More Austin

We stay in Austin for a few more days to do a workshop with Austin Taiko & UT's Gin Daiko. And to get a few more snacks...

Freebird's World Burritos.

Yummy and weird, just like Austin. They had one of our Long Center posters on their wall. Not sure if this was the reason we got a lot of free stuff...




































Still to come: Hoover's! Hoover's! Hoover's!

Return to Austin

Austin! The home of numerous music festivals, excellent snacks, cultural events, and the world's biggest Whole Foods.

We have been here before.

This time, we play at the brand-friggin' new Long Center, which is enormous and beautiful.









Sculptures & Hermann Miller furniture in the green room!






















































Alex is happy to have some of Franco's mom's home cookin'.

Day off in Little Rock

Flying Fish, near downtown Little Rock. I had a really, really amazing bbq shrimp po' boy.

Painted on the wall, beside the menu: "BE NICE OR LEAVE."





























Dyls liked the local beer.






































And of course, we must go to the Clinton Library.

Texarkana, Texas AND Arkansas

Highlights from our concert day:

1) We make the front page!


















2) We have lunch at Merfeld's Bread Company on the Arkansas side of the street. Bread, ice cream, and cookies, all made in-house. It's a cute, friendly place that's been open for almost 2 years, and I hope it's around for a long, long time.


















3) We judge a drumline cometition in front of the Perot Theater, which is on the Texas side of the street. And notice the Texas-sized trophy.

































Oh, and we played a concert.

Thanks, Texarkana!

Texarkana, Texas. Or Arkansas.

Texarkana is, if you couldn't guess, on the border of Texas and Arkansas.















First dinner: Bryce's Cafeteria, serving home cookin' since 1931.

Famous for fried chicken, pies, and peach cobbler!

Clockwise from top left:
Jalapeno cornbread (buttery), eggplant casserole (like mac & cheese with eggplant replacing the mac), baked vanilla custard (a little too eggy), cornbread dressing (good but sweeet), and fried chicken (mmm).
















All my food is brown.




Adam got more green things than I did.





















Alex finishes his and everyone else's.

Don't try this at home, kids. He's a professional.

Verdict: Everything was good, but really, really southern (sweet, salty, & covered in fat - not necessarily a terrible thing). Bryce's has about a dozen different pies available, and though they're obviously handmade, they're a little too sweet for me.

I really liked the eggplant casserole, though. It was trashy & awesome.

North American Taiko Conference

Where: JACCC, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

What: North American Taiko Conference

Who: 500+ fellow taiko-philes, all gathered in one place for a weekend of workshops, concerts, and eating. So we will focus on the eating part...

Kogi BBQ truck!





What is that, you ask?

Korean bulgogi, spicy pork, kimchi, etc. used to make amazing tacos, burritos, etc.











Why didn't I think of this?

The Kogi truck (one of them, anyway) comes to JANM on Thursday nights. Hungry fans start lining up at least an hour and a half before the truck shows up. We very nearly missed one of the conference events waiting for the truck. But I managed to get a spicy pork burrito AND a beef taco and beef burrito from the other Korean taco truck (yes, there are knockoffs, and yes, those are good as well).

Was it worth it? YES.

Next: Orochon Ramen, one of the many ramen-ya in Little Tokyo.





I got the #3, which was pleasantly spicy.

Next time, I'm getting the #2.



































































I finish mine.

So does Dyls.





Everyone else: meh.

Next: Chin-Ma Ya, which is directly under Orochon and specializes in mabo tofu and tan tan men. And $.99 drafts during happy hour! Woot!




























































So which is better: Orochon or Chin-Ma Ya?

Both are solid. Orochon's noodles are chewier, but I preferred the broth (and happy hour) at Chin-Ma Ya.

Go to both!

Next: Yogurtland. Oh, don't worry - we also went to Pinkberry and the other place in Little Tokyo (name???), which had the $2 yogurt special. But how do they compare?








































































I liked Pinkberry's yogurt better, but Yogurtland had more selections and a make-it-yourself system, featuring its wall of yogurt dispensers and giant topping bar.

And yes, I did other things besides stuff my face. I saw old friends, made new ones, and had an Odaiko New England class of 1998-1999 reunion with John (now of San Diego Taiko), Kirstin (currently with Portland Taiko), and Mark (now Artistic Director of Odaiko New England).




















And Joe & I went to Marukai, where he bought a head massager.

I first thought it was a whisk. Not so.









Thanks, NATC! The next one will be at Stanford in 2011. See you there?

Augusta, GA

Cafe 209, downtown Augusta.

The chicken's so good, even Yurika has some.

(Click on her photo to read her t-shirt.)








Seriously, the fried chicken was great, as were the field peas and cornbread dressing. I'd skip the desserts, though.



Sconyers BBQ.

An Augusta institution.



























After our vegetarian stay in Tennessee, we are happy to see some actual meat...





...and overeat, as usual.

Durham, NC

First night in Durham: dinner at Bahn's Cuisine on 9th Street, near Duke U.

Vietnamese & Chinese eats, not bad at all. Bahn's is a tiny hole-in-the-wall with a short menu, and a mom-type at the register with a grandma-type in the kitchen. On Saturdays, they have specials like pho and the vegetarian plate, which had a spring roll, sticky rice, and tofu with black bean sauce and fried shallots.














I don't know if I'd go for the typical American-y things on the regular menu (sweet & sour this-n-that, kung pao chicken, etc.), but go on Saturdays for the specials!


Second night: dinner at Twisted Noodles, a most excellent Thai place.














I had the red tofu soup, which was screaming hot and awesome.