was reading them and we were trying to fill in the gaps at used bookstores.
The always-useful Wikipedia offers a short bio and a handy bibliography.
For the first time in recent memory, I spent nearly 5 days without access to the internet. No email. No web surfing. No blog posting. It was strange. I was in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, for a conference all week. Since the boring part of the trip is the actual travel (flight delay, just-missed train, yada yada), let's skip to the fun part: restaurant reviews. Without further ado, an eating tour of Philly.
Monday night: SoleFood
As a rule, I avoid hotel restaurants. They're always over-priced, and the food is often mediocre. But after checking in at the hotel, I just wanted a bite to eat and a hot shower. (Hotel restaurants know that they have a captive (read: travel-weary) audience.) So, I ordered a Yuengling Lager and the Maine Lobster Roll with Roasted Pepper Slaw and a side of pommes frites. Yes, I did feel odd traveling to Philly to order Maine lobster, but that's another story. The lobster roll was good, but with a slightly sweet flavor (kinda strange). Happily, dessert made up for the awful frites.
Worst feature of the restaurant (food category): without a doubt, the pommes frites— limp, completely saturated with oil, not at all crispy. I ate one. Worst feature of the restaurant (non-food category): the music. Examples: a horrifying "lite jazz" version of "What's Going On" that I'm sure has Marvin Gaye spinning in his grave; a completely unnecessary cover of Van Morrison's "Moondance" by a female singer; and, mercifully, I can't remember the third one. My mind must have blocked it out in self-defense.
Best feature of the restaurant (food category): The Banana Fritters Fondue, served with caramel ice cream and four dipping sauces, rocked. The fritters were nice and crispy; I think there was coconut in the breading. The dipping sauces were burnt caramel, chocolate, vanilla, and a tropical fruit puree. My two favorites were the caramel and the fruit. Best feature of the restaurant (non-food category): the decor. I really liked the look of the place, especially the bar area and lounge: high ceilings, cool lighting, reasonably comfy chairs, mosaics, art deco-influenced windows. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any good pix on their web site.
Tuesday afternoon: Reading Terminal Market
The conference provided lunch for us on most days, but not on the first day of tutorial sessions. Happily, the hotel was just around the corner from the Reading Terminal Market. After a quick trip to the ATM, I opted for an iced tea and a catfish po'boy at the Down Home Diner. Surprisingly, the iced tea wasn't the Southern-style, slightly sweetened kind. But the sandwich was tasty, and the home fries were nicely browned and crispy. I scoped out some of the other vendors at the market, picked up a nice ricotta cannoli at Termini Brothers, and dashed back to the class.
Best feature (food category): the sheer variety. You name it, they've got it. It's all fresh, appetizing, right in front of you. Best feature (non-food category): the building itself. The Reading Terminal Market was built in 1889. Details stolen from readingterminalmarket.org: The Reading Railroad (yes, just like in Monopoly) announced it would build a state-of-the-art train shed in Philadelphia at 12th and Market Streets. The new train shed promised to be the biggest of them all, fronted by a splendid pink and white eight story office building. Fortunately, after much debate, it was decide that the markets currently occupying the same location on which the railroad proposed to build its new terminal would be purchased for one million dollars. The markets would be relocated within the new train shed beneath the elevated rail tracks. Reading's new train shed would be different from all others in that it had a gastronomic bazaar tucked away in its cellar. Reading Terminal Market was born.
Worst feature: it's in Philadelphia, and I live in Massachusetts.
Tuesday night: Bliss
Bliss is headed up by Francesco Martorella, who apparently was the executive chef at Brasserie Perrier, The Ritz Carlton and Avenue B. I have never eaten at any of those places, but the dishes at Bliss were excellent.
