Alex's Soapbox » Food and Drink

Damn Good Coffee

Alex — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:41:27 +0000

This is, excuse me, a *damn* fine cup of coffee – Agent Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks

Pepsi Throwback Shortage

Alex — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:25:16 +0000

It’s been getting harder and harder to find Pepsi Throwback in my neighborhood. I visited three supermarkets before finding one lonely 8-pack hidden deep within a pile of other Pepsi products – the cashier couldn’t believe that I found one. Come on Pepsi – make more and make it permanent. I love this stuff.

Pepsi Throwback A++!

Alex — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:39:33 +0000

I’ve been nursing my stash of Mexican Coke when the local Costco started having difficulty keeping them in stock. The local Safeway started selling Pepsi Throwback, but they were limiting purchases to two 8-packs for $3 each. After drinking my first one today, I’d have to give it a huge thumbs up over Coke. Too bad they’re only selling it until the end of June – so stock up and hope they change their minds.

BBQ Review

Alex — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:01:54 +0000

I enjoy unpretentious food bloggers who don’t make a big deal or production of the places they review, but this one was interesting – the sausage didn’t know whether to hang out with the ribs or not – they kept tossing and turning and then the sliced beef entree showed up…

BBQ nostalgia

Alex — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:47:22 +0000

What is lacking in my new digs is a good nearby BBQ joint. It is with fond memories that I link to the best BBQ ribs in Southern California. Of these, #1 is probably Phillips at Leimert Park in South-Central Los Angeles. There is a chance of getting shot, carjacked, or both, but I’ve been there at least three times when I used to drive from Torrance to Pasadena. However, since I lived closer in OC, it was better for me to frequent Blake’s Place in Anaheim, which received good reviews from OC Weekly.

Why Eating a Big Mac is Cheaper than Eating a Salad

Alex — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:27:53 +0000

The picture below shows the huge disconnect between what the government recommends you eat and what it subsidizes. It’s no wonder we have an obesity problem – money speaks louder than words:

Original article here

Macworld Beeeer

Alex — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:10:35 +0000

Greetings from Macworld San Francisco! This blog post courtesy of Tango Tax, who have the best booth, as can be seen by this picture taken from their iMac blogging stations:

This isn’t cheap beer folks, it’s Gordon Biersch Märzen from a keg. I’m not that drunk — yet.

Protected: Macworld 2007 Eats

Alex — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 19:57:41 +0000

Below is a list of restaurants I visited during Macworld. I’ve included a rating on a scale of 1-5. Of course, I did not count some overpriced/low-quality tourist food places around Moscone. Thanks to Sylvester, Kevin, Rod, Mike (and ASACMUG), Ellen, and Edmo.

Sono Sushi, Mountain View – Conveyor belt sushi [4]
Banana Island, Daly City – Chinese/Malaysian/Singaporean [3]
Gordo Taqueria, SF (Sunset) – Mexican [3]
Cha Cha Cha, SF (Mission) – Spanish/Cuban tapas [5]
House of Curries, Berkeley – Indian [5]
Plutos, SF (Sunset) – American comfort food [4]
Frjtz, SF (Hayes) – Belgian [5]
Sanraku, SF (SOMA) – Japanese [2]
Canton, SF (SOMA) – dim sum [3]
Burma Superstar, SF (Richmond) – Burmese/Chinese [5]
Dakao, San Jose – Vietnamese [4]
Park Chow, SF (Sunset) – American/Asian fusion [3]
Nick’s Tacos, SF (Russian Hill) – Mexican [4]
Bill’s Place, SF (Richmond) – American comfort food [2]
Ali Baba’s Cave, SF (Mission) – Mediterranean [3]

And a special mention to the best fuckin’ cup of coffee I’ve ever had – Philz Coffee, SF (Castro and Mission districts)

Din Tai Fung

Alex — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:19:36 +0000

I finally got to visit what is allegedly the best dumpling house in the country – Din Tai Fung in Arcadia. We tried visiting a few weeks ago but were put off by the large crowd outside the restaurant. A friend showed up unannounced and we managed to get him in quickly since we now had a foursome.

This time, we were determined to see what the fuss was all about. After an hour, we finally got seated and our orders came quickly. The pork dumplings and wonton soups were excellent – the other dishes were pretty good. Their international reputation is well deserved.

Mad Cow Rampage

Alex — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 15:49:14 +0000

Not only is the Bush Corporate Government needlessly endangering military lives, but their close ties to the food industry may be endangering the lives of all food-eating Americans.

An NPR report (Real Audio) and a more detailed followup describes how the second case of Mad Cow (BSE) disease was found and it shows the following shortcomings of the current process. Our government claims this is “world-class” when it is clearly not so.

They are only screening “downer” animals, but like cancer, BSE will often be present in normal-looking animals. It is even worse if a long time passes between the test and the time the animal is killed.
A negative first test for BSE results in no further testing. Other countries either run a second independent test and/or test all their animals.
We don’t have a world-class BSE detection unit. We have to outsource to England, where they have plenty of Mad Cow experience and are willing to take the necessary steps to ensure food safety.
This shows the importance of independent elements in our government to reverse or reconsider earlier decisions. I’m sure the BushCo response to this would be to eliminate these “troublemakers”.

It is obvious that scientific integrity is not high within the USDA – their priority is to minimize the cost to the food industry, not to save lives. They forgot to tell us that the “gold standard” they were using was based on fool’s gold. From another recent article:

“USDA strategy is basically to cross its fingers and hope that beef from a BSE-infected animal doesn’t end up on Americans’ dinner plates.”

Sounds like faith-based science to me. Between the first case in December 2003 to the second case this month, how many BSE-infected cows have made it to the food supply? I suppose you can go to your local In-N-Out and find out.

Unlike most BushCo lovers, I perfectly understand if other countries won’t be lifting their bans on American beef anytime soon.