I’ve got a car. A Nissan SE-R. It’s getting old. 14 years old! And 155K miles on the clock.
If it were a kid, it would be going to high school now…
Anyhoo, I’ve always had a thing for sports cars. And cars that can go topless. Being raised in a 1966 Mustang convertible may have something to do widat. But living in San Francisco, a convertible is not always practical. But this is!
The best thing is that the Miata MX-5 is affordable to start with and this option is projected to be only US$2000 more! Not baaaad. Here’s more info from Mazda.
Except gotta wait until Spring 07! Then they’ll be the rush where the dealer markup is hella high. Then it’ll come down eventually. Maybe 2008. Of course, Alfa Romeo is supposed to be returning to the US by then…hmmm.
UPDATE: But, if you live in Japan, there’s no wait! Roy from Q-Taro.com is an avowed Roadster owner and he got to check out a Hardtop Roadster in the flesh! Lucky…
Mind the Gap
Here’s a page that’s fun (in an intellectual way) if you ever ridden the MTR, MRT, Eidan or the Tube. Because it’s important to under the linguistic background of those three little words…
“Mind The Gap”
It’s an old page and a lot of the links are dead, but if you are trying to learn Chinese, Putonghua or Japanese, this page can be helpful…
Mind Candy
It’s Sunday afternoon here and I’ve finished all my chores. Washed, claybarred, polished and waxed my horribly dirty car, did laundry, vacuummed, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen. Whew.
Guess it’s time for a mindless movie! I watched UltraViolet on DVD.
The acting was not that good and the story was not much better. Five things saved this movie. Milla Jovovich, great wire work, BMW motorcycles, Shanghai location shoots and Milla Jovovich. I wouldn’t have paid US$10 to see it in the theater, but it would’ve made a good in-flight movie.
Much better than that horribly-PC flick, Aeon Flux (the old animated shorts are MUCH better), that they’re showing ad-nauseam on most of the mainline carriers…
My LA, Cult Food #2
Before I continue, here’s a disclaimer:
These Cult Food postings are NOT RANKED! I’m just numbering them so you know how many there are. The fact that I write about these places is proof of their innate goodness…
Within 48 hours of my arrival at USC, I was initiated into the sacred rite of the Tommy’s Run. I think I remember how it was pitched to my virgin ears…
“It’s 0130 on a Wednesday night. Let’s go on a Tommy’s Run”
“OK”.
Yeah, like put a gun to my friggin’ head when it comes to late night eats…
Tommy’s is a family owned chain of burger stands that’s famous for good quality food and incredibly dangerous chili-cheeseburgers that melt through ordinary napkins so quickly that they provide paper towels instead. The stuff of LA legends.
“If you don’t see the Shack, Take it Back!”.
Now a word of warning. LA is the land of food knockoffs. Here you will find, Tomy’s, Big Tom’s, Tom’s and Tommy’s of Westwood. NONE of these are the original Tommy’s. Don’t eat at any of these if you want an authentic Tommyburger. I will not be held responsible for any kind of gastro-intestinal distress caused by these knockoffs. Look for the Shack and be happy.
And even though there are genuine Tommy’s restaurants all over the LA Basin, as far as I’m concerned, the only one to go to is on the corner of Beverly and Rampart in Downtown LA. It’s old school. It has two parking lots. There’s no place to sit. It’s open 24 hours. And it’s original. I’ve spent many late nights and early early mornings here raising my blood chili-cheese level. And my “big hunk o’ tomato” and “pickles” level too. Back then, I could do two at a time. Now, cant do so much anymore…
SC ROTCs would do the double time march here (it’s about 5 miles or so from SC), eat 2 or 3 apiece and then double time back (you want to be in the front of that formation). Investment bankers from Downtown, sorority girls from SC and locals just getting off from work would get indigestion together. On Saturday nights, the club and bar crowd come here after the clubs and bars closed. Gangbangers and LAPD would stand together, chowing down and shooting the breeze. Is this the beginning of whirled peas or what??
Yes, it tastes great! Mmmmm.
And if you’re really hardcore, you’ll wind up with Tommy’s fingers; the smell from the chili lingers on your hands for the rest of the night. And then you’re hungry AGAIN!
Tommy’s
2575 W. Beverly Blvd.
LA CA 90057
213-389-9060
My LA, Cult Food #1
I went back to University Park, (home of my alma mater and the Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe) Los Angeles during my last visit.
It’s changed a lot since I was a resident student here back in the day. For one thing, they’re building a new events center across the street from campus. Big lah! Used to have a parking lot there.
But no worries, because there’s new structures being built! But not everything is new and trendy. The old traditional stuff is still here. The 9-0. Traddie’s on campus. And Manny’s.
Um, it says Chano’s
OK, I don’t know why we always called it Manny’s when the name on the establishment, the signage, the drive thru and on our credit card bills always says “Chano’s”. I really don’t remember where the name came from. Can anyone refresh my memory as to why?