Best feature (food category): a close race between the starter (Ginger Shrimp Dumplings with Baby Shiitakes and Coconut Ginger Sauce) and dessert (Banana Financier with chocolate ice cream), but the medal goes to the dessert. I mean, c'mon, the name alone edges it over. How can you not enjoy ordering a "ba-nahn-ah fee-nahn-see-ay"? I can't find their recipe online, but this one from Bistro Les Deux Gros sounds like it would be reasonably close. Make sure to artistically drizzle some chocolate and/or caramel sauce on the plate when you serve it. Oh, and charge $10 for it, too. Best feature (non-food category): the high ceilings and spacious feel, in what is really a rather small restaurant setting. The decor is simple and streamlined, with a nice palette of muted colors. It seems vaguely Japanese, but with lots of curtains instead of shoji.
Worst feature (non-food category): those high ceilings make for a really noisy dinner experience.
Wednesday night: Morimoto
While I was preparing for this trip, I Googled to see if I could find a restaurant from a previous visit (several years ago). I couldn't (and still can't) remember its name, but it was in the beautiful Corn Exchange Building. The current resident appears to be the Plough & the Stars, an Irish restaurant and bar. But this seems to be a recent change: World Fusion was a previous venture, and there may have been others. I remember the distinctive look of the place: it was in a "restored historically preserved Corn Exchange Building, dating back to the early part of the 20th Century, [with] 24 ft ornate ceilings, molded Corinthian columns and dramatic 16 ft windows […]" The food was memorable; I had a seared tuna steak that was encrusted with sesame seeds, and served with long green beans (mung beans, maybe?) that were tied into an overhand knot. This was also the same restaurant where I watched a really pretentious rich woman accidentally light her menu on fire (no joke!), but that's another story.
So, I didn't find the place I was looking for. But in the course of searching through the various Philadelphia restaurant sites, I did learn that Masaharu Morimoto has his own place, just a few blocks from where I was staying. As a longtime fan of Iron Chef, I had to go. morimoto offers a multi-course tasting menu (omakase), "designed to allow you to experience the essence of morimoto's cuisine." There are three tiers: $80, $100, and $120. I didn't want to push my luck with the accounting department, so I skipped the omakase.
I ate at the sushi bar, which is always fun because you get dinner and a show. Much to my surprise, Morimoto-san was actually there that evening. I saw him briefly behind the sushi bar, speaking with the chefs there. But he spent the majority of the evening lavishing attention on and drinking sake with the three people who were (originally) seated next to me. Two of the three were Asian, and he came over and conversed with them in Japanese for a bit. I must have been in the low-rent district, however, because as soon as 3 seats opened up at the front of the bar, he had the group moved to the better location. I almost wish that I had brought my digital camera on this trip, because all of the dishes (especially the extra-special ones that the chefs were whipping up for the V.I.P.s) were beautiful.
I started with the morimoto sashimi ($24), five assorted pieces of sashimi with seven sauces. It was presented on a rectangular glass platter, with two artistic squiggles of sauce (one red (chile-based) and one green (chive? cilantro?)). The sashimi were amazing— melt-in-your-mouth and each very different in flavor, complemented by a distinct sauce (e.g., tuna served with a light guacamole). I then tried the rock shrimp tempura with spicy 'kochujan' aioli ($14). This was highly recommended by the gentlemen who wound up sitting near me in the cheap seats. The tempura was the simplest of the dishes, both in appearance and in flavor. It looked like popcorn shrimp that had been lightly tossed with spicy mayonnaise, which was basically what it was. Tasty!
Instead of an entree, I ordered the dobin mushi (steamed soup in a pot with shrimp and mushrooms). This was a broth with a very complex flavor, smoky and rich and delicious. For dessert lovers, I am happy to report that there are no fish-themed ice creams or sorbets on the menu (although $10 will get you the wasabi tiramisu, a vanilla biscuit soaked with espresso and cognac, served with wasabi mascarpone cream and chocolate sauce). I didn't feel that adventurous, so I ordered the chocolate pot de creme, a bittersweet chocolate custard, topped with kahlua cream, and served with 4 tiny amaretti. And yes, I was able to go the entire evening without once uttering, "Allez cuisine!"
