Weekend in San Francisco

It is worth the wait at the Shanghai House ... right?


Comrades Sullivan and Zhang, spearheading the redistribution of juice buns


Roli's porchetta (lunch #2) beats the hell out of Porchetta in the EV


Before the porchetta: lunch #1


Teapot incubating alien life form


Braised short ribs, ass


Unfortunately for these lobsters, Dungeness crabs were out of season


Pasta, paper towel


Two squabbling Asians


Either gross or beautiful, depending on your point of view

Porchetta, Hair Mates and Ippudo: an Afternoon in the Life of an Idle President of Vice

I went to the East Village today for a haircut. On the way, I stopped by Porchetta for a plate of pork, beans and greens.

But I am totally lying. I went to the East Village specifically for the Porchetta plate. People have been raving about this place. I had to check it out.

But the plate left me hanging. The pork and the beans both seemed underseasoned. The burnt ends were good, but I only had a few pieces to savor. And the portion was less than generous. At fourteen bucks, I consider this neither a bargain nor some kind of ecstatic foodie experience.

So I found myself unsatisfied, but also just a few blocks from Ippudo, which supposedly has the awesomest ramen in the city. The thing was, I had an hour to kill before Ippudo opened for dinner at five.

Fortunately, Hair Mates was on the way, and they were taking walk-ins. An hour and forty bucks later, I emerged with fabulous hair and an even greater appetite for porky noodles.

I was the very first dinner guest at Ippudo. The entire staff greeted me as I was seated at the supa trendy-looking counter. I ordered the Hakata Classic. It came in a smallish bowl, but I was not looking for something huge. The rich broth was opaque with porkiness. Lest I miss the point, succulent slices of pork belly topped the noodles. This, too, was fourteen bucks. Not a bargain, really, but definitely the most refined and fantastic bowl of ramen I have had in New York.

This does not mean I am giving up on my Midtown Men Kui Tei fixation. I don't always need refinement; in fact, usually I need hearty, gut-busting fare. Hear that, Men Kui? The usual, with a mini curry, please.

From the Dead Mouse Archives

...

For most of Thursday, I felt reasonably fine. Then I went to the airport, and I no longer felt fine.

Perhaps I should have seen it coming. I am a mystery only to myself.

Self-absorption, apparently, does not equal self-sufficiency. I can't shake this sense that I exist mostly in the minds of others, and I fear that I will wither away when I stop mattering to those whom I adore.

Wandering Past Midnight in a Snowy Central Park

Of the numerous public properties that belong to the Park clan, Central Park is the closest from my apartment.

At midnight, following another moderate snowfall here in New York, I headed out to take some pictures. I had the entire place to myself.

















On the way home, I slipped on some black ice on Columbus Avenue and busted my ass.

Muammar Qaddafi, Peacemaker

The New York Times ran an op-ed by the leader of Libya, who proposes a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Qaddafi was once seen in the West as a terrorist on the order of Yasser Arafat. In his old age, he seems to have reinvented himself as a diplomat and a man of reason, but as long as he is pushing the right of return, I doubt his proposal will gain much traction among the Jews.

What to Do in Korea

For my friend Lindsay, who's headed to Korea (yay!): the following are some activities that you might find interesting.


Go check out a big fish market with your camera. Then go to a big department store like Lotte and hang out on the food floors.


Eat some seolleongtang.


Eat kimchee.


Time and weather permitting (it snows a lot there), go to Seoraksan National Park.


More Seoraksan.


There is a cool concentration of arts and crafts in Insadong in Seoul.


Insadong

Sweatbox

I don't care who you are; your first financial priority should be to keep your credit cards paid off. The minimum payment is a tool of the lender, not you. If you are not convinced, please read this. The lenders want to keep you sweating as long as they can manage.

What to See in California

Moon, trees


Barn in Point Reyes


Yuan's living room at night


Alcatraz


San Francisco, from Alcatraz

What to Eat in California

Raw pork is not good for you, but it is often very tempting.


Cooked pork.


Raw oysters.


This fruit was really weird but pretty delicious. Yuan, what the hell is it called again? (Answer: cherimoya)

The Fauna of California, Continued

Birds


Winnie!

The Fauna of California

Yuan: my host, cook and navigator for much of the journey


Stephanie laughing after wine, nuts


Visiting Lisa in prison


Stacey is about to get smacked


My verdict on Bjorn's ice cream: delicious, not at all like a woman's bathroom


Rosemary


It appears that baboons are good with babies, specifically Isabella.


Isabella, and one of her ancestors named Jon

A Salute to a Near-Genius

The robber pepper sprayed the armoured car guard on September 30 outside a Bank of America branch in Monroe, grabbed a bag of money and ran towards a tributary of the Skykomish River where he was seen floating off on a tube.

More hilarity.