Now go eat candy.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
My first seismic event
Earthquake!
5.6!
No damages to the apartment or the studio. But it felt really strange.
Hm. Look at those fault lines.
It's going to suck when the Big One actually happens.
5.6!
No damages to the apartment or the studio. But it felt really strange.
Hm. Look at those fault lines.
It's going to suck when the Big One actually happens.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Lidia's
Lidia Bastianich: veteran PBS cooking show host, author of many cookbooks, and owner of four restaurants.
This is hardly an adequate description of the venerable Mrs. Bastianich. Check out her recipes for more of an insight.
Today, we made our second trip to Lidia's Pittsburgh restaurant in as many years. I was skeptical during our first visit because:
- am suspicious of celebrity chef restaurants
- decorations seemed too $
- and we were in Pittsburgh, for pete's sake.
But it turned out to be awesome.
So we went back for brunch today, which included a mimosa or a bloody mary and unlimited trips to the antipasti table: salami, ham, Caesar salad, panzanella, risotto salad with peas and pancetta, baby potatoes with more pancetta, roasted acorn squash with balsamic, roasty parsnips with garlic & parm (my favorite), butternut squash & apple salad, prosciutto & spinach frittata, and assorted olives.
Most of us then had the pasta tasting, which included endless amounts of linguini with green beans, butternut, garlic, and butter, ravioli filled with roasted chicken, pork, and beef, and rigatoni with tomato & vodka sauce.
After that, there was the dessert table: roasted pears with grapes and vanilla syrup, an incredibly tart apple crostada, a coronary-inducing tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, cannoli, and lots of cookies.
Alex was batting clean-up, finishing all the leftover desserts.
If you are ever in Pittsburgh (or near any of her other restaurants), you must must MUST go to Lidia's!!!
This is hardly an adequate description of the venerable Mrs. Bastianich. Check out her recipes for more of an insight.
Today, we made our second trip to Lidia's Pittsburgh restaurant in as many years. I was skeptical during our first visit because:
- am suspicious of celebrity chef restaurants
- decorations seemed too $
- and we were in Pittsburgh, for pete's sake.
But it turned out to be awesome.
So we went back for brunch today, which included a mimosa or a bloody mary and unlimited trips to the antipasti table: salami, ham, Caesar salad, panzanella, risotto salad with peas and pancetta, baby potatoes with more pancetta, roasted acorn squash with balsamic, roasty parsnips with garlic & parm (my favorite), butternut squash & apple salad, prosciutto & spinach frittata, and assorted olives.
Most of us then had the pasta tasting, which included endless amounts of linguini with green beans, butternut, garlic, and butter, ravioli filled with roasted chicken, pork, and beef, and rigatoni with tomato & vodka sauce.
After that, there was the dessert table: roasted pears with grapes and vanilla syrup, an incredibly tart apple crostada, a coronary-inducing tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, cannoli, and lots of cookies.
Alex was batting clean-up, finishing all the leftover desserts.
If you are ever in Pittsburgh (or near any of her other restaurants), you must must MUST go to Lidia's!!!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Pittsburgh, PA
We are in Pennsylvania, the state of my youth.
Last night, we went to the Byham Theater (where we played 2-ish years ago) to see Mickey Hart and the Global Drum Project.
Basically, it was four guys (all with mad skills) with lots of toys, having a jam session onstage.
Interesting audience, not really the same as ours. Though there was a huge ad in the program for our concert, so we may have a bit of a crossover.
And to prove that we do other things on tour besides eat frozen custard, here are some photos (from some random blog):
Last night, we went to the Byham Theater (where we played 2-ish years ago) to see Mickey Hart and the Global Drum Project.
Basically, it was four guys (all with mad skills) with lots of toys, having a jam session onstage.
Interesting audience, not really the same as ours. Though there was a huge ad in the program for our concert, so we may have a bit of a crossover.
And to prove that we do other things on tour besides eat frozen custard, here are some photos (from some random blog):
Sunday, October 14, 2007
We Eat St. Louis
Of course, our first priorities are always to put on the best performances and educational programs that we can and be gracious taiko ambassadors to all the communities we visit.
But we do need to eat - and by that, I mean go to Ted Drewe's as many times as we possibly can.
The current seasonal flavor is The Great Pumpkin, which is an actual slice of pumpkin pie mashed into vanilla frozen custard and whipped into a concrete.
And we are treated do dinner at Saleem's Lebanese Restaurant by our friends from St. Louis Osuwa Taiko.
PJ gets a stewy lamb dish with figs.
This is eggplant with tahini sauce and garlic mashed taters. I think.
The food was yummo. I don't know much about this kind of cuisine, but it was all fabulous.
And there was even a little after-dinner entertainment.
WARNING: There will be a video posted later, as soon as I can figure out how to do it (yes, I know it's easy, but my camera is not cooperating, possibly because it doesn't approve of the contents of this video).
Why a warning, you ask? Those of you who know Our Boy Alex can probably figure it out.
But we do need to eat - and by that, I mean go to Ted Drewe's as many times as we possibly can.
The current seasonal flavor is The Great Pumpkin, which is an actual slice of pumpkin pie mashed into vanilla frozen custard and whipped into a concrete.
And we are treated do dinner at Saleem's Lebanese Restaurant by our friends from St. Louis Osuwa Taiko.
PJ gets a stewy lamb dish with figs.
This is eggplant with tahini sauce and garlic mashed taters. I think.
The food was yummo. I don't know much about this kind of cuisine, but it was all fabulous.
And there was even a little after-dinner entertainment.
WARNING: There will be a video posted later, as soon as I can figure out how to do it (yes, I know it's easy, but my camera is not cooperating, possibly because it doesn't approve of the contents of this video).