Best feature (food category): tough call, but the sashimi was fantastic. Best feature (non-food category): the sushi chefs and their mastery with knives.
Worst feature (non-food category): You definitely pay for the celebrity name. Dinner for one, no alcohol, including tax & tip: $78.
Thursday night: Tangerine
Tangerine was highly recommended by my fellow diners at morimoto. Interestingly, it is owned by the same restaurant group as morimoto (the Starr Restaurant Organization, which is also responsible for Alma de Cuba, Buddakan, and El Vez, among others). I was in the general neighborhood, visiting the National Constitution Center. After the conference-sponsored meet-and-greet at the museum, I wandered through the exhibits for a bit and bought some postcards. I started walking toward the hotel, realized that I didn't have the address for the restaurant, and called Chris for some long-distance Google mapping. A quick U-turn and I was on my way…
Best feature (food category): the reasonably-priced and varied bar menu. For about $12, I ordered a "meze" of 3 dishes: whitefish ceviche, crispy calamari with red pepper aïoli & kalamata olive salad, and a cold butternut squash caponata. The ceviche was amazing— flavored with lime and guacamole and olives. I've never had anything like it. Through a happy server slip-up, I wound up with an extra dish that I hadn't ordered: manchego cheese with raisins. Both the cheese and the caponata were served with thin slices of crusty bread, toasted with olive oil and salt. The food was terrific, a lot of different flavors and textures that went extremely well together. Best feature (non-food category): awesome cocktails! I tried their signature drink, the Tangerine (tangerine puree, vanilla vodka, and a splash of club soda). It was fantastic and tasted like a slightly alcoholic creamsicle. I'm looking forward to experimenting with these at home. I didn't try the Marrakech Express (vodka, Kahlua, and espresso), but that sounds good too. Chris wants to make Apples & Oranges at Twin Trees (Smirnoff Orange and sour apple schnapps in a martini glass, rimmed with orange Tang), but I can't read the phrase "rimmed with orange Tang" without thinking of pervy astronaut sex.
Worst feature (non-food category): The lounge does not have a non-smoking section. Blargh.
Friday afternoon: Bassett's Original Turkey
Airport food. D+. The less said, the better. Best feature (food category): the ingredients seemed to be reasonably fresh. Worst feature (food category): they were out of tuna fish. The bagel place across the aisle was out of everything except cinnamon-raisin bagels, though, so I guess I shouldn't complain.
Worst feature (non-food category): a three-way tie between the long lines, disorganized service, and general lack of cleanliness. Best feature (non-food category): the people who worked there were friendly and reasonably clueful, despite the poor set-up.
It's not just the Hindus, apparently. Yahoo! News reports: Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses
[…] Valentine's Day, or the "Feast of Love" in Arabic, is beyond the pale in a country where women must cover themselves from head to toe in public and be accompanied by a male guardian."For the last week, we've had no red in the shop," said Ahmed, a flower shop manager. "You can't even have red cards."
Despite the prohibition, demand for the banned roses has been strong and unofficial business was booming, Ahmed said. […]
DNA testing has positively identified the biological parents of Baby 81, a.k.a. Abilash Jeyarajah. Two months ago, 8 women claimed to be his mother.
[…] Last week police took the baby 180 miles away to a laboratory in Colombo to carry out the DNA tests. Today the courts confirmed the results.Mrs Jeyarajah said that as soon as she gets her son back, she will fulfil vows to smash 100 coconuts at a temple of the Hindu god, Ganesh, offer sweet rice to the warrior god, Murugan, and kill a rooster for the goddess Kali. […]
That sounds so much more impressive than saying a novena.
I dare you to parse this: Underwater gnome threat 'returns'. (And what's with the single quote emphasis around the word 'returns'?)
Best quote: "Pc Kenny McMahon, a member of the North West Police Underwater Search Unit, said the gnomes were well known among the diving community."
