212/365 Desserts at Pastiche

212/365 Desserts at Pastiche
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We met friends for dinner down in Providence to check out a Chinese restaurant they had been telling us about. Mu Mu Cuisine is on Atwells Ave on Federal Hill, which is generally more well known as an Italian district as I understand it. It did not disappoint, with xiao lung bao rivaling our sadly departed Wing's Kitchen and a number of other Shanghainese-style treats. We actually got recommendations from the owner who came out to answer questions, and ultimately took our order. Which kind of confused the new waitress who had originally come to the table.

Not quite stuffed to the gills, we made our way to Pastiche for dessert. (I've heard about it for many years but had never had the opportunity to check it out until now.) I couldn't decide between the Peach Apricot Cake and the Torta Di Cioccolata... so I got both.

I blame SOOTTAD who encouraged the bad behavior, although I was the one who ultimately paid for that mistake.

211/365 The Problem with Metaphors

211/365 The Problem with Metaphors
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

@TallMatt tweeted about this article which leads with the following quote from Energy Secretary Steven Chu:

"Energy efficiency--it's not just the low-hanging fruit, it's the fruit that's lying on the ground."

And while I don't disagree with his points, I do sometimes have a tendency to get caught up in where metaphors break down. In this case, the part where the fruit on the ground is covered with slugs and has been picked over by squirrels. Of course, I must admit that the squirrel bites and slugs haven't necessarily stopped us from eating the delicious pears when it's late in the season and it's a choice between squirrel/slug leftover pears or no pears...

...which may also be a reasonable extension of the previously mentioned metaphor.

210/365 El Presidente

210/365 El Presidente
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We had dinner on the patio at Paisano with friends this evening, margaritas to start.

The SOOTTAD had the El Presidente margarita which is made with fresh squeezed lime, Contreau and Cuervo 1800 Tequila, on the rocks. Dressed, of course. The SOOTTAD prefers it to many of the other margaritas on the menu (which use a premixed margarita mix) because it isn't as sweet. Plus, it's EL PRESIDENTE, yo'.

209/365 Flaccid Phallus

209/365 Flaccid Phallus
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Ironically, the fruit grows from the female blossom... what's up with that?

208/365 Pickle Prickles

208/365 Pickle Prickles
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Actually cukes, but how can you resist the alliteration?

207/365 The Droids we've been looking for

207/365 The Droids we've been looking for
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We actually tried to get noodles at the Momofuku Noodle Bar the previous night, but we got there late so were limited to their late night menu, which had NO NOODLES. At the NOODLE BAR. Harumph. (we consoled ourselves with multiple orders of pork buns, which we had tried earlier in the week at the Ssäm Bar. Feel bad for us.)

This is the Momofuku ramen, which comes with pork belly, braised pork shoulder and a poached egg. (also fish cake, nori and delightfully tender bamboo shoots) We also got the bibim gooksu, which, of course, was also delicious, but the ramen was definitely my favorite. Worth the wait.

206/365 these colors peel

206/365 these colors peel
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

seen on a walk through Brooklyn.

205/365 More Grand Central Lights

205/365 More Grand Central Lights
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Did the tourist thing and took a few pictures around Grand Central Station after meeting up with a friend for breakfast.

204/365 Empire State

204/365 Empire State
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

taken walking to the Frim Fram on a rainy Thursday night.

203/365 William Street

203/365 William Street
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

View from Ships & ELF's roofdeck.

202/365 Bo Ssam at the Ssam Bar

202/365 Bo Ssam at the Ssam Bar
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Delicious bo ssäm at the Ssäm Bar in New York City.

We probably ordered way too many appetizers and cocktails, but even painfully stuffed, we enjoyed every bit of our braised pork shoulder treat that we could actually get down. Plus: LEFTOVERS.

NOM.

201/365 Liatris Be the Place to Be

201/365 Liatris Be the Place to Be
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

200/365 Narragansett Swim Party

200/365 Narragansett Swim Party
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Checked out the surfing scene at Narragansett beach and late in the afternoon a large party of swimmers hit the beach. I overheard someone say something about a swim to Block Island. (which can't be right, because that'd be something like 14 miles away.)

Surfing Stats:
hours spent driving: 4
hours spent looking for parking: 1
hours spent surfing: 2.75
hours spent shivering: 3.5 (corollary: bought new wetsuit)
# wipeouts: NO COMMENT.

199/365 Entering the Nap Zone

199/365 Entering the Nap Zone
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

A nice lazy Saturday afternoon.

198/365 It goes to 11

198/365 It goes to 11
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Finally warm enough to need the A/C in the office; hadn't noticed the setting until I decided I wanted to take a picture of the old wall unit...

197/365 uh, delect?