Why a warning, you ask? Those of you who know Our Boy Alex can probably figure it out.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A bit of history
What:
The old St. Louis Courthouse, located conveniently near our hotel
When:
Built in the early 1800's
Notable fact:
Location of the Dred Scott trials of 1847 and 1850
If you, like me, were napping during your American history classes, read this.
No, really. Go back and read the stuff on the link.
Seriously.
And now, for something totally different:
Loyal readers will know of my obsession with Cute Overload.
Now, does this not remind you of Totoro?
And is this the real pikachu? We heard one of these on our Montana hike.
Just wonderin'...
Now, does this not remind you of Totoro?
And is this the real pikachu? We heard one of these on our Montana hike.
Just wonderin'...
Lap of luxury
Westin Hotel, St. Louis, MO.
Am in the swanky hotel lobby. From here, I can see the St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium and the arch.
This is across the street.
The rooms are even nicer, with bathrooms that remind me of the Hotel Patee.
So far, we have been to tiny, charming towns (I'm including Billings in this category), which is great, but it's nice to be in an actual city.
And yes, we have been to Ted Drewe's. And we are going back. But under no circumstances are we going to have any St. Louis-style pizza.
On our schedule: 6 concerts, 2 kids' workshops, dinner and workshop with St. Louis Oswua Taiko. And another visit to Ted Drewe's.
Am in the swanky hotel lobby. From here, I can see the St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium and the arch.
This is across the street.
The rooms are even nicer, with bathrooms that remind me of the Hotel Patee.
So far, we have been to tiny, charming towns (I'm including Billings in this category), which is great, but it's nice to be in an actual city.
And yes, we have been to Ted Drewe's. And we are going back. But under no circumstances are we going to have any St. Louis-style pizza.
On our schedule: 6 concerts, 2 kids' workshops, dinner and workshop with St. Louis Oswua Taiko. And another visit to Ted Drewe's.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
We eat our way through Tahlequah
Sam & Ella's Chicken Palace.
It's actually more of a pizza place, since they say that they don't sell a lot of chicken. (Say the name of the restaurant 3x, fast.)
Yurika gets a sundried tomato, green pepper, olive, and mushroom pizza with no cheese, which initially confused the waiter, but it turned out to be a yummy pie.
These four ordered a large pie. The waiter was sure they wouldn't be able to finish it.
He didn't know who he was dealing with.
Cookson Smokehouse, which is in a log cabin, waaay in the middle of the woods.
I had the pulled pork dinner with onion rings, Texas toast, and spicy beans. The pulled pork was slightly smoky and awesome, and it wasn't drowned in bbq sauce.
Pammy had the frito pie with a salad garnish.
Next:
Every dinner comes with endless beans, hush puppies, slaw, and a pickle plate (sour garlic dills and green tomato pickles).
PJ got frog legs.
It does indeed taste like chicken.
And finally, the from comedians who own Sam & Ella's, we have Ernie Coli's Chili & Burrito Emporium:
Burrito likes her burrito.
Good chili & burrito fixin's. Not authentic at all, but yummy.
Yurika's giant veggie burrito with grilled onions & peppers, both fresh and pickled jalapenos, spinach, rice, beans, cilantro, and pico de gallo.
Remember this?
How times have changed.
We all feel like this:
Monday, October 08, 2007
Tahlequah, Oklahoma...
...capital of the Cherokee Nation.
We happen to arrive in time to see the Keetowah Band (band as in tribe or clan) Celebration, which features, among other things, a dance competition.
Since we have some time off, we also go to the Cherokee Heritage Center, where we get a taste of traditional Cherokee life.
Robert, our guide, shows us some traditional dances...
...and how to hunt (I got the rabbit in the neck, which was very satisfying)...
...and how to play stickball. The original Cherokee version was a war game, so there were basically no rules. You had to get the ball between two goal posts, but you were allowed to whack at people's heads, knees, eyeballs, etc.
The modern version is slightly less violent - you're supposed to hit a wooden fish, perched waaay up on a pole.
Franco hit the fish, so Robert gave him a certificate. He was only the 5th person to hit a fish this year!
Robert also talked about basic Cherokee laws and customs. Did you know that the Cherokee women were the ones who owned everything? Read all about it here.
The Cherokee alphabet.
In the mid-1800's, the Cherokee had a higher literacy rate than the European settlers.
Robert's wife, Veronica, shows PJ how to spin.
This is Fred, the extremely antisocial museum cat, waiting for us to leave.
And here we are, back in our rooms at Tenkiller Lodge, which is very quaint and in the middle of the woods.
We happen to arrive in time to see the Keetowah Band (band as in tribe or clan) Celebration, which features, among other things, a dance competition.
Since we have some time off, we also go to the Cherokee Heritage Center, where we get a taste of traditional Cherokee life.
Robert, our guide, shows us some traditional dances...
...and how to hunt (I got the rabbit in the neck, which was very satisfying)...
...and how to play stickball. The original Cherokee version was a war game, so there were basically no rules. You had to get the ball between two goal posts, but you were allowed to whack at people's heads, knees, eyeballs, etc.
The modern version is slightly less violent - you're supposed to hit a wooden fish, perched waaay up on a pole.
Franco hit the fish, so Robert gave him a certificate. He was only the 5th person to hit a fish this year!
Robert also talked about basic Cherokee laws and customs. Did you know that the Cherokee women were the ones who owned everything? Read all about it here.
The Cherokee alphabet.
In the mid-1800's, the Cherokee had a higher literacy rate than the European settlers.
Robert's wife, Veronica, shows PJ how to spin.
This is Fred, the extremely antisocial museum cat, waiting for us to leave.
And here we are, back in our rooms at Tenkiller Lodge, which is very quaint and in the middle of the woods.
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