Who knew Valentine's Day could be so divisive? Hindu hardliners burn Valentine cards
[…] Jai Bhagwan Goyal, New Delhi chief of the Bombay-based Shiv Sena, said multinational companies were promoting Valentine's Day to earn money through the sale of cards and posters."This is against Hindu culture and corrupts India's youth," he said. […]
(On a tangent: the more I stare at the word "divisive," the more sure I am that I've spelled it wrong. I think it's the palindromic center, "visiv," that makes it look so weird. (On a separate tangent: where can I find chocolates with a creamy palindromic center?))
And, on a more humorous note, The Onion presents Love Coupons! Samples: "One dinner at restaurant with silverware"; "Five minutes of open, honest conversation before the wall of denial and deception slams back down forever."
In honor of the holiday, the Boston Globe reviews local chocolatiers. I love the photo gallery that accompanies the article, but take exception to their rating system— Barry White is far sexier than satin sheets.
You can't make this $#%^ up: German "gay" penguins spark protest.
[…] He said the zoo concluded the penguins might be gay after seeing male penguins trying to mate with other males and trying to hatch offspring out of stones.German media reported that female Swedish penguins would be brought to the zoo to test the theory, but when word got out about the plan, the phones started ringing. […]
The Elder Gods just haven't been getting enough attention lately. Via BoingBoing: H.P. Lovecraft: florid genius or horrific hack? Discuss.
Project Manager Leaves Suicide PowerPoint Presentation:
[…] "To Ron's credit, it was one helluva way to go out," human resources manager Gail Everts said. "Ron clearly spent a lot of time on that presentation. If the subject matter weren't so heavy, we'd probably use it to train his replacement."Copywriter Gita Pruriyaran said the presentation "had room for improvement." […]
Last night was opening night for Tomfoolery at the Acme Theater (running through March 5)! For those who can't experience the Misfits in person, enjoy a little Tom Lehrer today: The Elements.
I'm having another "low threshold of humor" day. The Boston.com Arts & Entertainment section touts its Valentine's Guide ("Check for dining out ideas, getaways, and ideas for singles."). I'll bet there are a lot of singles out there who can't wait to check out the Free Wang movie screening.
My think BLUE bands arrived in the mail this week (a shout-out to Poz for bringing them to my attention). I wore my first one for less than 24 hours before giving it away to a friend who liked it. (And I forgot to grab another one out of the box to wear today!)
I just read this today, in the Globe: 'Star Trek' nears its final frontier as UPN cancels 'Enterprise'. My first thought was, Wow, it's still on?
Doing our part to keep Paragon City safe from the riff-raff: Mister Snow and I celebrated Winter-een-mas over the weekend. We played City of Heroes on Friday evening, and for most of Sunday, but didn't actually go to the in-game celebration (it was on Victory server, and all my characters are on Freedom).
Alas, Freakazette doesn't have a whole lot to show for it (unless you count the 100k worth of debt). At least she earned her Frozen Fury badge and a decent amount of XP. Between Founder's Falls and Crey's Folly, I don't think that the debt will significantly decrease any time soon… Just trying to talk with a contact in one of those areas often leads to a hospital visit (danged sharpshooters!).
Not much chance of playing this week: went to NH last night for dinner with friends, and most likely going out to dinner tonight with Mark Y. And Wednesday night is the first "dry run" for Tom Foolery over at Acme Theater. The show runs February 11 through March 5, 2005, and I'm helping out behind the scenes with costumes and props. Come see it, especially if you're a Tom Lehrer fan— tix are only $16. So the earliest that I'll be on again is Thursday night. (I'm sure that Doctor Dude and Valnar will pick up the slack. Obsidian Knight has been MIA for weeks.)
Via Boing Boing: Sushi + Kitty-chan = totemo kawaii desu!
Obligatory Simpsons quote:
Homer: "It burns, it burns!"
Quiz show host: "It's loaded with wasabi."