197/365 uh, delect?
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

So, I started with "select" and "collect," and then couldn't come up with anything appropriate (devour? consume? chowdown? ...) that would rhyme.

The crazy part is, having now googled this, "delect" is actually in use by people these days, apparently a common malapropism (or typo) for "delete."

If you follow the links, you can see that the raspberries are producing fabulously this year. I've always found the cores within the fruit of the berries to have a fascinating texture, but it never seems to render well in photographs. That's how it goes sometimes, but I keep trying.

196/365 Present, but not participating

196/365 Present, but not participating
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

The three boys are all getting along for the most part, although Winston seems to be the only one that really interacts with the other two.

This evening, Winston and Twelve found a distraction while waiting for me to give them some wet food (which wasn't actually showing up). Warren, waiting patiently as well, would have nothing to do with it and seemed rather put off by that foolishness.

195/365 Raided Supplies

195/365 Raided Supplies
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

It appears that the mice have developed a taste for Korean ramen, which we have unfortunately been storing an a basement closet inaccessible to our vermin mitigation units.

194/365 Suspension

194/365 Suspension
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

I think I take too many shots like this, but it was the best of the bunch today. This one was from one of the DCR path bridges over the Charles river in Newton.

I biked to my acupuncture appointment today -- a beautiful day to be outside -- and on the way back home, I stopped at the bridge to take the shot. The shots of the bridge itself just weren't as interesting.

193/365 Devilish Beauty

193/365 Devilish Beauty
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We have a big bunch of cilantro in the dining room because the SOOTTAD's parents brought over several huge stalks of the stuff along with large amounts of celery leaf, dill, oregano and sage from their yard. I guess they have more than what they know what to do with it.

Yes, we call cilantro "devilweed" because it tastes like soap to me, and ruined many an otherwise tasty dish. The SOOTTAD actually likes it and is kind enough to keep it on the side or provide alternatives for me, although I have recently found some Mexican food that was hopelessly infused with the stuff to still be quite palatable. (perhaps the taste buds are finally failing as I get older.)

192/365 Nap Jedi

192/365 Nap Jedi
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

191/365 shelled peas

191/365 shelled peas
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

I only wish I hadn't set the camera to capture small images (for some stuff I'm going to try and sell on craigslist). The eventual print version of this is going to be tiny.

190/365 Return of Summer

190/365 Return of Summer
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

first time playing in almost 3 weeks, maybe the second time in almost two months. Let's hear it for summer... and not even nasty and humid summer. w00t!

189/365 Dinner for Three

189/365 Dinner for Three
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

More progress...

Food -- building bridges since the dawn of time.

188/365 Time to go

188/365 Time to go
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Last day at work. The government program that was funding our work got canceled, so we'alls (who just recently switched over to W2 status) got laid off.

I'm probably going to lay low for the summer and get some things done around the house and focus on the massage therapy business which is just as well since I've poked around a bit at the job listings and it's pretty slim pickin's right now.

187/365 Budding Hosta

187/365 Budding Hosta
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

186/365 In relief

186/365 In relief
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Normally I'm a straight out of the camera kind of guy, but a little playing in photoshop here. I think it came out pretty well.

Took this on the walk to dinner at Paisano, where we ate on the patio -- so nice to finally get a break from all the rain and enjoy a pleasant summer evening outside.

185/365 Not Proud -- GRATEFUL

185/365 Not Proud -- GRATEFUL
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

We watched the fireworks with the crowds from the middle of the Mass Ave bridge. It's been a few years since I've come into the city to see the show, but I have to say, it seemed like it was one of the best fireworks shows I've seen yet. (always interesting to see how they improve the technology year over year.)

So, regarding the title of this post, I kind of have a THING about the "Proud to be a ..." stuff.

I'm not a religious person, but, y'know -- one of the seven deadly... And in my mind, the list of sins does have value in a secular context: avoid these things and you're probably improving the odds of being a good person. And when I think about being a citizen of this country, I'm not so much proud, but really, really grateful that I had the good fortune to be born and raised here. The fundamental principles of its founding, the standard of living, the opportunity, the diversity. Nothing is perfect, but it sure is a lot better than some other places in this day and age.

Anyway, I'm not really one to get all patriotic or anything, so I'll just leave it with: Happy Fourth, UnitedStatesians!

184/365 Reaching Out for Support

184/365 Reaching Out for Support
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

OMG! Grapes and peas, living together!

183/365 Raindrops everywhere

183/365 Raindrops everywhere
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Yeah, so... kinda done with the raining-all-the-time business.

182/365 Big Finish

182/365 Big Finish
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Gordon Webster and Friends at the final Beantown dance party at the Endicott College in Beverly.