Manny’s Chano’s is a classy outdoorsy place in the vein of Tommy’s except Chano’s has outdoor seating. You walk up to the front of the shack, order, wait and then when your food is ready, take it over here to eat. There’s a good mix of people here, depending on what time of the day and year you are here.
Outdoor seating that Tommy’s dun have!
This place holds a lot of memories for Trojans of all stripes. Mostly of their “wake-up burrito” that to this day, I don’t know what it’s made of.
Nor do I WANT to know. Ever.
All I do know is that it is effective in the “hangover cure” category. I’ve been there late on weekend nights many times in the past eating here. On other days, I’m here for lunch ordering a “machaca Burrito, sour cream and mucho hot sauce“, por favor.
A machaca is spicy shredded beef, scrambled egg and beans cooked on the griddle hot and then tossed into a waiting tortilla. Then the hot sauce and sour cream (extras) are plopped on and then it’s wrapped up and handed over to you. Mmmmm. Hot mouthburning goodness!
Ready to eat lah! No other pix available cuz busy eating…
Chano’s Drive Inn
3000 S. Figueroa
LA CA 90007
213-747-3944
Coffee!
A gift from one of my frens who I got to visit on my trip. Thank ya!
Absolut Birthday Shindig
It was about my fren’s 3rd 30th Birthday, not just boozing!
But tis’ purty!
That happened AFTER dinner. Dinner was in the W’s restaurant. Spiffy.
This was the NY Steak from the restaurant that uses only “organic” ingredients.
This is the duck. It was really good. Not like duck in Chinese restaurants…
This is the W Westwood. It’s hidden along a line of other high rise condo buildings.
When I arrived, I went straight to the pool where there’s a bar. Behind this there’s a small pool with a bunch of cabanas. Since this is not THAT kind of blog, I refrained from pix. Solly! They charged US$12 for a Sapphire Tonic but it was the biggest Sapphire Tonic I ever had!
They even got free Wi-Fi! Waaaaaah!
At Airport Early
I’ve got a flight leaving soon and I’m at the airport an hour early!
Waaaaaaah!
No stress (helps that the airport is kinda empty today) and a lack of screaming rugrats helps this tranquil scene along. Until I walk by the overpriced restaurants and see the prices for snacks.
Hmmm. I think I can wait until I get to LA! It’s only an hour away…
Superman Returns
Went to the late late first showing of Superman Returns last night.
Yeah, I actually went to a movie!!
The movie was done well, with lots of inside nods and winks and great special effects. If you’re familar with the Superman legend, you’ll find some funny bits. It’s also a good idea to watch the first two Superman movies before watching this one, because it’s connected. Supermans 3 and 4 thankfully no longer exist!
There wasn’t a lot of warmth in this movie though. And the best way to describe the movie is “edgy political correctness”. It reminded me of what Syndrome said in the Incredibles: “..if we are all special, then none of us are”.
Also, definitely watch what you drink before the movie; it’s over 2 hours, 40 minutes long!
A Day at the Races
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day in San Francisco! It was warm, it was close to 23 degrees outside and sunny and I got comped for a day at the races at Bay Meadows, courtesy of one of my buds!
That’s how a comped ticket looks like!
Going to the racetrack is one of those things that I’ve never done before. It’s not like it has the same interest for me as, saaaay, hopping a 777 across the Pacific Ocean or having a nice dinner with someone charming in Singapore or Sydney. But the opportunity presented itself and off I went…
There was a buffet set up in the lower patio of the Turf Club.
The Turf Club entrance
The food was nothing really exciting so it’s not worth a photo or commentary EXCEPT that dessert and sweets were at the begining of the food queue. Despite that, there was a lot of cake left over.
Now if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I dun like to gamble. Gambling to me is wagering that I’ll get the upgrade to BZness Class on the flight to Tokyo Narita because I was reallly nice to that hella kawaii gate agent at SFO. Not coughing up real money that could be lost in the bet, that could be used for real things, like food. Or beer.
This follows the horses around when they race. I dun think a horse will fit inside.
But when in Rome, eat Roman (food). Going to the racetrack means wagering, so I decided to give it a shot. After reading the “so you’d like to gamble” brochure thoughtfully left on each table by Bay Meadows’ management, I decided to give it a try. I committed US$20 to gambling, no more! I lost US$2.00 on my first shot. Then, I tried a multiple bet, using the following criteria:
Odds (how much of a long shot)
Lineage (where the horse was raised)
Name (how funky is the name?)
Guess what? I picked the winner (out of three bets on the slip)!
Here’s my bet
And here’s my win!
This is the next race; I bet on #1 to win
More Winnings!
Sooo out of US$16 wagered, I won back a total of US$91.00. Wah! If only I had the guts to wager US$160 instead! Would have made US$910.00! Would be enough for a ticket to Beijing right now!
Guess that’s why I’m not meant to be a gambler…